Maine West Class of 1974 50th Reunion
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The party was at Joe's Live in Rosemont on June 8!
Our reunion was held on June 8, 2024, from 6:30pm until 10:30pm at Joe's Live, a music and event venue in the Rosemont Entertainment District. The event was be catered by Lettuce Entertain You, with hors d'oeuvres and a full buffet dinner from its delicious menu. Nina Leone from the Class of 1973 took photographs throughout the evening to capture the fun1 With its easy access, a full stage, dance floor, plentiful seating, separate rooms for conversation and catching up with people, and free parking, Joe's was an ideal spot for our reunion.
Food, music, dancing, and friends!
We fell in love with Gerald McClendon and his band. Gerald has graced the stage to sellout crowds to practically all the major entertainment venues throughout the Midwest, as well as internationally in Asia and Australia. He isgave us an extraordinary performance of sounds of Motown, Stax and Atlantic records, plus songs from Rock and even Country that kept the dance floor alive all night, despite our arthritis and advanced age.
And even as the party at Joe's ended, another began next door at Bub City, where we migrated and continued to enjoy our time together. We closed the place down!.
What other activities happened that weekend?
The June 8 party at Joe's Live was our main activity for the weekend, but we're looking to coordinate various other gatherings as well, such as:
- Tour of Maine West: Friday, June 7, 10am. We got to see the recent and extensive improvements that have been made to the school, including the new cafeteria (which lowered the floor to incorporate what we knew as "The Pit"), plus a new fieldhouse. 85 showed up for the tour! Former Assistant Principal Eldon Burk made a surprise appearance and graced us with his memories from our year, along with his wit and charm.
- An unofficial meet-and-greet took place on Friday night at the Beacon Tap at 1374 Lee Street in Des Plaines. Manager Tommy Riemer came through on his promise to save space for us in the back of the patio. The weather cooperated beautifully, with balmy temperatures and no rain
- Brunch on Sunday, June 9, starting at 11am at Bubs City in Rosemont, adjacent to Joe's Live. If you're interested, please make your own reservations online at OpenTable, or call the restaurant on (847) 261-0399. If you use OpenTable, there’s a box where you can enter a special request. In that box, you can say, "I am with the Maine West Class of 1974 group,” or you can just wait and tell them when you arrive. Bub City says they’ll try to seat us together.
