Boonsboro class secretary enjoys working on 50th reunion

July 06, 2010|By HEATHER KEELS

By Yvette May/Staff Photographer,

BOONSBORO, Md. -- Fifty years have passed since Boonsboro High School's class of 1960 parted ways after receiving their diplomas, but that didn't discourage Janice Mullendore as she set out to track down her classmates for a reunion.

"I like being involved and it's kind of a challenge to see how many people you can keep track of," said Mullendore, who was senior class secretary and is now tasked with sending invitations for the class's 50th reunion, scheduled for Sept. 25.

So how does one go about finding 127 people after a half-century's worth of moves and name changes? One key, for Mullendore, was never losing touch.

"I correspond with some by e-mail, so if they move, they'll kind of tell me their new address," she said.

The class of 1960 has reunions every five years, so that helps keep the mailing list fresh, she said.

Still, some people lose touch and some invitations in each batch are returned as undeliverable. That's when Mullendore goes into sleuth mode.

In May, she had narrowed the list down to five missing classmates and she had a notice printed in the newspaper seeking help in finding them. By mid-June, all five had been tracked down, Mullendore said.

Some, she said, lived on roads that recently changed from rural route numbers to named streets.

"Some of it was a simple thing like that," she said. "I had someone e-mail me with the correct address for one person, and I got phone calls from people that knew where these people were."

Others were tracked down with the help of technology, she said.

"I found one girl on Facebook," Mullendore said. "We had been looking for her for 50 years."

The missing student lives about 65 miles away in the Laurel, Md., area, she said.

"It wasn't so far away, but when you don't know someone's address, they might as well be out of the country," she said.

Mullendore said she sent out about 115 letters. While the class had 127 graduates, some have died, and others who were part of the class but did not graduate are invited, she said.

Typically, 90 to 100 people have been attending the reunions, including spouses and other guests, but Mullendore said she hopes the milestone 50th anniversary will attract a larger group.

The class' nine-member reunion committee has put a lot of effort into arranging the special event, she said. The other members are George Hamilton, Eddie Robinson, Paige Mullendore, Sandy Youngblood, Dinah Young, Mary Canfield, Judy Giffin and Pat Boyer.

"I don't think people realize the time and work that goes into it," she said. "If they did, they would come to all the reunions."

This year's reunion will be at the Boonsboro American Legion with a social starting at 5:30 p.m. and dinner starting at 7 p.m.

Anyone who would like to attend but has not received an invitation may contact Mullendore at 301-791-6972 or send e-mail to jpmully@aol.com.

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