Washington High School
Home of the Panthers
Washington High School, 4747 W. Washington St., has a long, proud history on the west side of South Bend. It was located originally on West Sample Street. Its first graduating class, in 1938, consisted of 96 seniors who received diplomas in a ceremony in the school’s auditorium. By the 1950s, the Sample Street school was deemed inadequate and ill-placed for the growing west side of the city. Ground was broken on the current site on Oct. 22, 1958, and it was occupied on Feb. 1, 1960. The single-story, 196,000-square-foot building was designed by the architectural firm of Maurer and Mauer, and financed mostly with a $4.4 million bond issue. Additions and improvements over the years included a second gymnasium and improvements to the athletic fields. A massive renovation began in 2002 that added more classrooms, a new lunchroom and new gym. Updates have increased the size of Washington to its current 268,000 square feet. Original enrollment at Washington was just over 1,000 students in 1960. Today it has more than 1,400 students and is valued at $35 million. It serves as the school corporation’s magnet for medical and allied health sciences.
Washington is named for our nation’s first president, George Washington. Its school colors are green and white, and its mascot is the panther. The school newspaper is The Hatchet, while the yearbook is called Memory Lane.
We welcome contributions to this page!
OUTSTANDING STUDENTS….WHERE ARE THEY NOW?…WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?….
Click here to E-Mail your memories and information to be posted on our site.
The following Washington graduates are members of the Alumni Association:
Georgia Bella, Class of 1957
Margaret Beres, Class of 1942
Jim Dill, Class of 1960
Logan Elinor, Class of 1960
Carol Balcerzak Evans, Class of 1960
Sal Gerschoffer, Class of 1948
Joan Halterman, Class of 1950
Joan Hans, Class of 1953
Renata Kazmierczak, Class of 1949
Joan Nowicki Kopczynski, Class of 1949
Greg Krawiec, Class of
Alice Lewandowski, Class of 1946
Karen Matthys, Class of 1971
Louise Meier, Class of 1960
Dan Morozowski, Class of 1954
Vince Nagy, Class of 1950
Saundra Napieralski, Class of 1957
Ralph Pieniazkwicz, Class of 1956
Peggy Rychuralski, Class of 1962
Steven Sabo, Class of 1952
Robert Sikorski, Class of 1951
Anita Retek Sulok, Class of 1942
Edward Szymczak, Class of 1952
Sandra Waggoner, Class of 1960
Rosemarie Wartha, Class of 1950
Becky Wiegand, Class of 1965
Don’t forget to check the Members’ Corner message board!