Reunion to celebrate northern Schuylkill County schools

Apr. 24—BARNESVILLE — Alumni from five northern Schuylkill County high schools will convene for an expansive, once-in-a-lifetime reunion on May 28.

The Northern Schuylkill County Class Reunion, from 4 to 10 p.m. at Lakeside Ballroom & Winery, will bring together hundreds of graduates of five area high schools — Mahanoy Area, Shenandoah Valley, North Schuylkill, Marian Catholic and the former Cardinal Brennan — for a special day of reminiscing, dining and dancing.

All class members of the schools are invited to the event, which is being organized by a 14-member reunion committee.

"It's a really unique and probably a one-time event," said committee member Christine Evancho, a 1978 graduate of Mahanoy Area.

More than 500 people have registered for the event so far, and the committee is accepting participants through May 1.

To register, alumni must send a check to their school ticket representative at the appropriate address:

—Cardinal Brennan: Andrew Szczyglak, 40 N. Jardin St., Shenandoah, PA 17976

—Mahanoy Area: Lisa Broomell, 498 Morea Road, Mahanoy City, PA 17948

—Marian Catholic: Victoria Goodman, 238 E. Centre St., Mahanoy City, PA 17948

—North Schuylkill: Dee Guida, 30 Willow Way Drive, Enola, PA 17025

—Shenandoah Valley: Joe Delluso, P.O. Box 128, Barnesville, PA 18214

All checks must be postmarked by the May 1 deadline. The cost to participate is $50 per person.

On each check, payable to NSCCR, participants must include their name, graduation year and names of any other guests who may be attending.

The event will feature activities catering to all visitors; registrants currently include high school graduates from 1952 to 2009.

For entertainment, the event will feature DJ Chris Cadau, as well as a performance by local rock band Looker, whose members are graduates of the five schools.

The NSCCR Alumni Band, composed of former band musicians, will showcase fight songs and alma maters from each school.

Three caterers — also representing the schools — will offer a crudité, dinner and desserts. There will also be a cash bar in the ballroom.

Celebrating culture

Outside of the regular festivities, the event will hold plenty of nostalgic value for alumni.

As a memento, each visitor will receive a special reunion-themed glass bearing their school mascot.

Evancho and another alumna, Cindy Delluso, will also set up a memorial table to honor those who have passed away.

Committee member Cathy Melfi, a member of the Cardinal Brennan Class of 1978, said the event is intended to celebrate northern Schuylkill County, including the relationships — and rivalries — that often defined the local high school culture.

Although the region sported many rivalries over the years, such as Marian and Mahanoy Area, they have declined in recent decades, Melfi said.

"Growing up in the coal region, there were all these different schools," she said, "but you got to know people from these different schools ... whether it was from bands or activities."

Fellow committee member Lisa Broomell noted that, after graduating, many students from rival schools got to know one another in other ways, including in college.

"As we grew older, everyone became friends," she said, which led to many "long-lasting" relationships.

Broomell, a 1979 graduate of Mahanoy Area, added that the reunion committee is "spread all over," with many now living outside Pennsylvania.

The members credit Joe Delluso, committee chair, for conceiving the idea of a reunion that would salute the area high schools.

For more information about the event, contact Delluso at jdelluso21@gmail.com.

Contact the writer: hlee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6085