It began as a simple idea - a gathering of alumni from Alhambra High School's classes from the 1960s, as had been done in 2006. Ray Gentry began putting together a Facebook page and a website late last year, and the wheels began to turn.
But through the power of social media, those wheels began to spin quite rapidly, and pretty soon there were people from other decades who also wanted to be included in the reunion. So now, the event will include classes from the 1940s through the 1980s.
"When we started at last year's Art in the Park, we were a small group," Gentry said.
And though local organizer extraordinaire Mary Perez had put together the 2006 reunion, Gentry said at that point, he assumed she was too busy with her annual Christmas for Everyone event to participate in another reunion plan. But when Perez saw the idea on Facebook, he said, "she jumped right in."
And that is how the reunion turned into something more along the lines of a major festival. A festival of memories, if you will.
"I love working with this group," said Dorothy Buffington, who is also on the organizing committee. "I love the spirit of cooperation."
The three-day event will feature pot lucks, picnics, dancing at Main Street Plaza, and a car cruise.
The multi-decade reunion takes place Aug. 17, 18 and 19, and there will be participants from all over the country, including Montana, Hawaii, Washington, Virginia, New York and other distant locales. The one thing they will all have in common - a childhood in Martinez, and four years at Alhambra High.
For more information about the event, go to the website Remembering Martinez. You can also visit the Facebook page of the same name.
And keep your eye on Martinez Patch for regular updates and features about what promises to be the largest reunion event in the city's history.
