1980 Arrowhead Alumni Frederick Horne Calls AHS Students Blessed

Frederick Horne grew up in the Town of Lisbon and attended Merton for grade school and St. Charles for seventh and eighth grades. He says his only problem in middle school was being a non-Catholic student attending a Catholic school. Other than that, he says school was fun and he learned a lot.

He says his transition to Arrowhead Union High School, in 1976, was fine. He says, “Having gone to two elementary schools in the high school system I ended up knowing quite a few kids in school.”

The clothing that was popular when Horne went to high school consisted of jeans and t-shirts. He said people wore “pretty muted colors compared to what I see younger people wearing.”

The high school cliques were comprised of a group of students doing sports, a group of rich kids, students who did drugs, and a group of “the agriculture kids, which I was a part of,” Horne says.

Horne says, “I would highly recommend, next time you are in the cafeteria or study hall, go sit next to someone sitting alone, you may find a great friend.”

Horne did well in school and was proud of his grades, receiving A’s and B’s and ending with a 3.5 GPA.

He thinks high school grades are important and says, “Depending on what you want to do in life, I think high school grades are very important as it is starting to be an indicator of what your abilities and motivations can be.”

After high school, Horne “moved to New Richmond, Wisconsin, for technical school (WITC-New Richmond), and I took Dairy Herd Management and Crop Production. I did farm for a bit but decided there had to be a better way to make a living so went to UWRF and graduated with a Math and Computer Science degree.”

In 1993, Horne ran for City Council and became a mayor in 2010.

Horne was also “…on the St Croix County Board for six years ending up being the Chair of the Health and Human Services Board…[I] have also been on the New Richmond Fire Department for a number of years.”

He also developed an interest in cake making. He says, “I took a cake decorating class when my kids were smaller as I wanted them to have cool birthday cakes. I have gone on to make all of their wedding cakes. I do not sell cakes. I make them for family, fun and non-profits.  My cake at this year’s New Richmond Chamber of Commerce auction sold for $3,250.”

He says, “You can always find training in something that sparks your interest, life is too short to not explore and pursue your passions.”

Currently, Horne works for a “large bank as an Analyst supporting Human Resource systems.”

Horne says Arrowhead prepared him well for college and his future.

He says, “Arrowhead had, even in my time, many opportunities to experience other cultures and activities that many other high schools do not have.”

He remembers the rifle range at Arrowhead when he attended and says, “I know of no other school that has that function today.” Arrowhead no longer has the range.

He finds the variety of languages taught at Arrowhead impressive and says, “The high school in the town I live in [New Richmond, WI] only offers Spanish today, 40 years later.”

Horne participated in three clubs at Arrowhead: “FFA (Future Farmers of America), Wrestling, Rod and Gun. I enjoyed the groups that I participated in and wished I had done more.” He noticed that Arrowhead no longer offers FFA, which he says he is sad about.

For students currently attending Arrowhead, Horne has some advice: “Try lots of different experiences. You will be surprised of what you find you love and what you may find you thought you would like but actually don’t.”

He recognizes his favorite teacher as Carl Benrud who was an Ag instructor and the FFA advisor. Horne says Benrud “spent a lot of time encouraging me to get more involved, but it took me some years to finally heed his advice and realize how right he was.”

During summer in high school, Horne said he would bail hay and milk cows.

He states his favorite memory from high school was “winning the cattle judging contest at the World’s Dairy Expo; [I] will remember that the rest of my life.”

If Horne could go back to high school, he says he would “in a heartbeat, get more involved, take a foreign language, participate in a play.”

Horne considers high school some of the best years of his life.

He says, “Enjoy every opportunity you can take while in school. Once you are out of high school and into either college or working a job your time becomes tied to making next month’s rent or next semester’s tuition and there becomes less time and money to explore the opportunities you had in high school.”

He has kept in touch with classmates via Facebook.

Horne has five kids that all graduated New Richmond High School in Wisconsin, which he says offers fewer opportunities for students.

He says, “Arrowhead students may not realize how blessed they are to have so many choices that most more rural schools do not offer.”

Horne gives some advice to current Arrowhead students: “You may think you are at the end of your education, [but] you are just beginning. Never stop learning, even if you decide not to go onto a college or trade school.”

Horne preaches trying new things and says, “Don’t be afraid to pursue a passion, you never know what hidden talent you may have.”

He says, “My next passion: to learn to play the bagpipes. Never stop learning.”