70th Birthday Party!
It's time once again to think about the reunion we've been waiting two years to have. We have decided to go ahead and arrange "The Class of '70 Turns 70" reunion at a venue this summer that is as safe as possible.
The date we have selected is Saturday, August 27th. The venue we have chosen is the Carlyle Grill at 3660 Jackson Rd. in Ann Arbor (just west of the intersection of Jackson and Wagner roads). The "official" party time is 6 - 9 p.m., as their food service ends at 9:00. However, the Carlyle also has a separate bar area where people can hang out until 11 p.m.
The Carlyle has a back room with a rear wall of large garage-type doors that open to the outside and a small patio beyond that. If it (hopefully) doesn't rain, we should be able to have good airflow as well as good food.
We are in the process of finalizing the menu with the Carlyle. Since there is a minimum spend required, we believe the cost per person will be somewhere around $50, depending on how many people come. There is plenty of free parking at the restaurant.
If anyone is interested in a St. Thomas School tour, there is one available to us at 3:00 that same day. There is also a 4:30 Mass at St. Thomas Church on that Saturday for those who may want to attend before the party starts. There will be a special intention mentioned for our class at that Mass.
There are all kinds of hotels in the area, all of them with plenty of free parking as well. Many of them are near Briarwood Mall (Hilton Garden Inn, The Kensington, Sheraton, Staybridge Suites, Marriott, etc.), and some are on Jackson Rd. (Weber's, Hampton Inn, etc.).
The Hilton Garden Inn at 1401 Briarwood Circle has agreed to give us discounted room rates of $169 (king) and $189 (two queens) plus 11% tax for the nights of August 26th and 27th for those who are interested in staying there. (Registration information is below.)
This hotel has a large lobby with lots of indoor and outdoor seating as well as a lobby bar and food service, which is ideal for gathering. We are thinking that if anyone wants to have an informal get-together on Friday, August 26th, we can gather in the Hilton Garden Inn lobby at about 7:00 p.m. to do that.
Please RSVP to Ted Naylor (ted@naylorhome.com) as soon as possible saying that you’re coming and how many you will be so we can determine cost and finalize details.
Also, Kathleen (McDonald) Ericson has graciously offered to put together a slide show with any class or classmate photos people would like to submit. We would particularly like to honor those classmates who are no longer with us. Feel free to send Kathleen any photos you may have at kmpericson@yahoo.com by early August.
So, please make sure to mark your calendars for August 27th, and to RSVP as soon as you can. More details will follow later. We hope to see everyone there. Until then, stay safe and well.