VERO BEACH — At 67, Mimi Kuriger prepped for her first ever Zoom video call the only way she knew how:
"I wore my Barbara Bush pearls to hide my wrinkles," laughed the now-retired nurse living in Vero Beach.
Kuriger is among the 92 graduates of Mount Saint Joseph Academy, an all-women school in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, who had been planning their 50th class reunion weekend for over a year. The town is about 11 miles outside Philadelphia.
The Class of 1970 planned to converge March 27 from around the country to share nostalgic conversations over breakfast and, as the day progressed, trade belly laughs like the Golden Girls over a few cocktails in the evening.
But as is the case for most people around the world who have altered or cancelled travel in the midst of a global pandemic, the novel coronavirus shuttered their plans.
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"We were all so excited for it, and then it couldn't happen," Kuriger told TCPalm Tuesday. "So, we had to try something new."
Instead of an in-person meetup, 25 women from Saint Joseph sipped from their glasses of wine and martinis (or several) and gathered virtually Saturday night.
For most of the women involved, this was the first time a video software had ever been used, Kuriger said.
"We were all probably sitting in our pajama pants, but we were dressed to the nines up top," Kuriger said. "It was like the Brady Bunch."
Kuriger said the reunion's planning committee organized the meetup, and personally created Zoom accounts for every woman who didn't have one.
The school "felt so bad" when it heard about the cancelled reunion, the faculty provided online discussion prompts like "Who was your favorite teacher?" and "What do you remember eating from the cafeteria?" Kuriger said.
The online conversation ran for two hours and went on without a hitch, Kuriger said. Some ladies pulled out their 1970 yearbooks and pointed to pictures from five decades ago, while others brought up the academy's nuns.
The virtual meetup was nostalgic — and sometimes emotional — as everyone came together from the comfort of their own homes to reminisce on the glory days.
At one point, an in-depth flashback took place to the old 110-year-old academy outfits: blue wool sweaters and white collars that had to be starched and ironed, Kuriger said.
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There was, however, one topic the women refused to discuss.
"We covered ever gamut except politics," Kuriger joked. "Everyone realized that we weren't going to agree."
The "die-hards" of the group stayed online the full length of the call, while others trickled in and out as the night went on, Kuriger said.
"We did sing our alma mater at the end of the call," Kuriger said. "After two glasses of wine, we still remembered it."
As a former nurse and the mother of a nurse, Kuriger said the threat of COVID-19 remains ingrained in her mind. In her spare time, she stitches face masks for health care workers to use on the front lines battling the spread of the virus.
There were a few physicians on the reunion call — most in the northeast region of the United States — who reminded everyone to take the necessary precautions, Kuriger said.
"We were wishing each other well. We are the prime age group to contract this virus, so in reality, it was the smartest thing we could’ve done," Kuriger said. "Everyone was very aware of the virus, especially the women in Philadelphia. They’re going through what we’re probably going to be going through."
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The Class of 1970 changed their plans, like so many on the Treasure Coast, to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and maintain social distancing.
As schools have enacted virtual learning and hospitals turn to telehealth to limit person-to-person contact, virtual communication is becoming a prevalent reality for all ages.
"We are so grateful that we had something like Zoom," Kuriger said. "If a bunch of old ladies can figure this out without screwing it up, anyone can."
Max Chesnes is a TCPalm breaking news reporter for Indian River County. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com and give him a call at 772-978-2224. For more news, follow Max Chesnes on Twitter by clicking here.
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