Search Results

Here's what's happening!

Here's what's happening!

The Lower Dauphin Alumni Association In a volunteer organization it is often difficult to accomplish all of the goals members set for themselves. However, the Lower Dauphin Alumni Association has an impressive track record of areas of interest and responsibility and with plans for future events. Connecting, Involving, Supporting Alumni We support this LDAA Website providing information for LDHS Grads regarding their Alma Mater. Our most recent presentation is a set of reviews of the first 60 Falconaires. Planned is a published collection of these reviews along with more about each class. If you have pictures and your own memories (particularly needed is input from the classes from the 21st Century) and/or would like additional information about this project and others of the Alumni Association, please contact us. ldalumni@ldsd.org Distinguished Alumni/Alumnus Award Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna/Alumni Award The following individuals have been selected and honored as Distinguished Alumni/Alumnus in one or more of the following areas; arts, athletics, scholarship, leadership, community service, and commitment to Lower Dauphin. Please click on the link beside the name to read their biographies. The nominees are listed in order from most recent to first recipient. Meet The Honorees Click Image Below to Enlarge Reunions and Homecoming Information This page will serve as a clearinghouse for information about upcoming Lower Dauphin High School class reunions and class information. If you are interested in having your class information listed please contact Kathy Weber via email at ldalumni@ldsd.org If you would like to assist with planning, volunteer, or make a cash donation to Alumni events and or our scholarship fund please contact Kathy Weber, by email ldalumni@ldsd.org . Donations may be mailed to LDAA, PO BOX 255, Hummelstown, PA 17036. ​ LD Alumni CHEERLEADERS and BAND are always seeking new members to join us for the evening. LD Alumni Cheerleaders should check the information by joining Facebook, "LD Alumni Cheerleaders." Band members should contact ldalumni@ldsd.org for more information. ​ Lower Dauphin Reunion information as reported by classes. Please contact Kathy Weber, ldalumni@ldsd.org if you are a contact and have updated information. ​ ​ Click here to see your Class Representatives Reunions/Homecoming LDAA Scholarship/Falcon Alumni Trust LDAA Scholarship Falcon Alumni Trust One of the major goals of the Lower Dauphin Alumni Association is to acknowledge student achievement in scholarship, athletics, and the arts. In 1990 the Board of Directors voted to establish a Trust whereby funds would be set aside and invested for the purpose of funding scholarships. The interest from that Trust, together with funds raised on a year-to-year basis, have been used to award an annual scholarship to a graduating senior who is continuing his or her education at the post-secondary level. Listed below are our Alumni winners from 1990 to present. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ LDAA has also served as overseer of additional scholarships, managed with the help of our Board: Arlene Huss Class of 1965 The Distinguished Alumni Award (not awarded since 2016) Dr. Judith T. Witmer Fox Family Falcon Alumni Trust Scholarship ​ A successful fundraising campaign initially endowed the Falcon Trust. To augment these funds, the Alumni Association sponsors Tom's Veggie Stand during the Hummelstown Arts & Crafts Fair held in September. Proceeds from this venue are deposited into the Falcon Trust. In addition, gifts in honor or memory of Lower Dauphin faculty, alumni, and friends have been accepted for this scholarship fund. To further increase this endowment we request your assistance. If interested, you are invited to make tax-deductible contributions to the LDAA Scholarship Fund by making checks payable to the Falcon Alumni Trust, PO Box 255, Hummelstown, PA 17036. ​ 2004 - Joshua Young 2005 - Erica Bates 2006 - Amy Brandt 2007 - Andrea Leshak 2008 - Suzanne Cake 2009 - Clayton Cooper 2010 - Chase Harmon 2011 - Charles Davis 2012 - Amanda Ringenbach 2013 - Kara Kaylor 2014 - David Wuestner 2015 - Katryn Durenleau 2016 - Anjali Singh 2017 - Peter Gingrich 2018 - Owen Coonelly 2019 - Brendon Little 2020 - Samantha Bonawitz 2021 - Luke Wren 2022 - Connor Grubb 2023 - Abigail Nissley ​ 1990 – Andrew Espenshade 2004 - Joshua Young 2005 - Erica Bates 2006 - Amy Brandt 2007 - Andrea Leshak 2008 - Suzanne Cake 2009 - Clayton Cooper 2010 - Chase Harmon 1991 – Christine Cassel 1992 – Stephanie Teets 1993 – Renée Hoffman 1994 – Megan Espenshade 1995 – Jeremy Sharpe 1996 – Jodi O’Donnell 1997 – Kristen Potter 1998 – Abigail Martin 1999 – Joshua Good 2000 – Margaret Aichele 2001 – Jennifer Johnson 2002 – Abby Snyder 2003 – Megan Haas Hiring Miss Hummelstown It's Official! The Hummelstown Community Foundation is proud to announce that Cassidy Faith ODonnell was crowned Miss Hummelstown 2024. Ten contestants participated in the 49th annual Miss Hummelstown Pageant held Sunday, October 22, 2023. Each contestant was sponsored by a community non-profit organization. Queen Cassidy represented the FFO, Inc. Contestants were required to present a biographical list of their interests and community service. ​ Introducing Miss Hummelstown 2024 Cassidy ODonnell Miss Hummelstown

Memorable Moments This series will view each graduating class from 1961 through 2020. All begin with the names of class presidents and other leadership positions which helped to shape the personality of each class, and believe us, each class certainly displayed its own temperament. Most profiles reveal the zeitgeist of the year or decade, some were ornery, some were brilliant, all were interesting. Enjoy the ride! Click each picture to enlarge Class of 1961 Class of 1963 Class of 1964 Class of 1965 Class of 1967 Class of 1968 Class of 1969 Class of 1970 Class of 1972 Class of 1975 Class of 1977 Class of 1978 Class of 1980 Class of 1962 Class of 1966 Class of 1971 Class of 1973 Class of 1974 Class of 1976 Class of 1979

More Information Coming! Stay Tuned! 60th Anniversary Celebration

Kulina/Machamer Congratulations Coach Kulina Congratulations Coach Machamer Melody Brubaker Congratulations to Melody Brubaker Cliff for being selected to receive the 2023 PMEA Citation of Excellence in Teaching Award for District 7. Melody is our Orchestra instructor and also an LD alum, class of 2004 . We are LD proud! Alumni Wrestling Event 2023 Alumni Wrestlers and all fans joined us on Jan 5, 2023 for a book preview and page signing by Dr. Judith T. Witmer View the video of wrestling at Lower Dauphin over the years High School Musical Introducing the 2023 Spring Musical ! Show Cases Celebrating The return to the new school year

The Lower Dauphin Alumni Association Providing over 33 Years of Service to the Students and Alumni of LDHS 1989 - Present The Lower Dauphin Alumni Association was founded in 1989 as part of a plan to collect and preserve historical artifacts, design fundraising projects to support student activities and academics, and as a contact point for alumni. The official organizational meeting of the Lower Dauphin Alumni Association (LDAA) was held on April 15, 1989 where by-laws were approved and officers elected. By June LDAA had 600 members. That fall LDAA participated in the Homecoming activities, began a newsletter, and formed a scholarship committee. Homecoming 1990 saw the first appearance of the Alumni Band, a crowd-pleasing group that makes a now annual appearance at the football game. We also entered a float featuring former Homecoming Queens and held a dinner-dance. For the past several years the Alumni Cheerleaders have made an appearance at Homecoming games and are a great favorite with the sports fans. Founding: Convener – Dr. Judith T. Witmer, then Principal for Academics, LDHS, later Asst. to the Supt., LDSD First meeting – April 15, 1989 Founding Members: Catherine Reed Eshenour ’66; Marjorie Park Cassel ’65; Russel E. Cassel; Carl W. Espenshade ’62; Nancy L. Hivner ’72; Elizabeth Musser Radle ’62; Joseph M. Snavely ’83; Jean Deimler Seibert ’65; Kirk (Wade) Seibert ’65. Current Officers: President Kris Neibert Eisenbise '81; 1st Vice President Carl Espenshade'61; 2nd Vice President tbd; Secretary Kathy Imhof Weber '74; Treasurer George Kline '72; Corresponding Secretary Barbara Olson Bowser '62 ​ Current Board Members: Susan Petrina ’65, Elaine Mader Royer ’65, Gloria Shertzer Mader ’61. Number of members – technically anyone who was graduated from LDHS 14,000; sustaining (supporting membership) members – approx. 600 Ex Officio: Dr. Judith Witmer LDAA is an independent organization, not funded by the school district. Purpose: to collect and preserve historical artifacts, design fundraising projects to support student activities and academics, and plan programs by which alumni continue their involvement in their Alma Mater. Alumni Cheerleaders Activities and contributions: ​ Board meets monthly Sponsored the Golden Jubilee: 50th Anniversary Celebration, 2010 Maintain a database of alumni addresses Publish an Alumni Directory – Latest in 2015 Active in Homecoming and Alumni Recognition Homecoming 1989 – first participation ; 1990 – first Alumni Band and a float featuring past Homecoming Queens; later, Alumni Cheerleaders Various groups are honored at Homecoming; the following to date: wrestlers, football teams, field hockey, the first Championship Football Team (1960), the band, and major half-time program in 2010 honoring the undefeated “Team ’70”, Distinguished Alumni Awards. Falcon Pride newsletter, began fall 1989 Purchase and Installation of a Falcon Pride sign board in the gymnasium Purchase and Installation of an Award Plaque honoring LDAA scholarship winners Scholarship, supported by the Falcon Alumni Trust. We have awarded twenty-nine scholarships since the inception of the award in 1990. We manage several other scholarships funded by various alumni groups and individuals. Installation of Alumni Lobby which includes a large walk-in Show Case used for museum quality exhibits that change several times a year Honor Distinguished Alumni: Refer to Distinguished Alumni/Alumnus page for updated list. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Alumni Band est. 1990 LDAA Did you know? LDAA: Did You Know??? The Lower Dauphin Alumni Association (LDAA) was founded in 1989 and that year participated in Homecoming, started a newsletter, and established a scholarship. ​ ​ ​ Homecoming 1990 was the first appearance of the LDAA Alumni Band. We also entered a float featuring former Homecoming Queens and held a dinner-dance. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ We established a trust fund to provide scholarships for graduating seniors. ​ We began to collect items of historical importance, such as yearbooks, programs from music and sports events, photos, scrapbooks, uniforms, pennants, the LD Bible, and class schedule cards. These are catalogued and preserved. In the 1990s we sponsored a Sports Complex Committee which brought together former athletes, community leaders and others to support a feasibility study in response to the need for more playing fields. LDAA organized sponsorships of folding chairs to be used by the winter sports teams and has provided signage for the gymnasium, proclaiming FALCON PRIDE! ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ We honored the 1960 Championship football team and all LD football captains on their fortieth anniversary of Falcon Football We paid tribute to the Big Blue Band at Homecoming 2002. ​ ​ ​ ​ We serve as a trustee for class gifts, support various school activities, and sponsored a directory of alumni names and addresses. We also undertook a major capital improvement project by installing a large Falcon mosaic (a gift of the Class of 1988) and building an imposing Alumni Memorabilia Showcase, paid for by alumni donations, in the entrance lobby that contains the history and mementos of Lower Dauphin High School. We published Loyal Hearts Proclaim: The First Fifty Years , a history of LDHS. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ We purchased a field banner to be used for football games, band competitions, and other events. In 2010-2011 we held a Golden Jubilee. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ We award scholarships and our website is now into it's second year! or Want to help? Contact ldalumni@ldsd.org .

The Wall of Heroes In early March of 2021, I had the opportunity to interview Lower Dauphin High School’s Guidance Counselor, Nate Espenshade, the person who I refer to as the keeper of The Wall. I put together some questions that I had for Nate, because when I took on this task of creating the LDAA Website, I knew that there would be a tab for this very touching and wonderful gift that has been given to our High School, all by the students who attended here. Please read below how The Wall of Heroes came to be. How and when did this idea come about? It was started around 2004. I really wanted to do something to recognize the LD graduates who served our country through military service. It started out with small American flags that we printed out. Their names were written on the flags and we also included their rank and where they were stationed. These things frequently changed as they received promotions and new assignments to them to new locations. We decided to simplify that information to include things that would not change ( Name, Military Branch, Grad Year ). Whose idea was it to put up the wall of Heroes? I guess the idea was mine. I remember having conversations with other LD employees about it and people helped bring it together. What made you think of doing something like this amazing tribute? I have tremendous respect for the men and women who served our country. I wanted to do something to honor them. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ When was the wall assembled and put up? The original wall with paper flags would have been 2004. We updated the wall with wooden plaques and metal name plates in 2009. The wall got updated again in 2018 with a large picture (picture attached). The latest update really stands out and gets noticed when people are in the building. We designed and sold t-shirts to help raise money for this project. How many names are on the wall? It looks to be roughly around 550. There are currently 520 names on the list. But that number will hopefully increase as we are given more names. We want to include every LD graduate who has served. Are you still looking for LD Military to add? How do you go about advertising for it and if someone would like to be added, who do they contact? We are always looking to add names. We want to include everyone who served. In 2009 we had a big advertising campaign. We printed out flyers and displayed them at the local VFW and American Legion. We tried to get the word and it spread by word of mouth. We called Veterans who we knew and got a lot of names that way. I started getting phone calls from past graduates, family members, and friends who wanted to give me names. Then people came into the school for different events and saw the Wall of Heroes and took pictures. They posted their pictures on social media or sent them to others and it generated more phone calls and emails. If anyone wants to submit a name they can contact me through my email at nwespenshade@ldsd.org and share the name (as they want it to appear), military branch, and graduation year. The Wall of Heroes in 2018 Nate Espenshade appears in The Sun in 2009 to discuss the concept. One of the wooden plaques with metal name plates in 2009

Survivors On March 13, 2020, Friday the 13th, the Lower Dauphin High School Class of 2020 spent their last day in high school. As seniors, they had a lot to look forward to - MiniTHON, spring sports and concerts, prom, senior awards night, serving as counselors at Camp Hebron, volunteering for Special Olympics, and simply being able to say goodbye to their friends and teachers. With the mandatory closure of schools on that Friday, they left without having the chance to say goodbye to their Alma Mater. ​ The school staff, parents and community all wish this year would have gone according to plan just like the other 59 springs before it. However, this class, these 273 individuals, handled this difficult situation with grace and, in doing so, embodied resilience, character and maturity which has made us all proud. ​ To the Class of 2020, we look forward to the amazing things you will do. Remember that you will always be Falcons and we will always be your biggest fans. Please click the commencement link below which will take you to the ldsd.org website to view the Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Class Names

Lower Dauphin - A Brief History Circa 1959 The Lower Dauphin School District is 92 square miles in area and is made up of five municipalities: the Borough of Hummelstown and the Townships of Conewago, East Hanover, Londonderry, and South Hanover. Lower Dauphin High School came into being through the collaboration of the five municipalities whose representatives accepted the challenge to create a new school district with an identity for the children of all represented constituencies. The Lower Dauphin Junior-Senior High School was built on land known as the Book farm purchased for $30,000. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on May 9, 1959. The very idea of a large jointure required a shift in the thinking of residents, parents, staff, and students, for the experience of most of those living in the area was a graduating class of approximately 50 students. For many graduates of Hummelstown High School, it was hard to say good-bye to the “Bulldogs” and to the proud traditions and legendary sports successes. The new Lower Dauphin Junior-Senior High School opened its doors on September 12, 1960, only a few days behind schedule. It was a rainy day, and the cafeteria was not quite complete. For many of the students who had begun their education in one-room schools, Lower Dauphin offered many educational, social, and recreational opportunities. In that fall of 1960, nearly two-thirds of the teaching staff were in their twenties and many were first-year teachers. The excitement and enthusiasm of youth combined with the experience and dedication of the staff from Hummelstown High created a synergy that propelled the students to achieve scholastically and to succeed personally. The spirit of a joint endeavor was felt in all quarters as school colors were chosen, a mascot was decided upon, and an Alma Mater was composed. Most of the faculty and students quickly became involved in school-sponsored clubs and/or extracurricular activities. (There was even a faculty basketball team, with its own faculty cheerleaders.) The first yearbook, the 1961 Falconaire, recalled, “After one year’s flight the Lower Dauphin Falcons show promise of living up to their namesake in every way. By bringing home a championship trophy on their first flight, the Falcon football team was an important factor in binding the school together and establishing a school spirit -- a Falcon spirit.” In 1964 an additional wing was added to the west side of the high school. The “audions’ and “general labs” were long ago converted into small classrooms. In the fall of 1978 the 9th grade staff became part of the High School and the Junior High began its transition to becoming a Middle School. The most dramatic change was the complete renovation of the high school, finished in the spring of 1997. While the exterior configuration remained the same, the façade was improved and the interior completely redesigned. With the redesign, the Lower Dauphin Alumni Association was granted permission to build an Alumni Display Case and to incorporate the mosaic donated by the class of 1988. As the school population continues to grow, so has expansion with the 2003 construction of a new two-story classroom and extensions to the cafeteria and band room. Lower Dauphin High School has earned an enviable reputation through its nearly half century history. We have produced Olympians and screenwriters, collegiate national champions and Broadway producers, corporate executives and Merit Scholars, authors and artists. We are lauded for our field hockey team, and honored for many innovative academic programs. Our spring musicals have been outstanding and we win Gold Keys in Scholastic Writing, Art, and Architecture. We excel in band competitions and are well-represented in Harrisburg Area all-sports teams. We serve in government and as volunteers to better humanity. We make our mark in the world, and we return for Homecoming. Importantly, we have attained the goal of the school’s early planners. We have grown under the nurture of the staff. Every graduate will agree with Sara Marian Seibert ‘02 who wrote, “For a brief time, we all share the experience of arriving, with our teachers and fellow students, at our destination, the culminating year of our high school experience. We will remember this time forever, no matter where our paths may take us in the future.” Regardless of that future, however, we all found a home in our Alma Mater and we proudly proclaim, “We are L.D.!” Music by Prowell M. Seitzinger Band Director Lyrics by Elaine Harris Sulkey '63 Click Music Sheet to Enlarge Our Alma Mater Lower Dauphin, Onward Falcons, Victory over all; Praises to thee, Alma Mater, Echo through the hall. Ever striving toward our goals, Eager, brave, and true; Help us keep our standards high for the White and Blue. Seeking friendships, gaining knowledge, Honor is our aim; We will proudly serve thee always, loyal hearts proclaim. LDHS Alma Mater LDHS Choir 00:00 / 01:06 Listen as the LDHS Combined Choir sings our Alma Mater from October 2019 Music by Prowell M. Seitzinger Band Director Lyrics by Elaine Harris Sulkey '63 Alma Mater

Memories Click the pic to find out more