Last April, the Nassoons hosted a mini-reunion for the classes of 1963 to 1972 at the historic Mission Inn & Spa in Riverside, CA.
Built over 100 years ago as a destination hotel for California's then-burgeoning Inland Empire (think oranges…lots of oranges!), the Mission Inn is now a National Historical Landmark. The labyrinthine complex was constructed in the Mission Revival style popular at the time, with later additions made between 1902 and 1931 in the Spanish, Moorish, and Mediterranean Revival styles. The hotel features domed ceilings, wrought iron balconies, tile floors, leaded stained windows, and a large collection of art, religious objects and other antiquities. The eclectic Inn has 238 rooms, no two of which are alike!
Hosted by Roger Bates '67, the event drew 22 Nassoons (Sethness '63; Eisenhart and Wickenden '66; Bates, Hayum, Parker, and Weber '67; Gibby, Schenkel, Sollis, and Yukevich '68; Hawkins, Howe, and O'Brien '69; Kaspers, Mygatt, and Rafferty '70; Goldberg and Felch '71; Andrews, Eisenhart, and English '72) together with 13 spouses and significant others, who gathered for four days of singing, sightseeing and fine dining. The opening reception was held in a private courtyard at the Inn and featured margaritas and a Mexican buffet, followed by visits to the adjacent, very classy tequila bar. After a short tour of the Inn's gallery of art, the group dined in the lovely Santa Barbara Room overlooking the central courtyard of the Inn. To end the evening, the group enjoyed a memorable "arch" in the nearby "Rotunda," a five-story circular staircase open to the sky. The men sung around the fountain at ground level while the ladies stood on the staircase above and enjoyed the wonderful musical reverberations.
Friday was billed as "A Day at the Huntington" as the group traveled to Pasadena by motor coach (a neon-lit party bus!) to visit the renowned Huntington Museum and Library. After docent-led tours of the grounds, all were free to wander the property and enjoy the gardens, the library (filled with originals of some of the world's rarest and greatest printed works), and the villa (showcasing the Huntington family's extensive art collection).
The event culminated with a concert early Saturday evening in the Inn's Spanish Gallery, a large high-vaulted room that was built to house the original owner's collection of European art. The concert saw the Nassoons in formation around a rectilinear dual staircase at one end of the hall, singing to the audience seated below…an interesting musical challenge. We dusted off all the old favorites of the '60s-era Nassoons and still had the temerity to close the show with Mac Mellor's sublime 8-part chart of "Scarlet Ribbons."
The concert was followed by cocktails and dinner in the same venue with spouses and invited guests. Two of those guests were Honorary Nassoon, Dorothy Hamill, and her husband, John MacColl '70. After dinner, our host presented Dorothy with a framed OJT picture of the 1948-49 Nassoons that featured Dorothy's dad, Ham Hamill '51 in his first year (of a record three!) as the group's esteemed Music Director.
At the end of the evening fond farewells were shared, but not before three intrepid 'Soons (Andrews, Eisenhart, and Parker) stepped forward with an offer to organize another get together next spring in the Boston area. The beat goes on…
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