The matric class of 1973 held their 50th (and first ever) reunion on the 6th of July at the OJ Club. It won’t be our last.
The idea of a reunion to mark the occasion was born in mid 2022 and slowly but surely contact details of the class were found. Everyone in the class seemed to have kept in touch with at least one classmate so we didn’t have to rely on social media!
1973 was the second year of Jan Breitenbach as headmaster. In general, the class of 1973 did not have the fondest of memories of St Johns during this period. Perhaps this was why a reunion had never been attempted before.
All but one of the 72 boys who left St Johns in 1973 (the net was thrown wide enough to include those expelled!) were tracked down. 10 were found to be deceased and we marked their passing with a moment’s silence at lunch.
A WhatsApp Group was formed with 40 opting in a few weeks before the event. It worked very well as a way to get to know each other again. A lot of forgotten memorabilia was shared and stories told.
An impressive 27 made it to the reunion lunch at the OJ Club on 6th July and a number stayed on for the OJ Dinner and Gaudy Day events. 6 came from overseas and 13 from the Cape.
After registering under the watchful eye of the OJA’s Zelda Siphenuka and sticking on name tags, three groups were guided by LV boys on a tour of the College. The tour was a mix of the old and the new and memories of teachers and pranks from long ago were brought back into focus. Our guides knew the school history far better than we did.
Returning from the tour we were greeted at The Johannian Club with platters of “half-time orange segments” – the perfect appetiser to the lunch that followed.
Lunch was an enjoyable sit-down meal in comfortable chairs with the entire dining area of the OJ Club at our disposal. Places changed at regular intervals so that we could all meet and get to know each other again. Of course, there just wasn’t enough time to really catch-up on 50 years of our lives.
Matthew and his staff did a great job to keep the food and drink flowing and yet allowing gaps for speeches to be made without interruption. The venue worked exceptionally well.
During lunch the current executive headmaster of the College, Stuart West, dropped in and said a few words of welcome. “Seems a decent chap” was the general opinion – quite a contrast to the headmaster in our last two years in the college was the consensus.
A wonderful day together wound up quite late and hopefully the club bar profits were boosted accordingly. All agreed that it had been hugely worthwhile and that we would make an effort to stay in touch in future.
Thursday 6 July was a typical highveld winter day. A frosty start but the sun was shining and slowly a few men aged around 67 started to gather in the car park across from the St John’s Tuck shop. Somehow they’d talked their way past the security guards mumbling the password for the day “50th Reunion”.
Ten for ten-thirty was the order of the day and we were all pretty much on time for our big day.
Boys in the their blazers walked nervously past these greying giants of the past and politely volunteering a “morning sir”. We looked around to see who they were talking to ….. to us? Yes indeed – gratifying to get the respect we deserve.
It seemed that St John’s boys were still well-mannered, but would the 27 M73’s be?
In the air was a certain apprehension about what the day would bring and would we have anything to talk about other than the small talk of socially inept baby boomers turned senior citizens.
Registration and name tags were a good way to break the ice. “Write big please” was the request from Zelda the OJ Organiser. We wanted to be able to recognise each other with just a quick glance at the name tag to be sure who it was – this was not always the case!
At ten-thirty – right on schedule – we assembled for a tour of the College. Three very presentable LIV boys were allocated to us and we split into three groups.
We were all impressed by the knowledge our guides had of the school and its history; they kept us moving smartly along the planned route. This was not easy as we tended to linger and reminisce.
My group asked our assigned lad about the punishment regime in place at the school now. Expecting an answer “oh we don’t have that anymore”, we were horrified or pleased (I’m not sure which) to hear lines, blue paper, HMD (house master detention) and hard labour are still in vogue. Nobody dared raise the subject of caning. We left that for later when Peter “Steamy” Rowland regaled us with the tale of the paint bombing of the KES pool and the record number of canings he received as a result.
It was when we went into Nash house that the boarders in my group commented on the differences - especially the unmade beds and the very comfortable common room.
What was totally new was the impressive science block across what used to be the road past Thomson and Alston. These are impressive new buildings and we liked the low tech look and feel of the class rooms and labs.
The three tours concluded back in the David Quad where we assembled for 1973 and 1962/3 group photos
Heading in to lunch after the photos we enjoyed “half-time oranges” – a salute to the hydration strategy for our long ago winter days as rugby and hockey players on the fields in the 70’s. It was always left to the team reserves or linesmen to pick up the segments covered in dried kikuyu and dirt.
Lunch was an enjoyable sit-down meal in comfortable chairs with the entire dining area of the OJ Club at our disposal. Places changed at regular intervals so that we could all meet and get to know each other again. Of course, there just wasn’t enough time to really catch-up on 50 years of our lives.
I made a welcome speech mentioning in particular those who had travelled from so far. Our Father Angus - “Padre” – said grace and remembered those of our class who had died. Some had died so young. We held a moment’s silence in their honour.
During lunch the current headmaster of the College, Stuart West, dropped in and said a few words of welcome. “Seems a decent chap” was the general opinion – quite a contrast to the headmaster in our last two years in the college.