Changes at Ponoka Secondary Campus were a hot topic for two high school reunion groups last weekend.
Graduates of the former Ponoka Composite High School had a chance to reminisce about the good old days during a tour of the school and a get together for each group; the first was the 30-year high school graduates and the second was the 40-year graduates group.
Tammy Henkelman helped organize the event for the 30-year group. She felt this was a good opportunity to bring old classmates together.
Approximately 100 graduates responded and enjoyed time for a reunion at the Stagecoach Saloon over the weekend.
Gunnar DeBruijn graduated in 1985. He works in Texas and travelled back for the reunion. “It’s a lot more open than it used to be.”
He enjoyed seeing the new technologies in the school and the use of Google Chrome Books.
“It’s cool how things progress,” said DeBruijn.
Another graduate was Bonnie Longjohn. She enjoyed seeing old classmates.
“Some I haven’t seen in 30 years,” she stated.
This high school reunion brought graduates from 1983 to 1985 and LongJohn said it was a joy to see most of the changes at the school.
“The library’s a little shocking. It’s a sign of the times,” she said.
40-year graduates recall their high school years
It took some time and use of the social media website Facebook for planners to bring together 40-year graduates of the Ponoka Composite High School. Debbie Hycha helped co-ordinate the event and she said the entire weekend was a good opportunity to catch up.
“We had 71 that we fed. We seemed to get good reviews that everyone was happy,” said Hycha.
Seeing the changes at the Campus was an enjoyable part of their tour and the open concept was refreshing for her. This is the third reunion for this group and about half of the graduates attended last weekend.
Members of the group can be found all around the world. They had greetings from Denmark, South Africa, the United States, New Zealand and Nepal.
Linda Shantz helped co-ordinate the weekend and she enjoyed meeting with the planning committee and talking about their days in at the high school. She said planners discussed reaching out to each other every year with the hopes of a reunion every five years.
The 40-year group spent time at the Ponoka Legion after their high school tour and Hycha said they hosted a fun “Amazing Race” game where attendees tried to find old landmarks.