|
fter John graduated from Rocky, he
attended Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. John says
one of the draws to the school was the education department had
a a good reputation, and he was fairly certain that he wanted to
be a teacher. The avid fisherman added, "It was on
Kentucky Lake, and I could go fishing every day."
Teaching suited him perfectly, and for 34 years he taught
English and History at Guilford High School in Rockford, Ill.
until his retirement in 2002. "I accidentally fell into a
job up here and stayed with it," he says.
During those years, he also coached track and cross country.
Since his retirement, he continues to coach track and teaches a
couple of classes a semester at Guilford.
John met his wife, Madelyn, in Rockford and says they have never
had any desire to leave the area. Married for 39 years ,
they have two children, Ted, 35, and Magan, 30. John also has a
son Karl, 40, from a previous marriage. The couple have two
grandchildren - Kristine, 11, and a 5-month-old grandson, Vayden.
When John isn't working, he enjoys researching the Civil War,
WWII and other historical battles. During the summer he travels
to reenactments and often writes reviews for various
organizations. Madelyn works full time as a nurse.
John stays fit by running for an hour every
day, and he and Madelyn like to hike. They hike at
different parks and wilderness areas. John says family is
another one of his passions. Their two children live in
Rockford, so they are able to see them and their grandchildren
often. John's son, Karl, lives in Rock Island, so John returns
to the Quad Cities every couple of months. His sister,
Julie Hall (RI class of 67) and husband John (RI class of '63 )
live in Orion. Until his mother, an artist, passed away in
December of 2009, she lived in the area also. "My wife has
a big family, and they adopted me when I married her. We
do a lot with them."
Both John and Madelyn are avid readers and enjoy mysteries and
historical novels. Traveling to Chicago and Madison for the
theater is another favorite pastime. "We're far enough
away from those places so it's charming every time we go," he
says.
John remembers his high school years as
nearly idyllic. "What a Camelot type of life it was and the
memory of it just continues."
His parents (John and Paula) owned the Sunset Marina in Rock
Island, so John spent almost all of his time in or on the water.
He also participated in Boy Scout Camp. The Marina was home, and
he says he became a bit of a Mark Twain character. "I got to
meet a lot of interesting people," he recalls.
Ron Kuhn was his close friend, and he fondly remembers going to
football and basketball games and meeting up with friends.
John was in some of the plays, but says it was so long ago that
he can't remember the names of any of them.
Cletus Melchior was one of his favorite teachers. John
says he has always been a "left wing wacko", and the late Mr.
Melchior was a conservative, so the two of them had rousing
political debates after school. But Mr. Melchior was also
a fisherman, and the two shared a friendship as well. "We
kept in touch for a while," John says.
"Just like when I was in high school, I'm terminally dull,"
he said. "But I have fun doing just about everything and I like
everybody"
John says although he is technologically challenged, he would
enjoy hearing from other classmates. His email address is
meatiger@aol.com. Look for him at the next reunion.
He plans to be there.
|
