2026, Gatherings, History, Uncategorized

Reunion

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Last weekend we attended my 50th high-school reunion. Boommate and I were in the same class. There were two parties-one on Friday night at a local brew pub, and a catered dinner on Saturday night. The Saturday night party was held at The Lake, a small spring fed pond that has been converted into a picnic and camping area with indoor spaces for dining.

The Friday night party was held out of doors at the brew pub. Our class had tables reserved, but it was open to anyone in the community to come and hear the live band, get a beer, and eat at the Polish food truck that had pulled up. Much of the evening was spent trying to figure out who was who. The women were easier to identify than the men since male hair loss and beard growth really changed the men’s appearances. I could hear frequent exclamations of “That’s _______? You’re kidding!”

The Saturday night gathering was fun. Husband noted that not a single person smoked, even though much of the time was spent out of doors. The main organizer had displays of our class pictures from elementary through high school. We were the largest class to graduate from Luverne High School, with around 110 students.

I had only attended our 10 year reunion prior to this one. Some had been to every reunion in the past. For some, this was the first. It was interesting to hear people confess how anxious they were prior to the Friday night party, wondering if people had changed, worrying that the same cliques would be evident. I admit that I was somewhat uneasy to begin with, as was my friend Mary, who has an M.Div degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and another female friend who was a community organizer and mediator in North Carolina, and who has worked for years to get minority individuals registered to vote. The early lessons are the hardest to unlearn, I guess, no matter what you experience later on. I am happy to report that the cliques had disappeared, Everyone was happy and friendly and incusive. Phone numbers and Facebook addresses were exchanged. As one classmate commented “I think we finally grew up”. After 50 years I should certainly hope so.

Have you attended any class reunions? Why or why not? Are you in touch with high school friends?

37 thoughts on “Reunion”

  1. When I was in high school, most of my friends were almost all a year ahead of me and a few a year behind me. So I have not been to any reunions at all because there’s not really anybody whose name I even recognize anymore in the class list. Not to mention that going to reunions would have been going to St. Louis. Nothing I would do with my own free will.

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  2. And I am not in touch with anybody from high school any longer. Several years ago Kenny, who was the class behind me, did a Facebook friend request. Three requests as a matter fact. But I have a general rule that if I if we haven’t been in contact at all and you send me a friend request, but you don’t actually send a message along with it, I rarely respond. In those cases, I feel like I’m just fodder for your Facebook account.

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    1. Depends. I once looked up the Facebook group for my high school. Nope. Have also gotten letters (when people still wrote those) from people who tracked me down via my parents.

      It was obvious some conscience pricking was happening. Nope, nope, nope.

      I have worked hard to overcome those years, not going to undo any of that work.

      OTOH, I still have a best friend from freshman year of college. I’m ok.

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      1. My early high school years were fine but the disaster of my senior year tanked all of my high school memories. I just have no interest whatsoever. Despite repeated emails and calls after 50+ years I’m still getting the newsletter from my high school. It goes straight from the mailbox to recycling.

        Twice I’ve gotten letters from Sam, who used to be my next-door neighbor, exhorting me to come to one reunion or another. Assuming he’s on some committee somewhere and he recognizes my name, having been a former neighbor. The irony is of course that when we were in high school, he was kind of hot and popular and not a theater person. We didn’t run in the same crowd and he pretty much treated me like I was a piece of dust that he was just flicking off his jacket.

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  4. My high school graduating class was over 800. A significant portion of those are persons I never met, whose names are unfamiliar. Our schedules in school never crossed. Robin and I went to a couple of the early reunions. I went alone to the 45th. For me they were largely unsatisfying. I have few fond memories of high school. None of the former students I would have most liked to see and reconnect with have ever come to any reunion. The ones who consistently attend appear to be those for whom high school was a high point. They have specific memories. They saved copies of the school newspaper in which they were featured.

    They had a different experience with different associations than I. My fond recollections center on my college years.

    My graduating class is having (or had) its 60th reunion this year. I’ve been getting solicitations to sign up, which I have been ignoring.

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  5. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    I’m B-A-A-A-C-K!

    What a whirlwind in two weeks. I arrived back late yesterday afternoon after a delayed flight. Unbelievably, as we were awaiting our flight at the gate, a water aerobics friend walked up to me and sat down. I knew she also was in Ireland, but I did not expect to run into her and her husband. I have many pictures, so I will try to write a post about the trip this week end. Today the laundry and grocery shopping is calling.

    I have attended a few of the class reunions. The first few I did not attend because two of my closest friends were far away in the military or just living so far away they could not attend. However, I did attend the 30th and 50th. There was a small 55th one this year, but I was preparing to be away in Ireland so I did not attend. From what I heard, not many attended.

    The 50th reunion was a real pleasure. Many people were there and it was fun to hear about the lives classmates had lead. Right after that several men who I knew well died, so I was glad to have seen them.

    Renee, how many graduated with you class?

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  7. I’ll have to say that, for the most part, I’ve enjoyed going to the few that I’ve attended. Whether or not I go often depends on if my best friends are going. And at one reunion, I got to talk long enough to someone I was only acquainted with before; we learned we were both in San Francisco in the same era – are now Facebook friends.

    I also noticed that the ones who seemed cutest/prettiest in high school aren’t the ones who are attractive in old age… It’s also sobering to note how many have already passed away.

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  8. I’m in touch with a couple of h.s. friends at Christmas. One friend and I get on the phone about once a year. I see several people on Facebook, and have found a couple (who were just acquaintances in the past) who seem really aligned in our thinking. Wish I could get to know them!

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  9. I have never been to Réunion. It costs nearly $3000.00 just to get there. There is an active volcano to see but the planet seems quite active at the moment. I’ll pass. Madagascar is a little closer.

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    1. I love discovering how small the world is. Had a woman at church recently tell me she had seen me in a picture from her neighbor (cousin’s sister-in-law) on Facebook.

      Also a benign reminder to be careful.

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  11. Our 50th is next year. There were well over 300 in my class. I’m on the fb page for our class, so I’ve heard some of the chatter about planning for next summer. My class really liked to party, a lot, and there has been a lot of drinking in the past. Some of the reunions have been keggers in somebody’s backyard. I haven’t attended any of these. It’s not likely that I will attend our 50th, even though I doubt it will be another kegger.

    Anxiety about attending is really strong for me. I tried to go once, even drove to the venue (American Legion), but I was so anxious about it I just drove away. I am in touch with a few people from our class, on facebook. I’m more in touch with friends from elementary school in Owatonna than with my HS class. My family moved from Owatonna to Faribault just as I was going into junior high (11 years old), so I didn’t know anyone in that big, old, scary building. I was so scared. I think it was a bit traumatic at that age. I missed my friends from Owatonna, and one of the joys of fb has been reconnecting with them.

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  12. I only have one and a half friends from college. Keeping in mind that I was only at Carleton for a little over two years. The half friend is my first wasband and I don’t really consider him a full-fledged friend because we’re only in contact with holiday cards and I send him a birthday card.

    The other friend is someone that I had lost touch with decades ago, but he found me in a Facebook group ( a fairly nerdy group we are both members of) and contacted me. Since then I comment on his Facebook pages a lot because he posts a lot of political stuff that is an alignment with what I believe. Comments to each other here and there and cards. He’s a card person; he doesn’t make them, but he does like to send them!

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  13. I have attended several reunions. Kelly was due with our son and having minor contractions at the 10 year reunion.
    I was part of the committee for the 20th and it was fun talking to people.
    Our 45th will be next year and people are making plans. I should go to that one. I know a few people from class. It was a class of 425 and Kelly often jokes that I went to school with that person. Often I really did! But I’m only close friends with a couple. And yeah, a few friends before and after my class.

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  14. I have two women college/high school friends who are pastors. The one I mentioned in the blog, and one who lives in Sweden and is a pastor in the Covenant Church.

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  15. I’m having lunch with six high school friends who I graduated with in 1960 tomorrow. (one I met and have been friends with since kindergarten, another from second grade. The rest from junior high. Then I’m having dinner with a friend from fourth grade and another who graduated from Cloquet three years before us.
    After high school I went to college in Colorado, first year taught second grade in Port Angeles Washington. Then to Europe and Leadville, Colorado but returned to Minnesota to work with my father’s store (Johnson Company) in 1974-75. Still on my farm in Mahtowa after working 23 years until 2014 at MPR in Duluth.Whew!

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  16. Well, this post sent me down a rabbit hole. I’ve never been to a reunion. Got invited for the first couple and didn’t attend; then I stopped getting any notices. But I got curious and googled to see if my class had a 50th reunion this year and … it was last weekend. A whole Facebook group with pictures of people I didn’t recognize whose names didn’t ring a bell. Considering the size of our graduating class (over 700), it didn’t look like there were a lot of people attending.

    Because it was a large class, people tended to stick to small groups. I was in a group that was a mix of nerdy kids (me), theater kids, and orchestra kids (band kids were a different group). After high school, my group scattered to different colleges around the country. I kept in touch with a few, but by the time people were having careers and families, the connections lapsed.

    I don’t think I’ve missed anything by not going to reunions. My high school years weren’t exactly a high point of my life that I’m eager to relive.

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  17. i went to school in a class of 900 but i was better friends with older classmates. with modular scheduling in high school i was able to take many more classes than usual so i knew lots of others. i have gone to quite a few, hosted a few of them helped on others and have a group of older friends who have a great blog and a younger group who pull a couple hundred in every year from an all school invite. i like em but at the last one i hosted and spent a little time greeting everyone with a wuick chat snd move on mode vs the sit down and talk for 20 or 30 minutes i enjoy normally. i am thankful my health is as good as it is. lots of folks are not so lucky. im still local so i hear about and bump into people and have people call to include me for funerals or with news. it seems friendship grows deeper but touching base happens less frequently. the ones who live away have family to see when they come back. so i see occasionally hear about occasionally and depend on the grapevine to keep me informed. makes me reflect and think of paths less taken and friends ill never see again

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  18. I’ve never gone to a reunion. Too many people; I don’t like crowds. It would be awkward to pretend to remember people when I don’t, or to watch other people pretend to remember me when they don’t. I would much rather just leave all that in the past.

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  19. I wouldn’t call it enjoyable, no. For the most part people were nice to me. I have a friend with whom I’ve kept in touch, who went to the same school up till about ninth grade. She has memories of kids making rude comments about her weight, and found her time there pretty miserable. It was a mixed bag, but in retrospect, it wasn’t a safe and comfortable place for everyone. I was lucky I wasn’t targeted the way some were.

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