Above / Diane Parpet, Joan Knippin, Veronica Porter and Maureen Duffin, NCHS Class of 1976, reminisced at the Barn, the first place that came to mind to host their 40th class reunion.
UPDATE June 5, 2016 / Click any photo, a small sampling of the The Barn Farewell on June 4 (See details about the event below.) where folks who were teens back in the 60s and 70s rekindled memories of volunteer spirit and community support that built the Teen Center back in 1965.
[shareprints gallery_id=”61032″ gallery_type=”squares” gallery_position=”pos_center” gallery_width=”width_100″ image_size=”small” image_padding=”0″ theme=”dark” image_hover=”false” lightbox_type=”slide” titles=”true” captions=”true” descriptions=”true” comments=”true” sharing=”true”]Original Post, May 29, 2016 / The Naperville High School Class of 1976 will host its 40th year class reunion August 12-14, with a kick-off party beginning at 8PM Fri., Aug. 12, at the Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873.
The Saturday Night celebration is planned at the Sheraton Hotel in Lisle. And a picnic is planned at 11AM Sunday in McDowell Woods. Details with links to online registration and payment are available on Facebook under “NCHS Class of 1976 Reunion.”
According to NCHS 1976 Reunion Committee organizer Diane Haas Parpet, who now lives in Springbrook Crossings, her class was the last freshman class to attend the Freshman Campus opened in 1970 in what is now Naperville North High School. Afterward, as sophomores, they went to Naperville Central, where they finished their high school careers in 1976 with 800 seniors.
In the fall of 1976, Naperville North opened with a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior class.
Veronica (Ronni) Wohead Porter, who set up the Facebook page, also serves on the NCHS 1976 Reunion Committee.
“I thought it might be fun, and a bit nostalgic, to have our Friday night event at the Barn,” said Porter. “I talked with Brad Wilson at the Naperville Park District and got all of the rental information. When he asked me for the dates, I told him August 12. He then gave me the sad news that the Barn would be demolished by then. What!? I was shocked.”
She learned the facility was coming down after 2016 Ribfest, July 1-4, an annual event hosted by the Exchange Club of Naperville in Knoch Park.
“When I shared the news about the Barn with my high school friends, we all had a familiar theme… fun memories at a time when Naperville was smaller, quieter but still a time when the teenagers found a way to make their own fun. … Thank goodness there were no cell phones back then!” Porter said.
Click any photo to enlarge for a quick tour of the Barn, May 28, 2016.
[shareprints gallery_id=”60630″ gallery_type=”squares” gallery_position=”pos_center” gallery_width=”width_100″ image_size=”small” image_padding=”0″ theme=”dark” image_hover=”false” lightbox_type=”slide” titles=”true” captions=”true” descriptions=”true” comments=”true” sharing=”true”]To try to attract attention to connect with additional members of the NCHS Class of 1976, several classmates met recently at the Barn to reminisce about their high school days when Friday night dances at the teen center brought them together. Along with Parpet and Porter, Joan Williams Knippen came from nearby Elmhurst and Maureen Duffin, in town to visit her father, came from Harrison, New York.
“Naperville North was a Freshman Campus and the Friday night events at the Barn gave us an opportunity to interact with the upper classmates,” Porter continued, recalling her freshman year. “My memories of high school include times spent at the Barn. I had an older brother and sisters, so I knew many of their friends and it was nice to have a chance to be out with them all socially.”
“Back then, the sidewalks rolled up at 8PM,” the four women said almost in unison. “Naperville was a one-horse town in the 1970s.”
As they toured the interior of the Barn, upstairs and down, the stage brought back recollections of live local bands, Sadie Hawkins dances, bales of hay and loose hay. They talked about teen dances on Fridays evenings “when Central didn’t have a home game with a sock hop afterward in the gym.”
When they saw the defibrillator case on the wall, a life-saving device that stops fibrillation of the heart by administering a controlled electric shock in order to allow restoration of the normal rhythm, they flashed forward, mindful that they aren’t getting any younger; yet, eager to celebrate their former heartthrobs and shared experiences of their youth with former classmates.
Parpet remembered when the facility changed to accommodate park district programs where she took her children for ballet lessons and gymnastics.
“It makes me very nostalgic to think about not preserving the Barn,” said Knippen. “It’s a big piece of our history that’s coming down.”
“We were the last class to start as freshmen at North and go all the way through Naperville Central together,” explained Porter. “We’ve lost track of many of our classmates and we’re hoping the community will help us locate them.”
For more info about the Class of 1976 Reunion, check out the Facebook Group at NCHS Class of 1976 Reunion where there’s a link to purchase tickets or email NapervilleCentral1976@gmail.com.
Barn Farewell Event is 4-9PM June 4
The Barn Farewell Event is 4-9PM Sat., June 4. It’s free for all, likely to bring back memories of live bands, dancing teens and evolutionary local lore.
The event will include free food for the first 250 guests, catered by Belgio’s, a commemorative cup for the first 500 guests, water and soda, inflatables for kids, raffle prizes and other giveaways.
In keeping with The Barn’s early tradition of hosting teen dances and local rock bands, the celebration will include performances by three local bands.
Beginning at 4:15PM and 5:30PM, the first two live bands will perform 45-minute sets from the stage located on the field immediately west of The Barn. At 6:45PM, OMT will begin rocking with “coverful” and memorable sounds until 9PM.
Food and beverages will be served under a tent near the band stage.
A few bullet points about The Barn
- The Barn, located at 421 W. Martin Ave. in Knoch Park, was constructed in 1965 as a teen center, funded by hundreds of community donors.
- The Park District assumed ownership of the Barn in 1969, with teen events continuing there through the early 1970s and weekday use expanding over the years to include office space, preschool classrooms, gymnastics, and other recreation programming.
- Soon after the close of 2016 Ribfest in the first full week of July, site work will begin for a new maintenance facility at Knoch Park and the Barn Recreation Center will be demolished.
- Construction of the Fort Hill Activity Center, the Naperville Park District’s new indoor recreation facility that will be home to many programs previously scheduled at The Barn, is on schedule to open in August. A grand opening celebration for the community is planned for August 27.
RELATED POST / https://www.positivelynaperville.com/2016/04/20/community-invited-june-4-barn-farewell-celebration/57927
