“Coming Back, Coming Home”

Greetings, Members of the Albemarle High School Class of 1974:

How can it have been nearly fifty years since we walked down the aisle at (the now demolished) University Hall and received our diplomas! During that time, some have remained in the Charlottesville area while others have found callings in places far away from Virginia. Wherever you are, dear Patriots, we hope that this message will find you safe and happy amid this holiday season. 

We look forward to visiting with you during our upcoming reunion weekend in August. To mark this once-in-a-lifetime occasion, your 50^th Reunion Committee has been busy putting together events that span three days. The Saturday evening gathering has a set fee, as the affair includes the costs of the banquet hall rental, a catered meal, and a DJ for the second portion of the evening. There is also a fee for the Sunday brunch at Michie Tavern. The Friday evening and Saturday morning events will be pay-as-you-go.

Here is the schedule:

Friday, 2 August—6 p.m. until closing
The Lazy Parrot, 594 Pantops Center, Charlottesville VA 22911
Order from menu as desired

Saturday, 3 August—9 a.m. until whenever
Michael’s Diner, 3450 Seminole Trail, Charlottesville VA. 22911
Order from menu as desired

Saturday, 3 August—6.30 p.m. until 11 p.m.
Double Tree by Hilton, 990 Hilton Heights Rd, Charlottesville, 22901
$95 per person

Sunday, 4 August—11 a.m. until 12.30 p.m.
Michie Tavern, 683 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy, Charlottesville VA  22902
$22 per person

Early in 2024, we will send further details regarding the process for registration as well as the method of payment (for the Saturday evening and Sunday morning events). Meanwhile, we invite you to get these dates on your respective calendars, and to begin planning for the various aspects involved in attending this celebration.

As you may know, AHS never has kept contact information for alumni. Therefore, whatever information we currently have is what we have been able to assemble/retain/update since the preparation process began for our tenth reunion back in the early 1980s. People change e-mail addresses and other contact information over time, so—if this information is reaching you—we certainly would be grateful if you would pass it along to classmates with whom you might have contact but who are not on our list. In addition, if you, or they, would be willing to forward those missing addresses to us, that would be even better. (This should seem obvious, but if you have not received reunion material from us over the years or have received it in the past yet have not received it for a while, it is simply because, for whatever reason, we do not have current contact information for you.)

No matter how you measure time, celebrating fifty years of anything is a big deal. To that end, we hope that y’all will consider participating in this milestone event by coming across town, travelling across the country, or flying over an ocean for the purpose of “Coming Back, Coming Home”.

All best wishes to you from your reunion committee—

Christopher Samuel, Class President
Mayo Carter
Michael Garnett
Kathie Thalman Joseph
Pat Buehler Pitts
Mary Ann Thompson
Kathy Gentry DeGraff
Leslie Perry (’75)