Calling all classes, from '59 to '09

by Rob Learn

Feb 06, 2008

ALMAGUIN – When throwing the biggest party the area has seen in the 21st Century, you start planning ahead, way ahead.

That’s what organizers of the Almaguin Highlands Secondary School (AHSS) 50th Anniversary Reunion are doing with hopes it pays off with good times steeped in memories and rekindled friendships.

The reunion is more than a year away, scheduled for the 2009 Victoria Day long-weekend. But already a committee is coming together and starting subcommittees to take on some ambitious plans.

“This place is so much the lifeblood of the area,” says retired teacher Wayne Wahamaa who is helping to kick-start the reunion committee. “This high school was the hub and brought kids together from over an enormous distance.”

Already shaping up is an idea of what the weekend will look like with a full slate of activities to share with old high school chums.

Central to those will be a pair of dueling dances to kick back and catch up at.

South River and Sundridge’s arenas will host the dances with a shuttle bus running back and forth between the two all night long on Saturday.

“We’re thinking at one dance we can have some of the older music of the 70s with some psychedelic rock and disco and stuff. And at the other dance have some more modern music from the 90s and today,” says co-ordinator Steve Todoroff, a teacher at AHSS.

But there will be more than just the Saturday night dances.

Wahamaa and Todoroff are hoping for an event-filled weekend that will start Friday night with an open house at AHSS and carry through right to Monday morning.

“We want to have lots of family events that people can get involved in. We’re looking at volleyball, basketball, softball and a golf tournament, just to name a few,” said Wahamaa.

Part of the Friday night open house will be a display of memorabilia from the past 50 years and the committee is looking for interesting items to put on display that will celebrate AHSS’s heritage and trigger a few memories.

The committee is cognizant of the fact that this will probably be the last reunion held while the original AHSS building is still operating.

“We’re looking at it as celebrate the past 50 years with a vision of helping the next 50 years,” said Todoroff.

The committee wants to take proceeds made over the weekend and invest them into the new Almaguin high school scheduled to be under construction during the reunion weekend.

“There are hopes this will kick-start an alumni organization that will not only take part in the reunion, but take an active role with the school going forward,” said Wahamaa.

He says he believes an Almaguin alumni organization could not only be a powerful fundraising entity, but also a great way to promote the area and the school.

“We’re talking a lot of kids that have graduated from here,” said Todoroff. “In our heyday we were looking at 1,400 students in the school.”

To help get the word out about the huge reunion, the committee is working with current students to build a website about the reunion to draw people in.
At the moment, the committee is looking not just for people interested in attending, but for those who want to take part in the planning and hosting of events.

“We’re open to different ideas and suggestions and of course we need help,” said Wahamaa.

Just how open are they?

The committee doesn’t even have a name yet.

Anyone with memorabilia, ideas and/or enthusiasm can call Todoroff at the high school or e-mail him at TODOROFFS@nearnorthschools.ca

“I’m sure that the interest will spread far and wide and we’re going to get people to come back that haven’t been here for a while,” said Todoroff.