The Fennimore High School Marsden Awards are given to the highest-achieving sophomores and juniors in their respective classes and areas of study. William Marsden was born in England in 1838 and, along with his parents, came to America in 1844 when he was six years old. The family ended up in Wisconsin and settled on a farm near the Fennimore area. He spent the rest of his life here.
William and his wife had five children, but their life was not without hardship. He lost four of his five children, two to illness and two in a tornado. William passed away in 1916, and his estate was placed in several trust funds: one to the church where he and his family worshipped, one to the country schools where his children attended, and one to the high school where cash prizes were awarded to the best students in their classes. After these trust funds were established, other monies from his estate were used for a park and playground equipment of every kind. This area is central to our city, and is now known to all of us as Marsden Park.
The legacy William Marsden left to this school and community was truly a gift of love and generosity. The graduating class of 1919 was the first to benefit from this generous gift. And here we are, 100 years later and we have the privilege of continuing to award these prizes solely due to this man’s generosity and desire to give back to his community. This is a lesson we should all heed in our lives...being able to pay it forward and impact those after us.
Descendants of Marsden here with us yet today in Fennimore Middle School and High School. Randy, Wesley, and Matthew Winch are descendants of William Marsden through their grandmother Dottie. The farm they currently live on has been owned by a member/direct relative of the Marsden family for almost 150 years.
Students who have received Marsden Awards are:
Sophomores
Agriculture:
•Brynlee Nelson
•Randy Winch
Algebra two:
• Emma King
• Brynlee Nelson
Art:
•Druw Fifrick
•Landon Miles
Computer Science:
•Druw Fifrick
•Anthony Linneman
English 10:
•Brynlee Nelson
•Lauryn Bunn
History 10:
•Brynlee Nelson
•Lauryn Bunn
Geometry:
•McKenna Oyen
•Drehya Dresen
Precalculus:
•Druw Fifrick
•Randall Winch
Spanish Two:
•Landon Miles
•McKenna Oyen
Tech Ed:
•Tristan Ammon
•Brady Pink
AP US History
•Druw Fifrick
•Emma King
Juniors
Agriculture:
•Jayda Martin
•Isabela Cauffman
AP Comp Sci:
•Dillon Koestler
•Ethan Koestler
Algebra Two:
•Tierra Flynn
•Dravin Allen
Anatomy and Physiology:
•Bailee Hunt
•Cormac Duff
Art:
•Claire Punke
•Cormac Duff
Chemistry:
•Claire Punke
•Jayda Martin
Current Issues/WI History
•Alexis Schwendinger
•Mariah Kopp
English 11:
•Tierra Flynn
•Claire Punke
Spanish Three:
•Claire Faulkner
•Tierra Flynn
Tech Ed:
•Taylor Napp
•Jacob Lenzendorf
William and his wife had five children, but their life was not without hardship. He lost four of his five children, two to illness and two in a tornado. William passed away in 1916, and his estate was placed in several trust funds: one to the church where he and his family worshipped, one to the country schools where his children attended, and one to the high school where cash prizes were awarded to the best students in their classes. After these trust funds were established, other monies from his estate were used for a park and playground equipment of every kind. This area is central to our city, and is now known to all of us as Marsden Park.
The legacy William Marsden left to this school and community was truly a gift of love and generosity. The graduating class of 1919 was the first to benefit from this generous gift. And here we are, 100 years later and we have the privilege of continuing to award these prizes solely due to this man’s generosity and desire to give back to his community. This is a lesson we should all heed in our lives...being able to pay it forward and impact those after us.
Descendants of Marsden here with us yet today in Fennimore Middle School and High School. Randy, Wesley, and Matthew Winch are descendants of William Marsden through their grandmother Dottie. The farm they currently live on has been owned by a member/direct relative of the Marsden family for almost 150 years.
Students who have received Marsden Awards are:
Sophomores
Agriculture:
•Brynlee Nelson
•Randy Winch
Algebra two:
• Emma King
• Brynlee Nelson
Art:
•Druw Fifrick
•Landon Miles
Computer Science:
•Druw Fifrick
•Anthony Linneman
English 10:
•Brynlee Nelson
•Lauryn Bunn
History 10:
•Brynlee Nelson
•Lauryn Bunn
Geometry:
•McKenna Oyen
•Drehya Dresen
Precalculus:
•Druw Fifrick
•Randall Winch
Spanish Two:
•Landon Miles
•McKenna Oyen
Tech Ed:
•Tristan Ammon
•Brady Pink
AP US History
•Druw Fifrick
•Emma King
Juniors
Agriculture:
•Jayda Martin
•Isabela Cauffman
AP Comp Sci:
•Dillon Koestler
•Ethan Koestler
Algebra Two:
•Tierra Flynn
•Dravin Allen
Anatomy and Physiology:
•Bailee Hunt
•Cormac Duff
Art:
•Claire Punke
•Cormac Duff
Chemistry:
•Claire Punke
•Jayda Martin
Current Issues/WI History
•Alexis Schwendinger
•Mariah Kopp
English 11:
•Tierra Flynn
•Claire Punke
Spanish Three:
•Claire Faulkner
•Tierra Flynn
Tech Ed:
•Taylor Napp
•Jacob Lenzendorf
