SALISBURY — What’s better than one high school reunion? How about 10 all at the same time.

Boyden High School graduates from various years poured into the Hudson, Miller, Tatum VFW Post 3006 on Saturday for an unconventional reunion.

Organizer Ott Pinkston, Class of 1960, said he got the idea from the event’s emcee, Gary Edens, after the latter called him about having a 65th reunion.

According to Pinkston, the idea to have all those classes combined into one reunion came from a friend of Edens in Arizona.

“He said he had a friend who held a class reunion and they invited several other classes,” Pinkston said. “So I got that idea and started telling all the classes.”

Boyden High School changed to Salisbury High School in 1971 after merging with J.C. Price High School, but it officially desegregated and began enrolling Black students in 1964.

“We pretty much invited anybody that went to Boyden before it changed its name,” Pinkston said.

Having been out of high school for six decades, Pinkston said that you lose some classmates along the way.

“When you get old, you don’t have as many people (still alive),” Pinkston said. “I lost my wife while I was planning this thing.”

Pictures of those who have since died were shared on a memorial wall with each listed by the year of their graduating class.

Pinkston’s advice to high school graduates is to always go to your reunions if you can. He himself has only missed one, when his work schedule would not permit his appearance.

“Somebody asked me not too long ago, ‘If you are to leave Salisbury, what would you take with you?’” Pinkston said. “My immediate answer, didn’t have to think about it, my friends. Friends are the best thing in the world that you could possibly have.”

Still, Pinkston acknowledged that life happens and it can be hard to stay in touch with those friends. One year turns into five pretty quickly and people change.

“You see people you haven’t seen in years and don’t recognize sometimes,” Pinkston said. “A really good friend of mine that I have not seen in 10 years and I would not have recognized him.”

As he pointed out, that is why every one got a name tag when they walked in.

Reflecting back on his time at Boyden, Pinkston remembered a strong athletic department.

It was a good class. We got along. We were a terrific athletic school. My sophomore year, we won the state championships in football. The only team that beat us was Wilmington (New Hanover). They had a guy named Roman Gabriel.”

Gabriel is the all-time leading touchdown passer for the Los Angeles Rams.

“That is the only team that beat Salisbury that year,” Pinkston said.

He is also grateful for his math teacher Ms. Nicholson, who even helped him pass a math class at Catawba College.

“When I was at Catawba, I was taking a basic math class,” Pinkston said. “I’d always done pretty well in math, but I was not doing well in this class. So I called her. She said bring your book over and I aced the next test.”

As for the cuisine, Pinkston said that Hendrix BBQ was an easy choice. He wanted to make sure that guests had helpings of BBQ and hot dogs and of course Cheerwine.

“That is what everyone wants to have when they come back,” he said.

A packed VFW exceeded attendance expectations, but Pinkston and others estimated the crowd swelled past 150 people.