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Fredonia High School's Class of 1956 gathers this weekend for what class member Wally Latimer said could be the last time.
"It probably will be," he said. "We've had one every five years for the past 70 years, we've been very consistent on that. People come in from all over -- California, Hawaii."
Latimer recalled that his school's teams were called the Hilltoppers, with Fredonia High School then atop a hill next to the current Wheelock school. FHS moved off the hill to the Fredonia Central School main campus just a few years later, and its teams changed to the Hillbillies. The former high school building next to Wheelock was eventually demolished in the late 1990s.
Latimer said Thursday that some of his classmates would be in town that day, adding he has one staying with him.
"Friday night, we'll all be at the White Inn in the lounge, just kind of relaxing. That's kind of informal. Saturday morning, they want to come up to my shop on Cushing Street and see what I've been doing for the last few years."
Latimer said the group then plans lunch at DeJohn's, and will have a picnic at his Central Avenue home at 4 p.m. He's bringing in a tent for the occasion.
The reunion will end with Sunday morning breakfast at Domus Fare.
The FHS Class of '56 counted 81 graduates, according to Latimer. He said about half are still alive, and he expects up to 33 of them at the reunion this weekend.
Latimer hung a unique banner at his home to mark the occasion, featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse. He noted that the class yearbook focused on the Disney characters. Disneyland had just opened in California in the summer of 1955 "and it was such big news in those days," he said.
He said Fredonians will "see the banner and they're going to say, 'Hey, that's pretty cool, because we graduated Fredonia and those guys graduated Fredonia 70 years ago.'"