The 100th graduating class of Whitefish High School is set to earn its diplomas in 2014 and to commemorate the event a group of volunteers is organizing an All Class Reunion for next summer.

The concept for the reunion was first suggested more than a year ago on the “You Know You’re from Whitefish When” Facebook page, and has since taken off.

“The idea was thrown out there,” Rebecca Schlinger Duckett said. “I verified that it was really the 100th class and then a few of us started getting together.”

Duckett, along with about 20 other volunteers, are working to create the reunion event. The date has been set for Aug. 1-3.

The schedule of events tentatively includes a mixer Friday night with local band Marshall Catch performing. Saturday night Mission Mountain Wood Band has agreed to perform at a dinner/dance. No events are planned for Sunday, so individual classes can schedule smaller reunions.

Duckett said the reunion still needs to get a minimum number of registrations before it can officially book the bands. Registration for the weekend is $50 per person.

“We’re really excited about this,” she said. “We’d like to get 1,000 to 1,500.”

Duckett, who is a member of the Class of 1974, said she would like to invite anyone who attended Whitefish High School to come to the reunion, not just those who graduated from the school.

“I love reunions,” she said. “It’s fun to catch up with the people you went to school with.”

Representatives from several of the decades have stepped up to assist with organizing the event, but Duckett said they are still missing volunteers from the 1990s and 2000s and would like those years to be represented as well.

A Facebook page and website have both been set up, but mailing addresses are needed to send out information.

“We want to get the word out,” Duckett said. “If anyone has address lists they can give us for classes we’d like that. We’re still looking for volunteers too and any businesses that would like to donate.”

In addition to the reunion events, the organizing group is considering a number of ideas to incorporate into the weekend and beyond. They are looking at selling reunion T-shirts and setting up tours of the middle and high school.

The group has set a goal of raising additional money to purchase a bench or tree for the new high school building to commemorate the 100 years. If any funds are left over after the event, the group is interested in starting a scholarship fund that would honor the high school’s first graduate.

The first class to graduate in 1914 included only one member. According to an article in the May 28, 1914 edition of the Pilot, Dorcas Ferguson was the first to graduate from the school after having completed four years of courses.

“She is the first to have gained enough credits to be awarded a diploma,” the article said. “Her tenacity and fixedness of purpose is very commendable. She has done much of her work in small classes, frequently being the only member of it.”

For more information on the All Class Reunion or to registure, visit www.whitefishclassreunion.com and Whitefish High School ALL CLASS Reunion on Facebook. Mail can be sent to P.O. Box 4807, Whitefish, MT 59937.

Duckett can be contacted at 701-609-4339 or Laurabeth Michels at 406-314-0182.