Politicians, scientists, pioneering athletes and filmmakers and at least one billionaire gathered in Midwood last weekend to mark the 100th anniversary of their alma mater, James Madison High School.
Known for its many renowned alumni, including U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders, environmentalist Barry Commoner, singer-songwriter Carole King, Judge Judith “Judy” Blum Sheindlinand, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and about six Nobel prize winners, JMHS celebrated the school’s legacy, memories, and hopes for more in the coming years.
“It’s absolutely surreal,” said principal Jodie Cohen, herself a member of the Class of 1989. Her mother is also an alum, while her two children graduated from JMHS in 2020 and 2022.
“It’s been a beautiful reunion,” she said. “People have been celebrating a community that made them who they are today.”
Cohen and the alumni association, headed by co-president John Rice, started planning the three-day centennial celebration three years ago. Cohen jokingly admitted that bringing people from all over the country back to the school took time.
The festivities began on Friday, October 24th when several prominent alumni came to speak with students during interested in entering their career fields. That was followed by a traditional pep rally and then an All-Class Reunion at Sheepshead Bay restaurant Clemente’s Maryland Crabhouse, owned by another alum, Jimmy Muir. Saturday was Homecoming Day with a football game between JMHS and Midwood High School, known as The Battle of Bedford.
The celebration culminated on Sunday with the induction ceremony of the latest alumni to the school’s Wall of Distinction, in the main lobby.
Hope Punnet (née Handler) from the Class of 1944 was among those being inducted. She was the first female editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper and went on to study plant life. which led to her work in human genetics. As an adult, she advocated for genetic counseling programs and children with genetic disorders. Now living in Philadelphia, Punnet returned to her high school surrounded by four generations of her family.
“I’m very honored,” she said about being added to the Wall of Distinction. “It’s an amazing place, I’m always telling people about it. Madison is a very special place in my life.”
Joining her on the wall was Don Vultaggio, founder and chairman of AriZona Beverages. A member of the Class of 1970, he started his career distributing local beer right after graduating from JMHS before building his multi-billion company.
