Donna Girardin Furgeson
Class of 1960Donna attended Manual with her brother and her aunt. Despite physical challenges from polio, she participated in the Thunderbirds pep club and bowling club. Donna excelled in academics, later becoming a special education teacher for visually impaired children. Donna fondly recalls the supportive and inclusive environment at Manual, where she was accepted unconditionally and received honors like the Good Citizenship Award and being selected as head girl.
Marcia Jones Dailey
Class of 1960At Manual, Marcia enjoyed anything musical - she was the pianist for the concert choir). And anything creative - learning to sew in home economics introduced her to one of her future careers as a fashion designer. Given the choice, Marcia chose Manual over East High School because most of her junior high friends were going to Manual. That choice resulted in many fond memories and lasting friendships. Marcia has been meeting old high school friends for lunch for the past 15 years and they promise to keep it up.
Sheron Bertram Lavery
Class of 1960Sheron enjoyed her extracurricular activities including pep club, Future Teachers of America (FTA), and Scarabs science club. She fondly remembers being a junior escort for the class of 1959 where she got to wear a formal gown, like the graduating girls. Sheron lunches every month with a close group of 18 alumni and often wind up talking about the teachers that they knew and respected.
Spiros Antoniades
Class of 1960During his years at Manual, Spiros was especially impacted by the diverse student body. The lunchroom was kind of interesting because people brought whatever their family made. It ranged all over the place in terms of the kind of food. When Spiros came to Manual, it was considered to be a tough, violent school. He didn't see that at all. It wasn't nirvana, but it was certainly a great place to be encouraged to learn. The intellectual stimulation from teachers led to the career path he pursued: becoming a management consultant in the adaptive reuse of buildings. Spiros reflects on the changes at Manual due to impact of court-ordered busing in Denver and the resulting economic factors.
Roz Yamashita Barhaugh
Class of 1961Roz was the first in her family to attend Manual after moving from New York City to Colorado. Despite working part-time to help support her mom, she participated in extracurricular activities like the Latin Club and ROTC. Roz recalls the diverse Asian population at Manual. Roz reflects on personal struggles during her high school years, early marriage and motherhood. Roz went on to become the HR & Marketing Partner at Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture and the first woman, non-architect to become a principal of an architecture firm in Colorado.
Michigan Hill
Class of 1963Michigan is a Denver native and shared his memories of the neighborhood. He grew up at 28th & Williams – where he watched the old Manual building burn down. He remembers the movie theater, drug store and bowling alley that were demolished to build the new school. Michigan shared that, living where he did, he couldn’t get away with ditching school because his front yard was across the street from the main office of the new building. Michigan’s high school memories centered around event occurring around the country. He says his graduation present in 1963 was President Kennedy ordered the integration of the University of Alabama.
Robert (Bob) Lewis
Class of 1964What Bob remembers most during his time at Manual was how tumultuous the early 1960s were: Civil rights marches and riots, famous speeches by Martin Luther King and the assassination of President Kennedy. He met his wife, Conchita (Romero), while at Manual and she graduated from Manual four years after him. They are still happily married with nine grown children and lots of grandchildren. Bob also has great stories to tell of his life-long Manual friends, being only one of only five on the new golf team, and how he almost didn’t graduate.
Otis Taylor
Class of 1966Otis grew up in the Five Points neighborhood and entered Manual in 1964. He planned to graduate in 1966, but was expelled for refusing to cut his hair (conformity was expected in the ‘60s). The school chose to right a wrong and gave Otis an honorary diploma 50 years later in May 2023. Otis went on to become a singer/songwriter. He has released 15 blues albums during his career and toured the US and Europe.
Arbaragene (Arby) Martin
Class of 1969Arby’s mother, older brother and twin sister also attended Manual. Arby shared her interest in writing and drawing that started in 9th grade and continues as a hobby today. Despite a discouraging high school counselor, who told her not to pursue college, Arbor went on to earn multiple degrees and became an elementary teacher for 32 years. Arbor's determination and encouragement to others reflect her belief in the power of education and self-confidence, despite early setbacks.
