April 12 &13, 2024

WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU BACK TO HILLSDALE CAMPUS FOR REUNION WEEKEND 2024!

Reunion reps are needed to plan the class events. To volunteer, please contact Director of Development Margo Kirstein at margo.kirstein@7hills.org or 513.728.2437.

CPS & H ILLSDALE

Classes of 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, and 1974

LOTSPEICH

Classes of 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, and 1973

SEVEN HILLS

Classes of 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004

All events are free of charge, courtesy of your Alumni Association and the Development Office.

All information is available at www.7hills.org/reunion

SAVE THE DATE

50 th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL

PLEASE JOIN THE SEVEN HILLS COMMUNITY BACK ON CAMPUS TO COMMEMORATE THE 50 th ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL

SATURDA Y

APRIL 13

2024 HILLSDALE CAMPUS

MORE DETAILS TO COME. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

by Henry Farney

REUNION REPS

Reunion reps are needed to help make this a special weekend for your class. While the school-sponsored reunion events are for everyone to enjoy, each class organizes its own class-specific events. Please volunteer to help plan an event for your class, and gather some friends to join you in planning.

To volunteer or for questions, please contact Director of Development Margo Kirstein at margo.kirstein@7hills.org or 513.728.2437

Alumni often wonder if the school maintains the traditions, events, and activities that they enjoyed while they were students at the school. Many times, our answer is, “Yes! We still have that!”

U.S. HISTORY IS A CORNERSTONE OF EVERY SEVEN HILLS STUDENT’S EDUCATION, AS IT IS FOR EVERY STUDENT IN THE COUNTRY.

Learning about how the United States came to be what it is today and the leaders who shaped our nation is interesting when learned in the classroom, but even more so when students get to see the landmarks, monuments, and institutions they were learning about in class, in the city where it all happened, Washington, D.C. Our students have had the special opportunity to travel to the epicenter of American history and politics for many years, beginning in the CPS days.

CPS teacher Mrs. Jane Liebich taught a two-year U.S. history course

1965 to juniors and seniors, in which she focused on the U.S. Constitution and landmark court cases. In the mid1960s, Mrs. Liebich began leading seniors on a three-day trip to the nation’s capital, to tour museums and monuments. The trip quickly became a highly anticipated event of senior year. Marge Davis, Janie Maddox Dumbadze, and Carol Smith Hesser, C’65, were part of one of the first classes to travel to D.C. They toured the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, and visited Mt. Vernon and the National Art Gallery — Carol still has the itinerary! Janie reminisced, “Cincinnati native John J. Gilligan was a member of the U. S House of Representatives. He gave us a tour of the House and hosted our lunch in the Congressional Dining Room. We also had a party with the Senate Pages.” The trip gave students a chance to bring their lessons to life and meet key figures of the current political landscape.

The trip itinerary was similar from year to year but with some exceptional experiences. Ina Zimpelman Loftspring, Debbie Meyer Chamberlain, and Hildy Cohen Clayton C’69, remember how on a chilly, snow-covered afternoon they had the privilege of placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Another day, they met Speaker of the House John McCormack. Gretchen Holzman Kauscher’s C'69, aunt and uncle helped plan the class itinerary, as her uncle, John W. Bush, was an Interstate Commerce Commissioner. His wife Dorothy V. Bush was Secretary of the National Democratic Party and called the roll for over nine conventions. Kauscher recalled, “They set up a lunch for the class at

1969

Lotspeich students got to experience the trip, run for many years by teachers Kim Walden and Tracy Hickenlooper. They, along with a group of chaperones, including Glenn Shillinger, Doug Huff, and Marty Gerhardt, would travel to D.C. with rising fifth graders. The chaperones were as much a highlight of the trip as were the museums and landmarks they visited. Lotspeich teacher and chaperone Sara Snyder said when thinking about the trip, “Doug Huff is a walking, talking history book. The group would listen to him drop history tidbits about each building as we walked to the next activity. And Glenn was our GPS before there was GPS — he got us where we needed to be!” the trip my mother and her classmates took but was just as enjoyable. We spent time swimming at the hotel pool and also enjoyed the Smithsonian and the Air and Space Museum, while walking around the district.” The trip was offered to rising fifth graders until 2020, when COVID put activities on hold.

This year, the Washington, D.C. trip was taken by seventh graders from the Middle School. They visited landmarks they learned about in their history books with their fellow classmates and made memories like Seven Hills students have since the 1960s.

2010 the Capitol, where we enjoyed their famous bean soup! My favorite tour was the FBI building.”

The D.C. trip continued at CPS until the merger in 1974. After that, Doherty and

The D.C. trip served as a rite of passage for the students. For many it was their first trip without their parents and the first combined trip for Doherty and Lotspeich students. Peter Dumbadze ’06 noted, “For those of us from Doherty, being in D.C. would be one of the few times we didn’t need to wear a uniform. Our trip looked very different than