The Deweys: Westmont College - Class of 1964 50th Class Reunion

Rich graduated in 1964 from Westmont College and this year was their 50th class reunion. Typically the college's class reunions are held in the fall, but the 50th is an extra-special occasion, held the weekend of Commencement. The class is then recognized as "Golden Warriors". It was a great time for Rich to reconnect with many special classmates. Our brother-in-law, John, was also a classmate, so he and Cheryl also attended.

From Friday-Sunday, there are many activities and get-togethers. Truly, it was non-stop! A highlight on Friday was a luncheon address by the college president and then his presentation of the Golden Warrior Medal to each Golden Warrior.

As you can see, each graduate wore a nametag with their senior photo, which made for easy recognition. I loved John's comment on his photo, "this isn't the face I shaved this morning."

Rich and his roommate, Dale, share lots of memories. Like a late-night run to Spudnuts for donuts!

The Golden Warriors, attired in academic dress, are part of the Commencement procession. All wore their Golden Warrior Medals. The Pagentry of Academic Dress is quite regal. Its history dates back to the dates of the oldest universities. There are criteria for design of the gowns, as well as the velvet neck band on the hood, which symbolize the the wearer's course of study and official colors of the institution that granted the degree. The width of the velvet band is determined by degree, 3" for master's degree and 4" for doctor's degree.

Getting academic hoods to lay just right was a trick! John's was called "drab", although I'd call it beige, for Business Administration, Commerce, Accounting. Rich's was light blue for Education.

Brother helping brother.

Ready to go!

A special seating section was reserved for the spouses of the Golden Warriors, Cheryl and I had a front row seat. We loved how the graduates decorated the tops of their mortarboard caps. The men from the Engineering Physics department had little fans of various colors fixed atop theirs. I loved the caps of the Liberal Studies grads who bordered their caps with Crayolas. All of them earned teaching degrees as well. There were 347 graduates, the largest class to date.

Commencement was wonderful. The college orchestra and choir led with wonderful music and the speaker was Rick Warren. Enough said!

These were our Saturday night dinner hosts. Their lovely home had wonderful views of the City Hall and surrounding mountains. A wonderful Mexican buffet was served with a fun detail. Our drinking "glasses" were Kerr Mason jars. You see, the founder of the college was Ruth Kerr, of the famous jar company.

The weekend culminated with a wonderful worship service in the prayer chapel, tucked in the campus woods. It's a small and very sweet structure. We sang wonderful hymns, "Lead On, O King Eternal", "Day by Day", and others and one of the classmates, now a retired pastor, brought the message. Others led with scripture reading and a poignant moment where the names of 22 classmates who have passed away were read. That seems like a lot out of a class of 146, which was the largest to date in 1964.