The Thorp Courier
Thorp High School Alumni Letter
August 29, 2007
Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon
Greetings to Thorp Alumni
THE TAA – WHY?
In a recent conversation with some alumni from an area high school (not
Thorp High School), we were questioned about the Thorp Alumni
Association, how we got started, when we got started, what we do, etc.,
etc., etc.
There are high schools that have alumni who want to start an alumni
organization. However, after a few years interest dwindled,
leadership was not replaced by new leadership and soon the organization
was disbanded.
Back in the early 1970’s, several people started the TAA: Joe Pawlak
’45, Pat Soderberg ’33, Eileen Bogumill Frenette ’38, Louise Herman
Misfeldt ’28, Colleen Biddle Herman ’44 and Harvey Boie ’35. These
leaders and many others built the foundations of the TAA. Rather
than leaders backing away and interest dwindling, just the opposite has
occurred. As a result, the TAA is as strong as ever and will
continue to grow.
We talked about the Alumni Directory and what it includes: lists of each
graduating class from 1891 to the present, including name, address, and
phone number; the classmates who didn’t finish school; and the deceased
members of each class. They couldn’t believe it. How did we
do it? It was done with great leadership, wonderful volunteers and
lots of hard work.
We talked about the TAA Scholarship Fund and the fact that since the
early 1980’s scholarships have been presented to Thorp High School
seniors that are going to advanced education. The number of
students receiving scholarships and the amount of each scholarship has
increased over the years. In 2007, five seniors received
scholarships worth $500 each. These scholarships are generated soley
(solely) by donations to the scholarship from THS alumni. Only the
interest from the corpus of the scholarship fund makes up the
scholarships. Each year Thorp alumni give back to their school by
donating to the Scholarship Fund. As a result, the fund grows, the
amount of each scholarship grows, and the number receiving scholarships
grows. They couldn’t believe it. Again, it was done with great
leadership, wonderful volunteers, and many generous Thorp alumni.
The discussion continued. We talked about the annual All-Thorp
Alumni Reunion, our close association with Thorp High School, the annual
display of Thorp alumni memorabilia, special recognition given to Thorp
Alums, the Thorp Alumni Chorus and on and on. They couldn’t
believe it.
Then they asked how they could start an alumni association…..the answer
is:
GREAT LEADERSHIP, WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS AND LOTS OF HARD WORK!
TECLAW FAMILY – TAA LEADERS
At the annual meeting of the TAA, on July 8, 2007, Norbert Teclaw ’53
took over as President of the TAA. He had been the organization’s
vice-president from 2003-2007. Leadership in the TAA runs in the
Teclaw family. Norb’s sister, Angie Teclaw ’41, served as TAA
Secretary from 1993-2004. His brother, Malen “Butch” Teclaw ’42,
was President from 1993-1995, and Immediate Past President from
1995-1997. The contributions of the Teclaws have been a
contributing factor in the huge success of the TAA.
Past TAA Presidents
Joe Pawlak ’45 – Executive Director 1975-1978
Pat Soderberg ‘33
Clyde Misfeldt ‘34
Casey Franckiewicz ‘32
Dean Hubbard ‘37
Malen “Butch” Teclaw ‘42
Rich Jarocki ‘55
Gerald “Jug” Glasshof ‘48
Armon Schmidt ‘53
Don Soderberg ‘57
2008 ALL-THORP ALUMNI REUNION
The 2008 All-Thorp Alumni Reunion will be held the weekend of Friday,
July 4th thru Sunday, July 6th. For the fourth consecutive year
the alumni memorabilia display, the social and banquet, and the annual
meeting will be held in the multi-purpose room at Thorp High School.
The beauty of this reunion is that all Thorp alumni are invited.
Even if you attended Thorp High School but did not graduate, you are
welcome to attend. There are classes that choose to have their class
celebration by themselves. Even so, they are welcome to attend the
All-Thorp Alumni Reunion as well.
CLASSES REACHING ANNIVERSARY YEARS IN 2008
1933 – 75th; 1938 – 70th; 1943 – 65th; 1948 – 60th; 1953 – 55th; 1958 –
50th; 1963 – 45th; 1968 – 40th;
1973 – 35th; 1978 – 30th; 1983 – 25th; 1988 – 20th; 1993 – 15th; 1998 –
10th; 2003 – 5th
Alumni remember; as you are planning your reunion, contact the TAA for
your class list, addresses, phone numbers, labels and other information
about your class.
You can receive that information by contacting TAA secretary, Ann Huls,
at 715-669-3698, writing to the TAA at P.O. Box 75, Thorp, WI
54481-0075, or emailing your request to
thorpalumni@gmail.com
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