Class of 1960 reunion

After many delays, the class of 1960 was able to celebrate their 62nd class reunion together. They enjoyed a weekend of sharing memories, laughing and learning. A happy hour, dinner, tour of the school and a brunch were all events available that weekend. Below is a write up of the events and a couple photos. More photos and as well as the write up may be accessed with this link. 

WHS Class of 1960 62^nd Yr Reunion

“The Last Roundup” Maybe

Waggener High School’s first graduating class held its 6^th Reunion, 62 years after graduation, on October 7-9, 2022.  It was the third and thankfully, finally successful, effort to hold the event. Efforts in 2020 and 2021 had to be rescheduled due to the Covid challenge.

Four activities took place: Friday night sports-bar gathering, Saturday morning WHS tour, Saturday night Reunion Dinner and Sunday morning brunch.

The weekend kicked off with an informal “Dutch treat” mixer at the Hillcrest Tavern on Frankfort Avenue at the west end of St. Matthews. Fifty-three classmates and guests started the story telling, put the first signatures on the Wildcat Class of 1960 poster  and, with the exception of a group of 5, went home or to their hotel at a reasonable hour.

Our classmates toured WHS Saturday morning.  We were welcomed by Dr. Sarah Hitchings, Principal and led on the tour by Jamie Dumstorf, Athletic Director and WHS Hall of Famer.  Dr. Hitchings briefed us on the multiple programs at Waggener and their driving goal of "Making all students college and career ready, one Wildcat at a time."  They offer both college prep and career prep, and most students have the opportunity to earn college credit for one or more courses during their junior and senior years.

Dr. Hitchings informed us about the implementation of technical-career programs,  Sports Medicine and Legal Services,  and about the capital improvements such as the career support buildings, the rubberized athletic track that is a joint facility with the City of St. Matthews, the new gymnasium that is large enough to seat both home and visitor fans, the impressive Veterans Memorial in the football stadium and the plans for a building to allow meaningful assemblies and performing events for the students as well as a community resource for the City of St. Matthews.  The architectural renderings are indicative of the facility that will be eventually built on the northwest side of the school.  The School Board has earmarked approximately two-thirds of the funding, and community leaders are seeking support for the balance. The Veterans Memorial is a recognition of fallen Waggener alumni as well as a tribute to all Wildcats who have served our Country in the armed services.  The walkway to the Memorial is paved with bricks donated by various alumni and friends with inscriptions honoring alumni and friends by naming them with brief descriptions.  Bricks can be purchased by going to the WHS Alumni website, www.waggeneralumni.com

Saturday evening from 5:00 to 10:00 was the Reunion Dinner at Owl Creek Country Club.  Ninety-seven registered of which 56 were classmates.  Thirty-two men outnumbered the 24 female classmates, but the onlookers concluded that the females had taken much better care of themselves than had the male components.  Twenty-six classmates were from out of town, i.e. greater than 100 miles from Louisville.  Guernsey, England was the farthest distance.

 The Committee’s objective for the evening was for classmates to connect with old friends, resurrect fond memories and find ways to extend some of their renewed relationships into the future.  Dinner was buffet style with no assigned seating.  Many moved around at dessert time to be able to visit with more friends.  There were no speeches.  Instead of a band, a mix of our favorite music from “back in the day” was featured in one of our three rooms for those who enjoyed dancing.   A fly on the wall in the other two rooms would have been highly entertained by the laughter and amazing stories that emerged from virtually every table.  There was, of course, a cash bar and later in the evening someone questioned “Where are we going to have the 7th?”  Another classmate without missing a beat replied, “How about the amphitheater at Cave Hill Cemetery?”

The Sunday morning brunch at Napa River Grill was an opportunity for the out-of- towners to have one more time with old friends.  The buffet format fostered movement among tables and chatting with almost all present. Cards and contact information were exchanged and plans discussed for various future personal encounters.

The Reunion was soon over but the expression on the classmates’ faces indicated that old friends are still good friends.

On September 15, three of the new Waggener Hall of Fame members came to school to speak to students.  Fran Ligler, class of 1969, spoke with our Chemistry and Biomedical students about careers in science and her research on biosenors. Tracy Drain, class of 1993, spoke with our entire freshman class about how she got to NASA to work in the Jet Propulsion Lab. Barry Master, also class of 1969, spoke to our law students about careers in law and why we are relying on our youth to make a difference in the field. Fun fact: Barry and Fran were prom dates so we recreated their prom picture. Click this link to see all the photo from the speakers' day at Waggener 

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Congratulations to the class of 2022 Hall of Fame inductees!

*Sue Evans, class of 1960

*Lori Cooper Brown, class of 1990

*William "Bill" Myers, class of 1964

*Sue Van Slyke, Waggener Spanish teacher

Here are details of the celebration:

 Thursday September 15, 2022

 6 PM

 University Club at University of Louisville

* We will be honoring both the 2020 and the 2022 classes of Hall of Famers. 

You may RSVP for the event two ways:

1. Electronically: fill out this electronic RSVP form and submit payment through the "Donations & Payments" tab on the top of the page.

2. Mail in payment: print this RSVP form and send in information and payment via mail. 

Thank you to all those who took the time to honor their classmates and teachers. Waggener High School was a stepping stone for so many to launch them into greatness. This ceremony is all about goodness Let's all get together and raise a glass to these wonderful alumns!

Please email Kristen Heckel with any questions. 

Waggener Alumni Merch Store

We have set up an online store where our alumns can purchase the merchandise of their choice. There are a variety of styles, colors, logos, and personalization options (such as your class, sport, number). All conveniently delivered straight to you! Profits from sales will support the various projects of the Waggener High School Alumni Association.

Alumni Merch Store

Class of 1972 Reunion

The 50th anniversary celebration of the Class of 1972 has planned an event for Saturday, July 23, 2022, with a campus tour, and a reception and dinner at a premier Louisville venue (TBA). 

We invite our classmates to put this date on their calendars and share with fellow '72 grads. 

Details will be posted later in the “Class of 1972” tab in the column to the left of this message.

Class Officers: Don Wrege, Brad Barnett, Sarah Fritschner, Ann Mead, Russell Forseth
& The Reunion Committee - Steve Klein, Coordinator

Facebook: Waggener HIgh Class of 1972

Register for updates: http://simulstream.com/waggenerclassof72/info.html

E-mail: WHS-72.reunion@yelm.com

September 3, 2020

Class of 1960, please see the update about the cancellation of the reunion on the "Class of 1960" tab on the left. Please direct any questions to those listed in the announcement. 

Wildcats, stay safe and healthy. 

February 4. 2021

Class of 1961 reunion planning underway

The 60th reunion committee is making plans for this event to be held this year on Saturday, October 9, at the Louisville Boat Club (formerly scheduled for Big Spring Country Club) with a reception and dinner. We are hopeful that the pandemic situation next fall will allow for this to take place.

We hope you will put this on your calendar as an event we all want very much to happen. We have held many reunions and fall luncheons at the Boat Club on River Road and have always had a great time at this stylish and comfortable venue.

Details will be posted later in the “Class of 1961” tab in the column to the left of this message.

Your reunion committee:

Bill Bowden, Dan Gray, Frank Grubbs, Bunny Laffoon, Clay Morris,

Dan Shomer, Carol Walford

Congratulations Alumni Scholarship winners for 20-21!

Esther Murabwa will study business management at Campbellsville University.

Ozge Durukan will study to become a physician's assistant. 

Yoselin Vega will study nursing at Bellarmine University.

Zoey Logsdon will study nursing at Lindsey Wilson College.

Welcome to the class of 2020!

Last year the Alumni Association was able to support this class by purchasing their yearbooks, providing alumni tshirts and yard signs, and awarding six scholarships to the class of 2020. This year we are welcoming them to our alumni family! We are glad you are here and hope that you enjoy hearing what we do to help our current wildcats. 

For the class of 2021, we have assisted in purchasing yearbooks for the seniors, we will hand out alumni tshirts, and we are awarding alumni scholarships. So many good things are going on.

Welcome to the alumni family!

Celebrating the Class of 2020

For the last three years, the Alumni Association has been presenting seniors with Alumni tshirts at senior walk, Even though that didn't happen, we were able to get tshirts to all the seniors, as well as the yearbooks we sponsored and the yard signs paid for by a generous alum. All of that on top of the scholarships we award meant that our seniors were well aware of how much we support them. 

Class of 2020 Scholarships

Congratulations to the 2020 Alumni Scholarship winners! These six students exemplify the Wildcat spirit.

To read an excerpt from their essays and see their future plans, click below to see the slideshow:

Alumni Scholarship slideshow

Re-rescheduling the Hall of Fame ceremony

Greetings Wildcats!

Since there is no vaccine and still concerns about traveling, the Hall of Fame committee has chosen to again reschedule the Hall of Fame ceremony to Monday May 10, 2021. That will give us time to get through another winter and to keep all our inductees, family and freinds as safe as possible. 

There will be no new inductees in that ceremony, only the ones who were to be honored in March 2020 ceremony. 

Fantastic note: some of Fran Ligler's research (2020 Hall of Fame inductee) is being used to develop systems that measure antibody levels against infectious diseases, like COVID-19. Her work is helping us get through this pandemic! Thank you, Fran!

Thank you to Lynn Webb Wood '76 for purchasing yard signs for our 2020 graduates!  The students were surprised by the happy faces of teachers, staff, and coaches. Congratulations Waggener Class of 2020!

The Waggener "Old Athletes Group" met at Mission Barbecue in St Matthews on March 3 with Jamie Dumstorf and gave the group an update on the past winter and upcoming spring Wildcat sports scene.  The gray hairs peppered him with questions and left feeling excited about what the players and coaches are accomplishing.  Commitment was a theme that emerged in all areas of the briefing.  Following coach's talk the guys retold some past ballgame heroics that probably warranted a little fact checking.  But really, how correct does a person need to be?

Jamie Dumstorf, athletic director, briefing the group about the WHS sports programs.

(L to R) Wally Oyler, Brent Robbins, Stan Tucker, Steve Graef

(L to R) Bill Kitchen Jim Brunnhoeffer, Pat Morgan

(L to R) Scott Davis, Jamie Dumstorf, Larry Ethridge, Kit Georgehead

Congratulations to these 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees!

Mike Berry, 1979

Tracy Williams Drain, 1993

Gary Eisenmenger, 1974

Michael “Blaine” Hedges, 1987

Michael Herchenrader, 2003

Frances Smith Ligler, 1969

Barry Master, 1969

James May, 1961

Steve Wigginton, 1980

Phill Coomes, coach

Robert “Bob” Redman, coach

Ceremony details:

March 16, 2020

6:00 pm

University Club at University of Louisville

200 East Brandeis Ave

Louisville, KY 40208

Two options to RSVP for the event (by March 9, 2020):

1. Mail in payment: submit the bottom of this linked form with payment to:

Waggener High School Alumni Association 

330 South Hubbards Lane

Louisville, KY  40207

Re: Hall of Fame dinner

    2. Electronically: Fill out RSVP form (www.tinyurl.com/hoff2019) and make payment selection.

$40 per person ($43 electronically), Inductee at no cost.

*All proceeds go toward alumni funded projects such as the Food Den and Scholarship program.*

Please contact Kristen Heckel with any questions at kheckel1@gmail.com

Congratulations to our Class of 1969 Women's State Golf Champions!  Gigi Baird and Cynthia Lipson were honored at this year's State Golf Tourney.

Waggener tradition at it's finest.  Football Alumni, graduation years 1960-2005

Left to right: Scott Davis, Larry Ethridge, Brent Robbins, Bud Orr, Kit Georgehead, Jim Brunnhoeffer, Stan Tucker, Gary McGaughey, Coach Alfonzo Smith, Mike Rodgers, Joey Bloyd, Dale Seebold, Steve Graef, and Wally Oyler.