The reunions provide an event, a place, to share time with each other, to recollect the time that we former students all spent in this school before leaving on our separate ways.  The early reunions (10, 15, and for some, 20-year) are usually enjoyable events that happen at a time when lots of us are still making changes and plans in life, and which mark a time for us to say "Hi," to our old friends again as we continue on in life.  Many of us at the time are still making and experiencing major changes..

    The later reunions (maybe 20-year and on) tend to happen when more of us have already started to become somewhat more stable in our lives and have families of our own.  This is where I see the reunions from 25-years and on, bringing us to yet another phase in life- Yes, to that point along the road where we have mellowed out a bit, and have learned to be appreciative of more things in life.  Then it is just fun to be able to be with so many people who were with us at that certain time- our high school years- which we each can recall from our own viewpoint at the time, and we can look around to see that these people are still there with us, too.  An accomplishment in itself, as we move along in years, and something to take pleasure in solely for that reason.  There are other reasons, too, of course, but just making it that long in life is simply so much more pleasant than not being here anymore.

    The memories and experiences will change as each year creates a new class of graduates, and they will have different stories to tell, and different songs to remember as from "their time" which is part of what distinguishes each year from the next.  There are the the experiences that each class, old or new, will have in common- the senior prom, the homecoming games, the homecoming dances, especially senior year events, graduation day, grad night- and more, that we all went through to some extent.  More and more of the grads of Lincoln are continuing their education at college, vocational-technical schools and such, but the similarities that we had in high school almost immediately begin to disappear as we move on in life.  Then, the guy or girl in the next row at college is not also your neighbor from down the street; and you won't likely be walking home with the same people you did after school every day and know their families and parents.  Most likely your families will not be connected in any way with the new people that you meet after you leave high school.  High school sure seems a whole lot simpler as more and more years pass.  It sure didn't seem that way while we were there.

    Moving on to college brings new friends, but usually from other backgrounds, and cultures.  After leaving college or the military or whatever you did, the long-lasting acquaintances and friendships will be different.  From our high school reunions, the continuing observation I make is that we each tend to stay the same, depending on what we did to start off with.  We get more education and experience, and possibly, more money, but we are still the same inside (just older).

    For whatever reasons people have, the reunions that the Lincoln classes are having should be enjoyed and celebrated since it was a time unique to all of us, sometimes turbulent with changes, sometimes comforting in the familiarity, and which time will never come again.  So as the reunions come, we should go and have fun.  We can also use the time to relax and to reflect on how we got to where we are, and maybe see what we can do to benefit other Lincoln classes and individuals.  Some of us have family that still goes to, or will go to Lincoln; some of us have gone away and have no connection there now.  We still can use our experiences and knowledge to keep the education processes as high as they can be for the upcoming students and for the pride we had while attending. school, which, sadly, many kids (or "students" I should say) now do not have.

    Reunions may be lavish or basic, small or large, but the component that is really the most important is the people that come- the class members, the former teachers and administrators and friends of the class.  The reunion itself always seems, in retrospect, to come and go so quickly, while the planning phase seems endless.  But once the time comes, it happens, and it seems to go by too fast, (not getting to see everyone that we wanted to, and never enough time to talk with the old friends we see again) and then the event is over, with a lot of memories to fill that part of time.  Being there is an achievement in itself, as each person attending plays an important part in the continuing history of their particular class, marking another milestone as time proceeds.

    You will never know what the experience is about if you stay away.

Robert Guevara, Cl. of '67
11/26/98; rev. 12/6/98, edited 10-8-01.

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The  Class of 1968 WAS due for a 30-Year Reunion in 1998.

Unfortunately, no action was taken to make it happen this year.  All is not lost...

POSSIBILITIES- These things take some work to put together.  To help out in getting the job done, without spending all of your free time and more, there are some Reunion Planners that can make the job a lot easier.  (There is no law that limits when you can have your reunion.

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The Class of 1988 10-Year Reunion. 
The Reunion was held on October 3, 1998 at the Castaways Restaurant in Burbank.