Elmhurst High School Class of 57

Phil Snider

Remember the Projectionists? Before DVD, or VHS, or BetaMax there was 16 millimeter film. I recall spending at least three of my high school years pushing a cart with projector and screen around the building. Going up and down the ramps could be a blast if the authorities weren’t looking. I became pretty adept at keeping the cranky projectors working and on several occasions was able to show films in two or three different rooms in one period.

My H.S. video career got off to a pretty shaky start, however. I was a bundle of nerves for the first solo showing. I guess at age 14 most of us thought the whole world was watching, ready to laugh at every mistake. With pounding heart and trembling hand, I threaded the film and went off to my first gig. Except for a few fumbles, things went O.K. until the unforgiving projector reminded me of an oversight. I had forgotten to latch one of the reels and it fell off and rolled on the floor complete with a trail of film. I never made that mistake again.

Janet Grote Bradbury

I can’t remember the teacher’s name (I think he was a Shop teacher), but I was a member of Rifle Club. The rifle range was in the basement so that’s where we went to practice shooting. Guess I joined because my wonderful brother was a member. It turned out to be mostly guys which was really nice and I had a great time and learned to be a pretty good shot and still have my medals! We had to join the NRA to be in rifle club which was great for me later in life when I had occasion to talk with radical NRA members and I could say that I had been a member!

Nancy Weyrick Grote

Sharon’s memory entry prompted me to think about my memories… A vivid memory that continues with me today and that I draw upon almost every day is the memory of Miss Fall’s English class and diagraming sentences on the blackboard. In speaking and in writing, if I am not sure of the sentence structure and/or the tenses of verbs that is needed, I diagram the sentence and/or conjugate the verbs in my head. In high school, I thought Miss Fall’s was a very hard teacher, but I truly think of her and am thankful every day for what she taught me. I wish the students of today could have had her as a teacher… I hear sooooo much incorrect grammar it sounds like fingernails scrapping against the blackboard!

Judy Duguid Gillette

The blizzard we just had here in Ft Wayne reminded of the cold winter walks I had to Elmhurst. A few months ago Noel Henschen asked me why he saw me walking down Elmhurst Drive after school. The answer was if you lived inside the train tracks on Sandpoint Road there was no bus service. It really felt bitter cold some winter mornings. Of course it makes a great story to tell the grandkids about how in the good days I had to walk to school.

Sharon Isenbarger Scribner

I decided I better do as my daughter wants and write a memory. I sure have lots of them. Some of them you do not want to see in print!!

Probably I have the most memories from 4th grade to high school riding the bus. I made very good friends on that bus. Of course, when you are the first one on and forty five minutes later you are the last one off you have lots of time to make friends. In high school I lived less than a mile from school but I could ride the bus and not have to walk like Judy did.

I can’t write memories without remembering Mr. Weilbaker, my seventh grade teacher. He was the best teacher I ever had. He taught us English and I can remember what he taught to this day. In eighth grade I did walk. Roger Downing had been my love since 6th grade. He would walk me home and then because he ran he would run the rest of the way to Knoll Road. But that relationship ended and it was back to the bus.

Hanging out in Waynedale was always fun for a country girl. We went to the free shows in the park (mostly to see guys), went to horse shows (mostly to see guys), shopped in the stores and just walked around town and looked for guys. Maybe my mom shouldn’t have let me hang out in Waynedale! We were good girls really! We thought we were big stuff because Rosalie’s brother, Jim, had nice friends who drug us around with them. Hanging out at Sharon Baehler’s and riding in Arlene Horman’s convertible was top of the list.

All that stopped later when we started dating just one guy. Maybe Loren had good reason for not liking me to hang out in Waynedale. Of course, then we had good times at Dale’s (we went there for lunch most days) and also watched airplanes at the airport. Loren and I double dated with so many couples and had such fun at dances, parties and, of course, basketball games.

One of the highlights of most days at school was talking to Mr. Werling in the hall. I don’t think there was a kid he didn’t know. Miss Wimmer kept things lively. I do believe she ran the school! Mr. Haller was great and a smart man! The day Bill Streeter wore bermuda shorts to school for the first time he could have made a big deal and sent him home. Instead he said, “I wouldn’t be seen in them but if he wants to show his knobby knees that’s okay”. We all wore them sometimes and Rosalie and I had matching outfits. Senior year was scary for me because Miss Falls was sick and I had to go to her house with yearbook items to be proofed. Teachers don’t have houses, they live at school! This probably could go on and on but it is just a few memories I have. For the most part, my memories of Elmhurst are very good and I am looking forward to seeing classmates at the reunion and reliving some of them.

I also hope some of you will write some memories so I can relive them before the reunion. I will be eagerly waiting to receive photos and memories from you to add to it. You may snail mail items to: Sharon Scribner, 21687 Quail Ridge South, Brownstown, MI 48193, or you can email them to me.