NEWS SECTION

02/18/24 – The Jefferson Junior/Senior High School wrestling team continued their success with three wrestlers winning state titles over the weekend.  read more  

01/13/24 – Saturday at Noon – Meet up for Lunch at Sloan’s Bar & Grill – located at 5850 W 25th Ave Edgewater, CO 80214.
BOYS BASKETBALL GAME at JHS – Saturday, January 20th – 2:00 pm.  GIRLS BASKETBALL GAME at JHS – 12:30

12/20/23 – We are still looking to update our records for classmates.  We now have information for Liz Herold, Karen Kubes, Michael Mangan, & Karl Rogers.  If you are in contact with anyone that is still on our MIA list, please let us know.

12/19/23 – Reunion Questionaire is now available on the website.  Watch for a new email!

12/10/23 – Facebook has been re-assigned and will be available again.

11/26/23 – News of the passing of another classmate – Ed Romero

11/20/23 – Randy Pickering loves sending emails!  Happy Thanksgiving to all of our classmates.  At this time, we are only using email contacts for communication.

11/15/23 – Reunion Committee Meeting for those available.  Items discussed were the Questionaire to give classmates the chance to voice their opinions about the many events held in September for the 50th!  Also discussed was how we thought many would like to see the money donated, that was collected at the Indian Tree event (Approximately $325.)  Another topic of conversation was the contact list of classmates used for the reunion.  Some have asked for others information.  In respect to our classmates, this item is on the Questionaire.  PLEASE take a few minutes to fill it out!

10/20/23 – Kim Rico may be coming back home for the holidays and wants to know if any classmates would like to meet up at Clancy’s some time.

9/30/23 –  the use of the Facebook page has been discontinued.

9/25/23 – Just a few words regarding the Class of 1973 Reunion.  First of all – it was a GREAT turnout!  So many friends united that hadn’t seen each other in years.  We will be creating a QUESTIONAIRE for you to fill out.  We would like to get your feedback if you attended, if you were unable to attend.  Watch for a link once it is available.

9/22/23 – Looking back over the last several weeks, the Reunion was a major success.  So many people came to something and lots of people came to more than one gathering.  With all of the wonderful comments by classmates, it’s fair to say the 50th Reunion was a Team Effort!  In the 50 years of these reunions, there have been a few people that have stepped up for every party and many that have volunteered just a few times.  It’s truly a commitment in order to navigate, find classmates, plan events, etc.  Thanks to so many that have stepped up over the years.  Kathy Barish Kupetz has been the constant on this journey, but over the years people have expressed interest to help.  Bev Reeves Hollis has served for several reunions as well as Kit Williams and Debi Goodhead Supan.  Randy Pickering has attended every reunion but stepped up to help this year. Kathy, Bev & Randy worked hard in putting together a good roster, creating communication, & distributing information with classmates.  Diana Fisher McGarry & Sophie Hafer Kenney spearheaded the first contact by calling classmates and then the list was split up between Kathy, Bev, Randy, Diana, Steve Kucharek and Sophie to located classmates.  Steve started off the social media presence with a Facebook account highlighting persons, places & events, that brought so many memories to those who read it.  Debi built the website and Kit spearheaded the give-away souvenir bag and venue visits.  Together the classmate search, finding a venue, scheduling, planning, & building a reservation plan began.

In the beginning, the group attempted to plan the reunion around the Jefferson High Homecoming weekend.  The school has expressed interest in moving towards that concept as many small towns use that strategy to bring classmates from many years together. This gathering is used to build a strong foundation for the school, the current faculty, and the city in which it resides.  Jefferson High has experienced many changes since we attended.  Things are very different!

Jefferson County ended up changing the date of the 2023 Jefferson High Homecoming but the committee decided not to change our date as it had already been shared with our classmates.

The consensus of the committee was to have one large gathering and possibly host a golf tournament. Previous classes had experienced smaller numbers of people coming to reunions so we took that as good advice to just keep it simple.  As monthly meetings and feedback came in, we decided to add events along the way.  It certainly would have been easier for our classmates if we would have had just ONE registration form listing all the events, but events were added as we saw interest.

Clancy’s was the largest attended event.  We surmise because people did not have to commit to registration, the event was self-pay (or not, if you chose not to eat there), & the whole event was presented as very low key in addition to being very flexible with time constraints.  To say “WE PACKED THE HOUSE” would certainly be an understatement.  If it wasn’t for the coordination of direction by Dave Craft, we wouldn’t have all the great photos!  So many people re-connected with old friends!  We regret that the weather turned chilly that evening and the venue had not set up their patio area for fall weather conditions.  We also regret that with the large gathering, we were unable to get a group photo.

The Indian Tree dinner was another opportunity for classmates to mingle and enjoy an evening out.  A group photo with our Colorado Mountains and blue sky as the back drop was awesome.  Dinner was enjoyed by all!   The most beautiful display of respect; classmates, one by one approached the podium and read the names of classmates we have lost.  You could literally hear a pin drop in that room!  We are attempting to post this for others to experience, in the future.  Thanks to Greg Bowlin for the hours of scanning for the Memoriam we posted as well as having all of our graduation photos at the ready to print name tags for all of you for events.  Although most of us have changed a little, we all felt a little more comfortable with the nametags if we just couldn’t recall the face!

And hats off to Ruthie Lewis Peterson and her husband Pete for coming to town and inheriting the decorating at Indian Tree, last minute.  They are also the ones to think of the card that all of you signed for the committee.  Thanks again.  Your comments were wonderful!

The golf event at Homestead on Friday morning was nearly a rain-out, but you know how golfers are…… they would do anything to be out there on those acres of green running after those little white balls!  Steve Marsh again, joined Randy in the organization of a very fun late morning / afternoon with classmates.  We hear there was some excellent play by some attendees!  A group photo was taken!

Several others gathered in downtown Edgewater Friday morning for a cup of coffee and conversation with friends.  The Edgewater Beer Garden had offered us their patio (with a nice outdoor fireplace) but the rains kind of packed us in at Suzette’s.  This quaint little bakery was full to the brin with Saints that morning!  A group photo was taken!

Saturday morning saw a group of energetic ……..  classmates, show up at the Dakota Crossing Pickleball courts. This low key event suggested registration, but was not mandatory.  Some had never played before, some just wanted to hang out and some were actually Pickleball experts!  They all laughed and sweated and moved like Seniors (or rather Saints), and enjoyed their time at one of the fastest growing sports in the World.  No awards were distributed, not even sure anyone cared about keeping score but once they all got started, it was tough to get them off the courts!  Group photos were taken.

Thursday started the whole weekend off just right with a visit to the halls of Jefferson!  (A group photo was taken on the front steps).  We were told by our Tour Guide that many classes plan a tour but are usually in and out in an hour.  Our group took it all in, and I do mean ALL OF IT!  So many things have changed.  The first stop was the gymnasium which looked pretty much the same but so much smaller than we had remembered.  The (small gym) now the weight room, was impressive, and the elevator & atrium, (on the south side of the school near the old art area), the additional rooms beyond the west hallway (as we remembered), the addition of the AMPED program, (students learn the art of vehicle wrap signage, apparel & sign creations, the artistry & skill of student murals on many hallways and the renovation of the auditorium was certainly a site to see.

Jefferson is now Jefferson Jr & Sr High School.  With 6 levels of education, there are only approximately 690 students in attendance.  The lobby is now lined with many tables as the campus is now closed during the school day.  As we sat in the auditorium, listening to our Tour Guide, Carrie, she told us of the many challenges they face at Jefferson.  Many students hold jobs to help their families at home.  Some students come from as far as Aurora using RTD transportation.  The faculty struggles are immense.  There are no longer Auto Shop classes, Wood Shop, or Welding.  The AMPED Program (Arithmetic, Manufacturing, Production, Education, & Design utilize that area, enabling students to learn skills they may be able to utilize right out of high school.  There are few clubs left for students; in fact, there were just 2 Seniors on the Varsity Football Team!  There hasn’t been a yearbook produced for 5 years at Jefferson.  (The costs are prohibitive and few can afford one).  But for 2024, a new Teacher has offered a class to create a yearbook for the students.  The challenge of course, funding.  The number of parents that help or get involved at the school is much less than we experienced.  There is currently no booster club.

Jefferson could use the help of the community and alumni to assist in several ways.  If you have the heart of a volunteer and you would like to help in some way, please let us know.  They are looking for people interested in creating bulletin board materials, creating groups to show appreciation to the small staff, get involved with a Booster Type group to help at athletic events, scoring, record books, etc, & teaching the next generation about fund raising to help their students.