First graduating class of Linwood reunites
8th-graders from 1952, time capsule tell story of a changed N.B.
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - The perks of being over 60 include: Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them; your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the National Weather Service; your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off; you quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room; you no longer think of speed limits as a challenge; you can eat dinner at 4 p.m.; things you buy now won't wear out; people no longer view you as a hypochondriac; no one expects you to run, anywhere; in a hostage situation you are likely to be released first; and kidnappers are not very interested in you.

Linwood Middle School held its 55th-year reunion on Sunday for the first eighth-grade graduating class from the school in 1952. There were 72 students in the class, although 17 have passed away since. The majority of remaining classmates joined together again at Pierre's Restaurant in South Brunswick to relive their memories, share their life stories, recount the good ol' days and laugh at the events of their age, as described in a flier titled "Perks of Being Over 60."

"Seeing everybody and how they've matured, [everyone is] still happy and basically healthy," Phyllis Talluto Logie said.

Logie said that 30 percent of the graduating class had gone on to attend New Brunswick High School at the time, and she had gotten involved with their reunions. Because last October was the high school's 50th reunion, she took on the task of organizing the Linwood students for their upcoming milestone.

"None of us believed that we would get here, that we would actually be celebrating this. I speak for most of the people here: it's nice to see everybody and it certainly doesn't feel like we're out of middle school for 55 years," she said.

A time capsule was revealed that was buried in the cornerstone of the school. Current Principal Pete Clark brought over the box, which contained a vial of dirt, a list of the Board of Education members at the time, a referendum packet to accommodate the growing population of North Brunswick, a school board financial statement, a county directory, a list of pupils attending grades 5-9 on Nov. 30, 1951, and an edition of the Daily Home News from Dec. 1, 1951.

At that time, the municipal tax rate was 6.12 cents per $100 assessed value and the national headquarters for the Boy Scouts of America, Permacel, Personal Products Corp. and Goetze Gasket were located in town. The Sentinel newspaper from Nov. 29, 1951, dedicated its issue to a $355,000 renovation to Linwood, and mentioned the creation of the Milltown Express bus service.

The former classmates shared their own stories of growing up in the Brunswick area. Logie said that people back in the 1950s didn't have all of the opportunities kids today have but were still able to lead happy, simple lives.

She said everyone dressed nicely for "sweet sixteens," wearing shirts, ties and jackets. Teenagers worked for their money and did not demand material items but instead saved up and then asked permission from their parents to purchase a specific item. She said there was more structure, more design and more respect.

Rita Manning Dellasalla shared similar sentiments about the easiness of growing up back then, saying that there were no special jeans or Coach pocketbooks. Instead, there were Slim Jim ties, waves in the hair, and brown and white saddle shoes.

"We all knew each other. We rode our bikes; today's kids, all they want is a car. We had dances at the Adams Athletic Club clubhouse on highway 1. Going to Linwood School was an easier time because everybody knew each other; it was different than today," she said. "It was a nice time to grow up. It was easy. It was fun - that's the main thing. It was fun."

Peter Micale recalled dances where girls sat on one side and boys on the other, and the fact that the boys played baseball and then basketball at night. He also mentioned how everyone would walk to school, no matter how far away they lived; he said today's students are bused even if they live 100 yards away.

"It seemed like teachers were more close to you. There were only 76 kids there, but it seemed the teachers wanted to help you more to get you where you wanted to go," he said.

In addition to the handout about the perks of being 60, another flier told of how people born before 1945 grew up. They were born before television, penicillin, frozen foods, plastic, credit cards, pantyhose, dishwashers, and clothes dryers. There were 5- and 10-cent stores, gas was 11 cents a gallon, and smoking was fashionable. There were no group-therapy sessions or nursing homes, yogurt or men wearing earrings. Time-sharing meant togetherness, not computers or condominiums, "making out" referred to how you did on an exam, and instant coffee was unheard of.

Yet Dellasalla said the biggest change in the half-century since Linwood sent off its first graduates into the world is the change of landscape in the area. She said that Johnson & Johnson opened its facility in 1951 and has just closed its laboratory space in recent years.

"It was all fields. It was like the woods. Now everything has changed," she said.

The reunion committee members include Alice and Jean Biggio and Walter and Ellie Holz. Music was provided by Art Einhorn.

The capsule will have a Sentinel newspaper, report card and picture of the graduating class of 2007 added by Clark and his current students and will be reburied in the cornerstone. It is expected to resurface in the distant future, according to the principal.