This party celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of Bill Conlon and Dorothy Figueroa. The event took place at the Carltun in Eisenhower Park on May 31, 2002.

You had to be there to appreciate the elegance of this festive occasion, with great food and drink, and the fabulous staff who arranged for about 60% more seats, with many small tables, to facilitate mingling by all the guests. You also had to be there to want to watch familial small-talk, laughter, and reminiscences by our younger selves. It is really wonderful to see and hear those who have left us since, then including the three Conlon brothers and Joe’s good friend Phyllis.

But if you weren’t there, or want to remember the warm feelings, watch this video.

Gene Thomas had an intuitive feeling for the flow of conversation and did a great job of capturing the party. In fact none of the clips have been edited, although a couple were dropped to reduce the length.

The title photo of Bill and Dot running down the steps at the church was taken by Dot’s brother Jim.

And here is a short clip of the cast of characters.