Every year, the Friends of South organization – made up of parents and community members who have a common goal to raise money to support South students and staff – selects new inductees for the Axe Hall of Fame. They do this to celebrate the accomplishments of South alumni and inspire students by showing them examples of dedication, teamwork, and success. It helps us to recognize the amazing alumni achievement in the arts, academics, business, public service, athletic achievement, and coaching that has helped form the history and culture of South Eugene High School. These people are community leaders who represent the dedication, character, and achievements of the highest levels at South. 

Saturday, Feb. 22, will mark the 13th year of the event and will include this year’s banquet at the ceremony. It will be a night full of fun, including a reception, a silent auction, entertainment, and a dinner starting at 6 p.m. Friends of South will be honoring alumni and raising money to support South Eugene High School. This year they have a goal to raise $25,000, and so far they have raised $16,494. The Axe Hall of Fame hopes to inspire students with the many accomplishments of alumni and raise money for different needs across the school. In efforts to fundraise, sponsored tables will be available to people and directed to the club or team of people’s choice. 
By Sofia Bell

Many high schoolers find their passion in the classroom. Whether it’s science and math, literature and poetry, or history and geography, passion for subject matter sparks interest and curiosity in young students and invites them to explore the sundry facets of life with fervor and enthusiasm. For Kathy Romey, that passion was music. 

A graduate of 1974, Romey will be inducted into the South Eugene Hall of Fame tomorrow for her prolific career as a choral director and professor of choral music at the University of Minnesota. I was able to speak with her about her time at South, which she remembered fondly. 

“South Eugene was formative in laying the groundwork for my future work,” Romey remarked. 

Her passion for music, however, did not start in the classroom; her father was the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Oregon, and from the ripe age of three, she knew what she wanted to do: conduct a choir. By the time she was in high school, she had found opportunities and taken part in activities that would help her achieve such a goal. 

In high school, she met German teacher Gerald Webking, whose methodology helped her graduate early and go to Germany. Webking, who passed away in 2018, was inducted into the South Hall of Fame in 2016 for his legacy as a teacher at the school.

“Jerry Webking invested in his students in a very special way that was incredibly meaningful to us then and for years to come,” Romey stated. She added that she took much of his pedagogy into her own teaching later on. 

Another teacher that Romey mentioned was Laurel Fisher, her senior-year English teacher, who also helped her to graduate early by allowing her to “take an independent study and to read many of the works by Dickens.” 

“I loved literature, so my English classes were as important to me as my study of music and German,” Romey said. “I devoured Victorian novels and enjoyed discussing them with Ms. Fisher.” Romey mentioned that it was a rare opportunity, and that she was very appreciative of the care that Fisher took with her independent study.

After working as a governess for a conductor in Germany, Romey returned to Eugene to major in flute performance at the University of Oregon. After finishing her degree, she moved back to Germany to finish a degree in choral conducting at the Frankfurt Musikhochschule, and then moved to Minnesota, where she got a job in the Twin Cities. Since then, she’s taught at the University of Minnesota, been the chorus master of the Minnesota Chorale, and returned to Eugene many times to help at the Oregon Bach Festival, where in 2001 she collaborated with Helmuth Rilling to win a Grammy for Penderecki’s Credo. Through all her incredible success, she has held South dearly in her mind, and enjoyed a reunion that she attended recently. 

“My time at South Eugene is very vivid. I’ve had dreams throughout my life of going to classes, walking down the halls, and hanging out with my friends,” Romey said. 

Though she won’t be able to attend tomorrow’s event, Romey told me that she hadn’t expected the award and that she was appreciative of the recognition. 

“To be inducted into the hall of fame–” Romey started, “–I was completely surprised and extremely honored that my work and professional activity would be recognized by my former school.”

Read more about Kathy Romey on the Friends of South website.

Article by Basil Dracobly