Humboldt County High School alumni celebrate another successful reunion, make donation

Before the days of Lowry High School and Winnemucca Junior High School (WJHS), were the days of Humboldt County High School (HCHS). From 1919 to 1971, students attended Humboldt County High School, which was inside what is now WJHS. 

A group of very special people started a committee to bring the graduates of HCHS together for a reunion every five years. This committee is called the Humboldt County High School Alumni Reunion Committee (HCHSARC). 

Original members, Jessell Peters, Don Peters, Doris Phillips, Jimmy White, Ana Marie Smith, Tom Smith. Lillian Stoker, Don Stoker, Ron Fagg, and Phylliss Fagg have been able to bring hundreds of people together for meaningful homecomings. 

The first reunion organized by the HCHSARC was held in 1983 and the next was in 1985, but the committee members realized that the size of the event made it hard to maintain on an annual basis, so it was eventually decided that it would be held every five years. 

According to Doris Phillips, organizing the event is equivalent to a full-time job the year it takes place. The reunions grew so quickly because they had friends in different classes that they wanted to see again, thus the reason for combining them all. 

The quinquennial reunions raise funds to put on the reunions and to make donations to the local schools. Recently, HCHSARC made two donations of 1,000 to the Winnemucca Grammar School and the WJHS. 

“The reason we are making donations to the Junior High and the Grammar School is because those are the schools that Humboldt County High School alumni attended,” said Phillips. 

Kelly Novi, WJHS Principal, said “We appreciate the Committee continuing to give back because it’s been quite some years since [WJHS] was Humboldt County High School.” 

According to Novi, he will be gathering ideas to figure out the best way to use the money with the blessing of the committee. 

Phillips, who has controlled the finances for the HCHSAC for many years, said that the funds that were donated to the schools were actually raised during the 2015 reunion, but the pandemic prevented the Alumni from gathering for the past two years for the 2020 reunion. 

The most recent reunion, held on Aug. 20 at the Winnemucca Boys & Girls Club, was for classes that graduated in 1935 through 1975, including those that had also graduated from Lowry High School (1971-1975), but had also attended HCHS for a period of time.  

The reunions are grand events, with as many as 1,000 people having attended at once in the past. Dinner, dancing, and getting to see old friends is all a part of the fun, but many of those who attend gather for more than just the reunion. 

“A lot of classes will do a special event for their own class on Friday night before the big reunion,” explained Phillips, and added that classes are responsible for different aspects of the event, like decorations.

According to Phillips, about 100 alumni are lost between reunions due to death, illness, or inability to travel, but the events still attract hundreds of alumni each year.  

Donations in the future will likely be made to Lowry High School because the Alumni graduated from Lowry after 1971. 

After putting in decades of work on the committee and organizing the 2022 reunion, Phillips explained that she is stepping down and handing the baton to Juanita Ydiando, who has been an important member for many years. 

“I think Juanita is going to do a great job,” said Phillips.