(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) — A reunion for students who attended the laboratory high school on the University of Central Missouri campus is planned for Friday and Saturday, June 12-13.
Approximately 300 people are already registered for the event, which is being coordinated by UCM’s Office of Alumni Relations in cooperation with a 14-member committee of school graduates, according to a news release. The reunion is open to individuals who attended the Training School, College High School or University High School. The reunion takes place every five years.
This year’s event gives those attending an opportunity to see and benefit from a couple of facilities that are new to campus since the 2010 reunion. This includes a casual meet and greet event at Traditions Restaurant at the Walton Clubhouse, Pertle Springs, from 7-10 p.m. Friday, and major activities planned Saturday morning and early afternoon at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, located at the site of the former Morrow Building/Garrison Gymnasium complex.
The reunion begins Friday with a golf lunch at Hidden Pines Country Club, 77 N.W. Division Road, Warrensburg, followed by a golf tournament at 12:30 p.m. at Hidden Pines. A reservation is required to participate in the tournament.
Registration is from 9-11:45 a.m. Saturday at the Recreation Center, where there also will be a display of archival items representing school history from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tours of the campus and the Recreation Center
will be available throughout the morning, and class group photos will be taken between 11 and 11:50 a.m. Lunch from 12-2 p.m. includes a program that focuses on giving thanks to former faculty and staff, recognizing the class with the best percentage attendance, and the 50-year anniversary class. UCM President Charles Ambrose will welcome the group to campus.
Activities in the Recreation Center conclude at 3 p.m. Saturday. Classes that want to gather at other locations of their choosing are encouraged to make individuals plans to do so.
To learn more about the reunion, including how to register and cost, visit ucmo.edu/alumni/events/collegehigh.cfm or call the Office of Alumni Relations at 660-543-8000.
The lab school at Central Missouri traces its origin back to 1906 when the Missouri General Assembly approved $50,000 to construct the first training building. The school provided K-12 education to faculty members’ children and to youth from Warrensburg and the Centerview area, which at the time had no high school. The high school went through three name changes: Training School, College High and, when it closed in 1976, University High. The elementary school closed in 1980.
At varying times, classes were held in what is now the Lovinger Building, which also provided a gymnasium for sporting events; Art Center, where the cafeteria also was located; and the Humphreys Building. Students also took a number of classes in the Grinstead Building, and in the Art Annex.
A permanent memorial to the lab schools was dedicated west of the Morrow/Garrison complex in 2007, following two years of planning and private fund-raising initiatives.