Olympus High 1981 reunion planned for Aug. 20-21 takes classmates ‘back to the 80s’

By Heather Lawrence | [email protected]

High school students tend to think they’re invincible, and the class of Olympus High in 1981 was no different. To commemorate their homecoming game’s “hang gliding stunt” performed by then-class president Dave Jenkins, alumni take part in an annual hike. This year’s hike will be incorporated into their 40 year class reunion August 20-21.    

Sara Riley Colosimo is part of the class of 1981 and is on the organizing committee for the reunion. She remembers the hang gliding stunt fondly. She said it just shows what kind of fun people are a part of their group. 

“For the homecoming football game, Dave Jenkins, Dave Smith, and a few of their friends decided to hike Mount Olympus and hang glide off the mountain. To keep the secret from their parents, they hiked up the night before with flashlights and all their gear and left it up there for the next day. 

“They were back home about 6 a.m. the next morning, in time for one of the students to nearly get caught by his dad who was out getting the newspaper,” Colosimo said. 

The day of the game, Jenkins hiked back up to where the gear was stored and got into his hang glider. As the Titans played football, Jenkins soared down from the mountain. He landed safely on the field at halftime—in a toga. 

Since then, the graduates have tried to plan an annual hike up Mount Olympus or another location to have fun and stay connected.  

“For our 30th reunion in 2011 we got some more women involved. That was good. And the year we turned 50, we had a ‘Lady Titans Turn 50’ event and all went to stay in an Airbnb in Moab,” said Colosimo, who still lives in Holladay.   

Though many have moved away and only see their former classmates at reunions, some still live in the area. Two members of the Holladay City Council, Paul Fotheringham and Matt Durham, are members of the class. Fotheringham is on the reunion committee and helped plan the events, including this year’s hike, which has a change of venue. 

“Usually we hike up Mount Olympus, but this year we’ve changed it to Hidden Peak in Snowbird up Little Cottonwood Canyon. We’ll meet Fri., Aug. 20 at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast. Some people just come for that. The hike will start about 8:30.

“We break it down into four fitness levels: The Couch Potatoes who just want to have breakfast and can take the tram up and back. The Still Got Its will take the tram up and hike down. The Amazing for Your 50s hike to the peak and take the tram down. And the Animal group, which of course is Dave Jenkins, hikes up and back. They have cheesecake at the top,” Colosimo said. 

The website www.olympushighschool1981.com has all the details of the other reunion events. After the hike, there is a re-meet and greet event for classmates. That’s Fri., Aug 20 at the Cottonwood Country Club in Holladay. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased on Eventbrite. 

The event with spouses and partners welcome is “Back to the 80s” themed. It’s Sat., Aug 21 at the Studio Event Center in Draper (the old Draper Park School) beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $65 and include dinner. They are also available through Eventbrite. 

Tickets are still available and can be reserved up until the day before the events, Aug. 18. For the hike, contact Dave Jenkins at [email protected]. Tickets for the other two events are available on the website. More information is on the Facebook page Olympus High School Class of 1981, or by emailing anyone on the committee that’s listed on the website.  

“I’ve met a lot of new friends that I didn’t really know in high school through these events. After the year we’ve had, I’m really looking forward to seeing people again and having fun remembering some good times. 

“I hope everyone who can make it comes to some or all of the events. It’s been really fun to get to know new people and to reconnect with others,” Colosimo said.