In 1962, Marilyn Monroe died, the first Wal-Mart opened, Andy Warhol painted a soup can — and about 350 students graduated from Asbury Park High School.
Fifty years later, some of those students are reaching out to their former classmates to spread the word about a class reunion, scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 28.
On Friday night of that weekend, there will be a group outing to McGillicuddy’s in Loch Arbour. Alumni will attend a football game at the high school that Saturday, and there will be a brunch on Sunday.
Former Oakhurst resident Roy Kaplan, who now lives in Florida, is one of the alumni who’s helping to spread the word. Of the students who graduated in 1962, about 70 are now deceased, Kaplan said. Kaplan’s sister-in-law, Councilwoman Sue Henderson, is helping to spread the word.
Of the students who survive, about 150 have created profiles on the reunion website at aphs1962.com. Fifty have said they will attend the reunion weekend. Event organizers are still trying to locate about 30 to 40 people, Kaplan said. Class members have moved as far away as Hawaii.
In the 1960s, students from about 15 towns, including Bradley Beach, Avon, Deal, Deal Park and Ocean Township, attended APHS, Kaplan said. He and his fellow Oakhurst residents were the first graduating class at Ocean Township Elementary School, so they’ll visit that school in October, as well.
Asbury Park High School was a powerhouse in academics and athletics in the 1960s, he added, and was quite diverse.
“Even back then, it was about 40 percent black and Latino, and it wasn’t segregated,” Kaplan said.
Students back then were placed in one of three tracks — general, college or business curriculum. This did lead to some socioeconomic separation — poorer students went into general curriculum, young women were usually in the business track to become secretaries and young men and young women who were going to college — usually only white students — went into the college track, Kaplan said.
“We had good athletic programs, good intramural programs, music, art, all kinds of stuff,” Kaplan said. “It was a bustling school. But it’s changed.”
Because APHS is currently struggling in some fields, Kaplan is hoping to create an alumni foundation for alumni to donate to the district.
“I’m trying to rekindle this feeling among graduates that they have to give back,” he said.
He hopes the foundation could subsidize teachers’ salaries, books or scholarships.
“We can read and write because of our schools and now the schools need our help,” he said. “If people became successful, let them give back a little.”
Alumni from the Class of 1962 can visit the reunion website at http://www.aphs1962.com to register for the reunion weekend.
