In an era in which it’s hard to organize a three-person parade, the annual Hopkins High School Alumni Reunion welcomed more than 200 former students and their guests Saturday afternoon.

Hopkins Alumni Association President Lee Dale “Pete” Arnsman, (Class of 1955) one of the key organizers of the event every year, said it was the largest alumni event ever in the school’s history.

The special class of honor, the Class of 1965 with its 50-year anniversary, counted 28 members who who showed up, some of whom came from as far away as Maryland and New Mexico.

Margie Vollink Calkins Hines once again was the representative of the earliest class, 1941, but she did not win the customary prize of a bouquet of flowers from Hillcrest Floral in Dorr. Arnsman and Hopkins Alumni Association June Krug (Class of 1956) invoked the old Big Ten-style rule that you can’t get the prize on consecutive years.

So there was a coin flip among three representatives on hand from the Class of 1942, Elwood Schwartz, Vivian Roberts Miedema and Dale Smith. Schwartz won the competition.

Wanda Buck Arndt, a representative from the Class of 1940, sent post card greetings to the crowd, but was unable to be present to collect her reward.

Though the roll call of the classes from 1941 forward had numerous responses, particularly from 1965, 1959 and 1960, there was nary a representative from any class past 1975.

PHOTOS: Elwood Schwartz shows off his booty, a flower arrangement, which he won in a coin flip with two other representatives from the Class of 1942.

Dick Church (center), Class of 1965, took the podium at the banquet to ask all of his classmates to gather for a photo after the festivities. At the podium with him are Pete Arnsman and June Krug.