Congratulations to the class of 1973 on the 50th anniversary of your graduation from Ranken Technical College. It is our institutional tradition to honor our Golden Graduates – all those celebrating five decades, or more, as alumni – at our annual graduation event. In addition to our tribute at graduation, we also honor our Golden Graduates by collecting and posting their stories to honor their work and inspire prospective Ranken students. Below you can find pictures and personal stories from graduates of the class of 1973, serving as a tribute to their accomplishments. We also have the class composite picture (click here to view) so the class of 1973 can see themselves and their friends and recall their days as students. If you would like your story and picture added to this page, please email [email protected].
Steve Isaak ’73 Welding
After completing his Welding program, Steve became a Welder at Nooter Boilermakers in St. Louis. After his time at Nooter he worked as a Welder at Illinois Central Car Repair Shops in Centralia, Ill. Read More Steve said his education at Ranken, “opened a wide array of opportunities for work/career and to travel and meet a wide range of people.” Steve and his wife, Gloria, will celebrate 50 years of marriage this coming October. They have three sons, Corey; Patrick, Scott & 6 grandchildren. Steve enjoys camping, hunting, boating, fishing, going to all types of car races and vacation travel. Steve adds, “My favorite memory of Ranken is the camaraderie with everyone in the welding class, and the strict rules, codes & grade requirements expected by Ranken. When asked about his accomplishments Steve says, “My family and career that my Ranken education and training allowed me to accomplish in life.” Steve retired on Jan. 6, 2017 from NuStar Energy L.P. After Nixon, Allen worked at Jung Brothers Pontiac for ten years, Meyer Olds for 5 years, Meyer Honda for 13 years and then moved to Huey Honda. He retired from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Automotive Lodge 777 in 2000. Allen has been married for 47 years and has two sons and one grandson. He and his wife have a Can-Am Spyder which they enjoy riding. They also have a 24 foot motor home which they enjoy using on their travels.
James England ’73 Industrial Electricity and Electronics
So, he moved back to St. Louis became a licensed electrician in Missouri and Illinois and ran his own business for 25 years. “The union wanted me to join as a contractor but I could not afford it so they took me on as an electrician. I had to start as an apprentice for six months. I was taking the test and had not yet finished, and they walked in and said, ‘your done’ so at the age of 52 I became a journeyman. I did that for 10 years and then retired. Jay says that “Without my Ranken education, God only knows what I would have done.” In retirement Jay joined the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, a charitable organization. He likes to play pool and golf. He had two favorite memories from Ranken, “The first is when I went there to take the entrance test. It was all Math, and I was good at Math, so I was getting a little bored and was just looking around. Someone walked in and said, ‘times up’ I told them I was not done but they said too bad. I asked what to do. They told me to come back in six months. I did and took it more seriously that time.” His other memory was during his second year of school, “I did not have enough money to pay tuition because of a family situation. I told the dean and he brought me into his office. He asked me if I had a car and I told him I did. He asked what kind of car and I told him it was a 56 Plymouth Savoy, and I pointed it our from his window. After looking at my car he said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We will take care of it.’ I finished school that year and never paid any tuition. He also recalls 13 students in his class when he started, but only three graduated with him, Ira Ruhmann and James Schmitt.
Jay went to work as an electrician on the maintenance staff at the Chase Park Plaza after graduation. “I remember going to the villas on the 17th floor and above where all the doctors lived. I would go there to fix something simple like a doorbell and they would tip me fifty cents. Always thought that was odd.” He worked there for one year and then moved to Arizona but did not do well there, “I was only making $5 an hour.”Read More
David Sanders ‘73 Automotive Maintenance Technology.
I am proud of the education I received at Ranken and have found it to be very useful throughout my life. After graduation I worked for Overland Garage as an automotive mechanic. I was there until 1980. In 1980 my father-in-law started a parking lot sweeping company and ask me to be a part of it. I worked as a driver, mechanic, and foreman. In 1993, I took over as owner and CEO. My wife and both my daughters worked with me at the company. By the time we sold the company and retired in 2021 it had become the largest street sweeping company in St. Louis with a fleet of 15 street sweepers and 7 water trucks. We worked for many of the large road construction companies, such as Millstone Weber, NB West and Pace. We worked on all major highways in St. Louis including the 3-year renovation of Hwy 64. Other major jobs we were involved in were runway renovations at Lambert Airport, renovations of the Arch grounds and most recently the construction of the new soccer stadium. Read More With my Ranken background I was able to be a hands-on boss. I knew the trucks and how they worked. All maintenance was done in house, and I was knowledgeable enough to make improvements to optimize performance. Early on we started fabricating many parts and I found myself referring to the drafting I learned while at Ranken. When computers became a major part of automotive, I returned to Ranken to stay up with the industry. Of course, my favorite memory of Ranken was playing football during lunch! But I also have a good memory of a transmission teacher predicting in a sealed envelope what was wrong with the transmission, before we took it apart. On a personal note, I just celebrated my 49th anniversary with my wife, Nancy. We have 2 married daughters and 5 grandchildren. I enjoy fishing and boating at Lake of the Ozarks and hope to do some traveling in the next few years.
James Allemann ’62 Precision Machining Technology
Graduated in ’62 worked for Dyne Makers for a few years and they closed, followed President Don Westoff to Crestwood and worked for him for 26 years, when they closed he went to work at Davis Tool in Fenton until 2012, retired and then went to work for his son at Allemann Machine and Tool until 2020 and retired again when COVID hit.
Russell Allen ’73 Stationary Engineer, ’77 HVAC
After graduation Russell began his career and a Stationary Engineer at St. Louis State Hospital. He then continued his work in this field at Adams Dairy. When Adams Dairy bought Velvet Freeze Russell went back to Ranken and earned his second Degree in HVAC and worked for Velvet Freeze for seven years on refrigeration until they closed seven years later. Read More For the next 30 years he worked for Burt’s Refrigeration and Northwest Refrigeration until his retirement. He and his wife enjoy camping, dancing and four wheeling. They have three sons, five grandkids and 2 great grand kids. Russell says, “Ranken prepared me for the Stationary engineering test by covering everything that could be tested. As soon as we finished one section of instruction I would go and take the test for that section. I did this 6 times and passed each test.” Russell was a night school student for both programs on the GI bill. What he best remembers about the classes was that “Everyone in the night program was trying to better themselves by learning a new skill and we knew Ranken was the place to do this. Everyone was friendly and hard working. One of my classmates, Mark Menos, went on to start Kirkwood Heating and Air Conditioning.”
Gary Hemmann ’73 HVAC
Gary decided to come to Ranken after high school because he had heard so many good things about the school’s reputation. As a student at Ranken Gary remembers the impact his teachers had on him. Gary recalls, “I was not a very good student in high school, but when I got to Ranken I did much better. Before Ranken I was not one to tackle anything, but Ranken gave the confidence to tackle car problems, home repairs, and more.” Read More After graduation Gary went to work for an appliance repair business and eventually ran his own appliance repair company. In 1985 he had the opportunity to go to work for McDonald Douglas and spent 25 years there as an electrician in the HVAC department. Gary retired in 2008. He and his wife of 50 years live on an acre and a half which keeps him busy, and they spend their summers at a condo they own in Florida. Gary has a son who is in IT and another son works for a brick laying company. He also has two grandchildren.
William Peters ’73 HVAC
William, who recently turned 80, has been working, and still works, as an usher for the Cardinals since 1957. In this time he has worked at all three Busch stadiums. He went to night school and after graduation went into appliance repair. He later went to work at the Airport commissary on their refrigeration system. Then he went to work for Rockwell. Read More This was followed by a job building refrigerators for Hussman. When there was a strike, he went into shipping and receiving. He is still active and helps his son rehabbing homes. William lost his first wife after 33 years of marriage and has been married to his second wife for 19 years. He has 2 children, 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.