Class Bulletin Board

50th Year Reunion: Tour of West High

Our tour of West High on June 24th 2023 was organized by Bonnie and led by Gary Neuzil, recently retired legendary teacher at West High, who did a masterful job as tour guide herding all us “kittens” around the school. 

Special thanks goes to Karen Peak Lenth who bought the special “50 Year Reunion” banner that you see in the group photo taken in the Arganbright Theater.

  • West High Main Entrance
  • West High Gym Entry Trojan Plaque
  • Mark and Susan Ferguson Heading in to Join the Tour
  • West High School Main Gymnasium
  • Mark and Susan Ferguson in the hallway leading to the Wall of Fame
  • Holly Richardson and Jim Houghton next to their photos on the Wall of Fame
  • West High School Athletic Weight Room
  • The Medallion from the Original Gym Floor, persevered in the weight room
  • The Little Theater
  • West High Cafeteria
  • Look how much the library has grown
  • Library loungers
  • More library loungers
  • Tour group in the library with tour leader Gary Neuzil. This is the time when everyone’s phones announced a Tornado Watch. Typical Iowa summer’s day.
  • The newest Band and Orchestra room
  • Class of 1973 tour group in Arganbright theater
  • Sara Muller and Dave Gerlits in the Library Stacks
  • Tour group in the gym

Women of West: Reunion Breakfast

Cheri McCabe Hochstetler, Janet Pate Barber, and Linda Vedepo Scotthosted the event on Saturday, June 24th 2023 at 9 AM-11 AM. It took place at  Dwell Home Furnishings, on Highway 6 at the corner of 12th Ave.

Top to Bottom: Katie Collins Bretz, Karen Davies Leibold, Jackie Dague, Deb Barnes Rogers, Laura Walters Anspach, Alice Barker Miller, Debbie Dee, Julie Rogers, Julie Kent Larson, Betsy Elliot Stough, Cheri McCabe Hochstetler, Janet Powers Metzger, Brenda Schrock Bradley, Holly Richardson, Mary Balmer, Kathy Schrock Olin, Missi Strub, Nancy Hug Montier, Sara Muller, Janet Pate Barber, Judy Becker Bryant.

  • Mary Balmer and Betsy Elliott Stough
  • Julie Kent Larson and Kathy Schrock Olin
  • Deb Dee and Jackie Dague Nicholson
  • Jackie Dague Nicholson and Julie Kent Larson
  • Deb Barnes Rogers and Janet Pate

Our Class Tree

Classmate Karen Peak Lenth organized the purchase of a tree planted in honor of our class in the front yard of West High. Although it does not have a sign designating it as “our tree”, it will always be our contribution to the beauty of the West High grounds.

Here is our tree looking green and healthy

Bonnie and friends planting of our tree

  • Bonnie and our class tree

How to Find Our Tree

Here is a map showing the location of the tree.

If you are traveling to visit the tree, you can type the following coordinates into your GPS of choice: 41.65671° N, 91.58252° W .

Or you can find the tree using the what3words address ///brick.most.rather

Every 10ft square in the world has its own unique what3words address. The link below is a precise what3words address, made of 3 random words.

https://w3w.co/brick.most.rather

You can learn more about what3words here.

Thoughts, Reflections, and Recognition

We paused our partying for some thoughts, reflections, and recognition. We were so glad we could be together.

Recognition

A Short Speech

Presented by Dave Gerlits on 24 June 2023 at 7:30 PM.

First off, I want to thank everyone who helped make this evening possible.

Our biggest thanks go to Bonnie and Brenda, the heart and hands of our class. Without these two wonderful women, none of this would have been possible.

Thanks to Steve Riggan, Walt Osborne, Cheri McCabe, Janet Pate, and Linda Vedepo who arranged the Golf Outing and Women of West Breakfast. I’m sure everyone had a wonderful time. And thanks to Gary Neuzil, recently retired legendary teacher at West High, for his masterful job as tour guide this afternoon. 

And, of course, I would like to thank each one of you for coming. Just surviving for 50 years since high school is an accomplishment and it deserves to be acknowledged. Whether you got here by flying, driving, bicycling, or however you came, welcome.

My wife Bobbi and I don’t have cable TV at our house anymore, and we don’t even own a TV. We watch TV shows and movies on our computers.

Earlier this year, I watched the Oscar winning movie on AppleTV called “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse” based on the 2019 book of the same name by Charlie Mackesy.

The characters in the book are trying to help the boy find his way home. Along the way the Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse talk about some of the deep important questions of our lives.

It is a fable of inspiration and hope, and I wanted to bring you one part of this marvelous little tale.

At one point in the book the mole says to the boy:

“Sometimes I want to say I love you all, but I find it difficult”

“Do you?” said the boy.

“Yes,” said the mole, “so I say something like I’m glad we’re all here.”

“Ok.” said the boy.

“I’m glad we’re all here” said the mole.

“We are so glad you are here too” said the boy.

From The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

So I want to conclude by saying: 

I’m glad we’re all here.

And we are so glad you are here, too.

Thank you, and enjoy the party!

50th Year Reunion Memorial Table

Karen Peak Lenth provided the flower arrangements at each table in the space, and also created a Memorial Table, honoring those classmates who are no longer with us.

  • Memorial Table Centerpiece: Farewell
  • Jane Riley, Jerry Rathmel, John Shepherd, Janet Homewood, William Kane, Dirk Morris, Blaine Goff, Deborah Harris, Mike Russell
  • Patrick Toomey, Glen McCord, Tim Thomas, Jerry Wade, Cynthia Villhauer, Steve Tyer, Jamie Tate, Livingston Moyston, Kim Berridge

50th Year Reunion Memory Boards

We had three superb memory boards created by Janet Powers Metzger. She focused on three themes: Our Communication-a celebration of our school paper West Side Story; Our Homecoming – a celebration of this hallmark of our senior year; and Our Commencement – the culmination of our senior year. She also shared a board of general memories.

Communication

  • Memory Board: Communication
  • Memory Board: Communication-Top
  • Memory Board: Communication-Bottom

Our Homecoming

  • Memory Board: Homecoming
  • Memory Board: Homecoming-Top
  • Memory Board: Homecoming-Bottom

Our Commencement

  • Memory Board: Commencement
  • Memory Board: Commencement-Top
  • Memory Board: Commencement-Bottom

General Memories

Dan Hackmann’s Howdy

All the very best greetings from my fellow classmates of 1973!

After graduation from West High:

  • BA in History, with minors in Music and Spanish from the University of Iowa (1977)
  • MA in Spanish and Linguistics, also from the U of I (1979)
  • Dissertation Research at the University of Munich (1986)
  • Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology from the School of Religion at the University of Iowa (1989)
  • I taught at the U of I, UNI, Coe College and Kirkwood until 1989, received chair in Humanities Department at Kirkwood in 1989.
  • Guest Professor at the University of Konstanz, Germany (summers 1993, 1994)
  • Met and married my wife of 28 years, Marion Plate (1995)
  • Taught University until 1996, then moved to Germany, started high tech consulting firm
  • Moved to Zürich area of Switzerland in 1999 and worked in IT and High Tech Swiss and American Firms until 2018
  • Member of our Church Board at the Swiss Reformed Church in Uetikon am See, Switzerland since 2013, responsible for finances and real estate
  • Founded two other advisory firms and one joint venture with a Graduate College in Brookings, South Dakota
  • Started teaching adjunct for the Graduate College (Christ School of Theology at the Institute of Lutheran Theology) in January 2022
  • Appointed full Professor, Research Fellow and Academic Dean at Christ School of Theology starting July 1, 2023

My two grown up children (Elke and Thomas) live respectively in DeWitt and Iowa City. Elke has two children, David and Ellie (10 and soon to be 6) and is married to Joe Hanson. She works in fashion sales management and Joe is a journeyman pipefitter (they install industrial sprinkler systems). Thomas is married to Katie (nee Aunan) and has three boys, Jack, Silas and Benjamin (4, 2, and 7 months). 

I have been back to the States three times this year (2 x Florida and Puerto Rico, 1 x South Dakota just last week) but unfortunately had only time for a quick swing through Iowa City to see family in April, when my mom turned 89. Was looking forward to being there this weekend but could not extend my trip beyond Tuesday of this week because of meetings here in Switzerland.

We absolutely love it here in Switzerland and both became Swiss citizens in 2018, but both retained our US and German citizenship.  The weather and of course the scenery (we live on Lake Zurich) with the mountains and beautiful small villages and cities are excellent.  My wife Marion (Mücki) started a practice for foot care (FootSpa) in 2019 and has built up a substantial clientele over the last four years.

Going forward, since the Christ School of Theology is 100% online since its inception in 2007, I can teach courses and work with our faculty from more or less anywhere with a decent internet connection. I proved this in February when I met my cousin and his wife from Minnesota in Rincon, Puerto Rico, where we all worked and played from that paradise!

We plan to continue living in our current flat at least as long as Mücki still runs her practice. She is still 3 years from retirement age here in Switzerland (64 for women). But our plan is to be able to travel more to see family and friends and the beautiful world around us more in the next years. I’m excited that Chris Wilhite, a good friend of mine at West High is moving back to Iowa City. The chances will be much higher then that we will be able to get together, as both of us have live very far from there and each other for decades now!

Have fun at the celebration on Saturday and REALLY wish I could have been there to see you all.

Best,

Dan