Ephrata High School celebrates 100 years

EPHRATA - Tiger alumni were all over the track and football field at Ephrata High School, meeting, greeting, talking over old times.

"You've changed a little bit," said Roberta Davis (Roberta Nickel in high school) to John Kriete, class of 1964.

"Good. Or maybe not," Kriete said.

Organizers started working about two years ago to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Ephrata graduating class with an all-school reunion. The EHS-100 weekend kicked off with 2014 graduation June 6. Tiger alumni and former faculty were invited back to town for a full schedule of events June 7 and 8.

The kids who grow up in a town have their own stories to tell, and the place's history is different through their eyes. Chris Hemstead, class of 1966, and his friends were reminiscing about Ephrata back in the day.

The kids all got together on Friday and Saturday nights and cruised Main, or hung out downtown if they didn't have a car. Then there was the time - well, that involved the canal, so it's probably better not to give anybody ideas, and besides, he didn't remember it, Hemstead said.

But then, the friend who told him that story didn't remember some of the incidents Hemstead did, he said. Things have changed a little since high school, maybe. Part of the reason for coming to the reunion was "to see who I could recognize. And that's not very many. And they don't recognize me, either," he said.

"You're always curious to see how the kids turned out," said Don McFarland, who was a teacher at the high school from 1967 to 1998. The kids remembered Mr. McFarland - a former student had kept a note the teacher wrote to him in the late 1980s, and emailed a copy to McFarland Saturday morning. Alas, the bright sunshine made it impossible to read on McFarland's phone.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to see people you went to school with," said Jack McMillan, class of 1958. McMillan went on to a career in education, although not at Ephrata. "It's just been tremendous to see all these people take part," he said.

Eric Talbot, class of 1986, was a 12-year senior. "I wanted to come see people that helped raise me," he said.

"It's just the place to be," Roberta Nickel Davis said.