NEW MATAMORAS — The 63rd Matamoras High School Alumni Banquet was held June 13 at Matamoras Elementary School, according to a release from the Matamoras High School Alumni Association.

The banquet included a social hour for alumni to meet with former classmates, followed by dinner, entertainment and recognition of honored classes, according to the release.

Corey Martin, president of the alumni association, welcomed those in attendance and served as master of ceremonies. The program included the Pledge of Allegiance, recognition of U.S. military veterans in attendance and thanks to the banquet setup committee, Quinet’s of New Martinsville, W.Va., which catered the dinner, and alumni who sent donations.

Lee Dean, of “Lee Dean Sings!,” provided entertainment with songs by Johnny Cash, according to the release.

The classes of 1956, 1961 and 1966 were honored during the banquet, marking their 70th, 65th and 60th reunions, respectively. Members of the classes of 1941 through 1955 also were recognized, with those present receiving gifts. Prize drawings were held for members of the honored classes and other alumni.

The current officers of the alumni association are Martin, president; Mary Lou Jackson Carpenter, vice president; Roz Taylor Moore, secretary; and Linda Taylor Kirkbride, treasurer.

During the program, the association read the names of alumni and others connected to the school who passed during the previous year, according to the release. They included Mary Louise Langsdorf Stewart, Class of 1946; Bill Dunn, Class of 1947; Jeanette Everson Black, Class of 1949; Bill Creighton and Frank Stalnaker, Class of 1953; Joe Dunn, Class of 1954; Dorothy Ridgeway Whitacre, Class of 1956; Mary Ellen Cunningham Martin and Neal Thomas, Class of 1957; Madlynne Galley Webber, Class of 1958; Dave Cochran and Ernie Kerns, Class of 1961; Chuck Cochran, Class of 1962; Sonja Mobberly Tallman, Class of 1963; Jake Dunn and Garen Griffin, Class of 1966; Bill Danver, Class of 1967; Sammy Grimes, Class of 1968; and teacher Bob Becker.

Those attending this year’s banquet included Dorothy Langsdorf Minger, Class of 1943, with guest Wendy Moore; Ed Archbold, Class of 1947; Patricia Miller Smittle, Class of 1951, with guest Sherry VanCamp; Delores Bradfield Hubbard and Shyrla Fluharty Bolen, Class of 1954, with guests Audrey Clark and Crystle Buchanan; Grace Selmon King, Class of 1956; Gary Cochran, Class of 1958; Shirley Cline Poole, Ginny Galley McVey, Bill Hutchison and Loretta Riggs Farnsworth, Class of 1959, with guest Michelle Leasure; Kenny Beaver and Janis Carder Pickering, Class of 1960, with guests Wanda Lohr and Peggy Walser; Connie Cline Brady, Liz Cline Eckelberry, Twila Earley Griffin and Jeanne Hendershot Schwab, Class of 1961, with guests Russ Lengacher and Jana Schwab; Gene Cline, Class of 1962; Dorothy Morris Ogaz, Class of 1963, with guest Victor Ogaz; Linda Clayton Delong, Mary Ellis McMahan, Laverna Ridgeway Holdren and Dianne Taylor Longfellow, Class of 1964, with guest Don Metheney; Donna Earley Taylor, John Earley, Louis Gale Hupp, Janice Lollathin Walker, Linda Taylor Kirkbride and Becky Wolverton Mullett, Class of 1965; Jo Decker Weber, Barbara Earley Deem, Dave Earley, Mary Taylor Bechtold and David Wright, Class of 1966, with guest Patricia Wright; Bonnie Earley Cline and Joe Fox, Class of 1967; Chuck Beaver, Sherry Marshall Poulton and Roz Taylor Moore, Class of 1968, with guest Lloyd Poulton.

Frontier High School alumni attending included Billie Hendershot Slonaker, Class of 1972; Toni Hendershot Scott and Julie Taylor Edwards, Class of 1974, with guest Roger Edwards; Kim Cline Gebhart, Class of 1977; and Corey Martin, Class of 1996.

According to the release, Matamoras High School opened in the late 1800s and served the New Matamoras community until the late 1960s. The original building, at the corner of Second Street and Broadway Avenue, opened during the 1892-93 school year. The second building, known as Stover School, opened during the 1925-26 school year on Grandview Avenue.

In 1962, Matamoras High School absorbed students from nearby Bloomfield High School after it closed. The Frontier Local School District was created in 1964, consolidating the Matamoras, Bloomfield, Newport and Lawrence school districts, according to the release.

The final class graduated from Matamoras High School in 1968. That fall, Matamoras, Newport and Lawrence high schools were consolidated into Frontier High School. The former Stover School building later became an elementary school and remained open until the early 2000s, when it was demolished and a new elementary school was built on the site.

The Matamoras High School Alumni Association was formed in 1961. Its current membership includes living Matamoras High School graduates from the classes of 1941 through 1968, along with some Frontier High School graduates who completed eighth grade at Matamoras Elementary School, according to the release.

The association holds its banquet each year on the second Saturday in June.