Dear Fellow Aiken '71 Alum:

“Wide World of Sports,” that grainy, B&W TV show that began in 1961 and aired on Saturdays, invited viewers to watch “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” An earlier email blast featured Aiken’s basketball team, and we went hunting for a few more sports stories. Classmate Bill McCabe kindly shared this story of friendship, defeat, victory, and resolve….

“[You might want] a ‘thrill of victory, agony of defeat’ story. This isn’t it. This is the opposite. When we were in the 10th grade, the first year we could wrestle varsity, Kevin Stanforth and I were in the same weight class. We would have a wrestle-off to see who wrestled in any given match. Kevin won every time. I would have to move up or down a weight class with not much success. At the end of the season, the PHSL championship rolls around. Now each school is allowed to enter two wrestlers in each weight class.

Kevin and I were both in the same weight class. Kevin lost a close match to the #1 seed I think, from Hughes. I got to the finals and wrestled the same kid. I won by a point. And to this day I know I could have never beat the kid if I hadn’t wrestled Kevin every day at practice. True story.

Fast forward 25 years. Both of my sons wrestled, started at a much younger age, and both were better than me. When they got to high school, the wrestling coach was the very young coach that coached at Western Hills when I wrestled. Talk about déjà vu.”

Kevin replies that Bill is too modest. "Bill was a very good athlete which made me better, the 'iron sharpens iron' analogy.  He was too humble."

Bill, who married Aiken ’71 alum Barb Heinold, and Kevin, all plan to attend our reunion on November 6, 2021, 7-11 p.m., at Centennial Barn.

The last day to get tickets is Thursday, October 21. Tickets can be purchased on the TICKETS page of the reunion website, where you can pay by check (using mailing instructions provided at checkout) or by credit card. Check is preferred, by the way, since it saves us the processing fee. Cost is $60 per person, and includes old friends, live music, catered dinner and cash bar. If you have any trouble ordering, give website administrator Keith Brown a call at 513-602-5544 for friendly assistance!

For our COVID Safety Protocols click here. For the latest news, classmate profiles, messaging registered alums, or to buy tickets, visit the reunion webpage at aiken71.com.

Your 50th Reunion Committee

Saul Aguiar
Lisé Bohannon
Keith Brown
Sue Stenten Gilman
Sylvia Hill
Kermit Kinne
William “Bill” Kirkwood
Geoff Mayfield
Kristeen Estep McKenzie
Charlotte Weiser Pamplin
Christopher Press
Linda Palumbo Ratterman
Laura Howard Scudder