ELMHURST HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1953 REUNION

The Elmhurst High School graduating class of 1953, held their 55th year reunion on August 16, 2008 at Brookwood Golf Club, 10304 Bluffton Road. Nearly sixty people were in attendance to celebrate with their classmates and reminisce the “good old days” when they all walked the halls of EHS.

During the day there was a golf outing at Brookwood for class members who wanted to play. The evening began with a cocktail hour. Ed Seidel gave the invocation and a buffet dinner was enjoyed by all. Stu Trainer, the class president, gave the welcoming  remarks and then turned the program to Joe Specht and Tom Laden who were the M.C.’s for the evening. Each classmate was introduced and asked to fill everyone in on the happenings of their lives.

Many long time Waynedale residents will recognize some of the graduates of the class, as they worked in their family businesses in the area. Among them are: Stu Trainer of Trainer Service Center on the corner of Bluffton and Lower Huntington Roads where Walgreens now stands. Dwight Umber of Ace Hardware on Lower Huntington Road. Bob Thurber of Waynedale Radiator on Bluffton Road. Paul Henry of Paul Henry Auto Repair on the corner of Bluffton Road and Ferguson Road. Harold Dautz of Dautz Florist on Ardmore Avenue, and Richard Schmitt of Smitty’s Bowling Alley on Bluffton Road to name a few.

While some of the businesses remain, others have made way for a growing and changing Waynedale.  This said, most all from the class of 1953, will forever have imprinted in their minds the casual and great era of the fifties, when students found no need to lock their cars or their school lockers, and felt comfortable walking to the Waynedale park every Monday night throughout the summer to see the free movies and meet up with their friends, or to stop at the drugstore for a Coke.

Deceased members of the 1953 class are: Virginia Brown Crouch; Paul Gulyas; Raymond Henry; Jack Hughes; Margaret Landis McClure; David Meid; Nancy Mueck Berry; Wally Norwalt, Jim Paxson; Jerry Poling; Flora Reed Bonfiglio; Kenny Schneider; Kenny Stiverson; Richard Tipton, and Joe Travis.

The class member who traveled the farthest to attend the reunion was Tom Laden from California. The class member with the most children is Carolyn Herber Boyle, with 11 children, 36 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. Among the 1953 class members are four married couples, Jean Adams and Rolland Kloer; Jackie Carlson and Don Chapman; Juinine Ellis and Joe Travis and Sally Ewing and Richard Schmitt. Several others married Elmhurst graduates but from other classes.

Nick Werling, teacher, coach, and mentor, who taught many of these students, was the honored guest of the class. As the reunion ended there were smiles, hugs, laughter, and, “We’ll see you in five years for our 60th, God willing.”