Caleb Nickerson
DAVIDSON Aug. 24, 2017
Over 80 alumni of St. John’s High School gathered at Magnum Outfitters in Davidson last Thursday to catch up and reminisce about the good old days.
The bilingual school opened its doors in Campbell’s Bay in 1957 and closed in 1968. It was operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph and taught grades eight to 11. Students were bussed in from all over the Pontiac, from Otter Lake to Portage du Fort to Waltham.

Organizers Duane Kensley Hoffman and Marilyn McGuire Tanguay, from the class of ’65, began organizing reunions several years ago but the effort really began picking up steam in 2015 when they hosted the 50 year reunion. Twenty-three alumni gathered at the Spruceholme Inn in Fort Coulonge and they so thoroughly enjoyed themselves that Hoffman and Tanguay decided to make it an annual event.
“Last year we had it at the golf course in Vinton and we went from 23 to 43,” Hoffman said.
She added that every year the email list for the event seems to grow but she wasn’t sure what this year’s turnout would be like.
“When they responded, I thought, ‘Oh my God, we’re going to have between 75 and 80,’” she said.
All alumni were welcome at the event, from the first class that attended to the final. Everyone was outfitted with nametags to make finding that long lost chum a little easier.
Both Tanguay and Hoffman agreed that making the effort to get together was appreciated by their former classmates.
“It worked out, everybody seems to be having a good time,” Hoffman said.