It was a weekend to remember.
The Huron High School Class of 1983 recently celebrated their 40-year reunion with a nostalgic tour of their alma mater, where about 40 classmates reminisced about their teenage years as River Rats. Twenty-three alums signed up to work together on a Huron River clean-up project, and festivities culminated with an elegant gala that evening at the Michigan Union. The reunion weekend kicked off on Friday night with happy hour on Main Street during the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
“A great time was had by all!” said Terra Webster, Class of ’83, and one of the reunion organizers. “The room (at the Michigan Union) was filled with an equal amount of music and laughter! Conversations were picked back up where we left off—10 years ago at the 30th reunion—as if we were returning to school in the fall after a long summer vacation. There were a lot of hugs and a lot of laughter.”
Webster, who is the assistant principal at Carpenter Elementary, said she can’t believe she’s been out of high school for 40 years.
Huron Principal Che´ Carter, a Huron alum himself, greeted guests at the tour and provided an update on the school. He told alums the current school population is 1,700 and growing.
“Our vision is to be the flagship school in Michigan,” said Carter, who told about brandy identity, and school culture, as well as plans to reach out to alumni for financial help.
Carter hopes to talk to every group of Huron alum touring the school on reunion weekends—a tradition started earlier this month with the Class of ’73.
It’s paying off already.
“One of the projects we’re considering is the cafeteria project, where part of the cafeteria will be furnished and styled with a coffee house theme,” said Webster.
Senior Class President John Porter arrived for the weekend from his current home in Cape Canaveral, Florida, where he is a solar developer.
He says he loved his years at Huron High School.
“It gave me a very good start, and college was much easier I think because of the preparation we had … Huron was just a very good launching pad for all of us.”
Porter says he appreciates the diversity of the student population both then and now, and says the campus is even more beautiful than it was 40 years ago.
Webster, an Angell Elementary, Clague Middle School/Huron alum, maintains the friendships she made throughout her years at AAPS, so her favorite Huron memories focus on her friendships.
“My friendship groups were truly focused on school, and we took our high school experience seriously but also had fun,” she recalls. “While we bled green and gold and were active in sports and extracurricular activities, our studies meant a lot to us. Looking back, I giggle now, but it was a big deal my last year at Clague Middle School, but Cathy Davis and I were the first two freshman cheerleaders to make the varsity cheerleading squad. Boy, was that an amazing experience!”
Webster recalls the Huron staff with similar fondness.
“Whenever I had a problem, question, or concern, there was always someone I could talk with,” says Webster. “Teachers, grade level principal, counselor, or cheerleading coach, I knew there was always a caring adult at Huron who I could reach out to. And many of those relationships have been maintained even to this day.”
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