I haven't been to any of my Edmond North Class of '01 reunions. I don't think either had big turnouts.
But I have been to my wife's Jenks class of '99 10 year and 20 year reunions because she had to plan them since she was the president of her Senior Class. They're a slog to organize and interest is tepid which makes planning anything robust impossible. I think she did a great job given the circumstances. Kept them simple and fun. Her 30th is coming up and she's looking for someone else to take the helm. I hope she can find one.
I think there's more going on besides social media with the decline and I'd love to see your deep dive into this. I don't have social media so I have no clue what's going on in my classmates lives. And honestly, I don't have much interest in catching up with most of them. Part of me feels bad about that, but part of me is like "Well, I've got a lot of stuff going on in my life right now to keep up with them." I'm ambivalent about my ambivalence towards class reunions.
Family reunions have been on the decline as well and I think are also dying with Boomers. I went to quite a few when I was a little kid, but then they sort of stopped once most of the cousins got into high school in the 90s. The last one I did was back in 2019 on my mom's side of the family. Her boomer siblings planned it. Most of my cousins came, but we were all like "Man, it's great to see you, but to be honest the only reason I'm here is out of filial duty to my mom because it means a lot to her."
My mom keeps floating the idea of doing another one. I don't think it will happen.
Hey thanks for this. I recall a few years ago in Edmond I stumbled upon a reunion at a random restaurant (perhaps it was Edmond Memorial). But there were maybe like 20 people and I was thinking, "That's is it?" Then my high school didn't even have one. So it does seem like they basically either do not happen at all now or just very small. The one from Boomer lore is gone.
Perhaps this is just a larger part of the Boomer's Dying world. As you said, family reunions are going that way, too. The only time we really do them is when someone dies (morbid, I know). All of those gatherings have really been pushed by my and my cousin Boomer parents. We get along, just not super close like they were. With all the flack the gen gets, they do seem to have some kind of spark for this kind of thing. I need to think more on it.
Boomer here. I have attended all of my class reunions and plan to attend the 55th this year. I moved away from my hometown, so went I go back home, I really enjoy seeing old friends and talking about old times. I have friends my age where I live now, but they do not have the same experiences that I had living in another part of the country!
My husband never wanted to attend his reunions, but last year he went to a sports ceremony for his old high school track team. He really enjoyed sharing old stories and re-living those old sport glory days! He now keeps in contact with some of the men through texts and phone calls.
I guess love of nostalgia and thinking about past live experiences are important to me as well as many other Boomers. I wonder, as other generations get to their 60's and beyond, if they will regret not having reunions?
I haven't been to any of my Edmond North Class of '01 reunions. I don't think either had big turnouts.
But I have been to my wife's Jenks class of '99 10 year and 20 year reunions because she had to plan them since she was the president of her Senior Class. They're a slog to organize and interest is tepid which makes planning anything robust impossible. I think she did a great job given the circumstances. Kept them simple and fun. Her 30th is coming up and she's looking for someone else to take the helm. I hope she can find one.
I think there's more going on besides social media with the decline and I'd love to see your deep dive into this. I don't have social media so I have no clue what's going on in my classmates lives. And honestly, I don't have much interest in catching up with most of them. Part of me feels bad about that, but part of me is like "Well, I've got a lot of stuff going on in my life right now to keep up with them." I'm ambivalent about my ambivalence towards class reunions.
Family reunions have been on the decline as well and I think are also dying with Boomers. I went to quite a few when I was a little kid, but then they sort of stopped once most of the cousins got into high school in the 90s. The last one I did was back in 2019 on my mom's side of the family. Her boomer siblings planned it. Most of my cousins came, but we were all like "Man, it's great to see you, but to be honest the only reason I'm here is out of filial duty to my mom because it means a lot to her."
My mom keeps floating the idea of doing another one. I don't think it will happen.
Hey thanks for this. I recall a few years ago in Edmond I stumbled upon a reunion at a random restaurant (perhaps it was Edmond Memorial). But there were maybe like 20 people and I was thinking, "That's is it?" Then my high school didn't even have one. So it does seem like they basically either do not happen at all now or just very small. The one from Boomer lore is gone.
Perhaps this is just a larger part of the Boomer's Dying world. As you said, family reunions are going that way, too. The only time we really do them is when someone dies (morbid, I know). All of those gatherings have really been pushed by my and my cousin Boomer parents. We get along, just not super close like they were. With all the flack the gen gets, they do seem to have some kind of spark for this kind of thing. I need to think more on it.
Boomer here. I have attended all of my class reunions and plan to attend the 55th this year. I moved away from my hometown, so went I go back home, I really enjoy seeing old friends and talking about old times. I have friends my age where I live now, but they do not have the same experiences that I had living in another part of the country!
My husband never wanted to attend his reunions, but last year he went to a sports ceremony for his old high school track team. He really enjoyed sharing old stories and re-living those old sport glory days! He now keeps in contact with some of the men through texts and phone calls.
I guess love of nostalgia and thinking about past live experiences are important to me as well as many other Boomers. I wonder, as other generations get to their 60's and beyond, if they will regret not having reunions?