Costa Mesa High School class of ’68 reunites for 50th anniversary

Every time Kris Villard gets on the 5 Freeway and is about to cross the 55 Freeway, she looks to the right and remembers being in her junior year on the Costa Mesa High School drill team, marching in the Santa Ana Christmas Parade.

It’s one of the memories she and others in Costa Mesa High’s class of 1968 hold dear. On Saturday, about 100 Mustangs will come together to share those memories and celebrate their 50th reunion at the Costa Mesa Country Club.

Villard, a lifelong Orange County resident aside from a short stint in Connecticut, has been to every 10-year class reunion. She helped put together the centerpieces this year, which consist of white cowboy boots resembling the ones she and her fellow drill team members wore.

“We clomped along in those for four years straight,” Villard said.

Besides the boot displays, the decor will feature photo boards handcrafted by Debra Moon — one for classmates who can’t attend and one for those who have died.

“I’m just happy to be alive because I realize some of my classmates aren’t right now, and I’m happy to be healthy and excited to see everyone,” Moon said.

The class of ’68 graduated amid a period dominated by the Vietnam War, civil-rights protests and the assassinations of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.

“We were … exposed to tumultuous times. It really made us feel like we had some social responsibility,” Moon said. “It made us aware that we needed to help the world a little bit. I’m proud to have grown up in that era.”

Moon said she’s particularly excited to see one of her best friends, Christine Snyder Rock, whom she met in second grade.

“I was the new girl,” Moon said. “The teacher assigned her to show me around and take care of me, and she’s been doing it for, you know, 61 years.”

Saturday’s celebration will feature a disc jockey, photo booth and buffet meal. According to reunion chairwoman Marianne Allen, many of the classmates will take a tour of the high school and have a picnic at Wakeham Park before the main event at the country club.

“One of the biggest memories [I have] was the fact that I was attending the high school that my dad helped develop and build,” Allen said.

Her father, Les Miller, was Costa Mesa High’s first principal in the late 1950s.

“I had several great friends whom I still keep in contact with today,” Allen said. “So many of us went different directions.”

Moon said she’s looking forward to catching up with classmates and seeing photos of their families.

As for Villard, she just hopes everyone is wearing a name badge.

charity.lindsey@latimes.com

Twitter @CharityNLindsey