On Saturday evening, June 10, the fellowship room at the Westboro Community Church was the site of the 100th Jefferson Alumni & Friends Celebration.

Social time began at 4 p.m. when alumni and friends started gathering at the Church Fellowship Room. The room was decorated in the Jefferson School colors of red and white. The tables were covered with white tablecloths, red dinner napkins, a red streamer down the center of each table and red covered table packets, which included the reports of the Jefferson Alumni Association. Vases of red and white flowers with small American flags were also on the tables. Picture tent cards were centered down the table, having history of the school and the honor classes for the evening. The meal was catered by McCoy’s Catering of Wilmington. The church nursery had alumni pictures, including the school composites and albums of guests and alumni attending over the years, assembled by past alumni committees.

Ed Pagett, alumni president, called the meeting to order with words of welcome. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chuck Culberson, vice president, and this year’s commander of Blanchester American Legion Post #179. The recording of the ringing of the Jefferson school bell, 12 times was played, as it was at school when the students entered the building each morning by grade. Dick Miller gave the invocation, and Ed then invited the graduates and former Jefferson high school attendees to begin the evening by getting their meals.

After the meal, the business of the association was conducted in a short meeting with motions to accept both the secretary’s and treasurer’s reports. Both motions carried the floor. One new nomination to the alumni committee was made by Chuck Culberson to replace himself with Laura Summers to become vice president next year. The majority of people present signified yes, and the motion carried the floor for Laura to replace Chuck for the coming year.

The next item was the reading of the names for this year’s necrology report of the Alumni & Friends of the Alumni who have passed since our last year’s meeting in June of 2022. The graduates who have passed were:

Robert Walker, Lynchburg, Ohio, Class of 1948; Carol Carey Davies, Xenia, Ohio, Class of 1950; Anna McPherson Spivey, Class of 1951, Sunset Beach, NC; Harriet Nichols Unger, Columbus, Ohio, Class of 1951;Arthur Back of Wilmington, Class of 1956; Robert E. Osborn, Fredricktown, Ohio, Class of 1956; Robert J. Pond, Class of 1956, Hebron, Ohio; Marvin Chamberlin, Class of 1957, Midland, OH; Judy Carpenter Blanchard, Martinsville, Ohio, Class of 1959. Friends of Alumni who have passed away, were Linda Larrick of Blanchester; Bill Kuhnell of Midland; and Varen Van Vuren of Midland.

Next was the evening’s speaker, Rancel Richards of Blanchester, who spoke on the topic of why the consolidation in 1959 was successful. Rancel spoke about the men’s basketball program being consolidated between the two schools.

The “hype” about consolidation came before the actual merger of the two schools’ student populations. The first day the buses rolled into Blanchester bringing Jefferson students was quietly done, although many Blan students were outside to see the buses arrive. He remembered some of the players on the team from Jefferson such as Jim Cochran, John Hay and John Hamm. He thought the composition of the school board with members from both the schools helped to make the process of merging go more smoothly.

School board members of the consolidation era were: Cleo Redky, president; M. R.Snyder, vice-president; James Dorsey and members: David Ostermeier, Rancel Richards(the speaker’s dad) and Paul Berger.

Another factor making consolidation uneventful was the faculty members who came from Jefferson to teach at Blanchester, such as Helen Jacoby, Gordon Walker, Frank Jandes; plus the fact that the superintendent of Blanchester Schools was Robert A. Barbour, a graduate of Jefferson High School. Further, the Clinton County Superintendent of Schools was Walter A. Nichols, former standout basketball player and graduate of Jefferson High School.

Marching band members were also a mix from the two schools; students mentioned were: Jim Cochran, Bonnie Lansing, John Keubler, and majorettes: Vicki Garrison and Jeanne Dunn. Rancel’s class of 77 members graduated in 1962, 14 of which were from Jefferson: John Dunn, president; Rancel Richards, vice-president; Jerry Rich, secretary, Jeanne Dunn, treasurer. Most of the class officers were from Jefferson. When the senior class trip was cancelled, the students went to work and began fundraising to be able to go anyway. Fundraising efforts were so successful that the class was able to spend three days in New York City and two in Washington D.C.; they also paid for the chaperones’ expenses, and after all this the cost per student out of pocket for the trip was $27.

The final agenda item was the recognition of the Jefferson H.S. graduates and the Jefferson H.S. attendees present at the banquet as follows: Class of ’59: Peggy Allen; Honors Class of ’58: Jerry Osborn; Class of ’57, Violet V. Osborn; Class of ’56, Bev K. Maddox; Class of ’55, Robert Osborn; Class of ’54, Joyce C. Barker; Class of ’52, Howard Osborn; Class of ‘ 51, Charles Ostermeier.

Student attendees present from Jefferson H.S. that graduated from Blanchester were: Charles Culberson, Class of ’61; and Class of ’60, Rod Lane.

Thanks go out to the Westboro Community Church; Eileen Tedrick for coordinating between the church and the alumni committee; Violet and Bob Osborn for their help with the alumni set-up at the church; Rosie Pagett, roving photographer; McCoy’s Catering of Wilmington, and all others who helped cause the evening to happen.