Memories heartwarming for King, Southview grads

Jul 03, 2010

By: The Morning Journal

The Morales Family, all proud Admiral King graduates.

By MEGAN ROZSA
rozsa.megan@gmail.com

LORAIN - The final graduating classes of Lorain’s Admiral King and Southview high schools walked across the stage to receive their diplomas on June 1 and 2. Some call it the end of an era. Others call it a new beginning. One thing is certain: both schools have generated many fond memories.

Admiral King and Southview – Free Slideshow Maker

Consolidating the two high schools as the new Lorain High School Titans at the former King site will save the financially constrained school district more than $2 million while a new Lorain High building is constructed.

To create a virtual yearbook for the ages, The Morning Journal reached out and asked Admiral King and Southview alumni to share their favorite memories of high school. Here is what they said:

“Southview opened in 1969. It was amazing to crawl through it when it was being built. My friends and I were a rambunctious group – kind of like the Geek Squad. Some of it wasn’t even finished (when school opened). We had gotten up to the second floor of the choir room, of course we weren’t supposed to be up there, and got into the rafters of a bathroom and crawled around. We heard all this giggling and laughing so we pulled down a tile to see where we were at. We looked down and to our amazement, we were above the gym and the cheerleaders were down there practicing. I freaked out because I was so high in the air. One slip or fall and there would have been a disaster. I can honestly say that was an adventure.”

Jaime Flores, Southview class of 1974

“I was always proud to say that I went to Admiral King, and that I am a very proud graduate from that school. I was in the marching band and that was always something I was very proud to say that I was a part of, and that’s where most of my fondest memories come from. I remember always enjoying the march to the stadium for the football games and cheering on the team. But I would have to say my favorite memory was when my sister and I went to an away game with a friend. We took our instruments – a flute and baritone – and we played the fight song for every touchdown. We wanted to show the spirit of the band even though they weren’t there with us at the time. I remember we won that game, too.”

Ashley Snowden, Admiral King class of 2008

“I enjoyed drama class with Mr. Dulmage. He was the best! I also enjoyed growing up and graduating with people that I have known since we were kids in kindergarten at Lowell. I was actually kind of hurt to see where I spent my teen years close down. I go by there sometimes. It’s empty, quiet, sad. I have my memories, pics and all my yearbooks to keep those days fresh in my mind.”

Tina Logar, Southview class of 1993

“I was a member of the marching band all four years of high school. My best memories were made with Mr. Spruill and the marching band during these years. It was always exciting to march in the halftime shows during football games. We would toilet paper Mr. Spruill’s house after the game, and he would stand there with his arms crossed while watching us. I have so many fond memories that always come to mind every now and then. I share these wonderful memories with my own children.”

Elisa Boles, Admiral King, class of 1992

“‘Today is a No Teeth Day!’

‘Your parents love you. I don’t!’

‘That’s not a threat, that’s a promise!’

If you were a marching Admiral between 1974 and 1998, any one of these phrases can instantly take you back to your days in the band with Mr. William Spruill as the director. While the stock phrases might have sounded harsh, we all heard them many times, and understood that he expected a better performance out of us than we were giving at the time. Mr. Spruill made clear what he expected from us, and we knew when we hadn’t met his expectations. I graduated from Admiral King in 1984, and may not have fully appreciated at the time that he said what he meant, and meant what he said. Those of us who were lucky enough to be a part of the band during Mr. Spruill’s tenure keep in touch through the AKHS Band Alumni page on Facebook. Now that Admiral King no longer exists, I can only hope that the new Lorain High Titan Marching Band enjoys their times as much as we did ours.”

Suzanne Dorinski, Admiral King, class of 1984

“One of the biggest things back then was making sure, if you were a freshman, that an upperclassman didn’t try to sell you an elevator pass! (Of course, no one was allowed to use the elevator!) Our band was the biggest and the best! There were these guys in the tuba section, especially Clarence (I forget his last name), but they would do all these dances and moves with the tubas on their person! It was great! We would march down West 26th Street before every football game, with the band, and march back to the school after the game. A lot of our friends and family went to the “school across the tracks,” so everyone kind of knew everyone else. There were social clubs – the Bachelors, Barons, Echoes, Sweaters and Cokes – our team was in the Buckeye Conference and we always dominated! We had outstanding athletes,Bubba Harris, Steve Stohla, Paul Biber, Dave Billack, Joe Kozar to name a few. A few of the graduates went on to service academies and a lot of our friends lost their lives in Vietnam.”

Catherine D. DeAngelis, Admiral King, class of 1966

“One memory that was important was beating Admiral King in football my freshman year in 1998 (sadly, that was the only time we beat them in my four years there). I was a founding member of Southview’s Unity Club, and one of the memorable things we did was “Swap Schools” with St. Joe’s, the all-girl school in Cleveland, by sending three boys and three girls to their school, and they sent six girls to Southview. Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. A very special memory for me was finally participating in a talent show, our Senior Showcase talent show in 2002. I had been in Choral Masters, our best show choir at the school, and my fellow tenor, Max Perez and myself performed 112-”Cupid”, to a rousing applause.” (VIDEO)

Joseph Johnson, Southview class of 2002 (VIDEO)

“I think my best experiences were with teachers. Sure we all have our favorite time with our friends, but I think the most image and personal molding time I had, I got from Mrs. Ilcisko and Mr. Bryant. Mrs. Ilcisko was an art and crafts teacher. She made everything an adventure, from crafty little projects to beautiful charcoal drawings. She made them so easy and they all looked very professional. She had confidence in her students and their abilities and it showed with every project we did.

Mr. Bryant was my physical education and study hall teacher. Sure phys. ed. is important, but it was those study halls that I looked forward to, not because I could goof off or nap, but because I could talk to Mr. Bryant about stuff that going on in my life and find what his perspective was on it. He had some of the funniest anecdotes and gave me some very good advice, some I still use to this day. He told me once, “People only get from something what they put into, so if you put nothing in, you get nothing. Look kid, life is always going to have its good points and bad. Never dwell on the bad, only take the lesson learned.” That’s something I think about every day.”

Davi Bennett-Cornwell, Southview, would be class of 1986, but took a leave because of family issues

“Something that the band did every time we would come back into the practice room from being outside practicing, or at a game: All the drummers would be lined up on either side of the entrance to the band room, and would play a cadence (that I am sure anyone in band would be able to play right now for you). The rest of the band would line up single file, waiting to be ‘ushered’ forward by Mr. Spruill. As each member marched forward, there was a spot on the sidewalk that you would have to pivot on …. this spot was repainted every year by the senior class (they were allowed to paint it however they chose) Right in front of the spot, Mr. Spruill would stand there, and if you ever were his student, you would definitely know that he could be quite intimidating!! As a freshman, doing this brought a lot of anxiety to ‘get it right.’”

Pamela Sanner-Hooker, Admiral King class of 1991

“Janice Beckler taught a child care class that was a two-year program and you got state certified at the end of it. We had our own day care going on in there. The first part of the day she would teach us everything. We would do lesson plans and all kinds of stuff, and then the second half of the day we would have our own preschool. We had a blast. And most of us, there were seven of us in my class, and I think we all went into preschool and day care professions. I still see Mrs. Beckler all the time. She was like our mom. And for two years we just got really close.”

Jayne Tokarczyk Morales, Admiral King class of 1985 (VIDEO)

“Auto shop with Mr. Reber was the best. He would let us go out to lunch and stand there and say, ‘I don’t see you leaving. You can go.’ I used all my auto shop. I worked on cars and I continued to work on cars, and I still work on cars. I’m passing it on to my son. It was a life skill, something that keeps paying back. I see Mr. Reber every now and then and he’s doing good.” (VIDEO)

Richard Morales, Admiral King class of 1980 (VIDEO)

Tony Ceja, a 1981 Southview graduate, and his son, Aaron, who will be a senior class president at Lorain High School next year, wrote a song commemorating Southview:

Audio: Southview

‘A Saint Forever’: (VIDEO)
It was my first day….
inside these halls….
Seemed so big I didn’t
have a clue….
But then I made friends,
found a path…
(and) before I knew it,
I was on my way…

Time here went by so fast…
before I knew it,
it was time to go…
But when I left here,
I took with me…
so much more than
I had first believed…

Ohh…..oh…..ohhh….

I’m a Saint forever…
A Saint forever…

(sax solo)

Now I’m back here…
one last time…
to walk these halls
the way I used to do…
There’s my homeroom,
my locker…
There’s the place
where I met all my friends…

Ohh…ohh…..ohh…
Ohh…ohh…..ohh…

I’ll be a Saint…..Forever….
A saint forever….

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