Otis Orchards High reunion will be Sept. 18

Spokane Valley resident Norman Bye is hoping to bring together years of memories during one night of celebration.

For more than 20 years, graduates of the former Otis Orchards High School have been gathering for an annual reunion.

And this year is no different. Bye, the treasurer of the Otis Orchards High School Reunion Committee, is looking for anyone who attended the school who may want to go to this year’s festivities.

The first class to graduate from the school was in 1914, the last in 1961.

The reunion is set for Sept. 18 in the Decades Room at Percy’s Cafe Americana, 10502 E. Sprague Ave. A buffet dinner will be served. The cost is $33 per person. Social hour starts at 6 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7.

“It’s a lot of variety; the gaps in lifestyle and age are pretty big,” said Bye, 86. “But we all have the connection of the school. It was a great school.”

The oldest classmate who plans to attend this year is Bye’s sister, 95-year-old Annie Nelson. She graduated from the school in 1928.

“It’s a great time to renew old acquaintances, or make new ones,” Bye said.

Bye said the reunion committee is having trouble recruiting classmates this year. They sent out invitations to 280 people on their mailing list.

“I’m sad, we’ve only got 40 people signed up so far,” he said.

Last year, 108 graduates came to the event. In 2002, 128 were in attendance, Bye said.

Any graduates or family members of graduates interested in attending should call Bye at 926-3644.