Robbinsdale reunion draws many

The school is gone, but the spirit lives on. The old Robbinsdale High turned back the clock this past weekend, with a blockbuster reunion. For one more tiime, proud alumni were rockin Robins.
Howard Schwartz, who graduated in 1969. "This is a fulfillment of a need that hadn't been addressed for a long, long time," he said.
The three-day event was a throwback party. There were old knick knacks, the Robins mascot, cheerleaders and a pep fest. It was a chance to look back on academic and athletic success.
"Who has the nine Lake Conference football trophies that we can't find," joked Mark Sorenson, the reunion coordinator. "We're offering an amnesty program. No questions asked."
Robbinsdale High opened in 1936 and closed in 1982. In that span 22,000 students went to school there, but once the doors shut for good, they lost their school identity.
"All of a sudden you were homeless," Schwartz said. "You don't have a home. Cooper didn't want us and Armstrong didn't want us. Since '82 you had a bunch of people just sort of roaming around."
Some 3,000 former Robins flocked back to their old school, including Channel 12's John Jacobson, a 1979 graduate. They all reflected on some special snapshots in time.
"I made life long friendships," said Tim McCarthy, class of 1970. "Robbinsdale was one of the greatest times in my life."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Schwartz said. "I'm no longer invisible. I'm no longer forgotten."
Eric Nelson, reporting
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12 News is on Comcast cable channel 12 in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.