PRINTWhere are they now?
These alums have made it near and far. Learn more about CoMo’s home-grown stars
Scroll down and see if you can match each local star to his or her high school photo.
September 24, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
High school graduations are a guessing game of who will be the future president, who’ll be a townie and who’ll never come back. Did any of us imagine that a Grammy winner and a senator were sitting among us? These grads prove you can never know.
Sam Walton:
Hickman, 1936: Founder of Walmart
Walton, best known for founding Walmart and being the Sam in Sam’s Club, was voted Most Versatile Boy as a senior in 1936. He was president of the student body, active in clubs and on the honor roll.
As quarterback for the football team, he led an undefeated Kewpie squad to a state championship against Jefferson City High School. “I guess I was just totally competitive as an athlete, and my main talent was probably the same as my best talent as a retailer — I was a good motivator,” he writes in his autobiography Sam Walton: Made in America. Walton died in 1992.
- Scenes from the Providence Bowl
- Fast times at Hickman High
- Tech-savvy students
- The young and the reckless
- Rumors and realities
- Overcoming obstacles
- The spread
- The Education of Segregation
- Lifelong leaders
- Edged out
- Roosters, cows and mice, oh my!
- Crosstown competition
- Playing the field
- Say what?
- On the Job: High School Custodians
- After-school alliance
- Rival Survival
- Through the Years
- High school mascots go head to head
Kenneth Lay:
Hickman, 1960: Businessman and CEO of Enron during the 2001 scandal
Best known for his involvement with Enron and, conversely, for a $1.1 million donation to MU, Lay spent his teen years at Hickman. He was a member of the National Honor Society, Madrigal Singers and served as the Homecoming Chairman. Lay died in 2006 and was posthumously cleared of his fraud and conspiracy convictions.
Jay W. Lewis:
Hickman, 1969: Owner of Shakespeare’s Pizza
Lewis and his partners have injected a lot of fun into downtown with their renowned local establishment.
Lewis recounts how the deal went down in 1974: “I stopped for a beer one night and met someone who had made some bad (business) decisions and needed to sell Shakespeare’s, and so I bought it,” Lewis says.
Back in high school, Lewis says he wasn’t too involved, though he was a member of the golf team. He says high school was a “tough time” because of the Vietnam War.
Lewis began dating wife Nancy, also a 1969 Hickman grad, at age 15 after meeting her in class. They’ve been married for 37 years. Lewis says he can’t imagine ever leaving Columbia.
Claire McCaskill:
Hickman, 1971: U.S. Senator for Missouri
McCaskill was the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. In high school, McCaskill honed her litigation skills through involvement in debate club. She was a cheerleader and was also elected Homecoming Queen.
Brian Wesbury:
Rock Bridge, 1976: Renowned economist
Wesbury is chief economist at First Trust Advisors L.P., based in Wheaton, Ill. In 2001, The Wall Street Journal ranked him the No.1 U.S. economic forecaster, and in 2004, USA Today named him one of the nation’s top 10 forecasters. Wesbury, who has also written a book, The New Era of Wealth, can be seen on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. He is often a guest on FOX News, Bloomberg, CNBC TV and BNN Canada TV.
David Wilson:
Rock Bridge, 1992: Co-founder of True/False Film Festival
After Wilson graduated, he headed east to Hampshire College in Massachusetts to pursue a degree in film studies.
Wilson returned in 1997 and couldn’t have known how his work would change the city. A chance meeting with now First Ward city council member Paul Sturtz led to the creation of the Ragtag Film Series, which began in 1998.
In quick succession, Ragtag Cinema opened in 2000, and 2004 saw the launch of the True/False Film Festival.
Wilson, who describes his high-school self as “kind of nerdy, alternative, almost punk, but mostly nerdy,” says he enjoyed his high school experience. He cultivated an interest in film, and in collaboration with some friends from Hickman, wrote and produced a movie using borrowed cameras.
Matt Taylor:
Hickman, 1992: Grammy-winning art director
Taylor’s Varnish Studio Inc. in L.A. is on its way to success. During the past three years, he’s gained exposure designing album artwork for Smashing Pumpkins and My Chemical Romance. Taylor pulled a 2006 Grammy for art direction on Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album Stadium Arcadium.
In high school, Taylor spent much of his time pursuing art. He says he spent plenty of hours in Saturday detentions and barely graduated, but his life changed when he attended MU to learn more about photography.
Taylor got his first break at MU. A guest speaker who worked at MCA Records reviewed his portfolio and called Taylor to interview for a design position. He spent several years at MCA, freelancing and working as an art director at Warner Bros. Records before starting his own studio in 2006.
Carl Edwards:
Rock Bridge, 1997: NASCAR driver
After graduating from Rock Bridge, Edwards followed in his father Carl Sr.’s footsteps and took to the race track. Since graduation Edwards has won two NASCAR-sanctioned track championships, three Rookie-of-the-Year honors and 75 races on tracks all across the U.S.
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