HOT SPRINGS – This past weekend’s Fall River Fourth of July and Hot Springs High School’s All-Class Reunion proved to be as big as it was billed, with events spread out over a three-day period, from Thursday, July 3 to Saturday, July 5, with something for everyone and all ages.
The huge success of the event can be credited to the immense amount of collaboration amongst the various organizations, led by the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, HSHS Alumni Association Reunion Committee, the Hot Springs Rotary Club, Hot Springs Schools and the City of Hot Springs.
While much of the weekend featured Hot Springs’ traditional Fourth of July festivities – including the Rotary Street Dance and Parade, Firecracker races in Chautauqua Park and Chamber of Commerce Picnic and Firequacker Duck Race, and City Fireworks – attendance in all of those things was bolstered by hundreds of Hot Springs High School alumni who were in town over the three-day weekend.
Official planning for the reunion began a week before Christmas on Dec. 18, 2024, when board members of the Hot Springs High School Alumni Association hosted a meeting and resumed discussions about an All Class Reunion after the original dates for the event to take place in 2020 were scrapped due to Covid.
More than 400 alumni from the 1950s to present had preregistered for the event, but it is believed that more than 1,000 actually attended, not including spouses or other family members.
“I felt the seven months of planning was well worth it and helped to make the reunion a success,” said Jayne Pfenning of Rapid City, an alumna from the Class of 1979 who was a key part of the reunion’s organizing committee. “The collaboration between all the groups (reunion committee, alumni, rotary, chamber, town) was fantastic! Since the reunions are usually on the 4th of July holiday, combining the town events with just ‘one day’ primarily dedicated to the reunion worked nicely. Allowing folks to spend time with family and friends and also allowing them to spend the day for the reunion.”
The first reunion-related event to take place was a tour of the school on the afternoon of Thursday, July 3, which featured more than 60 former Hot Springs students being led around their former digs by current Superintendent Kyley Cumbow and Band Director Mellisa VandeStroet. Another 90 alumni attended a second round of school tours on Saturday afternoon, July 5, as well.
From the Rotary Street Dance on Thursday night to the Chamber Picnic on Friday afternoon, new records were potentially set for beverage and hot dog sales, according to organizers of both events. There was also an estimated 80 entries in the downtown parade on Friday morning and all 1,500 ducks were sold out well in advance of the duck race.
It is also believed that near-record numbers were on hand to watch the City of Hot Springs’ $15,000 fireworks display which was helped out by a donation from the Business Improvement District, which covered two-thirds of that cost. Weather may have cut the timeline of the fireworks display a little short, but according to City Administrator Jaclyn Kelsey, all of the fireworks were ignited by the end of the show.
Most of the reunion-specific events took place on Saturday, July 5, beginning with a “Breakfast with Teachers,” which was reported to be a huge success, according to alumni and former faculty, as they all enjoyed donuts and coffee underneath one of the picnic shelters in Centennial Park. More than 30 Hot Springs educators were on hand as they visited with their former students and colleagues.
One of those former teachers in attendance was Arlen Hofer, who was the band director here from 1982 to 1992 before moving on to Canton, where he still lives today. After all of the events over the past weekend, Hofer said, “My heart is full and I am very blessed. I think being a band director is a noble profession and the band room is the most important room in the school. Coming back for the reunion was very meaningful for me. I loved being able to see and visit with all the band students and hear about their families and the careers that they chose. I am very very proud of each of them and it was truly and honor to be one of their teachers.”
The reunion’s most-attended event was a social at the Mueller Civic Center which was greatly supported by the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, as they coordinated all of the entertainment – as well as all of the food and beverages – by making it one of its six Rockin’ Riverside Summer Concert Series events. But instead of holding the concert at its usual venue of Centennial Park, the Chamber made arrangements with the City of Hot Springs to instead hold it outdoors behind the Mueller Center, near the soccer field. In addition, the Chamber hired the band Ivory to perform, which had a pair of members who were also HSHS alumni in Mike English (1971) and Craig Katt (1969).
The collaboration of the Reunion Committee working closely with the Chamber of Commerce early in the process made for an exceptional conclusion to the weekend, which brought together alumni with community members at a venue which could support both indoor and outdoor activities.
“The best part of the whole weekend was how people in Hot Springs continue to come together,” stated 1982 alumna Nancy Anderson Smith of Rapid City, who cochaired the Reunion Committee with Brett Nachtigall from the Class of 1990. Other regular participants at the reunion committee meetings included Dave Batchelor (1958), Joyce Farrell (1968), Karl Wilde (1972), Norm Oney (1976), Loreelou Crawford (1977), Richard Anderson (1977), Laura Tarrell (1978), Mel Engebretson (1982) and Ivy Goetsch (2000).
“Not only did multiple organizations including the All School Reunion Committee, the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, the City, and the Hot Springs Schools come together to set up a schedule of events and activities for the alumni, but even local businesses and organizations offered activities and events and their meeting rooms to people attending,” added Anderson Smith. “Plus, all the alumni coming together is what made it magic. Growing up in Hot Springs, you get to know everyone, and having an opportunity to catch up with your classmates, neighbors, teachers and friends at the reunion is awesome.”