Higbee was very unique in the fact that he excelled in athletics while being a diabetic. He had to give himself shots and keep his blood sugar up during games. He stated that former Cadiz Doctor Harold Mines would monitor him during games and practices. He did a tremendous job of helping me deal with my diabetes.
Higbee said, “Our football team was like a family. We didn’t care who scored the points as long as the team was successful. I will never forget the experience of winning the state championship. Another neat thing about it is that the people of Trigg County have never forgotten. Nearly every day someone will mention it.” Higbee recalled the Harrodsburg game as one that stands out the most in his memory. “Harrodsburg had around a 36 game winning streak and they were favored to beat us by about 30 points. We ended up beating them by about 30 points instead”, recalled Higbee. According to Higbee, he keeps in touch with his former teammates and they try to have a reunion about every five years.
Higbee, who was named to the all WKC team at the quarterback position, went to Georgetown College to play football. He stayed there for one year. After that first year at Georgetown, he attended medical lab school at Jennie Stuart Hospital in Hopkinsville. Bruce then did lab work and autopsies for seven years under Dr. Frank Pitzer. In 1982, Higbee began working for Calloway County Hospital and attending Murray State at the same time. He graduated from Murray State with a degree in Business in 1986. He went to work for State Farm Insurance in Paducah as a claims agent. Higbee worked in Paducah until 1996. At that time, he came back to Cadiz and took over his dad’s State Farm business. He just recently observed his 10th anniversary of running his own business.
Higbee’s current hobbies include fishing, fishing and more fishing. He fishes bass tournaments on weekends. It is interesting to note that his tournament partner is his 20-year-old daughter Laura. Bruce is also very active in the local FOCAS organization. FOCAS stands for Fellowship of Christian Anglers Society.
Higbee is very active in Cadiz Baptist Church. He serves as a deacon and sings with the church praise team and choir.
Higbee is married to the former Carol Watkins of Hazel, Ky. They have been married for 25 years. They have two daughters. Amanda is 23 years old and works for her dad as a licensed State Farm agent. The previously mentioned Laura is a Dental Hygienist in Paducah.
If you attend Trigg County football games you will almost always see Higbee there. He is a regular at all home games and most away games.
Coach Joe Jaggers was Higbee’s high-school coach. Jaggers went on to be Kentucky’s all time winning coach upon the time of his retirement. Jaggers said, “I only had the opportunity to coach Bruce Higbee for one year. I was always impressed with how tough Bruce was in handling his diabetes.
To read the conclusion of this story, pick up the latest edition of The Cadiz Record.
