Albany High Class of ’54 gathers for 65th reunion
Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher
By Carlton Fletcher
carlton.fletcher
@albanyherald.com
ALBANY — They called it their “swan song,” this gathering of some 40 or so members of the Albany High School Class of 1954 at the Bradford Court Clubhouse Friday and Saturday.
The occasion was the 65th class reunion of the Class of ‘54, the 11th time that the last AHS graduating class from the school’s original Jefferson Street location gathered to rehash old times. But as old friends exchanged hugs and handshakes, posed for a group photo, enjoyed catered goodies, listened to the music of their youth, remembered classmates who’d passed away and retold all the old stories of their glory days, some of them weren’t so sure about that “last gathering” thing.
“I still feel good,” one declared. “I wouldn’t mind getting together five years from now.”
Before they worried about a possible 70th reunion, though, the Class of ‘54 set to enjoying this current gathering. On Friday, the AHS grads met for cocktails and the aforementioned group photo, followed by a meet-and-greet and dinner. On Saturday attendees gathered for cocktails, hors doeuvres and danced to the music that they grew up listening to.
“We were going to just play music from that era (on a boom box), but someone read the article in The Herald about the reunion and paid to have a band play in honor of a relative who was in our class,” reunion group organizer Katie Gunnels said. “So this has turned into an even bigger event than we’d planned.”
By the time the music cranked up Friday and the longtime friends sat down in small groups of three or four or five to talk about old times, discussion was not of any possible future event. The talk focused, instead, on the good times of the past.
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