Topeka High School/Topeka West High School
1962
TWHS turns 50!!
Thanks to Bill Reed who provided this information for TWHS and interested THS classmates:
Royal Purple Turns Gold
Many events are planned to celebrate the 50th year in the history of Topeka West High School. These events will culminate on Sunday, October 16, 2011, in the induction of the first class in the newly formed Topeka West Graduate Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame ceremonies will begin with a reception in the school cafeteria at 2:00 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony in the Douglas Goheen Auditorium at 3:00 p.m. Those distinguished graduates making up the first class of inductees include:
Bob Davis – Class of 1962. Voice of the Kansas City Royals and the University of Kansas Jayhawks, Bob has been the recipient of many awards in his long career as a sportscaster.
Duane Fager – Class of 1964. Duane is a respected community leader as well as President and C.E.O. of Core First Bank and Trust. Core First now has branches in two states, employs over 400 people and has over 1.2 billion dollars in assets.
Rev. Barry Feaker - Class of 1974. Since 1986 Barry has been the Executive Director of the Topeka Rescue Mission. He has presided over several expansions of the Mission facilities and has been instrumental in providing the necessities of life to thousands of individuals and families that have come upon hard times.
The remaining four inductees were all original members of the iconic rock band KANSAS. The band recorded its first album in 1974 and subsequently recorded eight gold albums, three sextuple platinum albums, and a million selling single Dust in the Wind. KANSAS continues to tour the world more than 35 years since that first album.
Phil Ehart – Class of 1968. Drummer for KANSAS. Phil is still touring with the band.
Dave Hope – Class of 1968. Bass guitar for KANSAS. Dave is now a minister in Florida.
Kerry Livgren – Class of 1967. Kerry composed much of the bands most memorable music, played guitar and was a vocalist. He lives in Berryton, Kansas.
Richard Williams – Class of 1968. Rich was the lead guitar player for KANSAS. He is still touring with the band.
Distinguished Staff Award - The inaugural DSA goes to Dr. Owen Henson. He will be inducted as the first recipient of this award and in the future honored staff will receive the Dr. Owen Henson Distinguished Staff Award.
The 50th anniversary celebration events will take place around Homecoming weekend October 13-16, 2011. The itinerary is as follows (some events are tentative as they are still being planned):
50th Anniversary Homecoming Itinerary
October 13th (Thursday): Annual Homecoming parade. This event begins in the east parking lot at 2:00 p.m. This year the Grand Marshal will be Dr. Owen Henson, the first principal at Topeka West High School.
At 6:00 p.m. the annual Topeka West Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will begin with a reception in the school cafeteria. The induction will then take place in the Douglas Goheen Auditorium at 7:00 p.m.
October 14th (Friday): At noon a reception is planned in the cafeteria for all former staff members of Topeka West. School is not in session due to end of quarter and in-service. All former staff members of the school are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP for yourself and your spouse/guest to 438-4000.
At 6:30 p.m. the crowning ceremony for the 2011 Homecoming Royalty will be held prior to the football game at Hummer Park. There will be a tailgate event in the west parking lot at Hummer beginning at 5:00 p.m. Come out and watch the game between the Chargers and the Vikings of Seaman High School.
October 15th (Saturday): Classic car show in the east parking lot beginning at 8:00 a.m. (tentative). Annual Charger Band Pancake Feed in the cafeteria from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Student led building tours on the ½ hour from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Alumni musicians perform: Interested former Topeka West Singers are practicing from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Saturday. Former orchestra members will practice beginning at 2:00 p.m. A free concert featuring these alumni groups will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the Douglas Goheen Auditorium.
October 16th (Sunday) – Induction ceremony for the inaugural class of the Topeka West Graduate Hall of Fame and Distinguished Staff Award. Reception in the school cafeteria at 2:00 p.m. followed by the ceremony at 3:00 p.m. in the Douglas Goheen Auditorium.
For further information of these events call the school at 785-438-4000 or go to the school web site at twhs.topekapublicschools.net Information can also be found on www.facebook.com
Topeka West High School
The First Years
In September of 1957, the superintendent appointed a committee of nine persons to begin the planning of a new Topeka West High School. The membership of that committee was:
· Dr. Giles Theilmenn, Chairman
· Owen Henson, Vice Chairman
· Marjorie French
· Jack Dean
· T.A. Kerr
· Paul Boatwright
· Harold Blackburn
· Dr. Nathaniel Evers, Washburn University
· Dr. Karl Edwards, Kansas University
The architectural firm of Ekdahl, Davis and Depew was selected with Dr. Stanton Leggett as a consultant. This committee recommended that the school would be designed to accommodate the school-within-a-school concept which led the committee to the campus design of the facility. Dr. Henson was appointed principal in December of 1960, and the school was opened to students in September of 1961.
Several huge tasks faced the principal in the spring of 1961:
· Selection and recruitment of staff
· Developing a curriculum for the new school
· Enrollment of incoming students
· Equipping the new school
· Establish a procedure to pick the school colors and mascot
A temporary office was established in the Board of Education building at 415 W. 8th St. It was staffed with two secretaries, Martha Dickinson, and Lola Page to assist with the above items. Dr. Robert Ramsey and Harold Hula were appointed Counselor-Directors (assistant principals). Felicia McGinley and Roberta Cooke were counselors.
Topeka West opened with 700 students in 1961, 900 in 1962, 1100 in 1963 … and over 1600 in 1968 … all in three grades 10-12. A total of 31 certified staff were selected … 11 were new hires and the remainder were transferred from within the district.
Dr. Henson was the principal for 13 years, 1961-74. The new staff assisted with identifying the equipment needs. The librarian at Topeka High School began the media collection and the basic needs for the library. There was no athletic director so the coaches had to make all the arrangements for their respective sports, i.e. officials, schedules, down and chain volunteers for football, etc. During those 13 years, the staff developed many innovative programs at Topeka West. However, there was one weakness. The girls sports programs in Topeka high schools had only one sport … gymnastics. This inequity was corrected with the implementation of Title IX.
During that first year, the staff conducted a self study and a North Central Accreditation team visit.
Starting a new school requires a huge effort from the staff, administration, certified teachers and classified personnel, i.e. secretaries, custodians, food service, etc.
On a personal note, I want to express my deep appreciation to the total staff for their hard work and dedication to this exciting and challenging endeavor.
Owen M. Henson, Principal 1961-74