The 50th reunion of the Main High School Class of 1959 this weekend is a special one.

On Friday evening, the class of 1959 celebrated and reminisced during a gathering at the Kelsey-Aycock-Burrell Center, a building of historical and personal significance to the class. The building on Washington Drive in Rome is where they attended high school.

Green and gold banisters with the school mascot emblem “The Mighty Panthers” adorned the walls, while 50s music played in the background.

Members of this class attended school during segregation, a time when blacks were forced to attend separate schools, churches, restaurants and more.

“We’re the class of the Jim Crow segregated schools, and we’ve lived to see the changes brought about,” said Eddie Neal Hood.

The school closed in 1969 when segregation ended. The class takes pride in the building now being recognized on the National Historic Registry.

Classmate Glinder Finley also remembers the times leading up to the integration of blacks into white schools.

“The good Lord has brought us a very mighty long way,” she said. “Our children have seen that come about.”

The election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first black president couldn’t have come at a more fitting time, many of them said.

“We were able to see a new era of a black president, and it happened around 50 years after graduating,” said Hood. “It really makes us feel good.”

Many agreed that way back when they could have never imagined a black president.

Despite the hardships, there were indirect benefits because of the challenges.

Many attending Friday night’s meeting said that black teachers pushed students more during their time because of the social climate.

“High school was very student-oriented, and they taught you the values of life,” said Hood.

“The concerns were reading, writing and arithmetic, and it was very instilled in us,” agreed Finley.

The reunion will continue today with a breakfast at Ryan’s steakhouse on Shorter Avenue from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and banquet tonight at 7 p.m. at the Kelsey-Aycock-Burrell Center.

On Sunday, Grier will lead an 11:30 a.m. service at The Life of Jesus in Action Church off Old Airport Road.