It was a great turnout on Sunday for the first reunion of teachers and students of St. Margaret's School, a Catholic school that served both Queen Anne and Magnolia communities for nearly half a century.
Even though it had been nearly 40 years since the closing of the school, more than 300 students and teachers gathered on Aug. 22 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish Center in Magnolia to reconnect and remember.
"It was an idea whose time had come," said Mike Voolich, a member of the Class of '57 and one of the people who helped plan the event.
Voolich, who came all the way from Boston, Mass., to attend the reunion, was pleased with the large turnout, and said that even though people hadn't seen each other in decades, "people just picked up right where they left off."
John Kalnin, of the Class of '58, said he came partly for curiosity's sake, and partly because it was a chance for him to renew old acquaintances and friends. The reunion was also a chance to remember his years at the school.
Kalnin admitted he was surprised at the large number of people who turned out for the event. He said it proves that St. Margaret's must have been a good experience for a lot of people.
The event began to coalesce when members of the Class of '57 began planning a reunion after several members of their class had begun to pass away. But the demand was so strong, they opened up the reunion to anyone who had attended the institution during its nearly 50 years in operation.
"No one got any real closure," Voolich said. People gathered to recall the good times that happened at the school and see old friends, he added.
Geri Johnson, another alum who helped plan the event said it was meant as a chance to "connect with a school that no longer exists."
The school, which opened in 1923, functioned as a Catholic kindergarten through eighth- grade school until 1971, when it closed its doors forever. This reunion marks the first of its kind for the school.[[In-content Ad]]
