OLEAN—The Olean High School Alumni Association is ready for its 140th annual reunion Saturday, with a number of events for former classmates to participate in.

While attendees will find many of the festivities familiar, there will also be some changes as association board members hope to attract higher attendance by changing up the format a bit. The primary change this year is the elimination of the standard formal dinner Saturday night in favor of a more casual gathering with live music, snacks and a cash bar.

In addition to the reunion events, several alumni are also being honored this month in other ceremonies, including the OHS Fine Arts Wall of Fame induction held June 11, the OHS Wall of Honor induction today at 4 p.m. and the OHS Athletics Wall of Fame at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Continuing with the one-day event format as last year, Saturday’s alumni reunion offerings include a memorial bench dedication, tours of the high school, the Red & Gold Golf Scramble and the annual get-together.

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, a granite memorial bench will be dedicated to Joseph Quinlan, a longtime English teacher at Olean High School. He was the Class of 1965 advisor for four years.

“Our class raised the money to purchase this beautiful bench, that will be placed near the 9/11 memorial,” said Linda Edstrom, a Class of 1965 member of the Alumni Association board. “The class is honored to have made this possible.”

Edstrom said Quinlan’s three children planned to travel to Olean for this special event that coincides with the reunion and marks the 60th anniversary of the Class of 1965’s graduation.

Following the dedication in front of the high school, alumni are invited to take a two-hour walk through the halls of their alma mater at 11 a.m. Reminisce about the good times you spent there and see what is new and how things have changed over the years.

Meanwhile, the Red & Gold Scramble will also be held Saturday morning at Bartlett Country Club. Registration opens at 10 a.m. with a shotgun start at 11:30. Cost is $500 per foursome team ($125 per person) and includes golf, cart and food ticket for lunch.

The scramble format tournament includes team prizes, a corn hole toss game on hole 2, a double-your-money game on hole 3, a closest to the pin “throw” on hole 17 and closest to the pins on holes 3 and 15 for men and holes 7 and 11 for women.

The scramble is open to both alumni and non-alumni. Register a team online at ohsalum.com.

In place of the traditional Saturday night dinner, the new format this year is a fun, informal party atmosphere held from 7–11:00 p.m. at Good Times of Olean. Snacks will be available with a cash bar. Folk-rock group Sticktights will be taking the stage a 8 p.m., and attendees are encouraged to dance the night away with their classmates.

Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased in advance through the alumni website, ohsalum.com, or at the door.

“I am really looking forward to the more casual, fun atmosphere we have this year,” said Angela Colomaio Castle, Class of 2003 and alumni board secretary. “While we are honoring the classes ending in 0’s and 5’s, the hope is that this format will draw in alumni from all classes and promote an ‘everyone is welcome’ vibe. With Sticktights acoustic providing the entertainment, it’s bound to be a great time for all.”

There was a time when the annual OHS reunion was a three-day affair — in the 1970s, the featured gathering of the weekend filled up the Reilly Center at St. Bonaventure University with 300-plus attendees. As class sizes got smaller and more recent classes began to stay up to date via social media, interest in the reunion lessened.

Nevertheless, the reunion remains an important event for many OHS graduates, with those who moved away planning annual visits to their hometown around it. Those interested in joining the board or becoming a class coordinator can find additional information at ohsalumn.com and the group’s Facebook page.

ONE WEEK BEFORE the Olean High School Class of 2025 walks across the auditorium stage to receive their diplomas, some Huskies who graduated several years or decades before are returning to their alma mater as distinguished alumni.

This afternoon, two more names will be added to the Olean High School Wall of Honor during a ceremony set for 4 p.m. in the Board of Education conference room at the high school. Abigail Bretzin (Class of 2009) and Katie Ralston (2004) are the 2025 honorees.

The Wall of Honor was established in 2005, with the Olean Schools Foundation responsible for the selection of its members. The criteria recognize individuals whose lives, accomplishments and endeavors reflect the values and tradition of excellence fostered by the school district.

Then on Saturday, four more individuals will be added to the Olean High School Athletics Wall of Fame. The Class of 2025 includes Paul Barber (Class of 1985), Tracy (Hendrickson) Wangelin (2005), Kevin Stevens (2010) and Wil Bathurst (2014).

The induction ceremony is set for 9 a.m. inside the Olean High School auditorium. The event is open to the public and no reservations or tickets are needed.

And earlier this month, Bobby Johnston, an Olean High School alum who is a film composer, multi-instrumentalist and author, was the latest inductee to the OHS Fine Arts Wall of Fame.

The Olean Music Boosters inducted Johnston, Class of 1985, into the wall of fame on June 11.