A lot has changed in Ridgefield over the past 60-plus years, but one thing has remained a near constant: Jackie Amundson and her husband, Randy, cheering on their beloved Spudders from the stands.\r\nJackie graduated from RHS in 1959 alongside about 60 of her classmates. Back then, her name was Jackie Benedict, and her family’s Ridgefield roots run deep. “I have always been proud to be a Spudder,” Amundson said. “I was born at Muffet’s Maternity House right here in Ridgefield, and have lived here almost all my life.”
\r\nJackie’s dad was a Ridgefield city councilman for over 30 years, and he and her uncle both worked as contractors in the small town. “Back then, there weren’t very many buildings or houses downtown that the two of them didn’t build or repair,” she said. “In fact, my husband and I even got married in a church that my dad and uncle built.”
\r\nIn her youth, Jackie had a newspaper delivery route that she says helped her get to know everyone in the community. “It was always a safe community where you knew and trusted your neighbors, and everyone helped each other out.”
\r\nAfter she graduated high school in 1959, Jackie moved with her husband Randy while he was serving in the Navy and the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division. They were stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky and Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, CO but returned back to the Ridgefield area in 1963, where they have remained ever since. \r\nThe Amundson’s raised a boy and a girl and now have three grandsons. While they don’t have any family members in Ridgefield Schools today, they still strongly support Ridgefield Athletics and attend as many events as they can. “Once a Spudder, always a Spudder,” Amundson said with a chuckle.
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Jackie says that some of her favorite memories were being a “Spuddette” as a high school student, watching the football team win a state championship in 1995, and going on the road last year to watch the team compete in the state playoffs.
\r\n“My family and I have always been proud to call ourselves Spudders,” Jackie said. “My mom lived to 97 years old and never stopped cheering for her Spudders. I think knowing that Randy and I have carried on the tradition would make my parents proud.”