I am sad to report that the founder of the ACSAA, David Bishton, passed away last week.
David Bishton was the heart of the ACSAA. He loved our school. He recognized what a unique experience we all had there. What he started still exists. The students love each other. We love our teachers and they love us. We love Argentina. It does not matter when we attended, or how long we stayed. It is consistent through the years and generations. We students who ambled the halls of Colegio Ward, Lincoln School, ACS, have our own special Spanglish culture that others just do not have.
David Bishton found a way to keep that love alive. In 1978, he said that all he wanted to do was to find some of his 32 classmates and have an asado in a park somewhere. That idea turned into the first reunion in 1982 in Arlington, VA, with 225 people in attendance and two faculty members as guests of honor. The reunions got better through the years. At my first reunion in 1991, I was astounded to be with so many people, older and younger, who had all experienced that same Lincoln magic as I had. We are always so thankful to be together again.
The teachers feel the same. Mr. Joe Czarnik said something to David in 1987 that stuck. “You kiddies go off to college and start families and, for the most part, we don’t know what happens to you. With these reunions, we can see just how well our kiddies are doing.” On the flip side, former students are able to tell their teachers just what they did for them and how they molded them.
David was the ACSAA president until 1999. Since then, we have had regular successful reunions until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world. Social media provides us a new way to stay in touch with one another, but perhaps distracts us from getting together in person. David started a good thing that continues to benefit us all. As he said, “It was a very special time in our lives. As we grow older the memories may fade or a new spin might be put on a memory. For most it is a memory that gives us a smile and is remembered with a warm fuzzy feeling.”
We thank you, David, for keeping the fuzzy feeling in our hearts. May your memory be eternal.
