The Eureka Springs High School alumni dinner, which has been held longer than any other known high school reunion in the state, will be held Saturday, May 25, at the Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center with a social hour starting at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and a meeting to follow.
“We have held this for 134 years except missing one during Covid,” Mary Weems, an organizer, said. “We don’t count that. We do a mailing about the event that goes to every graduate of ESHS that we have information on. Either they have kept us updated, their parents still live in the same home, or they have been to the banquet before and provided an address. We do a little less than 1,300 mailings.”
“There is a variety in age ranging from the oldest to youngest graduates. New graduating seniors are invited and can apply for a $2,000 scholarship. Scholarship winners must be at the banquet to get the scholarship. When I went to school and my mother went to school, you had to attend the banquet to graduate from school. That has not been in place for a number of years.”
Each year they recognize members who come from the oldest class. There are no graduates still alive from the 1946 class, so graduates of 1947 will be honored.
It is an opportunity to see old friends and celebrate the accomplishments of graduates of the small school.
“ESHS has had someone in almost every profession, and some have been extremely successful financially,” Weems said. “We have some who have made a name for themselves in the literary world. Don’t think because you live in a small town that you can’t achieve great things if that is what you wish to do. Our school graduates prove that.”
Weems graduated in 1964 and had 24 kids in her class. Nine or ten had gone to school together since kindergarten.
Gayla Wolfinbarger, who has been secretary of the organization for about 15 years, said she loves the tradition of the organization.
“I love the history of Eureka Springs and the alumni dinner is an important part of that,” Wolfinbarger said. “I like visiting with my classmates, my husband’s classmates, my mother’s classmates and everyone in between that. We hope people will continue to support the organization so it can go on another 134 years. And I love the fact we give a scholarship to a student every year. What a great thing to do to help them with their beginning of college.”
About 150 people attend each year, and Wolfinbarger said they would love to see that number grow. “It is very enjoyable to go and visit,” she said. “My mother was a graduate there, so I knew her class. It is not just your class that you know there.”
The Eureka Springs High School Alumni Facebook page is the best way to get in contact with the group if you would like to receive updates or be placed on the mailing list. Tickets for the dinner are available at the front desk of the Inn of the Ozarks until midnight Wednesday, May 22. After that a limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
The Ozark Folk Festival, longest running in the nation, is a mere 77.