Yesterday I journeyed over to Dunkirk to attend a mini class reunion. I say it was a mini reunion because this group meets for lunch once a month. I had never been invited to attend before I guess because I live more than a few miles away.

It was well worth my effort. There were four people who I attended elementary school with there. One girl I went clear through college with. It was nice to meet informally and just chat about what we were doing, what our families were doing, and how we were feeling.

I guess in years past many others attended this reunion. I was always envious of Don and his class. They still have reunions – every year. This year was their 75th reunion. I would have attended, but that was my birthday weekend and my children had invited me to dinner.

My class has been faithful with reunions, but they happen every five years. We have a pretty good turnout each time we meet although sad to say many of the classmates are either unable to come any more or are deceased. That is just how life is.

We ate and visited for more than an hour and a half. It was fun.

We ate at a restaurant in the former downtown area. Wow, I was not prepared for how downtown looks. Many buildings are no longer there. I parked by the old bank, now closed, where we did business. In fact, my great-uncle worked there. That bank is just across the street from the Ehler’s furniture store (also no longer open). My grandfather worked there for years. I remember going with him and grandma to the store picnic. It was always held at a park in Sheridan. I remember you had to cross over a bridge to get into the park. It always reminded me of the story about the three billy goats with the troll under the bridge.

I rode past the Post Office. I made many trips there. I recall buying stamps for three cents apiece for first-class mail. Although postage has gone up, you could not drive to pay your bills any cheaper.

My grandfather got lost in his later years when he had to go out with his car. I can now understand why. All of the familiar landmarks are gone.

The City Hall still looks good. The stores I remember are all gone. My mother and her sister used to go shopping every Friday night. They went to Sidey’s, The Safe Store, Penney’s, Jayne’s, and stopped to eat at Candyland.

On my trip in I traveled through Fredonia where I went to college. I had seen that once again when I studied for my Masters degree. We used to think there were miles between the buildings. Guess what? There were. When I look at the new construction there all of those buildings filled in where we used to walk.

For those of you reading this who are not from where I lived, you can probably recall the changes your community has had as well. Most of the downtown areas you remember have disappeared. It is really sad to see what is left. After COVID there have been even more changes. People now do much of their shopping on line. The stores that are left are struggling.

Shopping was always fun. Before COVID we used to ride the TAWC bus to Erie to go shopping. We made a whole day of it. It was a treat to stop for ice cream on the way home.

My mini reunion also included a visit with my cousin who lives near Brocton. We looked at some old pictures that she had of when our mothers were young. Some of them were labeled while others we had to guess at. The last time I had seen her was at Don’s funeral.

When I was ready to leave, I asked how she went to Jamestown. She told me she took Route 380 all the way to Kimball Stand. I knew how to go after that. I put in a CD and sang my way home. It was a beautiful day so traveling was fun.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell. Contact her at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.