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Tales and Photos Supplied by '60 Classmates
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Vol. 50, No. 1 FERN CREEK, KENTUCKY - Location of Friendliest School in the County October 3, 2010
Louis Nagel, our Class of ’60 prodigy is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Music. He is a Steinway Artist who has been performing before the public for over fifty years. Louis has played and taught at the University of Michigan since 1969, as well as the National Music Camp, the Sydney Conservatorium, the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Donghai University in Taichung, Taiwan, The Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, and festivals in Vermont, Poland and Italy. He has performed many times in New York City, including two recent concerts at Steinway Hall. In demand as a performer, lecturer and adjudicator Louis has visited many college campuses in the United States, including recent appearances at Texas Tech, Bowling Green University and Emory and Henry University. He has performed concertos by Mozart, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky with orchestras in Berlin and Budapest. In Michigan he has collaborated three times with Charles Greenwell and the Southern Great Lakes Symphony and with Arie Lipsky and the Ann Arbor Symphony. He takes particular pride in his many concerts at the Ann Arbor Kerrytown Concert House. Of special note is the ongoing series traversing the entire trio literature of Beethoven, in partnership with colleagues Stephen Shipps and Anthony Elliott. In 1995 he recorded FOUR CENTURIES OF J.S.BACH, a CD for the Equilibrium label; and, in 2006, a CD of Haydn and C.P.E. Bach for the University's M Block label. Louis’s activities at the University of Michigan School of Music include teaching piano performance, piano literature, chamber music and directing the Outreach in the Performing Arts program that brings talented music students into community venues other than traditional concert halls. Louis has collaborated with his wife, psychoanalyst and musician Dr. Julie Jaffee Nagel at the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute and the American Psychoanalytic Association. Exploring the close relationship between music and the mind, they have presented programs jointly on stage-fright, career problems, and the selected works of works of great composers. Recently, for the Midland, Michigan music teachers, they jointly presented a paper/performance on Mozart in the tragic year 1778, focusing on the Sonata in A Minor, K. 310. Louis is winner of numerous prestigious prizes including the National Arts Club, National Federation of Music Clubs, and the Geneva International Competition. His articles and reviews appear in The Juilliard Journal Online, The Journal of the American Liszt Society, Clavier Magazine and Piano and Keyboard. In 2009, Louis was inducted into the Fern Creek Traditional High School Alumni Hall of Fame. Many of Dr. Nagel's students are active as performers, conductors, and teachers both in the United States and abroad. 
Louis and Julie Nagel have been sweethearts since their days at Julliard. They were here last year for Louie's induction in the Hall of Fame and will be here for the reunion. Is there a piano in the hall?
Louis Nagel is one of the world's finest pianists, having displayed his skill and creative talents around the globe.
Click the circle arrow on the left to hear a tantalizingly brief example of Louis's skill. You can download an entire album on Itunes. Do an Itunes search for Louis Nagel.
J.D. Nichols, FCHS Class of '60, is chairman of NTS Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates. He graduated from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1964 after his undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky. His career in construction and real estate development began in 1965. Since then has overseen the development of more than 8,000 acres of land and 7,000,000 square feet of office, residential, commercial, and industrial construction, throughout the southeastern United States.J.D. is active in many civic and charitable organizations including the University of Louisville, where he served as a member of the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, the Board of Overseers, and the University of Louisville Foundation. Reflecting his commitment to quality education in Kentucky, J.D. served as chairman of the Kentucky Council on School Performance Standards, which was charged with the responsibility for development of the academic agenda incorporated into the Kentucky Education Reform Act (“KERA”); a program which has been recognized nationally for innovation in education reform. Jack, as he was sometimes known in school, also served on the steering committee of the Kentucky Education Technology System, which was created by KERA, and charged with development of a statewide computerized information system linking Kentucky’s public schools. He is a past member and chairman of the Council for Education Technology, a past member of both the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence and the Partnership for Kentucky Schools, and is a lifetime member of the President’s Society of Bellarmine College.J.D. was inducted into the Junior Achievement Kentuckiana Business Hall of Fame in 1989, is a past director and member of the executive committee of Greater Louisville Inc., has served on the Governor’s Council on Economic Development, the Board of Directors of both Actors Theater of Louisville and Kentucky Opera, and several other community organizations. He is a past chairman and currently vice chairman of the board of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, and was one of the catalysts behind the major expansion of Louisville International Airport and United Parcel Service’s decision to remain in Louisville and expand their hub. He was also instrumental in the development of Metropolitan College – a program that pays for college or post-high school technical training when combined with part-time jobs at UPS.Adapted from the NTS Web site
J. D. Nichols began his work career at Joe Z's Pizza at the corner of Old Bardstown Road and Hikes Lane, where a White Castle stands today.
J. D. Nichols was voted Most Likely
To Suceed by the Class of '60
and he took it seriously.
Fifty years ago, I was the “Boop-Boop-Be-Do” girl, singing on stage at the senior talent show at Fern Creek High School. My, how time flies. After graduation I went to University College night school at U of L, worked for the Assistant Dean and was on the staff of the OWL, the school newspaper. The next year I attended U of L full time, pledged Chi Omega sorority, became pinned to Ray Schalk, my husband and soul mate of 47 years, and was chosen Miss Thoroughbred, 1962. I attended the “coronation” dance with a Phi Tau brother of Ray’s, as Ray had already started his pilot training in the Air Force.In May, 1963, Ray and I were married in St. Agnes Church and left for Ray’s training base at Selma, Alabama. While Ray was training, I was a first grade teacher at a Catholic school. In 1966, the Air Force sent us to Albany, Georgia, where two weeks after our first child, Vickie, was born, Ray left for his first tour in Vietnam as a B-52 pilot. Vickie and I lived on base. After two more tours, two years later, we left the Air Force and moved to Paducah, Kentucky, Ray having taken a job with Procter & Gamble. I was a full time mom and “secretary” to Ray, as well. In 1969, P&G promoted Ray and we moved to Chicago where Raymond III was born in 1970 and then Stephanie in 1973. While in Chicago, we acquired a summer home on Little Green Lake in Wisconsin, three hours away, which we were able to enjoy for nine years. Our family spent nearly every weekend enjoying outdoor activities and renovating an old two story house on the lake.Our next P&G assignment was in Davie, Florida, where we move in 1979. It was a thrill to be heading south after the winter of ’78 in Chicago. We lived on a canal, did quite a bit of fishing, renovated part of our home by turning the garage into a family room and added a pool, lanai, and screened-in area. When P&G gave Ray the whole state to cover as unit manager in sales in 1983, we moved to Clermont, where we lived on Lake Minnehaha. Fishing, water skiing, hunting, and renovating kept us busy. I worked part-time for P&G, helping Ray run his sales unit, while he was recuperating from back surgery. There was also a stint teaching remedial education at the middle school. We lived in Clermont for 20 years. Our children graduated high school and college, married, and the oldest had her first child while we were there. For us it was a record; twenty years in the same place. In December 1998, we bought a mountain summer home between Maggie Valley and Cherokee, North Carolina, as we prepared for Ray’s retirement after 31 years at P&G. In 2003, we downsized from our lake house to a townhome on another lake in Clermont. Also, that year we bought 17 acres on a nearby mountain, at 4,200 feet elevation. The land is on a ridge with a wonderful 320 degree view. We sold our first mountain home in 2006 and built the home of our dreams, with a view facing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We’re most proud of our children and our six grandchildren. Vickie, her husband and two girls (six and fifteen), live in Clermont. They have a lawn care and landscaping business. Vickie enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, volunteering in the girls’ schools and even subbing now and then. Our son and his family reside in Orlando where he owns a business called Roll Screens Solutions. Our daughter-in-law is a long time kindergarten teacher. They have two children, a daughter (8) and a son (5). Stephanie and her husband have been in Alexandria, Virginia about eight years. Andrei, our son-in-law is from Moscow, Russia. He works for the State Department at the Foreign Services Institute, where he is head of the Russian/Slavic Languages Division. Stephanie works for Training Resources Group, Inc., as a senior trainer, which has her traveling the world. They have two children, a boy (7) and a girl (5), both of whom are bilingual.Ray and I did a lot of our traveling in the ‘90s. We twice visited Stephanie in Moscow, once as she attended Moscow State University and again to meet her future husband’s family. We also visited Stephanie and Andrei when they were teaching in Kobe, Japan. We love to spend time with them in DC, too. We’re fortunate to have all fourteen of us together two times a year, for about a week around the Fourth of July and again at Christmas. We’re looking forward to a 50 year anniversary cruise in a couple of years, with the whole gang. We love to have the grandchildren spend time with us at the mountains and have friends visit us. We’re looking forward to the reunion.
Fifty years ago, Alice Pleiss was the "Boop-Boop-Be-Do" girl in Class Night, the epic variety show that
was moved to the Atherton High School auditorium, because Fern Creek's was too small. This is the first Class Night photo we're received. We'd sure like to get one of the boys' chorus line.
In 1962, Alice was elected Miss Thoroughbred by classmates at the University of Louisville. The Thoroughbred is the school's yearbook.
Alice married U of L alum Ray Schalk in May, 1963. Ray was in training to be a B-52 pilot. He served thee tours in Vietnam and had a long career with Procter and Gamble.
Surrounded by children and grandchildren, Alice and Ray enjoy their Christmas reunion in 2009.
Alice Pleiss found a soul mate at college and together they've lived an American dream
I’m delighted to hear about plans for the 50th anniversary. Wow, could it have been that long? I’m looking forward to visiting with former classmates.I have many fond memories from my days at Fern Creek High. Friendships and interactions with classmates are at the top of my list. Further, it was a pleasure to be taught and mentored by a group of highly skilled and dedicated teachers.While spending a career working in the sciences, mathematics classes at Fern Creek were special. I have very positive memories of Mrs. Emily Laukauf’s and Mrs. Shirley Hughes’s classes. They were very caring teachers with high expectations of their students.I enjoyed the personal anecdotes Mr. William Wright shared with classes, and his interesting chemistry demonstrations.Following my graduation from Georgetown University, I worked as a physics and chemistry teacher for three years in Jefferson County, at Seneca High and Fairdale High. Mr. Wright served as a mentor in my development as a science teacher. This friendship and mentorship continued through graduate school at the University of Virginia and my early years on the faculty at the University of Kentucky.Another faculty member who influenced my personal and career development was Mr. Reynolds, the mechanical drawing teacher. Mr. William Reynolds placed extreme emphasis on accuracy and detail. I value the work done in his classes and have managed to keep a few of the projects.Ann, my wife, taught two years for Mr. Reynolds, when he was principal of Jeffersontown High School. This provided an opportunity to get reacquainted with him. Ann and I felt a real loss with his untimely death.Fern Creek High School played a significant role in my growth as a person and in my professional development. Thanks, FCHS!Truman Stevens, Ed.D. is Associate Professor of Science Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Kentucky. He has received several awards for his research and scholarship. Ed.
Dr. Truman Stevens used Fern Creek education
as springboard to distinguished academic career
Truman Stevens as seen on the UK web site.
Bob Bornschein started his work career as a tool and die maker at General Electric, but his ambition went beyond micrometers and stamping tools; so, he went back to school, eventually receiving his Ph.D. in Psychopharmacology at the University of Louisville.
After doing post-doctorate work at the University of Cincinnati, Bob stayed in that community to forge a distinguished career that made him an international authority on the effects of lead in the environment. He has held several positions in the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati, where he is now an Emeritus Professor.Dr. Bornschein’s research interests focus on sources of childhood lead exposure, causes of lead poisoning, its developmental consequences, primary prevention and evaluation of chelation therapy. He has conducted numerous exposure assessments of communities living adjacent to Superfund sites, with an emphasis on heavy metal exposures, residential soil and dust contamination and biomarkers of exposure. Following each of these exposure assessments, he has worked with community leaders and health officials to develop and implement screening programs and exposure reduction plans. Bob was a founding member of the Cincinnati Breast Cancer and Environment Research Center, served as its Deputy Director and currently serves as Center Director. His research interests include measuring biomarkers of exposure to chemicals thought to alter pubertal development, thereby altering the risk of later breast cancer occurrence. He also is interested in the communication of findings to study families, as well as the larger community and health officials.
Bob Bornschein as seen on the University of Cincinnati web site
Stint at General Electric triggered an interest in
metals that evolved into an academic career for
Dr. Bob Bornschein
Ray and Alice pose in front of their dream house, a round edifice perched on the edge of a North Carolina mountain.
Inspired by Mike Hilsenrad's cogent comments, Alice has added this postscript to her bio.
Mike Hilsenrad wrote in my yearbook, “May your chalice, Alice, be as full of goodness as I now wish it to be.” From the bios I sent to you, it sounds like my life turned out to be that way; and indeed, it has, but not without stumbles and tumbles along the way. From learning my husband had been involved in and survived a mid-air collision, flying a B-52 mission over Vietnam, to his back surgery in the eighties which nearly killed him, to his having a stroke in 2003, and our thinking he would be forever paralyzed and gone away from us for good. In 24-hours after having thrombolytic therapy, Ray was just as he had been before the stroke, thank God.
I chose to relate my fairytale version of the story, dwelling on the “goodness in my chalice.” Funny, how I used to think my high school days were not worth thinking about, much less writing about, but now looking back so many years ago, they weren’t so bad; they were typical. 