TOMS RIVER – A school reunion is a great way to meet up with people you haven’t seen in 10 or more years. That’s the way most of them work. That’s not the way this one works, though.
A recent reunion brought together Toms River High School South students who graduated over the course of decades – some of them before the building was even called that.
In 2007, this regular gathering was started by Joseph Placente, who is known for leading off local parades in patriotic clothing. He wasn’t feeling well on the day of the reunion, so he did not attend. According to an Ocean County Observer article on display, Placente (class of 1950) started it off as a way to reconnect with people as the town grew and grew.
Currently, it’s headed up by Charles (Chuck) Laing, who donned the Indian mascot headdress and welcomed folks.
His daughter, Janet Laing, went through the crowd with a microphone, asking for people to share their memories. A football captain said “In ’53, when I was a sophomore, we won every game.” Stories like this flowed throughout the afternoon.
One frequent attendee who also missed the reunion was Norma Farrow Rush, who just turned 100 and was recently celebrated by the Berkeley Township Historical Society for all her endeavors.
Renee Lomell was in attendance. Her war hero father is the namesake of the Leonard G ‘Bud’ Lomell VA Clinic on Hooper Avenue.
Many people, like Lomell and Rush, stayed local, because this is a wonderful place to live. Some went far and came back again. For example, Roman Rudnytsky (1960) went on to the Juilliard School and has played piano in concerts in more than 100 countries. He entertained the crowd with classical compositions he played from memory.
Although the school was built in 1891, it was simply “Toms River High School” for half its life. In 1969, when the second high school opened, the new one became “High School North” and the old one became “High School South.” (East would come along in 1979.)
The event took place at the Elks Lodge on Washington Street. Raffles served as a fundraiser for scholarships for current South students. Therefore, the past graduates were helping the future graduates.
The reunion is held every August and they are now inviting graduates up to 1985. Anyone interested in attending next year’s reunion can reach out to Chuck Laing at 732-306-1845 or CLaingCC@verizon.net.
