By Sabrina Kraft
Classmates from many different generations came together in Weyburn over the weekend, to reconnect and reminisce during the 2016 Reunion.
Brad Blakley, one of the organizers of the reunion, felt that the event turned out better than he thought it was going to be.
“The response from all the people who attended have been wonderful. I have had tons of people comment that it was amazing to do, what we did.”
“It was so good to see people reacquainting with old classmates and reconnecting with each other.”
“We had a great turnout for the 2016 Reunion,” said Myron Fletcher, a member of the reunion committee. “The event was successful, because there were a lot of good people who had done a lot of good work to pull together the event.”
“We brought almost 1,000 people to the reunion, many of them who had come from out of town,” said Greg Button, a member of the reunion committee. “They wanted to see what Weyburn looks like now, compared to what they remembered.”
“The most fun for me was to see the people who haven’t seen each other for a long time come together, reconnect and reminisce. They get to touch base with old friends, and make new friends as well.”
The 2016 Reunion has started when a couple of friends had wanted an opportunity to connect with their classmates, and come back to Weyburn.
From posts on Facebook and other social media sites, the popularity of the event continued to grow, as more and more classes got involved. Throughout the weekend, many smaller class reunions were organized, providing another opportunity to reconnect.
“This whole thing started on Facebook, and there were still many posts being made on our Facebook group throughout the weekend,” said Blakley. “It was great to see people sharing their memories, and reconnecting with each other. They can also stay connected with each other through Facebook.”
The 2016 Reunion weekend started with a pre-reunion party at Pumpjacks on Thursday. Then a “Through the Decades” show was held at the Cugnet Centre on Friday.
Saturday featured school tours of Elgin, Haig, Queen Elizabeth and the Comprehensive, plus all the class-specific reunions, and closed with a cabaret at the Cugnet Centre. A golf tournament and pool party ended the reunion events on Sunday.
A special mention was made to a graduate from 1936, who was the oldest living person who had attended the reunion.
There was also a tribute video made, which honoured the names of 250 graduates who have passed. “That was an emotional thing,” said Blakley. “It was a great thing to have, so that classmates could have some closure.”
