Chester High School Alumni will be coming home to Chester this year for their 116th annual reunion and meeting on Saturday, June 29. The meeting draws a large group of people associated with the former Chester High School, including Chester Residents who graduated from Gateway after Chester High School closed in the late 1960s. This year’s festivities begin with a social hour at 1:00 p.m. at the Chester Railroad Depot and continue informally throughout the entire weekend as “Blue Devils” and “Quarriers” wander around town visiting old friends and relatives. The Association’s annual business meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. and Officers and Board Members will meet at 12:00 p.m.

Chester High has traditions dating back well over one hundred years, but the Association has no members from that long ago! Among the many mysteries every year are questions like, “Who will be the oldest member?” and “Who will come from the farthest away?” In the midst of all the reminiscing, prizes are awarded for the first local and first out of state reservation. There is never a lack of laughter, perhaps because the threat of detention is long gone even though former teachers frequently attend. All classes will be honored, especially the fifty-year class of 1969 and twenty-five-year class of 1994.

Dave Pierce of the Chester Foundation has also offered to conduct several tours including the granite saw near the Chester Railroad Station and the double arches. Contact him at [email protected] for information. Reunion invitations are mailed to Association Members in late May. The reunion is not limited to graduates of Chester High. Anyone who does not receive an invitation may simply send a check (tickets are $7.50 per person, payable to Chester High School Alumni Association) to Robert Goewey, 1 Aldrich Avenue, Huntington MA 01050. Please make reservations no later than June 20.