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Week of Thursday, May 20, 2004Willow Run’s 60th By JUDY
BUSACK Those who attended the Willow Run 60th celebration agreed it was a great time and they want to do it again. Cecilia Queener, a Willow Run payroll specialist who was on the decoration and food committee, said the event went very well. "The VIP dinner was sold out. Then Saturday at the all-class reunion, about 230 people attended. That was a big success. I heard from people who said it was a good parade on Saturday and that it was very well orchestrated." Following the parade a cruise-in car show was held at the high school parking lot and Rod Ranger, Willow Run Schools accounting specialist, who was chairperson of the show, said there were a little over 100 cars in the show. "That’s not bad for our first one," said Ranger. "They were classic vehicles. Some cars participated in the parade then came to the car show. My uncle (John Ranger) has a Studebaker that is very rare and he did participate. It’s a 1937 Presidential coupe." Ranger also said several car clubs were represented at the event. Flint resident and Willow Run alumnus Dave Stewart said he attended all the Saturday events, including the car shows. "Congrats to Rod and Geoff Bush (co-chair) for the car show," Stewart said. Stewart, with Gavaughne Williamson Horrigan, took on the task of producing 700 copies of the first history of the village, which was originally published in 1956 "We sold half of what we made. There are still people who want them. There were some people who had never seen it (the book), others who have seen it, but lost track of their copy. It sparked a lot of nostalgia for people." The chair of the all-class reunion, Yvonne Carnahan, who didn’t graduate from Willow Run, although her three children did, called the event "awesome." "It was absolutely worth the hard work. We had a caterer from our district; it was so wonderful. The ROTC helped us; they moved tables and chairs for me. They greeted people. It went better than I thought it would. They are already talking about next year." Joe Ann Allen, principal of Ford Elementary, helped with the reunion and said she believed that more than 200 alumni attended. "Classmates showed up all the way back to 1956, which was the first graduating class, all the way up to 2001. We had photos of past events (on display); we had a photographer and a lot of people were asking to have the classes’ picture taken together. I heard people talk about doing it again; that is why I thought it was successful," said Allen. Horrigan said the event was a good time and the committees did a great job. "Dr. (Douglas) Benit deserves a lot of kudos," said Horrigan. Benit is superintendent of Willow Run schools. Alumnus Carol (Rose) Burns attended the all-class reunion and the brunch on Sunday. "It was great getting together with all the classes," said Burns. "(It was fun to) see a lot of people that you haven’t seen for years. The brunch the next day was fabulous. Two of my girlfriends, who live in Texas, and one who lives in Plymouth, we got together and had a pajama party at the Residence Inn." Carnahan summed it up when she said, "People didn’t want to do anything, but talk." |
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