Washington High School
Alumni Scholarship Foundation
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A Valedictorian's Thank You Note
Tanya Symone McNeal is the Valedictorian of the WHS Class of 2020. She also received one of our larger scholarship awards. The text of her thank you card follows. We are very proud of you Tanya!
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Steve Solochek Memorial Series Presents
First National Preview Screening:
‘Mikva! Democracy is a Verb’
Tuesday, September 1, 7:00 PM
See the new PBS documentary before it airs!
Free and open to the public. More information below. |
As you may know Abner Mikva is a WHS '43 grad, on our Hall of Fame and recipient of the 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom. A new PBS documentary about him has been created by exeutive producer Sanford Horwitt (WHS '61). The world premier pre-broadcast screen in Milwaukee on Sept 1, 2020, also has another WHS connection: it will be part of the Steve Solochek Lecture Series at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee. Steve is a WHS grad '61. |
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In the lore of Chicago politics Abner Mikva was famously the ‘nobody that nobody sent.’ But, ironically, Mikva, a Milwaukee native and Washington High School alumnus, became a passionate advocate for democracy and ethical bi-partisan government, racial justice and gun control who inspired thousands, particularly young people, to effect change. ‘Mikva! Democracy is a Verb’ chronicles both his rise from an impoverished childhood to an epic career as a legislator in Springfield and Washington, Federal Judge and White House Counsel and how his work is being carried on today by his legacy organization, the Mikva Challenge. Join JMM for a live virtual film chat and Q & A with Sanford D. Horwitt, an executive producer and author of the book Conversations with Abner Mikva: Final Reflections on Chicago Politics, Democracy's Future and a Life of Public Service, Craig Gilbert, Washington bureau chief for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and President of the Gridiron Club & Foundation, and former Mikva Challenge participants, and Sheryll Cashin, former law clerk for Judge Abner Mikva, law professor at Georgetown University and author of Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy. Registered participants will have exclusive online access to view the film ‘Mikva! Democracy is a Verb’ prior to the film discussion. Register below to receive the film link when it goes live. REGISTER HERE |
New video about the history of WHS
Recently in early June 2020, Ellie Gettinger from the Jewish Museum of Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Jewish Organization put together a 12 minute video highlighting Washington High School. She winds her way from the start of WHS in the barracks right up to its current iteration as a technology-focused school. There will likely be another video on art at WHS and possibly other videos. Congrats go to Linda Durrenberg '69 for providing nearly all of the material. Check the first video out either at the Facebook site or the youtube site.
Announcement
WHS Alumni Purgolders United Social on May 16, 2020 has been cancelled; click here for more information. You can still contribute to the scholarship fund by clicking on the Donate button in the right column of this page or on this link.
Ralph Davis, Class of 1978
Colleagues remember Milwaukee basketball and track coach who died after complications from COVID-19
Ralph was a very special alumnus and famous in his own right. Not only did he graduate from WHS in 1978 - among his other accomplishments, he was a track star - he also served on the WHS staff for many years until his untimely death as a paraprofessional. He was highly regarded as one who could effectively work with high school students, particularly troubled young men. RIP
New Class Reunion Information (updated 4/19/2020)
Class of 1949 ( Updated as of 8/7/2019)
Class of 1959 (New as of 9/30/2018)
Class of 1965 (UPDATED as of 2/22/2020 with invite!)
Class of January, June, August, 1969 (Updated as of 6/15/2019)
Classes of 1970 (UPDATED as of 4/19/2020)
Classes of 1978-1989 (Updated as of 8/3/2019)
Class of 1979 (Updated as of 8/3/2019)
Info on Reunion Planning: 1954
Calling All
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All MPS Alumni are asked to please sign up on the MPS Alumni Hub webpage so that we can continue to build our alumni database. We celebrate our alumni as part of the MPS "Forever Family" and want to connect, organize and support alumni. Please see the short promo video: https://tinyurl.com/alumnihubpromo and then take a few moments to “Plug into the Hub” at https://www.mpsalumnihub.com/Alumni-Hub/Connect.htm
Please direct your questions to Kellie Sigh, director at valdesd@milwaukee.k12.wi.us or 414 475-8633
The Department of Strategic Partnerships and Customer Service/Alumni Engagement, is developing an Alumni Mentoring Program that will address First Generation students and seniors who will be matriculating to various colleges and universities. Our goal is to create a database of MPS Alumni who would like to be mentors to our high school seniors. We are also raising awareness for our Student Achievement Scholarship that we offer to graduating MPS seniors.
Please help in supporting our cause by simply “Plugging into the Hub.”
Abner Mikva '43 Purgolder
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A fun evening for Purgolders! On Tuesday, December 4, 7 PM, at Boswell Books, 2559 N. Downer Ave.--Sanford Horwitt '61, author of Conversations with Abner Mikva: Final Reflections on Chicago Politics, Democracy's Future and a Life of Public Service. Mr. Mikva is not only a Washington HS Hall of Fame member but also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014. Horwitt will be interviewed by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Mary Spicuzza. ...Mary is the daughter of Bob Spicuzza who was a teacher/counselor at WHS for many years from the 1960s into the 1990s. |
Join in the Fun!!!
As a Proud Washington Purgolder Alum...
We Need Your Help to continue to offer scholarships and other academic support to current WHS Purgolders.
Please consider a donation to the WHS Alumni Scholarship Foundation. Any donation you provide will be very much appreciated.
Please send your fully tax-deductible donation to
WHS Alumni Scholarship Foundation
PO Box 170321
Milwaukee, WI 53217
Washington High School Inducts Seven New Members to the WHS Alumni Hall of Fame on Friday, September 28, 2018
Click here to see a selection of photos
(We're always looking for) Donations
Now that we're into 2018, we continue to seek donations as we prepare to have WHS students apply and interview for schoarships. If you choose to make a donation, please make your check payable to WHS Alumni Scholarship Foundation (WHSASF) and send it to us at PO Box 170321, Milwaukee, WI 53217. You can also donate online by using the Donate button on the upper right of this site.
Previous Events and Announcements:
Event Promo Video and Registration:
https://e.givesmart.com/events/7Qu/
Purgolders United presents our
Annual Scholarship Social
May 19, 2018
Our theme: "It's a Family Affair"
Our 2018 Purgolders United Annual Luncheon is just around the corner on May 19, 2018. The theme of the event is “It’s a Family Affair”. At Washington High School we have always considered our alumni, teachers and staff as part of our extended family. For many WHS Alumni, you also have the unique experience of having shared Washington memories with your mother, father, siblings, aunts/uncles, cousins and/or children who have also attended or are currently attending Washington.
We encourage you to share with us the names of your family members who have attended Washington either with you, before you and after your time at our alma mater. We will use this information to help us shape our 2018 luncheon.
Here's what we need: for each family member we need first name, last name in school and married last name (if different); how you are related; the class year for each; optionally please supply their email address.
Please send this information by April 15, 2018 to the following email address: purgolders.united@gmail.com
To see a larger pdf image of the Save The Date flyer above, please click the image above.
Another Way to Meet other WHS Alumni
3rd Annual MPS Alumni Reunion
Friday, May 11, 2018 | 5:00-8:30pm | Tripoli Shrine Center
- FREE event with Parking
- Giveaways for schools with most alumni present
- Door prizes and raffles
- Lip Sync Contest and Soul Train Scramble
- RSVP by visiting www.mpsalumnihub.com/events
We need volunteers to help work at the WHS Alumni table about 30-45 minutes each. Please contact Linda Durrenberg at lindad@milwaukeewashington100.com
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MPS Alumni Activities Another Way to Meet other WHS Alumni |
Upcoming Activities
- Third Annual MPS Alumni Reunion, Friday, May 11, 2018, 5:00pm-8:30pm
- Alumni Summer Basketball Tournament, Saturday, June, 2018 (information night March 8, 2018)
For further information please see the
MPS Alumni Advantage Newsletter for February, 2018
(We're always looking for) Donations
Now that we're into 2018, we continue to seek donations as we prepare to have WHS students apply and interview for schoarships. If you choose to make a donation, please make your check payable to WHS Alumni Scholarship Foundation (WHSASF) and send it to us at PO Box 170321, Milwaukee, WI 53217. You can also donate online by using the Donate button on the upper right of this site.
In addition, we have partnered with HRBlock nationwide for this promotion. Go in to any HRBlock to have your taxes completed and HRBlock will donate $20 to our foundation! Please see the flyer below for details.
Thank you and Happy Holidays!!!
Youth Works Milwaukee - update...
The next Youth Works Mentor opportunity will be Thursday, January 25, 2018. Volunteer male mentors are needed for this program serving young WHS African American males. WHS alumni are encouraged to consider this opportunity. Please see this page for more details. Prospective mentors should contact Justin Roby, the person noted on the page as soon as possible to become involved on this date or a future date..
MPS Alumni After School Networking Event
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
5pm - 7pm
Haggerty Museum of Art (Marquette University)
530 N. 13th St
Register Here
Remember to “Plug In” to the Alumni Hub at
MPS Alumni Hub
First Annual MPS Alumni Weekend
Article on the MPS website with more details on some activities on Friday August 25 and Saturday, August 26, 2017
Information about the entire weekend activites are on the MPSFoundation.net website
Richard J Olson (class of January, 1954) Honored for his Artistic Talent and his Tribute to the Milirary
Vietnam Transformed: The Art of Richard J. Olsen as Symbolic Reality
Date: 5/19/2017 - 8/12/2017
NVAM is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibition featuring the work of Vietnam veteran artist, Richard J. Olsen. This exhibition showcases prints and paintings made throughout Olsen’s career. The exhibition will open on May 19th, 2017 with a reception from 6-9 PM.
Olsen served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot early in the war, before the countryside was ravaged by bombing and defoliation. His approach to art reflects his optimistic personality in that instead of merely fixating on the horrors of war in his work, Olsen also considers the multi-faceted beauty of the country and uses imagery that invokes the mythology, history and cultural landscape of Vietnam in tandem with his own wartime experience.
Midway through his career, after struggling to find subject matter for his paintings, Olsen looked to an artist cliché: “If you don’t know what to paint, paint your studio wall”. After a period of experimentation, these vibrant, large canvases became a fully realized series of work in which Olsen brings the Vietnam War to a universally understood plane of existence through allegory–in this case defined as a metaphor whose vehicle may be a symbol representing real-world issues or occurrences that illustrate complex ideas. In both his “Wall” series and his other work, Olsen links the pictorial artifacts of his Vietnam wartime experience to larger concepts in order to convey an authentic idea of war.
These selected works will be on view from May 19th to August 12th 2017.
Preview of the new 2017-18 Washington Uniforms
Recent events:
| Click for | Invitation Flyer (this flyer above) |
| Registration Form | |
| Online Registration |
For Details on this all-MPS Alumni Reunion on May 4, 2017,
please click here
Take me out to the Ball Game...!
Milwaukee Brewers vendor is marking his 64th year in ballpark concessions
and that my friends is Mr. Dan McKinney, Biology teacher at WHS from the late 60s to the late 70s
WHS Alumni Receive Huge Honors
Abner Mikva, WHS alumnus ('43) & Hall of Fame inductee, awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom (2014)
Newton Minow, WHS alumnus ('44) and Hall of Fame Inductee, awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
Allan "Bud" Selig, WHS alumnus ('52) and Hall of Fame Inductee, elected into Baseball's Hall of Fame (2016)
--> more info about their awards coming soon!
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WHS and Doors Open Milwaukee 2016 |
WHS has been selected to participate in the Doors Open Milwaukee event on Sunday, September 18, 2016.
Stay tuned for more information here and via email.
Thank You Class of 1966!
For your recent (July, 2016) and very generous donation to our WHS Alumni Scholarship Foundation.
Link to Class of 1966 Facebook Page
WHS Alumni Scholarship Foundation, Inc Announces
Induction Ceremony
October 17, 2014
Many photos of the event are at this site: http://bit.ly/HOF-Event-Photos
You can scroll through the pictures or if you want to view a slideshow, click on the left of the three icons over on the right side under "184 photos".
An article appears on the WHS website: https://bit.ly/HOF-WHS-Website
An article appeared in the Journal-Sentinel on Saturday, October 18, 2014:
http://bit.ly/HOF-Journal-Sentinel
Michael Feldman inductee from '66 made a brief mention at the beginning of his national show on NPR/WPR on October 18, 2014 (just after the first minute of the audio)
http://bit.ly/HOF-Feldman-audiopage
then click on the Listen link beneath All the News...or click the following link to immediately begin hearing this segment
http://bit.ly/HOF-Feldman-audiosegment
Congratulations to All Inductees!!
2014 Class of Hall of Fame Inductees
Glen Barbaras '37
Michael Feldman '66
Christopher Paul Gardner '71
Alyce Gilbert '61
Marlin M. (Pat) Harder '40
Dr. John Klein '69
James (Jim) Kurtz '62
Mark Sain '77
David Seebach '69
Jeffrey M. Steren '69
Dr. Lynn M. Taussig '60
GO PURGOLDERS
Another Successful Alum...
Nikiya Harris '94
Nikiya was featured in the Point of View page in the March, 2014 issue of Milwaukee Magazine. She was interviewed by Barbara Miner. Nikiya was our featured speaker at last year's Annual Alumni Scholarship Social. Take a look and be proud of yet another successful alum from our excellent school!
<http://www.milwaukeemag.com/article/352014-NikiyaHarris>
Tom Laughlin, Class of 1949
Actor-writer-director Tom Laughlin, whose production and marketing of "Billy Jack" set a standard for breaking the rules on and off screen, has died. His obituary is at http://bit.ly/tom-laughlin
Mira Marquel Hamilton '91 inducted into the
University of Whitewater Athletic Hall of Fame
October 20, 2012
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L to R: Mira was one of many fine students at Washington HS and a member of the Computer Specialty Program. On matriculating to UW-Whitewater and joining the Track and Field Team, Mira qualified for every national chanpionship during his career, four indoor and four outdoor. He held UWW school records in the 55 meters indoors, and the 100 and 200 meters outdoors when he graduated. Mira won the 55 meters indoors and 100 outdoors at the WIAC Championship and qualified for both national meets again, racing to a third place in the 55 meters indoors at the NCAA Division III championship and winning the 100 meter dash at the '94 NCAA Division III outdoor meet. He earned All-America status three times during his career.
Since graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1995 with a Bachelor's degree from the Management Computer Systems (MCS) program he has worked for several Information Technology concerns and most recently has taken a position as Service Monitoring Project Manager for the Washington DC Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. He has many accomplishments and even speaking engagements as a result of his work for WMATA.
During the time he worked in the Milwaukee area he served for several years on the WHS Advisory Board for the Computer Information Technology Academy as a valued member and resource. We congratulate Mira on his induction into the UWW Athletic Hall of Fame, thank him very much for his service back to Washington HS and wish him well in his future endeavors.
Another successful WHS Alumni! we are proud of!
BE PROUD, PURGOLDERS!
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