Welcome

Welcome to the Whitewater High School Class of ’73 website.  We hope this site will help you connect with classmates, get details about reunions, and post photos and memories to share.  

Demolition of Whitewater Landmark Evokes Memories

Photo courtesy of a Facebook post.

Where did you go to buy penny candy?  Where did the paper boys for the Janesville Gazette go to pick up their newspapers?  For many of us, we went to the Sinclair gas station at 216 East Main Street run by Don and Gertrude Brown.  The former gas station at the intersection of Main and Wisconsin Streets is to be demolished beginning between June 30 and July 3, 2025.  It will make room for the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes.

During most late afternoons the place was busy with kids coming in from Washington School to buy penny candy and soda and with young boys aged 12 and up waiting to pick up their loads of The Janesville Daily Gazette.  It was an old place with old plain wooden floors that sold Sinclair gasoline (remember the dinosaur?)  In the corner of the property was a small icehouse where Don would sell large blocks of ice to those who needed it. Don and Gertrude were probably in their 60’s.  Don would usually be seen sitting in his rocking chair and listening to the police radio.  Don was also a volunteer fireman.  We enjoyed watching him speed out from the gas station wherever the fire whistle blew.  I believe his brother was the fire chief.

I went there for five years between 1967 and 1972 to pick up newspapers for delivery on Whitewater’s south side.  Many of us would spend some of our earnings buying the candy and pop that was sold there.  We would often be found sitting on the front steps watching the heavy summer highway 12 traffic at the stop sign across from the building and waiting for the man we knew as Baldy to bring in the papers. 

These were good memories of a slower time.   Did you stop in there?  What are your memories?

--Joe DeMott 

WHS Class of '73 Gear

WHS Class of '73 Gear featuring our beloved "Willie the Whippet"  is available for purchase now.  Just click on "WHS Class of '73 Gear" on the menu or go to www.classcreator.com/Whitewater-Wisconsin-1973/WHS-Class-of-73-Gear.htm for full details.

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Please click on the First-Time Visitors tab. You'll find important information here that will maximize your experience using our site.

If you are a member of the Whitewater High School (Wisconsin) Class of '73, please join by registering yourself on this website by selecting your name from the list of students under the Classmate Profiles tab and selecting "click here now."   Please update your address, phone, and email information so that the reunion committee can contact you. This information is viewable only by the site administrators.  Maps do not show the exact location of where you live, only a general location.  Sharing additional information such as your birthday is optional. Please update your profile as much as you are comfortable.  Information found under the First-Time Visitors tab will help you with this.

Note: The section "Where Are They Now" is based on the latest information in our records, some of which were last verified 5 or 10 years ago.  Please check your profile and update it as necessary.