He's participated in the school's golf outing and, several years ago got together with his best friend, the recently engaged Mike White, to coach one of our seventh grade basketball teams.  Last spring, Tommy Walters had another particularly good idea. Prompted by nothing more than a reflection on the powerful friendship he still has with his two best friends - friends he met in kindergarten and second grade at Ss. Peter and Paul, respectively - Tommy thought it would a good idea to bring together the graduating class of 1999.

 

  "I still have a lot of good friends from Peter and Paul," Tommy says, "but, after ten years, you start to lose touch, and I didn't want to wait until we hit our 25th anniversary so I thought it would be good to get everyone together for the night."  So Tommy called Mr. Glowaty, his former principal, and pitched his idea of a ten year reunion. "We haven't hung out as a group since eighth grade," Tommy says, so he helped spearhead a night that includes a three-hour reception at Peter and Paul, a Fun Fair, and an evening at Rizzo's in downtown Naperville.

   

   Adding to the nostalgic feel for the evening was the appearance of several of the teachers they enjoyed through their elementary and jr. high years.  "It was great to see Mrs. Scarpino, Mrs. Schur, Mrs. Gensler, Mrs. Moylan, and Mrs. Skroch," said Justin Welke, a Northwestern University grad who is now in his third year of dental school at the University of Illinois, Chicago.   "They looked exactly as I remembered them," chipped in Katie Zavodny who teaches English at Our Lady of Peace in Darien while coaching track at York High School where classmate Carly Croll teaches English and Communications.
   Once everyone assembled, they took a stroll down memory lane by visiting both the elementary and jr. high classrooms.  "Everything seemed so much bigger when you're ten years old," commented Maura Hoyt, a graduate of St. Mary's College and who is now a nurse at Rush Hospital in Chicago.

    To help supplement the nostalgic feeling, Tommy, his brother Justin who flew in from San Francisco, and their parents had brought in various yearbooks, the class video and even an eighth grade lip-synching video.  "I thought we all looked pretty good as eighth graders," offered Amanda DeGrandis, a special education teacher at Oswego East High School who also coached volleyball at St. Francis High School, "but styles have changed."

  The highlight of the night, however, may have been the mini-Fun Fair re-enactment. "Fun Fair was second only to Christmas," recalled Mara Vandlik who now works in the development office at Georgetown University where she also received her undergraduate degree.  "It's not quite as exciting playing Bozo Buckets as an adult," echoed Kelly Schmieder who teaches second grade in a Catholic school onChicago's far south side," but it did bring back many great memories."

   Prior to heading to Rizzo's, those attending signed a card for Matt Dupre who is currently serving our country in Iraq and recently survived a car bomb explosion.  "We want Matt to know we love him and are praying for him,"  added Brittany Kubes who is in law school.

 

  The festivities on campus ended with a little quiz as Tommy tested everyone's memory by asking them some questions about dances, athletic events, teachers, and field trips they all experienced at Ss. Peter & Paul School.  "I was pretty amazed as to how quickly the hands went up on each query," he added.  "I guess it just goes to show that the memories we created and the experiences we enjoyed will last a lifetime, or at least until we get together in five years to do this again."