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Class reunions mark a time for fun, reflection and thanking those who organize such events

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For what it's worth
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By
Rick Peterson, Tollefson Publishing General Manager

 
While we are in the midst of a summer full of busy weekends, July seems to be the busiest month of all. The weekends are booked with our grandson’s baseball tournaments, a wedding and a couple of class reunions for good measure.
I actually have two 40th class reunions myself this month alone. Mary had her 40th reunion last month. Mary’s class of 1975 was the largest graduating class in Worthington High School history. At least that is what I was told at the reunion. There were 335 in her class, and nowadays they turn out fewer then 200 grads a year. Yet, for some reason they need a bigger school. Go figure.
Of the 300-plus students in Mary’s class, 18 of them have died. All 18 died between the class’s 20th and 40th reunions. That is why they decided to have another reunion in five years before they lose many more. Of the 18 classmates that have passed away, 13 of them were cancer-related deaths.
I am also a Class of 1975 graduate, but I got my diploma from Brewster High School. I attended Brewster High School my junior and senior years, but before that I went to school in Heron Lake, so I have been invited to both schools’ 40th reunions.
Heron Lake and Brewster didn’t like each other much on the football field back in the day, so as you can imagine, moving to Brewster my junior year and putting a Bulldog jersey on to play against the Heron Lake Falcons was interesting, to say the least.
There was no open enrollment back then, and hindsight being 20/20 (and nothing against Heron Lake) because of the move I got to meet 24 new classmates, many of whom turned into lifelong friends, along with those from Heron Lake. I guess you could say that was a win-win deal —at least in life if not on the football field.
With a class of only 24 you of course know everyone, even if you only went to school there two years. I know of two classmates that have died since graduation. I believe the last time we assembled as a class it was 20 years ago as well.
Only 85 of Mary’s 317 living classmates attended her reunion or just a little over 26 percent. If only 26 percent of my Brewster classmates show up at next week’s reunion, only six of us will be getting together.
Just off the top of my head, I would guess at least half of my classmates live within a 100 miles of Brewster, so hopefully we’ll top that 26-percent attendance mark.
By the way, one last reunion-related item — I want to thank the classmates of mine who put the reunion together.
I don’t care if your class numbers in the 20s or the 300s, it’s a lot of work putting a class reunion together and often for very little thanks. So, for all of those of you who have organized a class reunion, thank you for doing so; otherwise they just wouldn’t happen.

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