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."