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MHS Class of ’66 holds 50-year reunion

The Marietta High School class of 1966 is getting ready to get their kicks on Route 66.

This weekend  will mark the 50th class reunion for the MHS class of 1966 and reunion committee members are making sure their classmates get a weekend full of fun, old friends and memories.

Lynne Ehnot LaBarre, 68, of Marietta is making sure to incorporate high school memories into this year’s reunion theme.

“When we were in high school, I think it was my freshman or sophomore year, we had a dance called Route 66,” said LaBarre. “So we decided to use that as the theme. It fit with our class year and we incorporated something from our time in high school.”

The reunion will begin on Friday at Marietta Masonic Hall from 6 to 11 p.m., then continue on Saturday at the Lafayette Hotel from 7 to 11 p.m., and on Sunday the reunion will end at the Peoples Bank Theatre from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

LaBarre said Friday night will be an opportunity for classmates to reconnect over great food, catered by Joe Mamma’s Kitchen, and get a chance to step on stage and sing some karaoke.

Saturday evening will take classmates back to a high school dance with adorable party favors and a unique silent auction.

On Sunday afternoon, classmates are touring the Peoples Bank Theatre and watching a class video made by classmate Steve Leasure.

“It’s very beautiful,” said LaBarre. “He used old pictures from the yearbook and pictures that people sent in and he incorporated some things about Marietta as well.”

According to Vicki Andris Smith, 68, of Marietta, the class of 1966 was the last class to graduate from the original Marietta High School, which is now Marietta Middle School.

“It was a really neat experience to be a part of,” she said.

Smith has worked on previous class reunions but this year she was in charge of contacting and locating all 348 classmates

“I started this about two years ago,” she said. “There was a vague list from our last reunion, but for the most part I used the Internet and it worked out really well. I used Facebook, White Pages and ThatsThem. I would type in their name and I would call them all, and other classmates were helpful and they would either remember the classmate’s brother or sister so I would call the relatives too and that was productive.”

During the process, Smith said she found that 59 of her classmates have passed away, but she has ultimately narrowed the long list of those she can’t find to only nine classmates.

Smith also said she found out that 94 of her classmates still lived in Marietta and 35 to 40 classmates lived in the surrounding areas such as Barlow, Vincent and Lowell.

Not only are locals making a visit to the reunion, people from all over the country are making their way in for the weekend.

“I have one of my best friends who lived with me my senior year coming in all the way from Michigan,” said LaBarre.

But the farthest classmate traveling to the reunion is a long-time friend of Smith’s.

“My friend, Dan Andor, is making a four-day trip just for this weekend all the way from Oregon,” she said.

LaBarre also said a lot of classmates are traveling from Columbus and Cincinnati.

Though the class meets every 10 years, LaBarre and Smith meet with several other women for a luncheon they like to call Gal and Gab.

“We started meeting about two years ago, which is when we started planning this year’s reunion,” she said. “We have 15 to 20 women meet for lunch about once every two months. They’ve been extremely helpful with preparing for this weekend.”

Smith said she has received an enormous amount of help through several of her classmates.

“For the silent auction on Saturday evening, we had several of our classmates donate items for the auction that they made themselves,” she said. “One of our classmates actually made a quilt, another classmate made a stained glass piece, and another classmate made a memory box.”

Even though the preparation for the reunion had its challenges, Smith and LaBarre said they can’t wait to see the classmates that they haven’t seen in so long.

“We’re not getting any younger,” said Smith. “I think it’s a good way to see everyone again and make friends with people you weren’t friends with before. There were so many groups back then, geeks, nerds, athletes, music people, but we can all relate to something.”

About the reunion

¯ The reunion will begin on Friday at Marietta Masonic Hall located at 308 Front St. in Marietta from 6 to 11 p.m.

¯ The reunion will continue on Saturday at the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta from 7 to 11 p.m.

¯ On Sunday, the reunion will meet at the Peoples Bank Theatre located at 222 Putnam St. in Marietta from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Reunion ticket prices

¯ Friday: $10.

¯ Saturday: $50.

¯ Sunday: $10.

¯ Vicki Andris Smith is still looking for the following classmates: Carolyn Boswell, Su Lu Rene Boucher, Marjorie Farley, Joanne Freeman, Jan Gould, Virginia Petty Harrahill, Marjorie Powell Conley, Arlene Ward and Steven D. Wilson.

¯ For any information regarding these individuals call 740-373-3138.

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