2015 Alumni Dinner: Neither Rain Nor Dark Dampen The Good Spirits

Rain fell hard in Little Valley on Saturday and just as about 190 LVCS Alumni members were about to sit down to eat the power went out.

But dark skies and a dark Corporate Building (for more than an hour before the power came back) didn't matter. The 116th dinner and reunion went on as scheduled and the highlights included:

-- Jerri Parkhurst Harris' keynote address and singing. As she said, "you can take Jerri out of Little Valley, but you can't take Little Valley out of Jerri."

-- Barry Reiman's remarks on behalf of the Class of '65. He captured a sense of the times with the story of undermanned Little Valley's victory over a much larger Portville football team.

-- The food! The Little Valley Fire Department Auxiliary won high praise for the dinners (beef, chicken or vegetable lasagna) and the cupcakes. The auxiliary is already on tap for next year's dinner.

-- The shift into the 21st Century. This blog has been up and running since 2007. But President Kevin Andrew told everyone about the association's entry into the world of social media: The Little Valley Alumni group on Facebook. It's well worth finding and joining as it will likely be updated frequently. By the way, also look for the Little Valley Central group on Facebook.

-- A request from the Association board. They're hoping that talented members will donate gifts to be given away at next year's dinner. They're looking at all you quilters, carvers, photographers, knitters and others. If you've got something you might want to put into the prize basket, contact Karen Holtz Taft, Kevin Andrew, Linda Bryant Milks, Sherry Nichols Charlesworth, Susan Ellis Koch, Nell Fellows or Nancy Paschen Shinners.

Here are some photos, courtesy of Nell Fellows (Class of '76):

The Class of '65.

President Kevin Andrew and Jerri Parkhurst Harris.

The power was out for more than an hour, but it didn't matter.

2015 Dinner Invitations Are Out. Also: New Pictures From The Alumni Room At LVCS

The invitations and forms for the 2015 Alumni Dinner have been mailed and you should have received yours by now. 

If you haven't, you should be able to download PDFs by clicking:

-- Here, for the letter/invitation. 

-- Here, for a copy of the form and mailing address. 

The dinner choices are Swiss Steak, Chicken Cordon Bleu or Vegetarian Lasagna.  The cost is $18. Annual dues are $5. Checks should be made out to LVCS Alumni Association. The mailing address is:

Little Valley Alumni Association

P.O. Box 162

Little Valley, N.Y. 14755

Reminder, the dinner is on June 27 in the Corporate Building of the Fair Grounds. The social "hour" starts at 4 p.m. Dinner and the meeting start at 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Little Valley Central School group on Facebook remains a great place to connect with other alumni and see photos from the past and present. Check it out. Just search for "Little Valley Central School" on Facebook. It's a closed group, so you'll have to be approved. But that should not be a problem.

On those pages, Nell Fellows (Class of '76) has posted a nice series of photos she took earlier this month at the Alumni Room in the school. The room will be open on Dinner day, so stop by if you can. We're putting three of Nell's photos below. 

L.V. Fire Dept. Auxiliary To Cater This Year's Dinner. Reminder: Date Is June 27

Over in the very valuable Little Valley Central group on Facebook, Nell Fellows (Class of '76) has posted more information about this year's dinner: 

"The Little Valley Alumni Association is pleased to let everyone know the dinner this year will be held on Saturday, June 27 at the corporate building at the fairgrounds. We are also thrilled that the Little Valley volunteer fire department auxiliary has agreed to cater our dinner this year. Dinner selections will include vegetable lasagna, Swiss steak, or chicken Cordon Bleu. Jerri Parkhurst Harris will be our speaker. More details to follow."

Alumni Room Open House On Oct. 26; Dinner Date Looks Like June 27

Two bits of news from the old home town:

-- On Sunday, Oct. 26, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. there will be an open house at the Alumni Association's room in the school building.

The Salamanca Press writes that "the alumni room is located in the former Little Valley Central School, 207 Rock City St., in a room on the Thompson Avenue side of the building. ... 
Included in the collection to be displayed are old yearbooks, commencement programs, a set of lockers recovered from the basement of the school, sports uniforms, National Honor Society banners and tardy slips. 'We actually also have the curtains that used to hang over the top of the auditorium,' added {Alumni President Kevin Andrew}. 'Last year we found our old track records that were all handwritten on a board. ... There’s a lot that people that went to school here that will remember. It’s not anything of great value necessarily, but valuable to people that went here. Come on in and see what we have.' " 

-- Kevin tells us that it looks like the 2015 dinner will be on June 27, in the Corporate Building at the Fair Grounds. Jeri Parkhurst Harris, class of '59, will speak. Kevin says the evening's theme will be "the creative arts."