Gordon High Alumni Association

Above, Val Fitch (’40) with GHS Alumni Board Member Harlen Wheeler (’73) in Val Fitch’s home in Princton, NJ.

Princeton, NJ – Nobel Laureate and GHS Graduate, Val Fitch, was appreciative and humbled when he learned that his hometown was going to give him special recognition during this summer’s All-Class Reunion. Val reflected, “My mother always taught me to never praise myself and if I do anything worthy of recognition others will give the recognition I might possibly deserve!”

Dr. Fitch moved from Merriman to Gordon at age 5 and started Kindergarten in Gordon in the fall of 1928. He was the Valedictorian of the class of 1940. Val taught Physics at Princeton University from 1954 – 1993 and served as the Physic’s Chair for a number of years. He and a colleague were recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1980.

On Friday evening July 3rd, the Alumni of Gordon High School will gather to give Dr. Fitch recognition for his lifelong achievements and unveil a portrait of Dr. Fitch to be placed on the wall at the High School. This event will kick off the first ever GHS All-Class Reunion scheduled for the 4th of July weekend.

The theme of this summer’s reunion is “Remember When…” and the weekend will be a walk down memory lane with alumni from every decade reaching back to the 1930’s. The Alumni Association would like to make a special invitation to the Gordon community to come and enjoy this first ever event.
It is the association’s hopes that many will open their homes to visiting alumni who are in need of a place to stay. We have received word that all area motels are booked for the event. The early registration deadline of June 1 is quickly approaching and the number of registered alumni is growing daily. Please get all current information and updates on our web site gordonhighalumni.com
If you have not registered for the reunion you can do so at the First National Bank, Stockman’s Drug and True Value. You can also register by mail by sending your check to 877 West 2nd Street, Gordon, NE 69343.
A Reunion booklet is being compiled by numerous GHS Alumni that will be a keepsake. If you aren’t able to attend the reunion, this booklet will include pictures from the reunion. In addition to reunion pictures, the booklet will list teachers, school plays, history of GHS, sports, FFA History, GHS veterans, updates on class valedictorians and salutatorians and much more. These booklets can be pre-ordered during the reunion.

Answering Some of Your Questions…

We realize that many of you have had questions about the All Class Reunion and the GHS Alumni Association. In the weeks ahead we want to begin answering some of your questions and make an attempt at filling in some of the details…

Question #1 Why a GHS All Class Reunion?

Simply put, “Why not?” Why not invite all past GHS alumni to spend a weekend together? Why not attempt to get together with past teachers, administrators and staff and do some reminiscing. Why not try something that no one else has tried and see what might happen? Why not plan a reunion that allows alumni to see friends from other GHS classes as well as their own? Why not give recognition to an institution that gave us our start and at the same time give a little something back to the community that made it all possible? Why not give an all school recognition to our very own Nobel Prize Lau arête? Why not do something that reminds us of our common beginnings and at the same time stir old friendships? Why not spend a summer weekend rekindling the “good ol’ days”? Finally, why not use an all class reunion to develop a GHS Alumni Association which could be used to energize alumni behind common goals and future programs.

Rose Schmitt-Morris maybe said it best in the back pages of the 1912 GHS annual…

It brings closer together old friends and creates new ones. What joy and happiness does not this reunion present to our minds? With a feeling of joy we can clasp the hands of our friends of former years. There we can learn what others have accomplished. Many former students of the G.H.S. have attained prominence in the various walks of life and the yearly reunions are a time to recall pleasant memories of by gone days and an opportunity for strengthening friendships formed in days past.

Question #2 What is the Purpose of a GHS Alumni Association?

In union there is strength! When a group of people have a common purpose, much can be accomplished. For example: The Alumni of Tekamah-Herman High School here in Nebraska have developed a program to provide scholarships for deserving students. Their scholarship program has been able to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from their alumni and at present have an on-going support base to help students from Tekamah-Herman continue their education.

The purpose of the GHS Alumni Association is four-fold:

1. Serve as the directing and organizing arm of Gordon High Alumni by keeping in touch with graduates through mailings and the internet.

2. To help develop and maintain future alumni programs.

3. To provide a channel through which recognition can be given to those Alumni who have made significant contributions to the world at large.

4. Planning and organizing future reunions and special events for GHS Alumni.

Question # 3 Who is considered a GHS Alumni?

Our intent is to be as inclusive as possible and still maintain a sense of definition. We consider anyone who has attended Gordon High School as a GHS Alumnus. Our definition would also include all teachers, administrators, board members, staff and anyone who has served the Gordon High School in some capacity.

This summer’s reunion is open to anyone and everyone living in the area. We consider this reunion a community celebration and want to encourage the community at large to join us for the weekend’s activities.

Question # 4 Why have some GHS Alumni failed to receive mailings?

When the decision was made to plan an all class reunion, we quickly realized the enormous task of contacting over 3,000 alumni. From 1940, 3,452 students have graduated from Gordon High School. The average graduating class has been 53 students and many of these alumni live throughout the country. Many graduates have not returned to Gordon since living here. In tackling this daunting task, we made decision to contact local alumni from the 65 classes and rely primarily upon the names and addresses submitted to us. Most classes have held class reunions over the years and it was from those lists that we developed our initial mailings. Our limitations have come when classes failed to submit lists to us because we do not have the time or staff to update class lists on our own. In addition, we submit these additional reasons why some alumni may have not heard from us…

1. We have never received alumni addresses from the following classes: 1946, 1983, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1996.

2. The classes from 2000 to 2005 have not yet held a class reunion and therefore have not as of yet compiled an address listing. We would be delighted if individuals from these classes would compile mailing lists for us to use.

3. We have had numerous returns due to address changes.

4. The address lists that we received from classes were often incomplete.

5. For all alumni before 1940, our plan is to contact them personally for a video interview and make a special invitation to the reunion.

6. To keep costs down, we attempted to send only one mailing to couples who happened to both be alumni.

In order to off-set some of these problems, we have created a Web-site gordonhighalumni.com and have also created a GHS group listing on facebook.com.

Question #5 Is this All Class Reunion intended to replace individual class reunions?

Absolutely not! The Alumni Association’s intent is to enhance class reunions by making available the mailing addresses and the web site for classes to use each year. It is the Association’s hope that classes will be encouraged to continue their practice of individual class reunions.

The Alumni Association

It is obvious that a school is no better than its teachers!  We would like to hear about the teacher or teachers who had the greatest impact on you while attending GHS.  Tell us what he or she taught, what made them special and anything else you remember about them.  Even if they are gone, they need not be forgotten, so please take the time to tell us about them…they deserve the recognition!