Roy Abbott and Donnie Russell have been best friends since their high school days, about some 50 years ago.

As members of the Dallas County High School class of 1964, Abbott and Russell decided to get the crew back together Tuesday to celebrate with a 50th reunion.

“Me and a high school buddy [Abbott], now three and a half years ago, were riding around one day saying we would like to put together another high school reunion,” Russell said. “We thought and we thought, and I said, ‘Bingo, let’s do it in the barn.’”

They talked about having the reunion at a restaurant or event facility, but decided that they really wanted to have it at a place that they could stay all day and bring their own food. That place was Russell’s barn.

“We had our first reunion, now three years ago here,” Russell said. “It’s just grown leaps and bounds, with underclassmen, relatives and friends coming.”

The reunion started out with just the class of 1964, but at this year’s event, members from ’64, ’65 and ’66 were represented.

“Some of these people, we haven’t seen each other in 50 years,” Russell said. “If we haven’t seen each other in 50 years, it’s worth driving across several states to see somebody.”

Several graduates did make the trip from other states across the South, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana and Georgia.

Judy Nix Mayes, a graduate of 1965, said that the drive was well worth it, and she is excited to be able to see everyone that she hasn’t seen is so long.

“We’re just a family. There was only 26 in our class, and we were always together,” Mayes said. “Friendships that just never end.”