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School Nurse May Join 'Snuffy Smith' Cartoonist, Other Notables, in Hillsborough High Hall of Fame

The Hillsborough High School Alumni Association is accepting nominations to honor distinguished graduates of the 126-year-old school.

Many of the names in Hillsborough High School’s Hall of Fame are surprisingly familiar:

“Snuffy Smith” cartoonist Fred  Lasswell, Class of  1933; singer Slim Whitman, Class of ’42; race car driver Don Garlits, Class of ’50.

“When I look at the Hall of Fame, I don’t see ordinary people on it,” says Janice Vogt, Class of ’75, the school nurse at Hillsborough and the newest nominee for Hall of Fame honors.

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“I was floored,” Vogt says of her nomination. “The people were such prominent people”--Columbia Restaurant founder Cesar Gonzmart, Class of ’36, former Tampa Mayor William Poe, Class of ’49.

The Hall of Fame is the work of the Hillsborough Alumni Association, which inducted the first members in 1989. There are currently more than 140 honorees, starting with Rondo Hatton, Class of ’12. Each year, nominations are submitted via a form available at www.hhsalumniassoc.com (click on “Alumni Info,” or request a form by writing to the association in care of the school, 5000 W. Central Ave., Tampa FL 33603. The deadline is Jan. 1.

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Nominees must have graduated from Hillsborough High at least 10 years ago, and must have attended the school for at least two years, says Rusty Maynor of east Tampa, Class of 1950, a past president of the association. Her late husband, Art, Class of ’46, one of the first inductees, was honored for a host of contributions to the school, including his instrumental role in constructing the Alumni Building for teaching trades.

“They must have distinguished themselves in business, politics, sports, education, service that benefits the school, philanthropic works,” Maynor says. “And of course, never been convicted of a felony.”

Association members review the nominations privately and vote by secret ballot. Winners are announced in March and inducted in May. It’s an honor Terriers take seriously.

“They’ve come from all over the country” to accept their plaque, Maynor says.

Maynor nominated Vogt, who lives steps away from her alma mater, for her work in leading the transforming of a rubble-strewn courtyard at the school into a lush garden. More than two years ago, the Environmental Awareness Club asked Vogt to put her well-known gardening skills to work helping them restore Positive Park, which Vogt remembered as a tranquil retreat back in her high school years.

“She spends her own time, weekends, money, to keep that garden,” Maynor says. “She plants, mulches, weeds. … When it comes to service, I think she’s done a whole lot.”

Vogt says students in the environmental club and ROTC  help out a lot in the garden. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn about plants and the gratification that comes from hard work. It has become popular among students as a sweet location for special events, and there’s even talk of hosting a wedding there.

While Vogt didn’t set out to earn any recognition, she says she’s thrilled, and shocked, to be nominated for the Hall of Fame.

“My family was very poor,” she says. “We were the family that Hillsborough High School gave turkey and canned goods to at Thanksgiving. No one in my family had more than an eighth-grade education.

“Hillsborough High School, the great teachers and the environment, it was the happiest time of my childhood. The education I received there provided me a better future.”

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