Memories of Webster Groves

Please share your stories and memories of Webster Groves: the town, the schools, your friends.

November 22, 1962 was an unusually warm Thanksgiving Day. Webster and Kirkwood teams were about equal in records, but WG performance over the season was probably better. The field -- before it was Moss Field -- was surrounded with stands and spectators, must have been more than 100,000 in attendance. Kind of like a Trump rally. Kirkwood scored first on a field goal, and that was the only and last lead they had. We scored on a short run. Then we ran a “trick” play that Coach Moss had given us earlier that week. Hugh Taylor, a halfback, must have been lined up on left side. Ball was snapped to me five yards or so behind line of scrimmage. I started running to the right, indicating a running play, while Huey, who had outrun his coverage, streaked down the left side. I pulled up, heaved the football to Huey on the left, some 45 yards or so downfield. He caught it and scored. In addition, late in the 3rd quarter Huey scampered 28 yards for his second touchdown, the final score in our 20-10 triumph. I think this performance made the headlines in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports section the next day. [Some guy named Dick Schroeder kicked two extra points.] (Bill Southworth)

Ms Weber was my counselor at Hixson. After a battery of tests, in which I did my usual crappy job, she had me and my mother in to inform us that I was not "college material" and the family should consider pointing me in the direction of, ah, something less intellectually demanding. (Ditch digging came up, and agricultural work, and "manual arts," for which I have no aptitude at all.)

Fast forward to August, 1980. I am doing, I think, "Twelfth Night" in some park in Columbia, Mo while I wait around to defend my dissertation. After one performance the chair of the Mizzou drama department comes backstage (a barn, literally) and she has another woman with her.

After the usual "great performance" stuff, the department chair turns to introduce her friend as "someone from my past." The woman then says, "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Ms Weber. I was your counselor in junior high school." "I remember you very well. How are you?" I responded. "I'm fine. What are you up to," she asked, "other than playing Orsino?" (My only romantic lead, BTW.) "Well," I said, "I am finishing up my doctorate in history here at the university and in a month I'll be going to Harvard, where I have a post-doctoral fellowship."

Boom! (She was very nice and I am sure had no recollection of her original assessment of my academic abilities.)

So that's the story I tell kids when they are agonizing over test scores and bad performance reports. (Chris Gibbs)

I see that Rich Wassall named Beryl Dalrymple the worst teacher at WGHS. I had an exchange with him that led me to another trip to Tyke Yates, room 107 and a 7th hour. Mr. Dalrymple called upon me to go to the blackboard but mispronounced my name: Marshall instead of Marschel (it was hell not hall at the end). I corrected him and he called me again…Marshall. I courteously reminded him a third time the correct pronunciation and he said “Marshall, go to the board.” I replied, "Mr. Dailypimple, please pronounce my name correctly" and thus earned a trip to see Tyke Yates. Many of you missed the opportunity to get to know Tyke Yates as intimately as I did. It served me well later in life, or I think it did.

Spanish teachers seemed to be in my DNA. Anita Dennison, Mac Collins and I went to Mr. Hampel’s house and did a pretty good TP job on it. It took some convincing but Tyke Yates finally believed us when we said we did it because we really liked Mr. Hampel. (Tom Marschel)

Read Moby (ick) in Miss Whittington's class, junior year. I think that The Scarlet Letter was in that class too.
Had the very odd Mrs. Pearson (Pierson?) for senior English. I think we read Henry IV--one of them anyway. We took turns reading it aloud in class and when we were about to get to my turn I realized that I would have to read the word "breast," I think, so I played sick the next day. Back in class, there had been something else to do the day before and she took up where they had left off and I had to read it anyway…ARGHHHH!!
Sophomore year I had the icky Mrs. Davis and we read Silas Marner…not a bad story but we dissected it so! I certainly learned about foreshadowing. Then we broke up into small groups and each group picked a book from a list--and that was when I discovered that classics could be good! We read Jane Eyre and I loved it…. (TJ Sewall)

This memory is about Jim Patterson. I attended WG for only my Senior year and lived a couple of blocks from the K'wood school line in Warson Woods. I knew many more Kirkwood kids. Of course, I knew the bullies too. I didn't mind a little scrap now and then but there was a guy named Jeff Buzbee whom you didn't want after you. Now, the story: We were attending a dance at a fine establishment on Gravois, Sunset Swim Club. Some of you may have enjoyed the festivities from time to time. Towards the end of the night, some of us were outside enjoying stimulating conversations when we heard some bellicosity a few yards away. I wasn't surprised to see Buzbee yelling at someone but was very surprised to see "the Goat" as his object of wrath. Poor Goat, I thought. He doesn't know who he's messing with. Maybe I should try to break it up? All of a sudden a long right hoof came flying and Buzbee was staggered. He tried to come back but that hoof hit him again and then one more time ended the contest. I was truly impressed.
Mrs. Weirich, the moral of the story is simple: Don't screw around with Goats! (Gary Stoltman)

One day John Trotter (class of '61) hid a tape recorder in Mrs. Lanagan's fireplace so that he could capture her ranting at various sub-performing pupils. He hit pay dirt when she did indeed blast some lazy lout for inattention and even threw a book at him. Wham! It was all caught on tape and played for her later. It didn't change her style though. (Betsey Anderson)

I have a great memory about one of the "wags" in our class (I think it was Dick Kettenbrink) who wrote on a purple duplicating sheet "To the best friend I've ever had," then ran it off so that he could paste it into friends' yearbooks -- a purple strip with that heartwarming message. I still treasure mine!! (Ellen Detering)

Sharing my birthday with Kathy Simpson and Janet Longston. Cruising in Harriett Stein’s Studebaker. Making the Girl’s Varsity Basketball team as a sophomore. Summers at Webster pool getting that tan, teaching swimming, and parting with a few coins at the snack bar. Enduring the dance parties at Miss Condon’s school.
(Janis Wahlfeld)

I remember passing notes secretly in class and in the hall during the 4 minutes between one class to the next. We folded the notes into little triangles that self-closed...and looking forward to smiling at and greeting certain people at precise spots during class changes. (Linda Seifert)

I have a cute story about Ann Chase and a small "girls only" club that we had briefly in a room above Margaret Barndollar's shed. One day the big topic of our meeting was, of course, boys and boobs. What was the big deal? (yes, teenage girls were as curious as the boys). So, if I remember correctly, Ann somehow volunteered or was voted to buy THE PLAYBOY magazine (at least she knew that one could be purchased under the counter at the drug store in Old Webster). I was only moral support. Bold as brass, little Ann Chase with her innocent face & big blue eyes placed our money on the counter and asked for a PLAYBOY. The owner pulled one out and gave it to her! We laughed all the way to Velvet Freeze. What was the "big deal?" Boobs...NO ONE looked like that! Years later, I learned what a "Vargas pin-up girl" was and the wonders of an airbrush. Sorry, boys...certainly brushed away your dreams. Ah, the innocence of our teenage years. ("Dear Abby" Barker)

Best WGHS teacher: Yvonne Lanagan. Worst WGHS teacher: Beryl Dalrymple. Most frequented classroom: Room 107. (Rich Wassall)

I remember being proud of the rumor that Webster was ranked as one of the top 10 high schools in the nation. We also won the KXOK Nickels for the Needy contest, making Webster the high school with the most school spirit in the St. Louis area. (Karen Younger)

Bonfires before the Webster-Kirkwood games. Being in the driver's ed car with three guys, especially trying to learn backing up while all three of them are lying on the floor in the back seat laughing. (Jane Anderson)

Coach Bryant's "earthy" words of encouragement during "B" team football practice. Getting to homeroom half an hour early to coax the Latin homework assignment from Judy Hanson and Kathy Simpson. (Chip Weisenfels)

The crowded halls (elbow to elbow). The odoriferous smell of the girls' locker room. Phyllis Diller's famous assembly that shocked the students and faculty but was enjoyed by all. (Susan Banks)

Football and basketball games, assemblies and fun, Senior Day and graduation, working in 107 with Mrs. Bopp. (Dianne Schwarz)

Bob Trotter's unique workbook arrangements with Barb Brown and Betsey Anderson, whereby he'd borrow from each a half-completed workbook assignment, finish his by completely copying theirs, then loan his book first to one, then the other, to copy the half that she hadn't completed but that Bob supposedly had done. (Susan Boyce)

Room 107, fuzzball, hitting 113 on 66 in my beat up 98. (Rich Wassall)

All the fun of putting together the Webster Echo. (Carol Stern)

I don't remember very much at all. But all my children were "lullabyed" with old choir songs like "Vigil" and "I Wonder as I Wander." (Pat Caray)

Bob Horton cutting his finger off in shop, never remembering my locker combination or which day was gym and which study hall, buying two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate milk for lunch every day for 6 years, Charles Scheef getting expelled 3 days for walking onto campus with a cigarette (I had just put mine out), the dear cheerleaders trying to add some life to an empty gym at one of our home wrestling matches (David Rumpf)

Summers at Webster Pool. Crazy fads and antics. Great school spirit. Sororities and clubs. Lots of cruising between Steak 'n Shake and Schneithorsts. (Trish Collins)

"Health" Club"--with 2 minutes of calisthenics on the Pancake House parking lot and 58 minutes of serious pancake eating. Cruising through "Steak on Man" and ordering I.W. and a hamburger with P.K.O. (Judy Reinhardt)

Jon's Dairy Swirl. Fast cars. Girls. Party, party, party. (Paul Cornelius)

The pat of butter stuck to the cafeteria ceiling 1957-1963. (Smitty Reed)

The easy-going pace of living and the innocent, almost naive approach most of us had to life. It was fun. (Jean Dickinson)

The incessant round of activity in sports, sorority, school clubs, Tri-Hi-Y and a stimulating academic atmosphere, as well. (Gail French)

Close friends. Interesting personalities. Warm and protective community. I didn't appreciate Webster until I saw how the rest of the world lived. (Bill Pierce)

Cliquish provincial youth, academic excellence...sweet sixteen sugar cube corsages and sitting in homeroom praying for a change of venue. (Naomi Giger)

GAA sports, football games, Vespers. A game called "Got You Last" and Larry Mitchener pulling me down the hallway on a furniture dolly during a rehearsal for "Brigadoon." (Gentry Moss)

The huge origami creatures Charlie Munch and I made for the Paper Doll Prom. Throwing cherry bombs from Betsey Anderson's raspberry-sherbet Chevy convertible as we peeled through Brentwood. How funny flattops looked when you were taller than the guy you were dancing with. (Sandy Granville)

Miss Rep and the Christmas program. One night the choir sang for a meeting. A group of the gals parked Judy's car in the Library lot. The chain was on when we got back. Judy drove up over the curb and down the Library steps. She was excellent. (Gayle Miltenberger)

Being told that my being moved out of Bill Southworth's group in Driver's Ed was an effort aimed at preserving the competitive edge of Webster's Varsity. (Barb Hemphill)

Getting into too many activities and being elected Latin Club president because I didn't go to the election meeting. Jack Buchheit fainting in speech class from being so shy. (Dick Kettenbrink)

Playing poker after Friday night basketball games. (Fred Hill)

Steak 'n Shake burgers that still rank in the U.S. top 5 (hold the pickles), dyed-to-match prom shoes, ponies in Latin, slumber parties, hoods and hoodesses, crew cuts and DAs, to this day associating orange and black with Webster more than Halloween. (Jo Carol Hunter)