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ONE LAST TIME WALKING THE HALLS AT ELMHURST HIGH

Even after decades, the Elmhurst class of 1967 is staying close.

This summer will mark 50 years since those folks tread the hallowed halls of Elmhurst High School, 3829 Sandpoint Road, and the class plans to mark the milestone anniversary with a 50-year reunion gala this summer.

The group plans to get together on Saturday, August 26 at the Grand Ball Room in Don Hall’s Guest House, located at 1313 W. Washington Center Road.

Linda (Hartman) Fagen and Rhonda (Hosler) Dennon have been helming the committee that’s planning and executing the August get together. The group has been working on crafting the event since July 2016.

Tickets for the party are $50, which is paying for most of the cost of the reunion, although the group did receive some donations to help pay for the party, as well.

For that ticket price, classmates will enjoy time with their old school chums, dinner, dancing, and ’60s music, played by DJ Rick Hughes from radio station WLYD. The event also will feature a photo booth to record the night’s memories. Pictures in the booth are free.

On the Friday afternoon before the reunion, the class is having a casual golf outing at Autumn Ridge Country Club, 11420 Auburn Road.

That Friday morning, the class is also scheduled to tour their old school, with old classmates and their spouses the only ones allowed on the tour.

Dennon said people are traveling from all over the country just for the event.

“People are coming from Texas, California, Florida, Minnesota, Arkansas, all over the country,” she said. “And they’re saying, ‘Heck yeah, we’re coming! We’re making this our vacation.’ They are all so excited about it.”

Fagen said out of 355 people in the 1967 class, the group was only not able to find about 68 people, with 31 of those being confirmed as deceased. “This [Elmhurst] has been my home forever,” said Fagen, who retired from running the gift shop at Parkview Hospital’s Randalia campus. “I always tell people I was born here, and I’ll probably die here.”

The high school is scheduled to be closed down for good on August 28, so the timing of the reunion worked out well, Dennon said.

“Fort Wayne Community Schools was very happy that we got this in – just in time,” she said.
Fagen agreed the timing worked out perfectly.

The closed Elmhurst High School, built in 1929, in the Ardmore Avenue area, was officially up “for sale.” The Fort Wayne Community Schools said that school board members approved the sale on Monday, August 14, 2017.

The property sold includes the former school site, farmland and approximately 23+ acres of land around Sandpoint Road.

Interested parties came forward with their bids and it was decided that the neighboring rock quarry, Hanson Aggregates Midwest LLC could purchase the $600,000 sale.

Money awarded from the sale will go into the FWCS general fund.

Michael Morrissey

Michael Morrissey

Michael is a professional writer and journalist. He attended South Side High School and Northwestern University. He has written for newspapers in Michigan City, Indiana; Pekin, Illinois; and Bradenton, Florida. He also has written for and edited websites in Florida and San Francisco, California. > Read Full Biography > More Articles Written By This Writer