Reunion in Mussoorie

Woodstock School Campus

Woodstock School is an international college prep school in Mussoorie, a Himalayan community about 300 km north of Delhi in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. I (Paul) was a student at Woodstock from 1958 to 1968, when Woodstock's student body was made up primarily of North American missionaries' children. I am a proud member of Woodstock's graduating 'Class of 69', despite leaving Woodstock after grade 11 in 1968.

This week our class is holding its 45th year reunion back in Mussoorie. We've had regular, well attended and memorable reunions, but this is the first time in India. Especially for the sake of classmates who are unable to be here, I will attempt to document at least some highlights of each day's reunion activities here, and upload as soon as I can.

About 15 class members and spouses gathered in Delhi over the past few days, and there was a delightful dinner hosted there last evening by classmate Premla (Sagar) Sharma. Early this morning, those assembled in Delhi caught the Shatabdi Express and traveled together to Dehradun. Now there are more than 30 of us here in Mussoorie.

The slideshow for today begins at the Dehradun Railway Station, where the party from Delhi was met by Judy (Smith) Crider, Will & Kate Friesen, and Paul Hamilton.

Next was lunch at Dehradun's 'Black Pepper' restaurant, where we were joined by Harald Gruber and some of his extended family, including brother Wolf and sister Hanna.

After being delivered to Doma's Inn and Ivy Bank by a fleet of taxis, the Delhi party joined those already in Mussoorie for tea on the lawn at Ivy Bank. There was much informal connecting, as well as some organized sharing facilitated by Mary (Self) Skarsten, our class coordinator par excellence.

We enjoyed a  wonderful dinner in the Ivy Bank dining room, but picture taking didn't work very well there, so there's only one token shot.