Paula Berketo (née Szeman) lives in Niagara Falls, but her heart is still in Pelham, cradled in the environs of E.L. Crossley Secondary School, her alma mater. She and a group of friends are planning a 40th class reunion for the Grade 12 class of 1982.
The celebration will be held at the Fonthill Legion on Highway 20 on June 25. Tickets are $20, and include a hot and cold buffet later in the evening. Spouses and significant others are welcome.
“It's for everybody who was in Grade 12 that year. It was a huge cohort, about 350 students in 1982. By comparison, the Grade 13 class in 1983 was only 80,” she said.
Berketo has assembled a small organizational committee, and wants to give people as much notice as possible.
“We're just getting started, working on the details,” she said. “We've been postponed so many times due to COVID, I'm just praying we don't get delayed again.”
Music from the early 1980s era will be featured at the event, and alumni wearing the school colours (blue and yellow) will have their names entered in the draw for a door prize.
Tickets will not be available at the door, and must be purchased in advance. For details, email Berketo at [email protected]. Cash purchases of tickets are available from committee members Rich Warankie, Arlette Check- Hartman, Jane Perkins, Jayne Leslie-Berg, Sandra Harding (Cook), Leslie Hildebrand (Whiteley), Barb Lockey-Shea, and Berketo.
Berketo said that funds raised by the reunion will likely be donated to a local charity.
