Five decades ago, St. Mary’s Elementary School in Dunkirk graduated its final class. To honor the history of St. Mary’s Elementary School and their own special place in that history, the Class of 1975 — the final graduating class for St. Mary’s — is holding a 50-year class reunion this weekend.

The class will meet at the school at 6 p.m. Friday for a tour of the facilities and a group photo. From there, the group will depart to celebrate at the home of a classmate. The next day, at noon on Saturday, the group will gather at Point Gratiot Park for a picnic.

Don Stoyle, one of the graduates of the Class of 1975, has taken on much of the responsibility for coordinating the reunion.

“Not many people have eighth grade reunions, but somebody had mentioned on Facebook that it would be nice. I’m retired, so I said, ‘Let’s put it together,'” Stoyle said.

Stoyle recalls his days at the school fondly. He said, “It was a great place to go to school. It was small, so it created a family atmosphere. It gave us our foundation for life. It was a wonderful place.”

The school later became the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, before eventually becoming known by its current name, Northern Chautauqua Catholic School (NCCS).

Multiple members of the Class of 1975 have committed to returning home from out of state for the reunion. The legacy of two other former St. Mary’s students will be remembered at the reunion, Jim Noto and Philip “Oscar” Schmatz, who each passed away.

“We wanted to honor them as part of our reunion,” Stoyle said.

Stoyle is a longtime coach in Dunkirk, most recently as the assistant to Frank Jagoda and the Dunkirk Marauders Sectional Champion baseball team this past spring. Stoyle made a point to honor Noto, one of the great coaches he grew up with, as part of the reunion. Funds will be collected in his honor to support the athletic programs at NCCS.

Noto coached 29 years at the school, which itself held three different names throughout his tenure. He also played on the basketball team as a student, just like Stoyle did. The two coached together, as well. Noto retired in 2008 and passed away in July 2022.

“He lived and died St. Mary’s basketball,” Stoyle said.

Schmatz was given the nickname Oscar after his dog, a beagle. The nickname stuck for most of his life. He passed away in 2008. Prior to his death, Schmatz made frequent visits home despite moving out of state to Indiana. To Stoyle’s knowledge, Schmatz is the only member of the class to have passed away.

“He was a close friend of all of ours,” Stoyle said.

Graduates of the Class of 1975 are encouraged to attend the festivities each of the days this weekend.

“We’ll have a two-day event … and hopefully have a good time,” Stoyle said.