The Class of 1974 Remains “Forever Grateful” to be Ravens

The Class of 1974 holds a special place in school history as the first graduating class to attend Ravenscroft for all four years of their high school experience.

As they prepared to gather Sept. 26-27 to mark their 50th reunion, members of the class reflected on their experiences, the friendships they formed and the lasting connection they share with the school.

Classmates gather for a photo during their 50th reunion dinner on Sept. 26.

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Lee Horton ’74

A Reluctant Start and a Lifelong Connection

“I was upset at first,” recalled Lee Horton, whose parents enrolled him at Ravenscroft after concerns about his previous school. “I didn’t know anything about private schools, and I thought it was going to be full of wimps. I was playing football, basketball and track, and when they told me Ravenscroft didn’t have a football team yet, I was even more upset.”

But Horton quickly found his place on the soccer team. “I figured it’d get me in shape for basketball, so I started playing soccer,” he said. “Little did I know, I’d end up loving it more than football and all my other sports.” He became a key player under head coach Bill Holleman and eventually earned All-American honors. “I think I was the first All-American in any sport at the school,” he added proudly.

Horton would go on to a successful career coaching soccer at Charlotte Latin, earning N.C. Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year and N.C. Soccer Hall of Fame recognition. Shortly before his class reunion, he attended the 50th anniversary of the Ravenscroft Soccer Invitational.

Beyond his time on the field, Horton’s years at Ravenscroft were full of unexpected turns, from playing other sports to helping construct the school’s gym. “One summer, Billy Poole ’73 and I were out there with wheelbarrows, helping to lay concrete for the gym,” he remembered. “Every time I walk into that gym, I think, ‘I helped build this.’”

Reflecting on his time at Ravenscroft, Horton concluded, “At first, I didn’t want to be there, but those four years were some of the best of my life. If I could do it all over again, I would.”

Ravenscroft varsity soccer goalie Lee Horton ’74, the school’s first All-American athlete, is pictured at back to the right of coach Bill Holleman in the team’s photo from the 1974 Corvus.

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Marian Wooten Troxler ’74

A World of Opportunities

Marian Wooten Troxler’s memories of Ravenscroft are colored by the wide range of activities she experienced. “It was such a small group back then,” she recalled. “We were new, and the new school [buildings] hadn’t been built yet, but we had amazing learning opportunities. I still remember the talent shows and the theater productions. Phil York ’74 played Conrad Birdie in ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ and it was unbelievable to see people who you didn’t know could even sing take the stage and blow you away.”

For Troxler, the atmosphere at Ravenscroft encouraged exploration. “We got to try so many different things. I wasn’t particularly great at anything, but I could be in plays, play on sports teams, write poetry and hang out with different friend groups. It was small, so you didn’t have to be in one group or another — you could be a part of everything.”

Marian Wooten Troxler ’74 recalls the thrill of seeing classmates — such as Phil York ’74, shown in the 1974 Corvus performing as Conrad Birdie — “take the stage and blow you away” with their talent.

She also credits the school with giving her space to grow. “There was a lot of freedom to begin to figure out who you were. I was all over the place … wanting to be a part of everything the school had to offer, wanting to be a rebellious hippie, having the first stirrings of a desire to really know Jesus when Nicky Cruz spoke on campus. I was so well cared for in the Ravenscroft community throughout all my searching.”

Her bond with Ravenscroft and the people she met there remains strong. Troxler, who is married to Billy Troxler ’73, hosted the class’s Sept. 26 reunion dinner at their home.

“Even though I’m a huge advocate for public schools and taught in them for years, I sent all four of my kids to Ravenscroft because of how special those years were for me,” she said. “Some of my best friendships of today began in the Class of 1974.”

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Vic Bell ’74

Helping Build Ravenscroft’s Legacy

For Vic Bell, being part of the second Upper School class to graduate from Ravenscroft was more than just attending classes — it was about building a foundation for the future. “It was new, and they were still figuring things out. As part of the Student Government, we helped make the rules for the school,” he recalled.

One of Bell’s fondest memories is tutoring fourth graders in the Lower School. “I tutored during my senior year, and I’ve kept up with many of those students for the past 50 years,” he said. “One of them, Kevin Anderson ’82, went on to chair the Ravenscroft board, and we’re good friends.”

Bell also remembers the lasting relationships formed with both students and faculty. “Some of the teachers came from Interlochen, Michigan, and they were very outdoor-oriented. We went on a trip to the Grand Canyon, and those types of experiences were incredible,” he said. “They had such a profound influence on us. I became an avid backpacker with some of my classmates after those trips.”

Over the years, Bell — himself a former board chair and the first recipient of the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award — has continued to stay involved with Ravenscroft. “I have enjoyed serving Ravenscroft in many volunteer roles, and I now serve on the board of the A.E. Finley Foundation, which annually supports the school,” he said. “The relationships I built at Ravenscroft, whether with friends, faculty or even the broader community, have lasted a lifetime.”

As Student Government president, Vic Bell ’74 — shown in this photo from the 1974 Corvus administering an oath of office to a fellow Raven — remembers, “We helped make the rules for the school.”

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Lee Holder ’74

Sports, Friendships and the Great Outdoors

Lee Holder transferred to Ravenscroft in the 11th grade and quickly found his place, especially in athletics. “I played football, baseball, tennis, wrestled and I was on the newspaper,” he recalled. “Sports were huge in my life, and it was a formative part of my Ravenscroft experience.”

One of Holder’s most cherished friendships was with fellow athlete Vic Bell ’74. “Vic and I were constantly competing with each other in sports, and that rivalry turned into a strong friendship,” he said. “We ended up being roommates for 10 years during and then after college. The friendships like that were what really made my time at Ravenscroft special.”

Beyond sports, some of Lee’s most memorable experiences came from the special travel opportunities Ravenscroft offered during Open Curriculum Week. “One of the most incredible trips we took was hiking across the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t just about the hike — it was about packing everything we needed on our backs and living in the wilderness for days. After that, a group of us including Vic and Ted Bratton ’74 got hooked on backpacking. We’d spend several days at a time exploring remote areas, and it all started with that Grand Canyon trip.”

Lee Holder ’74 remembers the fun of Open Curriculum Week activities such as canoeing in Michigan, captured here in the 1974 Corvus.

Another unforgettable adventure was a winter wilderness trip to Michigan, organized by teachers who came to Ravenscroft from Interlochen Arts Academy. “They taught us how to use snowshoes and cross-country skis and how to canoe on a partially iced-over river,” Holder said. “We even practiced capsizing canoes in Pugh pond next to campus. You easily get hypothermia if you capsize in a 35-degree river in Michigan, so we practiced recovering each other from a capsize and changing into dry clothes quickly. It wasn’t a trip for the faint of heart, but we had a lot of fun with it.”

The outdoor experiences had a lasting impact on Holder. “Those trips showed us a different way of living — being self-sufficient in nature,” he said. “It was about more than just the physical challenge; it was about working together and learning life skills.

“It wasn’t just the sports or the academics; it was the friendships and those life-changing adventures that defined my experience,” he concluded. “Ravenscroft and the whole new set of friends in my life really shaped who I became, and I’m forever grateful for those friends and those years.”

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Enjoy more photos from the Class of 1974’s two days of reunion events on Flickr.

Thank you to the Class of 1974 Reunion Planning Committee: Joe Christian ’74, Lee Holder ’74, Jill Fowler Bright ’74, Leigh Linderberger Smith ’74, Lynn Wall McKinney ’74, Dorothy Wallace ’74, Jane Green Fine ’74, Marian Wooten Troxler ’74, Vic Bell ’74, Phil York ’74 and Bill Moss ’74.

Members of the Class of 1974 — the first students to have gone through all four years of high school at Ravenscroft — prepare for their commencement exercises. Photo from the 1974 Corvus