Winfield High School Class of 1969 holds reunion

On Saturday, August 3, 19 members of the Winfield High School class of 1969, along with six spouses, gathered at the home of Marilyn Nichols for their 55th class reunion.

The reunion started Friday evening when six class members enjoyed dinner at the La Marcha restaurant in uptown Winfield. Saturday they were joined by 13 additional classmates and spouses. They came from far and wide to reminisce with classmates.

Iowa was well represented with people attending from Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Pella, and Des Moines. The states represented were Minnesota, Louisiana, and three from Arizona. People wanting to participate in the Crooked Creek Day parade climbed aboard a “people hauler” provided by Randy Stogsdill and pulled with his truck.

“He pulled right up to the door,” said hostess Marilyn Nichols, adding,“ there were thirteen of us who blew bubbles and hoped and hollered along the parade route.”

Following the parade, guests gathered back at “party central” where they sat at two picnic tables and enjoyed conversation in the shade of Marilyn’s giant maple tree. When the humidity drew them inside, they retired to Marilyn’s house where the party continued for the next 10 hours.

Classmates enjoyed yummy snacks provided by the guests with sandwiches and drinks provided by the host while they enjoyed sharing memories. Long forgotten events were revisited, and new memories were made to share at the next reunion.

Marilyn had been gathering memorabilia for the reunion for months and classmates enjoyed her displays which included fragrances from high school. Brut, English Leather and Jade East brought back memories or those dating years.

A July 20th, 1969 newspaper with the headline, “Man Walks on Moon” and an album from Woodstock where on display. A group of six photos entitled “Forever Young” was a tribute to classmates who they have lost. The highlight of the displays was a group of old and new photos of the class which played on a loop on TVs in both the living room and kitchen accompanied by music of the ‘60s personally selected to trigger memories.

Marilyn said, ”Twenty-five people was a houseful, but the only thing overflowing was love” adding she felt the day was, “perfect.”