1st graduating class of Fox Chapel Area High School plans 60th reunion

Fox Chapel Area Senior High School was touted as a dream school by the media when it opened in 1961.

Sixty years later, members of the very first graduating class, the Class of 1962, are planning their 60th reunion on June 9 at the Fox Chapel Yacht Club.

“We’re looking to get 60 for the 60th,” said alumnus John Stickel of Springfield, Va. “We’re hoping to get the word out.”

There were 161 students in the first class.

The reunion will take place in the Baja Grill eatery inside the yacht club, beginning with a buffet lunch at noon.

Barbara and Charles “Bud” Forster of Indiana Township began dating during their senior year of high school in 1962.

The couple, now married 57 years and residing in Indiana Township, were students at Aspinwall High School before a school merger sent students to the new, state-of-the-art Fox Chapel Area Senior High School, located on 40 acres along Field Club Road in O’Hara.

“We weren’t happy about it all,” said Bud Forster. “A lot of us wanted to stay at our high schools.”

The Forsters, both 77, recalled a strict school dress code and said the school had unfinished areas when they showed up on the first day of their senior year.

Boys weren’t allowed to wear jeans and girls had to wear skirts and dresses.

For the Forsters, the move from their small high school in Aspinwall to a much larger one had perks and pitfalls.

“We got to meet a lot of new people. We had a cafeteria at the new school, before we didn’t at Aspinwall,” Barbara Forster said. “In Aspinwall, students could walk home and eat lunch.”

Bud recalled a welcoming environment at the newly merged school.

“We were really a close-knit class,” he said. “But I think now, as it got bigger and bigger, it just wasn’t as close—everything is spread out—too many different groups and cliques.”

The Forsters plan to attend the reunion that will bring in alumni from California, Oregon, Florida and Massachusetts.

Their class boasts five marriages between classmates, including the Forsters.

“We’ve been to every one of the reunions, and we’re glad to see people we normally don’t get to see,” Barbara Forster said.

Fox Chapel Area School District Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac recognized the significance of the Class of ‘62.

“Those who come before us pave the way for the future,” Reljac said. “Since the members of the Class of 1962 were the very first graduating class of Fox Chapel Area High School, they’ve left an indelible mark and impression on the students who’ve followed them. The past, present and future community is something that makes the Fox Chapel Area School District a special place. We’re proud of this founding class of students for forging the way for this school community and know that they have impacted future generations.”

Stickel said about 40 alumni have registered for the reunion.

The district is sponsoring a tour of the school on June 8, Stickel said.

“I’ve stayed in touch with many classmates for the past 60 years. Some were disappointed because they didn’t get their senior year (at their old schools).”

Stickel worked on the construction crew the summer before the new school opened.

“Because of that, I knew my way around the new school,” Stickel said.

The first day of classes was Sept. 2, 1961, with more than 1,200 students attending from Aspinwall, Blawnox, Fox Chapel and Indiana and O’Hara townships.

The project cost more than $3 million and included an indoor swimming pool.

A 2,300-square-foot homemaking suite offered co-ed classes in sewing, cooking, nutrition, child development and social living.

“I took a cooking class,” said Bud Forster.

Stickel praised the the hard work of reunion organizers Bob Casile, Butch Geyer, Jack Marmarella and Sam Liptak, offering a message for any Class of 62 alum who is on the fence about attending.

“Hey, We need you. You won’t be disappointed,” Stickel said.

Geyer, 77, of McDonald said the reunion will feature music from the 1960s and 70s.

“Some of these people have never attended any previous reunions. There will be a lot of stories about what we did that first year of high school,” Geyer said.

Geyer recalled the first day of class at the new school as a bit nerve wracking.

“First day I was kinda scared about the whole thing. It was so large and everybody was late for class the whole first week,” said Geyer, who played on the basketball team.

“I lived in the gym. It was a multi-use gym, which everyone got to d0 something in there. I was used to playing in a small gym at Aspinwall,” he said.