The Class of ’71 at Parkes High School.
Remember the days in the old school yard? Well, that’s exactly what a group of people did when they got together recently for a school reunion in Parkes.
Students who finished Year 10 at Parkes High School in 1969 and Year 12 in 1971, gathered to reconnect, celebrate and reminisce at a dinner held at Gracelands, formally the student hostel. On display were all editions of the Currajong (school magazine) for the years 1966-1971 along with a collection of photographs and newspaper articles.
The event was initially planned to be held last year but was postponed due to Covid. Some guests had not seen each other in over fifty years and while name tags were helpful initially, they soon became superfluous as superior memories kicked in and old black and white images were matched with the real people.
The reunion was organised by Dorothy Hogan (nee Cheney), Karen Farrell (nee Barber) and Ross Coates and brought together local ex-students and many who had travelled, some from interstate, to attend the festivities.
It became clear that one dinner would not be enough time for all the chatting and sharing to be completed and so the weekend developed into a series of dinners, coffee meetings and breakfasts. Sight-seeing was another popular activity. Tales of students, teachers and events took on epic proportions while some re-lived the many sports and concerts participated in. It was evident that fond memories of Parkes, school and the people who shared their growing up, are held in the hearts of this cohort.
Now, the group has dispersed to rest their vocal cords, investigate or upgrade their skills on social media and rummage for more photographic and film evidence for the next reunion, which all agree will be in the not too-distant future.
By Kerrie Peden
Fifty years on for the Class of ’71 at the reunion at Hotel Gracelands recently.