Dorothy Dill 60’s Plus Reunion

The 60’s Plus Reunion was started in the early 90's by Barton Herr, also known as "Mr. Bloom", for classes that had graduated from Bloom 60 years or more. Mr. Herr was a member of the Bloom Community Relations committee, headed by former board member, Dorothy Dill. He was a pioneer historian that recognized early that Bloom was unique for its time in American history and saw the value in preserving Bloom’s history. In the early 90’s, he decided to have combined reunions. The first ones were small and held in a classroom or the school cafeteria. They were called “The 20’s and 30’s Reunion”. It was eventually changed to the “60’s Plus Reunion” for anyone graduating from Bloom 60 or more years ago. This event was continued over the years by Dorothy Dill and Don Croarkin, Bloom Trail’s beloved librarian, historian and Director of the Bloom Alumni Association. With the passing of Don and COVID, the reunion had a lapse for 4 years.

Dorothy Dill passed in 2023 and the reunion was renamed for her. Her dedication to Bloom District 206 was outstanding as she established committees and traditions to commemorate Bloom history and alumnus. She served on the school board for 7 years and participated on the Bloom Alumni Association board since it started in 1988, among a long list of the many things she did to support Bloom. She was the Chairperson for the 60’s Plus Reunion until her death.

This year’s reunion will be adding the class of 1966; as Mr. Croarkin fondly called them, the “honored guests”. The reunion will take place at the Serbian Center restaurant on Friday, May 8, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. located on Stony Island in Glenwood. This year’s celebration will have the theme of drama, highlighting plays and musicals performed by these classes. Plays performed by Bloom students were put on at Washington School Auditorium until 1958 when the first play, “A Kiss for Cinderella”, was performed in the newly erected Bloom auditorium. By 1959 the musicals were added mainly attributed to Mrs. Jean Pavy Workman, the choral director, whom the auditorium was named after when she retired in 1980. The tradition of plays in the Fall and musicals in the Spring continues today and are so successful that Bloom’s Workman Auditorium has been beautifully renovated. The seats have been reupholstered from red to blue, the sound and lighting systems updated, and the atmosphere screams with excitement and fun.

Today’s Bloom students continue the tradition. Drama Director Nadima Zegar, who took the job in 2006, did a lot of work with her drama students in 2025 for our alumni. In 1965, the production was “My Fair Lady”. The 1965 class had their reunion at the Olympia Fields Country Club last year and some of the current Bloom drama club members did a medley from “My Fair Lady” for their reunion. Mrs. Zegar stated, “Bloom High School was one of, if not the first school to perform “My Fair Lady” after the Broadway run, and they even received costumes from the actual Broadway show. The medley was prepared in honor of the George Albrecht Drama Fund established by his classmates.”In fact, Bloom’s drama students are performing in “Newsies”, this year’s Spring musical on April 16, 17, and 18 in Workman Auditorium.

The 60’s Plus Reunion this year will honor the alumni that participated in drama during their high school years at Bloom. The Archives has programs and posters from past plays and musicals that will be on display. The event will also feature songs from the musicals and have entertainment from ROTC and the District 206 chorus that is directed by Mrs. Diana Harrigan, who is a Bloom alumnus that was inspired by her experiences at Bloom. “I’m actually an alumni of Bloom High School,” she said. “It was essentially here in this building that I decided I wanted to dedicate my life to music education.”

Applications can be requested at Bloom’s switchboard (708 755-1122) or emailing Nancy Bawolek at nbawolek@sd206.org. Tickets are $40 each and are limited, so hurry to reserve your spot.