MELISSA DUCAT

"Missy" joined me at Clarke. I spent the entire 7th grade with her. We had every class together.

For most of the year, Missy was friends with fellow Missy, Missy Vertz. See my Missy Vertz story to read the falling out these two had.

Missy was a bubbly blonde. To be honest, I always viewed her as a bit of an airhead. But I never knew her well enough to confirm that.

For a very brief time in 7th grade, Missy and Toby Schwartz were some sort of item. I was friends with Toby at the time. It was really weird. He told Jim Colby and I about it. But we were sworn to secrecy - as was Toby. It's like Missy didn't want anyone to know. I don't know. Whatever they had lasted perhaps a week.

Missy had a really cute older sister, class of 1988's Michelle Ducat.

As the years went by, Missy and I didn't have much contact with one another. As I recall, Missy was good friends with Cindy Hayes. In fact, the two of them would come into the video store together from time to time. That was a lot of blonde hair flowing around! Missy came in quite often. She came in with her boyfriend quite a bit as well. I don't know who he was. But he had almost as much hair as her. Missy eventually married class of 1990's Scott Redeker. Was Scott the big-haired guy from the early 1990's? I don't know. Possibly. Today they live in the wormhole. The what? They actually live on somewhat of a hidden road that goes from Grafton to Thiensville, which bypasses Cedarburg. Years ago, Meff and I dubbed that road "the wormhole." On a whim, Meff and I searched for her house and found it. She has a wraparound driveway in the front. We drove in and drove out.

RAY KASZUBA

Ray joined me at Washington. I have no idea where he came from. But for whatever reason, I got the impression that he had just moved to Two Rivers.

I had Ray in a couple of classes. In sophomore year, we had Mr. Conrad's biology together. I can recall a couple of things. For one thing, one day Valori Franco brought some sort of erotic paperback book to class. And she read a few passages out loud. At one point, she let Ray borrow it. And he sat and read it. Then someone (perhaps Tammy Franzen) motioned towards Ray's crotch, while looking at Valori. There was an insinuation that Ray had a hard-on. Valori of course wasn't shy to say something, and blurted out something to the effect of, "A little excited are you Ray?" I can assure you, if in fact Ray was aroused (which is doubtful) you certainly couldn't tell.

Ray must have been hungry for a little attention. Or maybe he was hungry for frogs. When it came time to dissect them, at one point Ray ripped off a tiny piece of frog meat, and asked if anyone dared him to eat it. People did. And he swallowed it. Several minutes later, someone asked Mr. Conrad if it was dangerous to eat those frogs. Of course he said yes, as the frogs were filled with poisonous formaldehyde. Oh well.

Later on that year, Ray and I were lab partners for awhile. So we got to know each other a little bit. He was big fan of horror movies. So we had that in common. I may have even taped some movies for him.

We had to boil water for some reason. And I told Ray a little trick I knew. If you throw even the smallest amount of soap into a pan of boiling water, it foams up and makes a huge mess. So I did just that. I plopped it in very sneakily. Soon after, it began to overflow. Ray and I were laughing. Mr. Conrad was not pleased. He went and cleaned up the mess. But he had no idea who had done it. And since he didn't make a fuss, no one else in class even saw it.

I have one other memory of Ray in that class. He played a joke on Chris Soppe. He either took her purse, or I handed it to him. He then put it in the sink to hide it. Once Chris noticed it was gone, she of course told Mr. Conrad - who made a really big deal about it. He demanded to know who took it. Of course no one fessed up. So he started looking for it, to no avail. For you see, Chris' purse was black, as was the sink. So you could walk right by it and not even notice it. Eventually, it was found.

After sophomore year, Ray disappeared. I think he moved to the Milwaukee area. He lives there today, with his wife Stephanie.

LENNY LEWIS

Lenny appears to be a product of Koenig grade school. He joined me at Clarke.

I never knew Lenny all that well. Although we did have a mutual friend in Kevin Dehne. Lenny was a member of the black T-shirt crowd. But he wasn't nearly as grumpy or angry as his peers. And there was no bully in him either. In fact, Lenny was a pretty friendly guy. Although I suspect a lot of people never realized that.

I have a small memory of Lenny from 7th grade. For those of us who took hot lunch, once the bell rang, it was a mad dash down the hall to try to get in line first. One day I got there, right behond Lenny. He was huffing and puffing, and said, "I need to stop smoking."

Lenny lived right behind Kevin. In fact, I seem to recall Kevin telling me that at some point, they put up some sort of crude communication between their bedrooms. It was some sort of thing with fishing line and cups. But apparently, it worked like a charm. According to Kevin, the only bad thing was that if Lenny was having a party or something, the noise would be deafening. And he couldn't muffle it out.

I seem to recall that in high school, Lenny wore black sweat pants a lot.

I believe Lenny stayed in high school through our junior year. Maybe he didn't finish that year at all. I know he was never a senior though.

I ran into Lenny a few times at the video store. He was always friendly and talkative. I liked Lenny. Eventually he married a woman named Deann. Dave Svatek's next door neighbor Bill would see Lenny from time to time. Apparently Lenny's wife lamented once that Lenny would go to a bar every night after work. I think the bar was on HWY. 310, near the mausoleum. I think Lenny was driving a big red truck at the time. Today they live in Two Rivers. I believe they have at least two kids.

UPDATE - 8/15/06 - Thanks to Kevin Dehne for providing this picture of Lenny. It appears to be from around 7th or 8th grade.



UPDATE - 11/13/06 - On Saturday, Augsut 12th, 2006, Kevin Dehne and I took another trip to Two Rivers. The last time we'd stopped by Lenny's house, he wasn't home. But we saw a big truck in the driveway this time. We worked our way around the back, and came up onto the deck. Then right before I was to knock, Lenny stormed out with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. We sat and talked to Lenny for about a half hour. He and Kevin had some good stories to reminisce about. Of course he posed for some pictures. You can see them below. As a side note, Lenny has a real hottie for a neighbor.









UPDATE - 11/13/06 - Here's a video from that August 12th meeting.



UPDATE - 11/14/06 - When Kevin and I met up with Lenny back on August 12th, he mentioned that he worked part-time as a Two Rivers firefighter. I found this photo of him today.

UPDATE - NICK NOVACHEK

I added a brief senior year story involving him getting wet.

And apparently Cindy Rohrer has some wild Fantasy Fest pictures of Nick. There's a threat to have them posted, if he doesn't come in and say hi.

Fantasy Fest... I love Key West.

WELCOME - BRANDON PODHOLA

Brandon has logged in and left a lengthy comment about Dave Coenen, as well as for himself.

Welcome Brandon!

VIDEOS

I've compiled all of the videos and have put them into this one post. I apologize for the quality on some of these clips. Somewhere in the translation from DVD to the computer, something happens. But overall, it's good enough.

BARNEY'S CLUBHOUSE POW (1981)



LARRY DAFFNER (MARCH, 1989)



TRACY MESSMAN (MARCH, 1989)



DAVID KANERA (MARCH, 1989)



CARRIE COLLARD (MARCH, 1989)



BRAD STROUF, WYATT WOOD, JEREMY KARMAN, ROSS REMIKER, JIM MESSMAN & JEFF GORDON (MARCH, 1989)



JULIE LANDON, KIM NOKES & KELLI KUPSCH (MARCH, 1989)



JENNY MALLEY & LISA KING (MARCH, 1989)



DREW KONOP & BRETT GRUETZMACHER (MARCH, 1989)



LISA KOCH (MARCH, 1989)



DAVID DUVALL (MARCH, 1989)



TOM "GUS" HOLMES (MARCH, 1989)



JASON ANDERSON (MARCH, 1989)



TINA SHORT & POOKIE BERGEON (MARCH, 1989)



GREG BURR (MARCH, 1989)



DEAN LICHTERMAN (MARCH, 1990)



JEFF BODWIN (MARCH, 1990)



JASON ANDERSON & JEREMY KARMAN (MARCH, 1990)



SCOTT JAKLIN (March, 1990)





MEFF, OUR FRIEND JOHN AND I (LATE-SPRING, 1990)



MEFF (LATE-SPRING, 1990)



MY SERMON (JUNE, 1990)



PICKING UP KEVIN - THEN KEVIN, MYSELF & GREG PAGEL (7/15/06)



CARRIE COLLARD, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (7/15/06)



MARKUS PETKEVICIUS, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (7/15/06)



KURT PSENICKA, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (7/15/06)



PAULA JONAS, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (7/15/06)



JEFF GORDON, BRENDA GORDON, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (7/15/06)



KEN BARTZ, HIS GIRLFRIEND, HIS FRIEND, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (PART 1) (7/15/06)



KEN BARTZ, HIS GIRLFRIEND, HIS FRIEND, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (PART 2) (7/15/06)



B.J. LUTTERMAN, KEVIN DEHNE AND MYSELF (7/15/06)



TOM GRASSMAN (SINGING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM, SUMMER, 2006)

National Anthem

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LORI WAVRUNEK, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (8/12/06)



BOB PILZAK, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (8/12/06)



MR. FRANKE, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (8/12/06)



LENNY LEWIS, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (8/12/06)



SALLY GRACZYKOWSKI, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (8/12/06)



MIKE POLICH, ANN RANK, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (8/12/06)



SHANNON ALMAND, KEVIN DEHNE & MYSELF (8/12/06)



MEFF AND I DRINKING (10/21/06)







TOM GRASSMAN



TOM GRASSMAN (3/25/07)



GREG PAGEL (4/13/07)



PETE SOUCOUP (4/30/07)

MARK HENRICKSON

Mark is a guy who joined me at Washington. He was kind of a hard guy to figure out. He had some pretty thick glasses. He sometimes appeared to be a bit nerdy. But that wasn't his persona either.

I had Mark in gym class that year. I can recall playing softball, and making a nice running catch of a line drive he hit. I was never the athletic type. But I have always been extremely competitive, and more than held my own - and surprised a lot of my classmates in doing do. Mark gave me some shit for catching his hit. But he gave me kudos as well.

See my Craig Rysticken entry for another gym class story involving Mark.

As the years progressed, I think Mark started hanging around with the likes of David Kanera. Mark sometimes seemed a bit like a bully. But overall, he was pretty friendly and accepting of most.

Mark always seemed sort of "stiff" to me - literally. You can see it on our senior video as well. It's like he's almost robotic, and unable to move his limbs as freely as most humans.

Also on that video, he's seen with fellow graduate Kelly Siudzinski on his lap. At the time of the video shoot, they were apparently a couple. I certainly don't recall that at all. Perhaps they were together for just that one day.

After high school, I ran into Mark a couple of times at the video store. I also ran into him at UW Manitowoc, during the 1990-1991 school year. We had a math class together. And at that time, Mark seemed sort of grungy. He wore big boots, tattered jeans and a flannel shirt - perhaps with a jean jacket coat as well. He always had the look of someone who was hungover.

At some point in the 1990's, Mark was charged with possession of THC. It doesn't look like he's ever left the city of Two Rivers. He still lives there today. As far as I can tell, he's never married. The picture below is probably from the last year or so. It was taken in regards to some golf tournament. Mark is on the far left, in the red shirt.

HELLO - NICK NOVACHEK

According to Brad, Nick has been lurking in the shadows. So hi Nick! Let's hear what you have to say!

And while I'm at it, let's hear from Chip Pelnar too. Hello Chip!

DAVID COENEN

Dave was a guy who joined me at Clarke. He was a rather good-natured fellow. He wasn't popular. He wasn't unpopular. He just did his thing and nobody bothered him.

I got to know Dave a little bit during freshman year. I often sat with him at lunch. He seemed to smile a lot. I have no idea why. I recall him telling me a crude joke that year.

Roses are red.
Violets are gray.
If Rock Hudson liked pussy,
He'd be here today.

Dave and I didn't have much in common. Or did we? I think he had red hair. I know he had freckles. But from an academic standpoint, we didn't cross paths much. I can't honestly recall having him in a single class. I think Dave took a lot of shop classes.

Dave's mom was one of the lunch monitors (noon goons) in high school. This doesn't really involve Dave. But during my senior year, in Mr. Schwantes' class, class of 1990's Cory Shimulunas sounded off about her. He'd had some sort of run-in with her, and said some pretty nasty things. Craig Rysticken then said, "It's a good thing Dave isn't here today. Because that's his mom!" So yes, I actually did have Dave in at least one class. And it was a good thing that he was out sick that day. That could have been ugly.

Dave is one person who I have not laid eyes on since high school. I guess he never rented movies. Today I believe he works as a mason or a contractor. So I guess those shop classes paid off! Dave eventually married a woman named Jamie. They live in Two Rivers to this day. To my knowledge, they don't have any kids. But they do have two dogs, as indicated in the newspaper article which I've copied below. There's also a small picture. Dave is in the back, on the right - with his wife on the left.
--------------------------------------------------

If Jamie Otto-Coenen and her husband, David, are on their death beds any time soon, they know exactly what they want.

"I want the company of my dogs and the music of Josh Groban," Otto-Coenen, 40, said.

"I want our beagles, Buckshot and Bailey, by my side," David Coenen, 34, said.

The Two Rivers couple also does not want feeding tubes, a respirator/ventilator or other life-prolonging measures if they’ve reached a point where they cannot "interact meaningfully with family, friends, environment."

That is the wording in a section of the Advance Directives document they signed Tuesday at Aurora Medical Center.

In the wake of the extensive media coverage of Terri Schiavo and the bitter legal battle over the severely brain-damaged woman, the Two Rivers couple are among thousands nationwide filling out living wills and Power of Attorney for Health Care documents.

"Nobody else has to make the decision. I’ve already done it. Why have arguing and fighting when it tells them right here what I want," said Coenen, a construction worker, pointing to different treatment options.

His wife works as an emergency room technician and paramedic.

"Being in health care I see situations where there is family indecision," she said.

When it comes to a loved one in, for example, a persistent vegetative state, "Everybody says, ‘I wouldn’t want to keep living like that.’ But when it comes to (discontinuing life support measures) for a family member, they can’t follow through," Otto-Coenen said.

THE DEMISE OF WHS

Thanks to Mark Ciha for alerting me to these pictures.

BILL KADERABEK

Bill was guy who joined me at Clarke. He was a little guy, sort of small and thin.

Bill didn't seem like the smartest of guys. But he was friendly enough just the same. During 8th grade, I got moved from Mr. Fencl's reading class into Mrs. Meehan's. This was a step down so to speak. With Fencl, I was constantly in trouble. And I refused to do work. So he dumped me off on Meehan - who taught the "dumb" class. So I was thrown in with a bunch of morons - the lower end of the 7th and 8th graders. Man, I excelled in there, with her curriculum though. I didn't do shit, but still aced the class. Oh, Bill was in the class, one of a handful of 8th grade students.

At some point that spring, Bill missed three days of school. Why? Because he got caught drinking beer.

For those of you who remember Clarke, you may recall that on Parkway Blvd, near the dome swings, right across from Kevin Shillcox' house, there was a green fence. Every morning that fence became the standing place for all of the smokers of the school. Well on this day, Bill and I believe one other kid, were out there drinking. I saw them do it. I walked right past them. Now get this. Personally, I didn't give a shit if they were drinking. I wouldn't have said anything. But all of a sudden, Dave Kanera runs past me and heads towards them yelling, "Are you drinking beer?" Apparently Dave (or more likely someone who told Dave) had seen a beer can on them, as their bus drove by. So Dave allegedly busted them, told some teacher or principal, then no doubt felt proud of his accomplishment. Yeah Dave... Such a moral life you led too.

In freshman year, I had Bill in gym class. I felt bad for him when it came to shower time. For Bill had yet to "develop." No hair, no nothing. Thankfully nobody said anything. But it was hard not to notice. Or perhaps it was hard to notice!

I think Bill stuck around high school for two years. Or perhaps it was one. I don't know. But I do know that he never finished with us. He probably dropped out.

I saw Bill just one time at the video store. It was perhaps 1993 or so. His hair was all punk - very short, but sticking straight out in every direction. It looked very strange. He rented a VCR and some tapes. He brought them back late.

Bill may have joined the army. It looks like he's bounced around California and Green Bay. However it looks like he met his wife Angela in Manitowoc or Two Rivers. Today it apepars as if they live in Las Vegas.

LIONEL MCALLISTER

Lionel is another member of the "who the hell is that" club.

Your guess is as good as mine. Lionel was an African American who appeared in my sophomore yearbook. I believe he was one of those "troubled youths" who resided in a group home. I believe he came from Milwaukee. He looked like an inner city thug. And based on his adult-aged prison terms and felony convictions, I'd say my description was probably accurate.

Today it looks like Lionel lives in Milwaukee with his wife Dionne. He's still in the hood. I have no clue what he does for a living.

ROB LUMBAR

Who are these people?

Rob joined me about halfway through my freshman year. I had him in two classes - Mr. Heuer's algebra, and Mr. Bonino's gym.

I have only two quick memories of Rob. Late in the year, we played softball during gym. As I recall, Rob was the pitcher on his team. I was on the other team. In fact, I actually hit a home run off of him - a shining moment in my physical education history. But anyway, someone hit a line drive right off of Rob's knee. He went down in a heap. He may have actually cried. His knee swelled up. And he was helped back to the locker room. I know I've picked on Craig Rysticken a lot. And I have to do so again. After Rob had left, Craig started mocking Rob's limp, and made fun of him. He even accused him of overreacting. Whatever.

The only other memory I have of Rob is from the day I got busted for the ceiling tiles. As I sulked in the guidance office awaiting my fate, Rob suantered in and sat down at the table with me. I think he was there to see someone. He grilled me a bit as to what was going on. But I wasn't in the mood for discussion.

After that year, I never saw Rob again. I have no idea where he is today. The only person I found with that name was a 50-year-old deceased man. Rob wasn't that old. So I suspect I may have his name spelled wrong. Although I tried various other ways of spelling it, absolutely nothing popped up. So Rob, wherever you are, I hope your knee feels better.

BRIAN KLEIN

Brian is a guy who went to Koenig school. So I didn't become aware of him until he got to Clarke.

As has been mentioned many times, in 7th grade, the 25-30 classmates I had in homeroom also had every class together with one another. On occasion however, some students would join our group for a class or two. One of those guys was Brian Klein. He got to witness all of our antics in Mrs. Westburg's chorus class.

Brain was pretty friendly. We all called him "Kleinal" that year. He'd just smile and wave. He wasn't a troublemaker or anything. He just did his thing.

I got to know Brian a little bit during freshman year. He became good friends with Ron Gretz. Ron and I were friends. So we would sometimes be in the same circle. In fact, Brian was one of a handful of people who knew all the details surrounding the ceiling tiles incident. On the day we got caught, Brian was actually on some sort of band trip - or music trip. Mr. Wood wanted to get his "deposition." So he had to wait a day. Other than knowledge though, Brian wasn't involved in our criminal activites in any way.

Over the remainder of high school, Brian and Ron remained best friends. They were almost inseparable - tied to the hip (in a non-sexual way) one might even say.

On our senior video, the makers of the film sort of poked fun at the two of them for changing their minds about what they planned to say. In the end, Brian simply stuck out his tongue to all the underclassmen.

Brian planned to go into the navy. No, I think it was the army. Anyway, I believe he went to San Diego and did just that. I think he spent most of the 1990's out there. But it looks like he actually may have spent a little time in Alaska as well. However, it looks like he returned to Two Rivers in the late 1990's. He remains there today. Last I knew, Brian was working at a factory in the area.

It looks like Brian married a woman named Shaunda. I think they have at least one child. But I'm not 100% sure of that. For a hobby, the two of them enjoy karaoke. In fact, if you search the internet, you can find a picture (and video clips) of his wife winning a karaoke competition.

UPDATE - 6/18/07 - Thanks to Shannon Koch for providing this photo of Brian from graduation day, June 4th, 1989. He can be seen on the far right, next to Randy Klein.

WELCOME - KEVIN DEHNE

Kevin has signed in and has left one comment thus far. You can see him as "Apeman." Welcome Kevin!

I've also been told that Chip Pelnar has been a regular viewer of this blog. But as of yet, Chip has been silent. Hi Chip! Let's hear from you!

Lastly, I'm having a bitch of a time uploading pictures. The website is screwed-up right now. I've got a great picture of Andy Reinhart. Hopefully I'll be able to get it up later today.

ANDY REINHART

Andy is a guy I met in 4th grade. We had Mrs. Schmidt together. In fact, we had Ms. Krause together in 5th grade as well.

Andy was kind of a rowdy guy. He was loud too. He was what I would describe to be a mild troublemaker. He wasn't a criminal or anything. But he had a Bart Simpson quality to him.

One day in 4th grade, Doug Wall and I decided to skip school. For whatever reason, we called Magee at one point, and asked to speak to Andy. We claimed to be Andy's dad. They didn't by it. That may have been the reason why we got caught the next day.

I liked Andy. He and I got along pretty good, more in 5th grade than 4th. Andy came over to my house once, sometime during 5th grade. He had Lisa King and Treesa Carron with him. We sat around playing Atari.

I can remember him in 5th grade, lamenting the fact that he hadn't seena nude woman. He said something like, "I've seen tons of Playboys and stuff. I'm ready for the real thing."

One day our class went on a field trip - to Heritage Hill, no doubt. I think we got dragged there every year. Anyway, Andy and I palled around all day together that day. At one point twe were all seated in an old schoolhouse, while a teacher pretended to teach us. Andy and I thought it'd be funny if we raised our hands (as if we were actually in class) and ask if we could go to the bathroom. It was pretty funny. Ms. Krause didn't think so. Andy got scolded. Somehow I didn't.

At some point that year, our class (as classes were) got tested for lice. According to Andy, he had lice. Why he revealed that to me, I don't know. But he alleged that they told him he had it.

I saw Andy on TV once. On the local channel 22, they were broadcasting (for whatever reason) a Jazzercise routine. Andy was listed in the credits as a gaffer. And at the end of the show, there was a quick shot of him smiling, next to the truck.

I didn't see much of Andy at Clarke. It looks like he had Mrs. Orth. But he and I did talk on occasion. At the end of the year, he told me that he was moving. So I found it odd that when I joined a little league team that summer, Andy was on it. He played first base. He was there for one game. Then he was gone. I haven't seen him since.

Andy moved to Michigan. Strange as it may seem, I actually saw a quote from him in the paper. It was in the Milwaukee Sentinel, in an article about the Packers, sometime in the mid-1990's. He must have gone to a game or something. And they quoted him about something. They even mentioned that he was from Michigan, but was originally from Wisconsin.

Today Andy lives in Escanaba. He's married to a woman named Missy - not Melissa, but Missy. I have no clue what he does for a living. But if anyone cares to find out, you can call him at 1-906-789-0970.

Thanks go to Kevin Dehne for supplying this picture of Andy (up high). This was taken in Mrs. Orth's class, right before leaving for Camp Tapawingo, at the very end of 6th grade. I believe I see Kevin, Troy Greenwood, Craig Rysticken, David Coenen (in back), Brett Grueztmacher, Andy, Jeff Salstrand, Chris Staudinger (in back) and Dean Lichterman.

KOENIG SCHOOL

Kevin Dehne sent me class pictures from Kindergarten through 5th grade. I recognize some. But I'm at a loss to many. Can anyone help? In addition to Kevin, I see I also saw Don Ciha, David Duvall, Teresa Vohwinkel, Chip Pelnar, Julie Landon, Joy Holtz, Carrie Collard, Valori Franco? Mike Schroeder, Ron Gretz, Chad Kautzer, Elmer Mikeal, Tim Petri, Brian Klein, Scott Gauthier? and Chris Kaminsky. Click each of the pictures to make them bigger.

UPDATE - TREESA CARRON

I added a little bit to her entry.

JAY KAQUATOSH

I have no clue who this fellow is. But his picture is in my sophomore yearbook. It's his only appearance.

I have to assume that this guy joined us for just one year. And then he left. I have no memories of this guy at all. But he reminds me of fellow graduate Marty Johnson. They both had moustaches.

It looks like Jay moved to California for awhile. He's also bounced around Colorado and Michigan, before landing back in Wisconsin. Today it looks like he lives in Oshkosh. He's had a little trouble with the law. He can't seem to stop driving without a license. On a serious note, he was sentenced to six months in jail on a battery charge. It doesn't look like he's ever been married. However it does appear as if a woman in Michigan has been after him to pay child support. As a final note, it looks like he's had his name legally changed to Jay Zink.

TRINA TADDY

Trina is a girl I first met in 4th grade. Both of us had Mrs. Schmidt together.

It didn't take too long that year (my first year in Two Rivers) before I annoyed a lot of people. But Trina was different. She was very friendly, and very nice to me. In fact, I recall her asking me to give her a call at home some evening. What was that all about? I actually did find the courage to call her once. But a guy (I assumer her father) answered. And I chickened out and hung up. Who knows. Perhaps I passed up on something good.

Trina sat behind me for awhile that year. And I noticed something about her. She had hairy arms. If she was shy about it, she didn't make it obvious. Because she even pointed them out to me.

Over the years Trina and I had various classes together. But we didn't associate too much. When we did though, I still found her to be very nice.

Trina had a thin frame - a runner's body. And that's exactly what she did. She was on the cross country team in high school. She was Mr. Wheeler's star athlete. Trina could run like the wind - at least over long distances. I never followed such events. But as a junior, I believe Trina finished in the top 5 at the state championships - or whatever it was called. She may have been in the top 3 now that I think about it. As a senior, she was expected to be a top candidate to win it all. But something happened as I recall. And she finished 12th or something. Nonetheless, everyone was quite proud of her.

Someone once told me that prior to every meet, Trina would throw up - nerves or something.

I believe Trina went on to college somewhere. She also married class of 1986's James Terp. Today they live in Two Rivers. I believe they have at least three kids. For awhile, Trina worked as a teacher's aide at Magee. But I don't think she does anymore. What she does for a living is unknown to me.

MIKE DANZY

Mike joined us during freshman year. I don't think he was a product of the catholic schools. I think he was a product of one of the local group homes.

Mike was from Milwaukee. He looked like a thug. And he talked like a thug. But beyond that, he was somewhat friendly.

Dave told me that Mike talked about the fact that he had several kids - with several different ladies. In fact, he was quoted as saying, "I got a fuckin' Brady Bunch." Whether that's true or not, I have no clue.

I had Mike in gym class. About the only thing I can remember is that he once had the guts to ask Todd Zinn, "What's wrong with your face, man?" Had it been anyone else, Todd would have pummelled the guy. But to Mike, he simply said, "I got burned."

I don't think Mike was around for more than a few months. I don't know what became of him. But I do know that Mike returned to Milwaukee. He actually has quite a lengthy criminal record, which dates back to 1987. He's had a variety of charges. However, there is a long gap between 1992 and 1998 where there's no arrests listed. I can only guess that he was incarcerated during that time.

When he's not in jail, Mike appears to live in Milwaukee. I don't know if he's ever been married. And I don't know if he's added to his "Brady Bunch."

AMY WOZNIAK

I don't believe Amy was at Clarke. I think she joined me at Washington.

Amy and I shared homeroom all four years. She seemed like a friendly girl, albeit a little quiet and shy. We never had much contact with one another. So I don't have an abundance of memories surrounding her.

I do recall having her in Mr. Scriver's history class during sophomore year. By the way, at what point did "social studies" become "history?" I think it was in high school. Anyway, Dave Svatek and I were talking about Adolf Hitler. It was his 98th birthday. And I very matter-of-factly commented that Hitler was in Argentina. For whatever reason, Amy found my response to be hilarious. And she burst out laughing. I don't think she realized that there were always rumors that Hitler had somehow escaped Nazi Germany and took up shelter in Argentina. So not knowing that, yes, I can see where that comment could be thought of as funny. By the way, I of course was kidding about Hitler actually living in Argentina.

I believe Amy was on the swimming team throughout her high school years.

On our senior video, Amy had quite a bit of difficulty making it through her comments without laughing.

I liked Amy. She was always cheerful and happy. She had a certain cuteness about her too.

I think I ran into Amy a few times at the video store. She remained friendly. Not long after high school, I believe she moved. In time she married and became Amy Wallace. According to Erin Hynek, her husband is a cop. Today it looks like they live between Milwaukee and Madison.

ANNOYED

I'm annoyed. I hate drama. No blogging today - unless my mood lightens.

WELCOME - TREESA CARRON

Yes indeed, one of the prettiest girls I wrote about has signed on and has left some comments in her entry. She also sent me an E-mail. She's quite irritated.

Welcome Treesa!

WELCOME - ???????

Another mystery guest has signed on. She (I assume it to be a she) calls herself "Chick On A Broom." She left some comments for me, in the "Myself #2" entry.

Mystery girl, I assure you, if you passed through the class of 1989, I will write about you. I've got about 73 more people to go. My order is completely random. There is no rhyme or reason to it.

Tell us who you are, and I'll do you tomorrow.

HELP!

Ok, I'm trying to track someone down. I went to school with a kid in 6th grade. He wasn't in my class. He may have been in Maki's class. His name was Jim. His last name was pronounced "TUJ-EE." I thought his name was spelled TUDJE. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

Does anyone know how to spell this guy's name? I've tried several potential spellings as well. All my ideas have come up empty.

Can anyone help???

DEBBIE LUMAYE

Debbie's a girl I first met at Clarke. I believe she was at Magee as well. But I didn't come to know her until middle school.

Debbie was one of the lucky souls who got to spend every single class with me during 7th grade. Debbie was a very quiet girl - quiet and shy. She was a cousin of fellow graduate, Rod Lumaye.

Only one real memory stands out. Don't ask me why, but Toby Schwartz and I used to tease her that year by saying, "Debbie has a boner. Debbie has a boner." We repeated it constantly. It made no sense. Oh well.

In addition to her shyness, Debbie was also very smart. She was definitely 4.0 potential.

Other than that, I don't have much more to say about her. I will say that she was a pretty friendly girl. Any conversations I had with her were always pleasant. As a final note, she had some pretty big glasses. But looking back, everyone who wore them, had giant glasses.

I ran into Debbie a couple of times at the video store. In fact, I think we crossed paths there after she'd married. She was then known as Debbie Olvera. But that marriage didn't last. They divorced in 1994. It doesn't look like they had any children together. Since then, she has remarried, and now goes by the name of Debbie Vaness. They have at least two children. Debbie, her husband, and those two kids all have names that start with the letter "D." For awhile, Debbie worked for a company that provided dental products. But she no longer works there. Today she lives in Kewaunee County, about halfway between Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay.

UPDATE - 6/12/07 - Thanks to Carrie Franz for this little tidbit. Apparently Debbie is now living in Casco, and may be working for WPS in Green Bay.

WADE WACHHOLZ

Wade actually would have been a member of the class of 1988. But he's listed in our sophomore yearbook, under the "picture not available" section. As a freshman, I never saw Wade at all. So he obviously ditched his entire sophomore year. Thus when he came back, he was in our class.

I had Wade in homeroom. I wasn't exactly thrilled about it. I remembered him from my days at Clarke. Thankfully, Wade's time in school didn't last very long at all. He may have only showed up for a few weeks. I don't recall for sure. From that point on, I don't think he ever returned to school.

I recall Wade from when I was at Clarke. He was in 8th grade when I was in 7th. Wade was a tall guy - an imposing figure. He hung out with Mike Skattebo and Bill Tadych. All three of them scared the crap out of me. They were all bad news. And it was best to stay away from them.

I seem to recall that Wade's girlfriend that year was class of 1988's Lynn Petri.

I recall one day after school, Mr. Stodola approached Wade because his name was on the detention list. All the teachers had a list. And the Clarke administrators wanted to give every teacher a "heads up" in order to try and prevent kids from skipping out of them. Stodola saw Wade. Wade had his jacket on and was in the process of leaving. When Stodola reminded him of his name being on the detention list, Wade replied, "That doesn't mean anything." I'm not sure what came next. I was busy trying to skip out of Mrs. Westburg's detention.

Another thing I remember about Wayne is that while walking down the hall after school one day, he kicked Randy Ertman in the leg. Randy swore quite loudly. Wade giggled and walked off.

About the only other memory I have of Wade is from Ross Hofmann. He was reminiscing with someone I can't recall. Anyway, he was mentioning the fun he'd had with Wade back at Clarke, and how he'd say, "Wade, where were you?" And Wade would respond with, "Fucking some chick." Classy guys.

I ran into Wade once at the video store. He was still an imposing figure. But I think he brought his movie back on time.

I believe Wade resides in Manitowoc today. Wade eventually married a woman named Jennifer. They have at least one child. They divorced in 2001. Save for a battery charge in 1996, and several civil lawsuits, Wade has kept his nose relatively clean. I can't say the same for his buddy Mike Skattebo though. Mike's criminal record is a mile long. I believe he's imprisoned today.

UPDATE - 7/18/06 - According to B.J. Lutterman, Wade recently moved to California, in hopes of finding a higher-paying job.

UPDATE - 11/24/06 - I got an E-mail from someone who wants to remain anonymous. But below is her brief comment, copied and pasted. For the record, it does in fact look like Wade now lives in California, not far from Sacramento.

"My boyfriend also knows of Wade Wachholz. He hasnt seen him around recently and your source may be right that he moved away. He was roofing, his own small company around 2000 to 2005 or so."

UPDATE - CINDY ROHRER

I remembered an event involving Cindy Rohrer and helium.

ENJOY!

LISA MOORE

Lisa is a girl that I met at Washington. She seemed nice enough. Although for the most part, we never had much contact.

I got to know Lisa a little bit during our junior year. She was actually pretty cool. I had her in Ms. Neveau's speech class during the second semester.

One thing stands out from that class. It was just before lunch one day. And someone's name was called out by somebody. I forget whose name it was. But it was a senior guy. My friend Dave Svatek said that he'd hear the guy was gay. And I too made the same comment. I wish I could remember who it was. But I'm at a loss right now. Wait, was it Ron Nemetz? I don't know. I could be totally off base. Anyway, fast forward 30 minutes. We had just come back from lunch. Dave and I had gone to Stangel's and had gotten some string cheese. We were still eating it as class began. I was holding the package. And I offered some to Lisa. She shook her head and said, "no." But she looked really upset about something. I came to find out later on that whoever it was that we were labeling as gay - was Lisa's boyfriend. Apparently once she heard our comments, she ran out of the room crying. Man, did I feel like total shit about that.

During our senior year, Lisa hung around with Jodi LeClair. I believe they were best friends. The two of them would often give my friend (Scott Jaklin) a ride for lunch. Apparently Scott wore out his welcome though. And they got tired of chaperoning him.

At some point that December, Lisa, Jodi, Scott, Dave and myself ended up in a car together, and drove around for awhile. I'm not sure why. But I recall from that night that Lisa mentioned that when she slept with her boyfriend, he came inside of her. Her secret - the pill.

After high school, I know I had Lisa in a class at UW Manitowoc. But we never spoke. Since that time, I don't believe I've ever run into her.

Lisa eventually married and became Lisa Benvenuto. Their divorce was finalized in early 2002. I don't think they had any kids together. Since that time, Lisa has remarried and now goes by the name of Lisa Wilinski. Interestingly, both of the guys she married had the same first name. Last I knew, Lisa was working for Schneider Trucking, and was living in Green Bay.

UPDATE - 6/18/07 - Thanks to Shannon Koch for providing this picture of Lisa from graduation day, June 4th, 1989. Becky Monka is walking with her, on the left.

THOMAS NEUMAN

This guy arrived at Washington for my freshman year. I never knew him. I never associated with him. But something about him kind of gave me the creeps.

Tom was pale-looking, as I recall. Plus he had an intense facial expression that made him look like he could snap at any moment. He was sort of scary. To my knowledge, he was incapable of smiling.

I never had any classes with Tom. And after sophomore year (perhaps even before the year was up) he was gone. I haven't seen him since.

If I'm not mistaken, I think Tom married class of 1987's Sherri Fabian. And I think they have at least three kids together. Last I knew, he was still living in Two Rivers.

UPDATE - 7/26/06 - According to Kurt Psenicka, Tom lives "right around the corner from him." Although he stated that they never talk or anything. He did however say that Tom's kids like to set rabbit traps in his backyward.

MIKE VANEYCK

Scum.

Mike actually should have been a member of the class of 1988. But he must have flunked a lot of subjects. Because he actually ended up a member of the class of 1989. Lucky us.

Mike lived not too far from me. So I had the misfortune of running into this nimrod from time to time. He was kind of friends with Doug Wall. So sometimes we'd all be together. I would never hang out with this guy, just the two of us alone. Mike wasn't too bright.

I have a vague meory of Mike being in my garage smoking. There were several of us there. I too took a few puffs. In fact, my actual last inhale of a regular cigarette took place with Mike present. I had "smoked" a little bit with Doug Wall and Chris Storlie. But looking back, I know I never actually inahled it into my lungs - until that day with Mike. Finally, I decided to smoke for real. I took a huge inhale of that cigarette, and brought the smoke deep into my lungs. I immediately started coughing and hacking. It was just horrible. How smokers ever get used to that is beyond me. I made up my mind right then and there that I would never have another cigarette. And I never have.

In 6th grade, I recall hanging out on the Clarke playground on the weekend. I was with my friend Bobby Streu. We were on the dome swings. Mike came by and joined us. He was oh so proud of his new big boy bike. When Bobby and I decided to leave (about a minute after he'd arrived) Mike said, "Better not touch my bike." Now to me, that was pretty much an open invitation to do something. Had he said nothing, we would have rode away peacefully. But since he opened up his big mouth, as I started to peddle away, I kicked his bike over. Mike got mad and followed me back home. But he didn't do anything.

One time in 8th grade, I was with Bobby Streu again. We were wandering around one night, and found ourselves in Mike's backyard. His family had an above-ground swimming pool. I threw a few pebbles into it. Then I encouraged Bobby to throw a giant rock into it. Bobby obliged. It made a huge spalsh. And we took off running. Now get this. About a week later, Mike approaches me as I'm going into a friend's apartment. He asked if I had $2000.00. When I asked him why, he said that that was how much it was going to cost to fix their pool. Then he tells me that Bobby Streu had told him that I had done it. What the fuck? First off, Bobby was the one who threw the damn rock. Secondly, why the fuck would Bobby bring this event up to Mike in the first place? It's no wonder that Bobby has served a lot of jail time over the years. He's a horrible criminal. He doesn't know how to keep his fucking mouth shut! Anyway, I digress. Mike apparently said nothing to his family about it. Because I never heard anything more about it. He did however let the air out my bike's tires after I'd gone inside. Oh well.

As a sophomore and junior, I had a paper route. Mike lived out on Hwy VV, and was the furthest house out on my route. So I had to visit his home everyday. What a treat. Those people were trash. They were always yelling and screaming at one another. They were way too rough with their dog. God, I felt sorry for that dog. And their house stunk! I hated going there. When it came time to collect, it smelled so bad that my eyes would tear up. Nasty.

Either at the beginning of our senior year, or perhaps the summer leading up to it, Mike got into some serious trouble. I may not have all the facts right. But I believe he was accused of rape - or sexual assault. I could be wrong about the charge. But there was some sort of incident. I think it involved a younger girl - perhaps age 14. But again, I could be very wrong. Anyway, according to my friend Dave Svatek (who shared a homeroom with Mike during senior year) he claimed that he overheard Mike boasting about how his family had hired some big time attorney, who was going to "get him off." And if memory serves, the attorney did just that - or at the very least, got the charges heavily reduced. Again, I don't know what (if anything) occurred. But there was something going on that year. Maybe he was simply misunderstood and innocent. Who knows.

If all that's true... scum.

Mike did in fact graduate. Miracles never cease. According to Doug Wall, shortly after graduation, Mike got a high-paying job in Green Bay, removing asbestos. Lovely. Today it looks like he still lives in Two Rivers. To my knowledge, he has never married.

UPDATE - 2/1/08 - As you can see below, Mike stopped by to say hi. He's threatening to sue me. Although this was back in November. And I've yet to have any process server come knocking at my door. The day after he left that comment, Mike came back to MY BLOG, went into MY PROFILE, clicked on MY EMAIL ADDRESS, and sent ME the following message.

"this is mike vaneyck. I would like to know if you know who's Google blog site this is? and if you could tell me who put this crap on this site? about me and my family so that I may take legal action against them for SLANDER."

I didn't respond.

DIANE DEBAUCHE

Diane is a girl I met in 4th grade. We both had Mrs. Schmidt together. For quite awile that year, she sat right behind me. I remember telling her once that she looked weird. She kind of shook her head with a "people in glass houses" look on her face. But despite that little exchange, we generally got along.

Diane lived in my neighborhood. So we occasioanlly would cross paths outside of school. I think she had a little brother named Tim. Tim used to come around from time to time, and try to hang out with the "older" kids. Diane was usually sent to bring him back home.

In 5th grade, I believe Diane had Mr. Tisler. I had two friends in that class - Doug Wall and Chris (Lohr) Storlie. They used to make fun of her by saying, "Diane De-Seed, Diane De-Bush, Diane De-Tree, Diane De-Oak." Clever? I don't know.

I never had much contact with Diane as the years went by. But after I got into that mess with school vandalism, I was forced to get a paper route. And then I was at Diane's house everyday. On the surface, I think a lot of people would describe her family as white trash. They lived in a small house, and had about 80 people living there. I think they had multiple dogs too. But actually, their family was pretty friendly. Although I don't think they tipped much.

In either our sophomore or junior year, Diane got pregnant. And she gave birth. Now teen pregnancy is generally frowned upon in our society. I can't argue with that. Most girls wouldn't choose to become pregnant. But perhaps Diane did. Because in our senior year, she did it again! Yes, if I'm not mistaken, Diane had not one, but two kids before she'd finished high school. Dave Svatek told me a rumor that she didn't know who the father of the second one was - that it was one of two people. I don't know if that's true or not.

I must give major kudos to Diane though. Despite having multiple children, she stuck with school, and did graduate with us. That's very impressive! Most girls in her place would probably drop out. So good for her.

Diane's senior sweatshirt said "Ma" on the back. I found that to be a bit tacky.

Diane got married not long after graduation. She became Diane Kuklinski. I ran into her and her husband all the time. They were regular visitors to the video store. Now, I could be wrong about this. But I seem to recall her husband getting arrested or cited for domestic violence. Again, I'm not 100% positive of this. But I do seem to recall reading it in the "daily log" of the paper. And I can say for sure that from time to time, Diane would come into the store with marks or bruises on her. From that point on, I always felt funny about renting to them. Because I find such acts to be utterly despicable.

Today it looks like Diane is in the process of divorce. In fact, it looks like it may have been finalized earlier this month. As far as I can tell, Diane still lives in Two Rivers.

UPDATE - 6/18/07 - Thanks to Shannon Koch for providing this photo of Diane from graduation day, June 4th, 1989. Ellen Dawidowich is on the left.

JENNY DENT

Jenny was a girl I met at Magee. We had Ms. Krause together in 5th grade.

I got along with Jenny ok. She got along with me even more. Jenny had a huge crush on me. Why? I have no idea. I didn't reciprocate.

Jenny wasn't the brightest of bulbs. In fact, Ms. Krause had a "backboard." She would hang up a sheet of paper for each assignment. And she'd right down the name of each person who hadn't completed a given assignment. Jenny's name was usually on just about all of them.

If memory serves, Jenny was friends with Lori Wavrunek and Tracy Peterson.

After 5th grade, Jenny's family moved. I believe they headed to Florida. Jenny married, and became Jenny Highberger. The two of them live in Florida to this day, near the Gulf of Mexico, not far from Pensacola.

WES WESLEY

Wes allegedly joined me at Washington for my junior year. I say "allegedly" because although I would have had him in homeroom, I have absolutely no memory of this guy being there. Yet when you open up our junior yearbook, there he is.

Wes was African American - probably still is. I'm guessing that he wandered in on picture day, filled out a card, then walked out. I don't know. Perhaps had I showed up on picture day myself, we would have crossed paths.

Who he is or where he is is anybody's guess. There are way too many people in this country with the same name. He may have moved to North Carolina for a spell. Then again, he may not have.

UPDATE - RICHARD WHEELER

I added a story about Richard (in the Richard #2 entry) about jars of urine. Yes... jars of urine. You'll find it right after the fake suicide story.

ENJOY!

CHAD HOERTH

I'm not sure where Chad came from. I'm pretty sure he wasn't there as a freshman. But he was there for my sophomore and junior years.

Chad looked a bit like a thug. He wore glasses, and appeared to be constantly brooding about something. He was quiet and a bit scary. I must say that I never saw him act aggressive though.

I have only one memory of Chad. I think it was during my junior year. Chad had missed a day of school. And the next day, someone in class (can't recall which class) asked him where he had been. He said, "a funeral." When he was asked whose funeral, he replied, "my mom's. Woah. He then said that his mom had been killed by a drunk driver. He went on to say that if hever got his hands on the guy, he would kill him. And when I say kill, I don't mean it as if he was going to beat the guy up. No, he was serious. He meant "kill" as in murder! I had no doubts that he was serious. I'm pretty sure that it never happened though.

After junior year, Chad disappeared. I suspect he dropped out. But who knows. It looks like Chad has remained in the Manitowoc County area his whole life. He married a woman named Dawn. Unfortunately, a joint divorce was filed four months ago. They have at least one child.

Chad also plays guitar. He's played in some local bands known as "Clearer," "Tainted" and "Running Blind." Tainted and Running Blind's website links are below. A picture of Chad playing is below that. The Running Blind link has some very recent pictures of the band, as well as a link to their MYSPACE page.

http://www.livebands.net/tainted/

http://www.running-blind.com/

SHAWN OLSON

Shawn was a girl who joined me at Washington. It seemed like she was known by some of my classmates. So she was most likely a product of the catholic schools.

I had Shawn in one class as a freshman. It was Mr. Scriver's history class, in the second semester. She used to sit and gab all day with Stacey Erickson - who sat to my left. On occasion, I was a butt of their jokes. But for the most part, they didn't bother me. About the only time we ever actually conversed was at the end of the year, right after I got busted for the ceiling tiles incident. She kept pressing me for details.

After freshman year, her family must have moved. Because I never saw her again. I brought her name up a few years later. And Dave Svatek said that he'd gone out with her a few times. In fact, he may have screwed her. I don't recall.

Where she is today is a mystery. She has way too common of a name to try and track down. I hope she's well. Oh, as a final note, she wore glasses.

MELISSA VERTZ

I believe that Missy was around at Magee. But I didn't have any contact with her until we got to Clarke.

Now that I think about it, I know she was at Magee. She was somehow related to my next door neighbor. And I remember following her home once.

Missy was someone who shared every class of mine in 7th grade. I didn't like her. She was snotty and bitchy. She had a major attitude problem. That year, her best friend was Missy Ducat. Missy Ducat was nice. Missy Vertz - not nice.

The two Missys were in a clique of girls. I believe Tricia Wetzel was part of that. Perhaps Amy Schmidt and Pam Schley were with them as well. At some point that year, the whole valley girl craze effected them all. They all tried to live and breathe the life of a valley girl. It got pretty bad. It got to the point that if I heard the phrases "tubular" or "gag me with a spoon" one more time, I was going to have to kill someone. Thankfully it subsided after a few horrific months.

Later on that year, Missy Vertz got shut out. I have no idea what happened. But she was suddenly shunned by everyone in her little group. Even Missy Ducat declared that she hated her. In Mr. Swokowsi's art class, I sat at a table with both Missy Vertz and Tricia Wetzel. The two of them sat next to each other actually. With Missy right there listening, I asked Tricia what happened. Why were they doing this to her? Tricia didn't reveal any details. But she too declared that she hated her. Geez! I truly felt sorry for Missy. She looked so sad. You could tell she was just devastated by the whole affair. Not long after, Missy befriended Lori Wavrunek - who although a nice girl, was certainly a major step down on the social ladder. To the best of my knowledge, Missy was never accepted back in with her former friends.

I'm not sure if it was 7th grade or 8th grade. But Missy and I had an incident in gym class. I was standing behind her. And Missy's hand swung back, and got me right in the crotch. Mind you, it was a gentle swing, not a violent one. It was accidental. But her open hand completely engulfed my package. I think I may have felt a tingle. We just looked at each other. I had a goofy grin on my face. I think she was a bit shocked. She eventually turned around and said nothing. Weird.

Missy shared homeroom with me during freshman year. By this time, she looked a bit trashy. I'm not sure if she actually finished the year. She wasn't around for any of the other years. I guess she dropped out.

As far as I can tell, Missy has never left Two Rivers. She eventually married Jeff Dorn. Jeff also went to high school with me. He was a year or two older though. And like Missy, he never finished. I think they married quite young, perhaps even before 1990. One of them filed for divorce at one point. But the case was dismissed. It looks like they did in fact reoncile a few years ago. Missy lives in Two Rivers to this day. They have at least one child.

JANICE ERICSON

Janice is a girl I met in 4th grade, when I moved to Two Rivers. We had Mrs. Schmidt together.

Soon after arriving in town, I became friends with Chris (Lohr) Storlie. The two of us chose to pick on Janice a lot. She was sort of pale and thin. We found her to be quite ugly. So we teased her all the time. Mind you, we were never cruel or anything. I don't think we ever hurt her feelings. But she did get irritated. Remember those wildlife cards that some classes had? You could also order them from TV. It would be a color picture of an animal. And on the back would be some facts about them. They were really cool. Anyway, we used to go through them and find the ugliest animals we could fine. We'd then set them on Janice's desk. I don't know. It was funny at the time. At least we thought so.

After 4th grade, I think Janice may have moved. For whatever reason, I have no memories of her at all, until high school. As a freshman, she was back.

I will say this about Janice. While I may have found her ugly in 4th grade, she blossomed as the years went by. She was never a supermodel type. But in high school, she looked pretty good - certainly doable.

I don't recall having any classes with Janice in high school. Actually, that's not true. We had Mr. Conrad in bilogy, during our sophomore year. In fact, for awhile, she sat at the table in front of me. I believe she was friends with Tammy Franzen - who sat next to me.

About the only other thing I can remember was a brief conversation in junior year. Or was it senior year? I was with Dave Svatek. And Tammy was talking to him about something. Somehow Janice's name came up in conversation. Tammy alluded to Janice being "easy" - especially when she got drunk.

On our senior video, Janice says that she's going to hang out at the beach for awhile. Not exactly a lofty goal. But, whatever. I don't believe Janice has ever left Manitowoc County. Today she appears to live in Two Rivers. I think she may work for the nuclear plant. To my knowledge, she has never married. But she does have at least one child.

TRICIA WETZEL

Tricia's a girl from Magee. We had Ms. Krause in 5th grade together.

I always got along with Tricia. We weren't friends or anything. But she was pretty nice and outgoing. If memory serves, she was friends with people like Lori Wavrunek and Jenny Dent.

At some point in 5th grade, Tricia was over at Lisa King's house. Lisa lived directly across the street from me. Doug Wall and I went over one day and knocked on the door. See my entry on Lisa to get further details. I'm guessing it was the first male nudity that either of them ever saw.

I'm pretty sure that Tricia was someone I shared every class with in 7th grade. Although no real memories stand out.

In high school, Tricia and I shared homeroom all four years. But we hung with different crowds. We never had much contact with one another. Although she always remained nice and friendly.

After high school, I ran into Tricia from time to time at the video store. She seemed to have a different boyfriend everytime. Come to think of it, I think all of her boyfriends were black.

Tricia eventually moved to Manitowoc. The next bit of information is a shock to me. In 2002, Tricia was charged with conspiracy to deliver cocaine, and keeping a drug house. What???? Tricia Wetzel! Am I joking? Nope. The drug house charge was dismissed, but read in at her sentencing. She eventually plead no contest to the conspiracy charge, and was sentenced to three years probation, as well as 90 days in jail - with time out for employment. Yikes! Today Tricia appears to live in the same place. To my knowledge, she has never married. I believe she works in a factory in Manitowoc.

UPDATE - SHANNON ALMAND

I got her name spelled corectly. And I was able to track her down. An update is in her entry.

WELCOME - ???????

A mystery person has signed on calling him/herself "The Central Scrutinator." You can see some comments in Dawn Dellemann's entry.

So welcome to you!

Now who are you?

MIKE CLARKSEN

Mike joined me at Clarke. We never really crossed paths. He seemed sort of "rough" to me. So I didn't really care to know him.

I got to know Mike a little bit in freshman year. We had a mutual friend in Kevin Dehne. Although Kevin and Mike were friends in school, I don't think they hung out much away from school. I could be wrong though. I think Mike liked to portray himself as a bit of a thug. But he really wasn't. He was a bit too friendly to be mean.

As high school progressed, I think Mike hung out with people like Lewis Stephan, Greg Flemal and perhaps Stan Conrad.

Mike is one of the few graduates that I never ran into at the video store. Yet he has always stayed in the area. He married a woman named Kerry. They have at least three kids. Today Mike lives in Whitelaw. I believe he works at a factory in Manitowoc. Unfortunately, he and his wife are in the process of divorcing. The papers were filed three months ago.

UPDATE - MARK CIHA & ROSS REMIKER

He has provided three family photos. I've got them up in his entry. As for Ross, I just recalled a story involving him and a butcher knife.

Enjoy!

ROSS REMIKER

Ross is a guy who I met in 4th grade. We both had Mrs. Schmidt.

Ross was a small, skinny guy. He also had some pretty big glasses. Now that I think about it, he looked sort of brainy or dorky. But somehow he didn't come across as a dork. He was however quite bright.

In 4th grade, Mrs. Schmidt used to keep big stacks of scrap paper on her back table. Ross (and others) used to take those pieces of paper and draw pictures of Barney. No, not the purple monstrosity that should be beaten to a pulp before it ever infects another child. No, this was the peanut-shaped cartoon from Barney's Clubhouse Pow. Ross, above everyone else, drew perhaps hundreds of pictures of Barney over time. It was some sort of fad to do that for awhile. Unfortunately, things got out of hand. And Mrs. Schmidt banned anyone from using her scrap paper to draw another Barney picture again.

Ross and I were back together again in 6th grade, with Mrs. Casey. I recall that Ross was a huge Brewers' fan. So we had that in common. In fact, I saw Ross at a Brewers' game once, in the summer of 1983. There was a rain delay. And he was wandering around. If memory serves, John Steltz was with him.

In 6th grade, Men At Work got really big. In their video for "Down Under," one of the guys takes his shoe off, holds it up, and sings, "I said to the man, are you trying to tempt me?" I remember Ross doing the same thing once, as a joke. Don't ask me why I remember that. But I do.

At some point that year, Ross blurted out an incredibly long nonsensical word. I asked him to write it down for me. But he wouldn't. He wanted to keep it a secret. However, later on in the year, Ross wanted to borrow my markers for something. I told him I would, if he wrote that word down for me. So he did. I may be speeling it wrong, but the word was: aaskinstopherdiddlyofermibbledeebabbledeeboo. I love it! I copied the word down and put it on everyone's desk. Before long, the word became a rallying cry of some sort. I can recall being in gym class, leading the class. I'd yell "aaskin." They yell, "stopher." And it would continue like that. And we all would shout, "boo" at the end. We also did this on the bus, coming back from the school picnic at the end of the year.

After 6th grade, Ross and I didn't have too much contact with each other. In high school, I think Ross played the trumpet. I think he was on the cross country team as well. He certainly had the build for it.

In freshman year, I had Ross in Mrs. Fischer's language class. I remember him giving a speech. In it, he mentioned that his little brother had once chased him through the house with a large butcher knife. I think Ross said that he barricaded himself behind a locked door to get away from him.

In our senior year, Ross broke his arm. I think it was some sort of diving board mishap.

Also in senior year, Ross asked me if he could borrow all of my Beatles' albums. He wanted to copy them onto tape. That was fine with me. So Ross stopped by my house one evening and took them. He brought them back a few days later.

Ross was planning to go to college for some sort of engineering. I believe he did just that. I think he went to UW Madison. Today he works for some high-tech company called Orbitec. He married a woman named Kristin. I believe they have at least one child. Today they live in the Madison area.

UPDATE - 11/11/06 - Care to see what Ross was drawing? Look down and view.

REBECCA SHEDLOSKY

Rebecca (did she go by the name Becky?) joined me at Washington. I didn't have her in any classes until our sophomore year.

Becky sat in front of me in Ms. Wisnicky's literature class. She seemed sort of small and meek. I remember that she used to carry a white purse. Like most girls, she would hang the purse on the back of her chair. For whatever reason, one day I took my blue pen and colored on the strap - covering maybe an inch or two. The next day I noticed that she had wiped off the ink - as best she could. You could still see the blue stain though. So I colored it again. The next day she kept her purse on the floor. I wonder what she thought. She never said anything to me. In fact, in all our time together, the two of us never spoke at all.

The only other memory I have of Becky is from the sophomore year foreign language fair. Becky had made some sort of Spanish dessert - brownies or bars. She was replacing the bars as the first batch had been eaten. I literally took one as she was setting it down on the plate. She gave me a dirty look, but didn't say anything. Perhaps she still harbored some ill feelings over that purse incident.

In my opinion, Becky looked a little bit like Linda Blair. This sounds terrible, but I remember telling Dave Svatek that Becky looked like a potential rape victim. I have no idea what that means. But I think I was just thinking about Linda Blair's character in the film "Chained Heat." In the film, Blair got raped at some point.

After junior year, I believe Becky's family moved to Texas. At some point she got married and became Becky Hall. It looks like she currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

UPDATE - 1/4/07 - I did some digging and actually found some pictures of Becky online. You can see them below. It looks like she has two kids. And she still has a resmeblance to Linda Blair.

BECKY KRIESCHER

Becky is a girl who joined me at Washington. Other than that, I have nothing much to say about her.

As far as I know, our paths never crossed. However, I think she stayed at Washington through our junior year. Or was it just through sophomore year? I don't recall. Actually, upon further review, Becky was with us all four years.

About the only thing I have on her comes from Toby Schwartz, not me. During freshman year, in Mr. Heuer's algebra class, Toby allegedly had some fun snapping Becky's bra strap. So let's get this straight. In 7th grade, Toby used to snap Pam Schley's bra. In freshman year, it was Becky. Who'd of thought? Toby Schwartz was a bra-strapping wildman!

To date, I don't believe I have ever seen Becky since high school. It looks like she eventually married and became Becky Schermetzler. They have at least one child. She lives in Two Rivers to this day.

UPDATE - KEVIN DEHNE

Kevin has provided me a recent photo. It's in his entry.

ENJOY!

WELCOME - MARK CIHA

Mark Ciha has signed on and has left a comment in Craig Rysticken, Markus Petkevicius and his own entries.

Welcome Mark!

TRAVIS WILSON

From what I remember, Travis joined me at Clarke. I knew who he was. But I don't think I ever had him in any classes at all.

I remember seeing Travis at McDonalds once. It was perhaps in 7th grade. I was surprised to see that he was drinking coffee. I didn't know that kids drank the stuff. But apparently Travis did.

As a freshman, I had Travis in gym class. Two things stand out. For one, somewhere during the middle of the year, we began having class in the basement gym. After class, it was time to take a shower. What everyone did was get undressed, walk with your towel, then set it on the ground, just outside of the shower area. Everyone basically came up with their own spot to put their towel. I always set mine next to this pipe that came up from the floor. Well on this day, I was the second one out of the shower. I went to grab my towel, but couldn't find it. What the hell? I simply thought it got moved slightly. So I grabbed the next closest one and dried off by my locker. About two minutes later, Travis is out of the shower, and can't find his towel. So he starts cussing. Then he goes up and down the bench and gives a punch to every person drying off. He figured one of them had taken his towel. So he was going to hit them all. Whatever. I'm not sure how he got dry. But he managed. At one point, Kurt Psenicka bellowed out, "Burt took it." I of course denied it.

So what happened here? Well, as I mentioned, I was the second one out of the shower. Who was the first? Kurt Psenicka. I remembered this because as I stepped out, he was looking at me very strangely. So it became clear that Kurt had stolen MY towel. The nerve of him then blurting out that I had stolen Travis'. What an asshole.

The only other memory I have of Travis is that near the end of freshman year, he drove his car to school. I believe Travis was the first person from our clas to do so. Most of us didn't even have drivers' education until sophomore year. But Travis was another one who was born in 1969. So he was old enough.

I think Travis dropped out of school after our freshman year. However, he did come back at some point. I believe in our senior yearbook, he can be seen pictured with the sophomores. But I don't think Travis stuck with school then either. I don't believe he ever graduated.

Over the years, Travis has had a few minor problems with the law. He's also been stopped for drunk driving at least three times. As far as I know, he has never married. Today I believe he lives in Two Rivers, at the home of his parents.

UPDATE - 4/12/06 - Well, an anonymous reader (who must have been waiting for Travis' entry) has provided a link. If you dig through the website, it takes you to (what I assume to be) a mugshot. This is a first. For the sake of completion, the picture is included below. The photo is from 2001. As for the anonymous "phantom" contributor, please E-mail me. I'm curious who sent it. I promise I won't reveal your identity.

WAYNE REBARCHEK

Wayne was a guy who joined me at Clarke. I assume he was there for 6th grade. Although I don't recall.

My only memories of Wayne are from 7th grade. I had him in Mr. Schmabureck's social studies class. One day Schamburek (Sham-Bam) was talking about supplies that people in the 1800's would need if they wanted to travel from the east coast to California. Kristine Kahlenberg mentioned "underwear" - as in long underwear for cold temperatures. Wayne thought she was being funny or something. So he raised his hand and said, "bras." The class had a good laugh. "Well she said underwear!"

My other memory of Wayne is also from that class. We were all in the library doing something. Periodically, we would have to go back to his classroom to use his stapler. Why he didn't bring it to the library, I don't know. But anyway, when I needed it, I went back to his room. Heather Bailey was walking out. She had given the stapler to Wayne. Wayne was done using it. But he wouldn't hand it to me. He was waving it in front of me, taunting me with it. I don't know what possessed me to do this. But for whatever reason, I took my pencil and stabbed him in the hand. He screamed, and dropped the stapler. About five minutes later, we were all back in the library. Wayne was at a table with a couple friends. He had a paper towel on his hand. He said, "Look what you did to me, you fucker." He then peeled back the paper towel to reveal a nasty gash between his thumb and pointy finger. The skin was sort of shredded to the sides. But it wasn't bleeding much. It did look awful though. I didn't mean to do that to him.

I'm not sure Wayne was around in 8th grade. I know for sure that he wasn't around in high school. He didn't seem to be academically inclined. I haven't seen Wayne since.

Wayne has served some time in prsion. It looks like Wayne hung around the Manitowoc area for a few years, before heading to Duluth, Minnesota. It looks like he met his wife Elizabeth there. Today, they live in Colorado, about 100 miles south of Denver.

UPDATE - KEVIN DEHNE, POOKIE BERGEON, & KEN BARTZ

I just spent an hour talking to the man. He had a lot of interesting things to say. And his memory is as good as mine. He's been reading the blog, and will be commenting in a few days, once he gets his computer problem fixed.

Oh, and Kevin's been clean and sober for 18 months. So that's good to hear.

As for Pookie, I added a very brief story of Ms. Krause having trouble with her name.

With Ken, I added an amusing story involving Ms. Sapa.


ENJOY!