The Mentone High School Alumni Association is finalizing plans for their participation in the Mentone Egg Festival parade and open house scheduled for June 1.
This year, the group will celebrate the 50th graduation anniversary of the last class to graduate from Mentone High School.
Graduates of the class of 1974 (the last graduating class) will be featured on the MHS Alumni Association’s float in this year’s parade. The festival theme, “Once a Bulldog … Always a Bulldog,” honors the importance of the school to the community.
The parade begins at 11 a.m. and following the parage, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., the Alumni Association will be hosting an open house in the former high school gym now located in the center of Mentone Elementary School. School alumni, the general public and alumni from other county high schools are invited to view photos and memorabilia by many of the school’s graduating classes, the Mentone Museum and special memories by Aaron Rovenstine. There will be no charge to attend the open house.
The Mentone gym is one of the few county high school gyms still standing. The gym was built in 1953 and remains in use by the Mentone Elementary School. Other high school graduates are encouraged to attend the open house to reminisce about playing or attending basketball games and other events in the gym.
In the summer of 1999, the former Mentone High School was torn down. The gym remained and became the center of the remodeled Mentone Elementary School.
The 2024 Mentone Egg Festival kicks off May 30 and runs through June 2. The event features entertainment, games, food, a downtown parade, a play area for children and a huge car, truck, motorcycle and tractor show. All entertainment events are free. Flea markets and crafters will line Main Street.
Alumni interested in displaying memorabilia are asked to contact the Alumni Association Board. The Alumni Association can be reached by email at [email protected].