As they do every year, Powell High School Alumni will be coming back to the old home town this weekend to reunite and rekindle old friendships.

Because all alumni are invited to come back each year, Powell’s alumni weekend is a bit unusual among public high schools, and the alumni association is to be commended for keeping the tradition going for nearly a century. For those who attend, the annual reunion allows alumni to mingle with those who might not have been in the same class, but who shared halls and classroom space with fellow students who were younger or older than they were. It also allows Powell graduates to mingle across generations, which provides a way for more recent graduates to meet schoolmates of their parents and grandparents.

Most small towns have a special relationship with their schools, and Powell is no exception. But Powell people go out of their way to support the schools their children, and other children, attend. It begins with strong parent support groups in the grade schools and includes organizations such as the FFA

Parent Support Group, the Music Boosters, the Athletic Roundtable and the Powell Schools Foundation.

All of them combine in an effort to give the community’s kids a chance for an excellent education.

The Alumni Association and this weekend’s reunion help build that support by reminding the school’s graduates what they received from Powell schools.

Those who have not been back to Powell for a while may be astounded or dismayed at the changes that have taken place in their home town since they left. They will see subdivisions where sugar beets used to grow, vacant lots where the old gym and the swimming pool stood, two new schools and changes downtown. For the Class of 1961, who were the first seniors in the old high school, and those who followed them, it may well be the last time they can look upon the building that they helped inaugurate 50 years ago.

They also will see a community that still takes pride in itself and its schools, and they can share in that pride because they have been, and still are, part of Powell’s strength.

We hope all of you attending this reunion will enjoy yourselves and take home pleasant memories. And we thank you for your contributions to Powell.