The last time Amy Yokoi was seen by her Folsom classmates, she was being led away by marshals to be put into a Japanese internment camp.

That was 1941.

Now, she reunited with her former classmates for the first time since then. Their reunion included 14 of the original 19 Folsom High School graduates from the class of 1945.

“It’s amazing that there are enough of us still around here — and alive,” said Patricia Gallagher-Ludwig, 83, of Carmichael.

Most of this graduating class still lives in the region and attends reunions every five years to keep in touch.

Yokoi, 83, was taken out of class her freshman year at Folsom High School to be placed into a Japanese internment camp in 1941 during World War II and has not returned to a reunion to visit her Folsom classmates since then.

“It’s wonderful to be here, I always think about Folsom,” Yokoi said.

Yokoi said she was taken to an internment camp in Arizona. She returned to Sacramento after the war.

“We all had to leave, anyone that was Japanese, and go to an internment camp,” she said. “All these years I had thought about Folsom.”

Yokoi said she was invited to every Folsom reunion, but could never attend. This year, she said she wanted to come because she didn’t know if she would have another chance to see her friends and classmates again.

“When the war started, all these friends of mine were so nice to me. They never said anything negative to me,” Yokoi said. “They didn’t see me as Japanese, just a friend.”

Classmate Madeleine Peterson-Moseley, 83, still lives in Folsom and enjoys seeing all of her friends on a regular basis.

“This is wonderful and I see my friends all the time, but Amy is the important one,” Moseley said. “It was a terrible thing that happened when she was taken. The marshals came in and took her out of the classroom. She also had an older sister, younger sister and a brother.”

Other classmates discussed how Folsom used to be and how these reunions are a chance for them to talk about the past.

Stanley Hall, 82, also stayed in Folsom and worked as a school teacher for many years.

“It’s been a long time since I saw everyone, this is great,” Hall said. “It was great seeing Amy. It was the first time I saw her since high school.

“She spent some time in the internment camps and it was a difficult thing for her. It’s always good to reminisce and see everyone. You wouldn’t want to relive the days, but it’s nice to talk and see how Folsom has changed,” Hall said.

Lois Briggs, 83, of Folsom said Folsom was a wonderful place to grow up.

“A lot of us have been friends since the first grade,” Briggs said. “I just loved growing up in a small town. It was a good time to grow up in a small town. We were all Depression babies.”

One memory amongst the classmates was of a inspirational teacher and adviser.

“We had an outstanding student adviser, Miss Whitten,” said Neva Morris-Cimaroli, 83, of Folsom. “She was an inspiration to all of us because she wanted us all to do well.”

Cimaroli said she spent her last two years of high school in Folsom.

Tom and Thelma McDonald, 83 and 82, were high school sweethearts who married in 1950.

“We have kids and grandkids who live in Folsom in the house that I grew up in,” Tom said. “Folsom just isn’t what it used to be. It used to be a little country town.”

This year, Moseley had a special surprise planned to take her classmates on a tour of the local high schools.

Wallace Alamo, 84, of Sacramento, and June Schreiber, 83, of Sacramento both traveled up the hill to visit as well.

“It’s good to see everyone,” Alamo said. “We haven’t seen them in a while.”

LaVerne Denten-Hammon, 83, of Folsom has been with most of her high school classmates since first grade while first attending Granite Grammar School.

“We haven’t gotten together for a long time — and some of us haven’t gotten very far away,” Hammon said. “Now we are getting ready for the next reunion in five years.”