Flipping through old yearbooks and swapping memories of the Palm Sunday tornado that hit during their final weeks of high school, alumni from the Crystal Lake Central Class of 1965 gathered for their 60th anniversary reunion this month.

The graduates of Crystal Lake Central High – then known as Crystal Lake Community High – gathered at the Colonel Palmer House in Crystal Lake to view exhibits presented by the Crystal Lake Historical Society that encapsulate their senior year.

[ See photos from the aftermath of the '65 Palm Sunday tornado in Crystal Lake ]

The exhibit “Tornado Tales” chronicles residents’ experiences from the Palm Sunday tornado, while the other exhibits capture 1965 through pop culture and memorabilia from the Central graduating class.

The reunion comes a few months after the 60th anniversary of the Palm Sunday tornado. The F-4 tornado touched down in Crystal Lake about 3:30 p.m. April 11, 1965, destroying more than 100 homes, killing five residents and injuring at least 95 before moving on to Island Lake, where it dug a trench in the bottom of the lake, destroyed more homes and killed a 5-year-old boy.

Soon after, Community High became the town’s emergency help station for aid, food and shelter. More than 200 people came to offer rooms in their homes to people in need of shelter, according to the Crystal Lake Historical Society.

Pat Paul, a member of the Class of 1965, was on a class trip to Washington, D.C. when the tornado hit. She asked friends to check on her home, the back of which was completely ripped off, she said. Her family was unharmed, but they were only three houses down from the Dopke house, which was lifted off the ground and came down on top of 19-year-old George Dopke, who survived.

Susan McLaughlin recalled being in her home with her grandmother who watched the “weird clouds” coming in. Class member and reunion organizer Cheryl Burden said she was in her car in downtown Crystal Lake when it started to rock from the high winds.

Other classmates from later years also popped in for a visit. Friendly banter could be heard amongst the crowd, many repeating the phrase “’65: Best alive.”

The 1965 class reunites every five years, Burden said. Many come from around the country, such as Colorado and North Carolina, for the occasion.

“It’s nice seeing everybody and catching up,” she said. “We don’t all remember the same things, so it’s interesting to hear what everybody remembers.”