Bloom High Goes National With Big Class Reunion in Arizona

alumni traded stories of their high school days and sang the fight song with fists raised in the air. There were photographs of the old Bloom Township High School from the 1930s, along with old yearbooks and graduation ribbons yellowed by time.

But this was not your typical reunion just down the street from the old school.

On Sunday, 1,736 miles away from Chicago Heights, former Bloom students gathered at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, AZ, to remember high school days gone by. 

"The first Bloom High reunion we had in Arizona was May 1, 1994," said organizer and 1967 Bloom grad Margaret Epley Zatarski. "The idea first began when I had called up Mr. Herr to get an old yearbook. We got to talking, and he told me his dream was to have a Bloom High School reunion in every state in the U.S.

"I told him I would make part of that dream come true and have one in Arizona." 

Barton Herr, now deceased, not only helped create a national remembrance of Bloom reunions, he was instrumental in getting the Bloom High archives room started. The room is now named the Barton Herr/Richard Felicetti Bloom Archives Room.

In Arizona, Zatarski regularly organizes the Bloom reunion the second Sunday in November.

"Anybody in the whole United States is invited," Zatarski said. "They don't have to be a graduate of Bloom High School. They can have attended one year or even one day, it doesn't matter. Today is our 18th year. The biggest turnout we had was about seven years ago when 150 people came. It averages about 70 to 90 alumni." 

Everyone at the reunion said they would like to see more people attend.

Bloom alum Richard Felicetti, who now lives in Peoria, AZ, and his wife Sharon are the biggest Bloom cheerleaders in the state.

"We appreciate what Margaret has been doing," Felicetti said. "We would correspond when I would work in the Bloom archives." Felicetti worked in the archives from 2000 to 2010.

There are no regrets from Bloom alum for moving to the land of the sun. Chicago Heights is still on the hearts of many as they miss various places and people.

"I miss the Italian food in Chicago Heights," said Vivian Aprati-Lacorte, a 1956 Bloom grad. "I lived on 24th Street, we came out here for a fresh start. I am so glad this reunion is here. It's nice to get together with people who come from the same area I did."

As alum gathered under a canopy at the park and traded stories, they were happy to come together again for the sake of memories and to never forget where they came from: Bloom High.

If you attended Bloom High School and are interested in attending next year's reunion in Arizona, please contact Margaret Epley Zatarski at 602-639-0533, or email her at maggieroy54@yahoo.com.