"We were the last class to graduate when Brooks [Secondary School] was the only high school," said Gail Curtis, one-ninth of a committee coordinating the nostalgic get-together. "Max Cameron [Secondary School] opened in 1956.

The reunion spans two nights, starting with a wine and cheese party at 8 pm on Friday, September 8 in the Brooks hall. A sit-down dinner catered by the Granada Inn follows on Saturday, September 9 at the same location.

"Friday night is always really good," said Val Keddy, another organizer. "Certain people get older. We don't, but some of them do," she added, before erupting into laughter on a Westview patio. The table was littered with photos, documents and mementos. "You don't always recognize everybody."

Keddy recalls such an incident at the first reunion, 25 years ago. "I saw this old guy looking through some stuff and I said, 'I'm sorry, this is a private party,'" she said, still laughing. "It was one of our classmates."

The ladies are doing their best to plan an old-fashioned reunion. Plans include mannequins dressed in 1950's clothes, a jump-and-jivin' performance by Powell River swingers Zoot Suit Riot and walls covered in bulletin boards and collages.

Just the same, the ladies admit technology was helpful. They set up a database to keep track of their fellow grads and contacted the majority of them by email.

At the last count, 88 classmates are coming from as far as Ontario and California. Along with some spouses, the total jumps to about 125 people, who best bring their dancing shoes.

"We danced a lot," said Keddy. "Every Friday and Saturday night you went to a dance. After the dance you went to somebody's house for a house party and you'd stay for breakfast. Then you got ready to go out Saturday night."

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