Sometime during the spring of 2026, a letter arrived in the mail announcing that my 60th and “last” high school reunion was going to be held in Bismarck, North Dakota, beginning on Friday, July 31, 2026. I think what caught my attention – what got me thinking – and what eventually got me to attend – was the reference to the “last” - the "final" reunion. I took those words as a challenge.
I graduated from Bismarck High School (BHS) in 1966. BHS was the only public high school in Bismarck back then. Per my “Prairie Breezes” yearbook, my graduation class numbered 382 souls, all “white Caucasians.” That was Bismarck in 1966.
This year’s reunion would be a joint reunion. The 1966 class from St. Mary’s Central High School (SMCHS) would also be joining the celebration. Back in 1966, BHS and SMCHS were the only two high schools in Bismarck. They were “cross-town” rivals on the football fields and basketball courts.
I always found the school’s nicknames to be humorous. The BHS varsity teams were called the “demons,” while the varsity teams from SMCHS were the “saints.” Thus, when the demons played the saints, it could be construed as a heavenly battle.
And the two schools were linked in other ways. At least nine of my fellow graduates had transferred from St. Mary’s; and multiple friends, neighbors, and family members went to the “other” school. It was a cross-town rivalry for all of Bismarck.
Why am I here?
Except for the “last” factor noted above, I am not completely sure why I chose to attend the reunion. I am not particularly social and am something of an introvert. The one and only BHS reunion that I had previously attended was 35 years ago (my 25th reunion back in 1991).
And from a mental health perspective, the worst years of my life were when I was in junior and senior high school. In my book BS2: An autobiography, I detailed how miserable those years were (e.g., new to town, social anxieties, depressed, seeing a psychiatrist). I had all the “awkward” teenager issues, plus some. I was a frightened “nerd” (pictured below) just trying to survive. And that was before I got hit by a car while crossing a street – landing on my head.
Because of all my issues, I had few friends. When I recently looked through my high school yearbook (Prairie Breezes), I could only remember about fifty of the names/photographs – and I would classify only five of those as friends (all males). My best friend from those years had died; he would not be at the reunion. Another friend had moved to Canada after graduation to avoid Vietnam; I doubted that he would be returning. So, at best, maybe three of my friends would be at the reunion.
But on the other hand, I was going to be in North Dakota that summer. I was going to be visiting relatives in Bismarck. Something told me to “push” my comfort zone one “last” time. I was hoping for something profound to happen, something cathartic to bring my high school years to an end. So, I signed up for the two “socials with dinners.” I paid for three sets of tickets – for my wife, my sister (BHS 1970), and me. I was taking reinforcements.
And lastly, I am always looking for things to feed the beast – things to write about in this blog. I went to Bismarck with this blog post in the back of my mind. At the time, I had no idea what this post would look like. I am just starting to figure that out now.
Prairie Breezes
Before I attended the reunion, I revisited by old high school yearbook – the 1966 edition of Prairie Breezes. The yearbook pictorially took me back to 1966. On pages six and seven, there was a photograph of a crowded hallway between classes – with thirty or so faces visible. I found my face (with a slight smile) on the far-left side of that photograph. Things must have been pretty good that day.
There were photographs of the building and faculty. There was a photograph of my PE teacher, Mr. Arne Martin, who had died (neck cancer) my senior year. Some time, over the years, I had labeled my U.S. History teacher, Miss Virginia George, as “good.” Maybe it was Miss George who developed my love of history.
On page 31, there was a picture of my dad, Mr. Charles Burdett, one of the eight members of the janitorial staff. In my book, BS: The Burdett Senger Chronicles, I wrote; “When I was a teenager, dad was the janitor at my school, and I was a little ashamed of the situation.
· He was not the mayor of Bismarck (like Evan’s father).
· He was not the CEO … of a major nationwide company (like Pam’s father).
· He was not the federal court judge (like Chuck’s father).
· He was just the custodian – he was Bob’s dad.
As a teenager, I might be excused for such immature behavior and faulty logic. As an adult, I am more impressed with the honest and upright life that he lived and all the work that he did to support his family [and pay for his son’s psychiatrist].”
Prairie Breezes contained many photographs and articles on the school’s “organizations” (e.g., debate, FFA, FHA, clubs, bands, orchestras, choirs) and “sports” (e.g., football, basketball, wrestling, track).
· I was surprised to find that my high school, in 1966, did not have any baseball or soccer teams – sports so common today. Bismarck did have an active American Legion baseball program, so maybe it was just a spring planting conflict (a North Dakota but not necessarily Bismarck issue, per se).
· Even considering Title IX, I was more surprised at how few organized girls sports there were back in 1966. There were no girls’ basketball or girls’ volleyball teams. There were no girls’ track or cross-country teams. Per Prairie Breezes, the only girls’ sports were a form of “gymnastics,” bowling, and a “coed” Tramp Team (which appeared to be more of a club). There was, however, something called the GAA (Girls Athletic Association), which per Prairie Breezes, engaged girls “in every sport from swimming to basketball.”
And then the yearbook had photographs of the schools three classes (sophomores, juniors, and seniors), followed by an index of all the senior’s activities. The only activity listed for “Burdett, Robert” was “Boys Bowling Team 2,” which I do not recall at all.
At the end of the yearbook, there was an insert (late to press) that had “Action Shots of New Cafeteria;” “New Faces at BHS” (late additions to the staff, including a new PE instructor); end-of-season updates on the school’s male golfers, “grapplers,” “roundballers,” and track teams; pictures from the prom (which I did not attend); a list of the schools honor society (which I was not on); and a story on the BHS “commencement” (which I attended – before going to work).
Life Expectancy
An article on a 60th reunion would not be complete without three bullets on “life expectancy” – looking both back in time and forward.
· In 1966, when I graduated from BHS, the life expectancy of a USA male was 67.1 years. Thus, every male that made it to the 60th reunion beat those odds by about ten years. I don’t know if that calculation was in any way adjusted for the Vietnam War.
· In 1966, when I graduated from BHS, the life expectancy of a USA female was 73.9 years. Every female that made it to the 60th reunion also beat the odds (by a bit).
· Today, the life expectancy of a male is 76.5 years (i.e., most of the 1966 BHS males should be dead) and 81.4 years for females.
· Looking forward, if you were 77-years old at the time of the reunion, your life expectancy was now 85.77 (males) or 87.71 (females). That is no doubt the reason why the 60th reunion was labeled the “last.”
The Reunion – Day 1
The reunion committee had scheduled three events, the first being a casual evening at the iconic Bismarck Municipal Country Club at 930 North Griffin Street. That was the golf course that the BHS golf team practiced on back in 1966. Registration was scheduled for 5 PM, with dinner to follow at 6 PM.
We had spent the earlier hours of that day at the Theodore Rossevelt Presidential Library in Medora. We got back to Bismarck around 4 PM but I then screwed up big time. I failed to check my typed itinerary, relying on my memory instead (which had everything starting an hour later). As such, we arrived at the country club just in time to join the end of the buffet line (thus missing the first social opportunities). The buffet featured a tasty “loaded potato.” But because I was late, I had no idea who all was there. From afar, at our table in the back, I didn’t recognize anyone.
It’s a Small World: There were three other couples at our table towards the back of the room. I didn’t recall any of these people from my high school days. It turned out that one of the couples had once lived in the Omaha area, and one of their grandchildren had spent some time at a neonatal care unit in Omaha (Bergan Mercy) where my daughter-in-law worked at the time (and works now).
Socializing: I was seated between my wife and sister, nursing my “whiskey seven tall” and enjoying the various conversations. My sister was talking to the gentleman on her right about the BHS music program in the 1960s. My wife was talking to the couple on her left about something. My reinforcements had come to my rescue.
Trivia: After dinner and a few comments by the reunion organizers, the promised entertainment began. A lady who resembled (in both appearance and mannerisms) one of my former secretaries presented 45 or so “1966ish” trivia questions, some of a general nature, others specific to Bismarck. The game proved to be a nice way to remember our collective days in Bismarck. During our teams’ deliberations, my wife whispered to me that the “trivia lady” looked like my former secretary. It wasn’t just me.
Gift Bag: After the trivia game was over, we hung around a bit before heading to the parking lot. As I was leaving, I grabbed one of the gift bags prepared for the 1966 graduates. The gift bag appropriately featured mostly medical stuff (a bamboo toothbrush, toothpaste tablets, bandages, antacids, ibuprofen, and an antiseptic towelette). It was an appropriate gift bag for a 60th reunion.
The Reunion – Day 2
The reunion committee had scheduled two events for Saturday, the first being a tour of the new Saint Mary’s Central High School and adjoining Our Lady of Victory Chapel. I had viewed the chapel’s ornate golden dome (reminiscent of Notre Dame) from a distance on two earlier occasions and would have enjoyed a tour of the school and chapel. But because of family commitments in the afternoon, we instead went to the Capital A’Fair (art fair on the capital mall) in the morning and skipped the tour.
The second event scheduled for Saturday was a dinner at the Bismarck Elks Club, 900 South Washington Street. This time, we got to the event on time, at 5 PM. The dinner (hamburgers and potato salad) was served at 6 PM and a two-member 60’s “band” played 60’s “hits” afterwards.
This time, one of my best friends from the class of 1966 found me. Erroll, one of the three friends that I had hoped to see, joined us for the evening. In addition to BHS (1966), Erroll and I had both attended Bismarck Junior College (1968) and North Dakota State University (1970) at the same time.
Erroll was one of the smartest people that I ever knew. He was a chemist by degree and returned to North Dakota after serving in Vietnam. He lived in Bismarck and worked as a chemist for the state. We had a nice visit, but I failed to ask Erroll a question that had bugged me over the years.
During our school days, Erroll loved (and seemed to take seriously) professional wrestling. I could never figure that out – it was a big disconnect for me. During the reunion, I invited Erroll to visit us in Omaha when he next jaunts our way. Maybe, I can ask him about “wrestling” the next time I see or talk to him.
Another classmate, Gene, also stopped by briefly to discuss Richard – a fellow friend and classmate who died a few years ago. Richard was my best friend during high school. We worked together for a while at KFYR-TV during our days in Bismarck. We also attended BJC and NDSU together. I would see Richard whenever I went back to Bismarck. He visited us in Omaha decades ago – but I had lost touch with him after my parents left Bismarck.
After dinner, the BHS class of 1966 posed for a class picture. Erroll, Gene, and I joined 44 others for the photo. The 47 photographed represented about 12% of the graduating class.
At my 25th reunion I noticed that the men (for the most part) had not changed. I could still recognize many of them. I could not say the same for the women; they can do so many things with their looks (e.g., hairstyles). This year’s photo was similar; I could recognize five or six of the men but none of the women. And the name tags were of little help. I found it awkward to stare at any of the women’s chests long enough to decipher their names.
Summary
The reunion events were pleasant. The venues, food, and entertainment were nice. I was happy that Erroll had sought me out and found me – among the other gray hairs. I appreciate all the work that Tara (BHS), Barb (SMCHS), and their committees did to make our “last” reunion so special. I am happy that I attended.
I regret that nothing profound or cathartic happened during the reunion. In some ways the class of 1966 still exists – frozen in time – with me looking in, with some feelings and anxieties unchanged. It is a strange feeling, that it is difficult for me to understand and explain.
If nothing else, I have a better appreciation for my father (the janitor), the shallowness of my own thinking, and a realization that I am living on borrowed time. The life expectancy statistics are sobering.
But maybe this is not my “last” reunion. My wife has been dragging me to her high school reunions over the years. She grew up in the Omaha area and graduated from Millard High School – long before Millard South, Millard North, and Millard West were built. Heck, I probably know more people from her graduating class than I do from mine. Her 60th reunion (if they hold one) is in three years. Time will tell!