My family moved to Würzburg, Germany in the summer of 1972. My dad taught high school on the army base there and is retiring this coming week. The retirement is due, but it was ultimately decided upon because the base and the school are closing. Actually, the school is now officially closed. The teachers will be there tidying up this coming week, but the seniors have graduated.
It's a big transition for my family. My parents are moving back to Northwest Indiana, where we're from. That leaves my brother Greg in Germany all by himself. When we moved to Germany in '72, he was in grade school. He considers Germany home. He's established a business there and as far as we know, he's planning on staying "home."Some would think..."Your high school closed, so what?!"
But it's a little different for me as I've been involved in our Alumni group since forming it in 1988. Since then, I've hosted 5 "All-Class" Alumni Reunions and have the next one already planned for June of 2009 in Las Vegas.
So, between the alumni thing and my parents still living in Germany, I was always connected to the high school and some of the teachers that stayed there for so long and were good family friends.
This past year was hard on my parents since most of their friends had already moved on. They weren't able to enjoy the company when they went out to eat at their favorite restaurants. The move home will be good. They'll establish their home base in Crown Point, Indiana and now they'll be able to host those friends when traveling through the area. I know the Renner's also live in Indiana, they're pretty close. Coach Smith is in Ohio, not far away. I'm sure they'll have plenty of visitors to keep them company.
Although our high school is now closed, the memories live on and my reunions help solidify those memories and extend them and, in turn, new memories are formed. New friendships are made. Old rivalries are laughed upon. Apologies are made and accepted.
I remember a gentleman walking up to me, I believe at the 2000 reunion. He asked me if I knew who he was. I looked at him and didn't have a clue. He brought out his yearbook and showed me his picture from back in the day. I immediately thought to myself..."Oh shit!" This was a kid that I tormented in Boy Scouts. Us older and higher ranking kids always picked on the younger ones and I remember that we used to pull some good pranks on this guy. I asked him to forgive me and we just laughed! I was lucky not to get a black eye that night. But that's the way it is, we're all older and wiser and grown up now and things are put into perspective.
Hosting the reunions and maintaining our website over the years has been a pleasure for me. It's satisfying to know that old friends have been brought back together through my efforts. And, a lot of new friendships have been formed as well. There have been romances and even marriages due to my reunions. Maybe I keep on hosting them because I'm looking for that special someone myself??? Who knows. It's been quite the ride though. I've had a blast.
R.I.P Würzburg American High School
1954-2008
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