The selections were announced at the Heath Alumni Association’s Annual Banquet held on April 16th.
Members added this year include Linda Long, Jimmy Long, Billy Harper, Charles Hook, and Alma Wallace Lesch.
Linda Long graduated at Heath High School in 1949 as the class salutatorian. She received her bachelor’s degree from Murray State University in 1953 and returned to Heath as an English instructor the same year, continuing to teach at Heath until her retirement in 1991. Her tenure made her the longest serving faculty member to ever teach at Heath High School. Students remember her for her emphasis on diagramming sentences. Long was a Pirate basketball fan, a basketball scorekeeper during two decades, and an anonymous supporter of needy students. After her retirement, Long has continued as an active member of the Kentucky Education Association and the Retired Teachers Association.
Jimmy Long was a 1965 graduate of Heath High School where he began his love for the game of basketball. After playing at Heath, Long played for Paducah Junior College under Coach Sonny Hawes, and finished his basketball playing days at Southeast Missouri University. Upon graduation, Long started his coaching career at Lowes High School and returned to Heath in 1988 as the assistant basketball coach, becoming head coach in 1990. He became the longest tenured Heath basketball coach with 19 years of service. During his time at Heath, he took the Pirates to the Kentucky Class All “A” Final Four, three Class “A” Regional championships and three Second District Championships, coaching over 500 games. From 2002-2008, Long also coached baseball at Heath, compiling a record of 193-62 record. Every year that Long was the head baseball coach, Heath won the Second District Championship. His teams were First Region Champions five times and were the 2004 All “A” Kentucky State Champions. Long also coached boys and girls golf from 1990 to 2008. During that time, Heath won more than 600 matches. Under his tutelage Jenny Throgmorton became the Girls Kentucky State Champion in 1995 and Rick Cochran was Boys Kentucky State runner-up in 2005. Long received his Bachelor’s from Southeast in 1969 Missouri and his Master’s degree from Murray State University in 1975.
Paducah businessman Billy Harper, graduated from Heath High School in 1962 and received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1966. In 1980, Harper founded Harper Industries, Inc., a privately owned construction services holding company of which he serves as President and Chief Operating Officer. With offices in both Kentucky and Tennessee, the company has five subsidiaries in the construction business ranging from barge building to concrete products. Harper’s civic involvements include membership in the Kentucky Board of Education, membership in State and National Boards for the Council of Economic Education and former Chairman of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. He received the distinguished Eagle Award by the Boys Scouts of America. He was a former candidate for governor of the State of Kentucky. Harper sponsored the “Race for Education” program in which he took his vintage Plymouth Barracuda race car to area elementary schools giving awards and incentives to students who achieved perfect attendance records. Harper has participated in the national drag racing circuit for many years. In the spring of 2009, Billy Harper was inducted into the University Of Kentucky Engineering Hall Of Distinction.
Charles E. Hook, Heath class of 1966, was a sculptor and professor of art at Florida State University. He studied architecture and sculpture at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and received his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis. He taught sculpture at Heron School of Art in Indianapolis and was an assistant professor at the University of Kansas in Wichita before going to Florida State University in 1980. Charles was known internationally for his cast-iron program at FSU. Students were quoted as saying that he worked with iron and steel the way many artists worked with clay. Hook taught workshops internationally in Wales, Peru and Bosnia. He was known for creating large-scale outdoor sculptures for more than 30 years. Hook’s work can be seen in Tallahassee at the Premier Health and Fitness Center, at the Data Center in Innovation Park, on the campus of Tallahassee Community College and in the Sculpture Garden at Railroad Square, which was dedicated as the Charles Hook Sculpture Garden after his death in 2008.
Alma Wallace Lesch graduated from Heath High School in 1937. She earned a B.S. degree from Murray State in 1941 in elementary education and a M.Ed. from University of Louisville in 1962. A nationally recognized textile artist, she taught at Louisville School of Art and the University of Louisville. In 1974, she was named a Master Craftsman by the American Crafts Council. She was awarded The Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in Arts in 1987. Lesch is most noted for her fabric portraits made by sewing vintage clothing onto appropriate background fabrics and adding embellishments that helped describe the person. Lesch taught art workshops at prestigious craft schools around the nation and at the Art Institute of Chicago. Her works are found in several museums including the Speed Art Museum, Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, the American Crafts Museum of New York, the Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg, and the Flint (Mich.) Institute of Art. She died in 1999 at the age of 82. Her book on vegetable dyes is recognized as a “must have” book for fabric artists and is available on Amazon.com. The Louisville Courtier Journal called her the “Undisputed Grande Dame of KY textiles and a pioneer in the National Crafts Movement.” A historical marker was erected in her honor in Shepherdsville, KY.
(Information provided by Heath Alumni Association President, Farrell Beyer)
