APRIL, 2006

WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL TWO RIVERS WI CLASS OF 1989

Friday, April 28, 2006
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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:31 PM 0 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:41 PM 0 comments

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.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:53 AM 2 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:04 AM 0 comments

Thursday, April 27, 2006
WELCOME - BRANDON PODHOLA

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

Welcome Brandon!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:29 PM 7 comments

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

Add to My Profile | More Videos

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)





posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:19 PM 0 comments

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.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:04 PM 0 comments

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!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:19 PM 1 comments

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.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:55 AM 4 comments

THE DEMISE OF WHS

Thanks to Mark Ciha for alerting me to these pictures.



























posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:45 AM 7 comments

Wednesday, April 26, 2006
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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:26 PM 2 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:31 AM 6 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:52 AM 2 comments

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:40 PM 3 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:43 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 24, 2006
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.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 2:17 PM 5 comments

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.













posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 10:51 AM 9 comments

Friday, April 21, 2006
UPDATE - TREESA CARRON

I added a little bit to her entry.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:20 AM 0 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:12 AM 1 comments

Thursday, April 20, 2006
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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:55 PM 1 comments

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."

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:29 PM 0 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:43 AM 4 comments

ANNOYED

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

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:42 AM 8 comments

Wednesday, April 19, 2006
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!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 5:11 PM 0 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 5:02 PM 1 comments

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???

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:11 PM 0 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:20 AM 0 comments

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."

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:04 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, April 18, 2006
UPDATE - CINDY ROHRER

I remembered an event involving Cindy Rohrer and helium.

ENJOY!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:13 PM 0 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:12 PM 2 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:39 AM 0 comments

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 fact 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) Mike boasted 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.

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:48 AM 1 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:06 AM 1 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:42 AM 2 comments

Monday, April 17, 2006
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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:09 PM 0 comments

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!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, April 14, 2006
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/



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:51 AM 1 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:41 AM 0 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:36 AM 4 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:14 AM 3 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:00 AM 0 comments

UPDATE - SHANNON ALMAND

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

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:49 AM 0 comments

Thursday, April 13, 2006
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?

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:10 PM 3 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:03 PM 1 comments

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!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 10:37 AM 0 comments

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.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:06 AM 6 comments

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.













posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:53 AM 2 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:12 AM 2 comments

UPDATE - KEVIN DEHNE

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

ENJOY!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:55 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 12, 2006
WELCOME - MARK CIHA

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

Welcome Mark!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:12 PM 3 comments

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.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:46 AM 3 comments

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.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:24 AM 2 comments

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!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 10:48 AM 0 comments

DAWN DELLEMANN

I don't know a whole lot about Dawn. She was with me in freshman and sophomore year.

In the second semester of my freshman year, Dawn and I shared a table in Mrs. Fischer's language class. I liked her. She was pretty friendly. We talked a lot. Although we had nothing in common.

The only other real memory I have of her comes from sophomore year. She wasn't in the class. But I was sitting next to Tammy Franzen in Mr. Conrad's biology class. And Tammy was talking to someone - perhaps Janice Ericson. Tammy mentioned (and laughed about it) that Dawn was on the pill. Tammy was scoffing because she didn't think Dawn needed to be on the pill. I don't know. I thought Dawn was cute enough to get laid if she so desired. Hell, she was a girl. So she could get laid just about anytime she wanted to. It must be nice to be a girl.

After sophomore year, I thnk Dawn's family moved to Manitowoc. In time, she married and became Dawn Sprang. Today it looks like she lives northeast of Two Rivers. For a time, she may have worked at the Cenex in Mishicot.

UPDATE - 6/14/07 - The nes is six years old. But it appears as if Dawn graduated from UWGB in 2001, with a degree in Human Development.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:42 AM 8 comments

DAWN DEBOT

Who is Dawn Debot? That's a great question. I have no idea. But I do know that in my sophomore yearbook, there she is.

I know nothing about her. I don't recall ever laying eyes on her. Was she there all year? I don't know. Maybe she just showed up for the picture. Whatever the case, she wasn't in high school for very long.

In her picture, she sort of resembles a waitress at a small diner - something like the TV show "Alice."

Anyway, Dawn may have moved to either Green Bay or Manitowoc. For a time, she lived in California as well. At some point she got married and became Dawn Wilhelm. Today it looks like she lives in Mayville. Although her address keeps changing. In the last year alone, she's been evicted three times.

UPDATE - 11/24/06 - I got an E-mail from someone who remembers Dawn. Although this person would like to remain anonymous. So I've copied and pasted the E-mail below.

"Dawn Debot I was actually friend with in grade school for a very short while. I remember she attended Jean Wolffies school of Dance for a while as a child. She once told me a story of how her brother told her to close her mouth and open her eyes and he would give her a big surprise. He put dog crap in her mouth. She had an older brother named Todd, another brother older yet who I think's name is Ricky, and a half sister who's last name was Hardrath, first name of Becky. About 8 or 9 years ago, my brother was visiting a local strip club and was extremely surprised to see Dawn on stage. Like you said in her description, she looked rather plain. I saw her a while back at a local store and she had 3 or 4 kids in tow. Ages ranged from 3 to mid teens, and they were quite dark with curly hair. She may have gotten pregnant in HS and switched to TR and probably ended up dropping out."

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:35 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 11, 2006
UPDATE - DAWN SCHMIDT

I was able to find some additional information on Dawn. I was also able to find a recent photo.

ENJOY!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:26 PM 0 comments

CARROLL STURM

Carroll is a guy who joined me at Washington. To this day, he is the only guy who I've personally known, who had the name Carroll.

I never had much contact with Carroll. I know I had him in senior year, in Mr. Hensel's college prep English class. However, I don't think Carroll ever had any plans to attend college.

It was easy to tell that Carroll hated his name. He was constantly telling people it was pronounced "Carl." But let's be honest. It was pronounced like "Carol." And he knew it. But still, I can understand not wanting to be called by a girl's name.

After high school, I believe Carroll went into the army. Beyond that, I don't know much else. For a time, he lived in Watertown. And eventually he got married to a woman named Teresa. It looks like they currently reside in Sherman, Texas.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:47 AM 13 comments

DENA KUSKE

Dena is a girl who joined me at Washington. Despite the spelling, I believe her name was pronounced like "Dana."

I had Dena in Mr. Heuer's class. She was pretty friendly. She was fairly outgoing with everyone. Although she wasn't overly popular by any means. The brief conversations we had were always friendly.

If memory serves, Dena was friends with Randy Klein. In spite of that, I didn't hold it against her.

After freshman year, Dena was gone. I think her family moved to Green Bay. I assume she finished school up there. But who knows. Eventually she married and became Dena Drake. They divorced in 1995. I don't think they had any kids. Today she is remarried, and is now known as Dena Kurowski. I believe she works as some sort of account manager for a Green Bay insurance company. It looks like she resides in Green Bay to this day.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:34 AM 0 comments

CLINT MATTRISCH

If you open up our freshman yearbook and turn to the M's, you'll see this behemoth.

I don't know where Clint came from. But freshman year, there he was. He looked like a big oaf. In fact, if memory serves, he seemed big, dumb and stupid. But who knows? He was a hefty guy. I believe Clint was a regular member of Washington's special education classes. I never had him in any class myself. I didn't really care to. He seemed like a guy one would simply want to avoid.

The only real memory I have of Clint actually comes from Meff, not me. The two of them shared homeroom together. On the first day of school, as Meff sat down, Clint came up to him and said, "You can roll a Rolo to your friend." And with that, he did in fact roll a Rolo to him. Perhaps that was Clint's way of reaching out. Perhaps he was trying to lay the groundwork for a long-lasting friendship. I don't know. The two of them didn't become friends.

After freshman year, Clint was gone. I think he moved to Wisconsin Rapids. As an adult, he has left a trail of felony convictions, for a variety of charges - stolen property, battery, weapons violations... Clint has been to prison. For the past several years, I think Clint has resided in Florida. I don't know if he's ever been married.

UPDATE - 6/6/06 - Below is a mugshot from Clint's 2003 arrest in Florida. Follow the link to his arrest page. If I'm reading it correctly, he was charged with battery, kidnapping, and a few other things. It looks like he was released from prison in 2004. I hope all is well with him now. ARREST PAGE 1 ARREST PAGE 2

UPDATE - 6/6/06 - #2 - Well, it looks like I don't know how to read a rap sheet. Clint was released from one facility, and sent to another. Those convicitions did seem pretty severe to have been released after just over one year. It's always a shame to discover that someone from your past has gone down a road like this. It's a pity that someone, somewhere along the line couldn't have helped him. Based on his youth troubles and his time spent in a group home, it's clear that the young man needed some guidance. It's sad. I hope that once he's released, he can find it within himself to make better choices in his life. There are still many years of living ahead of him. Anyway, Clint is currently incarcerated in Apalachee West Correctional, in Florida. His tentative release date is sometime in 2012 or 2013. I believe what you're looking at is Clint's mugshot from 2003, the list of charges, then two recent prison photos.















posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:26 AM 39 comments

TINA OAKLEY

She's in our freshman yearbook. She's not too attractive. My only real memories of her are that her name was mentioned by other people when they needed to reference an ugly girl. To be honest, I don't know if I ever laid eyes on her.

Did Tina finish the year? I don't know. I do know that she doesn't appear in any other yearbook. And I have no memories of her whatsoever.

I suspect that Tina simply dropped out. Because it appears as if she stuck around the area for several years. Today, I believe she lives in Indiana. It doesn't look like she's ever been married. That's not a shock to me.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:16 AM 0 comments

TAMMY BEHRMANN

Tammy joined me at Washington. She was a big girl. She was a very big girl.

Tammy sat in front of me in Mr. Hough's history class, freshman year. Honestly, she had one of the largest asses I'd ever seen. I don't mean to sound cruel. But man oh man, that was a big ass. One day when the bell rang, she pushed back in her chair, smashing my finger against the table. Holy Christ, did that hurt!

I don't know if Tammy and I ever had a conversation. She seemed painfully shy and reserved. I think she kept to herself for the most part.

Someone once told me a nasty rumor about her. Apparently in 8th grade or so, Tammy was wearing white pants or something, and had some sort of horrible period-related accident. Red on white isn't exactly a sight that can be missed. Whether or not that actually happened, I'll never know. I don't really care either. That's just plain nasty.

I think I ran into Tammy just once at the video store. I believe she had a child with her. It does look like Tammy has gotten married, and is now known as Tammy Dent. However, although it appears like they've never divorced, her and her husband may be separated, as it looks like she's chasing him down for child support. Last I knew, she was working for some factory in Manitowoc.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:56 AM 1 comments

STEPHANIE GARDNER

I first met Stephanie at Washington. She too was no doubt a product of the catholic schools. We had Mr. Heuer's algebra class together.

Stephanie sat in front of me. We got along ok. We weren't friends or anything. But she seemed pleasant enough.

Stephanie was friends with Mindy Moore. Mindy sat behind me. So I suggested that the two of us switch seats. By doing so, I would be up by Jeff Bodwin and Shawn Rappley - two people I regularly conversed with in there. So it was a win-win situation for both of us.

So the two of us approached Mr. Heuer with the idea. His answer? No. No real explanation was given. He simply said no. Why was he such a jerk? Who knows. But I wasn't going to stand for it. So the very next day, when I got into class, I sat in Stephanie's seat. Stephanie was a bit shocked. But she quietly sat in my seat, and hoped for the best. When Heuer started class, he clearly noticed the switch. But he said nothing. Interesting. So the switch was complete, and remained so for the rest of the year.

As a side note to that story, Lee Jacquart (who sat next to me, on my right) also tried to switch seats with someone else. This was a few days after Stephanie and I had switched. When Heuer saw him, he blew up and said, "Lee, get in your own damn seat!" Lee replied, "Well Burt and Stephanie switched." To which Mr. Heuer responded, "Yes, but they asked!"

So we asked, were turned down, did it anyway, and got away with it? My only guess is that Heuer somehow forgot that he had told us no. I guess a lot crossed him mind in 24 hours.

I can recall walking home after taking my final exams in the first semester of my freshman year. About a block behind me, Stephanie and Craig Rysticken were walking together. I think they were heading towards her house. If memory serves, she lived a few blocks from school. The streets were really slippery that day, as it had snowed.

After freshman year, Stephanie and I didn't have much contact with each other. We each took very different paths. Stephanie was on the volleyball team I think. Or was it softball? Maybe it was both. Or maybe it was tennis. I don't know. But she was involved with sports. Tennis was probably the one.

After high school, I think Stephanie went to UW Madison. I think she met a boyfriend there - a guy named Ed. I believe the two of them are together to this day. I think they have one child together. Over the years, I believe Stephanie has lived in St. Louis and Baltimore. But today, it appears she resides in Pennsylvania, where she's an assiatant biology professor at Dickinson College. If the two of them are in fact married, it looks like Stephanie has chosen to keep her maiden name.

UPDATE - 1/29/07 - It looks like Stephanie now lives in West Lafayette, Indiana. I think her husband is an assistant professor of Bio Science and Bio Engineering at Purdue.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:17 AM 2 comments

MARTY JOHNSON

Marty is a guy who joined me at Washington. He must have been a product of the catholic schools.

As a freshman, I would often see him in the halls. I figured he was a senior. He looked much older than my fellow classmates. However, in the second semester, I had Marty in Mrs. Fischer's language class. At first I thought that perhaps he'd flunked the class when he was younger. But no, I found out that Marty was indeed a freshman. I was shocked! The biggest thing that made me think he was older was because he had a full thick, moustache. A freshman with a moustache! What's up with that? I was lucky to have pubes then. Who was this guy?

I got to know Marty a little bit in our junior year. We had a mutual friend in Dave Svatek. I think Marty joined us at lunch from time to time. He was a really nice guy too. He looked to be strong and imposing, with the potential to be a real asshole. But no, he was actually pretty soft spoken and very friendly. He was a cool dude.

After watching a Star Trek episode which featured the Greek God Adonis, I dubbed Marty with the name. Richard and I called him Adonis from that day forward. He just seemed like he fit the mold.

I think Marty hung out with the likes of Scott Jaklin, Chris Staudinger and Scott Jaklin.

After high school, I ran into Marty at the video store quite a bit. He had about 18 brothers. And I rented to all of them. Actually, he may have only had two brothers - Pat and Scott. But it seemed like he had more.

I think Marty may have gotten married to a woman named Jennifer. Today he appears to be living in Mantitowoc County somewhere, perhaps in Manitowoc or Valders.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 8:34 AM 3 comments

BACK TO TWO RIVERS

Yes indeed. Yours truly is returning to the promised land this weekend. It's Easter. And of course the grandparents want to do the whole Easter thing. So the family is heading up to Manitowoc on Saturday.

So if anyone cares to hug me, kiss me, or take a big swing at me, your opportunity could be just 100 hours away.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:29 AM 0 comments

UPDATE - JASON ANDERSON & ROSS HOFMANN

Thanks once again go to Cindy Rohrer. She provided me some "love letters" she received from both of these guys. I put each of them in their respective entries.

ENJOY!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:26 AM 0 comments

DAWN SCHMIDT

Dawn is a girl I met in 5th grade. We had Mrs. Krause together.

Dawn actually lived in my neighborhood. So we had some contact with each other outside of school. She had a little brother named Eddie. Eddie had a lisp.

I have very few memories of Dawn. In fact, I only have one. One day I was back by Ms. Krause's desk, asking her a question or something. Suddenly Lisa King and Cindy Rohrer sprinted back to us saying, "Umm... Dawn's throwing up." Sure shit, she had ralphed all over the place. Her desk was near mine as well. Thankfully all of my stuff was spared. Dawn was helped out of the room. And she was sent home.

That's all I got. The summer after 5th grade, Dawn's family moved. Seeing as her name is so common, I have virtually no chance of tracking her current whereabouts. But if you see a 5th grade class picture somewhere on this blog, you'll see a picture of her from 1981. She's wearing yellow.

UPDATE - 4/11/06 - After they left Two Rivers, Dawn's family moved to Waukesha. It looks like her parents still live there today. As for Dawn, she eventually married and became Dawn Sunderlage. They have at least one child together. The picture below of Dawn, her husband and daughter, is from 2002. Today they live in Suamico. Here's an article to a brief story about her.

http://www2.jsonline.com/bym/news/jul02/62300.asp



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 7:09 AM 2 comments

KELLY HALL

Kelly is a girl who joined me at Clarke. I believe she was there all three years.

I never knew much about her. She seemed more geared towards the popular set. Plus, I don't think I ever had her in any classes at all. So we had virtually no contact with each other.

See my entry on Cindy Rohrer for a possible nude sighting of Kelly.

I do recall that at one point in 7th grade, all the chorus classes came down and were practicing their parts for the "Teen" musical. They were actually on the stage. Kevin Dehne and I managed to duck out of there, and were running free in the music room and hallways. Although everyone was on stage, they'd left their books and stuff in Mrs. Westburg's class. So Kevin and I started digging through some purses. We found Kelly's. When Kevin unzipped hers, we found a wad of notes that were so plentiful that it seemed inpossible that they would fit in there to begin with. So Kevin took them. About an hour later, Mr. Longhini confiscated them from him, and allegedly returned them to Kelly.

About the only other thing that I recall about Kelly is a nasty rumor that surrounded her. This story is a famous "urban legend." But I first heard it in regards to Kelly, about 20 years ago. As the story goes, Kelly was having a bit of fun inserting a hot dog into her naughty bits. And allegedly the hot dog broke, and part of it became lodged up in her. She couldn't get it out. And of course she ended up having to go to the doctor.

Did this happen? I highly doubt it. My friend Dave Svatek apparently knew Kelly at one point. And Kelly completely denied that it ever happened. Of course, who wouldn't? But still, I'd be quite surprised if this were true.

I believe Kelly moved after 8th grade. Where she went is unknown to me. Unfortunately, her name is far too common to try and track down. If I knew her parents' name or her old address in Two Rivers, perhaps I could locate her. Until then, Kelly and her urban legend are gone with the wind.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 6:42 AM 2 comments

Monday, April 10, 2006
UPDATE - JENNY MALLEY, JASON ANDERSON, JEN ANDERSEN, CINDY ROHRER & BECKY KOEPPEL

Cindy Rohrer has sent me an awesome picture of Jenny during her breakdancing phase. I put it in Jenny's entry. She's been very busy today. In addition to all of the various class photos, she also gave me other pictures as well. I have put one in each of the above-mentioned person's entry.

I also added a "who's who" on the right side of this page, to help identify all of the people who have commented thus far. So far, 32 different people have stopped by. Wow!

Enjoy!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:49 AM 0 comments

PICTURES

Thanks to Cindy Rohrer for providing all of these. Can you identify everyone in them? Click them to see them bigger.

I'm guessing from clockwise this is 5th grade (see me!) 4th grade, 2nd grade and 3rd grade. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.



This is Mrs. Sanville's 4th grade class.



I'm not sure which grade this is. Perhaps 3rd? I see John Steltz.



This is Ms. Krause's 5th grade class. And do you notice someone missing? ME! What the hell! I smell a conspiracy!



This is from 5th grade as well. I don't recall exactly what the deal was. But I do vaguely remember it. The lovely ladies had balloons in their chests. And I remember Craig Stangel's get-up because his glasses had blinking lights on them. Check out my eyes. I think I was admiring Treesa Carron's backside. Some things never change.



I have no idea the origin of this one. My gut tells me it's circa 6th grade. But Chad Benin, Chip Pelnar and John Steltz are in it. And they were in Mrs. Casey's class with me. I think a lot of these people were in Mr. Burnstad's class.



I'm pretty sure this is 7th grade. Is the girl in the back Chris Soppe? And who is the girl right in the middle? I'm clueless. Could we pull those socks up a little higher girls?



Again, I'm going to guess 7th grade. Jen Andersen, Julie Scott, Cindy Rohrer, Kelly Hall and Pookie Bergeon.



Here's a picture of Carrie Collard, Treesa Carron and Tammy Franzen. I would have killed to be sandwiched in between there somewhere.



This is from 1989. I had no clue about this little get together. I'm guessing this was taken on that land that Cindy's family owns.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:04 AM 12 comments

Friday, April 07, 2006
DOUG WALL

I moved to Two Rivers in 4th grade. Periodically during that first winter, I would see this kid cutting through my neighbor's yard. My mom kept encouraging me to go out and try to befriend him. I never did though. That kid was Doug Wall.

Sometime that spring, my friend Chris Storlie and I were hanging out on garage roof. Doug sauntered by, saw us, and said, "How did you guys get up there?" Next thing we knew, Doug had joined us. A few minutes later, we went in the house to play some Atari. And a friendship was born.

It didn't take too long to figure out that Doug was one of us - a troublemaker. Although he was in 5th grade, and I was in 4th, we became good friends. Doug lived about a block from me. So in the morning, he would come to my house before school, then walk to school with me. We used to walk through the cemetery everyday, on our way to Magee. At some point, for whatever reason, we would knock over a few headstones. One stood out in particular. It was the grave of a police officer named Thomas R. Dodge. He'd been killed while on duty. And his grave was in the shape of a police badge. We knocked it over everyday, until the cemetery workers caught us. They took us to school, and a policeman was called to lecture us. Strangely enough, our parents were never called. And no further trouble came from it.

Later on that year, Doug began wearing a sweathsirt with the letters "KKK" spray-painted on it. I honestly didn't understand the significance of it. Doug probably didn't either. Neither one of us was a racist.

On another day, Doug had a lighter with him. And he started a wreath on fire. We couldn't really get it to go though. So we left. A few minutes later, we happened to look back. And the whole grave was covered in flames. We took off running.

Other classmates of Doug used to refer to him as "cock." Doug said it was because he was cocky. Honestly, I think it was because people thought he was a dick.

Let's be honest here. Doug was a slob. I liked hanging around with him. But he grossed me out a lot. He was always burping or farting. He just didn't care. And I admired that about him. He truly didn't care. He had one of the most "don't give a shit" attitudes that I'd ever seen. One might be tempted to say, "ignorance is bliss."

See my entries on Chris Storlie and Cindy Rohrer for a few additional stories about Doug.

Doug wasn't the swiftest person I ever knew. In fact, he had been held back in 2nd or 3rd grade. So it wasn't all that surprising when Doug got held back in 5th grade. So when I entered 5th grade, Doug and I were suddenly thrust into the same grade - even though he was more than two full years older than me.

One day after school, Doug, Chris and I were walking by the bikes. Chris recognized Larry Daffner's bike, and promptly let the air out of its tires. The next day, Mr. Tisler (who had Chris, Doug and Larry) chewed me out for it. Apparently Chris and Doug had blamed me for it. What a couple of worms! But, that was the name of the game.

Doug and I were walking home from school one day. As usual, we walked through the cemetery. We spotted a fresh grave from that day. It was an old woman. Doug then said, "Too bad she's so old. Otherwise I would dig her up and milk her." I don't even want to picture that.

Doug had a saying that he often used. "Wanna rub dicks?" He said it a lot. I never knew what he meant by it. Then one day, against my better judgement, I said, "sure." The next thing I know, Doug was grabbing at my crotch. I put an end to that little game immediately.

Doug wasn't shy - about anything. He would drop his drawers at the drop of a hat. See my entry on Lisa King for a nice story on that. All I had to do was tell Doug to moon someone (or sun someone) and he'd do it. He was like my own little puppet at times. And he wouldn't just moon either. He would spread his ass cheeks and bare his hole for his unsuspecting victims.

Seeing as I occasionally saw Doug naked, I was privy to his dick - which was uncircumsized. Believe it or not, at some point in 5th grade, Doug actually got circumsized! I have never heard of anyone getting circumsized at a point in their life when they were aware of it - let alone someone who already had pubes! But Doug went through the surgery. I can't even begin to imagine that kind of pain. I hope they numbed him first.

Doug often complained about his mom. I guess his mom was pretty strict. I never had much contact with her. As Doug and I got into trouble, we were eventually banned from being allowed to be friends - by both of our parents. (Likethatever works) So Doug's mom never liked me. In fact, Doug had two interesting stories that he insisted were true. Actually, I never knew the full stories. But Doug once said that his mom made him eat his own puke. As I recall, it was spaghetti. I think it may have been an incident at the table, where Doug coughed a bit and perhaps brought up some food. So it's not as bad as it sounds. But still, it's bad. The other story was that his mom forced Doug to make his dick bleed. What??? I don't know. For some reason, I never pressed Doug for the details.

At some point in 5th grade, both Doug and Chris started smoking. They used to smoke in my garage quite often. One day (for whatever reason) Doug and Chris took off all of their clothes and hopped out onto the roof. They ran around all over, until the neighbor called the police. And as I found out a few months ago, Lisa King and Jenny Malley witnessed this whole event from across the street.

One day Doug and I were walking home through the cemetery. We noticed a kid. It was class of 1990's Nick Ross. I told Doug to start swearing at him. And he did. The next day, Nick caught up to Doug, and beat him up a little bit. As we walked away, I told Doug to start swearing at Nick again - which he did. The next day the same thing happened. Doug got beat up. Then as we walked away, I got him to cuss out Nick yet again. And of course, the next day, Nick attacked Doug again. This went on for about five days before Doug finally wised up and refused to swear at him anymore. It took him a few days. But Doug eventually learned.

I think it was in 6th grade where the next incident happened. I was at the home of my friend, Bobby Streu. And Bobby's dad had a bunch of dead fish - God only knows why. And they stunk! We took one of them, waltzed over to Doug's house, and left it on his front porch. Apparently the next day, the whole house stunk. Doug never forgot about that, and always reminded me of it for years to come.

Bobby and Doug came in contact again - literally. The three of us were in the field behind my house. And we were wrestling. I was watching as the two of them went at it. Suddenly Bobby apparently kicked Doug in the crotch. Doug shot up, then sprinted out into the field, screaming his head off, while running bow-legged, with his legs out to his side. It was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen. When Doug returned, he was doubled over in pain. When we asked him what happened, he simply uttered, "My balls cracked." That line mad us laugh even harder.

In 7th grade, Doug would join our class for 5th hour chorus - Mrs. Westburg. On most days, Doug, Kevin Dehne and myself would find ourselves kicked out of class. We would often find ourselves getting in trouble out there as well. I can remember one day Doug and I were in the bathroom. And Doug had to take a shit. So he did. I was standing by the sink as Doug took care of his business. The next thing I know, the door to the stall opens up, and a turd flies out and lands into one of the urinals. What the fuck?!?!?!? Don't ask for an explanation. There is none. But Doug had reached into the toilet, pulled out one of his turds, and tossed it across the room. Perhaps he was part monkey. I don't know. I just don't know.

Doug was one of the kids who came over to my house during lunch one day. See my entry on Jason Anderson for the details of that day.

One day in Westburg's class, Jason and I encouraged Doug to moon the teacher. So he did. Of course Westburg's back was turned. But still, it was funny as hell. I had pity for Brenda Dax, who found herself a few inches away from Doug's ass.

Doug had moved to Two Rivers from Neenah. And he often spoke of a girl that he had known, that had a last name of Schitobrick - or something like that. And it was pronounced like it sounds. And he used to yell out "SHIT...obrick." Westburg heard him one day, and promptly kicked him out.

One day Jenny Malley wore a dress to school. I told Doug to yell, "Jenny no panties." Of course he did. Actually, earlier in the day, in Mr. Stodola's class, Jenny had lifted her dress to me and revealed... that she was wearing shorts. (Sigh) Whatever. It was still wonderful. Anyway, Doug repeated the phrase over and over again. And he continued to do it day after day. Jenny was irritated by it. But that never stopped Doug. To Doug, she was no longer Jenny Malley. Instead, she had become "Jenny no panties." Sorry Jen. That one was my fault. Two years later, in freshman year, I happened to see the two of them pass each other in the hall. And Doug blurted it out again. I laughed. And Jenny gave Doug a very dirty look.

Speaking of Jenny, I was walking behind Jenny and Cindy Rohrer one day after school. And as we turned the corner near Mr. Trembly's room, Doug slowly sauntered out of the small room of the special ed. teacher (her name escapes me). He had his arms extended like Danny LaRusso at the end of "The Karate Kid." And he was bobbing his head like a chicken - completely oblivious to any and all around him. He was grooving to his own beat. Jenny and Cindy looked at each other with a stunned "what the hell is that" look. I loved it. That's what I loved about Doug. He just didn't care.

Doug was a master burper. He could burp most of the alphabet in one massive burp. But he would peter out somewhere around "Q."

As Doug and I were sitting in the hall one day, having been kicked out of chorus class, he told me an incredible story involving class of 1987's Doug Defere. Doug Defere lived in our neighborhood. So I sometimes crossed paths with that meatball - as did Doug Wall. Doug told me that he had been in Doug Defere's garage, and that Doug (Defere) had sucked Doug (Wall's) cock. He described it in such vivid detail too - including how Doug was panting afterward, while smoking a cigarette, and saying, "That was great." I had no doubt that Doug was telling me the truth. I asked him why he let him do that to him. His response, "He bit me. I couldn't pull away." What a mental image. But I find it hard to believe that Doug (Wall) didn't enjoy it. I don't think Doug was gay or anything. I'm sure it was some sort of experiment thing. Incidentally, Doug Defere is currently serving 30 years in prison for being a pervert to young girls. Sicko.

Another day while we were kicked out in the hall, we were sitting on the bench by the trophy case. I told Doug to drop his pants and walk across the hall and back. He did. The second or third time he did it, fellow graduate Patti Malley suddenly appeared out of nowhere, coming out of the gym. Doug quickly pulled up his drawers. I was rolling on the floor laughing. I'm sure Patti got a good look.

At some point that year, after lunch, everyone was milling about in the gym. Ross Hofmann suddenly produced a condom, and blew it up like a balloon. The thing got bounced around up in the air. And for whatever reason, people tried to stick the condom on Doug. Eventually Craig Rysticken found himself with it, and threw it in the garbage.

After 7th grade, Doug and I didn't hang around with each other too much. Other than a study hall in high school, we never had another class together. Doug was in a lot of special education classes. I wasn't. Even though we shared a homeroom all four years, we didn't sit near each other.

In our sophomore year, I had Mr. Conrad for science. He had a rule that everyone in the class had to help him at some point in the year, outside of normal class activities. When it was my turn, I helped him grade some tests from students in other classes. One of the questions on the test was "Give an example of a food chain." Doug's answer - "fish, man, Godzilla." That made me laugh.

During our junior year, we all had to take some sort of test to see how much we learned. They may have been called the "Iowa Tests." I don't know. But Doug did something that was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen. They were scantron tests. And they were long. Even the fastest person would take maybe 40 minutes to complete it. It was full of story problems. Well, about five minutes after we'd all started, the silence was broken by Mr Siem, one of the guidance counselors. He was a monitor for the test. He had seen Doug relaxed, reading a book. He asked Doug what he was doing. Doug simply said, "I'm done." There was kind of an "ooh" in the room. But sure enough, Doug was in fact done. Of course what he had done was simply go down the line and fill in any answer he wanted. Well, Siem would have none of that. He thought he'd get the best of Doug. So he told him, "Check your answers." Siem looked rather pleased with himself. Doug looked irritated. But here's what Doug did (as Siem watched him). Doug looked at a question, then looked quickly at his answer. All was well. Then he did it with the next one. His head was glancing back and forth very quickly - too impossibly quick to actually even read the problems. He was acting - poorly, but acting nonetheless. Then after about six or seven looks, he suddenly pointed his finger in the air and said, "Ah!" Then he started to erase one of his answers. I burst out laughing. God that was funny. I think Siem then walked away, giving up.

At some point that year (I think it was that year) Doug and Bobby Streu were over at my house. And we made a series of prank phone calls to some sort of anti-drug treatment center in Manitowoc. We pretended to be a drug addict who got beat by our dad. We called several times. We were stupid enough to give out the name and phone number of a mutual friend of ours. On our last call, the woman said, "Is this Burt or Doug?" Freaked out, we immediately hung up.

At the beginning of our senior year, Doug and fellow graduate Chuck Yauch came to school with mohawks. I asked Doug what happened. He told me some story about how he and Chuck had been in Milwaukee and had gotten jumped by some gang, who shaved their heads like that. Whatever. It was total bullshit. But I didn't question him.

Doug didn't finish school. He dropped out at some point during our senior year. I hooked up with him again about two years after high school. In fact, I even have some camcorder footage of him. At one point I sold him a bunch of porno movies. My boss sold me a bunch of cheapies that were of poor quality. He gave me all 20 of them for $15.00. I sold 10 of them to Doug for $5.00 each. Nice profit. I think I still have the other 10 to this day.

After selling those porno tapes, I didn't see Doug again for several years. Doug moved up to northern Wisconsin at one point. He even got cited for fishing without a license. But he came back to Two Rivers in the late 1990's.

In either the summer of 1999 or 2000, my wife (or fiance if it was 1999) and I were at Sentry in Two Rivers. Suddenly this guy came out of nowhere and shook my hand. It was Doug. Doug was filthy. He was working for William Schaus & Son in Manitowoc. And he'd just come from a roofing job. I introduced him to my wife by saying, "THIS is Doug Wall." And what was Doug's first thing that he said to her? "Did he tell you about the time that I was naked on his garage roof?" Again, that is what I loved about Doug. When you meet someone for the first time, most people won't tell you about an incident like that at all - let alone the very first thing you say. But that was Doug. He just didn't care. Actually, later on, she told me that if he'd clean himself up, he'd look reasonably attractive.

Doug told me that he was living with Kurt Psenicka. And the two of them are still roommates to this day. As far as I know, he has never married.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:50 PM 5 comments

UPDATE - CINDY ROHRER, KEVIN DEHNE & TAMMY FRANZEN

It's amazing what little tidbits sometimes enter my mind when I sit down and think about someone. I have a great memory for absolutely useless information. So why not share it I guess?

Anyway, I added a story about Cindy - that involves nudity! I also added a story about Kevin, and how we got referred to social services. Lastly, Tammy has joined us and left a few comments here and there. Welcome Tammy! If you have any pictures you want to share, please send them!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 5:41 PM 0 comments

UPDATE - CINDY ROHRER

Ok, I just got off the phone with Cindy. I mustered up the courage to call her. She's still as nice as can be. She gave me an update on her life, as well as some corrections to her entry below. But I'll let her comment on them. She also promised to send a few pictures.

Oh, the 5th grade video still exists. In time, I will get some clips up on this blog.

And apparently Tammy Franzen and Carrie Collard also just started reading. So hi to both of you. I look forward to reading comments from all of you - Cindy, now - Tammy, when she gets more access to the internet - and Carrie, when she comes back from vacation.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:56 PM 0 comments

CINDY ROHRER

Cindy was a girl who I met in 5th grade. She and I had Ms. Krause together.

Cindy was a tall girl. She had really long legs and long blonde hair. She was the object of affection to many a young male. In fact, I can remember seeing her after school one day. She was getting a drink at the bubbler. I was with Doug Wall. We were about to walk home together. But I wanted to get a drink myself. Doug was obviously admiring what he saw in Cindy. And when Cindy stood up from the bubbler and turned around, Doug looked right at her and said, "Can I fuck you?" I don't even know if I knew what exactly fucking someone entailed. But I knew it was dirty and sex related. I burst out laughing. Cindy looked disgusted.

Cindy's dad came to school one day, and brought a video camera. He took video of the whole class. In fact, as I recall, everyone introduced themselves on the tape. Man, I would kill to see that tape today. I wonder if it still exists. Cindy asked me one day, "Why were you making a face on the video?" I didn't have a reason. But I do remember doing that. I was sitting in the front row at the time. And Cindy's dad was moving across the room, one row at a time. I made my face then chuckled.

In the spring of that year, our whole class took a bus trip to some land that Cindy's family owned. There was a big pond or something - lots of small fish and frogs. Apparently this was a tradition for Cindy's classes over the years. I'd heard that in prior years, there was some sort of unwelcome sign on the driveway that said something like, "Get the hell out!"

In 8th grade, my science class with Mr. Franke headed over to the other science class that hour, which was in Mr. Lehman's room. Mr. Lehman had a canister of helium. And a few of the students got a chance to inhale some, and thus talk like Daffy Duck. Now we all know the deal with helium. As soon as you take a breath, your normal voice comes back. Right? Well, that is of course correct - unless you're dealing with Cindy Rohrer. Cindy was in Lehman's class. She got to try the helium. And even after she started breathing, her voice wouldn't go back to normal. Cindy somehow defied the laws of physics. After about a minute, her voice returned to normal. But still, that was quite a thing to see.

Over the years, I think I had a few classes with Cindy. But we never had much contact. I seem to recall her and Ross Hofmann possibly being an item or something. But I could be wrong.

During our freshman year, I can recall going outside during lunch. Ron Gretz and Mike Zeman were with me. There was a gym class going on outside. And we sat and watched them for awhile. Cindy swore at someone, and got caught by Ms. Vesper. Vesper made her run around the field as a punishment.

In the second semester of our freshman year, Cindy sat in front of me in Mrs. Fischer's english class. She shared a table with Chris Thee. Anyway, at some point that year, she gave a speech. And she shared a story about how she, Julie Scott, Josie Scott and Kelly Hall had slept over at someone's house. And early the next morning, they got locked out of the house or something. It was very early - like 5:30 or something. And for whatever reason, they had to change their clothes. So they all disrobed near the bushes or something - unaware that a paperboy was nearby. When they were done, the paperboy came over. And he allegedly told them that he really hadn't seen anything.

Although Cindy and I never had much contact, I will say this. She was bar none, one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. I don't think she had a mean bone in her body. She was always smiling, always happy, and never had an unkind word for anyone. Cindy was top notch.

If I'm not mistaken, Cindy's family ran Phil Rohrer's restaurant in Two Rivers. That place is a staple of that town. And as far as I know, it's still open today. But strangely, I have never had one of their famous burgers.

In highschool, I believe Cindy's best friends were Tammy Franzen and Carrie Collard. I think she dated class of 1990's Steve Kaiser. Or was she with class of 1990's Shawn Kaiser? No, I think it was Steve.

I believe the last time I saw Cindy was in the fall of 1989. I was at Uni-Mart on Mishicot Road. Cindy came in and bumped into me - on purpose. That was her way of saying hi. We spoke for a few minutes before parting ways.

Cindy had planned to move to New Jersey. And she did just that, staying there for 10 years or so. At some point she got married and became Cindy Bucco. For the last several years, I believe they've lived in Florida, not too far from Miami.

UPDATE - 4/10/06 - As mentioned in Meff's comments, here is a newspaper article about the doughnut maker. Thanks to Cindy for providing it. The second picture is of Cindy's 11-month-old baby, Leo.

UPDATE - 5/17/06 - Cindy sent me another picture. The one on the bottom is of Michelle Nicolas, Cindy, and Jenny Malley. I'm guessing it was taken around 2nd grade. Speaking of Michelle, the picture below this one is Michelle today. She's married and is now known as Michelle Hubert. She's been in the military for 17 years. I'm sorry this girl moved before I came to town. She was a hottie - and still is today.

UPDATE - 8/10/06 - A new photo of Cindy has emerged. In this one you can see her face - most of it anyway. She's with her son. You can see it below.











UPDATE - 8/15/06 - Fianlly, an up-to-date full face shot is available for Cindy. Look down to see it.



UPDATE - 11/13/06 - On Saturday, Augsut 12th, 2006, Kevin Dehne and I took our second trip to Two Rivers. We stopped for lunch at Phil Rohrer's. You can see the sign below.



UPDATE - 1/3/07 - Thanks to Tammy Franzen for providing me these four pictures of Cindy and her. The first three were taken on a vacation to Key West. The last picture is of the two of them, along with Carrie Collard (and their families) from July, 2006.










UPDATE - 1/4/07 - Below is a birthday card from 7th grade that Cindy still has. There's some interesting names on there.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 11:54 AM 14 comments

WELCOME - CINDY ROHRER?

Someone calling herself "CindySue" has signed on, and left a comment for Carrie Collard. I assume this is Cindy Rohrer. She and Carrie were friends. And Cindy's middle initial is "S." So that pretty much clinches it.

I haven't done an entry on Cindy yet. I guess I'll do one this afternoon.

Welcome Cindy!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:54 AM 0 comments

KEVIN DEHNE

I don't know where to begin with this one. Kevin was a good friend of mine off and on over the years. He was a fellow troublemaker. And he wasn't stupid - unlike some of the people he hung around with. So Kevin and I were a lot alike in many ways. We were a natural fit.

Kevin joined me at Clarke. I don't know who he had in 6th grade. But I'm guessing it was Mrs. Orth. All I can remember about him is that he used to come into Mrs. Casey's class (where I was) for reading. He and I were in a group together one day, but didn't converse much. That was the only contact I had with Kevin that year. But the following year... oh boy.

7th grade was a transition year. It was the first year with no recess. It was also the first year where we were shuffled from classroom to classroom for every subject. What was odd however was that our group of 25-30 kids had every single class together. That never happened anywhere again. There were only nine males in that class. Kevin and I were two of them.

Kevin teamed up with Jason Anderson. And as I said in Jason's entry, the two of them were like poison together. We were all somewhat friends. But Kevin and Jason used their muscle to bully the rest of us. Still, Kevin had a wild streak in him that was more than an honor student like Jason could be involved with two deeply. So when it came time to doing things that could get one in trouble, I filled in for Jason.

I liked Kevin. Although he scared me a bit too. The two of shared the same attitude - we didn't give a shit about anything and had no respect for authority whatsoever.

One day in Mr. Schamburek's social studies class, we had a substitute - Mrs. Sullivan, mother of fellow graduate Beth Sullivan. And when you have a substitute teacher, that's a license to "peck around" as we used to say back then. Sullivan put on a filmstrip to watch. It was about the Revolutionary War or something. And as was the norm, if we watched a filmstrip, several of us had to get chairs and move up closer to the screen. So all us guys did that. During the show, Kevin found a pointer stick in the chalkboard tray. When Sullivan wasn't looking, he used the stick to point at the crotches and boobs of all the cartoon characters in this filmstrip. We all had a laugh. Of course Sullivan evetually saw this, went up to Kevin and extended her hand for him to give her the stick. But instead, with her palm up, Kevin slapped her hand with his and say, "Hey man, what's happening!" The entire room burst out laughng. And we talked about that all year. It seems sort of childish today. But I'm smirking as I type this.

Kevin and I used to get kicked out of Mrs. Westburg's chorus class nearly every single day. We were usually in the hall after about 10 minutes of class. We'd sit in the halls and talk, making fun of Mr. Vogt and Mr. Schnell. Sometimes when Doug Wall (and on occasion, Tom Grassman) was with us, we'd go into the lunchroom and play tag.

Kevin also used to go into the bathroom next to the chorus room. He would open the door, then jump to the metal bar which opened it, and hang on it until it bent. This made it impossible to close the door.

See my entries on Jenny Malley, Jason Anderson, Toby Schwartz. Richard Wheeler, Steve Cook, Mark Schreiber, Dave Svatek, Stacy Taddy, Randy Ertman, B.J. Lutterman, and Joy Holtz for additional stories about Kevin.

At some point that year, Jason and Kevin decided that they were going to beat the shit out of Jim Colby. They planned to do it on the last day of school. They never did though.

In the second week of school, my parents arranged for me to carry around what was called a "trip sheet." It was a half-sheet of paper which listed all of my classes. It was to be filled out by each teacher at the end of class. It asked two questions. One was, "Was his assignment done?" The other was, "Did he pay attention in class?" There was a third part that said, "Is there a test to study for. (To be filled in by Burt)." As the year went on, about 20 other kids ended up carrying those stupid sheets around. But I was the first! Anyway, sometimes I would grab extra sheets for Toby Schwartz and Kevin. They wanted to have some fun with it as well. At one point, Kevin decided that he wanted people to refer to him as "King." So on his trip sheet, he crossed out my name and put down "King." We would all bring our sheets up and set them on Mr. Stodola's podium. He would sign them and send them back. Then he got to Kevin's (which didn't have Kevin's name on it) looked at it, squinted, looked at it again, held it in front of him with arms stretched out, and said in a disbelieving voice, "To be filled in by KING?"

One day Kevin and I got kicked out of chorus class - as usual. We'd heard that earlier in the day - during lunch or something, Steve Cook and Stacy Taddy had wandered off into the woods behind the school. We had a lot of time to kill. So we decided to do it too - knowing full well that the two of them had gotten suspended for leaving school. What were we thinking? We wandered around a bit, then worked our way into "the pits" as it was called. Then we decided to head back to school. Along the way, we noticed two figures in the distance coming towards us. I could see the sun reflecting off the head of one of them. "That must be Mr. Slattery," (the assistant principal) I said. Sure enough, it was. The police liaison office, Mr. Duvall was also with him. Mr. Duvall was mad. "I ought to kick you both in the ass for this!" He then showed us his foot. As they were coming to retrieve us, his foot had fallen in a hole. And it was caked in mud. Slattery informed us that we were going to be suspended. He brought us into Mr. Vogt's office, who confirmed it. "You boys have earned a three-day vacation." Oh well.

During our suspension, both Kevin and I called the school payphone at a time when we knew our class was done with gym, and would be waiting near the phone. When we returned to school, I was the one who got in trouble for that.

On the day that we got back from that suspension, Mr Longhini decided to spring a math test on us. The shitty thing is that all the material had been taught over the previous three days. So Kevin and I were clueless. It was literally some sort of new topic that we knew nothing about. We both told him that we couldn't take the test because we hadn't been in class the last three days. But Longhini didn't care. He made us take it anyway. I remember it well. There were 50 questions. When Longhini left the room for a few minutes, I looked at Kevin and shrugged my shoulders. Finally I said, "Screw it! I'm putting down any answer." So I went down the math problems and just put answers like "2, 24, 16, 3.5..." The answers made no sense. Kevin followed suit. When Longhini corrected our work, he was absolutely furious. He screamed at us, saying that Kevin had gotten a 2% while I had actually scored a zero. How in the hell did Kevin get one right? But seriously, what did Longhini expect? Kevin said he thought about saying something like, "2% - I feel like milk." But Longhini was too pissed. So he kept quiet.

I got suspended by myself later on in the year. Kevin came over to my house for lunch one day. He and I went outside and sat on my neighbor's garage roof. She came out and ripped into us for being up there. So we got down. She said she was going to tell my parents. And she actually did wander over once, a few weeks later. But my parents weren't home at the time. And I didn't answer the door.

Speaking of that payphone, Kevin lost a dime in it once. For a period of maybe two months, Mrs. Westburg had a helper - a guy named Eric Bush. I knew Eric. He had been a camp counselor at Camp Sinawa. He was a cool guy at camp. In school, he was an absolute prick. He was violent too. When we'd get kicked out of class, he would approach us if we were still unruly and causing trouble. He would lean down to where we were sitting, and yank our earlobes apart. He pulled on them pretty fucking hard too. "Are you gonna behave?" "No! No! No! AHHHHHHHH!" That hurt! So one day Kevin decided to call the child abuse hotline. No joke, Mr. Bush hung up the phone on him while he was making the call. What an asshole. I didn't miss him when he left.

Let's talk about that payphone one more time. One day Kevin, Doug and myself were once again kicked out of chorus. And someone came up with the brilliant idea to call the fire department with a phony fire call. Somehow I volunteered to do it. I called. And in a muffled voice said, "There's a fire at L.B. Clarke School." Then I hung up. About an hour later, we all got called into Mr. Vogt's office. On the way down, Kevin and I talked about it. And we were going to pin it on Doug. But when we got into his office, things changed. Both Kevin and Doug fingered me. I was so pissed! I refused to admit my guilt. Even though Mr. Slattery was pressuring me to tell the truth, I refused to budge. Fuck them! If I was going down, I was bringing everyone down with me. Because they never had an admission as to who actually placed the call, all three of us ended up getting referred to social services - where my mom worked. My social worker was a friend of my mom's. How weird is that? Anyway, all three of us were sentenced to do 15 hours of community service. Kevin and I had to work three hours a day for one week, at the Salvation Army in Manitowoc. And get this, on three of those five days, I was brought over to the personal home of the head of the local chapter, and was made to do his yardwork! Can you explain to me how that is "community" service? A week later Kevin took my place - and also found himself at the guy's house. Doug ended up cleaning churches or something in Two Rivers. As a side note, I got in trouble during my community service. I was fooling around in the truck, and ended up pushing the stick out of park. A few seconds later, the truck rolled out into the street. How it managed not to hit anyone - or anything, is a mystery to me. My social worker made me write a letter of apology for that little trick.

Kevin once brought a whoopee cushion to school, and fooled Mr. Schambureck into thinking that someone actually had a gas problem.

One day in Mr. Fencil's class, Kevin was giving him a hard time. Apparently the day before, Fencil had gotten into a physical altercation with Tim Hauschultz - who I believe got suspended for it. Kevin's desk had already been moved up to the chalkboard all by himself. And from there, he kept laughing and asking questions. "What happened with Hauschultz? Ha ha ha!" This went on for several minutes. Finally Fencil had had enough. He went up to Kevin, grabbed him, and said, "This is what I did to Hauschultz." And he started banging Kevin's head into the chalkboard. Kevin was stunned, quickly broke free, and ran towards the door - with Fencl on his tail. I distinctly remember Kevin dashing by me, as Fencil reached out for him, merely scratching his fingers on the back of Kevin's jean jacket. Kevin disappeared into the halls. And Fencl decided to simply let him go. To my knowledge, nothing more ever came of that incident.

Mr. Fencil had an indentation in his chin. So on occasion, Kevin would bring a q-tip from home, and set it on his desk.

Sometimes Mr. Fencil would banish us to his backroom - which had two windows near the ceiling. So we'd be sitting in class. Then suddenly Kevin's smiling head would poke up in view. He'd make faces and poked fun at Fencl. Of course everytime Fencl turned around, Kevin's head would be back down, out of sight. Of course sometimes Fencil would look in the room anyway. You had to physically climb on some shelves to get up that high. So it wasn't that hard to catch him in the act. Sometimes I would pretend that Kevin was looking - even when he wasn't. It was always fun to see Mr. Fencil take a peek into the backroom, based on my laughing and pointing, only to find Kevin calmly sitting in his seat.

One day per week, Fencil would take us into the library. Kevin and I used this time to play tag. But in order not to be seen by Fencl or the librarian, we played on our hands and knees.

At Christmas time, the library had a Christmas tree. It was decorated with a string of popcorn. kevin and I used to go up and take bites off of it.

One day Fencil sat us all down and passed out a paper to each of us. We were supposed to write down any magazines that we would like the library to carry. Of course Kevin came up with "Playboy." He even convinced Jenny Malley to write down "Playgirl" on hers. When we handed in our papers, Fencil yelled at Jenny. Of course Jenny responded by saying, "Kevin wrote down Playboy." But Fencil told her that Kevin had crossed it out, and put down other magazines that were more reasonable. Kevin got a laugh out of that. But I'm sure Jenny was miffed. Jenny, welcome to the world of friendships with troublemakers.

As a joke, when Kevin sneezed, he would sometimes say, "Achoo-do-do."

In 8th grade, I had Kevin in two classes. One was Mr. Monka's social studies class. The other was english class with Mr. Kern. We also had Mr. Kern for detention. Kevin and I were in there a lot - a LOT! To pass the time, we would sometimes have breath holding contests. I always won those. I have great lungs. We would also have what we called "star contests." We would each be given one minute to draw as many stars on a piece of paper as we could. We'd then exchange papers and count each other's. I always won those too.

One day in Mr. Monka's class, he asked where I had been the day before, as I had missed a day of school. He said, "Where were you... watching soaps?" I said, "No... C.H.O.M.P.S." C.H.O.M.P.S. was a movie about a robot superdog. And I had in fact watched it. Kevin (who also missed class the day before) turned around and laughed, and said, "Ha! I watched that too!" Monka look bewildered.

Speaking of Mr. Monka, he had a huge box full of paper in his backroom. Everyday Kevin and I would steal some of it. We were setting up a really nice book burn. When we finally had enough, I huddled behind Kevin in the hallway, after the bell rang. Those who remember Clarke may recall that the halls were somewhat narrow. And in between classes, they were pretty well packed. So one could easily make a mess unnoticed. Kevin lightly held a folder full of this scrap paper. Then he said "Do it!" I then lightly tapped the folder, causing him to drop it. The hundreds of sheets of paper then got stomped on and spread around by everyone walking by. Kevin and I were long gone before anyone even noticed.

Mr. Kern had some ancient textbooks that we sometimes used in class. They were full of graffiti and profanity from various students over the years. Anyway, one day Kevin was drawing a picture in one of the books, unaware that Mr. Kern was watching over his shoulder. "Wactha drawing?" Startled, Kevin replied, "Umm... an anchor." Mr. Kern simply said, "Ok." And walked back to his desk.

One day Kevin and I were talking before class, when Mr. Kern came up and said, "I have a sniglet." Singlets were phony words made up by HBO's series "Not Necessarily The News." Mr. Kern said, "Ruglump." Then he described it as the act of whenever someone trips, they get up and kind of scuff their foot on the floor where they tripped. Kevin and I looked at each other and sort of smirked. Kern shrugged his shoudlers and moved on.

Kevin once told me that there was a really cool city bus driver in town. If you got him alone on the bus, he would point out the hot chicks he saw. "Ooh... look at her ass!"

Thomas Dolby had a video on MTV during 8th grade. The song was called, "Hyperactivate." Kevin and I used to sing "Hyperventilate" instead.

I think it was in 8th grade when Kevin got the brilliant idea to put pins in his shoes. They may have been hiking boots actually. Anyway, he would stick the pin from inside, and push it out through the toe area. Then he would go up and kick a few people, sticking them with the pin.

Kevin and I used to have a saying, "The cops... what can THEY do?"

After lunch one day, Kevin and I (along with Rob Ebbole, Mike Clarksen, Lenny Lewis and perhaps a few others) played a game on the bleachers. I sat next to an unsuspecting victim. The others would then take seats next to me. Then on my signal, Kevin and the rest would start pushing me - hard. I would ram into the person and send them flying. Of course I could always play innocent as well, as I was just sitting there, getting pushed just like them. On one of these days, I heard Rob whisper to Kevin, "let's push Burt off the edge." Kevin simply shook his head and said, "No." THAT was respect!

I'm not exactly sure what the details were. But Kevin was taken into the hall by Mr. Kern one day. The two of them had some sort of exchange. And Kern allegedly shoved Kevin into a locker. Of course Kevin overreacted, grabbed an open locker, and ripped it off its hinges. Kevin ended up getting suspended. But he came back to class for a few seconds, grabbed his stuff, then yelled, "You can keep your damn book!"

One day Mr. Monka was out sick. And Mrs. Beth was our substitute. I immediately moved from my seat and took the desk behind Kevin's. On this particular day, everytime Mrs. Beth walked by us, we would casually throw a wrapper or some other garbage into the pocket of her vest. After several pieces she finally took notice. But she didn't do anything.

It was in Mr. Monka's class where Kevin taught me how to make myself pass out. We would take really deep breaths, then hold our breath while pressing the veins on our necks. It really worked! I did this many times in my life. When you came to, you were dizzy and tingly. It was a really cool cheap high.

In freshman year, I had Kevin in Ms. Sapa's literature class. I have a fond memory of Kevin going to the pencil sharpener, opening it up, placing his gum in the gears, then turning the handle. What this did was make it impossible to turn it, and thus impossible to sharpen your pencil. I can't imagine the amount of work it took to get the gum out of all those grooves.

One day Kevin brought a throwing star to class. He'd made it in shop class. He wanted to toss it back and forth to me. He was on one side fo the room. I was on the other. I tossed it a few times. Kevin was afraid to throw it though. So he'd send Ken Bartz over to me with it. Well, the last time I threw it, it bounced off the wall, loudly clanged on the desk, then stuck into the floor. Sapa heard it, and brought me in to see Mr. Wood. This was about the third week of school. And it was my first meeting with the beast. What did he do? When he saw the throwing star, he said, "I know what this is. I got one of these." He then fished through his desk, actually found one, then whipped it against the wall, inches from my head. Was this man insane? He yelled and screamed. "This ain't L.B. CLarke!" When it was all said and done, I'd earned myself three detentions.

In the fall of freshman year, there was a period of time where every single day after school, Kevin, Mark Schreiber and myself would ride our bikes all over town - usually ending up at Kevin's house. Kevin was the only guy I knew that had a satellite dish.

One day Kevin said, "We gotta go to Rollie's. The aisles are like two feet wide." Rollie's was a small grocery store near Kevin's house. So we went in there and got a little rowdy. I ended up throwing a loaf of bread at Kevin. The owner then kicked us out.

Kevin and I also used to play a game where we tried to get kicked out of other stores as well. We would go into Evans, then start pushing each other and getting really loud, challenging each other to a fight. "Come on man! Let's go! I'll kick your ass!" Anything for a laugh.

In October, Kevin and I ventured into T& R Video for the first time. It had only been open a few months. The owner was a really cool guy. He talked to kids just like they were peers, as opposed to talking down to us like an adult often would. Kevin told him that he needed to get some Motley Crue videos. And the guy agreed. A few years later, that guy became my boss, when I got a job there.

Kevin and I used to hang out during lunch. Kevin found an unused room outside the basement gym. A bunch of us used to go there. Besides us, there was Mike Clarksen, Lenny Lewis, and sometimes B.J. Lutterman or Greg Flemal. We called ourselves "The lunch bunch."

On the last day of school before Christmas break, we got to see the movie "Fletch" in the auditorium. I shit you not, Kevin brought a garbage bag full of popcorn. I ended up not sitting with him though.

Kevin was with me when Ron Gretz, Mike Zeman and myself got caught in the ceiling tiles incident. See my entry on Ron for all the details on that.

At the end of the year, we all got our yearbooks. Kevin stole someone's, cut out some pictures, and used them on his dartboard. I remember him asking me, "Who the hell is Her Vang?"

I'm not sure if it was freshman year or sophomore year. But Kevin stole a fire extinguisher from the shop area. He smuggled it out in his duffel bag. If memory serves, he ended up shooting it off in the locker room one day.

In our sophomore year, Kevin was only with us for about six weeks. I never found out what exactly happened. But there was allegedly some sort of incident involving Mr. Wood. Kevin's parents showed up at school. And Kevin ran away from home. And he remained on the run for something like six months. I think he was actually hiding out with Ken Bartz' sister Dawn. I recall reading a story in the paper about the arrest of a 14-year-old runaway" in which a TV set at the police station was destroyed. It was Kevin. I could just picture him struggling with the officers, and kicking a TV over. Anyway, a week or so later, Kevin was back in school. But he only lasted maybe two weeks at the most. After that, he was gone for good.

Kevin told me a story about how he once stole a rabbit. The rabbit was gigantic - as big as a dog. And he described how it was scratching him while he attempted to carry it home on his bike. I think he said his dad eventually killed it and cooked it. Speaking of Kevin's dad, Mark Schreiber and myself were over at his house one day. Kevin's dad brought out a plate and asked if we wanted to try some of it. It was squirrel. I passed. Kevin actually has pictures of the rabbit. You can see them below.





Kevin had a hobby of collecting bumper stickers for radio stations. He kept them in his room, on a water heater. He used to peel them off of people's cars.

I saw Kevin during junior jear. Somehow I bumped into him. I was with Dave Svatek and Dave's next door neighbor Bill. Kevin was going to ride his bike to Sheboygan to get in line to buy Motley Crue tickets. Bill was going to drive him. But at the last minute, Kevin got another offer - and stayed with Dawn Bartz. I have a micro cassette tape from that night. Bill once told me that Kevin got arrested for punching a cop at a Dio concert. I don't know if that's true. But I doubt it.

I believe it was during the end of our junior year when Kevin got arrested for helping to beat the shit out of Steve Cook. See Steve's entry for the details on that one.

Kevin stayed in contact while I lived in Two Rivers. We never saw each other. But he would prank call me all the time. One time he invited me over to "smoke some dope." I declined. Although had it not been in the middle of winter, and had I lived closer, I would have.

At some point, I'd heard a rumor that over the winter time, Kevin had broken into every single boat that was parked at the Manitowoc Marina. Allegedly he got all kinds of goodies - fishing equipment, microwaves, TV's, radios... Because it was winter, the theft wasn't discovered until the spring. If memory serves, Kevin had a lot of the loot stashed in someone's barn - but had to dump a lot of it into the river when the cops began snooping around. I don't know who told me all this. But something tells me Kevin himself told me something about this. I could be wrong though. It's possible that none of this ever happened also.

Kevin once told me a story about breaking into a neighbor's house and stealing some fishing poles or something. He ended up throwing a lot of the stuff away. But he said he got in trouble for that anyway. He was in the police station, and discovered that the cops had taken his garbage, and had recovered some of the stolen property. He was shocked.

Kevin eventually moved to Manitowoc. Over the years, I think he's bounced around between Manitowoc, Two Rivers and Sheboygan. Every once in awhile, I'd see his name pop up in the paper for some minor offense. I ran into Kevin a couple of times at the video store. I even gave him a ride home once, when he was drunk. He burst in, laughing and having a good time. He told me about throwing some dude's bike off a bridge. Then he said that earlier that night some cop had been hassling him at the bar. I remember thinking, damn, this could have been me.

The last time I saw Kevin was October, 1997. I was with my friend Amanda. We had driven up from Milwaukee, and were hanging around in Manitowoc. We went into Book World on 8th St. And as we were walking in, Kevin was walking out. We talked for a couple of minutes. It was just like old times. I think Kevin had a beard though. And his arms were covered in tattoos.

It looks like Kevin lives in Sheboygan these days. I believe he's married to a woman named Becky. I don't know if they have any children. Kevin has been stopped for drunk driving on three occasions, and has been ordered into treatment. I wish him well.

UPDATE - 4/13/06 - Kevin provided me a recent photo. Look down to see it.



UPDATE - 7/11/06 - Another very recent photo. Don't mess with King Kevin!


UPDATE - 2/15/07 - Kevin sent me some recent pictures of himself. They were taken today, as he watched the Steven Avery trial live on his computer. Look down to see them.







UPDATE - 4/16/07 - Kevin provided me with two more photos of himself. The first one is from two hours ago, as he watched the Brendan Dassey trial on TV. This of course follows the Steven Avery trial-watching photos he provided above. The other photo os from sometime in the 1990's. The guy next to him is Ken Bartz.





UPDATE - 5/1/07 - Here's a picture of Kevin Dehne, which was taken yesterday.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 9:44 AM 7 comments

Thursday, April 06, 2006
STEVE COOK

Steve joined me at Clarke. I don't recall him being in 6th grade. But he probably was. My first memories of him are from 7th grade.

Steve was a little runt. Seriously, if he were any shorter, he could have been classfied as a midget. But Steve's mouth was as large a mouth as you will ever see.

What the hell was Steve's problem? He was always shooting his mouth off to someone. He was cocky and obnoxious. And he loved to threaten people. But he never could have done anything to anyone anyway. Maybe that's why he did it. He knew no one would take him up on his offers to fight. What an idiot.

See my Stacy Taddy entry for the story how Steve and Stacy got suspended from school.

I suspect that Steve flunked 8th grade. He was dumb as a rock. And he never made it to high school at all. The last time I saw him was in freshman year. In the fall, I was riding my bike after school with Mark Schreiber and Kevin Dehne. We noticed Steve fishing down by the river. Kevin came up with the idea of throwing him in the water. So we went up to Steve - who was timid around Kevin, and stayed away from him. Kevin tried to tempt him by saying we should all climb on the beams under the bridge. Steve was all for it. And everytime Kevin got near him, Steve would start his journey on those beams. Kevin did finally catch him at one point, and managed to get him into the water. But Steve only got his feet submurged. So be it. We then left. But as we were leaving, Steve shouted out a series of obscenities.

At some point Steve was apparently sent to Lincoln Hills juvenile detention center. Allegedly he stole a van. I always wondered how he could have reached the pedals.

The last time I ever saw Steve was that day at the river. But his name did pop up two years later.

Kevin Dehne was hanging around with Tim Hauschultz and Brian Wavrunek. Allegedly Steve had stolen Brian's boombox. At least that's what they believed. They were probably right. Anyway, the three of them went looking for Steve. Unfortunately for Steve, they found him. The three of them beat the living shit out of Steve - punching and kicking him. They pounded him into unconsiousness. They then threw him into the trunk of a car, drove awhile, then dumped him in a ditch in Cato.

Apparently one of them (most likely not Kevin) bragged about the incident later that night at some party. And that fucking bitch Pam Engeldinger called the police. For the record, Pam was a fucking snotty bitch prior to this incident. I have no problem with her calling the police. But it'd be impossible to describe her without using the phrase "fucking bitch."

According to the newspaper, Steve "came to" the next morning. He was dazed, and was found wandering around by a local farmer. If memory serves, both his jaw and shoulder were broken. He also had a concussion, and possibly some missing teeth. The trio were arrested. All of them served time in jail. There were rumors that they had thought Steve was dead, and that they were simply dumping his body. But I spoke to Kevin about it at one point. He said that was absolutely untrue, and that Steve was breathing normally.

I guess no one deserves a beating like that. But based on Steve's past, it's hard to feel too sorry for him.

Today, Steve lives in Two Rivers. To my knowledge, he has never married. He's had a few skirmishes with the law, including receiving stolen property. Prior to coming back to Two Rivers, it looks like Steve lived in Louisiana for several years.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:43 PM 1 comments

UPDATE - DON STUMMEIER

I added a few tidbits about Donald Stummeier, regarding his burial location.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:29 PM 0 comments

TERRY HUG

Terry joined us at Clarke in 6th grade. He arrived in the middle of the year sometime. If I'm not mistaken, Terry was put into Mr. Burnstad's class.

Terry seemed cool. I remember always saying hi to him when he was still relatively new. He always said hi back, or gave a friendly nod. But after a few months, I guess he got too cool. Because the last time I said hi to him, he responded with, "Burt... shut up."

I don't think I ever had any classes at Clarke with Terry. I think he gained some sort of decent level of popularity. I seem to have a vague memory of him having a big nose.

According to rumor, Terry was color blind.

Meff told me that in 8th grade, he had Terry in Mr. Swokowski's art class. According to Meff, Terry was fooling around one day, taking some big sniffs of some rubber cement. I think everyone did it a little bit. But allegedly, Terry sniffed so much that he passed out, and had to be attended to.

After 8th grade, Terry moved. And I have not seen him since. I think he moved to Ohio or West Virginia. He may have lived in Maryland for awhile as well. Today it looks like Terry is married to a woman named Letty. I believe they live in Bentonville, Arkansas. At least that's where their phone number is listed.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:19 PM 0 comments

CHAD KAUTZER

Chad's a guy who appeared at Clarke. He wasn't the smartest of individuals. And he had a tendency to get into a lot of trouble. You'd think he and I would have gotten along. But we didn't.

I never had a whole lot of contact with Chad. He just seemed too stupid to me. He was a pest and a jerk. He wasn't big enough to be a bully. But he did have a mouth like one.

If I'm not mistaken, Chad flunked 7th grade, and was held back a year. Or maybe it was 8th grade. All I know is that he was not to be seen during my freshman year. However, I think he made a few brief appearances the next year, when I was a sophomore. I think his time in high school was brief though. I'm quite sure he never finished.

I ran into Chad once or twice at the video store. My boss couldn't stand him. He always looked gaunt and dirty - with long fingernails. In time, he was eventually put on the list of people not to rent to. My boss actually kicked him out of the store one day. As Chad was leaving, he yelled out some sort of comment about "shoving a cock up your ass." Nice.

It looks like Chad eventually got married to a woman named Melanie - I think. It may be a Melinda. I'm not sure. Chad has had several brushes with the law - drunk driving, driving without a license, driving without owner's consent, forgery, bad checks... It looks like he has served some jail time as well. Today I believe Chad has moved to Minneapolis.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:04 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 05, 2006
STACY TADDY

Part of me thinks that I had Stacy at Magee in 5th grade. Another part of me thinks that I first met Stacy in 6th grade, at Clarke. For sure, we shared 6th grade with Mrs. Casey together.

I only have one memory of Stacy from 6th grade. I wrote about it in my entry on Chad Bennin.

In 7th grade, Stacy and I had every class together. From what I recall, one could have referred to her as "spacey." She seemed a little eratic to me. But she was friendly enough I guess.

Like fellow graduate Paula Jonas before her, Stacy decided that she was going to pledge her undying love to me that year. And like Paula, I'm pretty sure she wasn't serious about it. But one never knew with her. This "love" lasted for a few months. I remember B.J. Lutterman once telling me, "Go up and grab her tits - to see if she's really serious." I never did of course. But perhaps I should have. Stacy had a pretty large pair of jugs.

Sometime around Christmas, Stacy disappeared. She was sick or something. And she was literally gone for months. No one really knew what was wrong with her. Apparently she had some sort of eye ailment. But according to our english teacher Mr. Trembly, she was milking it for all it was worth. She did eventually come back to school late in the year. And she was passed into 7th grade. How she pulled that off is a mystery.

One day during her long absence, we were in Mr. Stodola's science class. We had a subsitute teacher that day. Normally Toby Schwartz sat right behind me. But seeing as we had a substitute, Kevin Dehne took advantage of the situation, removing Toby from his seat in order to occupy it himself. As a joke, when the teacher took a role call, both Kevin and I decided to take the name of someone who was out sick that day. Kevin fumbled with his, and was outed immediately. But when she called "Stacy Taddy" I responded with a girlish "here." She didn't see where the voice came from. So she assumed Stacy was present. Later on in class, I was talking to Kevin. He loudly said, "Turn around Stacy." Everyone laughed. But a few minutes later, when I was talking to Kevin once again, the teacher yelled, "Stacy, turn around!" I bit my lip and turned back in my seat, trying not to laugh. About 15 seconds later, there were muffled giggles coming from everyone in the class. This teacher actually though I was named Stacy. Too damn funny!

In the spring of that year, Stacy Taddy and that little piss-ant Steve Cook wandered off into the woods behind Clarke, during school hours. The owner of a house back there called the school. And the two of them got suspended. I have no clue what they were doing. I highly doubt it was anything romantic though. They were probably smoking. When I get around to writing about Kevin Dehne, something else that happened in the woods that day will also be mentioned.

See my entry on Jamie Tadych for two additional stories from 7th grade.

I believe Stacy stayed with school through our sophomore year. Then I think she dropped out or something. I haven't seen her since.

Stacy appears to have gotten married, and become Stacy Flentje. Today she lives in Manitowoc. If she has kids, I'm unaware.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 1:19 PM 3 comments

JIM TADYCH

Jim Tadych is a guy who I only remember from 7th grade. He was a gruff looking fellow who seemed to have some scruffy facial hair. To my knowledge, he was not related to fellow graduate Jamie Tadych. But I don't know for sure. Chalk up another one to the "born in 1969" club.

The only school memory I have of Jim was from Mrs. Westburg's class. Jim and I happened to be in detention together in Westburg's room after school one day. Jim was relaxed, with his feet propped up onto the chair in front of him. Band director Mr. Schnell yelled at him to get his feet down. Jim said, "no." After a few more verbal exchanges, a red-faced and angry Schnell marched over to Jim and kicked his legs down from the chair. Jim gave him a real dirty look, but didn't do anything but sit there with his arms crossed. Mr. Schnell then sat down in the chair next to him, and stayed there for 40 minutes. I guess he was just waiting for Jim to try something again - which of course didn't happen. Did Schnell not have anything better to do?

My only other memory of Jim is seeing him one morning before school. I was going to Manitowoc for some reason, and wasn't going to school that day. Anyway, I happened to see Jim and B.J. Lutterman taking out the garbage together. I think the two of them were related in some capacity - cousins or something.

I don't know if Jim was with me in 8th grade or not. I know for sure he never made it to Washington with me. To my knowledge, I never saw him again.

As far as I know, Jim has never married. But I think he has at least one child. He's had a few brushes with the law though, including some drunk driving offenses and some serious marijuana charges. In fact, in 1999, it looks like he was charged with possession and intent to deliver. He was sentenced to three years in prison. At one point, he may have actually lived with B.J. for awhile. Today it looks like he still resides in Two Rivers.

UPDATE - 4/16/07 - Kevin Dehne dug through his archives and found this picture of Jim. He wasn't sure of the exact daye, other than it was sometime in the 1990's. It was probably taken at some party.



posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:45 PM 0 comments

UPDATE - CHAD BENNIN & JENNY MALLEY

I added a little tidbit abot Chad and the movie Child's Play. I also added a bit about Jenny and the song "Puttin' On The Ritz."

ENJOY!

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:27 PM 0 comments

JAMIE TADYCH

My first memories of Jamie are from 7th grade. Was he with us in 6th grade as well? Perhaps. I don't know.

In 7th grade, about 25-30 of us had every single one of our classes together. But in a couple of classes (chorus, art and health) we had a few students that joined us. One of those students was Jamie Tadych.

Jamie seemed older than the rest of us. The reason for that is because he was. He was born in the summer of 1969. That made him more than two years older than me. Weird. As far as I know, other than Doug Wall (August, 1969) Jamie was the only other 1989'er who was born in the 1960's.

At the very beginning of 7th grade, Jamie was sitting in health class. He sat near the front. Jamie was a card carrying member of the black T-shirt crowd. He was wearing one this day. It was of a band that no one had ever heard of. Jenny Malley approached him and asked about the group. Jamie told her that they were great. Then he said, "No one has ever heard of them now... But they will." The band on his shirt was Motley Crue. I have to give Jamie kudos for that one.

Speaking of Motley Crue, I have a memory of Jamie and Doug Wall slapping their legs while singing "Looks That Kill" before chorus class one day.

Jamie's nickname was "Tex." I believe Jamie's parents owned Tex & Judy's bar. Jamie used to work there as well, and thus always had money - which he allegedly used to buy music.

Later that year, Jamie sat at the table next to me in Mr. Swokowski's art class. Stacy Taddy sat across from me. One day Stacy and I were reminiscing about TV reruns. We were having a ball talking about The Flintstones, Gilligan's Island and Sanford & Son. Jamie was sitting next to Stacy and decided to chime in as well. His contribution to our discusion - E/R. Yes, there was another show called E/R back in 1984. And even stranger, George Clooney was one of the stars. As to our discussion, Jamie didn't get it. Stacy and I were talking about old shows - classic shows. E/R didn't qualify. And Jamie was probably the only one in the country who watched that show. But what could I say to him? I just smiled and agreed. Jamie had a short fuse. And crossing him would have gotten me a punch in the arm.

Another incident happened in art class later in the year. And it also involved Stacy. At the beginning of the class, Mr. Swokowski made a huge announcement, warning us NOT to punch any holes (with a pencil) into this big bag of clay he had. Well, that statement was enough to make any troublemaker decide to do it. Sure enough, later in the class, a fresh puncture was discovered. And Swokowski flipped out. When he settled down and class got back to normal, both Stacy and Jamie told me that they had seen me do it, and were going to tell on me. This pissed me off! They had not seen anything. They were just being assholes. And no, they didn't tell. But if the absolute truth were known... I did do it. But no one had seen me. I was very sly and cautious. Strange, had Swokowski not warned us about it, putting a hole in that bag never would have crossed my mind.

In our sophomore year, Jamie sat in front of me in Mr. Noll's drivers' ed. class. One day I was turned to the side, talking to Richard. Suddenly I felt a slight tickle on my arm, which I thought was a fly. I elbowed my arm to make it go away. It turns out that it wasn't a fly. It was Jamie's hair. He was leaning back and stretching. I turned to Richard and said, "I'm about to get punched." Sure shit, a few seconds later, a swift strike to my arm came from Jamie.

I believe Jamie was in a lot of special education classes in highschool. But power to him. He did finish and graduate with us.

Sometime around 1990 or 1991, I ran into Doug Wall several times. Apparently he and Jamie hung out from time to time. He told me that Jamie had some sort of perverted relative - an uncle or something, who actually pulled down Jamie's pants, and measured his dick. Obviously I don't know if that's true. But it's a weird, interesting story nonetheless.

I ran into Jamie from time to time at the video store. We never said anything. He always seemd like he had a chip on his shoulder. And I wasn't going to try and knock it off. Jamie eventually married a woman named Karen. They have at least three children. I believe they live in Two Rivers to this day.

posted by TWORIVERSWALRUS @ 12:24 PM 0 comments