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Let's hear it for the Purples of U High

howard m. snyder Herald-leader social columnist

Ever hear of U High? Growing up in Central Kentucky, I'd heard of University High School. I had family and friends who attended. I, too, wanted to go to the exclusive school, but Mums and Daddums wouldn't hear of it. Athens will do, they said.

Last weekend, alumni from around the world descended upon Lexington for the University High School All-School Reunion. Dahlings, one alum flew in from Italy.

U High was a model school created by the University of Kentucky for use in training teachers. It opened in 1918 in Frazee Hall on the main campus, then moved in 1930 into the William S. Taylor Education Building at South Upper and Scott streets. Back then, this was very experimental. It was built through support and donations from philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie as a model of what education could be in the New South. Classes were held until 1965, when UK closed the school.

On Oct. 24, most of the reunion attendees got their bearings by attending assigned cocktail parties around the city — class of '55 went here, class of '65 went there. On Saturday, most gathered at the Taylor Education Building for a light lunch, a tour of the former school and amusing diversions:

Some of the former cheerleaders got out (and let out) their old "Purples" cheerleader uniforms and put on a show. Ha, ha, ha.

But the big event was the reunion gala Saturday night at Lexington Country Club on Paris Pike. And, indeed, I saw some old friends, old neighbors and one relative. Jazzberry Jam was center stage as classmates dined and danced to the sound of golden oldies. No hip-hop here.

Some alums hadn't seen one another in 50 years or more; others had kept in touch, and others were "best friends" and had just gotten off the phone with one another — literally.

Barbara Harper Bach was chairman of the reunion with classmate Priscilla "Prissy" Roberts Fallon.

"Of all the events I've done, this one just went as smooth as it could go," Bach said of the reunion, "because everybody seemed to want to really be the overachiever they all are because they graduated from University High School. ...

"We do have many overachievers. We're in the presence of many notable people — six Kentucky Wildcats, three Lexington mayors, two presidential appointees, one of the best sports medicine physicians in the country. And the list just goes on and on. We're just having the time of our lives. It's probably the last time it will happen. I hope not."

Fallon — who grew up on Winganeek Farm at Old Richmond and Delong roads and was a neighbor of mine — said, "Someone said we had the golden years of education at U High. It couldn't have been better."

Many of the students started kindergarten there and went through to high school.

"It was the best thing in my life, ever," said Amanda Jane Adams Cauthen of Chattanooga. "I loved U High, from kindergarten all the way."

Cauthen and classmate Leslie Rhodes were from U High's last graduating class, in 1965.

Rhodes said, "It was a group of people that were very close ... 30 people or less for each class. We loved each other all the way through. Through my life as an adult, this group has meant more to me than anything."

Cauthen added, "I talk to Leslie two, three or four times a week. All of our classmates have stayed close. They're like family."

Another classmate, Elizabeth Clark Stone, echoed that sentiment. She went "from kindergarten through graduation," said Stone, a daughter of the late Thomas D. Clark, a Kentucky historian laureate. "That was my whole childhood. ... It was a happy time and a good education, lots of competition and a great place to be."

Lucy Alexander Breathitt, widow of former Gov. Edward T. "Ned" Breathitt, was with her cousin Jean Alexander Gilchrist. They both graduated from U High in 1955.

"We sat side by side all the way through school," Gilchrist said.

Breathitt said, "We are not that old, you understand, but our class had its 50th reunion three years ago. And the reason why nobody has any fun these days is because we had it all that weekend."

Helen Horlacher Evans, who graduated from U High in 1937, had a lot to tell.

"I remember what they called the school — 'The Dump' — because it was built on the site of the Lexington city dump," she said.

Well, now.

"When they closed the dump, I don't know, maybe 12 or 14 acres of land were there. The city of Lexington gave the site to the University of Kentucky so they could build their new school. ...

"My friends were going to Henry Clay, and Helen's going to 'The Dump,'" Evans said, laughing.

On Sunday, it was brunch and good-byes for some, but not all. Cauthen and Rhodes probably were on the phone before Cauthen could get out of town.