The Past Time Reunion

Gil stands tall on Main Street (Click to enlarge)

In the Summer of 1984 it seemed to me that it had been too long since loud noises and laughter had come from the end of Main Street in Rochester where the Past Time was. I had driven by the building several times since the 1960’s. It was still a bar, perhaps a little less seedy than when we called it home.

Web press run on newspint, 38 page knock off of Democrat and Chronicle complete with today's weather.

Frank Cicha, then head of Alumni House for RIT suggested alternative ideas for an event for Homecoming. It seemed natural to try to fill the vacuum that had existed for 20 years at the Past Time.

Before the Internet there was only the mail. RIT agreed to pay the postage, we had to create the direct mail piece… with no budget. A graphic arts and printing challenge tailor-made for RIT School of Printing Alumni. RIT segmented the people who were students from 1960-1969, about 15,000 names and addresses. Jack Farrington at Favia & Farrington and Mike Lofton handled production coordination. John O’Sullivan at O’Sullivan Typographers did the type.

The 15,000 former students on the mailing list were compiled with their phone numbers in a last name alpha sort.

Bob Adamson at Mono Litho Typesetting in Toronto, typeset the 15,000 names and phone numbers as part of the printed piece. The database wasn’t just the mailing labels, we published every name with a phone number, all 15,000, 38 tabloid pages full, and asked that everyone call a friend and then ask them to come.

It was printed in Canada by Ron DeLuca, Del/Charters Litho and shipped to Rochester for mailing… in six days.

That was 26 years ago. It was a plan to celebrate the thousands of relationships and memories that, even then, were 20 years in our distant past. It was a plan that worked!

It’s unlikely that many college experiences were as good as ours. Almost universally the people who experienced RIT’s Old Campus in the 60’s remember with warmth the pleasure their friends and their adventures.

I unpacked a box last week and found the printed piece, and pictures from the gathering at the Past Time which was Saturday October 14th, 1984. It was a great party.

Help identify these people! If you recognize someone or just have something to say, leave a comment. For instance, “picture #2 is Norm MacEachern”. You can click the photo and make it larger, (although you might think twice about enlarging #2).  The photographs are numbered.

Identify Me! Picture Number 1 Bill Turri

Identify Me! Picture Number 2

Identify Me! Picture Number 3 Judy Hinchcliffe Sturge

Identify Me! Picture Number 4 Left Judy Hinchcliffe Sturge

Identify Me! Picture Number 5 Bill Turri (stripe shirt)

Identify Me! Picture Number 6 Jim Williams

Identify Me! Picture Number 7

Identify Me! Picture Number 8

Identify Me! Picture Number 9 Jim Williams

Identify Me! Picture Number 10 Mibb Browne and Linda Davis Turri

Identify Me! Picture Number 11

Identify Me! Picture Number 12

Identify Me! Picture Number 13

Identify Me! Picture Number 14

Identify Me! Picture Number 14

Identify Me! Picture Number 15 Bill Sloan

Identify Me! Picture Number 16 Kathleen Collins Howell

Identify Me! Picture Number 17

Identify Me! Picture Number 18

Identify Me! Picture Number 19

Identify Me! Picture Number 20 Norm and Jim Williams

Identify Me! Picture Number 21 Norm, George Hedden, Jim Williams

Identify Me! Picture Number 22 Ron Palmer

Identify Me! Picture Number 23

Identify Me! Picture Number 23 Norm, Don Simonini

Identify Me! Picture Number 24

Identify Me! Picture Number 25 John Snyder

Identify Me! Picture Number 26

Identify Me! Picture Number 26 Winky Hosey, Denny Ortman

Identify Me! Picture Number 27

Identify Me! Picture Number 27

Identify Me! Picture Number 28

Identify Me! Picture Number 28 Norm, Jim Williams

Identify Me! Picture Number 29

Identify Me! Picture Number 30

Identify Me! Picture Number 31

Identify Me! Picture Number 31

Identify Me! Picture Number 32

Identify Me! Picture Number 33

Identify Me! Picture Number 33 Bill Turri

Identify Me! Picture Number 34

Identify Me! Picture Number 35

Identify Me! Picture Number 35

Identify me! Picture Number 36

Identify me! Picture Number 37 John Reitzammer, John Snyder

Identify me! Picture Number 38

Identify me! Picture Number 38 Walt Klein

Identify me! Picture Number 39

Identify me! Picture Number 40

Identify me! Picture Number 41 Larry McNally

Identify me! Picture Number 42 Robert Wood, John Kosta

Identify me! Picture Number 43

Identify me! Picture Number 44 Drinda Devasher

Identify me! Picture Number 45- Diane Mercomes Keenan

Identify me! Picture Number 46 Jim Halliday

Identify me! Picture Number 47 Diane Mercomes Keenan

Identify me! Picture Number 48 Skeeter and Rocky and Ron Palmer

Identify me! Picture Number 49 Carl Rachfall, Robert Wood

Identify me! Picture Number 50

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