Nokomis High School - Old Nokomis Yearbook (Nokomis, IL)

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'The Dreamer Senior Prophecy May 1955-The great aviatrix, RUTH HINES, and I, a roaming newspaper reporter, have just returned from a tour to the various parts of the world for the purpose of interviewing all of those brilliant students that were graduated from N.T. H.S. in 1944. We started our tour in June, 1953, from New York City, our destination being- England. In England we were special guests of BOB BROCK- MAN and his Wife MARGARET RITA CAT- GENOVA. Bob is serving as United States Am- bassador to Great Britain. From England we went to Russia and here found ILA MAE JOHNSON, who has finally caught up with her sailor and has married him. Ila Mae served as a nurse during the World War II. After leaving Russia we went to Italy and to our surprise met RAYMOND ROBBINS and WILLIAM MCENARY who had just flown over in a Wingless airplane they had invented in 1949. They informed us that Lieut. IRENE MORRELL and General WALTER MCCLUSKY were also in Italy. Ray said that Cupid must have done a quick job of shooting arrows, for never did we dream back in high school days that they cared for one another. They were married in a fox holen while a battle was raging. From Italy we flew to France and there were guests of Monsieur PAUL FURIMSKY. Paul told us that he had just announced his engagement to Miss La Verne La Rue who would be his eighth wife. He is known to his wives as Pood. We arrived back in New York on January 2, 1954. We were met at the airport by DARLENE DAHLER, who is the manager of the Green Hornet Taxi Cab Company. She offered to drive us around New York so that we might interview a few more of our former classmates. The first one we saw was DALE HOUCK. Dale is mar- ried to BILLIE BEAMAN and is a great football hero. He invited us to watch him play the fol- lowing evening. At the game we met OWEN SCHNEIDER and MARJORIE HAND who are a very happily married couple. Owen is a trav- eling salesman for the Baby's Bonnet Company. At the half, Misses RUTH PINKSTON and JOSEPHINE JOHNSON, opera singers at the Opera House of Witt, Illinois, sang for the audi- ence. While the announcer was scanning the audience for famous people, he found ANNA KOSKO and JULIO MARETTI, who have Won their fame in Hollywood and are now starring in a picture called Down Old Nokomis Way. We traveled from New York to Florida in a bus driven by MILTON RUPPERT. Miss LA- VONNE SCHREMPP, the former pin up girl of N.T.H.S., made her first society debut with the man about town, DONALD NASH, the night we arrived in Palm Beach. We did not stay in Florida long, for we were scheduled to be in Texas the same week to see CYRIL WADZITA and ANDY GOLITKO, Stars of the Butcher's Breakneckn basketball team, play a thrilling game. Cyril is known as lightball because he has the power of sixty watts. Then on to California we flew. Here we found three of our former class- mates fand we could hardly believe our eyesj- STEVE BLASKO, VIRGIL MOON, and MIKE VANSACK, who insisted on the Rinky Dink gang-now serving a two-year sentence in prison. While traveling back we stopped in Reno, Ne- vada, and whom do you think we saw? BEV- ERLY CHRISTY and her pilot, RALPH STI- MAC. Beverly was there recovering from the shock she received when Carl married MILDRED FEARN. Before returning to Illinois we de- cided to visit in St. Louis, Missouri. Here we interviewed BILL SCHNEEBERG, who is owner of the Fairmont Farms. He is planning to run his colt, 'Bankers' Bait , in the Arlington Classics this June. His wife, DORRIS MARIE KIRK- PATRICK, will act as- jockey during the races. Evidently another of our classmates likes Mis- souri, because here we saw TERESA MARLEY who is a trained nurse in St. Louis. Teresa en- tertains her patients by giggling. Our last stop was at Pana, Illinois, where we visited DORIS KATES, who made her millions by telling for- tunes and is now retired in her luxurious home. When we arrived, she was entertaining many of her friends. Among these was VIRGINIA MEYER, author of a play called Learning Love's Sixteen

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I, Ray Robbins, leave my job as editor of Old Nokomis to some lucky 1945 senior. I, Milton Ruppert, leave to become an expert agriculturist. I, Bill Saatkamp, leave to become the No. 1 Grease Monkey at Johnson's. I, Bill Schneeberg, leave with a few addresses in my little black book. I, Owen Schneider, leave on the first train to New York to join Albert Einstein. I, LaVonne Schrempp, leave my baton and best wishes to Dorothy Hulbert for success as a twirler. I, Ralph Stimac, left a little soon. I was drafted. I, Wendell Stivers, leave my Model T to the Ag department. I, Wilbur Swaney, leave with two fingers less than what I started with. I, Ray Taft, leave my ability as a Casanova to Bob Zueck. I, Mike Vansack, leave to become a yardbird in Coalton. I, Cyril Wazita, leave to become a Jap killer. Signed, sealed, and witnessed this twenty-ninth day of February, 1944 A. D. by- Bob Brockman Paul Furimsky The Senior Epic We came here together, and together we shall go away. The trip was a long and weary one for a few, but the majority of us has come through w' h flying colors. Not once has our group been f ed to wave the white flag, every thing that We have undertaken we have successfully Corn- pleted-and this is not bragging! ! You might ndt wish to believe us when we say that we are thi: same bunch of kids -that bunch that looked so green and ignorant four years ago. We're still as jolly and gay, but we really are sirlcere when we say that we owe a deep debt of gratitude to our old Alma Mater for all the lessons shb has taught us. Our class started with an enrollment of thirty- three girls and forty-four boys. We shall never forget those days in '41 when we made our debut here in N. T. H. S. As officers of our little group we chose Ray Taft, President, Edwin Holmes, Vice-President, Pat Keller, Secretary, Julbert Me- lin, Treasurer, and Miss Pitcher and Mr. Myers, sponsors. We gave the sophs a Wiener roast in October which also served as a get-acquainted party. In '42 we were back again seventy-five strong. We chose Paul Furimsky, President, Julbert Me- lin, Vice-President, Pat Keller, Secretary, Michael Charnisky, Treasurer, Miss Myerscough and Mr. Bertolino, sponsors. Time rushed along, and before we hardly re- alized it, we were back again as juniors, sixty- seven of us. At our election we chose Bob Brock- man, Rosalie Holmes, Beverly Christy, Bill Barn- stable, Mrs. Gent, and Mr. Costa as leaders. This year was one of our most successful ones. Our first event was the Harvest Dance held in October fby the way we elected Mary Lou O'Malley, our candidate, as queen of the Harvest.j Then came Fifteen the class play, Galloping Ghosts , followed by the Senior-Junior Christmas party. The year's most elaborate event was the prom which was held on April 15 Qlndian themej. Here we are, back as seniors. This year, after a series of stump and soapbox speeches by our candidates, we elected Bob Brockman, President, Eugene Kozuk, Vice-President, Ray Taft, Secre- tary, and Pat Keller, Treasurer, Miss Yackle and Mr. Montgomery were chosen as advisors. Among the activities sponsored by the class were a hay ride, a bake sale, a box social, the Senior-Junior Christmas party, the All-School Play, a class play, and the 1944 Old Nokomisn. Four years seems a long time in some ways, but when we really think of it and realize that the four years spent here in N. T. H. S. may in- fluence our whole future, it is but a drop in the bucket . In our eyes we have tears of joy and pride mingled with sorrow and regret that we have completed our journey, and I'm sure not one out of the class of 1944 will ever forget the four best years of his life that he spent here in N. T. H S. ' T. A. M.

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Labor . She is planning to put her play on the stage soon, featuring herself as heroine. With her was her fiance, MICHAEL CHARNISKY, who is the professor of the Charnisky College of Irv- ing, Illinois. BILL BARNSTABLE and LEE LEHMAN, who were great Marine heroes during the war, were also there. They are now living on their farms in the South Fork Community and say they are going to be bachelors the rest of their lives. Another guest was KENNETH BAT- TLES. He is president of the Farm Bureau and spends his leisure time riding around in his 1954 model automobile. Accompanying him were the Mayor and his wife, MARY LOU O'MALLEY. Mary Lou is the proud mother of two red haired boys. We were entertained by ALMA DOBER- NICK singing the old favorite song Pistol Packin' Mama accompanied by WENDELL STIVERS and his orchestra. Wendell and his orchestra have a permanent stand playing at EVELYN DURBIN'S night club in Wenonah, Illinois. The night club is named Ducominn. MELVIN PIEPER and WILBUR SWANEY also entertained us by playing a piano duet. They play over station W.D.Z. each day at 3 o'clock in the morning. Yes! There have been many changes made in the Nokomis Community in the last ten years. For instance, CARROLL HERZOG and BILL SAATKAMP have gone into partnership and own a large garage in which they specialize in repair- ing Peeps and Jeeps. In addition to this, WILMER and KENNETH GERMAN have built a large airport on their South Audubon farm for the benefit of all the young Nokomis fliers. As we continued to look up the rest of our former class- mates we found that PATRICIA KELLER, who always believed in waiting for the right man to come along, is still waiting. We also found that FREIDA CAULK, with all her romances, has already been a widow three times. RUTH CAR- ROLL told us that she had invented a new method on how to catch a boy friend. It must have worked because she is planning her wedding to an tmdertaker soon. We learned that there has been a new high school established in Ohlman in which JULBERT MELIN has the position as coach. Julbert has recently married ROSALIE HOLMES, who is also a faculty member of that school. When I went to visit my old friend NORMA CARLOCK, I found that she was working as private secretary for RUSSELL CAR- ROLL, who is a prominent lawyer in Nokomis. He is now working on the case filed by EUGENE KOZUK against LUELLA PERRY for breach of promise. Next we went to visit KATHRINE HULBERT and her husband johnny, and saw that they own a large poultry farm on which Kathrine does all the work. While we were there, another one of our former classmates, WARREN CLAYTON, put in his appearance. Warren as just returned to Nokomis. to be the minister of the Baptist Church, and with him was his wife, the former DARLENE COLE. We were as- tonished to find DOROTHY JANSON isn't con- tented with her own six children, so she has built a nursery in Nokomis. The last one we talked to was HELEN PORENTO, who is now the secre- tary at N.T.H.S. Oh yes! I must not forget to tell you this interesting news. We could not find RAY TAFT anywhere. Nobody seemed to know where he was. I have just heard a news report over the radio which stated that he was caught today trying to take the tires off the President's car and siphon the gas. Ruth says our next tour will be around the world to get some more bits of news. We would like to tell you what it is but we can't because it is a military secret. This is your roaming re- porter signing off for now! CATHRYN and RUTH. Seqenteen