Thousands gathered Saturday for the second annual Berkeley High School All-Class reunion. The  class of 1971 set up an elaborate reunion booth. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD
Thousands gathered Saturday for the second annual Berkeley High School All-Class reunion. The class of 1971 set up an elaborate reunion booth. Scroll to the bottom of this post to view a set of photographs from the day. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD

It was hard to get a word in edgewise Saturday at the second annual Berkeley High All-Class reunion. Graduates who hadn’t seen one another for years, locals who had never left, and even some Berkeley natives who hadn’t even gone to the high school, gabbed, ate and danced under a bright blue sky.

The grassy field of San Pablo Park was crowded with people of all ages. Vendors sold comfort food like fried chicken and ice cream. A hair salon offered to do braids. And organizations with more serious agendas, like WriterCoach Connection and the Berkeley Community Fund, set up tables to distribute information.

Tim Cannon shows off his Class of 1971 pride. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Tim Cannon shows off his Class of 1971 pride. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel

But the real action was at the north end of the park, near the stage where most of the class tents were set up. The best decorated, best attended seemed to be the booth of the Class of 1971. Red and gold balloons — the Berkeley High colors — rose above a red carpet and a red ballon that said “71.”

“We are too cool for ‘skool,’” said Tim Cannon, a ’71er and one of the organizers of the event. He, like many others, wore a yellow T-shirt that said “Class of ’71 Rocks.”

Other classes were represented too.

The class of 1965 set up a booth that showed newspaper clippings from that era. One man walked around in a self-designed shirt that read “Class of ’43.” The class of 1963 was advertising its 50th reunion.

The Class of 1963 celebrated its 50th reunion at the BHS All-Class picnic. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
The Class of 1963 celebrated its 50th reunion at the BHS All-Class picnic. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD
Scroll down to view a set of photographs from the day. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD
Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD
Scroll down to view a set of photographs from the day. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD
Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD
Scroll down to view a set of photographs from the day. Photo: Mark Coplan/BUSD

There also was a lot of dancing going on.

Having fun at the Berkeley High School reunion. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Having fun at the Berkeley High School reunion. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel

Related:
Thousands expected at Berkeley High all-class reunion (o8.15.13)

[Editor’s Note: We removed one photograph from the original post due to a request from a community member.]

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Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside and CItyside co-founder, is a journalist and author. Her first book, Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, published in November...