The Reunion of the Decades was a fun-filled event, attended by former NCCHS students and faculty, many of whom are still living in Lake County and quite a few who came from more distant locations. NCCHS alums from Illinois, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming came together in North Chicago, Waukegan, Great Lakes, and Gurnee, for a rousing good time, a happy reunion of friends, classmates, and faculty!

FRIDAY EVENT
The Reunion started off with a dinner/dance/party on Friday, July 11th, in the Monaco Banquet Hall above the Sundance Saloon in Gurnee. Revelers met with old friends, schoolmates, and administrators from the early years of NCCHS, had dinner and drinks, danced, and reminisced. State Senator Terry Link and Superintendent of Lake County Schools, Mrs. Roycealee (Royce) Wood emceed, welcoming all and introducing the evening's events.

Attending the reunion were special guests Susan Seilheimer Brennan and David Seilheimer, whose father bill Seilheimer was a coach at NCCHS in the mid 60s. Alums welcomed Susan and David, who came to the Reunion to meet NCCHS students and faculty who knew their father while he was teaching at NCCHS. In 1967, at the age of 29, Coach Seilheimer died suddenly of heart disease while working with NCCHS football players on the practice field. At the time of his death, his children, Susan and David, were 5 and 1 years of age, respectively. To share their memories of Coach Seilheimer with Susan and David, alumni who knew their father wrote short stories about him for inclusion in a scrapbook assembled by Class of '67 Alum, Pat Feltner Van Lake. The memory book contained photographs and collected memories from Maurice Mills, John Bagdon, Joe Bakshis, Dewayne Foote, Willie Gardiner, Randall Harman, Ron Kell, Dan Swirski, Leo Swopes, John Wrona, Mary McCarthy, and others.

Dr. and Mrs. David Schewitz of Lake Bluff were also guests on Friday nite. Dr. and Mrs. Schewitz described the work of the Max Schewitz Foundation, which supports education, prevention, and research of sudden cardiac death in young people. The Schewitzes announced a generous gift the Foundation will be providing current students of NCCHS. The gift, valued between $20,000 and $30,000, includes free EKG screenings for all NCCHS students attending the school in 2008. These screenings can detect some forms of hidden cardiac disease in young adults, whose first physical symptom may be sudden death, as it was with the Schewitzes' son Max, a 20-year old who died suddenly from a cardiac arrhythmia in 2005. With the Foundation's gift, and many volunteers, every North Chicago Community High School student who wishes to be tested for early detection of heart disease will receive testing for free. A testing date in December 2008 is being discussed, and will require support from many volunteers to help coordinate and manage the event. If you would like to volunteer for this first NCCHS Alumni Association event, which provides a perfect opportunity to give back to NCCHS, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

SATURDAY EVENTS

Tour of NCCHS
The Reunion continued with several tours on Saturday. Early in the afternoon, many Reunion attendees met at North Chicago Community High School and were greeted by the current Principal, Dr. Leroy Davis, and the Assistant Principal, Stanley McConner. Lake County Superintendent of Schools Royce Wood conducted a tour of the school, which incuded memory-making locations such as the athletic fields, the gyms, the old cafeteria (now a technology center), the library, classrooms, teachers' lounge, etc. Former students walked through the school, reminiscing. In the school gym, particularly, alumni shared anecdotes of games, pep rallies, and unforgettable moments. The spot where Rufus Woods made the winning shot in the 1966 Regionals basketball game against Waukegan was pointed out, and actively discussed!

Tour of USNTC
When the high school tour ended and former students filed out of the school building, they were met by a bus headed for the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Piling onto the bus for a tour of the Navy base were former Navy dependents and friends. The tour included sites such as the Naval Hospital, Ross Theatre, the Administration Building, Officers’ Club, Beach House, and former homes of some of the Reunion attendees. Much of the base looked the same as it did in the 60s; however, as expected, some things have changed. When looking for the home of NCCHS schoolmate Sally Deal, we discovered that her house was no longer situated on the site she remembered. Instead we found a singular pine tree where her house once stood. We also learned that the Naval Hospital is no longer used as a medical facility and were told that it is destined to be torn down in the near future. Medical services once provided there will soon be provided by the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, the first-ever joint Navy and Veterans Administration hospital, which is set to open in 2010 on the grounds of the North Chicago VA Medical Center on Buckley Road (Rte. 137). The VA Medical Center and Naval Station hospital will merge resources and services at the new facility which, when completed, will serve an estimated 100,000 veterans, active-duty recruits or troops, and civilian relatives annually.

Tour of Genesee Theatre
In late afternoon, the Genesee Theatre was filled with NCCHS alums dressed in Reunion of the Decades t-shirts. A tour of the beautifully renovated theatre was provided by the Theatre's director Gary Zabinski and State Senator Terry Link, chairman of the board, who informed us about the theatre’s history and extensive renovations. While standing on a second-floor terrace behind the theatre’s outdoor marquee, attendees had a birds-eye view of the Scoopin’ Genesee antique auto parade which was in motion on the streets below.

Scoopin’ Genesee
As afternoon turned into evening, alumni gathered at restaurants such as Bistro 17, to eat, drink, and share stories. While some sat indoors, others dined outside and watched the cavalcade of antique cars and parade-goers, all part of Scoopin' Genesee. When the featured street band, STARSHIP, began playing at 9 pm, some alums gathered near the stage, enjoying the memories of psychedelic songs such as “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” while others continued partying from the comfort of the outdoor seating along Genesee Street. 

SUNDAY EVENT
Sunday's main event was a golf outing at Foss Park Golf Course. Golfers started teeing-off at 9:30 and received more than their usual share of cheering from bystanders (okay, from schoolmates!). While the golfers headed for the links, former classmates toured Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and stopped for brunch at Egg Harbor, before returning to the golf course for a final round of “catching up” with friends, classmates, ex-faculty members Mr. Brolley and Mr. Johnson, as well as Mr. Fry and Mr. Basaovsky. 

As the weekend ended, and goodbyes were said, the general consensus was "It was a historically fabulous weekend."

SPECIAL THANKS
The Reunion attendees and the alumni committee would like to acknowledge the generous support of Lake County Superintendent of Schools Royce Wood and Illinois State Senator Terry Link, without which many of the Reunion events would not have been possible. Terry and Royce were instrumental in obtaining venues for the Reunion events and, through their efforts, the planning and fulfillment of our Reunion events and tours were a great success.


NEWS-SUN COVERS NCCHS REUNION



View page 1 of the article, "The Way They Were." 
View page 2 of the article "The Way They Were."

View page 1 of the article "School Ties."
View page 2 of the article "School Ties."

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS
NCCHS Alumni Mary Gornik Carmody ('68 Alum), Frank Wegerson (’66 Alum), Bob Frank (’69 Alum), Lon Ortner ('67 Alum), Michelle Jacobs Workman ('68 Alum), and Marty Baker McGihon ('68 Alum) photographed various Reunion events. If you also took photos that you’d like to share with us, please email us as soon as possible.

We'd like to expand the outreach of the Alumni organization, and bring together former schoolmates and faculty. We do not yet have reunion organizers for each NCCHS class year. If you are a class representative who has worked on past reunions for your class, please contact us. If you know how to contact your class reunion organizers or know someone who might like to attend the next alumni event, please email one of the Alumni contacts below.

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Email: Pat Feltner Van Lake
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