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WHERE ARE THEY NOW


WHERE WE LIVE


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1 lives in Alabama
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20 live in Arizona
29 live in California
23 live in Colorado
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248 location unknown

MISSING CLASSMATES


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Highland High School
Class Of 1965

Class of ’55 ‘lives on’ 

Highland High School alums reminisce about the ‘good old days’

BY GREGORY R.C. HASMAN JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

In 1955, James Dean was a rebel without a cause and teenagers were rocking around the clock to Bill Haley & His Comets.

The Duke City had two high schools, Albuquerque and Highland, which was six years old.

“(Those) were the happy days, the days of drive-in movies and restaurants,” Highland class of 1955 alum Nancy Walter Krenz said.

On Sept. 13, former Hornets from across the country met for their high school reunion that Joann Castle Ledbetter, 88, has been putting together for 60 years.

This year’s 70th reunion, however, was the last, Ledbetter said.

“People don’t travel anymore,” she


zoom-in

Pat Davis Adams, second from left, Paul Wormeli, center, and Bill Renfro walk through the gymnasium at Highland High School on Sept. 13. They were touring the school as part of their 70th high school reunion. EDDIE MOORE/JOURNAL 

zoom-in

Jack Taylor, left, and Paul Wormeli look through a trophy case. 


said. “They call and tell me they cannot come because their husband is too ill (or for other reasons). I will never do it again only because of my age. We can keep in touch without having a reunion.”

Those who attended the final reunion enjoyed some laughs, hugs and surprises.

‘Reminisce about the good old days’

Neil Miller, 88, said he drove 13 hours from Kansas City, Missouri, for the occasion.

“I came for two purposes: to visit my sister and I heard about the class reunion,” the retired pilot said as he looked around the campus. “Hopefully, I’ll see a few people I recognize. Maybe not.”

When Miller walked inside the main building he saw glass displays showcasing academic and athletic awards that sat where his locker used to be. Surrounding the trophies were posters of current Highland students hoping to get that vote for homecoming queen.

Miller stopped outside the cafeteria, turned and saw classmate Pat Davis, who was walking toward him.

“This looks like somebody from my class, but I don’t know,” Davis said.

She said she came from Westlake Village, California, because she wanted “to see good friends I don’t see often.”

Inside the cafeteria, Davis and Miller hugged and shook hands with other classmates, including Paul Wormeli, who traveled over 1,800 miles from Ashburn, Virginia.

Wormeli said he did not remember the school having a cafeteria.

“We brought our lunch and ate outside,” he said. “... We were kind of enjoying the school when it was being built.”

Wormeli said he came back “to reminisce about the good old days when Highland was the best school in town.”

Miller, Davis and Wormeli were joined in the cafeteria by members of the class of 1975, including Mike Doyle, who thanked the class for being there.

The alums then left and started strolling down the hall.

As they looked at lockers and talked about their teachers, Ledbetter said she was glad to have been responsible for bringing them back to school one more time.

“They thanked me and said it was great,” she said.

‘We just kept in touch’

In 1965, Ledbetter and classmate Alice Segrist decided to put on the reunions — every five years — “just because our class has always been a very close class, we grew up together and it was what everyone wanted,” Ledbetter said.

The first reunion “was terrible,” Segrist said.

“It was too soon,” she said.

“The 10th anniversary is usually not as good for anybody because everybody is trying to tell you how great they are,” Ledbetter said.

But Ledbetter said her fellow graduates wanted to continue having reunions.

“At the 25th, everybody had such a wonderful time and then we just kept in touch,” Segrist said.

The 50th anniversary reunion had over 100 people, but it was much more of a challenge to get many people to come for the 70th.

Everyone was excited, but then “everyone seemed to get sick so it was a little more of a struggle,” Ledbetter said.

Wormeli said he appreciates the work Ledbetter and Segrist did to put the reunions together.

“We’re just thrilled that (they) have cared enough to organize these,” he said. “We’ve lost a lot of people over the years, but those of us that come are happy to see old friends and enjoy being here.”

At the end of the school tour, the 1955 and 1975 classes congregated inside the gym and sang the school fight song, which begins with: “Highland High we’re loyal to you/ Faithful throughout the years/When the blue and gold is unfurled/We will rise and proudly cheer/ Rah, Rah, Rah...”

After the song ended, everyone embraced before walking out of the gym one last time.

‘Class of ’55 lives on’

Hours later, the class of ’55 alums met up at the Black Angus Steakhouse. When Neil Miller arrived, Krenz looked up and greeted him.

“This is my former boyfriend,” she told her husband. “I hadn’t seen him in 70 years.”

Krenz and Miller reminisced about their time at Highland and talked about their lives. Other alums sampled hors d’oeuvres and shared laughs.

Later on, a bell rang and Bill Renfro started reading a poem he wrote called “In Memorium II.”

“We lay you down, classmate and friend/You ran your course...” As he continued, some alums looked down at a sheet of paper with the names of 214 classmates who died.

“... We few, we happy few, we remaining few/We lift our hearts to you/And run the course you ran with us/Until they lay us down to rest/ And with the last, so goes our class/But we still will run the course/ In love we share/In hope we hold/In friendship we build/Our family, the HHS Class of ’55, lives on/We lay you down...”

 

 

For those of you who were unable to attend the reunion, there was a memorial table that was set up to honor those classmates who have passed away.
Below is a link with names and pictures of those who have passed beginning in 2025 and going back to 1965. 

Here's the Link

On the next to last page, there are a few classmates who have passed away, but have no dates or documentation.  If you have any information, please let us know.