Nostalgia and Future: Alumni association offers a look at both sides
Submitted by Paul Heinrich, President, MHS Alumni Association
Recently the Manchester High School Alumni Association did an article on a 1969 Manchester graduate, Mike Ahrens. What usually happens then is an article is done about another outstanding graduate and this is no easy task because there are so many outstanding men and women who have graduated from Manchester Community Schools over the years. How can one decide who deserves more attention than another? There have been thousands of young women and men who have graduated over the years, and the vast majority deserve recognition for their accomplishments.
In looking at the history of the Manchester Schools–the first graduating class was in 1871 and the oldest living graduate, Howard Parr, graduated in 1937, which means that 148 years has passed since the first class graduated and there are 82 years between the oldest living graduate and the current graduates of 2019. So many outstanding youth have passed through the halls of Manchester High School and to pick out one, again, is not easy.
There have been graduates who have gone away to attend college and then come back to Manchester to put down roots by opening a business–including Waldo Marx who graduated in 1919 and went on to the University of Michigan. He and his wife Ruth Lindbert, class of 1921, took over running the clothing store, Marx and Marx, which was started by Waldo’s father. More currently, there are Dawn and Dennis Steele who opened SteeleGrafix.
How about those who have stayed on the family farm? The Horning family, the Uphaus family, Weidmayer family, and others who have contributed to supply much-needed farm goods to the rest of the country. Let’s not forget about the many who have enlisted in the military and have made a career out of protecting our country–Brandon Maggetti, Tim McGinn, and Adam Erskine, plus many more just like them. Then you cannot leave out those who went on to further their education and become doctors, dentists, and veterinarians.
Look at our local dentists, Dr. Aaron LaRock and Dr. Nick Ross, who have come back to Manchester to practice and to raise their families. Dr. Chelsea Koengeter works for The Veterinary Standard and takes care of many of the animals in Manchester. We have people who have gone into the much needed skilled trades–electricians like Doug Parr who owned Manchester Electric, or plumbers like Mark Lavender’s Plumbing and Piping.
The Manchester Community Schools have been staffed by people like Ethel Brown from the class of 1924 or Janice Little from the class of 1956, and to our current staff of Manchester graduates–Mary Fielder, Mark Ball, Ellen Supers, Kathy O’Mara, Bryan Barnard, Amie Armstrong and the many more who have retired in recent years; other graduates have become bus drivers, custodians, support staff, and maintenance. All giving back to the Manchester community and making it what it is today.
This only scratches the surface of all the contributions the graduates have made. Those who are reading this article and saying that so many are deserving of the recognition, and why weren’t they mentioned? That’s the point; there are so many.
Now the future, The Alumni Association is getting ready to hand out a number of scholarships again this year to deserving high school graduates. These are also outstanding men and women who will go out and succeed in the future just like those who preceded them. Hopefully, many will come back, live here, and leave their mark; but others will go where their jobs or hearts lead them and that is also perfect.
These scholarships will provide help for the deserving young people to achieve their dreams. We will see them as we now see those who graduated in the past. The Manchester Community Schools do a remarkable job of getting the women and men who graduate ready for whatever life throws at them.
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