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WHEELING - It was just over a half a century ago - in the spring of 1976 - that a group of more than 300 teenagers became the last class to graduate from Triadelphia High School.
This weekend the group is celebrating its 50th high school reunion with a series of events.
A golf scramble at the Speidel Golf Course and a dinner at the Char House in Bethlehem kicked off the weekend on Friday.
Saturday's events begin with tours of the former high school's building, which is now Triadelphia Middle School. In the afternoon there will be pickleball lessons, followed by a beer stop at Wakim's in Elm Grove prior to the start of the main reunion dinner.
The dinner is set to take place from 6-11 p.m. at American Legion Post 1 in Elm Grove, with the meal prepared by Chef Adam Luiso.
On Sunday morning, classmates are invited to coffee from 9-11 a.m. at Sarita's Coffee Shop within Wilson Lodge at Oglebay Park to close out the weekend.
There were 323 graduating seniors in the Triadelphia High School class of 1976. Reunion organizer Barb Lewine reports a total of about 200 are expected to attend reunion events, with 136 of them being class members. About 50 class members have passed away over the last five decades, she added.
"It's pretty impressive to have that many coming," she said. "We are just thrilled to be able to have so many of us meet together."
Lewine doesn't remember there being sadness surrounding their graduation, or the consolidation of Triadelphia High School with Wheeling and Warwood high schools into what would become Wheeling Park High School.
"There was just a realization of an end of an era," she said. "What it was about was the consolidation of the high schools. It was about starting a whole new thing.
"The theme of our 1976 yearbook was 'An End For The Sake Of A New Beginning.' Of course there was sadness for the ending of what was, but we were proud to be the last class and recognized as such."
The 50th reunion marks a major milestone in the lives of the class members, and the reunion's logo reflects that. It depicts one of the eight historic mile markers along National Road that can be found in Ohio County, and all eight have on them the word "Triadelphia," Lewine noted. One of the road markers is actually near the Triadelphia school building.
Lewine had helped with the planning of the 40th and 45th reunions and wanted to be involved with the 50-year celebration.
"I decided this was so important," she said. "I wanted to make sure there was a special and memorable event for our 50th reunion.
"We wanted to make it accessible for everybody, and that it had a reasonable price point. We wanted to make it more than just a one night thing."
Classmates are coming from points all across the U.S., Lewine continued.
"The whole team who worked on this, and we pulled our ideas together. We pulled our strength together to create what we have," she said.
Those attending are asked to bring items with them that evoke memories from high school, including old uniforms, letterman's jackets and photos. These will be placed on a "remember when" table.
"I also got in touch with all people not able to come and asked them to write a message to classmates so it could be shared in their absence," Lewine said. "These were made into a PowerPoint that will be going on during the festivities."
Some classmates are "not as able bodied" as they once were, she acknowledged. Some have service dogs while others are wheelchair bound.
Arrangements also have been made to bring a classmate living in a local nursing facility to the event, she added.
There will also be a memorial at the event for all the classmates who have passed.
Back in 1976, the idea of a 50-year reunion "seemed so far away," Lewine said.
"It seemed like something my parents would do," she continued. "I couldn't have imagined this time would come, and that I would still feel so young. We all have aged, but we are still all young at heart. Everybody is still enthusiastic about seeing each other."