OLEAN — The Olean High School Alumni Association is finalizing plans for this year’s annual reunion, the 140th, to be held June 21.
While attendees will find many of the festivities familiar, there will also be some changes as members hope to attract higher attendance by changing up the format a bit.
Alumni association members met Monday evening to discuss some of the details of the reunion, emphasizing that the adjustments are intended to broaden the appeal of the event among alumni. The primary change this year is the elimination of the standard formal dinner in favor of a more casual gathering with live music, snacks and a cash bar.
“We were seeing that the younger classes were not as interested in coming and sitting down for a formal dinner,” Angela Colomaio-Castle said. “Over the years our formal dinner reservation counts have continued to go down and it seems like people were more interested, especially if they were coming into Olean from out of town, they were more interested in hitting up their favorite restaurants, rather than coming to a dinner at our event.”
Longtime organizer Linda Edstrom added, “Twenty-five years ago there’d be 800 people at the dinner. Last year we had 136.”
What the organizers had found was that while attendance at the dinner had declined, numbers at the after party had remained strong, with 300 or more showing up.
“I think the big thing is we’re just trying to break away from the stigma of the formal, and we’re just trying to be, like, come have fun,” Colomaio-Castle said. “They were showing up after the dinner for the more casual party part of the night, so we decided to just make it a casual night altogether.”
The change in format will also help avoid the difficulty some of those participating in the golf scramble had in the past making it to the beginning of the cocktail hour at 5 p.m. The reunion celebration will now begin at 7 p.m. and run until 11 p.m.
“Another reason it’s getting smaller is that the classes are getting so much smaller,” said Edstrom, whose Class of 1965 graduated 356 students.
While the growth of social media has made keeping in touch with former classmates easier and perhaps reduced interest in reunions, there have been some benefits.
“The one good thing (with people keeping touch via Facebook) is, we used to spend a tremendous amount on postage for mailings, and now, a majority of communications is done by Facebook,” Audra Stevens said. “Class coordinators reach out to their respective classmates and set up a page.”
Another point organizers wish to emphasize is that all alumni are welcome, not just the honored years ending in five and zero.
“That’s the big thing we’re also trying to stress this year, is that even though we’re going to be in some way honoring the graduating classes that end in five and zero, any alumni can come, it’s not just those honored years,” said Alumni Association President Kaitlyn Anastasia-Caya. “Just come if you’re an alum.”
You also don’t need to have graduated from Olean High School, so long as you attended at one time.
Another change from previous years is that there will be no memorial service this year, though some individual classes will hold their own services.
The reunion activities will kick off at 10:30 a.m. that Saturday in front of the high school with the dedication of a bench to former OHS teacher Joe Quinlan.
“Mr. Quinlan taught at Olean High School for decades, and he was the class advisor to my class, Class of ‘65,” Edstrom said. “He passed away last August, and our class said we need to do something to honor Mr. Quinlan. We went back and forth … and we decided to get him a bench. Not a park bench, but a stone engraved bench. Crandall’s (Memorials) is doing it.”
Following the dedication, there will be a tour of the high school beginning at 11 a.m. Attendees can see the newly renovated auditorium, visit the gym and drive down to check out the new athletic fields.
The familiar Red and Gold Scramble will take place at the Bartlett Country Club, with registration beginning at 10 a.m. and an 11:30 a.m. shotgun start. There will be spirit awards and course contests. The cost is $125 per player, and people can sign up and pay online at ohsalum.com.
Proceeds will go toward scholarships and the Olean School Foundation.
The reunion celebration will take place from 7 to 11 p.m. at Good Times of Olean. The cost for admission is $20, which can be paid for at the door or in advance on the Alumni Association website. Venmo will also be accepted. There will be live music provided by the Sticktites, snacks and a cash bar. Tommy Victor will also be on hand selling vintage Olean merchandise.
“There will be a photographer there and we’ll get everyone from each of the honored years that’s in attendance to come and get a group picture, and we will post it on our website. Anyone can go and download a copy,” added Kristin Gustason.
Organizers are confident that the updated format will keep the event popular among alumni and drawing former students back to Olean for years to come.
“We’ll get people from Alaska, people have come in from Hawaii, Korea, Japan, Australia,” Edstrom said. “It’s just fun.”
