The Biddeford High School Class of 1972 will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its graduation the weekend of Oct. 21 through 23 this fall.

A series of tours of local landmarks is planned, including the high school (most recently renovated in 2012), according to Dr. Donald A. Dube, Reunion Committee chair and class valedictorian. Also scheduled is Class of ’72 attendance at the Biddeford football game versus Westbrook that Friday evening, Oct 21. Directly following the football game there will be a “Come hang out with the Class of ’72 social at Blaze Brewing, 28 Pearl St., Biddeford. Friends of the Class ’72 and other BHS class members are invited.

The Class of ’72 will attend a Memorial Mass at St. Joseph Church on Sunday the 23 for some 38 deceased members.

A ceremony to honor class members who served in the armed forces is also planned for the reunion Oct. 22.

The graduating class consists of 303 students and an additional number of adult graduates. About 40 percent of the graduating class is comprised of students who attended St. Louis Regional High School prior to its sudden closure in 1970. The Biddeford Senior High school population doubled from about 600 students to well over 1,300 when the decision was also made to move the ninth grade class from Biddeford Junior High to the senior high for the fall. This increase necessitated double sessions at the reformulated high school for two years while construction of the addition proceeded, with juniors and seniors attending morning session while freshmen and sophomores followed in the afternoon. According to Dube, this made matters challenging to hold club meetings and activities, as well as athletic team practices and games. “We found a way to manage it and, in fact, excelled,” Dube said.

The 1971 Tiger football team went undefeated to win the Class A State Championship. Notable players from that team include Allstate First Team seniors Andy Drapeau, Ron Marchand, Norm Fecteau, Dave Audie, and junior Carl LeBlanc. Ron Marchand was selected the first ever recipient of the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy as the outstanding football player in the state in 1971-72.

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Also, in 1971 the Tiger boys and girls gymnastics teams won dual state championships, an accomplishment never duplicated in Maine high school gymnastics history. Key members of those squads include Debra (Petit) Lagasse ’72 and the late Steve Randall ‘72, first place winners in multiple events at their respective state meets. The boys’ team would later repeat as state champions in 1972. Both Randall and Petit have been inducted into the Biddeford Athletic Hall of Honor.

Also of athletic fame is Class of ’72 graduate Joey Cordeau, four-time World Professional Mogul Skiing Champion out of Sun Valley, Idaho.

The Class of ’72 is also recognized for its many academic accomplishments. BHS students taking part in the 1971 Southern Maine Regional Science Fair held at Falmouth High School came home with five of the nine first-place awards sponsored by the State Principals Association involving high schools of York and Cumberland counties. Altogether, Biddeford High School students earned 12 of the 22 total awards, with seven members of the Class of ’72 taking home honors.

In 1972, BHS students won the statewide first place Novice Trophy in debate at Brunswick High School.

A Class of 1972 Scholarship fund has been established at Biddeford High to recognize recent and future graduates planning to attend two or four-year colleges.

More information regarding registration for activities during the reunion weekend can be obtained from Kim Loranger at (207) 205-0243.

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