Over 100 graduates of a northwest Iowa college that no longer exists are gathering this weekend for a reunion. Wayne Marty is the reunion’s brainchild.Marty is a 1953 graduate of Westmar who’s celebrating his 50th year reunion this weekend. He taught biology at Westmar for 35 years, and when the college closed in 1997, Marty was president of Westmar’s board of directors. He says it’s been difficult to arrange a reunion when the college no longer exists.Marty says word spread mostly by word of mouth, and about 120 Westmar graduates are in LeMars for the reunion. Marty admits some graduates may find it difficult to revisit the now-closed campus. Marty says graduates who live in LeMars may have adjusted better. The group will take a tour of campus, and he guesses there’ll be some “bittersweet feelings.” The Plymouth County Historical Museum in LeMars houses much of the college’s memorabilia, and the Westmar grads gathered at the museum last night. Marty says they put a lot of things out for the reunion-goers to see, but the space and the collection is not in order yet. They’ve received a state grant for the project. Westmar, once a church-affiliated college, graduated its final class in November, 1997. Marty says they intend to hold a Westmar reunion every year, on the second weekend in August.
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