Wayne Shaffer was 10 years old when his school was blown to pieces. He, his brother and the girl he would later marry were all at the London School that Thursday, busy learning until their world was shaken by a gas explosion in the building's basement. Somehow, amid crumbling classrooms and complete chaos, all three managed to stay alive.

As the dust from the explosion settled, the immediate crisis over, they were still physically intact. Many would call that lucky. But for them and everyone else who was left standing in the aftermath, the pain had just begun.

Click the image above for an audio slideshow in the survivors own words. Click the image above to see a video on London history. Click the image above for more photos. MORE NEW LONDON STORIES: Cenotaph honors those killed in school explosion  London Museum houses items from tragic day  Cemetery home to 129 killed in blast  Through their eyes: Four survivors discuss how the New London explosion changed them forever  During oil boom, before explosion, the school was the PRIDE of New London  Reporters converge on New London  Odor now added to natural gas  Community gathers to honor those who died in school explosion and those who lived  Faces, forever changed: School blast survivors still unable to talk about those they lost  Remembrances roll as London School graduates gather  Silence was normal for many survivors  A shared pain: London School graduates gather to mark blast's 70th anniversary  Explosion survivor's faith still strong after tragedy

As the initial shock passed, so too did the desire to talk about the entire affair, and Shaffer, like so many of his friends and neighbors, would go a long time before ever looking back.

"It was something that was very difficult for me to even think about," Shaffer said. "I never talked to my father-in-law about it but twice or three times, and it would be a very, very brief conversation. We didn't talk about it."

He and everyone else went on with their lives, leaving unanswered any questions that they or others had about the event.

But decades later, Shaffer would inspire a change.

In 1975, he started working on a project: an alumni association, or at least a reunion, for his former classmates and everyone else who went to his school. His goal was to get people together in time for the 40th anniversary of the disaster, and in 1977 he accomplished that.

From Shaffer's efforts, the New London Ex-Student Reunion and Memorial Association was born, becoming a nonprofit group in the mid-1980s. Now, the alumni group works to brighten the future for the descendents of those who were involved in the school tragedy by awarding them scholarships every year.

Shaffer isn't quite sure what prompted him to put an ad for a reunion in the newspaper that first year.

"I guess because of my heritage and my wife and brother, I simply wanted to have everybody back," he mused. "I suppose it was maybe a selfish reason just to maybe meet and see everyone again that I could."

His initial effort drew about 12 responses, along with some criticism.

"When I ran the ad, I had people call that were members of the (1937) class that didn't want any part of it and didn't like that I was doing that, but we got over that hurdle," Shaffer said.

Those who were interested gathered in Shaffer's home in Arlington to map out a plan for getting the word out, ultimately dividing up parts of Texas and surrounding states and putting one person in charge of each region.

When 1977 rolled around, Shaffer reserved a meeting place at a hotel in Kilgore and began making preparations for a reunion dinner.

"I didn't know whether I'd have 5 or 100 (show up)," he said.

About 250 attended, far exceeding his expectations.

"We ran completely out of food," Shaffer recalled. "There weren't even any gravy and biscuits left."

It was at that meeting that the group decided to meet once every two years.

Today marks the last day for this year's gathering. Jean Davidson, secretary-treasurer for the Ex-Student Reunion and Memorial Association and a 1959 New London graduate, expects a crowd of about 300 people.

As secretary-treasurer for the association, Davidson is responsible for keeping up with as many of the 1,400 members as she can, sending them newsletters when it comes time for a reunion. She also keeps track of the organization's financial status, which determines how many scholarships are awarded. This past year, 17 people received $500 scholarships.

Several of this year's attendees traveled a long way, Davidson said. One person came from Canada; others made the trip from Washington, Idaho and Virginia.

"Mostly we just get together and renew old friendships," Davidson said.

For survivors of the explosion, the reunion is a good time for mending, said Wanda Kennel, a local counselor for about 20 years.

"The fact that they'll be able to share their memories, their thoughts on what happened — I think it will be a wonderful healing tool for a lot of people," Kennel said.

Although it's been seven decades since tragedy struck and talking has been long overdue for some, it will help.

"I think (talking) is always beneficial," Kennel said. "You talk about it to the best of your ability."

While it would be strange to not discuss such a disaster today, the silence that so many people shrouded their grief in was more normal 70 years ago.

"From the sound of it, it was the culture of the area," Kennel said. "It was OK years ago that you didn't talk about it."

For Shaffer, meeting with other survivors and finally bringing the past into the open helped him accept the situation, he said.

Shaffer, who lives in Hillsboro with his wife, wasn't sure Thursday if he could make it to this weekend's reunion, but remembered the alumni association's beginnings with fondness.

"It was mighty tough starting," Shaffer said. "What was hard about it was bringing these people back that were in that building that had lost family. ... They did want to come back. I don't know how much they talked about it, but they did want to come back."