The Class of 1975 Will Reunite After 50 Years
It was 1975 and the Española High School Hornets, in their senior year, cruised the streets of the Española Valley, blasting the day’s tunes in the now-iconic vehicles of the era.
Neither commercially available cellphones nor the Internet had come to be; life moved at a much different pace. Now, 50 years later, the class of 1975 is reuniting in Española for their 50th reunion to reconnect with cherished classmates, honor those who’ve passed and celebrate the enduring community spirit shaped by their time at Española High School.
The class of 1975 holds a unique place in history as the last class to graduate as Hornets before EHS became Española Valley High School, moved from Hunter Street to a new building in El Llano and adopted the Sundevil as its mascot.
“I think it’s quite an honor to have been the last graduating class and, you know, it’s a bit historic,” Melissa Porter, a class of 1975 alum and key organizer of the reunion said. EHS was a melting pot of cultures, where students from San Juan, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and surrounding areas blended seamlessly, she said.
“We were a very united class,” Porter said.
At a time that predated the Internet and instant, constant communication on cellphones, life in Española circa 1975 was simpler. The community was more connected, Porter said.
“We didn’t have all the electronics and all the technology that we have now that’s very distracting, and it kind of separates people from each other,” she said.
Further, the Española Valley was unburdened by many of the issues that now plague the region.
“It was just such a wholesome time to be a teenager,” Ernest Rodriguez, a retired Air Force veteran and organizer of the reunion said. “There was not much violence or homelessness that we heard of.”
But that time still had its stressors. For many male students, the possibility of being drafted into the Vietnam War was alegitimate and pending concern throughout high school.
“This was toward the end of the Vietnam War,” Todd Abbey, a 1975 graduate now living in Hawaii, said. “We had just kind of dodged the bullet of having to register for the draft.”
As the Vietnam War draft ended in 1973, a weight was lifted off the shoulders of a generation of young men graduating high school.
“It was getting to be a happier time, because it looked like the world was winding down,” Abbey said. “A lot of the things that we were so worried about … we were kind of coming through.”
Rodriguez, who enlisted in the Air Force after graduation, emphasized the pivotal effect that teachers at EHS had on his life.
“I felt that they really cared,” he said. “You know, they took an interest in you. They’d try to help you.”
The Class of 1975 reunion, a three-day event from Sept. 19-21, is a “labor of love” which was sparked by the loss of class president Loretta Garcia in January.
“She passed away in January, and was very beloved by everyone, such a special soul,” Porter said.
Garcia’s passing inspired classmates to reconnect.
“She sort of brought us all back together,” Porter said of Garcia’s funeral. “That was really the first contact I had with so many people that I saw (at the funeral).”
Given the five decades of separation post-graduation, spreading the word about the reunion has been no small feat for event organizers Rodriguez, Porter, Abbey, JD Garcia, and Kevin Hauck.
“We lost all of the contact information,” Rodriguez said. “We had nothing to start with.”
Abbey kick-started outreach for the reunion with a Google form survey to rebuild old connections.
The reunion will begin at 5 p.m. Sept. 19 with a meet-and-greet at Socorro’s. Saturday’s festivities will start at 10 a.m. at Anthony’s at the Delta. Tributes to military veterans, deceased classmates and teachers, including a special focus on Garcia, are set for 2-5:30 p.m. Saturday. Saturday evening will include cocktails, dinner, door prizes and a dance with music by Steve Chavez. Sunday’s picnic will begin at 2 p.m. at the Plaza de Española gazebo.
For the ’75 Hornets, the reunion is a chance to rebuild friendships and celebrate Española’s unique spirit.
“Things that you think are really important, and then 50 years down the line, you realize those things weren’t nearly as important as you thought, and what’s really important is your community and your friendships and support you get from your former classmates as you continue to move through life,” Abbey said.
For the broader community, the reunion is a reminder of the Valley’s resilience and pride.
“There are so many beautiful, beautiful people here,” Porter said. “Our cultures are beautiful. It’s a melting pot, and it’s such a pretty valley, you know, but we’ve just been given a really bad rap.”
Through the reunion, the class of 1975 hopes to honor the city, school and community from which they came.
“You have an obligation to the town that raised you and taught you how to be a better person,” Rodriguez said. “It’s going to be nice to know that we not only survived those days, but we, for the most part, kept that positive attitude, and we’ve kept that interest in our community.”
To RSVP for the reunion contact Rodriguez at ErnestR849@gmail.com by Aug. 30.