It was a tumultuous time in the U.S., with the war in Vietnam ramping up and assassinations appearing on black-and-white TVs. It also included unforgettable music, as the Motown sound preceded the arrival of the Beatles.

Those memories and many more will be celebrated for the last time next month, as the Butler High School Class of 1964 celebrates their final class reunion.

The reunion committee members are in the final stages of planning their upcoming 60th reunion, who are getting older and have decided the rigors of planning a reunion for the large class have become too much.

The group of friends, who did not associate in high school, have organized 11 reunions starting with the class’s 10th anniversary of graduation.

The 50th reunion drew the highest number of attendees, at more than 300. The class had 812 graduates, said Sheila (Giesler) Gealey, who is at the helm of the committee.

“We had a really good class,” she said. “It was the good old days of the ‘50s and ‘60s.”

Gealey said the class represents the first baby boomers to graduate from Butler High School, as they were born the year after World War II ended.

“I still have connections with many of my grade school friends,” said Karen (Fleske) Stewart, who hosted the most recent reunion committee meeting.

The committee members also are proud of the notable graduates from 1964, including the late Gerhard Klann, who served on three Navy SEAL teams and two underwater demolition teams in his illustrious 20-year naval career, which included three tours in Vietnam and gathering intelligence by posing as a German businessman in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis in the 1970s.

Dr. Ernest “Gene” Moore, developed the concept of patient triage in an emergency center. Rebecca West was a well-respected language teacher at the University of Chicago; Daniel D’Aniello was a founder of Carlyle, a Fortune 500 global investment firm; and Bill Green was an on-air Republican political analyst for KDKA in Pittsburgh.

Another proud member of the Class of 1964 and member of the reunion committee was the late Bob Brandon.

Brandon attended a Christmas party planned and attended by the reunion committee in 2021.

“He was at the party on Wednesday, and he died the following Monday,” said Gealey.

Brandon created a 4-by-6 inch flexible magnet made for the 50th class reunion with a whimsical design and the words “Butler High School Class of 1964. We improved the world.”

The magnet is now a treasured keepsake from the fun and artistic Brandon.

One of the many 60th reunion activities is a visit on Sept. 20 by the classmates to the JayBee Circus at the Butler Eagle. Brandon helped restore the miniature circus when its creator, Jimmy Bashline, died. He also spearheaded a project to have the aging circus returned to Butler County from Beaver County a few years ago.

The circus has now been expertly refurbished by volunteers who knew and loved Brandon, and it is being displayed at the Butler Eagle.

The reunion invitation details Brandon’s involvement with the miniature circus, which includes memories of Brandon and classmate Sam Baron walking past Bashline’s garage, where he created the miniature circus tents, characters, animals and tiny machines to flip the trapeze artists and move other features of the impressive circus.

Charlotte Brandon, Bob’s widow, plans to be at the Eagle to explain Bob’s role in returning the circus to Butler County.

While the JayBee Circus visit will take place Friday morning, Sept. 20, another unique event will take place that night at Coleman Hall in the Lyndora neighborhood of Butler Township.

The classmates will gather for a dinner that will feature a Back to the Future menu.

Items on the menu will include Jet 747 subs, hot dogs with chili sauce that replicates the famous sauce used by the former Hot Dog Shop on East Jefferson Street as well as fries with orange gravy, which was another unforgettable and delicious menu item at the unique restaurant.

The reunion dinner dance will be held on the evening of Sept. 21, where a DJ will play the oldies the classmates danced to in 1964.

“We still do the twist at the reunions,” Gealey said of the 1960s’ most famous dance. “Well, some of us.”

Although it seemed to many the world was spinning out of control in the 1960s, the reunion committee members recall the fun and high jinks they enjoyed as teens.

They danced at the Tumble Inn each Friday night, where a DJ would spin dance records of the day at the Butler YMCA, which is the current location of the Cubs Hall on South McKean Street.

Committee member Marsh Miller, who was on the varsity basketball team, recalled the coach instructing the players in no uncertain terms not to go out Friday night so they would be rested for a big game the next day.

“Everyone (on the team) went to the Tumble Inn, and sure enough, the coach came in,” Miller remembered.

He said the players tried to hide, but were discovered by the savvy coach.

“He caught everybody,” Miller said, laughing at the memory. “The next day, he was pretty mad.”

The reunion committee also remembered a venue called Danceland, which was on the second floor of a store across from the Penn Theater.

The Class of ’64 also attended all the home football games to root on their beloved Golden Tornado.

Committee member Linda (Heitzer) Gibala remembered stopping after the football games at a little hole-in-the-wall called the Frontier Restaurant on New Castle Street between Main and Washington streets.

The restaurant was in the basement, as she recalled having to go down four or five steps to get into the venue.

“We got the basic junk food, like pizza or French fries,” Gibala said.

Miller also recalled seeing bands at Rock Falls Park in Slippery Rock and hanging out at the city’s playgrounds in the evenings.

“I lived there in the summer,” Miller said of the playgrounds at Institute Hill, the South Hills and other places.

“Out in the country, we went ice skating and tobogganing,” said Stewart.

The committee members hope everyone, including classmates who normally did not attend the reunions, comes out to enjoy food, fun, a miniature circus, and lots of memories at the final Class of 1964 reunion.

“I’m glad we had the 11 reunions,” Gibala said. “It’s bittersweet to me now.”

Gealey said the committee will continue to enjoy lunches together throughout the year as well as the annual Christmas party.

Stewart said she looks forward to the reunion next month, and maybe more so now that it has been designated the last one.

“When I got to the reunion and see the people, I’m back in 10th grade,” she said.

For more information or to register for one or all of the 60th reunion activities, visit classcreator.com/Butler-Pennsylvania-Butler-Area-Shs-1964 or call Stewart at 724-287-2854

Information on the reunion also is available by searching “Butler PA High School Class of 1964” on Facebook.