Reunions held in 2007: Class of 1957
7 - 9 December 2007
A combination of comments by Jill Waynik, Norma Saxe and Arderne Forder
Tony Aronstam, Ron Asherson, Samuel (Morrie) Basker, Mervyn Berman, Harry Buchinsky, Henk de Groot, Herman de Groot, Ewald De Kock, Leon Epstein, Dina Esterhuyse, Michael Feitelberg, Arderne Forder, Micki Friedland (Nossel), Richard Glyn-Jones, John Goodenough, Vincent Harrison, Cyril Karabus, Chris Landman, Jan Laubscher, Lawrie Leve, Maurice Lipper, Abe Mahomed, Basil Michaelides, Leon Movsowitz, Ivan Nurick, Alida Oosthuysen, Issy Pilowsky, Ben Rogoff, Robin Sandell, Norma Saxe, Oscar Segal, Martin Shelton, Edgar Swart, Louis Stassen, Jill Waynik
(Click on the image to see a large version.)
The class of 1957 is quite unique in that there have been reunions every five years since graduation with no fewer than twenty five classmates attending these "get togethers"! It is hoped that our next reunion will be in 2010 to coincide with the World Cup Soccer meeting, so please diarise this possibility now!
This 50th Anniversary Reunion was an especially happy occasion with over thirty of the original class of eighty, gathering from all parts of the world to celebrate this very special time. Sadly twenty members of the class, including Jack Katz who died in January of this year, are no longer with us.
A special programme had been organised to coincide with the reunion with a number of exciting events.
Friday morning started with a non-official walkabout of the upper campus UCT, with Prof Howard Phillips of the Department of History. About sixteen colleagues attended this very informative tour. It proved to be a great start to the weekend. There was an air of excitement among those who attended.
Friday evening saw the official start to our reunion with the Dean’s Cocktail Party and all our classmates. The "vibe" of the evening was excellent. The Dean welcomed the class and Stuart Saunders spoke about the University and some of the changes that had come about. It was a great "get together" with some classmates not having seen each other for close on fifty years! These included Leon Epstein, Tory Aronstam and Glynn Jones! (Joan Tuff is to be congratulated on her excellent organisation of this function).
Saturday morning was devoted to our Academic Programme with all the speakers being members of the class. This was very well attended and consisted of a mixture of academic talks, nostalgic memories and general subjects of varied interest. It made one realise how diverse were the interests of our class. A poem by Jill Waynik is enclosed. The morning was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
The highlight of the reunion was the Gala Dinner which took place at the V & A Hotel, Waterfront. The hall looked beautiful and, after having our class photograph taken, we sat down to dinner after a welcoming glass of sherry!
It was amazing how after so many years, there was still a great feeling of camaraderie among the class. We were fortunate to have the most popular reunion after-dinner speaker – Arderne Forder, whose speech of reminiscences of our teachers, is included in this package.
Michael Feitelberg’s wife Pauline, a former cabaret singer, kindly performed for us.
Seating was informal and allowed people to mix as the evening progressed with lots of jollity! The evening ended with anniversary chocolates and a 50th Anniversary Cake!
The final day of the reunion took the form of a very informal gathering at the Strandkombuis, Yzerfontein. This was a lovely venue with excellent seafoods. Unfortunately the weather turned a little cold in the afternoon, but not enough to dampen our spirits! This was a delightful end to an altogether highly successful reunion with many happy memories. It was a little sad to bid farewell to all our classmates, but we wish them all well and hope to see them, and others, at the next reunion in the not too distant future.
The committee of Jill, Norma, Ivan & Arderne thoroughly enjoyed both the reunion and its organisation, with grateful thanks to Joan Tuff who ensured that all went smoothly!