Prince George Secondary Class of ’76 returns home after half a century

Among those returning was Tim Perry, who admitted high school was a formative and enjoyable time in his life.

“I was, I don’t know, I was kind of like, not a cool kid. Not a nerd. In between,” Perry said with a laugh. “Lots of friends, had fun. High school was just great.”

Like many of his classmates, Perry was struck by the realization of just how much time had passed.

“I think this is probably the first time in 50 years I’ve actually been back to the school,” he said.

Walking through the building brought back a flood of memories. Perry remembers Prince George Senior Secondary as a unique facility that was considered ahead of its time when it was built.

“This school was actually a flagship school for the province when it was built,” he said. “It was built to be the kind of school that schools should be.”

He recalled innovative design features that were unusual for the era, including folding walls between classrooms that allowed spaces to be combined, teacher offices located throughout the building, a large cafeteria and a library complete with a mezzanine.

The school’s crown jewel, however, may have been Vanier Hall.

“How many schools have a full concert hall attached to them?” Perry asked.

The reunion also highlighted just how much social attitudes have changed over the past half century.

One memory that generated plenty of laughter involved a feature that would be unthinkable in a modern school.

“That door way down there was the door to the smoking room,” Perry said, pointing out a location in the building. “We had a smoking room. So that would be a school-sanctioned room where children could go to smoke.”

At the time, the idea was practical rather than controversial.

“That was back in the time so the children didn’t have to smoke in minus-30 in the wintertime,” he added.

Stories like that became a recurring theme throughout the reunion, with classmates swapping memories and surprising each other with details long forgotten.

The gathering was filled with moments of recognition that needed no introduction.

“Oh yeah, I remember you,” Perry said, describing one of the most common exchanges of the day.

Those simple words often led to lengthy conversations and recollections of classes, sports teams, dances and friendships that had been dormant for decades.

For Tom Dawson, the visit brought back memories of a school experience centred around athletics and student life.

Known as one of the school’s jocks during his student years, Dawson said his favourite place was easy to identify.

“Fondest memory is the gym,” he said. “That’s where I lived.”

Nearby was another space that played a major role in student life.

“There was a room down there. It used to be called the Polar room, and that was where we hung out,” Dawson remembered.

For Dawson, the memories are tied not only to specific places but also to the atmosphere of the era.

“It was a good time,” he said.

The school population was large, with students finding their place among hundreds of peers.

“It was cliquey, but still we got along,” Dawson said. “There was like 700 graduates.”

The cafeteria served as a social hub where friendships were formed and reinforced.

“You’d go in there and listen to Nazareth,” he said, referring to the Scottish rock band that enjoyed prominence during the 1970s. “And they had really good French fries.”

Looking back, Dawson sees the period through the lens of a different generation.

“It was the day before mandatory seatbelts,” he said. “Things were pretty crazy.”

While some graduates remember sports and social gatherings, others recall music, performance and school spirit.

Lee Fraser was heavily involved in extracurricular activities and said returning to the school immediately brought back memories of the places where she spent so much of her time.

“My favourite was probably this area here,” she said, pointing to the upper level.

Fraser served as a cheerleader, including a year as head cheerleader, and remembered practicing with her teammates in a particular spot near a row of windows.

“We used to practice along that line there,” she said. “Looking out into the parking lot, we could see our reflections on the windows. That was fun.”

Music also played an important role in her high school experience.

“I used to practice piano in Vanier Hall before school every day,” Fraser said.

Like many students in the 1970s, Fraser immersed herself in as many activities as possible.

“It was just such a big school,” she said.

She participated in band and stage band, supported athletics and developed friendships that have endured across five decades.

“I was very involved with the sports teams on the periphery,” Fraser said. “I had a lot of friends here, and I was in band and stage band, had lots of friends and had a really good time.”

The comments shared by graduates throughout the reunion reflected a common theme: high school may have seemed all-consuming at the time, but the friendships and memories ultimately mattered more than social labels or status.

That lesson is one Perry hopes current students take to heart.

Standing in the same hallways where he once worried about fitting in, Perry offered advice shaped by half a century of perspective.

“All of that stuff you are going to be worried about for the next five years,” he said. “Which group are you going to be? Are you going to be in the in-group? Are you going to be a jock? A nerd? Or a loser?”

The concerns feel enormous when students are living them, he acknowledged.

But Perry said time has a way of shrinking those worries.

“You’re going to worry about that for five years,” he said, “and two seconds after you walk out this high school for the last time, none of it will matter.”

It is the kind of wisdom that can only come from experience.

As classmates wandered through familiar corridors, pointed out old classrooms and shared stories from another era, it became clear that the reunion was about far more than nostalgia. It was about reconnecting with a unique moment in time and the people who helped shape it.

Fifty years after receiving their diplomas, members of the Prince George Secondary School Class of 1976 found themselves back where their adult lives began. The hairstyles may have changed, careers may have come and gone and families may have grown, but for a few hours they were students again, reliving memories of basketball games, band rehearsals, cafeteria lunches and teenage adventures.

For many, it was their first visit back in half a century.

For everyone who attended, it served as a reminder that while buildings evolve and decades pass, the bonds formed during youth can endure surprisingly well.

And perhaps Perry’s message was the most enduring lesson of all: the things that seem so important in high school eventually fade away. The friendships, laughter and memories are what remain.

by Cheryl Jahn

Prince George Secondary Class of ’76 returns home after half a century

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