uite obviously, the fact that a 50-year time span can also be characterized as a half-century figures heavily into why 50-year high school reunions are considered so significant. The “big 5-0” just seems like more of a milestone than the ones that came before.
What distinguishes them in terms of who turns out, how they interact and what kinds of activities are planned?
John Dunlap, Columbus High School Class of 1965, has been involved in organizing all his group’s reunions over the years and says that he received some responses to the 50th indicating that a bit more structure would have been appreciated.
“Our program wasn’t enough,” he says. “I got some feedback on that.”
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In particular, he says that some expressed the wish that there had been “an opportunity for everyone to stand up and have a minute. Sure, it would have been a little time-consuming, but some would have just said their names and sat back down.”
He also heard that there should have been “a little more acknowledgment of those no longer with us.”
The nature of the conversation, according to Dunlap, was two-fold: catching up on family and dishing about memories from the teen years.
He explains that the low-key nature of the weekend was mainly due to two factors. One, the organizing committee “tried really hard to keep the cost down. We still have some money in the bank. We made a decision not to feed everybody. That kept the admission fee to $19.65.”
The second factor was that the committee was still catching its breath from the 45th reunion. The class had gone to a five-year frequency after its 10-year gathering, and the last few had been rather ambitious.
“For the 40th, several classmates who had been known as musicians throughout the years organized a band called The Viagraphonics, and we staged a concert to which the whole city was invited. We also put on a musical extravaganza for our 45th, held at the Crump Theatre.”
Dunlap notes that attendance has stayed pretty steady throughout the decades, at about 150 to 200. One interesting phenomenon he points out is the perennial absence of certain locals, even as people come in from as far away as Oregon.
In recent years, a number of CHS classes have staged an informal party on Fourth Street on one of the nights and something more official on the other. Dunlap says that night’s proceedings were held at Hotel Indigo, and he says it got a little crowded.
Donna Sasse, CHS Class of 1967, says her group had a street party on Friday and then gathered at Harrison Lake Country Club on Saturday. She worked the check-in table at the street party, and while she recognized several classmates, “for some, it was nice that they had a name tag.”
She notes that she experienced some surprises. “You had aspirations for some, and those were not met, and vice versa.”
The committee set up a display table on Saturday. People could peruse yearbooks, including some going back to elementary school, and sports and prom memorabilia. A group picture was organized.
There was space in the program for the names of deceased classmates, which attendees appreciated.
She mentions that she discovered some classmates’ whereabouts after the reunion.
“I’d meet people at church and find out their parents were classmates, or I’d read obituaries of the classmates’ parents and catch up on them.”
Judy Rohlfing and Gail Peetz are on the organizing committee for the CHS Class of 1969’s reunion this September. The idea for the first night is for Hotel Indigo to serve as a launching point from which people will wander into downtown Columbus. Among the attractions to be explored will be Exhibit Columbus installations throughout the area.
On Saturday, Harrison Lake Country Club will be the site of a golf outing in the afternoon and a party featuring “generous hors d’oeuvres” that evening.
Peetz, who has been involved in organizing all the class reunions since the 10-year soiree, says social media has been a boon to her outreach efforts.
“I had 40 leads from one post,” she notes.
An easel will be set up displaying photos of deceased class members, and there will be an acknowledgment of them, along with military veterans, as part of the proceedings.
It’s clear that the 50-year milestone means a lot to many people.
Dunlap says that the idea for his class’s latest, as well as the upcoming 55-year commemoration, is “remember, relate and reconnect.”
As Sasse puts it, “It’s important for people to realize that their past has meaning, that life isn’t just about living day to day.”
