SHS Class of 59 to reunite this weekend

The year was 1959. Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Paul Anka were topping the music charts. Some Like it Hot and Ben-Hur were among the major hit movies. Rawhide, Bonanza and the Twilight Zone were TV favourites. The Barbie doll was introduced by Mattel. Bread was a mere 20 cents a loaf and minimum wage only $1 per hour.
And in the midst of it all, 32 local students graduated from Sackville High School (SHS) prepared to head out into the world and make a future for themselves.
Now, 50 years later, those students are getting ready to reunite with their former high school pals for a weekend of fun in the sun.
Inez (Hains) Estabrooks, one of the organizers for Sackville High School's 50th anniversary reunion, says this special event is bringing former classmates back to town this weekend from all over Canada, even one from Italy where he runs a boys' school in the summer.
"We're just really quite excited," says Estabrooks.
She says this 50th anniversary event will bring home the largest group from the Class of '59 since graduation. Local organizers have hosted reunions for the class' 25th and 40th anniversaries but this will be the biggest one yet.
"When you're in high school, you're not necessarily friends with all these people. But times change . . . and a lot of these folks are becoming good friends and getting to know each other better," said Estabrooks.
Throughout the weekend, the group of former SHS students will also pay tribute to many of their classmates who have passed away over the years.
Estabrooks says her vivid memories of high school include playing basketball in junior high as well as senior high. She also recalls all the dances, of course, as well as the plays and variety shows that were put on regularly.
"There was a lot of talent in our school."
She also points out that times have certainly changed over the years, noting that school was much more formal and disciplined than it is nowadays.
The students had a dress code back then and Estabrooks recalls having to wear a skirt every day to school; and in the winter when it was cold, the girls wore pants underneath their skirts when they walked to school.
"And we had more respect for our teachers than kids do today," she said.
Yet Estabrooks admits that, even though most of her high school memories are fond ones, there was one specific downfall to her teen years.
"One of the teachers I didn't particularly care for. But that's okay, she didn't particularly care for me either," she joked.
"But really, high school was such a wonderful time, and I hope kids now can enjoy it as much as we did."
Along with the students reuniting this weekend (Aug. 15-16) will also be five teachers who have been included in the celebrations.
Robert Hall, Dorothy (Whiting) Hannam, Stuart Burbine, Rufus Reid, and Catherine (Fisher) Nickerson will be on hand for the festivities, which will kick off on Saturday afternoon at SHS (now Marshview Middle School) on Queens Road.
The students will meet at the school at 3 p.m. for a short ceremony to re-hang the class of '59's composite graduation photo "in its rightful place."
The grad photo, which hung among the others in the school hallway until it was vandalized about 10 years ago, has been repaired and re-mounted, said Estabrooks.
Although she is unsure of the story behind how the picture was destroyed, Estabrooks said when Marshview's former principal brought the photo to her and her classmates, it was partially torn, sprayed with water marks, some of the grad pics were missing, and the frame was lost.
"So we kind of had to wait for technology to catch up (to fix it)."
With a digital camera, they were able to take pictures of the missing grads from an 8x10 composite photo and include them back in the collage. Then they left the rest up to local graphic designer Robert Lyon, who put it all back together.
"It's beautiful," she said.
Following the re-hanging ceremony, the classmates will then head over to the Sackville Lions Club for a dinner and a 'meet and greet.'
"We'll look at memorabilia and spend the evening reminiscing."
On Sunday (Aug. 16), the group will head to Cape Tormentine where they will spend the day at a classmate's cottage and have a picnic.
"It's just good times," said Estabrooks.