In the fall of 1959, the Kemmerer High School classes of 1960, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64 and ’65 entered the new high school on 3rd West Ave., being the first classes to occupy and graduate from the new building. On Aug. 15, 2019, 60 years later, members of those classes convened in a Joint KHS reunion at the Diamondville Park to renew old friendships and reacquaint themselves with upper- and lower-class members.

There were three days of surprise identifications, catching up on life histories, meeting family members, lots of laughs in recollecting past escapades, and somber remembrances of classmates who had passed on. In all, it was an extremely enjoyable experience of three days of meeting, greeting, eating, a lot less drinking than in the past, and just plain enjoyment of each other’s company.

The theme throughout the reunion was keeping things simple with the prime objectives of visiting with friends and minimizing structured programs. The afternoon of the first day was a period of registering, schedule information distribution and much visiting. A fun and funny, but useful, aspect of registration was the distribution of name tags complete with a high school picture of the class member.

The second day started with a continental breakfast at the park, followed by a tour of the Pacific Power electrical generation plant, led by Roger Holt, the plant manager, and Jim Whittaker. In the evening, the reunion attendees enjoyed barbecued burgers and brats, followed by photo shoots of the individual classes and more visiting into the night.

The third day also started with a continental breakfast, followed by a tour of the “new” new high school. The tour, led by the KHS wrestling coach Cody Hartung, was a real eye-opener for the “old” new high school alumni, as the changes and enhancements to the capabilities of the high school facilities were awe-inducing.

The evening continued with a pizza and salad supper, followed by more visiting and reliving high school antics into the night. It was a great, fun time for all. Some said the best ever!

There were 103 class members in attendance from the six classes, with more than 180 total attendees.

Many suggested that this reunion should reoccur in two to three years. The committee discussed doing so again, addding the Class of 1959. The committee would like to add one or two Class of ’59 representatives to handle invitations and track attendance.

There is also a desire to get one additional representative for the Classes of ’60 and ’65. The Joint Reunion Committee also invites any members of the classes from the 1950s to join us in the next joint reunion.

If members of the Classes of 1960 through 1965 were not contacted or invited, it was probably because we did not have contact information for them; please let the committee know your contact information if you are interested in being added to the contact lists. If anyone is interested in any of the above, please contact Dean Nishi via Facebook Messenger for further information.