STRATHAM -- After 44 years, former classmates at Hampton Centre School gathered in Stratham for "lunch and recess" last Saturday to reminisce and rejoice in the retelling of tales from their youthful school experiences in the 1960s.

Five months ago, Mary Esther Treat of Burlington, Vt. (formerly of Hampton) had an impulse to reach her former classmates in the sixth grade and went to her computer for help.

One thing led to another and soon she found herself communicating with Ginny Gratta, Kim Kendall, Jane Fisher Kirk, Debbie Hunt Merrill and Enid Watson.

Before long the list had grown to more than 30, and it was obvious that the next step had to be a sixth-grade class reunion at Mary Esther's parents' home in Stratham.

Last Saturday, on a sunny afternoon under a tent at the property of Judge and Mrs. William Treat in Stratham, more than 40 members of the sixth-grade class of 1961-62, plus their friends from Hampton Academy Junior High School and Winnacunnet High School, assembled to relish the recalling of their youthful adventures of more than four decades ago.

There were the hilarious recollections of someone who had been named prettiest baby of the year and another who had been a beauty contest winner at Hampton Beach.

"No matter how far we have traveled or where we are in our lives and careers, we will always share a common, wonderful childhood in Hampton. It's really an extraordinary bond that maybe we appreciate even more as we get older," said Ms. Treat.

Some of the classmates had traveled from nearby Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and still others had traveled from Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

For additional information, contact Mary Esther Treat at (802)238-2689 or maryesther@colburntreat.com

For a web page on the reunion, go to http://kendall4.com/biog/