Welcome . . .

To the HOME PAGE of the South Plainfield Class of 1963 and listen to us toot our horns!

We weren't a large class . . . only some 168 of us. We were the last class before the Baby Boomers. In fact we were only the seventh class to have graduated at South Plainfield, all previous ones having gone to North Plainfield High School (hence the origin of that great rivalry). We were separated from North Plainfield in the 1956/57 school year.

But we were still a class of firsts. We were there for the launching of the first Earth satellites and the ensuing knowledge explosion in the U.S. educational system. In 8th grade (1958-59) we began the first Advanced Math Class by taking Algebra that year. In 9th grade (1959-60) we began the first Advanced Science Class by taking Biology that year.

In sports we were the first South Plainfield Football Team to defeat both Highland Park and North Plainfield teams in our Freshman Year in 1959. And though we lost to North Plainfield as Seniors, we still sported an 8-1 season . . . the best to that time. We were also the nucleus class in both the new Wrestling and Track & Field Teams in our 10th Grade Year in 1960, won the first school track medals and set the standards for which all subsequent athletes could strive. And let us not forget the great South Plainfield Basketball Dynasty of that era in which the Class of 1963 proudly played its part!

We saw the Cold War begin and we saw it end. We fought in the Vietnam War and we saw men walk on the Moon. We saw Presidents assassinated and Berlin Wall fall. We saw both blacks and women liberated and marched to make it happen. We saw Democrats become Republicans and Republicans become Democrats.

We saw the Internet happen and we saw the second U.S. President in the history of our Nation beat the 'rap' of impeachment!

And you know what??? We thumbed our noses at Y2K . . . and won! As we expected, the 21st Century entered with a 'bang' . . . of fireworks! And some of us are now waiting to get to that Space Station before we pass on our legacy! But will the Clintons ever get out of our lives???!!!

We knew John Goodson.

Yes, the World Trade Center tragedy happened on 9-11-2001. WHAT a different world we are now living in. And what about genome mapping and the future of the human race?

What a Generation . . . and What's Next!?

"What's Next?" was the war against terrorism. We began it in Afghanistan in 2001, moved on to Iraq in 2003 and weren't too sure what to do with it thereafter.

In 2006 and the war continued on. Lot's of Americans dead, but many, many more Iraqi's dead. A real Hell hole. A real battle ground against evil. What do we do? Let us pray that good intentions will win out in the end and a peaceful Global World will emerge at the end of it all. Naive? I hope not!

Another "What's next" is 'movin' on.' Life goes on, with or without others. We do what we have to do and we 'make choices' (catch phrase for 2002!). And I think we've ALL done that . . . in our own way. In the summer of 2003 we met for our 40th Reunion and continued the movement. Life without old friends is sad, but at the same time life is wonderful! Are we starting to act 'old'?!  Or are we all accepting 'life' as it is? Have you given up the marathons and are satisfied with just staying in shape? Frankly, I like the 'me' that I am right now more than at any time before. I think I'm as good as I've ever been! At least that's what I keep telling myself!

2005 marked our 60th year on this good Earth. A lot of us are moving into semi-retirement now that we're eligible for early Social Security, but who can retire completely?

2008 . . . the wars drag on . . . a new election is looming with some promise of change. A black man, a white man and a woman. Who would have guessed back when we were in high school? We've lived through a lot, haven't we?! But not until you've attended the 45th Reunion at Ernie and Georgia's house in the Poconos on September 6th!

And what a 45th Reunion it was! Tropical Storm Hanna tried to stop it, but we would have none of it and the party went on. A few were missing, yes. But we're all ready for the 50th in 2013!

History just keeps following our class, doesn't it? A black President! Once again, who would have guessed back in 1963 when we graduated that this could be possible? Many of us who were associated with the South in those years can remember black people being denied access to diners and having to sit in the back of buses. Many of us participated in the protests of the era. Many of us fought along side of them in Vietnam in the first really integrated Army. But, truthfully, who would have guessed in 2008?!

Who would have guessed a World-Wide Recession the likes of which hasn't been seen since the 1930s? It happened in late 2008 just as we were in Retirement Mode, too, didn't it? Sure enough there are a lot of new opinions about allowing retirees to invest their Social Security in the Stock Market now! But this, too, shall pass and there should be some good years afterwards to replenish and to build up reserves for the next time.

Yes, we're all getting older and we've lost many of our classmates. Teachers, too. The passing of Tony Cotoia in November of 2009 provides an opportunity to recognize the effect our teachers have had on our lives. There are those who have passed already like John Goodson and Ellis Williams. But many others who are still living have likewise been influential. This is certainly a time to pull out our Class Yearbook and review the pictures of our teachers from 1963 and to remember how they have influenced our lives and made us the people we are today.

A national Health Care Program? Believe it or not!

National bankruptcy? Believe it or not! You'll be asked to decide in 2012. But at least we're finally out of Iraq in 2011.

January of 2013 and 23 of us celebrated our 50th Reunion Anniversary aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Jewel of the Seas. We're still kickin' and planning for the next one!

Yes, we are the Class of 1963 . . .
and We're Proud of it!

Welcome to our Web Site, and please browse through it for both historical reminiscences and present activities. We still have a lot to offer, and we welcome your inquiries.

  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Want A Copy?

"All good things must come to an end" - so they say. And so it will be that eventually this Class of 1963 web site will be terminated for reasons of either the discontinuance of a domain name, or of the end of a web site hosting subscription or of the passing of the Webmeister! This termination is not planned for the near future, but ultimately it must come. Things happen! You should know, however, that it is my desire that the site and its historical data continue on. It is my intention to distribute copies of this site in both digital and printed formats to the South Plainfield High School library as well as to other appropriate public libraries. By providing a digital copy it is my hope that these libraries will incorporate the book into their own on-line libraries for reference by all. And once they do that, it is my expectation that Google will locate those books and within a month we'll be back on-line! I am in the process of doing this as I write in April of 2016.

For those of you who may be either historically oriented or just plain nostalgic, you should know that I am making a copy of this web site available for FREE in PDF format to anyone who is interested. It is a large document, however, in the vicinity of 14.6 mgbts, but it can be downloaded to you very quickly right here:

SPHS Class of 1963 PDF Download

Or send me a letter or call at:

Mark Baldwin
2 Saddle Ridge Drive
Lebanon, New Jersey 08833
1-908-735-7662 (H) / 1-908-507-0011 (C)

One further option is available to those of you who may be 'computer challenged', shall we say, and can't do this yourself. I am able to print out this web site on paper and assemble it into book form. This is, in fact, how I plan to distribute it to libraries along with a CD upon which will be the site files. These books will not be mass-produced: I shall assemble them manually, one at a time at my own expense and effort. However, if anyone would prefer to receive a hard copy version of this web site in both book and CD form, I shall make it available in two versions: a hard leather Staples ARC or a soft vinyl cover. The soft cover version will be $55.00, which will include shipping. The hard leather Staples ARC cover will be $74.50 including shipping. I am still assembling the book, but this is what it will look like - approximately 104 pages, printed on two sides:

And one final note: because the web site, the PDF version and even the printed copies of the site are created in digital format, as long as the site exists it can be easily updated. So anyone who requests a copy will be entitled to a free periodic update over the years as long as the web site exists. This is particularly significant in view of the upcoming 2016 presidential election: I think that we'll be adding another 'first experience' for our class!