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Wash High classes of the ’50s invite ’70s alumni to reunion

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In 2004, Washington High School class of 1954 graduate Rich Celani was told it would be a “hell of a task” to get alumni from the 1950s together for a reunion. He expected only a handful of his former classmates to take part in organizing the event. But when he walked into the council chambers of City Hall for the planning committee’s first meeting, he said every graduating class from the 1950s was represented.

That August, at least 300 alumni from the 1950s and late ’40s reunited under the Main Pavilion in Washington Park to trade stories and catch up. The number of attendees grew each year, reaching more than 550 in 2006.

But recently, attendance at the reunion has dwindled as the original classmates age and the health of some declines. Last year, only 250 graduates made an appearance at the reunion.

“Time catches us, and time has caught everyone in the ’50s,” said Celani, who himself is 83.

This year, the reunion’s planning committee has extended an invitation to alumni from the 1970s to restore attendance at the annual event. The committee had previously done the same for alumni from the 1960s. Celani hopes the invitation will generate the same sort of passion among the younger alumni that he saw in his former classmates when they planned the first reunion 14 years ago.

Few of the planning committee’s original members imagined that the event would take off the way it did – most figured the reunion would be a one-time gathering. Celani said former Observer-Reporter columnist Byron Smialek contributed to its success by promoting the event in the paper.

Thanks to the community’s support and generosity, the planning committee found they had an unexpected problem when the first reunion came to a close: They had managed to churn a profit from the attendance fee and now had to figure out what to do with the proceeds.

In the end, the former classmates decided to donate the extra cash to charities in the surrounding area in order to give back to the Washington community. Over the past few years, the reunion has raised more than $14,000 for the City Mission, women’s shelter, library, Wounded Warriors Project and Brownson House.

Each year, the committee donates about $500 of its proceeds to the Brownson House, where Celani’s nephew, Jon Celani, serves as executive director. The younger Celani said the reunion’s contributions have helped the nonprofit youth recreation center purchase a computer, a camera and a forklift.

“Their support is truly appreciated by all of us at the Brownson House,” Celani said. “They always keep us in mind when they have extra money to donate.”

After attending 13 years’ worth of class reunions, Celani knows how special they can be. When the event first began, he said some of his classmates hadn’t seen each other in 50 years. Now, some are pen pals.

“When we get together, everyone has a smile on their face and everyone has a good time,” he said.

This year’s reunion will be held Aug. 11 at Washington Park’s Main Pavilion. For more information about the event, email Dave Smith at davesmith253@comcast.net.

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