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CHE Department History - CHE "Firsts"
CHE's First Class Reunion - 1981
The class of '56 had its 25th reunion in Gainesville in 1981. Joe Morris made
all the arrangements, and here is his account:
The 25th Reunion of the Chemical Engineering Class of 1956 - By: Joe
Morris
They told us back in 1981 that we were the first chemical engineering
class at Florida to have a reunion. Now, fifteen years later, the class of '56
is still the only class to have had a reunion. How could that be? Reunions are
too much fun to miss.
In the late 1970's, four or five of us 1956 Gators had the good fortune to be
thrown together at the Combined Spring Meeting of two AIChE chapters, and the
idea of a 25th reunion was first tossed around. The idea sounded promising, so
we started trying to track everyone down. Little did we know how promising. It
was a hoot!
Even after 25 years, we managed to track down every living member of the June
and August classes, and several members of the overlapping classes. Not all of
them came, but Bob Green flew in from his home in Mexico City, and Jack
Clement flew back from a business trip in Australia. Of 26 members, 16 showed
up—most with their spouses. An informal get-together in a suite at the
Gainesville Hilton (now the Radisson) on Friday night started things off. (Oh
yes, did it start things off—the Hilton may never let us come back). On
Saturday morning the Department of Chemical Engineering treated us to brunch
and open house at the Chemical Engineering building (not the hangar). The
staff and students showed us some things we understood and some we didn't. It
was more fun than you may think. Mack Tyner
and Frank May were there, you know.
But what to do all Saturday afternoon? There was a football game, but we
couldn't get tickets seating us as a group and we wouldn't hear of being
separated. Saad Habbaba saved the day. He invited everyone to his house in
Gainesville to watch the game on TV and to enjoy the sociability and
refreshments.
At the banquet Saturday night, we were joined by a number of professors and
their wives. Bill Wilson evoked tears and laughter with his recollection of
our toils and trials in the old hangar building. Then each member of the
class, in turn, got up and related his experiences since graduation to the
great interest and entertainment of everyone present. These ranged from
chemical process engineer to dry cleaner to dentist to nuclear regulator.
But that wasn't the end. Class member Saad Habbaba and his wife, Pat,
surprised us all with an invitation to a party at their home on Sunday
afternoon—the perfect ending to a very gratifying weekend. Most reunions seem
to wind down after the second day. Not this one. Too bad we had to go home.
This will not be the only class reunion, because we plan to have another one
in 1997. Members of the class who attended were: Gil Brown (Dunedin, FL), Rudy
Cabina (Temple Terrace, FL), Jack Clement (Akron, OH), Roland Foster (Dublin,
OH), Bob Green (Mexico City, Mexico), Saad Habbaba (Gainesville, FL), Kenneth
Hall (Inverness, FL), Wendell Hall (Tampa, FL), Al Leybourne (Hattiesburg,
MS), Joe Morris (Dade City, FL), Gordon Riel (Mayo, MD), Credo Schwab
(Parkesburg, WV), Marvin Shankin (North Miami Beach, FL), Tom Stewart (Miami,
FL), Wallace Sumner (Aiken, SC), and Bill Wilson (West Palm Beach, FL).
Faculty members at the banquet were: Dr. Mack Tyner, Dr. Frank May, Professor
Bob Walker, Dr. Seymour Block, and Dr. John O'Connell.
Reunion Attendees
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| Bob Green, Marvin Shankin,
and Gil Brown |
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| Wendell Hall, John Stewart,
and Joe Morris |
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| Gordon Riel, Roland Foster,
Bill Wilson, and Joe Morris |
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