A look in from the Come Together Reunion at North Battleford Comprehensive High School over the weekend. (Submitted photos/Bob Coates)

By Martin Martinson

Reconnecting old friends

NBCHS reunion ‘the best back-to-school party ever’

Aug 2, 2022 | 2:05 PM

Like walking the halls back in time, or popping in a ‘greatest hits’ mixtape to relive the glory days, there was no shortage of laughter or memories shared at North Battleford Comprehensive High School’s Reunion Weekend.

Coined the ‘Come Together Reunion,’ the event brought together past graduates from 1971 through 1982, providing a chance to reminisce and reconnect in celebration of the high school’s 50^th Anniversary.

It was a long time coming for the event, which was initially scheduled to take place in 2020, but due to the pandemic had to be postponed until this year. Class of ’78 graduate and co-chair of the planning committee, Bob Coates, said ultimately couldn’t have turned out better in the end.

“We built this ship in 2018, and now we’re sailing it,” Coates said with a smile on Saturday. “Each year we were delayed gave us another chance to add another milestone year to the reunion party, and we kind of sub-titled this ‘the best back to school party ever’, so it means the world to us to see people having a fabulous experience while they [were] here.”

More pictures from the Reunion weekend. (Submitted photos/Bob Coates)

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Altogether, more than 300 people attended the reunion weekend, featuring a Friday night Welcome Reception, as well as tours and small group coffee gatherings around the community Saturday during the day, and an evening dinner and Fun Night Dance.

Barbara McCaffrey of the 1973 class, offered a poignant and thoughtful take on the day while walking the school’s halls for the first time since she was a teenager on graduation day.

“It’s a wonderful experience to step back 49 years later and walk through your school, and see your classmates… it’s a very positive feeling,” McCaffrey said with a smile. “Kudos to the people who organized all of this and the hard work it took to pull off something like this.”

Class of 1980 grad, Brad Kowerchuk, was also in the midst of touring the high school again while catching up with a small group of former classmates and longtime friends when he spoke to battlefordsNOW about his experience.

“I was excited for this because you know in high school you’ve got all the hopes for the future, and at this stage you get to kind of hear how it all turned out,” he said following a moment of reflection. “There’s 24 I think that were registered from our class and I’m going to say there was probably 18 to 20 there at the reception Friday night, so it was great to catch up.”

Among those alongside Kowerchuk for the tour included fellow 1980 grads, Myron Stadnyk and Denis Carriere.

While it may have marked the trio’s first time back together in the school’s halls in more than 40 years, Stadnyk said it didn’t take but a blink to pick up right where they left off.

“Reigniting the fun takes about three seconds,” Stadnyk said with a laugh, adding that after all these years, ‘it’s the lifelong friendships’ that stand out the most.”

Carriere said it’s events like the Come Together Reunion that put in perspective how much those high school years held a profound impact on their lives.

“When you look back at it we all had really good, close bonds, we had a good environment to learn in, and we were really heavy into sports and that bonded us together,” Carriere said. “We also had great teachers, we still think of our teachers as something that helped us along in our lives and it’s a beautiful thing.”

Patti December, who was a part of the first-ever graduating class at the high school in 1971, said the reunion marked her first time back in the community in nearly 50 years.

“The classroom part I don’t remember much about, but we lived basically all our free time in the cafeteria,” December said, with a twinkle in her eye. “That was the place to be, and we played Kaiser which was the big game back then… so it’s just amazing, seeing old faces again and reconnecting.”

In addition to the graduate alumni, Friday night’s Welcome Reception also included former teachers as honoured guests. The Saturday evening Fun Night included music by Vancouver-based band, KICKSTART, featuring alumni Bob Coates and Doug Osborn, both from the Class of ‘78.

There was also an NBCHS Scholarship created from the event, which will be announced at a later date.

A full gallery of pictures from the weekend can be found here.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1