SANDPOINT — It was time to pass the torch for an all-class reunion to members of the next decade, members of a Sandpoint High School reunion committee decided.

While members of the 1960s classes stepped forward to take charge of organizing the next all-class reunion, that left the decision of what to do with funds leftover from past reunions.

After discussing possible options, including scholarships and benches at various locations, it was a newsletter from the Bonner County History Museum that caught the all-’50s reunion committee’s attention.

“The committee wanted something that would be permanent in some way and we didn’t want a plaque or something like that,” committee member Helen Newton said. The newsletter, which includes a notation that it is sponsored by the 1950 through 1960 graduates of Sandpoint Senior High, celebrates the area’s history and also helps all who see it are connected to and learn about the area.

Committee members liked the idea of donating to the museum, and helping ensure the new and improved newsletter is taken care of for the next decade or more.

“We liked the idea of donating to the museum because it’s the only vehicle we have that will continue to record the history of our community and we, being from the 1950s, we think, are from a particularly significant decade in our history,” Newton added.

The all-1950s reunions, to which all were welcome, got their start in 1999 when a small group of SHS graduates from various classes from 1950 to 1960 gathered together to talk about a reunion of all classes from that decade.

The idea quickly took shape and the first all-’50s reunion was held at the fairgrounds in 2000. It proved to be so much fun that subsequent reunions were held in 2005, 2010 and 2015. Phyllis Thurlow chaired the committee until the 2015 reunion when Helen Newton was handed the baton.

“Working with an incredibly talented and generous committee, we had nearly 500 in attendance five years ago,” Newton said.

When word got out that the reunion wasn’t happening, members of the 1960s classes stepped up to the plate and said they would carry on.

Each reunion has drawn hundreds of graduates to Sandpoint each summer. Last fall — as aging and attrition has set in — Newton said the committee decided four reunions were probably enough and prepared to close its bank account. The question then rose of what the group wanted to do with the account, which consisted of money left over from the 2015 reunion as well as various donations. They decided to give nearly $400 to the new committee as seed money.

That left $5,000 in the account.

After some discussion, the committee voted to give the money they had invested in 2015 to the Bonner County History Museum.

“All of us in the 1950s benefited from growing up here, living here and from the education we received here,” Newton said. “We are a part of Bonner County and what better place to invest that money than in our fabulous museum which ensures that local history will not be forgotten.”

Committee members said a conversation with Heather Upton, interim museum director, about the museum’s “fantastic new and improved newsletter” led them to a decision to fund newsletter expenses for the foreseeable future.

This year’s reunion will be held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds on Sept. 11, 2020. Information and registration forms have been distributed to the classes of 1950 through 1966. For more information about the reunion, those interested in attending should contact Duane or Marilyn Ward in Sandpoint.

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.