It’s been 66 years since Lena Duchnicki of Fort Frances was in high school but she’d be the first to admit her memories of those days are clearer than ever–thanks to the FFHS Millennium Reunion held here last week.
The tremendously successful event attracted about 2,000 Fort High alumni–back for hugs, happiness, and laughter. And in the aftermath, countless used high-spirited adjectives to describe how it affected their lives.
“I went to bed [Sunday night] with the reunion whirling around in my head. It was super, super good,” Duchnicki, 82, a member of the Class of ’34, enthused Monday.
“I’m still amazed at how many people [organizers] got in touch with,” she added. “I met so many old classmates–I can’t even recall how many.”
“It was a wonderful welcome home,” agreed Dryden resident Mary Wilkins, whose husband, Tom, is a Fort High alumni from 1952. “It was just awesome [and] fabulous. It made for a lot of memories.”
Highlights of the Millennium Reunion included a wine and cheese reception Friday night and the dinner/dance on Saturday night, both held at the Memorial Sports Centre.
Lavish decorations set the stage for the new arena, with water fountains, trees, and fragrant flowers (compliments of Hammond’s Landscaping) a popular attraction in the old one.
Committee co-chair Bill Gushulak said talk has been non-stop positive about the reunion’s success, and noted he would hang on to the memories of the weekend for a long time to come.
“It was absolutely overwhelming,” he said yesterday, adding high praise for Kathy Cuthbertson of “Kathy’s Katering” for pulling out all the stops on her buffet-style prime rib dinner Saturday night.
“It was excellent and everyone was fed within two hours,” he noted. “The food was hot, there was plenty of it, and I heard not one complaint.”
Jim Fontana of Ottawa and Dr. Peter McLeod of Montreal, Fort High alumni from the Class of ’56 and ’57 respectively, made the long trip home for the reunion, as did Dionia and Dennis Mosbeck (Class of ’57/’58), who now live in Concord, N.H.
“There will never be another one like it,” she enthused. “I just can’t get over seeing so many old friends–we had so much fun.
“Even the people you didn’t like in high school . . . there we were hugging and saying ‘How great you look,’” she continued. “Whoever didn’t come [to the reunion], they missed out on a great time.”
Fontana applauded “Kathy’s Katering” for a dinner he said caterers in bigger centres couldn’t hold a candle to. And the fact he had to stand in line for some time before reaching the buffet table didn’t bother him a bit.
“The fact that that kind of a meal was served to so many–I’ve been to a number of these and this one had real class,” he stressed. “The line moved quickly and I was bumping into people I hadn’t seen in 40 years–old classmates every five minutes.”
“The whole [reunion] was planned so well,” he remarked. “Something like this could only be done in a small town where there is public spirit and a lot of volunteers.
“It sure proved true here.”
Dr. McLeod, a professor at McGill University in Montreal and a specialist in internal medicine, praised the volunteers who made the event come to life.
He also was impressed by the new arena and the new high school here. “I was blown away–the town should be really proud,” he said.
“And one of my observances was how good this [reunion] is for the town, and I don’t just mean economically,” he argued. “It’s good for the morale of people, people who came from all over the world for this.
“People should come back to Fort Frances–to their roots,” he urged.
Alumni who want to purchase a video of the FFHS Millennium Reunion can preview it and/or order a copy at Fort Frances General Supply on Mowat Avenue.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
