School: Thorp Alumni Assoc. (41st Annual Reunion - 2015)
Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail:
dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Piwoni, Lenz, Welgos, Butek, Valek, Koltis, Fitzl, Luzinski,
Hendricks, Abramczak, Fazendin, Hunt, Teclaw, Paskert, Bartl, Dudansky, Glasshof
----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., WI) 7/15/2015
Thorp Alumni Assoc. (41st Annual Reunion - 2015)
Bringing friends back together
Thorp Alumni Banquet
Thorp High School Sports Jerseys
Another large turnout of Thorp High School alumni attended the 41st edition of
the annual reunion held at the Quonset Hall east of Thorp. The memorabilia
display was open at 1:00 p.m. along with the opportunity for early registration.
The event began with the social hour at 4:00 p.m. followed by a traditional
family style dinner.
This year, the Class of 1940 celebrated the 75th anniversary of their
graduation. Of the class, two members and their families gathered to celebrate
the event. Marvin Piwoni and his wife, Kathryn, live north of Thorp. He is the
last surviving officer of the first FFA officer team when it was organized in
1940 at Thorp High School. Ella Lenz Welgos of Thorp and her two daughters
attended. Ella was one of those students from Lublin who worked for a local
family for her ‘room and board and 25 cents a week’ so she could attend high
school. When Gilman started school bus service, Ella transferred to Gilman for
her senior year and lived at home. Four other classmates were not able to
attend: however, their interviews were published in the TAA Newsletter.
Other classes celebrating their reunions were: 1945 - 70 years; 1950 - 65 years;
1955 - 60 years; 1960 - 55 years; and 1965 - 50 years. Both 1950 and 1955 had a
large attendance. The Miss Thorp Court was introduced by Bettie Butek Valek ’61.
Miss Thorp is Katie Koltis; Junior Miss Thorp is Breahna Fitzl; and Princess
Thorp is Kendall Luzinski. There young ladies represent Thorp at area events
throughout the year.
Brian Hendricks ’58 introduced two of the three scholarship winners this year.
While Chet Abramczak was not able to attend, Brian related the accomplishments
of Chet as well as Ashley Fazendin and Paige Hunt. Both girls have completed
college credit classes while attending high school. They are well on their way
to attaining their college degrees, and they haven’t yet left town!
Following dinner, Brian asked them, as well as the Miss Thorp Court, for ideas
on how the TAA can help future students wanting to further their education and
job skills.
The annual meeting of the Thorp Alumni Association was held on Saturday morning,
July 4, 2015, at the Thorp Public Library. Officers for the 2015-2016 year
elected at the meeting are: President - Paula Teclaw Paskert ’68; Vice President
- Brian Hendricks ’58; Secretary - Bettie Butek Valek ’61; Treasurer - J. Peter
Bartl ’61. Gerri Dudansky ’58 was appointed as assistant secretary. The
Newsletter contributors will be the officers and Jacqueline Glasshof ’81.
A change to the TAA’s By-Laws was discussed and enacted. Due to inflation, the
loss of ‘buying power’ of the monies in the Scholarship Fund is a problem. It
was decided to expand the scholarship program to include awarding grants of
assistance to Thorp students and graduates, with a $9,000 annual cap. This opens
an exciting new chapter in the administration of the TAA Scholarship Fund.
Reunions are held to reconnect with old friends and enjoy each other’s company.
Plan now to attend the 42nd annual TAA reunion to be held on Saturday, July 2,
2016.
© Every submission is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
Show your appreciation of this freely provided information by not copying it to any other site without our permission.
Become a Clark County History Buff
|
|
A site created and
maintained by the Clark County History Buffs
Webmasters: Leon Konieczny, Tanya Paschke, Janet & Stan Schwarze, James W. Sternitzky,
|