1944...The world was at war for the second time, and these young men and women graduated from Fitch School. The group held its 65th class reunion at Eat-N-Park in Austintown Wednesday afternoon.
"I thought it was really a great time, because people liked each other, and we cared about each other," says Elaine Zedek, a member of the Fitch class of '44.
"In our senior year, they took the boys to war in '44", says reunion chairperson Marjorie Gessner.
"And I was in the South Pacific. I was in the Philippines. I was in quite a few places," remembers James Alberter, who left Fitch in 1943 to join the Navy.
But many of these classmates go back even further than 1944. "Most of us started in first grade, so we have a bond that is really great," says Zedek.
And when the classmates came to school, they went to the old brick building known simply as Fitch School on Mahoning Avenue. Fitch housed all grades, first through twelfth, under the same roof.
Organizers say they get together every year since their 50th reunion. Some folks have passed away. Others have moved away, like Arnold Russell, who came back with his son Lee, all the way from Tennessee. "We just wanted them to know we'd go an extra mile to talk to them. They decided I was too old to come by myself, and I agreed with them," says Arnold Russell.
Jack and Verna Siersdorfer reunited nearly 60 years ago, meeting and getting married after their paths first crossed at Fitch. "Tenth grade I moved away, then I went bowling at the High Score bowling alley, and we met there, and it's [been] 59 years," says Verna Siersdorfer, with her husband Jack at her side.
They all hope to share more memories for many years to come.
