Alumni from the San Dieguito High School founding classes of 1937 through 1942 returned to campus for a reunion on Friday, Oct. 21. The event was organized by the SDA Foundation heads Bonnie Wren, Bettie Grice Wolf, and Mary Arballo Magana and took place between 1:30 and 3:30p.m. in the library.

The media center was adorned with refreshment tables and early SDA yearbooks. Wordless music of ere gone years was played unobtrusively over the speakers while the projector displayed photos from the alumni’s respective yearbooks, bolstering the jovial atmosphere against a somewhat lackluster turnout. The alumni were offered tours of the school; the campus has expanded since the school’s early days when it was a cluster of buildings in the middle of nowhere.

Encinitas Mayor James Bond attended the first hour and gave a brief speech but humorous speech in honor of the founders, followed by a few words by Bonnie Wren. She announced she would be recording veterans for Story Corps, an organization that collects oral history from individuals.

One attendee, Harry Zimmerman of the class of ’43, remembered warm days swimming and surfing at Moonlight Beach. He noted that while Swami’s was the same, Moonlight had changed; the waves weren’t as lofty as they once were.

Betty Kilroy of ’42 remembered watching the ocean through the window of her classroom. At its beginning, the school offered courses such as civics, sewing, and farming. Some classes such as woodshop were dominated by male students whereas home economics drew a disproportionately female crowd. “We had archery,” Kilroy said, recalling some of the extracurricular and sports that were offered.

Although the school had changed since their graduation, the alumni seemed pleased by the current class of students. Kilroy spoke passionately of the kindness of her fellow classmates. Although she had transferred to the school a bit late, no one made a point of differentiating her and she found the students to be accepting. Upon being notified that such an attitude remains, she seemed pleased.