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It was nearly 62 years ago when Jane Richmond Lynn and Tom Van Vranken met at Montgomery Blair High School, often playing tennis together with mutual friends and enjoying ice cream afterwards.
Only three years ago the couple — who had parted ways after high school — met again at a high school reunion. They went out for coffee. Now happily engaged, Vranken and Lynn each credited their alma mater for bringing them together not once, but twice.
"At Blair, we were a family," remarked noted economist and actor Ben Stein, a 1962 alumnus of the school and the event's master of ceremonies. "We still are."
Stein joined a slew of fellow notable graduates at the event, which showcased a video documentary of the school from its original location in the "C" building at Wayne Avenue and Dale Drive to the new facility, opened in the late 1990s at 51 University Blvd. East in Silver Spring. Stein and 12 other alumni were inducted into the high school's new Alumni Association Hall of Fame.
Sampling hors d'oeuvres and drinks before the ceremony, Joy Littman Murray, class of '64, mused on her high school experience. Her memories of the school's expert drama program — she recalls acting alongside Goldie Hawn, a '63 graduate, in a production of "Bye Bye Birdie" — were among her fondest memories, but she was most indebted to the school for the friendships she formed there.
"Let's face it, high school is not the best years of your life, and it's nice to come to reunions and see all your friends and support groups that helped you get through all the teasing and hardships," she said.
Other graduates marveled at the progress the school has made, either discussing the size of the new location or the advanced placement and honors programs available to current students. Tom Norris, a former Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient, said he hardly recognized the school.
"I have a hard time recognizing that as the school I went to, I think it's changed a lot, but I hope the students are of the same caliber as when I went there," he said before the ceremony, in which he was one of the alumni association's inductees.
Norris cherished his time at Blair, both for affording him a strong education and for the many new experiences he had there, but his fondest memories he preferred to keep to himself when asked.
"Not the best ones! No, I wouldn't share those ..." he said with a sly grin.
Many alumni, even those who have since moved out of the area, expressed their eagerness to stay for the remainder of the weekend's celebrations, which included a football game against arch-rival Bethesda-Chevy Chase, in which Bethesda-Chevy Chase ended up beating Blair 18-0.
Stein, who flew into town from California for the event, said his personal favorite memories from Blair all involve football.
"Fall afternoons watching the football games by Sligo Creek," he said with a bright smile. "It was absolute paradise."
Montgomery Blair High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame inductees:
-Carl Bernstein — Journalist who exposed Watergate scandal of the Nixon White House along with Bob Woodward.
-Tom Brown — Former Washington Senator and starting safety for the Green Bay Packers in that team's back-to-back wins of the first two Super Bowls, 1966 and 1967.
-Connie Chung — Award-winning television journalist and CBS Evening News hostess among other positions with CBS and NBC.
-Goldie Hawn — Dancer and Academy Award-winning actress known for her roles in such films as "Cactus Flower," "Private Benjamin," and "Death Becomes Her."
-Sonny Jackson — Rookie of the Year runner-up for the Houston Colt 45's (later the Astros) and noted MLB coach.
-John Klippstein — Blair's first Major League Baseball player, a pitcher in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Chicago, winning a World Series with Los Angeles in 1959. Awarded posthumously.
-Tom Norris — Medal of Honor-recipient for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action," as a Navy SEAL in Vietnam rescuing two downed American pilots from behind enemy lines. Norris also worked for the FBI.
-David Pittle — Consumer Product Safety Commission commissioner and champion of consumer safety and interests under four presidents.
-Vince Pugliese — Former Blair history teacher and head football coach during the 1964 undefeated County Championship team.
-Ben Stein — White House speechwriter for Richard Nixon, noted contributor to the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Stein is also well known as the boring economics' professor in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and as the TV host of "Win Ben Stein's Money."
-Chris Sullivan — Former president of Bennigan's restaurant franchise and founder, current chairman and CEO of Outback Steakhouse. Sullivan is also a noted philanthropist.
-Bob Windsor — Junior College All American in football and basketball, Windsor played professional football for the San Francisco 49ers and finished his career with the New England Patriots to coach and teach at several Montgomery County schools.
-Morgan Wootten — Winningest head coach in the history of basketball from overall record between 1956 and 2002 coaching and teaching at DeMatha High School. Inducted into National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
