In 1955, things were a bit different for Jasper students. Entertainment was provided by scrambling up the Athabasca Falls and spending the weekends dancing. Communication came in the form of riding bikes through the streets in lieu of a phone call, and few cars roamed the streets – let alone brand new ones. 

On Oct. 7 to 9, hundreds of former and current Jasperites will gather at the Sawridge Inn for Jasper Daze to reminisce about growing up in Jasper. The reunion is being organized by former Jasperite Marj Cooper, née Lewis, who has been inundated with requests for a 2010 edition of Jasper Daze after the success of the 2005 event that celebrated the Jasper High School graduation class of 1955’s 50th anniversary. 

Jasper Daze started when Cooper was living in Kamloops. She wanted to meet with former Jasper residents she had run into, and began planning a lunch event at a home. As she began networking to set up a small lunch for 10 people, more and more people began contacting her, and the event grew to fit into a restaurant, then a hotel, until a total of 147 people were signed up. 

“The Jasper grapevine just kind of works like magic,” Cooper said. 

After the success of the first meeting, another was held in Saint Albert, Alta., with 178 people in attendance. It was then that Cooper decided the next obvious step was to bring a reunion directly to Jasper, and in 2005 well over 200 people came into town for the event. 

Cooper has reached her fellow classmates a number of ways. She has made it her mission to distribute obituaries of former classmates, which has spurred people to come forward. 

“People like to know when their old friends pass on,” Cooper said, adding that the obituaries have brought more and more interest to meeting with former Jasperites who are still around. “I have quite a large database.”

At the 2005 reunion, people travelled from cities around Jasper, but the 2010 edition will draw in former Jasper residents from international destinations as well. 

“This time we’re even getting people from Florida and Oregon,” Cooper said. 

She has also received replies from people who graduated in the 1960s. Some of the attendees don’t have to travel far – the reunion will welcome current Jasperites who have been here for forty or more years. 

Cooper discussed some highlights of growing up in Jasper. She remained in town until 1963, eight years after her graduation. She remembered sliding down the Old Fort Point and scrambling up the Athabasca Falls before there were safety rails. She said her fellow grads must have had guardian angels protecting them from the crazy activities they engaged in. 

“We just grew up in a whole different atmosphere. Our parents never worried about us.”

In 1955 Jasper had few cars, and teenagers communicated by hopping on their bike and riding across town to meet with friends. 

“It was a great place to grow up,” Cooper said. 

Cooper, who used to live behind the post office when she resided in Jasper, began organizing the reunion months ago, and took a trip to Jasper just months after the town’s totem pole had been taken down. She took photos and sent out emails to her classmates, who were shocked and saddened to hear about the totem pole being taken down. Cooper remembers meeting with friends underneath the pole. 

“We’re all very possessive of Jasper,” she said. “Everyone’s so upset that the totem pole’s gone. You send out anything to do with Jasper you just get this flood of replies.”

Since the 2005 reunion, Cooper estimates that about 60 attendees have passed away. 

“We don’t dwell on that either,” she said, adding that they choose to celebrate the times shared in Jasper.

The reunion will kick off with a few speeches. Cooper hopes either MP Rob Merrifield or MLA  Robin Campbell will attend and speak. After that the reunion is all about getting to know one another again. 

“They don’t expect to be entertained,” she said. “We all have the same memories of growing up in Jasper. We talk about the old times, it’s just a riot.”

To coincide with the reunion, the Jasper Yellowhead Museum will have a Jasper Daze exhibit featuring artifacts from the era, including two high school sweaters donated by Cooper, and photos. 

The reunion will start on Oct. 7, with a meet and greet at Walter’s at the Sawridge Inn from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Oct. 8, registration will take place at the Sawridge Inn from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. At 5 p.m., a cash bar will open and a buffet dinner will start off the festivities that will go on until 11 p.m. The reunion will feature a raffle for prizes including local artwork. On Oct. 9, there will be a buffet breakfast to finish off the weekend.