TFHS grads from '60s, class of 1974 reunite

Thompson Falls High School alumni came from across town and across the world for reunions last weekend.

The TFHS class of 1964 celebrated their 60th school reunion by inviting the classes of 1961-1966 to join them for a weekend of fun. The reunion had 54 people attend the main banquet on Saturday at the Rimrock. Alumni and family members shared memories, looked at old photos and caught up on their lives as they celebrated the milestone.

On Friday night, the group also met at the Rimrock for a social hour, inviting the community. "It was really fun to see all the Blue Hawks," said Eileen Garrison. While several of the classmates attending the reunion live in Thompson Falls, the one who traveled the farthest was foreign exchange student Wolfgang Haertel, who still lives in Germany. Haertel, now 80 years old, was a graduate of the TFHS class of 1963 and was accompanied to the 2024 reunion by his daughter Kerstin, who was on her first trip to Montana. This was Haertel's fourth reunion, as he previously attended in 1997, 2004 and 2016.

Also celebrating a milestone over the weekend was the TFHS class of 1974, who gathered Friday and Saturday for their 50th reunion. The class had 32 in their graduating class, with more than 20 showing up to Big Eddy's on Friday for a social and music by classmate Gene Repp's band Rad Fondue, as well as dinner and fun Saturday evening at the Wild Coyote.

Bob Wolf now lives in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He only attended Thompson Falls High School his senior year, but made lifelong friends and traveled the furthest for the 50th reunion. Wolf said he was college roommates at North Idaho College with Hulin Nichols, John Mosher and Gene Repp, as well as Mark Rosdahl from the class of 1973.

Classmates laughed and shared memories as they looked through yearbooks and photos. Diane (Hill) Larango showed a photo of the students, about a dozen, who went to school together from kindergarten through senior year. When asked who has changed the least in 50 years, the classmates bestowed the title on Scott Brown. The class had a tribute to those graduates who have passed away as well, and remembered them as they shared stories and reminisced.