Kodai alumni of the classes of 1955 and 1956 held their 60th/60st year reunion in Winter Park, Florida April 4 thru 7, 2016. A total of 33 people attended the reunion, 22 of whom were Kodai students for differing number of years and several who had also returned to Kodai as staff.
We stayed at the San Pedro Retreat Center, had the place to ourselves, enjoyed the catered meals and exploring the wooded property, including the lake.
The group explored Winter Park one day, including a boat ride, a visit to the Morse Museum’s collection of Tiffany, and lunch at an Indian restaurant. That evening Chris Rolles played a CD he recorded of songs popular during our teenage years at Kodai, along with humorous commentary. The next day we broke up and participated in several different excursions on the Atlantic coast, meeting again for tea, supper and discussion. Our last day together we stayed at the center and our time was devoted to much discussion. Of particular interest were written stories submitted prior to the reunion about experiences during WW 2. The lives of many families were disrupted during that time when it was feared that the Japanese would invade southern India. Many families left Kodai and other southern locations for places further north and/or departed from India as transport became available. Those who were living in Burma had particularly difficult times. Our last evening together, we brought in food from an Indian restaurant and had homemade mango mousse and “close to the budge halva” for dessert. We were joined at dinner by 3 guests, 2 of them alumni: Ruth Carner Richardson (Class of 1959) and her husband, Alex, and Mary Jean Linn (Class of 1977). Afterwards the “one practice choir” sang “Brother James Air”, in tribute to Mario, and we had a small choir selection. Then we all sang Kodai favorites together, ably assisted by Meg Thomas on piano. The next morning we said our goodbyes with plans to meet again in 1½ to 2 years.
Those in attendance were:
Class of 1955:
Ann (Gibbs) Henderson
Beverly (England) Williams
Jean (Towle) Reed
Conrad Heins
Alice (Graham) and Tom Byrnes
Lowey (Thoms) and Dave Dickason
Ruth (Voss) and Don Harris
Meg and Owen Thomas
Miggie (Carman) and Ed Tegenfeldt (56)
Carol (Zigler) and Ralph Kusserow
Class of 1956:
Jo (Heibert) Sorensen
Molly (Schmitthenner) and Alan Lesnick
Pat (Wood) and John Remias
Toni and Chris Rolles
Mary and Frank Emerson
Donna and Bruce Carman
Ruth (Vassar) and Stan Burgess (54)
Richard Garden
Class of 1957:
Jane (Gibbs) Cummings
Gail (Whittaker) and John Wynne
Photo Caption (L to R):
kneeling: Frank & Mary Emerson, Miggie Carman Tegenfeldt, Bruce Carman, Conrad Heins
standing in front row: Lowey Thoms Dickason, Toni Rolles, Pat Wood Remias
standing in second row: Dave Dickason, Chris Rolles, Ruth Voss Harris (peeking through), Jo Hiebert Sorensen, Alice Graham Silver (Byrnes), Ruth Vasser Burgess, Molly Schmitthenner Lesnick, Ann Gibbs Henderson, Jane Gibbs Cummings, Carol Zigler Kusserow, Donna Carman, Meg & Owen Thomas
standing in third row: Tom Byrnes, Don Harris, Jean Towle Reed, Stan Burgess, Ed Tegenfeldt, Beverly England Williams, Ralph Kusserow, Richard Garden, John Remias
Missing from the picture: Gail Whitaker Wynne and John Wynne, Alan Lesnick (photographer)