The 88th Annual Wright City High School Alumni Dinner and Dance is Saturday, June 9, and all Wright City graduates are invited.The event will have a portion open to alumni and a portion open to the general public. Reservations are due by May 25The classes of 1943, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013 will be honored. The Class of 2018 will be honored as well, and 2018 graduates can attend for free as long as they make reservations.Cathy (Lindsey) Engelage is president of the alumni board. She said guests come from all over; in town, out of town and out of state. She said a lot of Wright City graduates like to stay in touch, in person, face to face.Engelage said the event typically attracts about 200 people every year.“Everybody has bad days in high school but there were good ones too. The friendships and the experience are not like anywhere else,” she said.The experiences and people, she said, “are etched in your memory.”Engelage was in one of the school’s smaller classes.“I knew everyone in my class. When I saw them, I knew their names,” she said.She was in the class of 1974. She graduated with students who were with her in kindergarten. They learned together, had fun together and took care of each other throughout their school years.As the school has grown, students have less opportunity to get to know their classmates the way she did.The progression goes with the history of the school. Wright City High School became a state approved school in 1922, almost a century ago. The first graduating class, the Class of 1931, had 19 students. The Class of 2018 will have 109 students graduating.The annual alumni party will be held at the Lions Club at 678 Westwoods Road in Wright City. The evening begins at 4 p.m. with social hour. There will be a cash bar with setups and coolers are allowed. The alumni meeting is at 6 p.m. and then dinner, pork and chicken, catered by Almost Home Catering will be served at 6:30 p.m.At 8:30 p.m. the party opens to the public for the dance. The Nitty Gritty Old Dudes Band will perform. The band features alumnus Bob Gentry. Guests should bring their own beverages to the dance.The cost is $20 per person for the dinner and dance. Advanced reservations are required for dinner.The dance is $10 per person. Walk-ins are welcome.Proceeds from the event go to next year’s event and a scholarship for a Wright City High School graduate, said Engelage.Like the city and school has changed over time, so has the party during its 80-plus year tradition.“It was a big, fancy dinner,” Engelage recalled. “Years ago, it was a big deal. You’d dress up real formal and get your hair done.”Today it’s more “come as you are.”“There is no dress code,” she said. “Come ready for a good time,”Not everyone who lives in Wright City graduated from Wright City High School. Some graduates moved out of town. Others attended the high school but didn’t finish there. Engelage said people who fit in any of those categories can attend to the Alumni Dinner Dance. They don’t turn people away.The group hopes later generations will keep the Alumni Association going long into the future.“Our dream is for there to always be an alumni celebration the second Saturday of June, every year,” said Engelage.The Lions Club is reserved all day. Any class that wants to meet at the hall earlier in the day can call Ardell (Held) Mikus at 636-745-3927 to reserve a time.Checks may be mailed to WCHS Alumni Association; PO Box 315; Wright City, MO 63390.For more information, visit www.wrightcityalumni.com or find Wright City Alumni Association on Facebook.Wright City R-II School District