Grads from around the country plan first CCHS homecoming alumni event

From desks at various locations around the country, there have been a flurry of plans in the making - plans to make the 2006 Columbia City High School Homecoming one of the most special ever for alumni.

Working together to plan the event, CCHS Alumni Association president & founder Ted Gruver (class of 1957), CCHS principal Steve Doepker, CCHSAA Alumni Day chairman Richard Phend (class of 1951) and others have been in almost constant contact for the past several weeks preparing for the event.

What’s remarkable about this is that Phend and Gruver, though both alumni of CCHS, live in different parts of the country. Gruver now lives in Phoenix, Maryland, and Phend lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Obviously, planning an event on this scale is a challenge when committee members and the location are separated by so many miles. Yet, they are brought together with a love for CCHS and both plan to come back to town with a host of classmates for this year’s event.

Gruver has planned an alumni luncheon for CCHS graduates in Florida for many years, but after founding the CCHS Alumni Association five years ago, he thought it would be nice to one day plan an event in Columbia City.

“Two years ago, Ted Gruver and I began talking about the possibility of planning a CCHS Alumni Day and we realized that 2006 would be the 130th year,” Doepker said, “and for that, we wanted to do something special.”

The weekend’s plans aren’t limited to alumni, though, as CCHS students and faculty are eager to share in the celebration as well.

Faculty and students learned about the event at the beginning of the school year and plans blossomed from there. Virtually everyone has taken some ownership in a particular part of the events which will kick off with the annual CCHS Homecoming Parade on Friday evening and will culminate with the first-ever Alumni Day at CCHS on Saturday.

As they were planning the event, according to Doepker, a few thoughts came to mind.

First, graduates from prior to 1959 did not attend high school in the existing CCHS building. Would those graduates still want to visit? Would they feel connected to the high school even though it was not the same physical high school building they attended?

Second, with the discussion of possibility of building a new high school sometime in the future, an open house would be a good opportunity for the community to get familiar with the current high school building. This would mean that even people who were not graduates of CCHS might be interested in attending the event, looking around, opening doors and getting familiar with the facility in a way they would not normally be able to.

For this reason, the Alumni Day activities are open to the community as a whole - whether individuals graduated from CCHS, attended CCHS or simply live in the community.

CCHS faculty member Melanie Bechtold (class of 1995) is planning the annual Homecoming Parade. In the past, the parade has typically featured the football team, class councils and other extracurricular groups, but this year it will feature alumni as well. The parade, coordinated by the CCHS Student Council, will begin at 4:30 p.m. in DeVol Field and will progress down Van Buren Street, turning left onto Whitley Street and ending at the high school.

Bechtold is excited about this year’s parade and the level of enthusiasm that surrounds homecoming this year.

“It’s a great parade and a great way for the community to come out and support a great group of kids,” Bechtold said.

Following the parade, the CCHS Band, in cooperation with the Optimists Club, will host a fish fry in the school cafeteria from 4:30-7 p.m. Adult dinners are $7 and children’s meals are $4.

Then, there’s the homecoming game at 7 p.m. when CCHS will play Carroll.

Mayor Jim Fleck (class of 1961) has officially proclaimed Saturday as Columbia City High School Alumni Day.

On Saturday, the community is invited to participate in Alumni Day at CCHS with an open house starting at 11 a.m. with registration and refreshments. At 12 p.m., a program will begin, showcasing the CCHS Show Choir’s fall program in the Multipurpose Room. At that time, Gruver will welcome alumni and introduce some special guests. The National Honor Society and Show Choir members will lead tours of the high school starting at 1 p.m.

The Alumni Day activities will conclude at 3 p.m.

“We will have computers available in the library for visiting alumni to access the CCHSAA website and register on there,” Doepker said.

“We hope alumni will come and run into old friends,” Doepker said. “If you didn’t graduate from here, you’re part of the community and this is a great way for you to become familiar with the building.”

Word about this year’s plans is spreading.

A call came in to The Post & Mail office last week from an alumni member in Wisconsin hoping to attend. An email late last week indicated that alumni are coming from Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Florida and many other places.

Graham and Rosalie Kleespie (class of 1954 and 1957 respectively), ambassadors for the CCHSAA, have been attending virtually all CCHS class reunions in recent months to extend personal invitations and, as Rosalie said, trying to get the word out in any way possible.

No one is entirely sure how many people are planning to come back to Columbia City for Homecoming this year or to celebrate Alumni Day - but one thing is certain, CCHS has generated a lot of alumni in the past 130 years. According to the CCHSAA web site, which houses an extensive database of every student who has attended since 1881, CCHS has at least 15,242 alumni. The database is managed by Brenda Reeg Robinson (class of 1960). Visit the site at www.cchsaa.org.

Regardless of the crowd that attends, Gruver is pleased.

“It’s a beginning and I want it to grow,” he said of the event. “It’s such an exciting time for our Board of Directors and our officers. We’re bringing together all alumni of Columbia City High School, regardless of year, in one place at one time.”

So, if it’s been a number of years since you dusted off the old maroon and gold, this might be the year to reignite your pride in CCHS once again.