A double Academy Award winner, a senator and a major league baseball player were among the diverse crop of notables immortalized when James Madison High School dedicated its Wall of Distinction with a pomp-filled ceremony.
The Alumni Association delivered the stellar salute to graduates of the school, 3787 Bedford Avenue for having “made a difference in our society.”
The honorees, many of whom were on hand to accept the prestigious accolade, were: Alfred Kasha, songwriter, producer and winner of two Academy Awards, ’54; Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, ’59; Harry Eisenstat, Major League baseball player, ’35; Robert Haselkorn, professor of Molecular Genetics/Cell Biology, University of Chicago, ‘52; Beverly Stoll Pepper, world renowned sculptor, ’39; Paul Krinsky, Rear Admiral (retired) and superintendent of the US Merchant Marine Academy, ‘46; Sidney Gains, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, ’57; and Harry Boatswain, professional football player, ’87.
Madison’s Wall of Distinction now boasts three sitting US senators as alumni. The name of Senator Sanders is etched alongside those of Senators Charles Schumer of New York (’67) and Norm Coleman of Minnesota.
