Warren Burstrom

JR Worley and Warren Burstrom
At one of my "Monday Memories" at my other, other blog, there were 23 questions (called a Meme) about high school, and I mentioned Warren Burstrom as an example of a really great teacher. Another former student of his was looking on the internet for him and found my blog, and wrote:

"I Googled Warren Burstrom, who was my Calculus professor at Highland Community College in 1969-71, and found your blog mentioning him. I totally agree Warren was a memorable, inspiring and very effective teacher. It was not possible for any student to not pay attention or sleep in his class. He kept us entertained and on our toes. He was one of the best teachers I ever had. Why else would I Google him almost 40 years later?!"

Classmates in serious auto accident

A note from Sylvia: "Mary Jane and Dwayne Z. were in a car accident (1/11) not too far from their home. Apparently, someone ran a stop sign at a country intersection. Dwayne was thrown out of the car. Mary Jane was able to get herself out. Dwayne suffered broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and brain swelling and bleeding. Mary Jane had broken ribs and bad bruising from the seatbelt, but thank goodness, it probably saved her life.

Mary Jane wasn't hospitalized, is recuperating from her injuries at home. Dwayne has been in ICU, but will be released from there to a regular room, and then will be at VanMatre Rehab where they have excellent physical and occupational care. . . It will be a day at a time for awhile. MJ said their son came over tonight to feed the sheep and do the other chores."

Keep them in your prayers, classmates. They had their 50th wedding anniversary celebration in Leaf River in November.

Dwayne and Mary Jane Z.

Christmas memories

Our classmate Lynne blessed all of northern Illinois (and a few beyond the borders) with a letter to the Rockford Register Star in response to "Time to build new Christmas memories," Opinions, Dec. 10.

"I, too, have wonderful memories of a mother who took three small girls to Chicago on the train to visit Marshall Field's at Christmas time (we went twice a year, but always at Christmas time).

Each of us got to pick out a special ornament, have lunch, marvel at that huge Christmas tree and then go to the art museum for the balance of the day, as our mother was a commercial artist and a frustrated watercolorist.

Our mother is gone now, and we seldom get to Chicago anymore as we are all over 60. But the carefully selected ornaments and the special outings to Field's with our mother are among our fondest fireside memories.

Thank you for stirring the embers on some of our fondest memories--and my wishes for a very Merry Christmas."

And thank you, Lynne. I'm sure there were a lot of misty eyes as the readers recalled their special times.

Getting ready for Christmas

Our classmate and reunion organizer for many years, Nancy S., sent this photograph and note:

This is a picture showing all the beautiful Christmas trees displayed at the bandshell this year. These were decorated by the various clubs from Mt Morris. The American Legion is in the back with the big yellow bow. I helped with that one and it has poppies, American flags, yellow bows and POW remembrances on it. These trees are just beautiful I think, and I make special trips by there to view them and see if anymore are added. I hope you enjoy them and if you can use them, feel free to do so.

Nancy

Scenes of Mt. Morris

Today I was scanning an old photo of my grandmother's from the 1890s of the Ladies Dormitory of Mt. Morris College (I think it is now the apartments), and decided to check the internet to see if there were others. I came across Digital Past of the North Suburban Library System, found it there, and then clicked on Mt. Morris. Although some of the entries don't apply, I think there are about 15 photos from the college and town, including Kable's (misspelled in one entry), the Lutheran church, band shell, some street scenes, etc. Seem to be postcards. The scanned 1904 encyclopedia (all the parts are actually there if you click on the photo, then on the catalog record) doesn't seem to mention Mt. Morris, either the town or the college, so I'm not sure why it is there.

A few more photos

These are on Sylvia's disc. This group is of the ladies' breakfast and the class reunion, both held at the Pines, and some parade and 4th festivities.

Barb and Nancy
Coach Sally with Nancy and Sara prepping for the parade
When did MMHS morph into Pinecrest?
Lynne, Jean, Sara, Salley, Judy ordering breakfast on June 30

The busy reunion committee

Here's a photo of the hard working reunion committee meeting at the Saunders' home, and I've added Dwayne, Mary Jane and Nancy. Also a shot of the dining room at the White Pines State Park, the site of a life time of school and family activities and picnics for most of us.

from left: Diane, Marion, Lynne, Nancy, Greely, Salley, Jean (I assume Sylvia is taking the photo)

Dwayne and Mary Jane Z.
Nancy
Getting everything ready

A few more photos

Sylvia has passed along a few more photos of the reunion on July 2. I think this one is a reunion within a reunion. At first I couldn't figure out why these four were together for a photo--then I remembered they all started school together at Center School north of Mt. Morris.


Judy, Sylvia, Barb and Glenn at the reunion, July 2, 2007

Front row, lst grade: Richard [not at reunion] Barb, Judy, Sylvia and Glenn at Center School

Forreston's class of 1957

You may recognize some of these folks--15 miles down the road from us. The guys were probably on the sports teams, and I know some of the girls were cheerleaders. I don't know if Forreston had a football team, or golf and tennis teams then, but they did play some mean basketball, defeating the Mounders 60 to 44 in the '56-57 season with Mt. Morris defeating Forreston 75 to 72 in the '55-56 season, according to our yearbooks.

Sylvia and I could recognize the same three people. Carolyn now lives in Mt. Morris and has for many years; JoElla is Sylvia's cousin and my college roommate; and Geneva used to be a member of our class (I think she moved in 6th grade). Sylvia reports the photo appeared in the Ogle Co. Life, but I haven't located it online. The rest of the class went to Maxon's for dinner, that's why the group is a bit small. They obviously didn't have our excellent committee to corral them!!

Tom Scholl dies in accident

We were all saddened to hear of the death of Jean M.'s husband, Tom. This brief item was in the saukvalley.com record on the 21st--I haven't seen an obituary or information about services.

"POLO - A member of the Ogle County Board died Thursday evening in Rockford after a farming accident in rural Polo. Thomas E. Scholl, 70, was declared dead at 10:10 p.m. Thursday at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, after being transported there by Lifeline Helicopter from 10948 W. Sterling Road. Ogle County Sheriff's deputies, along with Polo Fire and Ambulance personnel, responded to the scene at 8:49 p.m. Scholl was helping to load large bales of hay from a shed onto a truck when a stack of bales in the shed fell, partially trapping him. An autopsy will be performed today, Winnebago County Coroner Sue Fiduccia said. Scholl served on the Ogle County Board for approximately 5 years."

Sylvia reports that flowers will be sent from the Class of 57. Tom was always a regular at our reunions, and worked with the committee in the set-up on our 50th. I remember him even from our high school days. This is very sad, and I know there will be lots of love and warm thoughts sent Jean's way.

Tom and Jean at our 50th

Update:

POLO - Thomas "Tom" Scholl, 70, of Polo, died Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center, Rockford. He was a longtime farmer in the Polo area. Mr. Scholl was born Nov. 7, 1936, in Dixon, the son of Loren "Sparky" and Dorotha (Hurdle) Scholl. He married Jeanne Minervino on Aug. 26, 1962, in Polo. He was a member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Polo, Ogle County Board and was a precinct committeeman and road commissioner for Woosung Township. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. Survivors include his wife; three daughters, Jeanna (Gary) Fulrath and Paula (Kevin) Humphrey, both of Polo, and Susan (Mike) Connell of DeWitt, Iowa; two sons, Jeffrey (Robin) Scholl of Polo, and Terry Newcomer of Oregon; a sister, Linda Scholl of Oregon; 12 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. The funeral is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Polo. Private burial is at a later date. Visitation is from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the church. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established to St. Mark's Lutheran Church. Arrangements were completed by Polo Family Funeral Home.

The Golf team in 1957 and 2007

Yes, the class was able to put together a golf team for the Sunset Hills Golf Tournament. Of course, the only athlete in our class who has made news over the years was a girl, and we didn't even have competitive sports for women in Illinois in the 50s. So here's the golf team in 2007 with Greely, Dave, Salley, Dick and Glenn.

And here's Dick, Ken and Glenn in 1957. In addition to Greely, Glenn, Dick, and Ken, Norman Garrison (deceased) was also on the team, and Warren Burstrom was the coach that year, and Dave Henry before him.

Thanks to Nancy S. for the photo.

Zickuhr Reunion

Our classmate Dick and his sister Sylvia had a family reunion with their families.

Here's a photo of their dad and mom, Ralph and Ruth, at the dinner after our senior prom. As the article says, Ralph Zickuhr was the mayor of Mt. Morris from 1949 to 1961, and that he "felt it was important to develop a local celebration, not only for civic pride, but for the safety of staying in town and out of holiday traffic."

The class of 57 drill team

After only a few hurried practice sessions, the ladies of the class of 1957 appeared in the Fourth of July parade marching with their. . . walkers! I didn't see it, but my nieces tell me it was great. Lynne F. submitted this photo.

I'm going to make a stab at the names--back row, Marion D., Lynne F., Jean M., next row Francine K., Daisy W., and Ebba L., then catching just a glimpse of their back sides, I'm guessing Nancy L., Sylvia T., and maybe Salley O. How am I doing?

Where in the world is Ken Zinke?

For a guy who disappeared from view about 50 years ago, he gets a lot of attention--had his own page in the class booklet. Maybe through the miracle of the internet. . . Here's Ken as he looked in Carol Samsel's photo album. . . looks like maybe 8th grade.

A salute to our veterans

I'm back at Lakeside and won't be in the Mt. Morris parade today with my classmates, but I hope someone will e-mail me some photos to post (don't use this e-mail--but you can use it to ask me where). Last night at the program of the Brass Band of Columbus they did a salute to the veterans, playing all their hymns and had the veterans AND their families stand up. So here's my salute to our class veterans. Because of the pre-Vietnam era of our youth, the exemption of fathers and married men, and college students from the draft, many in our class were exempt from the military.

David S. did enough time in several branches of the service to count for all of us who didn't serve. According to the class bio, he was in the Air Force 1957-1961, the Navy Reserves 1966-1977, Active duty 1972-1977, and the National Guard 1981-1994. Besides all the states he served in he also saw Korea, Okinawa, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, Guam, Palau, Ulithi, Hawaii, and Panama, then because he must have been the oldest guy serving in Desert Storm, he also saw Saudi, Kuwait, and Iraq. It's a good thing Sylvia and Dave's romance back in the 50's was sparked by letter writing! I think Dave is just happy to stay home and garden and give commands to little dogs.

Sharon "Squeaky" G. joined the Navy a month after graduation and I'm thinking that's where she met and married in 1961 Lonnie (died 1993). Her bio doesn't say how long she served.

I know Lynne F.'s husband Ed (died 1998) served, but that was before their marriage, so she didn't do the term with him, but we salute his memory, too.

Bob C. also joined the Navy in 1957 and served until 1962 with an opportunity to see some interesting places. He also served three 6 mo. terms as a contract worker repairing helicopter radios in Vietnam after he left the service which led him to some new career opportunities.

Marv M. served in the Army.

Donna B.'s husband Dick who also was from Mt. Morris was career military, so she has seen a lot of places and military bases.

After college, Glen Orr served as Captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps.

Myron B. served in the Air Force from 1962-1968 after graduating from the University of Illinois

Daisy W.'s husband Charles who died very recently was also career Army, so Daisy also saw a lot of places and moved frequently with her family.

Barb E.'s husband Jim (deceased) was in the service (don't know which branch) and she is active in the VFW Ladies Auxiliary.

I'm sure there are others, but Sylvia couldn't get bios on everyone for the booklet. So I'll ask for comments, or e-mail me and I'll add them.

Thank you everyone, for your service.

A successful reunion

The Mt. Morris High School class of 1957 had a wonderful reunion on Monday evening, July 2, 2007, at the White Pines. And a good time was had by all. I'll post some photos here. If you want to e-mail some of yours, send them to Sylvia or me. She can sort through and decide on dups.



The hard working committee made up of the locally available classmates provided a booklet, displays, round tables so we didn't have to eat cafeteria style, table decorations, special faculty guests, a program, a class photo, and lots of time for socializing. Our class was well stocked with funny people, so there were lots of laughs.

This was a display of "old" photos, and the scrapbook in front is a meticulously kept "archive" of our class activities and reunions during the last 50 years kept by Nancy S. An amazing feat!

Diane B., John T. (spouse), Marian D., Sharon G., Lynne F.

Francine K., Bob C., Priscilla D., Nancy L.

Tina K. and Norma C. and husbands

Doree D. and Carol S. from class of 58 "crashing our party!" How exciting to see them, too.


Sarah Y. and Dave B. probably talking basketball.

Former teachers who attended the reunion were Warren and Carol Reckmeyer, Ray and Esther Appler and Katie Dirksen. Photo sent by Nancy S.

This isn't the "official" portrait, but I think you can see we were a happy bunch. Click to enlarge. I don't have my editing software on this computer.

The Ladies' Breakfast

The Ladies of the class of 1957 meet for breakfast annually during the July 4th festivities, usually at a local restaurant. This year we met at the White Pines on Saturday, June 30 (where we would be meeting for the reunion on Monday). There was a good turn out because so many were coming back for the reunion.

From left, counter clockwise: Sylvia T., Sharon G., Marion D., Mary Jane F., Nancy G., Barb H., Nancy S., Diane B. Judy T., Salley O., Sara Y., Jean M., Lynne F., Norma C., Tina K., Valerie K. (class of 56).

Judy T., Nancy L., Lynne F., Salley O. and Sara Y. share some stories.

Sisters Tina and Valerie had a reunion of another kind. They brought their mother home for burial and a memorial service at Oakwood. She was 90.


Fran K., Barb H. Nancy S. say good-bye in the parking lot.


After breakfast, Coach Salley had the group practicing in the parking lot for the parade routine with walkers.

Mark this date for the reunion

A member of the reunion committee told me they are planning on Monday evening, July 2, 2007 for the reunion with the social hour beginning at 5:30 pm, and dinner at 7 pm. Most of us are retired, so we don't have to hurry home to jobs. Many people return to Mt. Morris for the Fourth of July celebration, and the Saturday evening locations are hard to book if you don't have a big crowd.

This post (written Oct. 20, 2006) will stay on top and be updated as needed.

Today's quiz: What were the names of our Superintendent and Principal? What was the name of our class adviser? Were you ever called to their offices? Don't peek at the other comments--someone might tell the teacher!


class of 1957

Class Reunion

This is the final entry for the Class of 57 blog--a gift to all the classmates from Lynne. See you all on July 2!

The Lamb Theater

This looks a bit murky and dim, but it's a spot we all recognize. I've been looking for my little sophomore diary in which I listed all the movies I'd seen--about one a week. But can't find it. Mrs. Bearman sold tickets. I think we paid $.50 after age 13, maybe $.10 before. There were a few double seats. Very popular. Popcorn was good. There were cowboy series, cartoon series, and maybe horror shows? I think this is Barb H.'s photo. Any memorable movies you remember? Didn't they give away junker cars one year? What was that called?