ZOOM & Gatherings

What have our classmates been up to since the reunion?  The only way to know is by word of mouth – & seeing is believing!  Here is what we know about several ongoing activities:
 

COFFEE OR TEA?


Following our reunion, monthly coffees have been set up by Tim Thompson and Pamela Stewart in Northern Virginia – At Tysons II Mall before the pandemic, and now ath the Caboose Brewing Company in Merrifield Virginia. Do you recognize anyone? Maybe Mrs. Knight?

Click on photos to enlarge!

Tysons II Mall - before the Pandemic!
Tysons II Mall - before the Pandemic!
Outdoor Chats
Outdoor Chats

 

WEDNESDAY ZOOM GET-TOGETHERS 


Weekly Zoom Meetings have taken place every Wednesday at 6pm EST since April 2020 – orchestrated by Beth Wetmore English.  She even knows how to organize cozy breakout rooms, since there are sometimes 20 of us on a session.  Classmates far and wide have joined in the fun – from Virginia to Hawaii, California, to Florida, North Dakota, Utah, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee & Washington DC.  Will you join us??

Who had ever heard of ZOOM before now - except "zoom-zoom" for those fast cars!

Now it is a household name --- an essential tool for businessses, and a fundamental  medium for families, school and friends to stay connected.  Essentially, "zooming" has become a new form of socialization and getting together with family and friends virtually.
What do we talk about? Everything that you can imagine - except politics!  New "careers" without pay, growing coffee, our pets, walking the halls of YHS, ailments and bionic parts, vaccines -- and the best part is that we don't have to wear masks!
 

And while some tech-savvy classmates are enjoying all of Zoom’s features – most importantly, custom backgrounds – many of us are still not entirely comfortable with the change.  

 

  • How do I get on the darned thing?
  • My screen is black – where is everyone? How do I open the video?
  • Why can’t I hear anyone?
  • How do I turn on my mic?
  • How do I see everyone when I don’t know what a “gallery view” is?
  • H E L P!!!!
  • And lastly, you have to look good from the waist up.  So don’t forget, if you get up and roam around, the people you’re talking to will see that you ae still wearing your pjs!

YHS '68 classmates, get with it and join us. You can do it!   Throw caution to the wind!  According to the New York Times, more than 600,000 people downloaded Zoom in a single day in 2020. 

Send us a message via the “Contact Us” tab and  we’ll send you the link for our Wednesday get togethers!


Historical Outings

Manassas National Battlefield Park, October  2020

 

 

In October 5 YHS ’68 grads met for a private guided tour of the Manassas National Battlefield Park with our own YHS Fred Gosnell.  We began with a lovely picnic at the park while Fred, our resident civil war historian, mesmerized us with interesting facts, stories, photos and maps concerning Civil War life.  The first major land battle of the war was fought at Bull Run in July 1861.  There was a second battle at Bull Run in August 1862 in which the South was again victorious and which cemented Robert E Lee’s reputation as a brilliant tactician. It is also where General Thomas Jackson acquired his famous nickname “Stonewall Jackson.”
FRED GOSNELL, OUR RESIDENT CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN
FRED GOSNELL, OUR RESIDENT CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN

Possible next visit?  Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg Maryland – timing to be determined with Fred as our resident history expert, probably at the time when we can see the entirety of each others' faces without face coverings.   Would you like to join us?