Aden Bowman 50th Reunion

What Fun!

Eileen (Trask) Wood '67
(Organizing Committee Coordinator)
and the Event Team
(named below in Events)

are grateful to
920ish ALUMNI, STAFF & GUESTS
who attended & made the weekend a BLAST!

The Reunion Weekend was a smashing success!
Here's a short summary of all the fun,
(which will continue to be updated)

Before you read on to see how we celebrated
ABCI's great 50th Anniversary,
DO YOU HAVE . . .

MESSAGES & STORIES TO SHARE ?
Click on "After Party Talk" to share your stories & comments.

PHOTOS TO POST on the WEBSITE ?
Everyone wants to see your photos! Post them on this website - just click on the "Reunion Photos" page to upload any reunion photos you'd like to share.

REUNION SOUVENIRS ?
Click on "Buy Souvenirs" to buy your commemorative
ABCI 50th Reunion T-Shirt (only $5 !!) or
ABCI History Book (Just $20 !!)

REUNION CLASS PHOTOS TO ORDER ?
Didn't get around to ordering your class photo on Saturday night? Just contact:
           Bill Gray, Gray Photographics
          grayphotographics@shaw.ca

Here's What Happened Friday:

CHECK IN & RECONNECT
     Karen (Truscott) Howard - '66 & Staff: Evening Coordinator
     Heather (McCall) Bacon - '72: Contacts, Reg'n & Tickets
     Terry Brown - '67: Contacts
     Charlene (Trask) Webster - '73: Name Tags
      Al Loewen - '68 & Staff: Musical Coordinator

     CONTACT CREW: (see list on Your Event Team page)
     REGISTRATION CREW:
          Cheryl (McCall) Roberton '75 (Decor),
          Marjorie (Ingerman) Meier '60, Pat (McGall) Dixon '60,
          Diane (Beazely) Aikman '61, Carol McGibney '61,
         Lynne (Neil) Heenan '62, Joan Dick '62, Bev (Strumm) Bell '62,
         Bonnie Salloum '62, Cheryl (Larson) Harrison '62,
         Gwen (McReary) Greenshields ('62 & staff),
         Susan (Simon) Matheny '62, Barb (Williams) Dawson '63,
          Linda Tweddell '63, Lorri (Boggs) Neilsen Glenn '64,
          Pat (O'Brien) McBeath '68, Heather (Stewart) Shouse '68,
          Rob Spinney 2002, Leigh Spinney 2003, Marissa Bolley 2010,
          Kaycee Chapman 2009, Aubree Worobetz 2009,
          Alexandra Pilipow 2009, Allyce Salter 2009, Corey Hickson 2010.

Over 900 friends gathered to celebrate. Meeting so many old friends was exhilarating!

After quickly registering [thanks Registration Crew!] & picking up their Name Tags [thanks Charlene (Trask) Webster!], class pictures were taken while "refreshments" flowed.

Outstanding jazz music was provided throughout the evening by the renowned musicians (ABCI grads):

Sheldon Corbett '74 - sax

George Tennent '72 - bass

Laurie Currie '65 - drums

Mike Lockerbie '83 - keyboard

Lots of hugs, stories & laughs filled the room & our hearts the entire night.

Here's What Happened Saturday

ABCI OPEN HOUSE
   Karen (Truscott) Howard ('66 & staff)
   Al Loewen ('68 & staff)

   OPEN HOUSE CREW: Donna Truscott '67   Pat (Truscott) Purvis '61

This outstanding event, complete with coffee & yummy brownie bites, saw hundreds of Bowman alumni, students, staff and their families who filled the halls, classrooms, labs & gyms, reliving hours of academics, so many fun school activities & events and lots of memories.

An "In Memoriam" board, remembering friends who are no longer with us, was posted which brought fond memories & a few tears.

SEE SASKATOON - City Bus Tour
   Doug Richardson '68
    TOUR CREW:
      Don Bentham '65    Doug Clark '71    Marcia (Barmby) Clark '63
     Greg Hardy '68      Lynne Samson '65

Out of town guests were treated to a bus tour of Saskatoon to see how our fair city has grown.

DEDICATION CEREMONY of the
ROBERT HINITT CASTLE THEATRE
   Karen (Truscott) Howard ('66 & staff)
   Al Loewen ('68 & staff)

Mr. Hintt was honoured for the outstanding contributions he has made to Aden Bowman and all its students for so many years, Castle Theatre was dedicated to our Monsieur by renaming it the Robert Hinitt Castle Theatre.

A Brass Quartet entertained almost 700 guests with several wonderful pieces of baroque music during the ceremony. Thanks go to the talented:
        Dr. Karen Gustafson ('80-trumpet),
        Adam Toews (2001-tuba),
        Alex Loewen (2005-trumpet),
        Mairin Loewen (2001-trombone)
        Arlene Shiplett (french horn).

Karen (Truscott) Howard opened the ceremony with well-delivered comments & introduced the guest speakers:
      Brian Flaherty (ABCI Principal)
        George Rathwell (Saskatoon Board of Education)
        Bob Young (class of '60)
        Jacquie Presley Buchanan (class of '69)
        Honoured Guest Monsieur Hinitt

Monsieur's very closest friends & family, including his sister, were front & centre to hear the many wonderful tributes. Every speaker brought a different aspect of Mr. Hinitt's contributions to light, not only as a teacher, but as a community & national contributor to arts & culture. By the end of Mr. Hinitt's words of wit & wisdom, there was not a dry eye in the house.

Speeches Honouring Mr. Hinitt
PLEASE MAKE A POINT of reading the outstanding tributes honouring Mr. Hinitt given by Bob Young ('60) & Jacquie (Presley) Buchanan ('69) on the HINITT TRIBUTES page.

MEMORY LANE at Dancing Thru the Decades
   Ralph Schoenfeld '64 & crew (list to follow)

Following Bowman's outstanding tradition of spectacular event decor, Memory Lane took us all back to our glory days,   complete with 4 vintage cars watching a drive-in movie of American Graffitti (where were YOU in '62?), Bowman Championship banners & trophies, class yearbooks, sports uniforms & equipment, musical instruments, history board (courtesy of ABCI student History Book) and remembrances of the Houses of Bowman.

A tribute area for Mr. Hinitt was set up for him to receive congratulations. Hundreds stopped by throughout the evening to give him their gratitude & good wishes.

DANCING THRU the DECADES
   Bruce McMillan '64: Event Coordinator
   Linda McMillan (staff): Music Coordinator
   Decor Assistance: Al Dyck

On the other side of the sparkling green & gold curtain, a spectacular Sagittarius Ice Scupture by Peter Fogarty (Fire & Ice Creations) greeted guests.

Centre floor was the site of the music stage, its silver columns bathed in multicoloured lighting (audio & lighting was provided by Barn Dog), with lots of surrounding dancing room for more than 900 guests.

Tapas Dining, with its wide selection of hors d'hoeurves, veggies, fruit & dessert catered by Prairieland Park, provided us with ample energy to dance the night away. Jiving, twisting, bopping, gatoring, line dancing, hip hopping and a lot of writhing & jiggling ensued to the sounds of the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's & 2000's.

Here's What Happened Sunday

Many classes arranged individual or group brunches around town to rehash the weekend's festivities and share email addresses. Sad farewells were said, with promises to stay in touch more often.

To stay in touch, leave a message on the Post A Message Board. They can contact you directly via the YOUR BIO page or the AFTER PARTY TALK page.
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