Montpelier High School in spring. Photo courtesy MHS website.
A unique attempt to hold a reunion of all Montpelier High School (MHS) classes, as well as teachers, coaches, and staff, that was scheduled for the weekend of July 15 had to be canceled in the aftermath of the flood, according to chief organizer Mary Campo McPheat, class of 2003.
McPheat, who had been working on the plan since last fall, said she expected over 200 graduates to attend the event from 31 classes. Now she and others who worked on the reunion will take some time off before setting a new date for next year and trying again.
According to McPheat, a resident of Connecticut, reunions at MHS are a hit or miss proposition. The school takes no part in organizing them and does not have a database of graduates. Some classes have regular reunions, such as her mother Susan Sprague Campo’s class of 1971. Other classes are less organized and may have occasional reunions or none at all.
With McPheat’s 20th reunion year approaching, she thought it would be fun to have a reunion for all classes and others affiliated with the school. “I was interested in seeing my class, but also graduates from other years I knew on sports teams, plus faculty, staff, and coaches,” she said.
McPheat started a Facebook page — MHS Alumni Roundup — that eventually garnered over 1,200 members. “The idea caught on like wildfire, and I had to enlist my sister and brother as administrators,” she said. McPheat also sent out press releases about the event. Other organizations that helped plan this year’s ill-fated reunion included Montpelier Alive, the Montpelier Recreation Department, and the school support group Montpelier Roxbury Partners in Education, McPheat said.
Even with the cancellation, some graduates — including McPheat and one graduate from California — still ended up in Montpelier that weekend and attended the Saturday Mountaineers game, which was one of a diverse set of events on the original reunion agenda. An MHS alum sang the national anthem that day and a raffle was held to benefit the budding alumni group, McPheat said. Among those attending the game with other graduates was Norma Raymond, MHS class of 1941, who celebrated her 100th birthday the same day.
