BHS Classes Of '70 And '72 Celebrate 50-Year Reunion
Members of Bourne High School’s Classes of 1970 and 1972 gathered at the Mezza Luna Restaurant in Buzzards Bay last Friday evening, July 29, to celebrate their 50th-high school reunions.
Between the two classes, about 40 people were in attendance. The Class of ‘72’s committee, responsible for planning the event, joined forces with the Class of 1970 to host a dual reunion, because the pandemic canceled the Class of ‘70’s reunion in 2020.
“It’s a special event with special people,” said Marie Oliva, a member of the committee charged with planning the event. Speaking with the Enterprise before the reunion, Ms. Oliva said she was excited to see her friends but also was looking forward to connecting with people who she had not seen since high school.
“I want to learn about them and their families, what they’ve been doing, and talk a little bit about Bourne High School,” she said.
For Jeanne Egan, owner of The Physical Therapy Center on Main Street, attending the reunion was a no-brainer.
“It’s easy for me to attend because I have a business right near the Mezza Luna,” she said. “I’ve been there for 27 years, so I can’t miss a reunion.”
Ms. Egan said she attends reunions every five years, but the five-decade milestone feels hard to believe.
“I’m just thankful we’re celebrating 50 years,” she said. “We do have people coming from Florida, Arizona and other places. It’s hard to believe we graduated 50 years ago. None of us look old.”
Donna Vallesio-Valkos, a member of the Class of ‘72, said she, too, could not miss the reunion, but her journey was a bit longer than Ms. Egan’s jaunt down Main Street.
“I live in Arizona,” said Ms. Vallesio-Valkos, who grew up in Monument Beach. “I actually come back for them. It’s just great to keep the old friends and those relationships going. For years we didn’t have social media to keep up with people. I would see people when I would come back to the Cape, but since social media, it’s nice to be able to keep in touch with the people you went to high school with and keep those relationships going.”
After dinner was served, classmates mingled, chatting and catching up with one another. Robby Jarvis and Tom Barnes, two classmates and members of what was once regarded as BHS’s “famous high school band” Jabu and The Tribesmen treated the crowd to some tunes.
“Growing up, Jabu and the Tribesmen was our band,” Ms. Vallesio-Valkos said.
Seeing old friends was the highlight of the evening for many attendees.
“There are usually the regulars that come every five years to the reunion,” Ms. Vallesio-Valkos said. “It’s kind of, in a way, hard to comprehend. There was maybe one person that I haven’t seen since high school, so that was really exciting to see her. When I last saw her, it was 1972, and now I’m seeing her after all these years. It’s kind of surreal, going back in time.”
Originally published by The Bourne Enterprise