History of the LHSA St. Louis, 1946-2016 by Lutheran High School Association of St. Louis

TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY A History of the Lutheran High School Association of St. Louis 1946-2016

A Note to the Reader The book you are reading is a second rough draft of the history of the Lutheran High School Association of St. Louis. When completed, it will help commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Lutheran North; the Sixtieth Anniversary of Lutheran South; and the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Association. It will be published in 2017. This is a work in progress, written while it is continually vetted by participants, observers and readers like you. In February 2015, when commissioned to write this, I developed a process to compose the work. First, I compiled information from yearbooks to create a spare outline of the major events. After completing a draft, I sent appropriate sections to representative participants of each era: administrators, teachers, students and key observers. They corrected and amplified the materials. I interviewed a variety of those and other participants, compiled a new draft and then distributed it to the contributors. They critiqued the work. The revised draft was posted online on the Lutheran North website in September 2015 as part of the celebration of North’s Fiftieth Anniversary. Between July 2015 and February 2016 I followed the same process for compiling the narrative about South. I also extensively revised the initial online materials. This is the product of that process. I composed my narrative from the perspective of teacher and student. I highlighted the chief policy decisions and primary activities that shaped the ministry. Because of the manner in which it was compiled, one may read Chapter 1 and the EVEN chapters for a history of North; or one may read Chapter 1 and the ODD chapters for the history of South. But it is not the intention of the author and those who have contributed to the project to make this a North/South comparison. Rather, the intention has been to provide a history about how the Association has adapted its mission to minister to the people in the region in general and the varied communities in particular. When viewing the table of contents, some readers may be concerned about the apparent imbalance of pages devoted to one or the other of the schools. Note that the chapters chiefly about North include a summary of international, national, local and Synodical events that set the context for the era. In the initial pages of each chapter about South, I include a synopsis only of the south city and county, assuming the reader read the previous chapter. My apologies to the reader for having occasionally repeated, in consecutive chapters, the impact of a significant event. That was inevitable as I attempted to delineate the unique responses of the participants to those particular issues. To facilitate the release of this quickly compiled history, I have been permitted to use endnotes and source citations. I will leave at the Association office most of the material I used to write the history. Perhaps a future doctoral candidate will supplement the materials with additional research to amplify this history of the Association. Any and all errors or omissions in this work are entirely the responsibility of myself. There were three unique challenges I faced while doing research. Before 1995, few yearbooks included events after February of a particular school year. Many of the spring yearbook supplements, if available, had little or no commentary about the depicted events. Secondly, copies of many student publications and Association circulars are no longer readily available. Finally, to protect the anonymity of participants in issues that demanded confidentiality, legal negotiations and sensitive financial transactions, I was not permitted to examine official Board minutes and reports. If any reader determines a specific incident or individual needs to be included in a final draft, he or she may submit a 125-150 word-description about the subject. Please email or mail, by November 20, 2016, the typed or word processed submission to Jim Prahlow, Lutheran High School North at: jprahlow@lhsnstl.org OR Lutheran High School North, 5401 Lucas and Hunt, St. Louis, MO 63121. If not included in the final publication, it is my intention to include the material in a memory book supplement and update that will be released for the Association Diamond Jubilee Anniversary in 2020. Examples of those sidelights may be found in each of the annotated bibliographies of each chapter. Two individuals in the Association office have been particularly helpful in completing this task. Sharon Thurman facilitated many of the interviews by contacting the subjects. Jayne Lauer (S ’77), former Director of Admissions and Community Relations at South and now Director of Marketing and Communications in the Association office, assisted with editing and formatting. It is my hope that all who read this will be inspired to support this ministry, a ministry that shares with teenagers the Good News of Christ. A paraphrase of Luke 2:10 is entirely fitting to commemorate these anniversary celebrations: “For behold—the high school ministry brings to all good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people: For unto us is given Our Savior, Christ the Lord!” July 2016 Jim Prahlow (S ’72) Teacher, Lutheran North, 1993-2016 S. D. G.

TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY 2

A History of the Lutheran High School Association of St. Louis 1946-2016

Chapter 1: For Behold: The Ministry Begins, 1945-1965 PAGE 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Post-War America Local Lutherans Organize Forward With Faith and Confidence Activities, Clubs and the Seminary “We (Almost) Win!” Expanding the Ministry: A Second School 9515 Tesson Ferry Road A Cooperative New Start The First Lancers Lancer Faculty Core 5401 Lucas and Hunt

Chapter 2: I Bring You Good Tidings! Lutheran North, 1965-1981 PAGE 38

Turmoil in the ‘60s and ‘70s Unique Challenges in the LCM Local Issues of Race and Reform A Building of Faith Student Life—and New Challenges Tensions in Synod The ‘70s: The Workshop Changes Crusaders and Lancers: Team of Rivals

Chapter 3: I Bring You Good Tidings! Lutheran South, 1965-1984 PAGE 61

Chapter 4: Great Joy During Trying Times: Lutheran North, 1981-1993 PAGE 91

The Southside Migration The Lancers Finish the Decad Defusing Confrontation During a Time of Change An Era of Athletic and Artistic Success A Retrospective Celebration—and Changing Times Silliness—to Serious—to Success Adaptation and Transition The End of the Beginning

Malaise to Motion During the ‘80s Hope for Reconciliation in the LCMS A Crisis for St. Louis The Reitz Era at North Successes In and Out of the Classrooms Good Tidings at 5401 In Parentis Locis Finances, New Leadership and Success The End—and the Beginning

Chapter 5: Great Joy During Trying Times: Lutheran South, 1984-1993

St. Louis Renaissance Lancer Renewal and New Leadership

PAGE 115

Chapter 6: Which Shall Be For All People: Lutheran North, 1993-2001 PAGE 129

Problems—And a Possible Solution: Relational Adaptation The First Years of the Waterman Era From Reagan to the Millennium The Synod Moves O A Partial St. Louis Renaissance Crisler Meets the Challenge A Puzzling Development Co-Curricular and Athletic Success Written On Our Hearts and Lives Golden Athletes The Successes Continue Attaining High Expectations

Chapter 7: Which Shall Be for All People: Lutheran South, 1993-2001 PAGE 152

Tensions and Migration A Workshop in Christian Living Academic and Co-Curricular Growth Departures, Accolades and New Leadership Lady Lancer Success While the Guys “Step Up” Upgrades, Accolades and Family

Chapter 8: For Unto You, A Changing World: Lutheran North, 2001-2008 PAGE 171

Adaptation in the Post-9/11 Era The Synod Stabilizes St. Louis: Uneven Growth The Rittmann Era Outside the Box Unexpected Expenses The Mission Continues New Frontiers In and Out of the Classroom Community Under the Cross

Chapter 9: For Unto You: Lutheran South, 2001-2008 PAGE 193

The Good Shepherd and the Cross The New Year: 2002 Ambassadors on a New Mission A New Era

Chapter 10: A Savior, Christ the Lord! Lutheran North, 2008-2016 PAGE 207

Obama Faces Challenges Synod and Society Local Challenges One In Christ: Vision 2020 On the Athletic Fields, Part 1 Adaptation in the Classroom During Faculty Transition On the Athletic Fields, Part II Ferguson Jeremiah 29:11

Chapter 11: A Savior, Christ the Lord! Lutheran South, 2008-2016

St. Louis Renaissance It’s All About the Students

PAGE 238

Fine Arts Successes and Educational Innovation New Frontiers in Education and Mission Revelation 21:5

Endnotes and Sources can be found at the end of each chapter.

I. N. J. Chapter 1: For Behold: The Ministry Begins, 1945-1965 Post-War America After World War II, Americans faced unique challenges in Europe and Asia. With the atomic age came the Cold War and the Iron Curtain. President Harry Truman and his administration created the Marshall Plan. It assisted millions of European refugees and the destitute to recover from the devastating effects of the war. The coordination of relief work and resources also resolved some of the issues that might have led many in Europe to embrace communism. To further counteract aggressive Soviet measures like the Berlin Blockade, Truman’s administration formed NATO. The member nations created a collective security so Europeans could safely rebuild. Truman also quickly reacted to the successful communist revolution in China and the ensuing Korean Conflict. He committed American forces and diplomatic efforts to strengthen the U. S. presence in Asia. His efforts established a new balance of power in the region. Domestically Truman faced reconversion and confronted a revived Republican party. He dramatically upset heavily favored Republican Presidential nominee Thomas Dewey in 1948. But Truman could not fully implement his Fair Deal program as strikes by organized labor, anxieties about social unrest and tensions about international conflicts made many Americans fearful of real and imagined threats. Republicans regained the White House in 1953, a World War II hero and former NATO commander now President. Dwight Eisenhower brought California Senator and strident anti-communist Richard Nixon to fill the Vice Presidency. The post-war period of apparent general prosperity obscured difficult problems. Americans faced issues caused by the Soviet launch of Sputnik. They also had to confront the realities of segregation raised by the Brown v. Board of Education decision and the events surrounding the Little Rock Nine. World War II veteran and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy used a series of historical television debates to defeat Nixon in the 1960 election. He challenged Americans to explore the era’s “new frontiers” and confront Soviet aggression, end the causes of poverty and partner to end disease. He also had to lead the country to a resolution of the issues dramatically revealed by the leaders of the civil rights movement. Kennedy’s assassination forced successor Lyndon Johnson to deal with those challenges. During the politically and socially disquieting years, returning soldiers joined sweethearts and spouses and started families. Many of the veterans who attended college on the G. I. Bill now sought jobs and homes. The families, who raised “baby boomers,” competed for housing with the many who had moved from rural areas and small towns to work in urban defense plants and military facilities. Housing stock was at a premium. Many were often forced to live in tiny apartments or temporary Quonset huts. Entrepreneurs seized the opportunity, building developments in suburbs ringing the country’s industrial cities. Celebrating the end of gas rationing, Americans resumed their love affair with the car, commuting to jobs from suburban ranch-style bungalows. They patronized drive-in theaters and the first drive-in restaurants. To build badly needed roads, Congress funded Eisenhower’s interstate highway program. The first official construction project was a portion of I-70, a four-lane divided highway that linked St. Charles to New Florence, Missouri. Television changed home entertainment and, especially in the South, air conditioning tamed blazing summer temperatures. Missouri Synod (LCMS) Lutherans moved confidently to embrace new opportunities in the post-war era. As part of the Chicago Centennial Synodical convention celebration in 1947, President John W. Behnken announced to the delegates of the 1.6 million-member denomination that he received appropriate travel permits and would spearhead a Church Marshall Plan. It provided food rations, relief supplies and spiritual guidance to refugees, particularly the German Freikirche, in war-torn Europe. Some pastoral candidates of the ‘30s, unable to be placed in financially destitute calling congregations, finally received assignments. Coeds, who had just recently been

admitted to Concordia-Seward and Concordia-River Forest, quickly filled their quota of 30% of the respective student bodies. Participation in the Synodical Conference had borne fruit with the creation of the deaconess program (1926), new hymnal (1941), two community Lutheran high schools and the planting of new missions in black communities. Despite the desperate times of the Great Depression and tensions of World War II, members could be buoyed by the not-so-distant memories of purchasing Valparaiso University in 1925. They could also fondly recall the thousands who attended the dedication of the new Seminary campus in Clayton in 1926. Enthusiastic lay participation helped develop programs. The Lutheran Laymen’s League (LLL) financed Lutheran Hour broadcasts in liberated Europe. The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) directed special relief collections and clothing drives to assist orphans, particularly those who lived in the local St. Louis Lutheran orphanage in Des Peres. Mission boards opened stations in Cuba, Guatemala and Venezuela. Delegates to Synodical conventions supported ongoing fellowship discussions with the American Lutheran Church. Synodical delegates to postwar conventions also enlarged the Mission Council to include representation from the Armed Services Committee, Blind and Deaf Missions organization and the Church Extension Fund. Professor O. C. J. Hoffman chaired its Communications Committee. The Mission Council was an effective organization. During the decade following World War II, the Missouri Synod grew at a rate of three new congregations every week. The formation of the Board of World Relief, the assignment of official visitors to Lutheran World Federation conferences and the creation of the Department of Social Welfare heralded a response to the needs of the many recovering from the war. Rev. Walter A. Maier’s promotional abilities successfully maintained the Wheat Ridge Ministry supported by the Walther League. The members collected funds to purchase a Chicago headquarters. Synod did not officially address segregation. It had been viewed as a civic social issue. However, by 1957, districts had taken financial responsibility for the Synodical Conference missions for blacks and offered to those particular congregations full membership in Synod. Local Lutherans Organize St. Louis Lutherans faced the same opportunities and challenges. Members of congregations discussed starting a community Lutheran high school. It would not be the first attempt. That intimidated some individuals. In 1867, city congregations started a small German-language Gymnasium, located to the north of Trinity-Soulard, its student body separated by gender. In its second year of operation there were thirty-five boys and twenty-four girls enrolled in the two-year program. The public examinations, to which all church members were invited, impressed local pastors. Their support helped the ministry continue. Reorganized as Concordia Academy in 1880, the membership changed the name to Lutheran High School in 1881. Six years later, partly as an accommodation for LCMS founding father C. F. W. Walther, the members, hoping it would become a seminary prep school, renamed it Walther College. Located at 716 Barry St., it maintained a dormitory for out-of-town students. At its high point, nearly two hundred students attended. In 1909, supporters moved the institution to share the grounds with Concordia Seminary near Jefferson and Winnebago. With nearby Holy Cross, Concordia Publishing House (CPH), Lutheran Hospital, the Altenheim and even a cemetery, the institutions created a local life center for St. Louis Lutherans. In 1916, as anti-German anger grew during World War I, financial support dwindled. Walther College closed. Until 1946, the closest Lutheran high school for prospective students was Synod’s boarding facility of St. Paul-Concordia, Missouri. In 1945, nine community Lutheran high schools existed in the forty-eight states. Each faced daunting challenges. There were shortages of building materials, teacher candidates and, during the Great Depression and war years, financial support. A good example of this was in the new Florida-Georgia District. Rev. Dallas Gibson (Trinity-Ft. Lauderdale) created his “mom and pop” high school operation by building his own classroom desks and remodeling his parish building; teaching classes full time alongside his wife (who received no pay); all the while

continuing his parish duties and planting new missions in Florida. When he died of a heart attack, the high school closed. Despite these types of challenges, the few high schools, included as participants in the Lutheran Education Association (LEA), formed the High School Conference (the original name of Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools, or ALSS), to encourage exploration and development of future ministries to adolescents. Locally, the Depression and World War II limited construction resources. Lutherans slowly warmed to the task of creating a high school. In 1939, Rudolph Kuhlmann, a member of Our Redeemer-Overland, inspired by Lutheran Hour broadcasts, donated two dollars of seed money to the LLL for the purpose of starting a Lutheran high school. In 1943, restrictions on building materials and accessible space almost extinguished the idea. But sustained applause at a local school concert greeted an LLL chapter president’s announcement about the possibility of creating a Lutheran high school. That response rekindled interest. A year later, several city congregational boards of education appointed an exploratory committee. That membership merged with the LLL representation at the first official association meeting in February 1944. Alvin Welp, who led the local LLL, served as committee chair. Other members included John Fleischli, a business executive who was president of the St. Louis Board of Education; Robert Steinmeyer, a member of the LCMS Board of Parish Education; Herman Bade, LCMS Western District Superintendent of Education; Seminary professors Paul Bretscher and Alfred Rehwinkel; local pastors Clarence Peters, E. L. Roschke and Paul Streufert; and teachers John Grundmann, Leonard Dierker and William Kramer. The committee developed a program of studies and a tentative budget. It resolved that partner congregations choose four delegates to participate in establishing the high school. Initially, the committee asked each congregation to “raise an annual contribution . . . [for the high school] to be determined by the individual congregation.” But this method proved inadequate to fund the association. Congregations were asked to contribute a fixed amount per communicant member. Thirty-nine congregations pledged to join. Operating with the slogan “Forward with Faith and Confidence,” committee members planned to visit congregations to solicit financial pledges and recruit prospective students. Inspired by the incorporation of the Lutheran Association for Higher Education (LAHE) on January 29, 1945, some envisioned the extension of Lutheran education beyond high school. All they needed was a building. One was available. The English Tudor structure, built in 1901, served students of the Washington University-owned Mary Institute at Lake and Waterman avenues until 1930. The building had been used by the U. S. Army Communication Corps during World War II. It became available for purchase during the summer of 1945. The Association trustees met and proposed to fund the purchase of the building and grounds, remodel and equip it. A local bank financed the entire purchase without one cent being deposited in its coffers. The bank officials commented “. . . if St. Louis Lutherans were behind the project, that was sufficient guarantee.” As the war ended in September 1945, the exploratory committee planned a three-week fund drive. It would begin on November 11 and include canvasses of congregations. The committee also had two additional opportunities to publicize the effort: the Western District Teachers Conference at St. John’s-St. Louis, on November 7, 8, 9, and the Lutheran Thanksgiving Victory Rally at Kiel Auditorium on November 18. With a goal of soliciting donations from each of the forty-seven committed congregations, committee members hoped to raise $500,000. But the effort would not fund just a high school. In a statement Fleischli released to the fledgling The St. Louis Lutheran, he noted the new Lutheran high school “. . . would represent a monument to peace, and a memorial to men in the armed forces who had laid down their lives to attain the peace.” Victor Eggerding, chair of the fund-raising committee, led the final kick-off rally on Saturday evening, November 10—Martin Luther’s birthday--at Emmaus Hall in South St. Louis. All solicitors and drive chairs were invited to the kick-off. Rally speakers included E. J. Gallmeyer, president of the LLL, and Streufert, pastor at St. Matthews. The event culminated a week of preparation that included local assemblies hosted by congregational members at Pilgrim, Holy Cross and Concordia-Maplewood. Participants in those gatherings heard addresses delivered by Rev. A. J. Beversdorf, administrator of Milwaukee Lutheran High School.

Solicitations by the 750 teams, comprised of 1,500 men and women, began on Sunday, November 11, the first day of Lutheran Education Week. The publicity generated by the prior distribution of an illustrated brochure, A Dream Come True, kindled hope the teams could meet their initial goals. The pamphlet included floor plans and a proposed program of studies. The drive garnered $275,000. The remaining debt was amortized through funds from the operating budget. By January 1946, forty-eight congregations formally joined the Association. Confidence in the operation grew as many realized there were thirty thousand communicant members who could support the school. With three thousand high school-aged teens in fifty-two area-Lutheran congregations the trustees hoped that six hundred might eventually enroll. Those hopes were buoyed by the many families and teens who had already visited the prospective site and toured the grounds and neighborhood. At the end of January 1946, delegates from forty-four of the forty-eight Association congregations directed the Board to start classes that September. The Board offered the first principal call to Dr. Paul W. Lange, a former Lutheran elementary school teacher, director of curriculum for the Gary, Indiana, public school system and one of the founders of the LEA. When he arrived in April 1946, the Army was still in the process of moving out of the facility. It would take a herculean effort by volunteers and Board members to refurbish the building. All Board members participated. They also encouraged many others in sponsoring congregations to assist with the tasks. Two original Board members, Dr. William A. Kramer (future Associate Secretary of Schools in the LCMS) and Richard Oberman, vice president of Mercantile Trust, helped direct the many volunteers who swept, cleaned and painted. A third, Herbert W. Waltke, graduate of the former Walther College and now an investment banker, provided a unique link to the past. He helped revive Lutheran secondary education in St. Louis. A dedication service took place on August 25, 1946. Dr. O. P. Kretzmann of Valparaiso University was the principle speaker. Lutheran High School opened on schedule with 248 freshmen and sophomore students and an operating budget of $80,000. Tuition for Synodical Conference members was eighty-five dollars per year and $160 for all others. Until 1960, the congregations annually funded 50% of the operating budget. Lange would shepherd and teach with eleven faculty. The seven men were Gordon Baillie, Hubert Buenger, John Grundmann, music director William Kirchhoff, Athletic Director Erv Leimer, Vernon Lintvedt and Erwin Sagehorn. Four women taught classes: Edna Beane, Helen Dirks, Esther Feddersen and Gladys Simmler. Forward With Faith and Confidence The H-shaped facility had two “postage-stamp” size gymnasiums on the second floors of the “legs,” separated into boys’ and girls’ gyms. According to many, students rarely if ever used the showers in the locker room. After all, the girls’ changing room only had one showerhead. Students met in classrooms on the first floor and in the “cross” leg. The building also housed office space, a library and a small basement cafeteria. The entire facility had hardwood oaken floors. The biology lab was on the first floor of the south leg while the chemistry lab was located on the western side of the “H”. Commercial educational activities that included shorthand and typing were located in classrooms on the second floor near the boys’ gym. The auditorium had a stage and balcony. It could be used only after volunteers removed the temporary floor once installed by the Army. The Army apparently had, while vacating the premises, left the seats behind, so the auditorium was fully equipped. Minimal space between rows of seats slowed entry and egress. Students entering the balcony had to be constantly reminded to move to the middle of the seating area to better facilitate crowd movement. The auditorium served as the high school chapel and assembly hall. It also served the general Lutheran community. The annual three-day Western (later, Missouri) District Teachers Conference was held there each fall. The Lutheran Bible Institute held regular sessions in the facility. The gyms, too, became Lutheran community centers for Walther League basketball and volleyball contests. The Lutheran Youth League used it as a headquarters for summer ball team registrations.

As enrollment exceeded expectations, three classrooms were added in the basement area and another “half room” was adapted for religion classes. Rumors of a swimming pool covered over to serve as locker space probably had origins in the creative memories of those who had seen It’s a Wonderful Life. A paved yard behind the school provided a small assembly area. It was rarely used for any official activities except for the class “jumps” as students advanced to the next year’s class status. Many of the new students had helped prepare the building. Some time during the first two years they began to refer to themselves as Crusaders. Barbara Kuehnert (C ‘50) designed the first Crusader logo. Students did not drive to school. They arrived by streetcar and bus. Coeds did not wear the new junior outfits popularized in the St. Louis garment district. They wore long slim skirts and bobby socks because shorts and slacks were prohibited. It would take severely cold weather two decades later before the dress code would be revised to permit the girls to wear slacks. The boys wore straight-legged trousers and long-sleeved white shirts, preferring the sleeves to be rolled up to the elbow. Some concerned teachers noted the students did not always follow the dress code. A vice principal called a special assembly to deal with the growing number of infractions. In his opening statement he proclaimed, “The level of the dress at Lutheran High must be lifted!” When faculty finally calmed the students’ laughter, the principal managed to clarify the dress code. Radio, the predominant broadcast medium of the era, played a role in the early years of the new school. Morning chapel services, broadcast over KFUO, began each school day. Student interest in the radio broadcast encouraged some to investigate starting a radio station at the school. In a couple of years, Lutheran High would have its own station. However, radio was not used to announce school closings because there rarely were, if ever, bad weather cancellations. A vintage St. Louis ice storm in the early ‘50s permitted Art Repp and classmate Paul Schisler to ice skate from the Sem all the way to Waterman—and walk the last block to arrive safe and sound. Many participated in the music program headed by William Kirchhoff. In October 1946, he organized the Girls’ Glee Club and two years later formed the boys’ counterpart. He also made possible private piano lessons for a variety of students who were taught by an adjunct instructor. Attendees of the Christmas concerts walked from distant street parking while caroling brass quartets serenaded them from adjoining street corners. An annual highlight of the performance was the Singing Christmas Tree. Choir members mounted the nine-level, pyramidlike platform just prior to singing well-known carols. They always concluded the Christmas concert with a performance of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. Kirchhoff’s choir, in particular, helped put Lutheran High on the St. Louis culture map. Several times the choir sang with the St. Louis Symphony orchestra at Kiel Opera House. One performance was Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. Rich Wallace (C ’49), a future teacher and principal at Lutheran North, and David Wiesner, future Association superintendent, attended the fledgling institution. They, as well as the rest of the student body, had to follow an expanded student handbook that provided guidance the next year as Lutheran High added its first junior class. Besides outlining traditional items like graduation requirements and the dress code, it included an elaborate, three-page section describing cafeteria etiquette. The lengthy portion described good seating posture, discouraged “line crashing,” and encouraged the breaking of bread into quarters before eating. The editor of the handbook noted that compliant students would “develop a foundation of social grace that would serve [them] well for years to come.” One might wonder if rules for the cafeteria had been imposed because of students’ reactions to the omnipresent peanut butter served in a myriad of ways. By 1948, Lange developed four academic tracks supervised by a thirty-one-member faculty. Each graduating student was required to earn seventeen credits. College Prep required a focus on history, religion, math, science, English, and either Spanish, Latin or German. The Special Ministerial Program, nurtured by Concordia Seminary profs on campus in the Language, History and Religion departments, required all three languages. The Commercial Track required a business focus involving typing, bookkeeping, shorthand, secretarial practice and transcription. The General Track incorporated a combination of these specialty areas but gave students a few more elective choices.

The Crusader editor announced with pride that all students would matriculate with a quality liberal arts education, focused on the Christian life. Many witnessed the unique dual roles modeled by teachers and the first graduates. For example, shop teacher Frank Hoppe taught the boys in several classes. He taught art in the same classroom, so the girls frequently used shop tools to fashion their art projects. He also lived in the basement as the on-site custodian. The Lutheran High Crusaders experienced a number of firsts. In April 1948, the Drama Department, directed by Ann Constable, presented its first play: We Shook the Family Tree, starring Doris Rockwell, Bob Kelpe and Martha Wolter. Holders of the sixty-cent tickets received prime seating. The next year the first graduating class adopted the motto, “If Christ be for us, who can be against us?” While the seniors anticipated graduation, nine celebrated charter membership in the first “L Club” and could reminisce with friends as they scanned the school’s first Crusader yearbook. Incredibly, the seventy-eight seniors of that first class graduated from a high school accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It was the first high school in Missouri to be accredited prior to graduating a class. The success of the new high school was based on broad congregational support and intense loyalty to Lutheran education. Teachers in the upper grades of several Lutheran elementary schools assigned as homework an essay entitled, “Why I Want to Attend Lutheran High.” During Lutheran High’s first year of operation, eighth grader Erv Korte (C ’51) composed his essay explaining his motivation to attend the fledgling institution. He stated, “. . . I want to continue my Christ-taught education . . . study the Bible in a Christian way . . . (and) learn my history and other subjects as God wants them to be taught. I can only say in closing that all Lutheran School pupils should intend to go to the Lutheran High. And I pray to God that He will lead more people to see that there is no other high school than the Lutheran High School.” Lange and the faculty created a ministry that did what the young Korte desired. It drew students from the far reaches of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Orville Mueller (C ’54) was one of those who traveled great distances to attend Lutheran High. Each day he trekked twenty-five miles from his home on a vegetable farm in Chesterfield. Like Korte, he joined a community ministry that also promoted continuing participation in congregational life.

Activities, Clubs and the Seminary

Lange and the faculty nurtured the development of social activities that encouraged participation in the Walther League. This fostered cooperative ministry with Association-member congregations and League-like programs. Barbara Glass (C ’54) spent a summer in Canada as a Walther League Caravaneer. She and her accompanying group provided leadership ideas to Alberta-region League chapters. Other high school students participated in canvass efforts during the Crusade for Christ. The choir regularly sang at the Lutheran Reformation rallies, Seminary pastor commission services, PTL rallies and civic celebrations like “Lutheran Day” at the St. Louis MidAmerica Jubilee. These experiences, that frequently included information kiosks, snack booths or occasional carnival-type games, encouraged the administration to foster one-day events. The biggest League-type activity in the early years of Lutheran High was Tour Day. During the early spring activity, groups took field trips and outings to places like Meramec State Park, Granite City Steel, Altenburg, Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau. But Lange and the faculty did not limit student exposure to other experiences with one-time events. They encouraged students to regularly visit and participate in local social programs. Larry Chocholousek and Helen Woodruff led a group of seniors on a field trip to visit a vocational counseling service center on Lindell Boulevard. It was supported by the United Fund Agency. The experience fostered the creation of the high school’s annual February college day and two career days: one for secular employment opportunities, the other for Lutheran vocations. The administration helped students engage with the broader community. High school journalist Kathy Becker served on the High School Fusion Board of Stix, Baer and Fuller. Lutheran High representatives Sara Roehrs and

Bob Foster wrote “Lutheran Lingo” for Prom Magazine, a publication for St. Louis teens. While the monthly helped local teens share information about their respective high schools, it also promoted formalwear and decorating designs for the traditional spring prom. Lutheran High did not have a prom. The Junior-Senior Banquet was the annual rite, with local dignitaries like Mayor Raymond Tucker addressing the upperclassmen. The evening did not include a dance. Most congregations discouraged or forbade dancing because the members feared it would “lead to sin.” For a brief period, the Von Behren family from Unity, at their own cost, hosted a dance at a different site after the banquet ended. But the students persisted in their requests to hold a prom. Finally, in 1958, when South Principal Michael Stelmachowicz (who was serving as assistant pastor at Our Redeemer) was asked about the dancing issue, he simply responded there were religious reasons for prohibition. After all, even a PE course for square dancing had raised concerns in some Association congregations. But a year later, with many congregations having already removed their prohibition of dancing, the Board agreed to consider permitting a prom. Co-curricular clubs provided informal social opportunities. To create a club, students recruited members and then asked a faculty member to sponsor them. Clubs and membership grew rapidly during the early years of the high school because there were so many male students who did not join an athletic team, and girls’ athletic opportunities were very limited. As teachers left the staff, students had to recruit another sponsor or they could not continue meeting. The clubs reflected the interests of students. For example, following the war years, on Tuesdays the Rifle Club practiced at the St. Louis Armory at Grand and Market. On Wednesdays, Roller Skating Club members paid twenty-five cents to skate for two hours at the Arena Roller Rink. Philatelists, reflecting the interest of stamp collecting kindled during the ‘30s, met twice a week to trade stamps and discuss upcoming releases of commemoratives. The nationally-renowned Christmas display windows at the downtown Stix, Baer and Fuller and Famous-Barr stores, viewed by many of the boys when they were younger, inspired some to form the model Railroaders Club. Woofledusters (amateur magicians) practiced to perform for upcoming assemblies and banquets. Several clubs promoted more formal educational interests. The Library Assistants Club cataloged entries in the 2,700-volume library. Those Interested in Medicine Club (TIM--all girls through 1960) discussed training and schooling for the health profession of nursing. Burgeoning high school enrollment forced Crusader and Courier (the student newspaper) staffs to meet after school. By meeting at that time, more students had the chance to work in journalism. Classroom space remained available for regular classes during the school day. And students desiring a journalistic experience still had the opportunity to take another class during a regularly scheduled period. The successful programs and clubs generated publicity about high school activities. Local radio stations selectively broadcast classroom sessions and performances. Students in the American Problems class broadcast on KXOK a discussion about the value of extending Social Security. The Girls Glee Club performed on KFUO and KWK, sang at the Veterans Hospital and, for an Easter Sunrise Service in 1949, performed on a national broadcast. By the mid-‘50s, the high school finally had its own radio station on 590, KLHS. Occasionally early course content resembled club-type activities. Fortunately those evolved quickly to provide quality classroom experiences. Members of the Math and Science departments, often lacking adequate equipment and supplies during the early years, developed creative curricula presented by effective teaching strategies. The early math focus reflected the influence of the shop classes. Students designed stained glass windows for the school and created geometric ornaments for the entryway Christmas tree. Science instructors faced similar challenges. Initially, they taught students how to design decorative candles and cosmetics. But soon, Robert Klinck helped chemistry students refine elaborate student entries in the St. Louis-area science fair at Washington University. In the May ’57 fair, four students—Otto Gansow, Tom Creighton, Barry Buchmueller and Richard Longerbeam—won the first place prize of $50. They had created a scale model display of an ammonia plant. The third prize of $15 went to Jan Giebert, Bud Wolf and Wayne Huelskoetter. In individual competition,

Richard Staats earned the runner up $25 award for his model of a wind tunnel. The next fall, science teacher Gil Daenzer took several students to a science fair workshop at Washington University to prepare for a return to the event. Students initiated some clubs that later continued as organizations at Lutheran South and Lutheran North. Because the new “popular method of studying . . . [was] through movies,” the Projector Club assisted instructors in operating the two sixteen-millimeter film and two slide projectors. The club’s significance extended to another era. Until the mid-‘70s, member students of respective “daughter” clubs at South and North could miss classes to assist a teacher showing a film. An early debate club, under the moniker Toastmasters’ Club, practiced in the cafeteria after school. A generation later the state activities association created a forensics competition and the organization became a permanent fixture. The Sabre Honor Society, its membership determined by those who maintained exceptional grades on a 3.0 scale, carried out local service projects. Los Charros, a Romance language club, met weekly to study Spanish and Latin culture. The Future Homemakers of America raised funds through bake sales to send a member to the annual national convention. The Mission Club canvassed the Brentwood area to help start a new congregation. On a few occasions, successes of clubs organized for specific culminating activities led to more-inclusive “all school” undertakings. Teachers Iris Guenther and Jonathan Messerli bravely escorted thirty-five seniors to Chicago for the first of many out-of-town trips. The Westward Ho Club, also advised by Messerli, even planned a post-graduation excursion to Yellowstone Park, the Badlands and the Rockies. Like many travel groups, these were temporary organizations created to complete a specific trip. But successful completion of the excursions encouraged the athletic department to consider playing basketball games against Lutheran high schools in Chicago. During the early years of Lutheran secondary education, Concordia Seminary and the high school had a special collaborative relationship. Many students had field workers helping in their congregations. Professor Richard Caemmerer and wife Dorothy served on the faculty, while Rev. Dr. Arthur Repp, Sr., was one of several who served on the Board. Instructor John Hoyer’s father Theodore and brother George were professors at the Sem. The track team practiced on the cinder oval just north of the KFUO facility and, as Lutheran High enrollment grew to 820 students in 1957, the tennis team practiced on the Seminary courts. Athletic Director Eldon “Pete” Pederson also worked very hard to make the Sem Fieldhouse a focal point of local Lutheran activities, particularly in athletics. After the Girls’ Glee Club helped dedicate Concordia Fieldhouse in 1949, he encouraged Lutheran High boosters to hold an annual spring activity in Clayton. A Fall Festival had been a fixture on the Lutheran High campus. Held between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on the first Saturday of October, activities included an auction, bake sale, Davy Crockett theater, mini-golf, ring toss, knock down dolls, rifle shoots, fish pond and bowling. Under the three big tents, participants could also eat at the smorgasbord that included roast turkey or beef and baked ham. Boosters raised funds for school needs in an oncampus affair. It continued as an “open house.” Pederson encouraged boosters to focus on more formal competitions at the spring program. It would be a great success. In March 1950, organizers held the first Sports Festival on the Seminary facility that, unlike the high school, offered abundant parking. Seating capacity for athletic events exceeded 2,500 and was always jammed to capacity, the spectators paying as much as seventy-five cents for admission. The annual fete had a full slate of activities. Typically, freshmen and sophomore basketball teams squared off in the opener. GAA followed with a volleyball game pitting Junior and Senior clubs against each other. A variety of additional activities—tumbling and trampoline demonstrations, flaming baton acts, badminton contests, majorette performances—followed the first games. After the varsity basketball team played the faculty (later, the squad played LHS alumni), Kirchhoff led his ensemble in a short choir concert. Sem students frequented the festivities, particularly in the early years of the celebrations. For a few returning GIs who entered pastoral training, it was a chance to leave their “Splinterville” housing, a collection of old wooden frame dwellings located between the track and Big Bend Boulevard. It was during those years that Crusader

home basketball games were held at the Seminary gym as preliminary events to Preacher contests. For two years as part of his campus job, Richard LaBore, a Sem student between 1954 and 1959, and fellow student Larry Neeb, broadcast home Crusader and Preacher basketball games over radio station KFUO FM. At times they described the stellar play of LaBore’s future fellow faculty member Jack Faszholz. The Sem became the headquarters of regional Lutheran contests. Most notable of those was the Concordia Invitational Tournament. In 1950, Pederson’s successful foray created a tournament for the basketball squads representing Concordia-Seward, Concordia-River Forest, the Springfield Seminary and the St. Louis Sem. The success of the rotating tourney encouraged him to facilitate a similar high school series involving Lutheran High. In 1953, Lutheran High hosted Luther North and Luther South of Chicago in a late January weekend series of games. In 1954, the Crusaders traveled to Chicago where they lost to both teams. In 1955, Principia joined the other three teams for a CIT-type weekend in St. Louis and even hosted the second night of contests. In 1957, Lutheran High and an undefeated St. Paul-Concordia’s squad co-hosted the event at the Sem. Beginning in 1960, Lutheran South provided a permanent fourth squad for the weekend series. The Sem served as the center for local Lutheran activities. Pastoral conferences met frequently on the Clayton campus. Lutheran elementary schools held annual track championships on the cinder oval. Sem students hosted these events, and were particularly instrumental in supervising the Lutheran elementary basketball tournament. They served as referees, scorekeepers and concessionaires for the more than fifty squads from the bi-state area that participated in the annual extravaganza. The accessible facility was particularly impressive because of its training amenities. Ben Kerner, owner of the NBA Hawks, moved his franchise to St. Louis in 1955. He sought a practice facility that had secured entry for private practices, a large NBA-sized floor, and areas that could be refurbished as weightlifting and training rooms. Preacher coach and athletic director Pete Pederson offered the Fieldhouse to Kerner. He accepted. Kerner permitted Sem students to use the training equipment during off hours. Occasionally, Crusader and Lancer squads also utilized the upgraded facility. More than a decade later the ABA Spirits franchise would do the same. “We (Almost) Win!” Basketball coach Erv Leimer, who coached the Crusaders in their home games at the Sem, joined the Lutheran High staff in 1946. Lange had asked the Brentwood High School mentor to serve as the Crusader athletic director. The former coach of Bismarck High School’s Missouri State basketball champions embraced the challenge of building Athletic and Physical Education departments. With no playing fields and tiny gyms in which the walls marked the out of bounds, Leimer had to be creative. The basketball team practiced at Bethany Church on Natural Bridge or at the Sem. It played an entirely away schedule until late 1949, when the Sem Fieldhouse became its “home away from home.” Football, baseball, track and tennis teams jogged and walked to practice at Forest Park or the Sem until the Booster Club donated a school bus for transport. The Booster Club, comprised of fathers of students who were members of athletic teams, worked closely with the school administration to coordinate volunteer staffing for event management. It also raised funds for specific equipment necessary for athletic activities. Success in basketball came early. The 1948-1949 basketball squad earned the school’s first trophy by capturing the Bayless Invitational Tournament. Sporting the iconic maroon and gold uniforms, the relatively small school competed in the state athletic association that at that time had only a single classification. Rabid fans followed the team wherever it played. They used their fifty-cent weekly passes to transfer between streetcars and buses to travel to the games. The team cobbled together an eight-game winning streak, qualified for the post-season regional tournament and finished with a loss to McBride High School.

Dressed in white letter sweaters and maroon corduroy slacks, cheerleaders like Mollie (Herrmann) Rohde (C ’49) and Ann Burkhart (C ’49) accompanied the teams to games. They led the “shouts” or “yells.” Besides supervising cheerleading for the girls, Jeanne (Wuestling) Knapp organized the Girls Athletic Association (GAA) intramural program in 1949. The girls played volleyball, softball, table tennis, badminton and basketball, clad in one-piece gym suits. Few scores were recorded. With the boys’ teams always having precedence for the bus, Lucille (Kreyling, C ’50) Lochmann remembered the day the girls’ softball team used the school bus—to the consternation of the boys. A year later the girls played a four-game schedule against schools like Principia, ending with a 1-3 record. In 1953, Leimer left to coach at John Burroughs before serving as athletic director at Parkway Central High School. His organizational abilities, coaching record and mentoring of student-athletes earned him induction into the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. Leimer left the Athletic Department in capable hands. In 1954, World History instructor and athletic director Herb Moldenhauer, who also served as the school disciplinarian, led the unranked, 15-5 baseball squad into the State playoffs. His charges upset favored Clayton to win District. The Crusaders traveled to Rolla for the Sectional contest. Down by a run in the top of the seventh, Leon Steinbrueck hit a bases-loaded double to defeat the hosts, 6-5. One player noted they had to have a police escort to leave town. The next day the group defeated McBride in a 6-5 “nail-biter” to reach the finals at Sportsman’s Park. Unofficially a “Lutheran Day” at the ballpark, many Lutheran fans of foe Cape Central filled much of the stadium alongside Lutheran fans of upstart Lutheran High. With the third game in three days, the Crusaders turned to sophomore starter Gary Schoen who went two innings. Rich “Rookie” Beumer (C ‘55) took the mound in the third. Down 4-0 in the sixth, Gary Zellinger’s inside-the-park grand slam tied the game, Crusader fans rushing onto the field to greet him at the plate. Cape Central, the state’s largest school that had won the basketball tournament in March, responded with the winning run in the seventh to take the contest 5-4. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports scribe noted, “Goliath won the day, but Little David had him sweating.” That appearance in the State championship might have punctuated, in a sense, the “end of the beginning,” except for another Crusader squad’s Phoenix-like rise from the ashes—the football team. Coach Robert Klinck’s outmanned squad, playing an annual six-game schedule, won only one game in four years. In 1957, as new coach and history teacher Myron (Mike) Marty arrived, Lutheran Central joined the ABC League. There would be a twoyear lag before the football team would play its first full league schedule—against teams that had a reputation for producing top-ranked squads. As Marty led the team through its first practices, a player asked if he had forgotten to practice their most-used play from the preceding year--the kickoff return! The student said that opponents had scored so many touchdowns in the Crusaders’ winless season, it was the one play they knew how to execute. The new coach dramatically reversed Central’s football fortunes. With Quarterback Hans Heinz scoring three touchdowns and leading a “vicious ground attack” the squad upended Fox 26-0. It toppled Wellston 19-8. Despite losing to Pattonville 20-13 (seven players were out because of a flu epidemic), the team ran over Parkway High 33-0. With two 90-yard TD romps, Heinz led the team over Lindbergh, 45-25. Despite a season-ending loss to undefeated Principia, the 4-2 squad produced the school’s first winning record. Success continued in 1958. Bill Leistritz and Larry Brown spearheaded a 4-2 campaign highlighted by the team scoring a record 143 points. Leistritz kicked several field goals and many extra points even though his practice in Forest Park amounted to aiming at a light pole. In its first year of football competition in the league in 1959, Marty led the Crusaders to a 5-3 overall record. Their lone win in a 1-3 league season was a 13-6 victory over Country Day School. Marty’s charges reprised their exceptional performances the following season. Playing home games on the Wellston High School field, they defeated Codasco again the next year, capping a four-year run of 20-9. One of its linebackers was Jim Manion, a future Lutheran North coach and faculty member. Unfortunately, it would be another twenty years during the 1980 season before the Crusaders would defeat Codasco again. But the athletic successes brought celebratory gatherings. The Athletic Department initiated a Fathers and Sons Banquet, the counterpart to the Mothers Club sponsorship of the GAA Mother-Daughter Banquet.

Expanding the Ministry: A Second School The population in St. Louis was moving to the suburbs. Many left their two- and four-family brick flats to purchase ranch-style homes in spacious, new communities. They commuted to work. During the post-war years, St. Louis was the nation’s second-largest automaker. Almost thirty thousand worked at the local GM, Ford and Chrysler plants on Union Boulevard, in Hazelwood and Fenton, respectively. Almost as many worked locally in downtown shoe factories, the breweries (particularly Anheuser-Busch), and stockyards across the Mississippi River. Until the Browns left at the end of the 1953 season, St. Louis had been “first in shoes, first in booze and last in the American League.” Other large local employers included Frisco Railroad, St. Louis Car (Baden), St. Louis Ship, General Steel Castings (Granite City), Carter Carburetor, Ralston Purina (at Checkerboard Square), Scullin Steel and Wagner Electric. Expansions of Emerson Electric, located in Ferguson, and McDonnell-Douglas, near Lambert, marked the movement of population westward along the West Florissant/Natural Bridge corridor. The average home sold for $22,000. A first class postage stamp was just three cents. Gas sold for twentythree cents a gallon and a pound of coffee was sixty-nine cents. Post-war reconversion meant job stability, rising wages and the chance to commute from the burgeoning suburbs. Large planned developments in St. Ann, Bellefontaine Neighbors and Dellwood on the north side, Ballwin to the west and Crestwood to the south brought the total of outlying county suburbs to eighty-five. Members of the Missouri Highway Commission noted the persistent traffic delays on arterial roads. They proposed a pinwheel of freeways from a downtown spoke: Mark Twain (I-70) to the northwest, Daniel Boone (U. S. 40) to the west and Ozark (I-55) to the south. Soon the families raising the baby boomers in the suburbs could shop at the new malls in Northland (Jennings), Westroads (now Galleria, in Richmond Heights), Crestwood Plaza (Crestwood) and South County (Mehlville). Lutherans moved to or sponsored suburban missions that soon became self-supporting parishes. There were more than eighty congregations and preaching stations in the St. Louis area. More than forty local parochial schools, with 6,600 enrolled, readily served as high school “feeders.” It was an era of creative cooperation. Congregations representing four large Midwestern synods—LCMS, ALC, UELC and ELC—combined resources to meet the needs of the almost 100,000 local Lutherans. The Council of Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Publicity Organization promoted various activities, funded local mission efforts, coordinated evangelism and church planting and supported programs for the needy. The Lutheran Services Commission, Lutheran Medical Mission Group, Lutheran Business Women, Lutheran Association for Retarded Children and Lutheran Children’s Services provided pan-Lutheran resources and programs. Cooperative efforts continued on a local level. Weekly solicitations in The St. Louis Lutheran asked readers to invest in the Lutheran Church Extension Fund to support congregational building programs. Smaller and landlocked congregations like Our Redeemer supplied a teacher in a joint parochial school effort at Holy Cross. Members of Peace-Lemay, Gethsemane-Lemay and Christ Memorial-Affton merged educational operations to create Green Park Lutheran School. St. James-University City, St. Andrew-University City, Grace-Wellston and Unity-Bel-Nor chartered an amalgamated parochial operation at Concord-Pagedale. It was made possible when the LAHE Board sold twenty-four acres to the consortium. The property was located in Pagedale on Ferguson Avenue. The four congregations divided the land into three parcels: six acres for the school; eight acres for the new site of Grace-Wellston; and ten acres for a new Pagedale park. But the proverbial handwriting was on the wall. It was time to build new high schools in the suburbs. Since 1932, when Unity-Bel-Nor had opened, the number of suburban congregations exceeded the number of urban anchors. Grace, located at St. Louis and Garrison, purchased land in Bellefontaine Neighbors. In 1954, its members broke ground at Highway 67 and Chambers Road. Soon, Grace Chapel joined Atonement-Florissant, St. Jacobi-Jennings, Immanuel Chapel- and Zion-Ferguson, Faith-Beverly Hills, Grace-Wellston, Unity-Bel-Nor, HopeSt. Ann and the rural but soon-to-be suburban Immanuel-Olivet, Our Redeemer-Overland, Salem-Black Jack and St. Peters-Spanish Lake to serve North County. English District congregation Pilgrim followed suit, purchasing land in North County in 1963 that later became the site of Chapel of the Cross. Congregational and mission growth in

the southern suburban ring followed the same trends. As truck farms became suburbs, the rural and small-town congregations grew in membership. As Lutherans moved into the suburbs many transferred to Salem-Affton, Concordia-Kirkwood, Webster Gardens-Webster Groves, Concordia-Maplewood, Gethsemane- and Peace-Lemay. Soon, their membership added up to exceed the rolls of south side city anchors Trinity, Emmaus, St. Trinity, St. Luke’s, Holy Cross, Christ, Our Redeemer, Messiah, Hope, Ascension, St. John’s and new mission Timothy. In the fall of 1953, Lutheran High’s enrollment exceeded the capacity mark. The Association voted to build two new schools. One would be built to the north and one to the south to accommodate a total of 1,600 students. The Association committed to raising almost $4 million to construct the two new facilities. Tapping in to the spirit of cooperation, the Board hired the Beavers, fundraisers who organized the Association congregations by their respective circuits. Each congregation selected a development committee chaired by a representative. By the summer of 1955, twenty-five congregations had enlisted leaders. Seven of those leaders had already assembled team rosters. Campaign chair Victor Koenig led an early August meeting at the downtown YMCA to plan a general gathering of all team leaders. At that early September meeting, held in the rathskeller of the Carling Brewing Company, 160 campaign leaders pledged to bring their enlistees to one of nine local parishes serving as a zone headquarters. At each of those assemblies, Sem prof Rev. Dr. Arthur C. Repp provided solicitor training. The campaign kickoff started on October 17. Like the first drive in 1945, the Beavers and Koenig timed this effort to coincide with the annual Reformation Day Rally at Kiel Auditorium and the Western District Teachers Conference at Lutheran High. After the initial drive began, the congregational teams met every couple of months in the homes of the circuit members. At the meetings they committed their own pledges, recorded campaign progress and planned additional publicity. Several parishes marked progress on large posters displayed in halls or entryways. At Our Redeemer-St. Louis, representatives posted a traditional thermometer gauge to tally contributions. Concordia-Maplewood used the image of a track oval (including the long straight for the 220 yard dash!) to mark the successful collection of pledges. But when the drive ended, only $1.8 million had been collected. The financial shortfall forced the Association to examine financial realities and regional demographics. More than thirty congregations—most in the suburbs—were involved in building programs that included new churches, parish halls or schools. After investing more than $7 million in the varied projects, their parishioners could not be expected to provide major financial resources for the LAHE. In the city, most parishes had been regularly transferring many of their younger couples to suburban congregations. Members of south side congregations like Trinity-Soulard also could not designate major commitments to the LAHE drive. Communicant membership, at 1,800 just after the war, had fallen to fewer than five hundred. Trinity lost parishioners because new highway construction removed many nearby blocks of former residences. And the new arrivals to the neighborhood were generally non-Lutherans, renters hoping to move to more favorable environs as quickly as possible. It would not be feasible to build two new high schools at the same time. A large concentration of Lutherans still remained in a blue-collar belt that extended from Union and Wells to Grand and Dodier. Many of those residents held membership in the largest city congregations like Bethlehem, Zion, Immanuel and Ebenezer. They were, for the time being, adequately served by Lutheran High. The most rapid congregational growth, though, was taking place in South County. For example, Salem-Affton and Concordia-Kirkwood both had more than 1,800 communicants while the targeted North County area was still sparsely populated. With less than half the goal pledged, only one school could be built. The more urgent need for a new high school was to the south. The northern project would have to wait. The Board considered three sites. The first was near the southwest quadrant of the Hampton/Eichelberger intersection. But that was determined to be “too far in” as population moved to the suburbs. The second was in the Gravois-River Des Peres area because that is where the City and County bus routes merged. But less expensive real estate further out encouraged the Board to select a site south of Gravois on Tesson Ferry Road. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in December 1956. Families of future Lancers periodically drove out to the “distant” campus to mark progress.

The 1956-1957 Crusader, marking the last time all Lutheran secondary students attended school together, included a frontispiece of an artistic design of the planned “Southside Lutheran High School.” Its editors celebrated the total enrollment figure of 820 at Lutheran High but lamented how the three-minute passing periods were too short. As many as three students had to share each hall locker. More than seventy tried out for the basketball teams. The tennis team was so large it had to send half of the squad to practice at the Sem and the other half to Forest Park. And, despite Norman Junghans’ two medals at the State track meet in 1948, lack of access to facilities forced termination of the track program. However, the large number of students permitted the addition of a second stage performance in the spring. After presenting Twelfth Night for the annual fall production, the Drama Department presented, in March, The Mikado. Soon the department performed more modern pieces including the contemporary Diary of Anne Frank. The final graduating class from the one high school totaled 130 matriculating seniors. They were shepherded by administrators Lange and Moldenhauer and thirty-eight faculty. Rev. Gerhardt Nitz, who served as liturgist, and Grace congregation hosted the baccalaureate service on June 2. The Board designated the offering for the Lutheran High School Student Aid Fund. Two days later, in the Lutheran High auditorium, the students received their diplomas. Lange, who served as principle speaker, presided over the various traditions the Crusaders had created in less than a decade: presentation of a class song, motto, colors and flower; reading of the class history and poem; recognition of honor roll students, yearbook honoree and school gift designee. The graduates and audience ended the service as the ceremony always had: the singing of the “School Hymn.” With 690 returning students anticipated for the fall semester—not including the incoming freshmen class—the participants could go in God’s peace, thankful for the blessings showered on the unique local ministry to teens. The partnership of participating and supportive congregations, elementary schools, Walther Leagues and Board members had nurtured the seeds planted in 1946 to “grow” a sturdy “tree” that supplied a “cutting” for replanting in South County. 9515 Tesson Ferry Road Expansion plans incorporated two key components: congregational support and congregational cooperation. In September 1957, 118 freshmen attended classes at educational facilities at south city congregations: forty-four at Our Redeemer, at Oregon and Utah; and seventy-four at Hope, near Christy Park. The LAHE paid for renovations at both facilities to better serve the ninth graders. At Our Redeemer, the LAHE remodeled the education annex. One classroom was on the first floor, while two additional rooms were up two flights of stairs on the second floor. Students met in the basement of fellowship hall for daily chapel. Carl Rehwaldt (S ’61), a member of the first graduating class, remembered that the ninth grade was simply an extension of grade school. Only fifteen steps from the back door of the parsonage where he lived, classes were held in already familiar rooms at church. Our Redeemer’s Rev. H. A. Rehwaldt, his father, was one of his teachers, and South Principal Michael Stelmachowicz was the assistant pastor at Our Redeemer. Most of the students were former classmates from Holy Cross School, which was only seven blocks away. For co-ed PE class they hiked to Holy Cross Hall on Texas Avenue just south of Michigan Street. The Hall was part of what had once been Concordia Seminary prior to its 1926 move to the Clayton campus. It had changing rooms but no showers. PE was usually scheduled for the last class period of the day so students would not have to rush back to class—or have “sweaty” classrooms. PE included volleyball. The rules at that time permitted each participant to “set” the ball to him- or herself prior to passing to another player. The students selected school colors and the school mascot. They chose “Black and Gold” over “Blue and Silver,” and designated the Lancer, rather than the Griffin, as the mascot. Gold represented the continuity and unity of the two Lutheran high schools, while black represented individuality. Like the Crusaders of Central, they, too, chose to serve as “soldiers in God’s army,” but called themselves Lancers. Several who had older siblings

attending Central knew the Crusader pep song better than the new Lancer tune. The first Lancer yearbook of 1957-1958 was an insert to the Crusader. David Rohde, who coached and taught four years at Lutheran High after a stint in the U. S. Army in Germany, was one of several on the South faculty who took the twenty-minute drive between the educational centers to teach classes. A St. Louis native and graduate of Southwest High School and Washington University, he worked summers at CPH as a full-time editor of educational materials. He also taught psychology and counseling courses two nights a week at the Lutheran School of Nursing. Wife Mollie (C ’49), a Kansas “Johnnie,” taught Kindergarten at Hope and nurtured their four young children—Cindy (S ’73), Mark (S ’76), Mike (S ’79) and Lauren (S ’86). At the new “high school,” a shortage of large communal space meant almost no contact between the groups on the two campuses. They participated in only two socials that first year, and, unlike the Crusaders who ended the school year with a picnic, waited until they moved to the new facilities before organizing a similar activity. But they did play a role in the annual magazine campaign. The previous year, Crusaders set an all-time record by grossing $15,000 in sales and netting a $5,000 profit. The income funded athletic and band uniforms, choir robes, class treasuries, Student Council projects and the Mothers Club. While the Crusaders sold the traditional offerings like Look, Life and Time, the participants at the ninth grade centers sold distinctly Lutheran and family-oriented fare: This Day, Christian Parent and My Chum. The addition of the ninth-grade centers created a much larger marketing area for the three-weekend drive. Sales totals exceeded the previous record. The Lancers did not have the convenience of a hot lunch program and had only limited extracurricular opportunities. They organized a chorus, a girls’ glee club, a Student Council, lower-level basketball team and a pep club. Bad weather and a shortage of building materials delayed construction. The school building would not open as planned in February 1958. The Lancers finally entered the facilities the following September. Like at the original Lutheran High just twelve years before, faculty and volunteers scrubbed down classrooms and dodged still-working construction crews during the first weeks of school. Many students had to take the bus to school. One route, the Cherokee, carried them to the end of the line at the Hampton loop. Then dozens of boys carrying gym bags and girls hauling armloads of books would pack an occasional standing-room-only county bus to complete the trip to the South campus. County transit service ended at 5:00 p.m. Those who attended athletic practices or participated in after-school activities had to “hitch” or walk to the loop. On rare occasions, parents or older siblings would pick up someone after the completion of an activity at South. During pre-seatbelt days, a driver could be cajoled into jamming as many as possible into the vehicle for a ride to the loop or closer to home. Freshmen and sophomores totaling 230 students entered Lutheran South, with a staff of sixteen supervised by Stelmachowicz. One of the new teachers was former Lutheran High student David Wiesner who taught Social Studies and PE and coached the basketball team. Rohde (English and Social Studies), Robert Wendt (Science and Math) and Wilbert Wehmueller (English and Social Studies) formed various departments to fulfill Lange’s vision for education. Rev. H. A. Rehwaldt continued in his role as a religion teacher. Trinity-Soulard teacher Eugene Brott accepted a call to teach Science and Math. At times, Brott gave south side students a ride to the high school, picking them up along Gravois as he drove out the traffic artery. Bob Flach headed a six-person custodial staff. Initially the cafeteria needed only three cooks: Ruth Pieper, who served for the first two decades; Erma Huelskoetter and Ruth Brommer. But within three years the staff included six. Other changes quickly followed. Lange accepted the new position of Superintendent of the LAHE, with offices at Lake and Waterman, and baseball coach Moldenhauer became principal of the “new” Lutheran Central. The new Lutheran South facility faced east, fronting on Tesson Ferry Road. It was only a short walk north to Gravois Road and the Ten Mile House, a local “greasy spoon” noted for quick service. Set back almost one hundred yards from the road, the four-girder gymnasium linked the north parking lot with the educational wing. According to engineers at Kirkwood-based SSE, one of whose owners was Eugene Siebold, the structure had enough strength to serve as a tornado shelter.

As students walked south into the building, they passed administrative and counseling offices on the left. To the right, the large u-shaped cafeteria (it doubled as a chapel during the first year) wrapped around a full service kitchen. After passing the bookstore, students entered the two-story educational wing. To the east on the first floor were the math classrooms and science labs. The second floor housed social studies and English classrooms and storage. The west wing first floor section included foreign language classrooms and, at the far west end, the art and shop areas. The second floor west wing provided space for religion and more English classrooms as well as the typing and business rooms. The basement included two large classrooms and two smaller areas. To the east was the choir room equipped with risers. To the west was the band room and its storage lockers. At the northwest corner of the building was the boys’ locker room and exit to the athletic field. The girls’ locker room was on the south side of the gym. The western section of the twenty-five-acre campus was the football, soccer and baseball field. It was situated in a north-south arrangement, the home bleachers on the east side, visitors’ on the west. When the building committee finally purchased the sod for the athletic field, coaches bused the football team to the sod farm at the Lutheran orphanage in Des Peres, loaded the plats onto a truck and then, back at South, placed the sod on the designated areas. For a year, it became a work in progress. A backstop at the northwest corner of the property sheltered home plate. Snow fencing just east of the football sideline would later serve as the left field “wall” and protect cars from most hard-hit line drives. The chief parking area was north of campus. A smaller parking lot lay between the educational wing and the football field. The shot put circle was located at the northeast corner of the football field while the discus throwers tossed off the parking lot toward the south end of the football field. A cemetery owned the land west of the campus but at that time did not use it for burials. That cemetery would later provide “borrowed” space as the cross country runners, hosting occasional home meets, loped along the tombstones en route to the finish of the two mile course that ended on the football field. To the south was a subdivision of new single-family homes. To the north was Gern Nursery and to the east, across Tesson Ferry, behind a single row of homes, was woodland. The Association owned the land that extended east to the railroad tracks. Christ Memorial Lutheran Church was less than a mile to the south on Tesson Ferry. The students worshipped, studied, practiced and ate under the shadow of a large white wooden cross, constructed in honor of the late Robert Klinck, Lutheran High science instructor and one-time football coach. The dress code for guys was simple. No one could wear blue jeans, and all pants had to have a “visible means of support.” Girls were required to wear skirts or dresses. Athletic opportunities for the boys became available that first fall on the new campus. Wehmueller and Robert Braunschweig coached B and C football teams. Brott started a seven-man cross country team. The squad often ran behind school or on the plot of land behind homes just east of Tesson Ferry. The team also practiced by running along River Des Peres in the green spaces (“the Greens”) north of Gravois. Only a few blocks from the “loop,” it was a very convenient location for those who took the city bus home after practice. That winter, Coach David Schlie headed up the new B basketball team. In the spring, Weisner took the reins of the baseball squad. GAA had two groups: freshmen and sophomores. Those participants played an intramural schedule. In addition to the clubs started on the double city church campuses during the difficult first year, the united student body formed several new groups. Those included the twelve-member Baton Twirlers, the five-member Recorder Society, a ten-member Band, an all-girl Bowling League, Science Club, Projectionist Club, Bookstore Club and Library Assistants Club. New arrival Conrad Carlton headed the Art Club. Chief editor Ruth Allwardt led the Troubadour staff, the first Lancer publication group. Rohde advised the fledgling journalists. The first Lancers also established the Student Advisory Group. The administration selected students to provide peer support. They offered counsel and advice to students who might otherwise face disciplinary actions because of deficient academic performance or detrimental behavior. The organization addressed bullying decades prior to it becoming a national cause du jour.

A Cooperative New Start As the United States entered the era of the space race and waged the Cold War, the local economy received a boost. The McDonnell-Douglas plant in North County, awarded work on the Mercury project, became the state’s largest, employing more than thirty thousand. Curators of the University of Missouri system finalized the plans for a satellite campus in Normandy. It opened in 1963 as the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The new Junior College District created three community colleges in metropolitan St. Louis. Lambert Fields’ passenger and freight traffic overwhelmed the old facilities so the city added a new terminal building. Gaslight Square in the Central West End (CWE) included almost one hundred music clubs, bars and restaurants. Urban renewal in the Mill Creek Valley and the construction of the Pruitt and Igoe apartment towers provided hope for those seeking better housing opportunities. The city prepared for its bicentennial. Local officials invited President Lyndon Johnson to the festivities that happened to coincide with the commemoration of the hoped-for final completion of the Arch grounds. But as people moved to the spacious suburbs, St. Louis City lost almost one-sixth of its 1950 population, falling to just over 700,000. The population of St. Louis County followed a reverse trajectory, almost tripling from 275,000 in 1950 to more than 700,000 by the mid-‘60s. When Northwest Plaza near the airport opened in 1965, it held the distinction, briefly, of being the largest retail space in the world. Developers began planning for Jamestown Mall, located in what was at the time farm fields and cattle country near the intersection of North Highway 67 and North Lindbergh. Others planned a similar mall at the intersection of soon-to-be-completed I-55 and South Lindbergh, and the St. Louis County Library opened a new branch at Tesson Ferry and Lindbergh. The LCMS, like St. Louis County, continued its rapid growth. By the mid-‘60s, a 60% increase in baptized and a 50% increase in communicant membership garnered totals of 2.6 and 1.6 million, respectively. While new school growth “only” increased by 18%, school enrollment rose by 80% to total 157,000 students. New teacher education programs at Synodical schools, Valparaiso University and the Milwaukee Lay Institute (including a new program for educating secondary teachers) provided new candidates, doubling the total number of called teachers to almost six thousand. With such growth, more than 150 administrators and employees crowded the Synodical headquarters at 210 North Broadway. With two high schools now, Lange moved into the new position of LAHE Superintendent where he would serve until 1962. Under the leadership of Principal Herb Moldenhauer (1957-1959), Lutheran Central provided instructors and services for fledgling Lutheran South. Occasional joint activities and personnel brought together Lutheran congregants from across a broad area. Together, they resolved common challenges. Beginning in 1960, both schools provided school bus transportation from more distant Lutheran elementary schools. As public buses replaced all but the last streetcars on the Hodiamont line, Lange worked with Bi-State to extend service out to the “far reaches”--first to Grasso Plaza and, later, Northland Plaza. County bus service still ended runs at 5:00 p.m. Students at Lutheran South, in particular, had trouble getting home after later practices or club meetings. Several resorted to hitchhiking down Gravois Road back to the city bus terminal on Hampton. Unfortunately, after dark, fewer drivers were willing to pick up the “hitchers.” Mornings were more fruitful. A few young men got picked up regularly by drivers like Brot on a daily basis. By 1963, direct bus service helped resolve the problem. Many of the students at South and Central had been encouraged by Lutheran elementary school teachers and parish pastors to attend the high schools. Co-curricular and extra-curricular instructors also steered students toward Lutheran secondary education and fostered cooperative efforts between the two high schools. Jazz musicians from Gaslight Square, including Sammy Gardner, taught part time band instruction at local Lutheran elementary schools. Those instructors trained budding musicians for Ralph Lee’s (he moonlighted as a banjo player at a local Shakey’s Pizza Parlor) bands at Lutheran Central and later Lutheran South. Central’s yearbook editors included South’s student body in 1958 and 1959 Crusader editions. During the 1959-1960 school year, South’s students created the first Lance yearbook. After South graduated its first class, editors at both schools frequently exchanged news columns in the respective school newspapers, Courier and Troubadour. Moldenhauer

and Stelmachowicz nurtured further parental involvement with the ministry as the Parent Teacher League, serving as a liaison between staff and parents, provided an opportunity to “. . . discuss problems relating to the growth and training of Christian teenagers.” Alluding to future challenges, it also provided a contemplative way of discussing disagreements over issues of faith. One of Moldenhauer’s most effective innovations was a “back to school night” in September. Parents walked through their child’s academic schedule, attending each class for ten minutes. As the school year progressed, the event facilitated a continuing dialogue between parents and teachers to deal with any classroom issues that might arise. It always was the best-attended parent meeting of the year. As enrollment at the two schools grew, it became impossible to hold joint services and assemblies at either location or at the Sem. Soon, principals led their respective senior classes at separate baccalaureate services and then held a joint graduation at Kiel Opera House. New Lutheran South Principal Roland Eggerding (1961-1989) helped plan the early Kiel celebrations. Student Council at Central creatively shared social occasions with South. Several times the members decorated South’s gym for the Junior-Senior Banquet and shared facilities for gala events at Union Station or the Sem Fieldhouse. After a revision of the Student Council constitution, Central’s Student Council consisted of the four traditional officers and two representatives from each homeroom. Four committees—education, worship, service, fellowship—created projects, programs and drives. South’s student leadership followed the same protocols. Cooperation between students at the two high schools fostered a unity of purpose. South side Lutherans owed much to the north side. Support from the north side helped provide southsiders with their new high school. Now, under the auspices of the Association front office, congregational representatives again solicited pledges for the north side building program. While the campaign continued, student groups and auxiliary activities funded their own activities. The annual magazine campaign, pitting each class against the others, raised money for Student Council activities that included sending three officers to the Ft. Wayne National Convention of Lutheran Student Councils. Carwashes, sales of “long-lasting light bulbs” and the merchandising of chocolate bars were popular options. At the Fall Festival sponsoring groups supervised games like mini-golf, hat toss and a dunking booth. German and soccer socials made the schools a social “center of Christian Education.” A Faith Forward drive in 1964 designated all chapel collections to the Lutheran North building program. Other Student Council-led collections and drives helped the education of two students in Latin America; provided food for the Lutheran City Mission; distributed clothing to Lutheran churches to distribute to the destitute. In another creative way, students, by drinking enough Pepsi, raised money to sponsor a foreign exchange student who attended Central the next year. Musical groups provided yeoman service for special occasions. Lee’s band marched with the South contingent in the annual Veiled Prophet Parade. For several years, the two groups also marched in a Clean Up Parade. Starting in Forest Park the musicians, accompanied by baton twirlers, were one of only six high school bands that trekked the more than two-mile route through the Central West End. Lee initiated German, Dance and Jazz bands. The glee clubs and choir occasionally performed on WIL, KFUO and KMOX. The Central choir “cut” a “45” record of Christmas selections. In 1958 the Central choir sang at the cornerstone laying of the new Tesson Ferry campus. And on October 21, 1962, the choir also sang at the groundbreaking for the new campus in the rolling terrain between Northwoods and Jennings. Lutheran Central renewed North Central Accreditation in 1960. New principal Kermit (K. C.) Meyer (19591964) was confident the high school community would continue to “do all to the glory of God.” Meyer already had extensive experience during his career. After teaching in Lansing and Detroit, Michigan, he served as principal at Ebenezer Lutheran School. A Concordia-River Forest graduate, he had recently earned his Masters in Education at SLU. The new arrival had valuable experience in marshalling resources to improve academic performance. The accreditation had triggered discussions about the philosophy of Lutheran education. Administrators, faculty and parents promoted the idea that instructors in the school were teaching a Christ-centered curriculum that included

all aspects of a student’s life. A good example of that was the series of chapel dramas John Hoyer used in worship at Central. A new physics course revealed the creative methods the faculty had adopted during the past decade. The Science Department, including Gil Daenzer, taught no longer by “giving facts” but by leading experiments that helped students create a basis for scientific conclusions. It was the beginning of “experiential” or “hands on” teaching. The approach motivated the students to excitedly anticipate the new classroom activities. Sometimes they were too excited. One pundit noted that Daenzer soon posted a sign in the front of his room. It read, “More Lab. Less Oratory.” He also started a new club, the Piston Pushers. Its members worked on cars. However, with only the asphalt space behind Central, poor weather, and a 4:00 p.m. deadline for him to drive his home-bound bus route, it was not as long-lived as the classroom developments. Crusaders experienced extra-curricular successes as they became familiar with their ABC League counterparts. As the League entered its fourth decade, Crusaders on all levels and Lancers, initially on non-varsity levels, competed against long-time members Western Military Academy, Principia, Codasco and John Burroughs. Coach Louis Schroer’s basketball quintet won Central’s first League championship. Central’s first cross country team in 1960 “earned more character than wins.” But soon the squad, promoted as a way for cagers to get into shape, won an ABC title. Baseball won three titles in a row. Athletic Director Wayne Vogelsmeier, who had coached football, scheduled all Central home games at South’s new field. He then started a soccer program. GAA added field hockey and, with basketball, girls had two interscholastic opportunities for competition. One of the participants in both sports was Barb Klingsick, who also served as a class president. As the Board supervised the preparations for beginning construction at Lutheran North in 1962, Lange accepted a position at Valparaiso University to head the Education Department. He retired in 1977 but continued to volunteer with the schools’ recruiting services until 1984. When Lange left, principals Meyer and Eggerding shared the responsibilities of the position of superintendent until 1964. That year, as the Central staff and student body prepared to move to the new campus, the Board called Meyer to serve full time in that capacity. Edward Werner would serve as the principal of the new high school. An important precedent had been established. As Board members sought candidates to serve as staff leaders at Central, and later at North, they would almost always select from “in house” personnel. Most called administrators would be identified from the staff, indicating an Association commitment to developing its leaders who had intimate knowledge about the local Lutheran and St. Louis community. The pattern of elevating teachers to leadership positions also encouraged other high schools and colleges to strongly consider called staff of the LAHE to fill vacated positions. Central, South and later, North, became a training ground for teacher development. Lange believed that as the instructors gained experience and academic standing, they should become teachers at Lutheran colleges or administrators in high schools. He encouraged their professional development. Dave Rohde served on Synod’s C. F. W. Walther Sesquicentennial celebration committee. Myron Marty, Jerry Pfabe, Don Prahlow and Jack Greising all earned Ph.D. degrees in history at SLU. Father Francis Bannon, chair of the SLU History Department, called the group “Lutherans in Residence.” All later taught collegiate graduate and undergraduate courses at a variety of Midwestern institutions. Donald Mundinger, Gil Daenzer, Chuck Hoger, Bill Ahlbrand and Gene Brott (from South) were several who earned advanced degrees in other subject areas and later taught collegiate students. Lange, Moldenhauer and Rich Wallace, among others, moved into administration, assisted the development of teacher education programs and started or revived high schools and associations in Detroit, Cleveland and Orlando. The First Lancers “I, a Lancer of Lutheran High School South, am grateful that God through Christ has called me to serve Him and has granted me the privilege to attend this school. Therefore I surrender my life to God and pray that during my years at Lutheran High South He may mold and shape it to a useful Christian life.” The Lancer creed, highlighted

on the third page of the school’s first Lancer yearbook in 1960, was part of its dedication to the Lutherans of St. Louis who had made the new high school possible. Each day 375 Lancers and the faculty met in the basement chapel/band room for opening worship. Visiting pastors provided homilies two days each week while male faculty led chapel each of the other three days. Like Central, South formed a PTL and Mothers Club. The PTL, whose leadership consisted of the principal, secretary, president (its first officer was Albert Schicht) and vice president, was organized to keep the parents informed about the educational functions of the school. It also facilitated meetings between faculty and parents to confer about student classroom performance. The Mothers Club, chaired by first president Nancy Hartman, met the third Wednesday of every month. It coordinated the magazine campaign fund-raiser (the Lancers lost to the Crusaders the first year) and the annual fashion show. The funds defrayed the cost of the new GAA Banquet each spring. At that time the members of the Mothers Club celebrated successes of the Mary Woods-led intramural program. It included fall and spring softball, and winter competitions in basketball, volleyball and tumbling. Woods’ baton twirlers were also recognized by the group. They had performed at assemblies and halftimes of the boys’ basketball games. The Boosters Club was a loosely coordinated cooperative effort between the two high schools. First Lancer president Ben Pieman was charged with coordinating the fund raising for the extra-curricular activities at South. The organization sponsored the Fall and Sports festivals, Fathers and Sons Athletic Banquet and provided attendants at home games and some school activities. As one of its first purchases specifically for South, the Boosters purchased new uniforms for the twenty-member band and new robes for the thirty-member chorus. Director Frederick Petersen was particularly thankful for the club’s generosity. With enrollment smaller than that of Central, many of the classes, clubs and organizations closely coordinated activities. Conrad Carlton’s students in Ceramics and Silk-Screening classes provided elaborate decorations for the Christmas Concert. They also decorated the initially empty hallway walls with creative posters. Charles Froehlich led the Religion Club. It had been formed by students interested in studying the theological issues raised in a variety of religion classes. New biology instructor Roland Jagels, along with Arlene Neben, guided intramural activities for those not involved in extra-curricular athletics. Bowling Club met each Tuesday evening at Red Bird Lanes. On-campus competitions included ping pong, horseshoes and a basketball tournament. The Lancers selected Bob Heimburger as the first Student Council president. He, in coordination with faculty advisor Bill Wendt, led the home room representatives in developing a Buzz Book, funding a milk machine, financing “extras” for the lunch program, sending representatives to the Detroit convention of Lutheran Student Councils, creating a chapel committee and hiring buses for students to ride to the games. Most activities were publicized by Dave Rohde and the staff of seventeen that compiled the Troubadour. Those students met a rigorously demanding production schedule. Each month they put out a 1,500-copy run of school news and activities. They distributed the newspaper to faculty, students, Association congregations and schools. Dorcas Mueller advised the dozen who comprised the staff of the new Lance. The featured highlight in the sports section in the 1960 Lance was the Coach Bill Wendling-led basketball squad. That year, during a 4-14 campaign, the Lancers joined the Crusaders on a road trip to play a two-night set of games against sister Chicago schools Luther North and Luther South. The series continued for seven years. Wendling’s first varsity squad, that team of 1959-1960, also initiated the long-time rabid basketball rivalry with the Crusaders. In December 1959, South’s team, for the first time on a varsity level, hosted Central. The Crusaders won, 55-44. Then, on February 6, 1960, Central hosted South at the Fieldhouse. It was a momentous occasion, the first of many meetings in the “Sem Game” series. The Crusaders won again, 42-30. During the 1960-1961 school year, Lancers finally had four classes represented in the rapidly growing school. Carl Rehwaldt served as the first Lancer Student Council president to lead a four-class student body. He and his senior classmates established several new traditions. They elected the first senior class officers: Rip Meyer (president), Bill Schicht (vice president) and Jeanne Eggerding (secretary-treasurer). They also showed a sense of

humor. For the senior prank, the students checked out almost every book in the library. Other actions established long-term precedents. Seniors and faculty met for a senior brunch, and members of the graduating class went to Messiah for baccalaureate service. Graduation on June 6, 1961, took place at Kiel Auditorium, the two Association schools sharing the stage bleachers for the first of many joint ceremonies. All had plenty to celebrate. It was an exceptional class and an exceptional year. Five earned recognition as National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists. A sixth, Denver junior transfer Judith (Wangerin) Meyer would, four decades later, return to St. Louis from New England. After a career in higher education, she would serve as Association President. The South community could also celebrate the high school’s North Central accreditation. Like at Central a dozen years before, accreditation was granted to South prior to the awarding of diplomas to its first graduating class. Lance editors Carol Hrivnak and Linda Klammer, advised by Mueller, noted these items in a retrospective “Foreward” in the 1961 Lance. They incorporated the three steps of the new facility’s formation—the groundbreaking service during the snowy December day in 1956; the student ninth grade centers at Hope and Our Redeemer; and the January 18, 1959, dedicatory service of worship and thanksgiving attended by more than three thousand—as a way to “focus forward” on the cross. The edition was dedicated to “Paddlin’ Parson” Rev. Stelmachowicz (he won some of the intramural ping pong tournaments). In the dedicatory paragraphs, the Lance editors noted the sacrifices his family had made for the ministry on the south side and his focus on excellence in education that garnered the accreditation. It had been an auspicious beginning. Students and staff had occupied the building for a semester prior to its formal dedication. The January 18, 1959 dedicatory service revealed the incredible excitement generated by the opening of the new facility. Gravois Road was ill equipped to handle heavy west-bound traffic attempting to make the left turn onto Tesson Ferry. Many attendees driving out from the city faced long delays getting to the service held in the new gym. As they arrived, they parked on the unpaved lot and tramped through mud to enter the building. It was standing room only. Rev. Dr. Arthur C. Repp, Sr., an Association Board member and Dean of Students at the Sem, served as dedicatory speaker. He proclaimed, “May those who come to learn and those who come to teach at Lutheran High School South ever appreciate the wonderful works of God. May those who are graduated from this school catch the vision of its purpose and dedicate their life to the glory of God.” This partisan enthusiasm carried over into the daily activities at the new school. Parents and students quickly created a community strongly supportive of South and Association plans. Student involvement, an asset noted in the accreditation of Central a decade before, was one of the strengths at South. Rapid membership growth in existing organizations and the formation of new clubs shaped the unique service focus of the Association schools. Many girls, in particular, with very few extra-curricular opportunities at that time, joined the groups. An allfemale Service Club, advised by Neben, helped teachers and administration by providing clerical services. The GAA grew so quickly it had to meet two days a week, upperclassmen on Monday evenings and freshmen and sophomores on Thursdays. Chess Club (Thursday matches), German Club (cookies, folk songs and caroling on Fridays), Debaters (Rev. Richard LaBore supervised the lively forensics action in the spring), Recorders (Wil Wehmueller’s group included sixteen) and Carlton’s Poster Club (Tuesday meetings) promoted civic involvement in the context of a larger community. LaBore’s Thespian Club also performed the first recorded drama activity at South, presenting Meet Me in St. Louis that spring. An enthusiastic reporter noted, “Using a unique ‘theater in the round,’ the action would spill into the [audience’s] laps!” Student Council presented a number of assemblies. They included the GE assembly that focused on modern science (a traveling science library graced the facilities for a few months); a typing assembly that demonstrated the skills of a locally renowned world-class typist; the magazine campaign kick-off assembly (South finally defeated Central in that contest). After the football contest during the Fall Festival, clubs and organizations staffed the games, contests of skill and demonstration booths in the Big Tent on the back lot. Most attendees stayed for the BBQ supper served by the Boosters. Within two years the fete was rechristened Lancer Day.

The year was also notable for setting high standards in the ABC League and at the State levels of competition. Gene Brott’s fledgling cross country squad, “averaging 8-10 miles per day,” won the first Lancer varsity League title, the first of four in five years. His squad did so in a variety of competitive settings. Most meets in the county were held in park-like venues. But several in the city were simply lap-type competitions run on cinder tracks! The second league champions, under the guidance of Fred Cates, included the leadership of Mike Rose and Roger Komorech. Art Schroeder helmed the last two winning league campaigns, Mel Cottom, Jim Streufert and John Engelhardt leading the pack. During Schroeder’s second year at the helm, “super soph” Russ Kuecker joined Cottom at the front of the race peloton. They competed in a District that had more than thirty schools because St. Louis city and county schools of all sizes competed in the same qualifying meet. Cottom and Kuecker led the squad to State meet berths and Kuecker earned the first of three All State medals. Baseball coach Rev. Jack Faszholz, a former member of the Cardinals (see Chapter 3, below), led his charges to ABC runner up with a 7-3 record, Fred Stutz and Heimburger earning All ABC laurels. Lancer Faculty Core South’s reputation in academics, athletics and fine arts drew many to tour the new facility. Three hundred eighth graders attended the first freshmen visitation conducted during the spring of 1961. Almost 65% of the visitors applied for admission. The following September, school enrollment totaled six hundred. Because Stelmachowicz accepted a call to Concordia-Seward, new Principal Roland Eggerding headed the administrative staff. Eggerding had a breadth of experience in Lutheran high school education. A ’45 Concordia-River Forest graduate, he played football, basketball and track for the Cougars and set the long-standing Concordia javelin record. Those experiences buoyed his first teaching position at Racine Lutheran High where he started the PE Department and the first football and baseball teams. After the six-year stint in Wisconsin, he served in a variety of administrative positions at Walther Lutheran High in Melrose Park. He created a nurturing environment for the faculty that would encourage long-time commitments to the ministry at South. The Guidance Department included Rohde, Wehmueller, Fred Grundmann and Wendling. Wehmueller also served as Registrar and Dean of Students, and Grundmann as religion instructor. As basketball coach, Wendling led the basketball squad to its first winning season. Practical Arts staff included Neben (bookkeeping, shorthand and typing); Bob Guilfoil (industrial arts, technical drawing); and Nola Fischer (typing, office practice, business law). In Fine Arts, Lee, who also served as band director at Central, joined veteran art teacher Carlton and choir director Henry Engelhardt. Engelhardt, using the new “baby grand” in the choir room, immediately founded a Boys Quartet, Triple Trio, Boys and Girls Glee clubs and a German Choir. He also used all musical groups in performing the first spring musical extravaganza, Gilbert and Sullivan’s H. M. S. Pinafore. It would not be the last! Jagels and newcomer basketball coach Herman Meyer taught most of the math and science sections. Don Oetting, commuting from St. Charles, headed the Social Studies Department while Nancy Corbett helmed the English. Foreign Language teachers Leonard Kutscher and Froelich, noted for his passionate celebrations of Beethoven’s birthday, joined LaBore, Grundmann, and Faszholz in the Religion Department. Myra Nell, whose GAA basketball and soccer teams played short interscholastic seasons, taught PE. Faszholz “moonlighted” in the PE department and also led the baseball squad to its first ABC title. Within a year, Walt Pankow (Guidance), Roy Pfund (Science), Dick Otto (PE) and Art Schroeder (Social Studies and Math) filled out the core of the faculty roster. The biggest change, though, was in the Association front office. In the fall of 1962, founding father Lange left to lead the Education Department at Valparaiso University. Suddenly Eggerding and Central counterpart K. C. Meyer shared the responsibilities of the superintendent. They had to complete the campaign to finance the construction on the North campus and supervise the initial design of the new facility. Eggerding was fortunate to have an experienced group of instructors supplemented by many new energetic arrivals. Cooperation between the two campuses also helped, as South’s curriculum reflected

Central’s arrangement into Commercial, College Prep and General tracks. Lee counseled Central about the future of the band. That school year, in one of the last Sports Festivals held at the Sem, the program featured a professional tennis match, pitted each school’s best female “six” cagers against each other and closed the evening with a Central faculty basketball victory over the South newcomers. The Central Student Council also provided ancillary assistance as the Lancers hosted, under the watchful eye of advisor Grundmann, the annual National Lutheran High School Student Council Convention in November 1961. Senior religion classes, mentored by LaBore, and the Student Council helped guide a homogenous white, Lutheran student body to an awareness of what was happening in society locally, nationally and internationally. LaBore required students to take field trips into the community to help them better understand and empathize with those whom they did not know. To better understand the role of blue collar workers in the business of marketing, they toured National Stockyards. To better understand the reality of news reports, students visited the morgue. And, to better understand the civil rights issues during the era, they observed protests at City Hall. His students also visited Otis Woodard in the North Grand Watertower neighborhood. While he distributed supplies to the local needy families, the students saw some jarring, eye-opening experiences that helped them become sensitive to other people’s realities. LaBore also fostered a sense of openness in the classroom. He began classes with “high fives,” prayer and “humor for the day.” With this more informal approach to education, his thespians could more confidently complete a variety of challenging performances. The theater-in-the-round comedies included You Can’t Take It With You and Arsenic and Old Lace. The student actors also added to their repertoire the more sobering J.B., a play about Job, and Ibsen’s Enemy of the People. In a “Broadway coup,” with the special courtesy of the publisher, LaBore directed the first amateur performance anywhere of John Osborne’s Luther. Student Council representatives created a series of projects to heighten awareness of local issues. They regularly collected clothing, food and religious literature to provide assistance to the members of All Nations Church in the Pruitt-Igoe neighborhood. They adopted the same South Korean orphan for almost a decade. They brought on campus political candidates like long-time Missouri Representative Thomas Curtis to deliver an address and hosted citizenship weeks to promote discussions about contemporary issues. Lancers sold crosses to help fund the new school to be built at Lucas and Hunt. They also collected, with Central, clothing for an LWR drive and supported the Synodical Faith Forward movement. Those proceeds went to destitute Lutheran congregations and schools in Alabama. The following year, the offerings helped establish campus missions across the U. S. Under Engelhardt’s leadership, the sense of school community blossomed. In his second year he employed the glee clubs (ninety boys, 120 girls), new inner choir (forty members), chorus (110) and band (forty) in presenting The Pirates of Penzance. Non-singers and non-performers took part, too, as did usherettes, tickettakers, and the newly developed Stage Crew (twenty members) under direction of Carlton. Stage Crew members had the opportunity to miss class for specific duties. Over the years they developed the unique ability to sign up for a great variety of “specific duties” that excused them from more challenging classroom tasks and responsibilities. They also learned where to “rest” so they could recuperate in time for their next “specific duty.” But the productions went off without a hitch. With the musicals involving more than half the student body, parents became enthusiastic program boosters. A moving gondola (The Gondoliers) and wagon (The Music Man) highlighted memorable moments. Usherettes and Boosters, overseeing standing-room-only crowds (“Keep those doors closed!”), rankled late-arrivals who would not be admitted to the packed house. To outsiders, it appeared other activities paled in comparison to the elaborate presentations and allencompassing music program. But they did not. Other extra-curricular and co-curricular participants, mentored by the committed faculty, established high standards of excellence. Meyer led the basketball squads to several ABC League championships. He even took two consecutive teams to Regional titles. Led by Greg Hoffman and Gary Koch, the ’63-’64 basketball team led South to its first State playoff game at Washington University Field House. A loss to top-ranked Ritenour ended the season. The following year the squad, led by Larry Trapp and

Larry Thies, lost a last-minute decision to Beaumont, again in the first round of State play. Despite the disappointing losses, the two squads served as the foundation for the emergence of South’s basketball program. Meyer initiated the first high school summer basketball camp in the St. Louis area, offering the feeder schools a chance to become part of South’s basketball program. “The Rev.” Faszholz also established the tradition of quality Lancer baseball. He led his baseball squads to two more League titles through the 1965 season. Within a year, the energetic pastor also founded the school’s first soccer squad. Home games were played at “the Greens” near River Des Peres. It had been a long road for “The Rev.” to get there. Born and raised in Jennings, his family attended St. Jacobi. At the age of seven his family moved to California. He attended Concordia-Oakland high school and junior college before being drafted by the Boston Red Sox organization in 1946. When traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, the front office assigned him to the AAA Rochester Red Wings squad where he pitched for most of his nine-year professional career. In 1953, the Cardinals took him to spring training in Florida where he met Jack Buck, the new announcer for the Red Wings. When camp broke he joined the Cards in St. Louis where he pitched for a month and a half, rooming with outfielder/first baseman Joe Cunningham. After the brief stint in the majors, “The Preacher” was reassigned to the Red Wings where he finished his career. During his baseball career he took classes each fall at the Sem. Like other Sem students and pastoral candidates who taught at Lutheran High, he did field work. He followed the example of Rev. Karl J. Schweder, who had taught religion at Lutheran High in 1948. During his tenure at the high school, Schweder helped organize Christ Memorial, a mission of Salem-Affton. He led the first services at the Crest Theater on Gravois until the congregation could move to a facility at Reavis and Tesson Ferry. Faszholz did the same thing at Faith-Oakville. The congregation worshipped in an army barracks building purchased after World War II. The members had moved it to a grain field near Telegraph Road. During his final year at the Sem, Faszholz taught religion at Central, coached the Preacher baseball team, and on weekends drove out to serve the faithful in Oakville. In 1958, he was ordained at St. Trinity to serve as assistant pastor while he continued to teach at Central. Two years later, in 1960, he accepted a call to teach religion at Lutheran South. He also coached and served as a senior class sponsor, just as he had at Central. The senior class sponsors had two grueling duties. The first was chaperoning the senior class trip. At Central and at South each May, the seniors traveled to Trout Lodge or later, Black River Lodge. The weekend included swimming, fishing, hiking, campfire cookouts and occasional canoeing. Each evening prior to devotions, cabin mates performed skits. The sponsors then took turns staffing overnight security shifts. They had to make certain the students, excitedly anticipating graduation, would not engage in any aberrant behavior. The second demanding duty was performed at Kiel Opera House. Senior sponsors were responsible for preparing the dais for graduation ceremonies and then collecting the graduates’ robes. The collection of the garments was particularly difficult. After the ceremony more than one hundred giddy, excited students hurriedly rid themselves of their black robes to rush off to see loved ones or attend graduation parties. Collecting and preparing the robes for return to the garment company ended hours after the sponsors had first arrived at Kiel. In later years, senior sponsors had an additional duty at graduation. Prior to the ceremony, they inspected students to ferret out “prank” items that might be hidden under their robes. Central senior class advisors had similar experiences. Troubadour staff, advised by Rohde, exchanged editions and editorials with the Central staff. They also utilized comics, an Alums’ Corner and Nutshell News to enliven coverage of school news. These efforts culminated in tangible successes as the staff received annual First Place ratings from the National Scholastic Press Association. They also earned a First Place award at the Interscholastic Press Conference at Washington University. Editors Carla Schmid, Bill Lehr and John Brickler accepted the kudos.

Literary accomplishments helped expand the Troubadour and Lance publications from a regularly scheduled classroom activity to a volunteer activity. Participants who now met after school soon numbered more than fifty in each organization. Anne Mangelsdorf and Chris DeNeui harnessed some of this interest. Like at Central where Penorama became a student means of free literary expression, they created Lit-Wits. Its members would annually publish the Free Lance. A few more new clubs received faculty support. Brott supervised the Radio Club and the Science Club. Each year, Carlton developed a new theme for the Art Club (i. e., leather, ceramics, or posters). Lee revived the Dance Band. Ruth Schmidt combed the hallways to fill the rolls of the Talent Bureau. Its members would meet requests for Lancers to perform at functions outside the school. Little wonder, with role models like these, that Mike Albers (future Lancer teacher), All ABC League fullback Carl Holschen (future Crusader teacher) and Jean Ellersieck, among others, became teachers. As enrollment topped 660 at South, K. C. Meyer accepted the call to head the LAHE as Superintendent. Eggerding continued to shepherd the flock at 9515. Ed Werner replaced Meyer at Central and supervised the move to the new “digs” at 5401. 5401 Lucas and Hunt The move to the new campus on Lucas and Hunt had been a very difficult process. The twenty-one acre property, purchased for $52,500, was honeycombed with ravines. It took the construction company almost a year to complete the grading. On October 21, 1962, Superintendent Meyer guided the symbolic plow to complete the groundbreaking ceremonies. Kirchhoff’s Central choir finished with the benedictory. Poor weather delayed construction and the application of the finishing touches on the $1.5 million facility. Werner was not sure if the school could complete the move that spring. But he persisted. Vogelsmeier noted that some questioned the rationale for moving so late in the year and not finishing in the friendly confines at Lake and Waterman. But he recalled that everyone was thankful because the students could carry the many volumes of books into the new building. A spring move would also facilitate a smooth transition the next fall. The staff would have an entire summer to fix any flaws discovered in the rooms and hallways. So, they proceeded with the move. Freshman Dan Harms (N ’69) vividly remembered a spring moving day. One morning, after a chapel service at Central, the students went back to their homerooms. Then they moved everything from their homeroom onto a rented truck and, in a school bus, followed the truck to North. When they arrived at North they got out, put the desks and other items in a corresponding room at North, and were dismissed! Rev. Art Repp, Jr., led the dedicatory service on April 25, 1965. A 1952 Central graduate, his father was a Sem prof, member of the Association Board, and had led the dedicatory service at South. In the early ‘60s, Repp returned to Central to teach Church History. Present at the Lutheran North cornerstone laying on September 27, 1964, the newly ordained pastor, who also served as campus chaplain and Religion Department chair, led the service. Lange returned to be the dedicatory speaker. Student Barb Klingsick, senior class president, assisted with the April dedicatory ceremonies. The senior, who graduated that June, was the daughter of O. Charles Kingsick, the Board member at the service representing the founding fathers. He, too, participated in the festivities as first-year Principal Ed Werner accepted the keys to enter the new facility. Daughter Barb would soon join her father in playing a major role in the Association. He served the Board as chief financial officer. After retirement, he assured quality education at North with generous contributions that helped refurbish the library and media center. Barb would, after teaching stints at Berkeley and Maier Lutheran high schools, return to teach at North. For more than thirty years she taught classes in the Science and Math departments and coached volleyball. After Repp gave the benediction at the dedication, many students remained behind to help clean up. As Harms, a crew leader, was doing so, Superintendent Meyer walked up to him and told him to take the keys and lock up the building. Meyer told him to give the keys to Werner the next morning. It was a different time! Repp, Meyer, Werner and the staff spent the next couple of weeks supervising the students as they completed the move

to the new facilities. On May 27, 1965, Repp taught one of the first classes in the new building on Lucas and Hunt. All three of his daughters would later attend the school. It had not been an easy year. The heavy rain that cancelled the 1964 Central spring school picnic cast a symbolic shadow on the future. Financial constraints and design problems delayed construction of the new facility. Then, construction delays halted plans for an earlier move onto the campus. Fortunately, the 1964 Crusader provided a reassuring retrospective history of Lutheran High School. Commenting about studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hopes for the future in an ever-changing society, editor Shirley Van Cleve noted â&#x20AC;&#x153;. . . there is great unity in our diversity . . . in Jesus Christ.â&#x20AC;? That confession of faith buoyed the North community as the student body became immersed in the challenges that confronted the St. Louis region, the church, the nation and the world. The editors noted the unity of the diverse community was in another shadow, under the cross, the new icon on the new campus towering over the old metal sign that stood for so many years in front of Lutheran High. The students, faculty, staff and Association faced severe challenges during the next eras as they transformed Lutheran North and Lutheran South into workshops of Christian living.

Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 1: For Behold: The Ministry Begins, 1945-1965 Post-War America International and national issues are summarized from James Prahlow, Fields to Harvest: LCMS FloridaGeorgia District’s First 50 Years, Orlando: Florida-Georgia District Office, 1998, Chapters 2 and 3. Regional and local history are sketched from J. Frederick Fausz, Historic St. Louis: 250 Years Exploring New Frontiers, San Antonio: HPNbooks, 2014, pp. 127-136; E. Terrence Jones, Fragmented by Design: Why St. Louis Has So Many Governments, St. Louis: Palmerston and Reed Publishing, 2000, pp. 110-115; Tim O’Neil St. Louis Post Dispatch (SLPD) articles between 2013 and 2015 that traced the history of St. Louis during the last 250 years. A more complete bibliography in the rough draft, particularly those of O’Neil, is available in the archives at the Lutheran High School Association offices. August Stellhorn, Schools of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, St. Louis: CPH, 1963, pp. 424-450; and Walter Baepler, A Century of Grace, St. Louis: CPH, 1947, pp. 314-320 and 355-358, provide additional background material about the LCMS, Western and later, Missouri, District. In 1926, Synod moved the Seminary campus from south St. Louis to Clayton. Fellowship talks with the American Lutheran Church, under the auspices of support from the Synodical Conference, are from H. O. A. Keinath, Documents Illustrating the History of the Lutheran Church in America, with special emphasis on the Missouri Synod, River Forest: Concordia Teachers College, 1952, pp. 80-87. Local Lutherans Organize The early history of the LAHE is outlined in its official commemoration of the 25th Anniversary celebration twenty-five years, released in 1971. Rev. Richard Labore provided the specific information about the formation of Walther College. Further details about the early years of the creation of the LAHE and the founding of Lutheran High are included in the numerous newspaper-formatted articles included in the 50th Anniversary commemorative compiled by the office of Darrell Wallis and distributed to alumni, faculty and staff in 1996. It will be referred to as Fiftieth. Finally, general Association and Board actions are compiled in David Rohde’s nine-page “official” Association history released in 1997 and updated through 2009. This was, in reality, a rough draft for the final product authored by Rohde entitled, Written on Our Hearts and Lives: 1946-1996 (no publisher, 1996). Pp. 4-9 in this history summarize pp. 2-5 in the text. These latter documents may be found in Principal Tim Brackman’s historical files and include several ten-year alumni reunion summaries for Lutheran North, as well as Myron (Mike) Marty’s address delivered to participants at the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration dinner. The detailed description of the initial solicitation campaign is from “Forty-Seven Lutheran Churches To Participate in $500,000 Campaign For Local High School,” The St. Louis Lutheran (TSLL), 11/4/45, p. 1. Note that it is the masthead for TSLL, in only its fourth issue of volume 1. It is framed and on the entry wall of the LHSA offices. Forward With Faith and Confidence Some of the multiple uses of the Lutheran High facility by the Lutheran community at large can be found in “Registration Clinic in Lutheran High School,” TSLL, 4/23/55, p. 5. The excerpt of Korte’s eighth grade essay is from The Herald, Spring 2011, p. 7. The story about Rev. Orville Mueller (C ’54) trekking from Chesterfield every day is from The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 3. He credited Lutheran High guidance counselor Frank Colba with steering him and a record number of other students to attend Concordia-River Forest. After the senior class president graduated from Lutheran High, he attended Concordia-River Forest for three years; Concordia Senior College-Ft. Wayne for one year; and

Concordia Seminary-St. Louis, for four years. Mueller took his first call in 1964 to Bethlehem-New Orleans, the third-oldest black congregation in the LCMS. After a decade, Mueller accepted a call to Our Redeemer-Jackson, Mississippi, and in 1988, returned to New Orleans to serve twenty-five years as Southern District President. During retirement he served as a part-time pastor at Chapel of the Cross in North County and served President Kieschnick’s administration in the LCMS District and Congregational Services Board. Mueller’s wife Clara, was the daughter of career missionaries who spent her youth in India. She and her husband served on several community volunteer committees, including a local food pantry. Dr. Gerald Brunworth (C ’56) is, like Mueller, only one of the many early Lutheran High School pioneer students who later went into the ministry. The balance of his career he spent at Dallas Lutheran School, where he retired as Headmaster Emeritus. He was awarded the Spiritus Christi medallion by Concordia University-Chicago in 2011 (The Herald, Fall 2011, p. 8). Activities, Clubs and the Seminary The science fair information is from “LHS Students Win at Science Fair,” TSLL, 5/4/57, p. 7. Daenzer’s efforts are from “Lutheran Hi Notes,” TSLL, 12/14/57, p. 10. The participatory activities and career day opportunities are from TSLL: “Affton Youth Wins Brotherhood Award,” 8/25/56, p. 8; “Build a Christian Education Set-up,” 2/23/57, p. 7; “Tell LHS Students About Vocational Guidance Services,” 5/4/57, p. 10; “Parent Teacher League Rally at LHS,” 11/2/57, p. 7; and “Caravan—1957 Style,” 9/7/57, p. 8. Peter Griffin, ABC League Sports History: Football, St. Louis: St. Louis Country Day School Archives, 2015, provides football statistics and records about the ABC League members. Individual game descriptions are from “LHS Crusaders End Long Losing Streak with 2 Wins,” TSLL, 10/19/57, p. 8, and “LHS Crusaders Now 4-1,” TSLL, 11/2/57, p. 8. Richard Rausch (C ’59), a ’63 Concordia-River Forest graduate, also served as a high school administrator. His first call took him to Martin Luther School Association in Portland, Oregon. In 1971 he accepted the principal position at Grace-Malverne, New York, where he worked closely with the staff of Long Island Lutheran High School. In 1977 Rausch began a long stint at the high school serving in a variety of capacities including principal. He later moved to Hicksville, New York, where he served at Trinity (Some information from The Herald, Fall 2011, p. 8). Rausch served with Dan Wenger, Sr., a Concordia-Seward graduate who student taught at North in the spring of 1966. Wenger received a call to Long Island Lutheran High School where he served a generation of teachers and students. In 2013, son Dan Wenger, Jr., accepted a call to move from “LuHi” to Lutheran North. He would serve as Dean of Students and wrestling coach. (The Wenger information is from a North chapel, 11/5/15, led by Dan Wenger, Jr.) Rev. Richard LaBore (2/13/16) described the early years of Lutheran High basketball games at the Seminary Fieldhouse. More information about the Fieldhouse can be found in Concordia Seminary: The Magazine of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. 175th Anniversary Special Edition (1839-2014), p. 13, accessed on 2/13/16 at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stltoday/obituary.aspx?n=robert-henrybranom&pid=177670789&eid=sp_shareobit. Don Prahlow noted the additional Lutheran elementary school competitions on the Seminary grounds. The details about Pederson’s successful efforts to make the Sem the center of local Lutheran activities, as well as some information about the Spring Sports Festival, can be found in “Two Lutheran High Schools from Chicago to Play Series Here with LHS and Principia,” TSLL, 1/15/55, p. 8; “LHS Fall Festival,” TSLL, 9/24/55, p. 8; “Over 100 Try Out for LHS’ Three Basketball Teams,” TSLL, 11/19/55, p. 8; “Announce Program for LHS Sports Festival,” TSLL, 3/10/56, p. 8; “St. Paul-Concordia and LHS Cohost at Sem,” TSLL, 1/26/57, p. 7; “7th Annual Sports Festival,” TSLL, 2/23/57, p. 5.

Norman Junghans, runner up in both the 100 yard and 220 yard dashes at the 1948 Class B State Meet, also earned a fifth in the 1949 indoor 60 yard dash. However, in the materials available, he is not listed as a graduate of Lutheran High. Another “double medalist” in the sprints was included as an aside in a 1954 Crusader notation, but no other information was provided. “We (Almost) Win!” Two Central graduates, in particular, experienced local or regional success in business and education. Rich Beumer, the relief pitcher in the ’54 State championship game, also threw a no-hitter the next year—against Leimer’s Burroughs squad. Beumer later graduated from Valparaiso University and the University of MissouriRolla. He served as CEO of Sverdrup Corporation before becoming a vice chair of Jacobs Engineering Group between 1999 and 2003. During his latter years and when he “retired,” Beumer chaired and became a member of many Lutheran non-profits. His athletic exploits followed those of W. James Kirchhoff, son of the Central choral director. He was a ’53 grad who served as a class and Student Council president. A member of the basketball and tennis teams, he later graduated from Concordia-River Forest, taught at a Lutheran elementary school in Naperville, Illinois, and earned his MA at the University of Chicago. He completed his doctoral studies at Northern Illinois University in 1976. Like Ed Reitz at North was in the Missouri State High School Activities Association, Kirchhoff was active as a board member and president of the Illinois Advisory Committee of Non-Public Schools as well as a chief high school basketball official. During the ‘70s he refereed at Walther Lutheran High’s games during which Kirk Mueller, future instructor at North, was coaching. Kirchhoff also served as Superintendent of Schools, Northern Illinois District and as LEA president from 1980-1982. Several other members of the ’54 State Runner up baseball team had notable careers. Steinbrueck (C ’54) spent most of his career as a six-county economic development organizer. He later married classmate Joann Hoffman (C ’54). Brothers Richard (’62), Roger (’68) and Douglas also graduated from South. Brother Ken (S,’73) would later return to teach at South along with wife Kathy (see Chapters 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, below). Their daughters—Linda (S ’05), Beth (S ’08) and Jan (see Chapter 11 below)—also graduated from South. Carl Hohnbaum (C ’54), the catcher for the squad, graduated from Mizzou, served in the Army Artillery Corps and then worked in the securities business. Tom Meyer (C ’55) spent most of his post-high school career as the international field representative with the Gideons. He traveled to more than one hundred countries, including many in the former communist bloc in eastern Europe after 1989. Ralph Hochgrebe (C ’55), an All American at Mizzou who captained the squad to a College World Series berth, played professional ball for several years before starting his business career in St. Louis (The Herald, Spring 2009, p. 5). Expanding the Ministry: A Second School Details about the early years at Lutheran Central and Lutheran South are compiled from Crusader and Lancer yearbooks. In an interview conducted for The Herald, Spring 2011, Lu Kreyling (C ’50) Lochmann noted several things about her own and sister Audrey Kreyling (C ’49) Daniel’s first experiences at Lutheran High. See p. 7 for more details. The statistics describing housing valuation and the respective cost of stamps, gas and coffee is from Bruce Kunz, “Ford Fairlane Victoria was handsome,” SLPD, 12/21/15, p. B10. Eugene Siebold, one of the owners of Kirkwood-based SSE that designed the building, helped organize the first Fantasy Faire Auction in 1978. The radio station at Lutheran High/Central helped encourage at least one to enter the broadcasting profession. Gary Roedemeier (C ’60), after serving in the Navy, spent much of his forty-one year career in television broadcast news. The last twenty-five years of his career he spent at WHAS-TV in Louisville, Kentucky as the evening news anchor. These materials are from http://www.whas11.com/story/news/local/2014/10/08/15199752/ accessed 12/15/15, and The Herald, Spring 2012, p. 10. Richard Warner (C ’60) later served as head of the Design Department at SMU. He followed that career with a second: Art Director of Sports Illustrated magazine. In 2004

he authored a book about the sports figures and SI swimsuit models who frequented the pages of the magazine (The Herald, Fall 2004, p. 5). See the following for specific statistics and information about the cooperative local Lutheran efforts, all from TSLL: “After 83 Years, Close School; in on Joint Effort,” 7/16/55, p. 7; “Church Faces Problems of A Changing Neighborhood,” 11/5/55, p. 19; “Interchurch Women’s Group,” 2/25/56, p. 7; “Hold at Peak Membership,” 5/5/56, p. 8; “Give Free Listings in Business Directory,” 7/14/56, p. 5; “Provide Christian Education at LHS, Concord School,” 2/9/57, p. 7; “Own Needs Provided, Church May Enter New Areas of Work,” 8/25/56, p. 7; and “Lutheran Churches of Greater St. Louis,” 12/28/57, pp. 7-8, which provides a summary of a two-year series describing the history of each of the LCMS congregations in St. Louis. Note that in Chapter 2 there will be an extensive analysis of the issues resulting from segregation. See “Progress Report on Integration,” 10/6/56, p. 5, for a local assessment; and a note in 9/22/56, p. 8 for news about racism on the national level. It describes a bombing attack on Rev. Robert Graetz’ family in Montgomery, Alabama when he supported the Montgomery bus boycott led by Rev. Martin Luther King. The process for the second drive to raise funding for the two new schools is from “25 Churches Enlist Leaders, Teams for LHS Fund Drive,” TSLL, 7/30/55, p. 8; “LHS Fund Drive Now in Full Swing,” TSLL, 9/10/55, p. 8; “400 Lutheran Teachers Here,” TSLL, 10/22/55, p. 8. The nine headquarter churches are: A) Christ Memorial; B) Emmaus; C) Markus; D) St. Jacobi; E) Hope; F) Mt. Calvary; G) Concordia-Kirkwood; H) Bethel; I) Unity. Naturally, at each of the major gatherings, Kirchoff’s choir sang as part of a high school prologue or epilogue. Lange usually added brief remarks to most of the assemblies. Demographic studies of the area showed that in the census tracts surrounding Old Trinity in 1950, 89% were renters; 8% were white; 88% of the dwellings had no private flush toilets; 52% had no indoor running water. Sixty-five of the school’s ninety students were non-Lutheran. Even as the Darst Project reached completion, the congregation had little success in recruiting members who could financially contribute to the welfare of the congregation and its educational enterprises. For an extensive analysis of this, see “”Old Trinity’s Neighborhood has Changed,” TSLL, 1/1/55, p. 7; “Church’s School Vital Force in Church’s Life,” TSLL, 2/12/55, p. 7; “Church Faces Acute Problems,” TSLL, 1/29/55, p. 7; “Membership Declines,” TSLL, 8/27/55, p. 7; “Church Faces Problems of a Changing Neighborhood,” TSLL, 11/5/55, p. 19; “Mission Growth Presents New Opportunities and Challenges,” TSLL, 4/7/56, p. 7; “Hold at Peak Membership,” TSLL, 5/5/56, p. 9. And this was not just a challenge in St. Louis. The Detroit and Chicago Lutheran High School Associations also attempted fund drives at the same time. In Detroit, a $3 million drive netted only $1.25 million. The Chicago drive was successful because it focused only on expanding the facility at Luther North. See “Here and There,” and “Chicago adds to Luther High North,” TSLL, 7/14/56, p. 5. Rev. Art Repp and Don Prahlow provided some additional details about the fund raising program. The description of the ninth and final baccalaureate/graduation ceremonies from Lutheran High in 1957 is from these printed programs: “Baccalaureate Service[,] LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL[,] ASCENSION SUNDAY[,] JUNE SECOND, AT FOUR O’CLOCK[,] 1957[.] GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH St. Louis;” and “The Senior Class of 1957 presents THE NINTH ANNUAL CLASS DAY EXERCISES in the LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM[,] Tuesday, June 4, 1957.” Bearing Iris Guenther’s signature, it was found by Ken Steinbrueck while sorting through various copies of Lance and Crusader at Lutheran South, and sent via email to Jim Prahlow, 8/19/16. The printed copies are in the LHSA archives. 9515 Tesson Ferry Road Rev. H. A. Rehwaldt of Our Redeemer-St. Louis, theology instructor at South during its first year, had been a long-time supporter of the LAHE. Daughters Hildegarde (C ’54) Schmidt, Ruth (C ’58), son Walter (C ’56) and daughter Esther (C ’57) Pfabe had already graduated. Sons Carl (S ’61 and longtime LCMS pastor in Hastings, Nebraska) and Don (S ’64) followed.

In an email of 1/13/16, Rev. Carl and Ruth (Hageman (C ‘64)) Rehwaldt provided a description of the Our Redeemer facilities used during the 1957-1958 school year, as well as additional details about the early years at the Tesson Ferry campus. The 1955 magazine campaign results are summarized in “LHS Magazine Campaign Brings Record,” TSLL, 11/5/55, p. 17. The 1957 magazine campaign is from “LHS Students Ring Door Bells,” TSLL, 9/7/57, p. 5. Dr. Carl Holschen (see notes below and about his teaching career at North) contributed a number of details regarding the sodding of the football field. They probably did not understand this at the time, but each time the Lancer ninth-graders made the trek to the “Hall” for PE, the students re-covered ground English Synod delegates walked on May 15, 1911. Holding their convention at Our Redeemer, the delegates voted to join the German-language LCMS in convention at Holy Cross. They marched down California Avenue and to Holy Cross where they joined the LCMS as the English District. This action led to the formation of a unique ministry, particularly for the St. Louis area at that time. The committed students who made the same journey almost five decades later symbolically did the same. For more, see Baepler, Grace, pp. 255-260. On 1/21/16, Mark Rohde (S ’76) provided extensive material about parents Dave and Mollie. As a “gym rat” who attended many Lancer activities as he was growing up, he reminisced that during his years at Salem-Affton, he’d take the after-school bus service over to South. There he was dropped off before the driver completed the Salem/South after-school route. Mark noted how he often had to wait for the proverbial “just ten more minutes” as his conscientious father counseled a student or finished paperwork. Today, Mark, a SLU grad who played for the basketball Billikens, supervises the sales of medical devices for a local St. Louis company. Cindy (S ’73), married a psychiatrist and works at antiquing in the Farmington area. Mike (S ’79) is a south St. Louis optometrist. Lauren (S ’86), lives in South St. Louis and works as a graphic designer for International Shoe in Clayton. The construction issues at Lutheran South are from “Foundation for Christian Education,” TSLL, 3/23/57, p. 5. The E. J. Fischer Co. did the plumbing; C. Rallo Co. completed contracting and general construction projects; D. F. Edwards Co. finished the heating system and Benson Electric Co. wired the building that included twenty-six classrooms. A Cooperative New Start Lange’s sentiments about professional development can be found in “Two More Teachers Will Join Lutheran High School Faculty,” TSLL, 6/1/57, p. 7. Professional development did indeed take place on a regular basis for the high school faculty. While they numbered fewer than 10% of the five hundred participants in the annual Western District Teacher Conference, there were several specific sectionals tailored for their interest. Two of these topics about current trends in secondary education dealt with exceptional students and mathematics instruction. See “400 Lutheran Teachers Here,” TSLL, 10/22/55, p. 8; and “500 Lutheran Teachers to Meet,” TSLL, 11/2/57, p. 5. For a complete mini-biography of Otis Woodard, see the Annotated Bibliography in Chapter 3. Myron “Mike” Marty provided information about the graduate studies program at SLU involving Association instructors. The First Lancers The 1959-1960 basketball season was the eleventh year for the Fieldhouse. The hangar-like structure had been completed in 1949. Crusader choruses, directed by Kirchhoff, sang at the service of dedication. The Crusaders adopted the new venue as their home court. They often played a preliminary game prior to the featured Concordia Seminary Preacher contest. The Crusaders won that February 1960 tilt against the Lancers, 42-30. Through the 1964-1965 season, the Crusaders played the Lancers in the annual home-and-home rivalry,

one game in the Lancer gym, the other at the Sem. Fans of both teams packed the bleachers and upper level, pep bands performing on the stage during the event. The Sem Game replaced the March sports festival faculty basketball game. That had been a traditional early spring Association gathering. In its final years, Lancer and Crusader faculty squads competed on the Fieldhouse floor. Gymnastics performances and professional tennis exhibitions had entertained spectators prior to the game and during the half-time break. Between the 1965-1966 and 1975-1976 seasons, the Lancers and Crusaders would not meet each other at the Fieldhouse. The squads played a home-and-home series, the Crusaders showcasing their new venue on the Lucas and Hunt campus. During that time the Lancers did make one other appearance at the Fieldhouse. In February 1976, as South’s Fine Arts Department prepared the gym for a spring musical, the Lancers defeated Priory at the Clayton site. The success of that event was on the heels of two other North-South contests that raised visibility of the flourishing programs. During the ’74-’75 and ’75-’76 seasons, the Association rivals met at Kiel Auditorium and Arena (Checkerdome), respectively, to play contests prior to St. Louis Spirits ABA games. The successful events rekindled interest in renewing the Association tradition of meeting at the Sem. On January 14, 1977, the Lancers and Crusaders renewed the annual Sem Game. In a revival of the early ‘60s Lancer-Crusader basketball “Lutheran Day at the Sem,” the athletic departments, alternating annually as hosts, added B and C level sub-varsity games and a girls’ contest. As in the past, pep bands performed on the stage and cheerleaders on the sidelines. Pom pon squads danced during half-time festivities. The successful revival of the Sem Game tradition encouraged a group to explore the possibility of creating a Lutheran Day at Busch Stadium. (See Chapters 2 and 3, below.) Interviews on 12/23/15 via phone, email and Facebook provided information from Herm Meyer, Matt Prahlow and Ruth Dietrich to assemble the background information about the Sem Games. Herm Meyer (see Chapters 3 and 5 below about his career as a Lancer math teacher and basketball coach) provided the details about the initial basketball competitions between South and Central, the Chicago series and the early years of the Sem Games. Meyer and Matt Prahlow provided details about the Lancer basketball seasons during the mid-70s. Ruth (Kieffer C ’63) Dietrich described the excitement generated by the early Sem Game contests. The pep band included her trumpet-playing future husband, Brian (C ’61). Their first date was at a Sem Game. Brian would later serve as a principal in Tampa; St. Marks-Hollywood, Florida; and Good Shepherd Lutheran School, Simi Valley, California. In Simi Valley, Dietrich was principal of one of the few “three-synod Association schools.” All three of their children—Trevor, Joel and Heidi--serve as education administrators, the latter two in Lutheran elementary schools. See http://www.lhsc1961.com/3/miscellaneous1.htm for more information about the Dietrichs. When South finally had a full varsity basketball program, the Lancers joined the Crusaders in the St. Louis/Chicago Lutheran High School series. During alternating years, the Chicago and St. Louis schools traveled to play their counterparts. In January 1965, during one of Herm Meyer’s first years as coach, South hosted both of the Chicago-series games on the first of the two-night event. The next evening, the teams moved the competition venue to the Sem Fieldhouse. It happened to be the final night of the series in St. Louis. During the 1966-1967 school year, administrators cancelled the series because winter storms closed major highways just prior to the annual mid-January competition. League schedules and rising travel costs prohibited continuation of the annual contests. The quote from Rev. Dr. Arthur C. Repp, Sr., at the South dedicatory service is from Written, p. 7.

Lancer Faculty Core See http://www.cucougars.com/hof.aspx for the information about Roland Eggerding and Dick “Duke” Otto at South. LaBore clarified the material about the drama productions. Rev. Jack Faszholz (7/22/15) described, along with Carl Holschen, the sod farm incident. Herm Meyer summarized insights about the development of the Lancer basketball program on 7/17/15. Faszholz provided the particular details about his baseball career, Seminary education, senior camps and graduation exercises at Kiel. The stories about Schweder’s ministry at Christ Memorial is from “Start Christ Memorial to Serve New Suburban Area,” TSLL, 8/24/57; and Faszholz’ work at Faith-Oakville is from “Start Faith Church to Serve Big Post-War Building Boom,” TSLL, 9/21/57, p. 8; and “Faszholz Coaches Baseball While Finishing Seminary,” TSLL, 4/6/57, p. 10. Parishioners at Faith, few in number, could not afford to support a full-time pastor. With a shortage of pastors, Seminarian Walter Grumm was assigned to serve the mission station. He had no car. So he took a bus and then a streetcar to the end of the Broadway line. When he reached the end, he simply walked to the small parking lot and took one of the cars left there by one of the parishioners—with the keys in the ignition—to complete the trip before leading worship. Afterwards, he reversed the process. Fortunately, Faszholz had access to a vehicle. 5401 Lucas and Hunt Dan Harms provided the Central-North “moving day” commentary on 6/30/15. The Class of ’61 South senior prank is found in The Herald, Fall 2011, p. 9. Repp noted that the 1965 graduating class that had moved to 5401 one month prior to its matriculation received diplomas that stated the seniors graduated from Lutheran Central. He described the dedicatory service, while Rohde’s Written confirmed some details. Charles Piehl (S ’64), a graduate of the time, like Repp, had a distinguished career in religious education. After graduating from Valpo and earning both MA and PhD degrees from Stanford University, he focused on American intellectual and religious history, centering his work and writing about American Catholic history and the relations between religion and social thought. A published author and contributor to Commonweal and CrossCurrents, in particular, he was chosen in 2004 to serve as Dean of Christ College at Valparaiso University. He would also continue to serve as a Professor of Humanities and History (“Piehl Named Dean at Valpo,” The Herald, Fall 2004, p. 7). Observations garnered from the yearbook documents, including only a few supplements that rarely extended coverage beyond the typical late winter terms of most school years, helped create a basic time line. That material was clarified by a variety of interviewees. Special thanks goes to those who particularly assisted with Chapter 1: Gil Daenzer; Rev. Art Repp, Jr. (C ’52); Myron “Mike” Marty; Paul Crisler; Dave “Mac” and Jeri McCollister; Don and Jane (Kramer C ‘52) Prahlow; Mike Russell; Judith (Wangerin S ‘61) Meyer; Dick Craven; Steve Tirmenstein; Mike Prange; Art Schroeder and Carl Holschen (S ’64); Carl Rehwaldt (S ’61). The last two and Prahlow clarified the musings about the early days at South. Several of these individuals served as readers, and, along with Jayne Lauer, gave graciously of their time to “proof” and then edit material. A citation-filled “rough” manuscript is available in the Association offices.

Chapter 2: I Bring You Good Tidings! Lutheran North, 1965-1981 Turmoil in the ‘60s and ‘70s After the assassination of President Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson enacted the Great Society program. He promoted civil rights, moderate tax cuts, Medicare spending and federal aid to education. VISTA, JOBS, HUD, Medicaid, Headstart, Job Corps, food stamps and rent supplements targeted the needs of the desperate and unfortunate in the War on Poverty. A race riot in Harlem revealed problems these social programs might resolve in the future. Events favored LBJ’s election in 1964. With Soviet Premier Kruschschev falling from power, China detonating its first nuclear bomb, Arab-Israeli tensions growing and the Caribbean beset by economic hardship and political disorder, people feared change of leadership in tumultuous times. During the campaign, Johnson portrayed Republican opponent Barry Goldwater as a “warmonger” desiring confrontation. LBJ easily won the election. The win affirmed his ideals. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 enabled blacks to participate in the political process. After the Supreme Court outlawed the poll tax in 1966 and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize, a number of blacks received appointments and election to the federal government. While these events began to heal the wounds caused by inequities regarding human dignity, tensions about economic issues in urban centers led to confrontation and three years of rioting in places like Atlanta, Watts and Detroit. Additional questions about the Vietnam Conflict further disrupted society. Anti-war demonstrations and draft-card burning occurred throughout the country and, coupled with the Tet Offensive in 1968, prompted LBJ to not run for reelection. An anti-authoritarian youth movement encouraged many to live for the moment, experiment with drugs or engage in promiscuous sex. Some theologians claimed God was dead. When assassins killed Robert Kennedy and King, the Democratic Party fragmented and lost to a growing neo-conservative movement symbolized by new President Richard Nixon. For a brief moment, hopes rose as the Labor Department promoted minority hiring with the Philadelphia Plan, the Justice Department continued to desegregate schools and a cabinet-level task force promoted integration. Reynolds v. Sims provided equal representation in legislative bodies and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. But again, issues disrupted progress. A furtive invasion of Cambodia, Roe v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment polarized American citizens. Protests and violence marred the Olympics in 1968 and 1972. The Pentagon Papers crisis, Vice President Agnew’s imprisonment, the Kent State shootings, the Watergate revelations and Nixon’s resignation left the nation’s constituency disillusioned and bitter. President Gerald Ford tried to parry the criticisms of many who disparaged United States foreign policy or distrusted public figures. Highly publicized disputes about the government’s responsibilities in determining abortion rights, promoting economic reform and considering amnesty for those who fled the draft further undermined the Republican administration’s efforts to maintain credibility. Bicentennial celebrations revived American optimism. Villages, towns and cities across the country organized historical reenactments, community parades and pyrotechnic displays. St. Louis hosted a four-day “party.” Plane acrobatics, boat races, a street festival and musical performances prefaced each evening’s fireworks. On the Fourth, more than 800,000 jammed the Arch grounds to participate in the grand celebration. Democratic Presidential candidate and former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter captured the attention of many who sought to jettison the Nixon legacy of secrecy and distrust. Carter promised to promote human rights through international policy, end closed-door diplomatic negotiations and restore the American spirit of opportunity. He defeated Ford in the election, only the second to feature televised candidate debates, and the Democrats continued to control Congress. To develop a domestic spirit of reconciliation and trust, Carter granted

a controversial amnesty to all who fled the Vietnam draft. The President developed his idealistic domestic program with a managerial style reminiscent of his governorship, creating the Department of Education and working for civil rights actions to grant more inclusive minority opportunities. He expanded this approach to reform foreign policy. He exerted diplomatic pressure to curb human rights violations in the Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact nations, the Middle East and Asia. Carter also signed a treaty to return the Panama Canal to Panama and guided Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Manachem Begin to sign the Camp David Accords. But events undermined Carter’s efforts. Ruinous inflation and high interest charges raised fears the President’s domestic policies would bring a recession and high unemployment rates. Some critics condemned his mediating role in the Middle East as international meddling and the Panama Canal Treaty as treason. While Khomeni-led Islamic revolutionaries drove the Shah from Iran, Nicaraguans started a ruinous civil war and Russia invaded Afghanistan. Carter’s foreign policies appeared to have undermined American credibility abroad. The 1979 recognition of Communist China, despite its noted human rights violations, raised questions about Carter’s integrity. When Iranians held U. S. hostages, the administration appeared powerless. Carter’s declaration of the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics did not rekindle support for struggles against tyranny. It only provoked more anger and frustration as the Olympics proceeded. Conservative Republicans capitalized on the frustrations expressed by the electorate, gained control of their party and nominated former California governor Ronald Reagan for the Presidency. His views found a ready audience. The country appeared ready for change. Unique Challenges in the LCMS Protestants in general and Lutherans in particular had traditionally been political and social quietists. Only a few like Reinhold Niebuhr criticized the isolation of religious institutions from contemporary affairs. Congregations confronted the challenges of racial integration, Vietnam, abortion and religious pietism. Many youth, if they did not leave the church, demanded workshops about those issues. Some also insisted upon liturgical reform on Sunday mornings and Bible studies conducted informally in non-traditional settings. Congregational concerns and national issues encouraged mainline churches to form interdenominational organizations to aid the destitute, minister to youth and adapt new worship forms. Many embraced the belief that society was a “workshop in Christian living.” The membership of the LCMS faced the new challenges with creative solutions. It focused on integration of races, cooperation with denominations, new forms of worship, social outreach, youth work and mission building. Synod had already accepted into full membership the black congregations of the Synodical Conference. Convention resolutions in Cleveland in 1962 encouraged fellowship talks with the American Lutheran Church (ALC); recorded the success of the Preaching-Teaching-Reaching efforts; cautiously affirmed informal worship formats; organized Walther League Prince of Peace volunteers; sent Mission Builders to New Guinea. Only a few opposed a social agenda they feared was based on Social Gospel themes. Facilitating better opportunities to train youth for leadership and ministry positions, Synod financed the construction of Concordia-Ann Arbor and Concordia-St. Paul. Concordia–Bronxville became a four-year school. Synod supported the refurbishing of the Concordia-Milwaukee campus as its Board considered relocation. Synod also provided developmental support for the formation of Christ College-Irvine. Graduates from new Concordia programs provided Directors of Christian Education and worker-priests to serve mission stations and smaller congregations without overburdening financial resources. Motivated by the growing interest in and success of youth work particularly in the many communities with new Lutheran high schools, several Synodical college department chairs and admissions directors encouraged the development of secondary education program majors. As late as 1965 at the Synodical teacher colleges, there were officially only elementary teacher education/certification programs. The academic deans and faculties initiated program expansion and within a few years each Concordia developed a secondary teacher education

curriculum, most graduates being Synodically certified in two specific content areas as well as religious instruction. This helped meet the need for trained high school teachers during this period of most rapid growth of new community Lutheran high schools. Synodical delegates to national and district conventions approved efforts that cooperatively expanded mission outreach. To coordinate relief work, mission development and church planting, delegates to the Detroit convention in 1965 voted to join Lutheran Council USA (LCUSA) and approved Mission Affirmations. Convention resolutions at Denver (1969) and Milwaukee (1971) declared fellowship with the ALC; accepted the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELC) as a non-geographical district; reorganized the Walther League as part of new Synodical agencies; approved female congregational suffrage. A media reformation included the adoption of Mission: Life curriculum, a new Lutheran Witness format, a revised Concordia Catechism series and the Worship Supplement. These new developments, when combined with Christmas Is television specials and the appointment of the first full-time Executive Director of Evangelism, provided creative ways to preach the Gospel. Unfortunately, new issues troubled a few. The Ebenezer offering only raised one-third of its goal. Some were concerned Prince of Peace volunteers might be involved in Social Gospel activities. Those who carefully read Synodical Handbook revisions questioned governance. Infrequent accusations of false doctrine directed against a few pastors and professors alarmed some lay groups that began to issue formal protests. The concerns found a ready audience and at Denver in 1971 a former member of the Norwegian Synod (ELS) and president of Concordia Seminary-Springfield, Rev. J. A. O. Preus, won a hotly contested election against incumbent Rev. Oliver Harms. For the first time in history, Synodical delegates ousted a sitting president. Two years later in New Orleans, the group supporting him formalized protests against the ALC. They also directed Synodical councils to investigate charges of false doctrine lodged against professors at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. As the new Synodical administration initiated disciplinary actions, the growing crisis undermined financial support. While Synodical delegates had been expanding the Concordia colleges to meet regional demands and permitting two-year prep colleges to expand to four-year undergraduate institutions, demand for dollars outstripped resources and created overwhelming debt service. Concordia-Seward and Concordiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;River Forest lost 20% of their enrollments as prospective recruits attended the newly developed regional schools. As the financial resources dwindled and student enrollment was redistributed, two junior collegesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;St. Johns-Winfield and St. Paul-Concordiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;closed. Local Issues of Race and Reform In St. Louis, race had been a divisive issue in employment and housing opportunities, particularly since the black migration from the South that originated during the Great Depression. During World War II blacks held protest rallies at Kiel Auditorium and Carter Carburetor demanding jobs in local defense plants. St. Louis white covenant contracts and race-restricted neighborhoods kept blacks in an area just west of the city center and north of Delmar. Despite the 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer Supreme Court decision that ended segregationist covenants, whites defending Jim Crow traditions rioted after the city integrated the Fairground Park swimming pool. During this period local Archbishop John Ritter grappled with the vexing social issue of segregation among Catholics. He resolved it by implementing sequential changes. St. Louis University (1944) and Webster College (1946) admitted black students. In 1947, while desegregating the parish schools, Ritter eliminated organized opposition to his measures by threatening vocal opponents with excommunication. These actions prepared the region for further changes. They also made many aware of the daily challenges many black families faced while living in neighborhoods plagued by absentee landlords or poorly managed municipal services. To provide badly needed housing stock, calm racial tensions, eliminate slums and fulfill plans for modern development, Mayor Joseph Darst enabled developers to clear Mill Creek Valley. In 1952, the city opened

Cochran Gardens for whites on North Ninth Street; Pruitt Homes for blacks at Jefferson and Cass; the neighboring Igoe Project, the first to be integrated; Darst on Chouteau and 12th; Vaughn at Carr and 19th. More than thirtythree high-rise buildings were spread across twenty city blocks. In some ways, it worked. In 1955, without any fanfare, city public school administrators integrated the system, although housing patterns kept most schools black or white. A few quiet sit-ins in restaurants by black women during the end of the decade effectively integrated lunch counters. But general isolation in public housing limited economic opportunities. During the King-led March on Washington, a local CORE chapter, including future Congressman Bill Clay, initiated a lengthy protest that started at the Jefferson Bank located on Washington Avenue. The demonstrations produced results, as demands by civil rights leaders shaped new employment practices. Unlike other urban centers, large-scale riots did not happen in St. Louis during the long, hot summers that followed. Continual meetings between city leaders, black clergy and civil rights groups, coupled with visible racial harmony on the highly successful Cardinal teams of the ‘60s, defused potential confrontations. Concessions to protesters demanding equal employment opportunities during construction projects at the Arch, Busch Stadium II and the Spanish Pavilion promoted peaceful dialogue. In a less dramatic but probably just as important way, the quiet, steady work done by Martin Mathews and Hubert “Dickey” Ballentine provided hope and help mentoring young children who might have had little hope and whose parents might have had little help. Believing that neighbor should help neighbor, the two created, in an area underserved by community services, a local boys’ and girls’ club that provided supervised athletic competition and additional opportunities for quiet study, local trips and social activities. They modeled a simple way to construct a new future. Lutheran Central provided opportunities for quiet study, local trips and social activities. At Central, between 1953 and 1965, minority enrollment grew. A few black students even transferred to Central during their junior and senior years. Issues of race received little official attention in school or Association publications. On the surface, racial relations appeared congenial. As far back as Central’s origins, the TIM Club regularly visited local hospitals, including Homer G. Philips. Math instructor Rich Wallace taught Sunday Bible classes and Rev. Hartmann organized summer VBS programs at Transfiguration Lutheran Church near Pruitt-Igoe. A future SIUE education department head took organ lessons from a Central instructor at St. Stephens in Gaslight Square. At Central, black students served in Student Council, edited the yearbook, participated in athletics, played in the bands, joined clubs and sang in the various choral groups. While racial tensions seemed to simmer below the surface in St. Louis, the students attending the “workshop in Christian living” lived consciously under the shadow of the cross. Minority enrollment at Central (and later, North) increased incrementally each year. By 1972 black students comprised 18% of the approximately 650 students at North. Local residents of the time noted that tuition costs seemed to prevent more black students from attending. There was no special scholarship program of any sort to alleviate financial responsibilities. Fortunately, a few LWML congregational chapters established tuition assistance funds. Unfortunately, the reforms dependent upon large-scale public housing in apartment towers eventually were overwhelmed by crime, poverty, poor maintenance and operating deficits. One mother told Central science teacher Gil Daenzer, “I used to have this run-down house with a small back yard and I could look out the window to check on my kids. Now I live on the ninth floor and my kids have to take a stinky, dangerous elevator to play on the playground.” For Daenzer, a second case he witnessed confirmed the challenges apartment tower residents faced on a daily basis. Once he had to confront a habitually tardy ninth grade student for her frequently late arrival times that disrupted labs and instruction. She responded, “Mr. Daenzer, there are those boys down there [at the bottom of the elevator in the Igoe complex] waiting for me. When they leave I run down to the Olive Street streetcar and sometimes I miss it!” As urban residents faced what appeared to be rising crime rates, falling property values and racial tensions, whites fled to suburbs as did blacks who could afford the move. Apparently, clearing out old neighborhoods to create new commercial areas and residential towers had simply been another method of racial segregation. City

administrators and federal officials realized the projects had failed and began the process of moving residents, many of them under- and unemployed and supported by federal rent supplements. Unfortunately, “steering” by less-than-honorable realtors directed them en masse to the scores of available suburban apartment complexes in unincorporated areas of north St. Louis County. By 1976, when Pruitt-Igoe was only a memory, many former residents had exchanged urban vertical slums for suburban horizontal ones. Incredibly, there was only one social service agency located in the northern suburbs where the majority of the former “tower residents” had moved. A Building of Faith When Lutheran Central relocated to its new building on Lucas and Hunt Road in May 1965, the old facility still served as Association headquarters. Superintendent Kermit Meyer maintained his offices at Lake and Waterman until 1971 when proprietors of the New City School purchased the site for $250,000. Meyer transferred the Association offices to Clayton Road near the Sem. By 1975, available office space at CPH made it possible to consolidate Association services in a central location. While near the early center of the LCMS at Jefferson and Miami, it also provided easy access for constituents from either North or South. Lutheran North was located in the most rapidly growing area of the entire region. It was just north of the new I-70 and only a short drive from the burgeoning Highway 367 corridor. The central location in the Missouri portion of the metropolitan area provided easy access for prospective families. Lambert International was only seven minutes away. Developers of retail outlets and suburban housing anticipated the economic boom following the completion of the new Chain of Rocks Bridge. North’s location a mile south of the country’s first mall, Northland Plaza, and about a mile west of the City of St. Louis, encouraged Werner and Meyer to pursue an extension of Bi-State service to the campus. Green space sheltered the site. Directly across Lucas and Hunt from the school lay a cemetery with its perpetual sign: “Tis Better to Have and Not Need than to Need and Not Have.” To the south, beyond the only paved section of parking, rose a new apartment complex. Northern and western property lines bordered on Norwood Hills Golf Club. Immediately behind the west end of the building were three tennis courts, configured in an “end to end” arrangement. West of the baseball field on a lower level lay a six-lane cinder track, throwing circles (just off the end zones) and runways for broad jump and pole vault. A fence circled the football field inside the track. Steve Tirmenstein later placed markers on the fence to guide those who chalked lane and stagger lines. Trees curtained the western end, minimizing the effects of wind on field goals or races. The creek that tunneled under the football field channeled past an unused portion of the golf course and ran along the north boundary ravine. The custodians built a small bridge over the creek and the school’s cross country team hosted races that started on the track, scaled the south hill, turned north along Lucas and Hunt, traversed the lower level of the golf course and reversed to finish on the track. The campus, set in an idyllic wooded area of rolling hills, had only one challenge, and that during the winter season: a notoriously slick down-hill entry driveway across a narrow creek bridge leading to an unpaved parking area. That entry way was also crossed the last of the remaining original ravines that honeycombed the original grounds. It had taken survey and grading crews almost an entire year to properly terrace the site before building construction could begin. The new education plant encircled a gymnasium. The two-story building included general classrooms on the south side first floor. The home economics room, a double-classroom complete with ranges and stoves, sewing machines and wall closets, occupied the southwest corner of the building. Second floor classrooms on the south side included a green house, science labs and a large storage area for equipment and chemicals. The first floor north wing housed a shop on the northwest corner with a double-classroom sized art room to its east.

The architect followed to the letter the Board directive describing how the new facility would be built. He had been instructed that “[i]n the construction of Lutheran High North, the building design should be pleasing, but not ostentatious; functional, but not austere; anticipatory, but not whimsical. Ornamentation should be held to a minimum and, if used, should be symbolic of the purpose of the school.” But there had been an oversight in the original design of the facility. One contractor for the installation of the electrical system submitted a bid less than half of the other competitors. When asked how he could submit that bid, he responded, “Well, there is no electricity in the shop area design which is usually the most expensive part of the bid.” The plans were modified and re-bid. The second floor included the typing and business classrooms at the west end overlooking the athletic fields. Social studies and English classrooms lined the north hallway, one classroom including a glass-walled printing office. The Drama Department had its own second floor haven in the “cross” hallway, complete with modern set lighting, a costuming closet, raised dais and window outlook from which to direct dramas in the gym below. The chief entryway included reception desks, three administrative offices and an alcove for health services. Fronting the school was the cafeteria and the terraced band room, large glass walls providing a window on this “workshop in Christian living.” A boys’ locker room adjoined the back fields while the girls’ locker room shared the gym east wall. Ten-tier bleachers lined the north and south walls of the gym that also served as the chapel, theater and band performance area. A “great room” that served as the library was located west of the cafeteria and across the hallway from the principle entry into the girls’ locker room. A full kitchen with griddles, ovens, sinks, refrigerators and walk-in freezer occupied the northeast corner of the building. A garage extended toward the east parking lot. A four-room custodial apartment sat over the basement steam room. Built for the future, a dropped ceiling provided ductwork suitable for central air conditioning the Association planned to install--and finally accomplished in 2000. When used, collapsible metal gates hidden in recessed alcoves could restrict building use to designated areas during evening and weekend activities. Instructors could use state-of-the-art vinyl accordion dividers to separate classrooms. They could share a great room but teach different courses at the same time. When opened, a double classroom seated as many as sixty students. During one semester, math instructor Paul Crisler was pressed into service to teach Old Testament. Because Repp was teaching the same course at the same time, Repp agreed to teach a double class with Crisler serving as sergeant at arms. Ironically, the only lesson Crisler taught, the Psalms, occurred during the visiting committee’s reassessment of the school’s North Central accreditation status. Later, as the audio-visual department improved its stock, students could work in one class while listening to a film about another subject in the next-door classroom. Above it all towered the sixty-foot cross, reminding all about the reason for this ministry. As at Lake and Waterman, the school became an instant magnet for outside use. Bible institutes, Sunday school teacher rallies, high school and elementary school teacher conferences, band concerts and choral performances supplemented the daily chapel services held in the gym. The traditional Association Spring Sports Festival, long held at the Sem, moved to North. It included an art festival, carnival games, Crusader/Lancer track meet, GAA competitions between the schools, baseball game and booster-hosted barbecue. Enrollment grew as Lutheran rural enclaves and missions matured into suburbanized congregations that supported large schools. Seventy-one congregations held membership in the Association. On the north side, principals and teachers at sixteen feeder schools strongly encouraged students to continue their education at Lutheran North. Bi-State buses brought students from the city and inner-ring suburbs. School bus service extended to Manchester Road. Faculty members, as they had before the move, drove several of the school buses. Central faculty member Myron Marty drove a bus to the Manchester destination in West County. Parked at a service station at the corner of Hanley and Natural Bridge, the bus sometimes had to be jump-started before he could make the run. Daenzer had driven a north county route to Central, serving Hathaway Manor students along the New Halls Ferry corridor. The new Lucas and Hunt destination noticeably shortened the driving distance. Wallace, too, had driven one of the original routes that serviced the old Central location. Starting at Central he drove out to the Lucas and Hunt site and then returned to the school. Each winter, while picking up riders at

designated stops like the Pasadena Hills pond, he loved to welcome bundled up students with his trademark greeting, “Mornin’!” Non-Lutherans were drawn to attend North by the school’s academic reputation, well-educated professional faculty and North Central Accreditation. Lutherans were drawn to attend North for the same reasons. More significantly, though, many attended because of the “Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade” Lutheran education tradition fostered by local congregations since 1946. Combined enrollment at North and South totaled 1,372 in 1971. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Association, Superintendent K. C. Meyer reported to the membership that the high schools had graduated more than 4,300 students, of which almost 20% went on to nursing and service careers and an additional 15% chose to pursue church vocations. Financing this broad St. Louis ministry was not inexpensive. By 1966, tuition had risen to $250. In 1976 it had doubled. The challenging aspect of this rate of tuition increase was that it only kept up with the rate of inflation and barely paid the bills. It left no funding for future planned development. Association finances challenged the faculty and administration. At a faculty meeting at Central as far back as 1960, discussions dealt with improving facilities and educational materials. The Science Department, in particular, desired more modern equipment and the ability to develop a “space age” curriculum. However, because the Association had been strapped with the then-intimidating task of financing two new high schools, the official administrative response was that “those changes would not be possible at this time.” Lange resorted to fourth source funding, severely limiting faculty salary increases and encouraging experienced teachers to look elsewhere to continue their ministries. Many who taught at the high schools during Lange’s tenure took summer jobs to supplement their income. Unlike most called parish teachers, they had no teacherage. They worked as bartenders, served as custodians, bagged groceries, parked cars at Grant’s Farm, painted homes and honed woodworking skills. Lange would not raise salaries because he believed these experienced instructors could be replaced by new teachers whose status on the salary schedule would help meet a limited budget. To give him credit, Lange actually encouraged local Lutheran businessmen to hire Association teachers for summer jobs. His approach for funding the high school ministries had always been fairly simple—and the budget was always balanced. After receiving permission to address congregational voter assemblies, he’d begin his presentation by stating, “No one objects to Christian education.” From there he was able to enlist their enthusiastic support. This continued as a second generation of principals took responsibility for the day-to-day operations while he dealt with fund-raising and policy-making committees of the Board. Unfortunately, for some observers these issues appeared to categorize the instructors as powerless pedagogues. And, instead of examining compensation issues or faculty development programs, Lange believed it was more important, for example, to discuss the building of bomb shelters. After all, during the height of the Cold War, Vorhoff-Dunker Corporation had offered to retrofit shelters into Central and South basements and add them to the new North designs. But tightening the Association’s proverbial financial belt had to continue. Bomb shelters, salary increases and curriculum development would have to wait. Despite the financial constraints, the Science Department modernized the curriculum and developed new materials. The surprising source of the financial support for the curriculum revision was the federal government. Prompted by the space race triggered by the Sputnik launch in 1957, the federal government funded the National Science Foundation (NSF). It provided science teachers with the opportunity to take summer coursework on college campuses. There they discussed innovative methodologies and classroom design. The success of the NSF encouraged additional government support in other areas including the language arts and social sciences. Daenzer used his NSF experiences to design the new labs at North. Ironically he never used the labs. He accepted a call to Concordia-Seward the summer following the May 1965 move to 5401. As one of his first duties, Daenzer would develop a course of instruction to educate secondary science majors to teach in Lutheran high schools. Nearby congregations noted the financial plight many Association instructors confronted year after year. Grace Chapel’s congregation, observing the personal financial sacrifices faculty made while serving the

Association, offered free tuition to its elementary school for the children of all Association teachers. Of course, Grace Chapel also received not just the gratitude of the faculty members who embraced this unique opportunity but also received the energies of those educator families. For the next three decades, Grace Chapel was home for more North faculty members than any other congregation. Faculty and their families served as elders, ushers and youth workers. They participated in and sometimes led choir and instrumental programs, dramas, Sunday school classes, VBS, confirmation instruction and even youth sports. Grace Chapel’s policy lasted until 2014 when, faced with new ministry challenges, its board of elders reconfigured the school tuition policy to a new sliding scale based on family income. It took a while, but the Association Board finally did its part in the mid-‘70s to alleviate some of the concerns about faculty compensation. And, in the early ‘80s, the Board membership approved a 50% discount for children of faculty to attend either of the two high schools. It also attempted to adopt Missouri District and ALSS salary guidelines for commissioned church workers. Student Life—and New Challenges Faculty, staff and students, led by Principal Ed Werner, Administrative Assistant Richard Wallace and Athletic Director Wayne Vogelsmeier, entered the facility with an opportunity to continue Central traditions and develop new activities. Like the other two administrators, Vogelsmeier had taken a lengthy journey to serve at North. He first taught fourth grade at Grace-Wellston. In 1954 he joined the Lutheran High staff—which included his wife, Lois, the Home Ec instructor. He taught Social Studies and PE. With the move to the new North campus, he concentrated more on the coaching of soccer and baseball, and took responsibility for lining the fields and encouraging the restart of the track program. Focus on soccer paid off before the end of the era, his squad managing eight wins in a season and capturing the school’s first ABC Tourney championship. Football coaches Wallace and history teacher Jerry Pfabe hosted, for the first time, actual home games. In 1966 the squad had its most successful season in six years, going 6-3. Still awaiting the assembly of an observation tower, coaches spotted and filmed the games while perched on top of the school bus. The Athletic Department also started a basketball tournament, usually finishing in the top three until a new ABC League tournament replaced it on the schedule. Head coach Don Oetting’s basketball charges almost annually played in the Regional finals. The squad’s performances generated so much excitement about the Chicago trip that three busloads of Pep Club members traveled to Chicago for the 1966 series. To defray the costs of the trip, Pep Club leadership arranged for The Corsairs band to play at a sock hop. The event set a record for attendance. Oetting’s success peaked during the 1969 season as the 21-8 group averaged 73.2 points per game. Success always ended at Regionals, though, where the Crusaders met McCluer High School. The Comets, at the time the largest high school in the state with more than five thousand students, were the dominant power. As the ‘70s began, a second group of exceptional basketball players arrived who were led by a sharpshooting guard from Grace Chapel: Mark Belew. However, in the days before the three-point arc, the outside shooting Crusaders could not consistently defeat the cross-town rival Lancers who were in the middle of an exceptional run. Herm Meyer’s South squads finished State runner up (1970) and champions (1973). His team i also defeated a squad that included Dan Harms, one of several North grads who later taught for several decades at South. The Crusaders had it no easier against former doormat Priory with big center Bill Daake dominating the key and energizing their once moribund program. The one exception to this frustration was 1971 when the Crusaders took two of three from the Lancers. The lone loss came as the heated rivalry culminated in the ABC League Tournament at Principia. Another coach that had just won the first semifinal game was asked if he was staying to see the second semifinal between North and South. He responded, “I’m not leaving. Their contests are like a religious war!”

Science teacher Don Nierman arrived on staff in 1967. His cross country squad hosted home meets for the first time and went 8-3 in 1967. In 1971 his group upset South at the St. Charles Invitational, and then, a year later behind Joel Christiansen, nabbed the first of two consecutive ABC titles. Nierman continued in this capacity until 1980 when he left for government service. His and wife Brenda’s children attended North, and a decade later she served for a period of time as school nurse. As track teams hosted meets, sand and sawdust pits cushioned high jumpers and pole vaulters. Sprinters hammered block anchors into the cinder surface. The Lutheran elementary schools moved their annual track meet from traditional sites at Cleveland and Northwest high schools to the North campus, and the facility became the center of the annual Spring Sports and Art Festival every May. Wallace, who served as trainer and tightly taped ankles for many athletes, coached the tennis team. As administrative duties absorbed more of his time, “the General” (as a veteran, his marching steps were recognizable from down the hallway) relinquished the tennis reins to Central grad Jim Manion. A math teacher who also coached football, Manion mentored Dan Huber to three individual State tennis championships and in 1971 led the squad to State runner up. Joining Manion in the Math Department was the first Lutheran South graduate to join the faculty, new math teacher, football coach and former discus thrower extraordinaire Carl Holschen. As a football coach, he would later face former Cougar teammate Tom Reck when the Crusaders played the Lancers. The two had played together at Concordia-River Forest, Holschen on the line and Reck as a linebacker. An exceptional lineman, Holschen often drove offensive linemen into the backfield, with Reck following Holschen into the backfield and landing on top of the pile. Reck always enjoyed those plays because the announcer frequently credited Reck for Holschen’s tackle. The baseball team started a string of exceptional ABC League performances, sharing the title with Lutheran South in ’68 and ’69. B-teams showed promise, the fledgling football players winning the first sole North ABC championship. Budding pitcher Jim Crane (future owner of the Houston Astros) tossed a no-hitter. In 1969, two years before Crisler’s varsity track team won its first ABC League title, the B-boys swept to a conference championship. The success in fielding a perennially competitive track squad encouraged Crisler to start the Lutheran North Relays, its first contest held at Florissant Valley’s all-weather facility in 1971. The format, soon including girls, became the second longest local running meet, bowing only to the forty-year older Clayton Invitational. Despite the absence of a Title IX mandate and MSHSAA sponsored competition in any girls’ sports, the ladies were not left out. GAA began to yield its athletes to the new teams playing a full interscholastic league schedule. The girls fielded squads in field hockey (despite going an entire season with no campus field on which to practice), basketball (transitioning from six- to five-player squads), softball (“sharing” the baseball diamond) and volleyball. Funding specific athletic needs or social activities soon became the responsibility of the various groups that hoped to finance their projects. Wallace and Vogelsmeier supervised L Club members as they sold concessions at home basketball games. The investment in a popcorn machine paid huge dividends as popcorn soon became the most popular product and its sales helped pay referees and replace uniforms. To raise funds for prom, the sophomores started an annual Root Beer Garden at Homecoming (also a new first). Juniors sold (and devoured) the traditional chocolate bars. Successes in funding encouraged additional creation of clubs, activities and donations. Irmgard Koch, a longtime English instructor to whom a Crusader was dedicated, started a Book Discussion Club. It was one of several other clubs, only a few grandfathered in from the Central years. Times were changing. Students desired opportunities to express themselves in print. Koch formed Penorama, a student-led organization that published short stories and poetry about issues and experiences at Lutheran North and in the community. It provided a valuable outlet for student concerns as below-surface tensions later erupted. Finally, to encourage more participation in Christmas giving, Student Council made sure Santa Claus annually visited the Christmas assembly. The anticipation of his arrival heightened student interest in donating more to local food and clothing drives. William Kirchhoff, the beloved Central music director who came to North and shepherded hundreds of singers in a variety of musical groups, retired--and taught part time at South. The tremendous musical reputation he

developed at Central continued at both North and South. At North, new choral director Fred Telschow led the program and, at the annual Christmas concert, concluded the performance with the traditional singing of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. It followed what was probably the highlight of his first year when he helped direct a massed choir vesper service at Bethlehem that celebrated the 450th Anniversary of the Reformation. Band director Ralph Lee led North-South musical collaboration, the two bands marching together at the Veiled Prophet Parade and later combining to dramatically conclude South’s musical performance of The Music Man. Some worried about the bands participating in the Veiled Prophet Parade as “long hot summers” punctuated the end of the ‘60s. Sousaphone players often found oranges, apples, nuts and screws tossed the direction of their gaping bells. Directors quickly supplied logo covers. The band continued to march during home and away football games and sections performed as dance and jazz ensembles. Field trips, service projects and culminating activities filled the school calendar. Courier staff visited the offices of the Post-Dispatch. Student Council members worked with children at a Kinloch recreation center and shared an exchange day with South. They spearheaded a local effort sending care packages to soldiers in Vietnam. Students fasted for Biafra. National Honor Society provided ushers for activities that included the annual baccalaureate service held several times at Grace-Pagedale. In June, graduates received diplomas at Kiel Opera House during joint ceremonies with South, with Lee directing both bands in the pit. And the North family mourned collectively the untimely passing of student Andrew Peterson and, shortly after, typing teacher Wilma Pickens. The administration dealt with the normal high jinks of adolescent pranksters, long-time employee Frank Popp leading the custodial staff through “post-event” cleanup. Disciplining those who “peeled out” in the lower parking lot, sneaked smokes, steamed up car windows or swam in the golf course lake kept the General busy. While tucking in shirttails was the most common dress code violation, student government representatives initiated revision of the constitution and dress code. Concerned students also revealed a more serious side. They discussed outright shows of disrespect for staff, debated the new mandatory chapel attendance policy, and, with staff support, appealed to the Board for a chance to hold Communion chapel services during special church festivals. These issues, though, distracted people from openly confronting the St. Louis-area and Synodical tensions that rapidly grew under cover of a burgeoning school enrollment. However, the tensions quickly absorbed administrative energies. As a few parents and an occasional pastor contacted the Board to question Werner’s leadership, the faculty, in 1969, felt strongly enough to pass a resolution of support for him—and publish it in the 1971 Crusader. The faculty fully endorsed his “. . . untiring . . . [and] enthusias[tic support] for scholarly experimentation, innovation and free inquiry . . . in spite of great pressures to resist change from those quarters that tend to feel that isolation and insulation of students from worldly concerns should be one of the chief purposes of a ‘sound’ Christian education.” They concluded “. . . the Christian witness demands a facing-up to the problems of society as we find it in this . . . half of the 20th century.” Student captions in Crusader capture these issues. Candid comments about John Hoyer’s provocative and interesting chapels stirred debate. The choice of politically or socially challenging plays seemingly as benign as The Mouse that Roared, The Children’s Hour and Tom Jones prompted discussion. A Student Council “slave day” auction of student talents for outside service, intended to provide more contact with local congregations and service agencies, brought some divisive student issues to the forefront. In 1971, as health issues forced Werner to relinquish his duties and return to the guidance office and classroom, the General returned to North after a brief stint at Maier Lutheran High School (Los Angeles). He would serve as principal. Werner, and then Wallace and Eggerding encouraged the generally younger faculties to socialize. They did, at times meeting at North after heavy snows. They would sled down the hill that lay north of Lucas and Hunt Apartments, carrying across the lot. When Wallace became principal, he continued to join and occasionally hosted the get-togethers, inevitably followed by all partaking in adult beverages. In the fall of 1971, Wallace’s first as principal, he left to attend the ALSS conference in Seward, Nebraska. While he was gone, frustrated black students staged a walkout. Led by Student Council president Eric Banks (see

bibliographical note), they sat in protest in the gymnasium where they questioned policies, demanded a Black Studies course, started the formation of an ad hoc student group more attuned to their needs and loudly agitated for the hiring of black teachers. For two days, the community, on edge, had a series of workshops, study groups and student-led sharing sessions. Before the ALSS conference ended, Wallace rushed back from Seward. Parents of the students demanded an audience. He met with the group in the cafeteria. They could hear him walking down the hallway and then slam the door as he entered. In his arms he carried a folder of teacher contracts. He immediately offered to hire as teacher any parent willing to teach in the classroom at the current salary schedule—at which, upon hearing the paltry amount, the parents were taken aback. After a lengthy discussion during which Wallace repeatedly delineated the salary scale and the sacrifices the faculty made to carry on the ministry, the group finally realized how difficult it was to meet their immediate demands. Within forty-five minutes they agreed to continue discussions later in a less confrontational setting and walked to their cars. Wallace immediately initiated change. Wallace enabled concerned students to create the Black Awareness Group, comprised of most of the more than one hundred black students. The English Department, under the guise of the Courier and Crusader, encouraged written expression about the issues. Many students turned to Penorama-type writing to voice frustrations and concerns. The 1971 Crusader, printed on most pages in stark black and white, made as its centerpiece a two-page black-on-white/white-on-black section entitled “Peace and Power in Christ.” The central poem, surrounded by troubling but valid concerns shaped in verse, symbolically joined the two pages. It pleaded: “power to the people, power to the black man, to get higher in the land; power to the white man so he can dig his fellow man; power to the black and white man so they can unite this God Given Land!! Peace and power!!” The administration and faculty renewed efforts to minister to the bicultural community. A Black History Month celebration, a classroom focus on more open discussion of contemporary topics and additional student activities broadened opportunities to express opinions and foster dialogue. Even traditional choir robes disappeared, replaced by white slacks and open collared shirts for the boys, short multi-patterned dresses for the girls. The community under the cross weathered, at least for a while, the first non-financial crisis in its twenty-five year history. As English teacher (and later principal) Ed Reitz reminisced a decade later, “We have what desegregation efforts are trying to accomplish across the country. People are paying to come here because they believe that a multicultural Christian education is the best possible education one could have anywhere.” Crisler reflected that while normal concerns at most schools were student-teacher ratio, at North it was, unfortunately, overshadowed by the white/black ratio that misdirected people from focusing on the reason for existing—to provide a quality Christian education. Mavis Thompson, a 1974 alumnus who served for years as St. Louis City Circuit Clerk and took part in the 1971 discussions, noted: “We felt a need to have a student organization that addressed the specific concerns of black students, and the school was supportive of that need. Faculty and students worked hard to bridge any tensions students might have felt.” Virtually the only black faculty member for almost twenty-five years at Central and North, librarian Velma Martin reiterated Crisler’s credo from Galatians: “You are all one in Christ Jesus.” While remembering heated discussions, she noted it was a good learning experience for both black and white students to get to know each other. During the tempestuous time, local news anchor Chris Condon rushed through the front entrance, cameraman in tow. Having heard there was trouble in the halls he sought out the first black student he could find. The hallways were empty. He finally found a sole student who was headed to the office on an errand. Condon asked where the “trouble” was. The student responded, “We don’t do things like that here,” and proceeded to the office. Condon left with no story. Condon missed the obvious story. The 1972 Service of Holy Communion on Senior Day, the ever-present Christus Victor cross on the altar front and center, symbolized the diverse student body united by Christ. Pastor Repp’s focus on Word and Sacrament, incorporated in this and the annual traditional Christmas Communion service, was a fitting celebration of the work being completed in the workshop of Christian living

Tensions in Synod At the New Orleans Synodical Convention in 1973, heated discussion about doctrinal clarity and ecclesiastical authority polarized many into two active traditionalist and progressive groups. These discussions focused primarily on Concordia Seminary-St. Louis President John Tietjen’s handling of the false doctrine charges leveled directed against Sem faculty. The convention delegates narrowly passed four resolutions condemning the Seminary faculty majority that supported Tietjen. They charged the Council of Presidents and Synodical administrators to establish boards of inquiries to conduct a specified interview process. The interview process, they hoped, would provide specific evidence of Tietjen either covering up or permitting the teaching of false doctrine. Traditionalists worked to remove Tietjen from his post and in February 1974 he faced suspension. On February 20, all but a few of the faculty and more than four hundred Sem students went into “exile” in support of him. Seminex held classes in temporary locations including St. Louis University and Eden Seminary. Student bodies at Concordia-Seward and Concordia-River Forest held two-day workshops of prayerful deliberation to discuss the issues. Congregations hosted forums. Districts formed special study committees. The 1977 Anaheim and 1979 Dallas conventions revealed the Synod was at an impasse. The division between traditionalists and progressives widened as some Seminex professors were formally removed from membership. Other professors left to join or form other church bodies. As discussions about Synodical issues in congregations, circuits and districts led oftentimes to debate and then confrontation, traditionalists approved President J. A. O. Preus’ changes. Synod withdrew from participation in the almost-completed new pan-Lutheran hymnal, declared a state of protest with the ALC as it began to ordain women, and formally removed Seminex graduates from roster consideration. These actions mirrored the social and political tenor of the country. ‘60s radical movements forced everyone to evaluate traditional forms of politics, worship, organizations, education, race relations and foreign policy. Some saw long-held traditions threatened by what appeared to be rejection of governance, structure and discipline. Spurred by revelations of corruption in the highest levels of government and the military during the Johnson and Nixon administrations, many Americans embraced leaders and programs they hoped would restore desirable portions of the old order and recover the perceived loss of integrity. Perhaps a majority, oftentimes tenuous, viewed Synodical issues the same way. The Synodical crisis was particularly disruptive on the north side. Congregations on the north side had a much more intimate working relationship with Synodical leadership and Seminary faculty. Many of the new Synodical officers worshipped weekly at north side congregations. During the early years of the growing Synodical tensions, Superintendent K. C. Meyer served on the Seminary Board of Directors and had seen the crisis brewing. He hoped it would not affect the Association and, except for individual pastors who occasionally raised the issue, he managed, like Wallace and Eggerding (who served on the Concordia-River Forest Board of Directors), to deflect focused criticism of the high schools. North seemed to be, initially, neutral ground. Tietjen and Preus children attended North—without incident. At one point, North senior Jack Preus (N ’71) was told he was going to attend Normandy High. On the first day of classes, Jack, who also played football, arrived, on his own, at 5401 and asked to be admitted. He was. His younger sister, though, enrolled at Normandy High that same year. The unfortunate result for the two high schools was the polarization of the Synodical congregations into the two distinct camps represented at the conventions. Some Association congregations that had a majority of progressives left Synod. The Synod informed the Board that the high schools’ classifications as Synodical entities would be ended should those “rebel” congregations continue to be included with membership rights. The very existence of the Association and high schools was in the balance. In Written on Our Hearts and Lives, the brief fiftieth anniversary history of the Association, author David Rohde quickly summarized the resolution of the crisis. He stated that Wallace, Eggerding and Meyer, until 1976 when he retired, used “. . . faith, persistence, logic and the will to exist, . . . maintain[ing Association] affiliation with the LCMS and allow[ing] in its constitution and bylaws other Lutheran congregations to continue their support and involvement as associate congregations . . .”

A casual observer of the era would not have noticed the only three events that publicly reflected Synodical tensions in day-to-day operations at North: the sudden replacement of Lutheran Book of Worship with the older hymnal; leadership of chapel limited to faculty; and, after 1980, no future Communion services conducted in chapel. There was only one public confrontation. A group of traditionalist pastors called for a meeting with Wallace, who met them in the cafeteria. They desired to “clean up” the high school and make certain no false doctrine was being fostered in the hallways and classrooms. In no uncertain terms Wallace addressed their concerns, strongly noting these were teenagers to which the faculty was ministering. The campus would not become a battleground in the conflict. Wallace made the Synodical representatives and the pastors behave themselves when it came to the high schools. Creative leaders in both high schools fostered insularity from the outside tensions and maintained unity of purpose under the shadow of the cross. Eggerding had fostered the same approach at South. He continually assured concerned pastors that the school was a place of study where teachers and administrators nurtured the faith-lives of students. The members of the Association— administrators, teachers, students--lived in the shelter of each other. Delegates to the triannual Association meetings officially formulated the workable solution to resolve the crisis. At stake was the Association status of the congregations, particularly on the north side, that had withdrawn from Synodical membership. The key fall 1980 delegate meeting was held in the South gym. On a very warm night, Board chair George Marshall presided over the “standing room only” crowd. Many participated in an open-forum debate, discussing whether congregations leaving Synod for other church bodies could maintain Association membership. As the meeting continued beyond 11:30 p.m., a delegate from the north side simply reiterated her hope that all would remember the reason for the Association: Christian education. She pleaded for a resolution to the impasse. The remaining delegates--some had left as the meeting extended beyond the four-hour mark--passed a motion to permit the former Synodical congregations to maintain voting rights in all matters except those concerning doctrine. It had been a tenuous time. Unlike the South congregations that were not specifically divided into two camps, North’s constituent congregations had almost been forced to choose sides in the Synodical crisis. South, too, had a homogenous white student enrollment, the vast majority of students educated in Lutheran elementary schools. North’s student body was a heterogeneous mix of white and black, those students educated in Lutheran and nonLutheran traditions. Yet the Association managed to maintain these two uniquely different high schools. The two high schools brought good tidings of great joy to both distinctive communities. Velma Martin and Paul Crisler were prescient: “We are all one in Christ.” The ‘70s: The Workshop Changes A salesman’s phone call to Crisler triggered a new revolution. He asked if the school would be interested in a time-share arrangement that would connect a North classroom by telephone line to a mini computer. The potential arrangement could provide North faculty an opportunity to offer, as SLUH’s staff was already doing, high school computer classes. Crisler took the challenge. A school parent’s donation to the North Math Department helped purchase two teletype machines. The two teletype machines provided access via the phone line to the downtown mini computer. “Huey,” as one teletype was known, often sported a tie during festive occasions. Its ensemble was chosen by North grad and now instructor Barb Klingsick or later, by the third South grad to teach on the north side, late-‘70s arrival Mark Marting. That simple phone call also helped trigger the curriculum rewrite faculty and staff used to fill the needs of a student body and church polity dealing with local and national crises. By 1975, the curriculum guide included a great variety of new semester courses. Working feverishly, the staff completely reworked course requirements and outlines, changing some of the contents and sequences that had been developed a decade earlier or even grandfathered in from Central. The Registrar and members of the Counseling Department, aware of the increase

in total credits necessary to graduate, assisted the six hundred students who chose from a myriad of new courses to fulfill requirements. English courses like Minority Literature, Creative Writing, Advanced Composition, Great Authors and later, Literature of Prejudice, enabled students to learn to express themselves in constructive ways. Classroom discussions also helped provide deliberative methods to resolve the questions raised by Wallace’s cafeteria audiences. All teachers emphasized that contemplative study should be used to support ideas and essays. The Religion Department replaced the traditional sequence of chronological-like studies of Biblical and church history with Journey to Freedom; Acts; Moses, Elijah and Christ; Religion and Literature, and, to foster a better understanding of Synodical issues, Principles of Biblical Interpretation. Practical Arts added to its traditional offerings of Shop and Mechanical Drawing the new Care of the Automobile and Advanced Woodworking courses. The Natural Science Department, having undergone several revisions during the past decade, added courses entitled Consumer Chemistry and Earth Science. Students registered for Ceramics, Crafts and Foods, Interior Decorating and had the option of choosing two years of German, French or Latin. The latter was taught by long time instructor Dorothy Caemmerer. Besides the Religion Department, the Social Science Department underwent the most dramatic revision. Gone were traditional two-semester courses in Geography, World History and United States History. They were replaced by a student requirement of taking six of the semester classes offered. Courses like Asia-Africa, Contemporary World Problems, Black Heritage, Minorities and American Foreign Policy addressed societal problems and foreign relations. The creation of Anthropology, Frontier and Psychology courses gave students the chance to follow their passions. Lutheran South followed suit, developing a required course, American History Backwards. (Initially it never got past the Civil War.) Following the national trends of late ‘60s social science curriculum development, instructors focused on studying material applicable to resolve current world and national problems, rather than helping students develop a comprehensive knowledge of the past to better understand the lessons of history. Incredibly, after the creative revisions, the typical North student could choose ala carte from such a menu--and never take a formal course in United States History. Three new developments in the curriculum exemplify the changes during this decade of transition. The English Department added Remedial Reading to help students ill-prepared to deal with the demands of the new curriculum. The Math-Science Department focused on teaching BASIC computer programming and developed access to a computer mainframe again in coordination with SLUH. The department also started a Math-Science Fair that, in its first year, accepted more than 160 projects. Many projects highlighted the use of computerassisted solutions for science-related problems. By the late ‘70s, the Fine Arts program, seemingly always in transition, attained stability with the arrival of Mark Marting (S ‘72) and later, Steve Tirmenstein. Marting brought energy, showmanship and expansion of the traditional choral repertoire. He followed the lead of South mentor Henry Engelhardt and revived the tradition of musical productions. He also assisted Hoyer with the fall dramas. Tirmenstein inherited a struggling band of twenty-five students. When he told the band they were going to play at home football games he was told, “No one goes to football games.” In the summer of 1979 he organized the first band camp at Camp Wartburg in Illinois. Although he did not tell the band members ahead of time, he planned to use the camp to create a marching band. It worked and the Marching Crusaders marched for all home and playoff football games for nearly twenty years. One pundit described the early efforts of the band as a “march or play” organization, but, like the football team, the members persisted and improved quickly. Wallace also gave Tirmenstein the challenge of regenerating the defunct elementary band program. The rotating schedule made this difficult to do so a “flip-flop” schedule was adopted. During the six-period day only the third and fourth periods remained fixed. On the second day of the rotation, first and second periods would “flip,” as would the fifth and sixth. Then, first and second would “flop”, trading places with the fifth and sixth’s original spots. On the fifth day of the rotation, fifth and sixth, in their new slots, would “flip,” as would first and second. It was the only way Tirmenstein could teach band at the other schools without abandoning his high school charges.

The elementary band program quickly grew and soon included participation by ten schools. In 1979 the Science Department chair was looking for an event to alternate with science at the annual academic fair. Tirmenstein jumped at the chance to start an elementary music festival. After alternating once, the music festival became a yearly event so students would not lose the continuity of performing for a judge each year. In 1981 the administration added an art fair to alternate with science. Both Marting and Tirmenstein took groups on tour and regularly performed as part of community Lutheran celebrations, local festivals, at Six Flags and on media broadcasts. With his high-energy teaching style and musical productions, Marting developed a showman’s approach to co-curricular activities that at times drew interesting reactions from the General. The new student government constitution created avenues to make constructive change. Its four commissions (Welfare, School Policy, Human Relations, and Social) encouraged emboldened groups to implement ideas. This bore immediate success. The Ecology Club, Student Involvement Group (a service organization) and American Field Society (developing multiculturalism by hosting foreign exchange students) provided additional service opportunities. Assemblies like Energy Conservation triggered homeroom discussions. Chapel Folk Choir nurtured a participatory ethic in daily worship. Even the Pep Club got involved, soon incorporating boys in the membership as they decorated the facility for musicals, took field trips to the zoo and led explorations at the Art Museum. Chapel collections supported the Judevine Center and other local social service organizations. Finally, an activity period on Thursday mornings permitted students to participate in intramural contests, rehearse for performances, get tutoring or even play table hockey, a game popularized by the Blues’ early success. The largest participatory event evolved during the late ‘60s. It had its origins when a few teachers and students displayed simple Christmas decorations. Soon, various musical groups caroled in the hallways. By the mid-‘70s, the school Christmas celebration unofficially started at the Christmas Concert which was usually hosted by a local congregation. It then spanned the last week of classes in December. Students decorated hallways, trees and the entryway. They collected cans for a food drive (Al Smith’s home room collected a record 508 cans), caroled at shopping centers, sang in the halls and threw impromptu parties. The Christmas celebration culminated on the last day prior to Christmas break as the students participated in the all-school Communion service. On that day, students left behind the traditional platform shoes, halter tops, baggies, battle jackets and skinny belts, exchanging them for dresses, coats and ties. Marting’s reorganized musical groups led worship. Sounds of Sixteen, Chapel Choir, Band and Glee clubs offered praises about the “news of great joy that would be for all people!” Homecoming, too, evolved in the years following the move to Lucas and Hunt. Friday nights included the variety show and introduction of the court. At the football game (and, yes, Crusaders still had a tough time winning them until 1979) half-time festivities, classes and homerooms paraded in decorated cars and pickup trucks. Some vehicles pulled wagon-type floats in the lengthy procession around the track while cheerleaders tossed candy to families and friends. The band, and, after the arrival of Tirmenstein in 1977, Pom Pons and Drill Team, performed together on the football field. A couple of times, school members brought horses ridden by “Crusaders” to impress the visitors. After the game, students went home to clean up for the evening festivities and returned to North for a dinner and dance. By the early ‘80s, the Homecoming variety show was creating cultural conflicts. Skits done traditionally by white students were not embraced by the growing black community. The music and dance routines performed by the black students were not endorsed by the white students and parents. The other issue that troubled many was that the Homecoming King and Queen were not crowned until the dance on Saturday. Not only did they not reign over Homecoming but it was hard for parents to witness the event. Tensions had to be defused and the coronation issue had to be resolved. In 1983, a teacher suggested the pep rally and coronation should be on Friday night. It would allow parents to see every member of the court and every member of each fall sports team introduced during the festivities. Saturday, after the football game, students would return for the dance. The solution worked and set the pattern for the next four decades.

Other changes to traditional celebrations were not so seamless. Three activities were dramatically affected. The first was the senior class Communion service. Synodical tensions during the era encouraged the administration to reevaluate the tradition. In addition, a few local pastors expressed concern about the validity of such a service in which they did not specifically distribute communion to their own parishioners. Some pastors also expressed reservations about the possibility of non-Lutheran students receiving communion. After 1980, North no longer hosted Communion worship. The other two traditions affected by ancillary issues were the baccalaureate and graduation ceremonies. Baccalaureates, held separately from South, were usually hosted by Grace-Pagedale, Atonement-Florissant or Grace Chapel-Bellefontaine Neighbors. One of the more striking baccalaureates was at Grace Chapel in 1974. Graduating seniors processed while carrying candles “of the Holy Spirit” in a darkened sanctuary. Worship services like this particular one, held just prior to graduation, were more intimate, family-oriented celebrations in the context of congregational life. The joint commencement at Kiel Opera House ended the school year. Unfortunately, long-time rivals seated on the same stage during matriculation exercises provided an opportunity for unscripted performances. Graduation classes attempted to upstage one another. The throwing of rice, release of balloons and tossing of Frisbees during graduation ceremonies forced many to critically evaluate the staged disruptions. In a hotly debated move in 1977, the high schools started holding separate graduations on their athletic fields. Many hoped annual graduating classes could hold a joint baccalaureate service, but it would be almost two decades before that came to fruition. Crusaders and Lancers: Team of Rivals Administrative discussions about ending the joint graduation ceremonies at Kiel heightened recognition of the rivalries that characterized Crusader/Lancer competition. Sometimes these tensions created mild acrimony between North/South constituencies. Occasional abrasive comments directed by individuals against “the other school” made many aware of the evolving differences in the two schools. During the economic downturn of the late ‘70s, Association finances became a major concern. Fears of being shortchanged led a few Association members to recommend that local monies be kept in that particular local school. The issue helped many note the unique transformation taking place in the local Lutheran community. Until the mid-‘70s, Central and then North had more feeder schools and congregations than did South. Because of these advantages, North had a larger enrollment. At that time a few asserted that “northern” money was carrying along “little upstart” South. However, during the late ‘70s, divisive social and Synodical issues threatened the stability of Lutheran North. Suddenly, North’s falling enrollment encouraged reversal of the argument as some Lancers felt “their” money now carried the Crusaders. The Association membership resolved these issues much like a family. The membership dealt intensively with focused agendas. At times, the two sides vigorously debated which financial priorities and budgetary needs outweighed the other. At other times members of one community commiserated with others who suffered a tragedy or misfortune. An example of this is when, during the ‘70s, both high schools lost students or recent graduates to illness or car accidents. Each time the Association community turned to comfort and care for the mourning. The unified family also rejoiced when a North hallway faculty romance led to the wedding of English teacher Rachel Sauer and math teacher Fred Hinz. Several additional Association activities also alleviated the occasionally divisive competitive tensions. These focused, ironically, on the athletic fields where this rivalry so often played out. News about the activities brought good tidings to a renewed, unified community. The administrative staffs of both schools initiated cooperative efforts when Central (having the numbers) and South (having the space) combined resources during the early ‘60s. The Fall Festival and Spring Sports Festival brought constituencies of both schools together, the collective Association membership sharing communal meals, activities and displays. Similar cooperative efforts continued after Central moved to North, particularly with the

Spring Sports Festival. Then, in 1975, the basketball squads played before a St. Louis Spirits game at Kiel Auditorium. The larger venue encouraged additional discussions about cooperative efforts. In 1976 the teams squared off in the refurbished Checkerdome and a year later the athletic departments restarted the annual Sem games. In 1977, following the lead of Erv Korte, the administrations initiated an annual Lutheran Day at Busch Stadium. The next year, for the first time, it pitted baseball squads in an annual contest at Busch Stadium that brought hundreds together in a festive atmosphere. For the Cardinal brass, it was a successful promotional experiment. The Crusader/Lancer contest, the first high school game permitted in the stadium, led to additional similar Cardinal-sponsored community days held during the regular season. A joint North-South choir singing the National Anthem prior to the first—and subsequent--contests symbolized the Association’s communal spirit and unity of purpose. And, that same May, discussions about the common problem of Association debt service culminated in what became another longstanding tradition. Three couples spearheaded the very first LAHE Dinner Auction that followed a year later. (See Chapter 3, below.) As Athletic Director, Mr. V, as he desired to be called, dealt with the transition of the coaching staff. When Oetting left to teach and coach basketball at St. Charles High School, Simmons temporarily replaced him until Reitz took the position. Dave McCollister, Mr. Mac, arriving in 1975 after teaching at Our Savior Lutheran High School-Bronx, joined the Social Science Department. He took over the girls’ basketball program and added cross country and track to his duties. Tirmenstein and Marting helped Crisler with track and Al Polich (and later, returnee Holschen) with football, respectively. Berkeley and SEMO grad Mike Russell joined the football and baseball staffs and was charged with reconfiguring the PE Department. Mr. V arranged for a new boys’ golf group, girls’ tennis team and a revived girls’ track squad. When English teacher Barry Terrass arrived in 1979 he took the reins of boys’ soccer. Playing in the winter season, his squad often dealt with snow covered fields and Arctic-like conditions. He took over for Coach V, who had mentored the 1979 squad to a best ever 9-4-1 record good for second place in the ABC. Mr. V, needing a field hockey coach, led that team in 1979. In fits and starts, the athletic teams made progress. Russell’s baseball squads won two ABC titles during the era, the first in 1977. Reitz’s basketball squad captured a league title in 1978 and won the Regional. A year later, the squad won more than twenty games and in 1980 went 24-1 before earning a berth in the State Semis. Fearful of “jinxing” the team’s fortunes, no one discussed the issue that one of the team members was also the pianist for the school play. A Friday performance for the grade schools would not have been possible without one of the basketball players—the pianist--who was going to Columbia. School on that Friday had been scheduled as a teacher workday so students could go to the game. But when administrative heads finally discussed the conflicting schedule, Wallace, noting the Friday performance for the grade schools would no longer be possible, determined school would convene. The basketball team brought back a fourth place banner, the first Final Four finish since the 1971 tennis squad. Football, now headed by Russell, its players buoyed by a few more bleachers and a four-post press box (built by parent and coach volunteers), earned an 8-2 record in the 1979 season. It was the second of thirty consecutive winning seasons for North football. After two bitter losses ended the season, the squad vowed to beat nemesis Codasco the next year and return to the State tournament. They did. North defeated Codasco for the first time in the history of Lutheran North, 17-14. Led by future NFL signees Thomas Rooks, Bobby Joe Edmonds and Tony Buford and an outstanding defense, the squad defeated the Marshall Owls 14-6 in the 3A State Championship game at Busch Stadium. Russell’s accolades included being named the Sporting News St. Louis Area High School Coach of the Year. Klingsick provided steady leadership for volleyball and Mr. Mac’s 1980 basketball squad set a record for most wins (eleven) in a season. Angie Fairfax qualified for the first girls’ State track meet ever held, reflecting the boys’ success. The Crisler-led track teams won another league title in 1978 with his athletes beginning a tradition of competing in Columbia or Jefferson City each May. As the era ended, Mr. Mac’s tiny cross country squad managed to qualify a couple of individuals for the state meet.

Graduates from this era like Keith Dierberg (N ’76) and John Londoff (N ’76) would take over local family businesses and grow them to impressive corporate success. Mark Belew (N ’72) and Jim Crane (N ’72), among others, nurtured small enterprises by promoting inclusive policies and developed exceptional corporate organizations. Like many others, they financially contributed to the Association and North to fill specific needs. Other graduates like Gerald Kirk (N ’80), Kevin Ballentine (N ’80), Karen (Fritsche N ’73) Kersten, and Rachel (Burgdorf N ’81) Pauluhn returned a decade or more later to work as a Board member, fundraiser or in the principal’s office, respectively. As long-serving instructors and mentors like Martin Hokamp contemplated retirement from the ministry, still others like Bill Keller, Judy Knight, John Kersten and Mike Prange arrived to cultivate new opportunities in the field of the ministry. The transition years were ending. In 1980, Reitz replaced Wallace, who, having guided the community for almost a decade, left for new challenges. After designing a program to resurrect a dying Lutheran East-Cleveland, the General, using a restrained, patient persona, saved an almost bankrupt Orlando Luther. There he applied the lessons learned at Central, Maier and North to move that suddenly budding ministry to a new facility. Reitz, who recently finished his graduate studies, accepted the call to serve as principal just as local problems again threatened the very existence of North. It would be his job as chief shepherd of the flock to guide the community in the great joy of Christ during the next era of trying times.

Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 2: I Bring You Good Tidings! Lutheran North, 1965-1981 Turmoil in the ‘60s and ‘70s The introductory material is based on Fields, pp. 55-66, 91-92. Unique Challenges in the LCMS The Daenzer interview of 4/8/15 provides detailed information about the changes implemented in what later became the Concordia University System, as well as the commentary about Pruitt-Igoe. Local Issues of Race and Reform 250, pp. 125-128, 132-133 and several O’Neil articles deal with St. Louis segregation/desegregation issues. Bill McClellan recorded the Ballentine interview (and later noted the contributions of Belew and Crane) while David Halberstam, October 1964 (New York: Ballantine Books, 1994) deals with the impact Cardinal players had on the local civil rights scene. Spanish Lake, a documentary movie viewed at Tivoli Theater, July 12, 2014, describes in great detail the methods used to move minority groups into the North County areas. Elisa Crouch, “Sumner marks rich past,” SLPD, 6/23/15 A1, A8 describes the migration of the black middle class of the Ville into the North County area. A brief history and extensive economic analysis of the eastern sector of North County can be found in I-270/Highway 367 Corridor Study: St. Louis Department of Planning, April 2003 at https://www.stlouisco.com/Portals/8/docs/Document%20Library/planning/community%20planning%20and%20r evitalization/north%20county/I%20270%20Highway%20367%20Corridor%20Study.pdf accessed 2/14/16. In future references, it will be noted as 270/367 Study. The specific impact of race relations on local congregations may be found in “Open Branch Chapel,” TSLL, 9/24/56, p. 7. It describes how one local congregation started a new preaching station as the area transformed from 95% white in 1947 to 95% black in 1955. At Luther Memorial in Richmond Heights, a “town and gown” congregation with many Sem profs as members, Rev. Herb Hohenstein led the group in a seamless transition from an all-white congregation to an integrated membership. That congregation and Holy Cross Church for the Deaf were held as examples of how “. . . people [may] adopt attitudes of Christian love and tolerance.” See “Progress Report on Integration,” TSLL, 10/6/56, p. 5. Another pastor, Rev. Paul Stephen stated, “There will be no flight.” See “Changes in Area will not Deter Church from Task,” TSLL, 1/14/56, p. 7. Those sentiments were the fruition of a long-time gradual evolution about the church’s role in critiquing social issues. With the Synodical Conference conducting mission planting for blacks until the early ‘50s, most congregation announcements and official LCMS publications were mute about segregation and integration. Rev. Dr. Andrew Schulze had initiated the work at St. Philips, located near Homer G. Philips Hospital. Rev. Walter Heyne continued the work, and in 1956, the congregation included more than five hundred communicant members. Seventy-five were public school teachers. At that time, the congregation, a charter member of the Association, sent four students to Lutheran High. See “Church a Leader in Negro Missions,” TSLL, 12/1/56, pp. 6, 7. For an even more extensive description and analysis of the impact of segregation and racism on the local St. Louis Lutheran community, see the biography of Schulze, the LCMS pastor who spent his early ministry serving black missions in Springfield, Illinois, St. Louis and Chicago. That may be found in Kathryn M. Galchutt, The Career of Andrew Schulze: Lutheran and Race in the Civil Rights Era, 1924-1968, Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2005.

A Building of Faith Rohde’s Association history detailed the move of the Association offices while Daenzer (4/8/15) and Repp (3/20/15) provided descriptions of the new facility. Daenzer provided the quote regarding the erroneous omission of electrical fixtures in the shop, while Written, p. 8 is the source for the Board instructions to the architect. Daenzer, Tirmenstein and Marty (5/6/15) all described the early bus service. Daenzer and Marty provided details about faculty part-time work; the impact of the NSF; and twenty-five outlined the financial budget and statistics. For further information about the creation of the New City School and the demographic changes happening in the Central West End, see Doug Moore, “His tenacity brought New City School to Central West End,” SLPD, 2/16/16, p. A17. Student Life—and New Challenges Wayne Vogelsmeier, who attended Valparaiso University and then entered the teaching ministry in 1951, left his first position at Grace-Wellston to teach at Lutheran High in 1954. At the time, the north side inner ring suburbs were growing rapidly, and soon Grace-Concord, as it became known, included students from three parishes. In the late ‘50s, just after it opened, it was Synod’s largest elementary school. Vogelsmeier had three children: Lori (N ’74) Christiansen, Gregg (N ’77) and Stuart (N ’81). His four grandchildren Rachel (S ’03) and Andrew (S ’06) Christiansen and Bradley (S ’09) and Lauren (S ’14) Vogelsmeier all attended South. Son-in-law Rev. Joel Christiansen (N ’72) held the Crusader 1600M record for several decades and served as pastor at Webster Gardens-Webster Groves. Lori served as a teacher and as Executive Director of the Lutheran Association for Special Education. (The Herald, Spring 2012, p. 8) Vogelsmeier also played a role in encouraging North to host international students. Al Landes was a collegeaged volunteer at an orphanage in Italy that was operated by an American service organization. Landes noticed the soccer abilities of teenager Tony Pietoso and challenged him to come to America. In 1970, much to Pietoso’s surprise, Landes sent him a ticket to visit him at Concordia-River Forest. Tony arrived as Landes received a call to teach at North. Landes took Pietoso to St. Louis and rented an apartment next to North’s campus. With only two weeks left on his visa, Pietoso attended a soccer practice. Coach Vogelsmeier was impressed with the young man who could “. . . dribbl(e) the ball on (his) head and (his) feet.” With Vogelsmeier’s encouragement, Pietoso attended North. Teachers gave up their lunch hours to tutor the exchange student because he knew so little English. He graduated in 1972 and then attended Florissant Valley Community College where he helped lead the team to the Junior College Soccer National Championship in 1973. After working as a hair stylist, he became an American citizen. Pietoso became a waiter, and in 1989, opened Café Napoli in Clayton. Within ten years he, his brother Fortunato, and Tony’s two sons opened a second location in Town and Country (The Herald, Spring 2011, p. 5). The quote about the North-South religious war is from a 1971 undated Post-Dispatch fragment. Mike Russell provided the details for athletics during the ‘70s. “New Challenges at North” details about student shenanigans is from the Class of 1969 Tenth Anniversary Reunion Booklet and reminiscences of Repp, Tirmenstein and Crisler. Tom Reck, 1/22/16, recalled the Concordia-RF football story as well as the North-South faculty gatherings on the Lucas and Hunt campus. The black student walkout and reactions are chiefly from Fiftieth. Repp retold the Condon story. Student Council president Eric Banks was one of the first ten black graduates from the University of Missouri Law School. His presence there had been made possible only by Charles Houston and Thurgood Marshall’s pursuit of a 1938 court case, Lloyd Gaines v. Canada (Registrar, University of Missouri). Its resolution stated that black students did not have to wait for either the construction of a separate law school nor use state-financed “scholarships” that would ship them out of state to attend desegregated law schools. While Gaines mysteriously disappeared on a trip to Chicago, his legacy, finally applied as the University of Missouri was integrated, provided

Banks his rightful opportunity to pursue his graduate education. Eyes on the Prize—either the print edition or the 6-hour video—provides additional information about the case and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. More recently, University of Missouri professors Bill Horner and James Endersby published Lloyd Gaines and the Fight to End Segregation, Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2016. Claudette Wells (N ’71) had a successful career in television and movies. While her chief notability was as actress “LaDonna Fredericks” in Square Pegs, an early ‘80s sitcom, she also has many additional credits to her resume. Besides numerous television parts, her voiceovers in Mulan (1998), Shrek (2001), and The Princess and the Frog (2009) are probably the most easily accessible for the general public. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0920147/ accessed 11/17/15. A key reference about her is found in Ray Bosenbecker, So, Where’d You Go to High School?, p. 111, a fragment provided by Paul Crisler. Tensions in Synod The introductory material is a summary of Fields, 96-99, 114-117. Rohde’s summary of Association reaction is found on p. 4, while Crisler (3/20/15) and Judith (Wangerin) Meyer (4/6/15) noted anecdotes about Jack Preus and K. C. Meyer. Bauer, Don Prahlow, LaBore, Torbeck and Reck all shared various aspects about the late-night Association vote to retain former Synodical congregations with virtual full membership rights except in areas of doctrine. LaBore, in particular, noted Eggerding’s support for teachers as they helped the students grow in the faith. On 2/16/16, Rev. Walter Schoedel, a Board member from 1981-1983, shared his recollections about the key fall 1980 delegate meeting. A new arrival from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in 1971, he served at Concordia-Kirkwood. He recalled the lengthy discussions members had about whether or not Communion could be offered at the two high schools. He also remembered the Board members participating in lengthy conversations about determining a process for calling instructors for Religion classes. Schoedel had a unique perspective about Christian education and Christian outreach. An instructor at Concordia-St. Paul (MN) until 1954, he served at Emmanuel Lutheran Church-Ft. Wayne until 1971. At the inner city congregation he developed a neighborhood association; a group home for slow learners; an after school program; one of the first inter-parish Lutheran schools in the country; advocacy for the elderly; and, later, in St. Louis, elderly housing. When he first arrived at Concordia-Kirkwood, he helped complete the multi-parish Christ Community Lutheran School in 1974. It combined the educational operations of five Lutheran churches: Prince of Peace-Crestwood, Glendale-Glendale, Webster Gardens-Webster Groves, Concordia-Kirkwood and Mt. Calvary-Brentwood. Three of his and wife Lee’s children graduated from South: Peter (‘79), Paula (’80) and Michael (’86). “Kirkwood, MO, Resident Walter M. Schoedel Receives Award from Concordia University, St. Paul,” 10/22/10, at http://readme.readmedia.com/Kirkwood-Mo-Resident-WalterM-Schoedel-Receives-Award-from-Concordia-University-St-Paul/1756085 accessed on 2/17/16. Jacob Preus, the graduating senior who showed up at North for his final year at North while his sister enrolled at Normandy High, later became Faculty Dean at Concordia Seminary and then, for more than a decade, President of Concordia-Irvine. See file:///Users/teacher/Downloads/synopses_statements.pdf for more information about his ministerial career. For those who desire to examine in greater detail the specifics about the Synodical crisis, start with James E. Adams, Preus of Missouri and the Great Lutheran Civil War, New York: Harper & Row, 1977. A cursory summary may be found in the supplement to E. Clifford Nelson’s The Lutherans in North America, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980. Concordia-Mequon professor James C. Burkee compiled an exhaustive analytical account about the causes, principle leaders and its long-lasting effects in his 2011, Power, Politics and the Missouri Synod: A Conflict That Changed American Christianity, Minneapolis: Fortress Press. The 1998 Fields describes the impact of the Synodical crisis on a District and congregational level. Rev. Sam Hoard’s 2004 autobiography, The Truth Will Set You Free, (as well as his earlier Almost a Layman) provides insight into race relations during and after this period. It also comments about the status of black parishioners during the Synodical crisis

The ‘70s: The Workshop Changes This section is based on two articles in Fiftieth. The summary of the impact on the Social Studies curriculum is from a retrospective 1995 Lutheran North Social Studies Report. Tirmenstein and Russell both commented about the early days of the football squad, revival of the band program and the reformatting of Homecoming festivities. Crisler and Russell, interviewed for Fiftieth, summarized the football championships and contests. For more about the Lutheran Day at the Ball Park and the origins of the Association Fantasy Faire Auction, see below, Chapter 3. The ‘70s saw quite a few individuals who went on to establish exceptional business, professional and ministerial careers. Jim Crane, the B-team pitcher who tossed the no-hitter, was an All Conference basketball and baseball player at North. After graduating from Central Missouri State in 1976 (he earned All American honors in baseball), Crane founded both Eagle USA Airfreight, Inc., and Crane Worldwide Logistics. As CEO and President of Crane Capital Group and The Crane Foundation, he purchased the Houston Astros in 2011. An entrepreneur and philanthropist, he has generously donated to his alma maters: Grace Chapel, Lutheran North and Central Missouri State. A personable individual, Crane met with a classroom of business students at Lutheran North when he came to the September 22, 2004, dedication ceremonies of the new athletic complex. On a local level, he is a member of the Board of Directors at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and an active participant in the theater and arts community (“North Receives $1 Million Gift,” The Herald, Fall 2004, p. 1). Dr. Michael Ward (N ’74) was elected President of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists in 2010. He is the first American to hold the office, whose membership is comprised of a half million individuals from eighty member nations. Ward is the Associate Dean for Student Programs and Professor for Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College in St. Louis. He is a Billiken graduate (The Herald, Spring 2011, p. 8). Another graduate of that class of ’74 was Gwen (Eberle) Robertson. Competing prior to Title IX, she had participated as a middle distance runner for a local AAU club since the age of twelve. While completing her collegiate degree in Physical Education at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Robertson competed in cross country and track. She became a race-walker and, from 1983 to 1986, was a member of the U. S. National Team. In 1983, after a stint coaching at a community college, Robertson taught and began serving as head cross country coach at Issaquah High School (Washington). Two years later she led the girls’ squad to the school’s first state title. In 1987, Robertson also became head track and field coach. During her successful thirty-two year career, she and husband Lawrie officiated at many youth and masters meets, and, in 1984, officiated at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Robertson was inducted into the Washington State Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame (2013) and the Washington State Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame (2016). She was only the second female inducted into that particular Track and Field Hall of Fame, and only the eleventh coach to be inducted into both halls of fame. (“Gwen Robertson—2016 Hall of Fame Inductee—Issaquah High School,” accessed at https://drive.google.com/a/lhsnstl.org/file/d/0BwBNduAPpAG9NmVRbnJLaFhTem8/view from Issy Track Blog at http://issaquahtrack.blogspot.com/2015/06/january-16-2016-congratulations on 7/26/16. Scott Negwer, a ’75 grad, completed his studies at Blackburn College in 1979. He became CEO and President of Negwer Materials, Inc., located in Ferguson. He also helped found The Drake Group. A former chair and board member of the Association, he was selected by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to serve on the Ferguson Commission. Fifteen others from his family attended North. His father and mother, Bob and Esther Negwer, sent all three of their children to North, including Deanne (Negwer N ’75) Wells and Laurie Ann (Negwer N ’75) Thompson. Five grandchildren—Michelle (N ’03), Lindsay (N ’05) and Kurt Negwer (N ’08), and Marty (N ’00) and Katrina (N ’05) Wells also graduated as Crusaders. Marty would return to North to coach football and track. In 2012 two more grandchildren, Madeline Thompson (N ’12) and Olivia Thompson (N ’15), attended the school with yet another grandchild in the sixth grade awaiting the chance to do so. To establish a family legacy at the institution, the Negwer family, like the Baisch family (see Chapter 3 note), established endowments for the Association. The Negwer bequest targeted tuition assistance (The Herald, Fall 2011, pp. 5, 6; Spring/Summer 2014, p. 4).

A third group with similar multi-generational ties to the Association is the extended Branneky family. Multigenerational family owners of Branneky Hardware in Florissant, their participation in Association activities date from the Central years [Bev (Leimer ‘C 56) Branneky and Jack Branneky (C ’56); Scott Floyd (C ’63) and Dwight Leimer (C ’58)] and extend to South (Steve Leimer, S ’68). The Branneky family includes North “second generation” alums Jeff (N ’81), Tim (N ’84) and Jackie (Floyd N ’85) Branneky and Scott Floyd II (N ’88). Third generation Crusaders include Jeff (N ’04), Cheryl (N ’07), Tyler (N ’11), Tanner (N ’13) and Tim (N ’18) Branneky. Tim and Jackie served as 2014 Fantasy Faire Auction chairs. Tyler played baseball at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He set the record for career hits. (The Herald, Spring/Summer 2014, p. 9). Sheryl (Mueller) Reinisch was the daughter of Mr. Eric and Mrs. Dolores Mueller, former principal and kindergarten teacher, respectively, at Grace Chapel. After graduating from North in ’76 (she chaired the Senior Assembly Committee), Reinisch attended Concordia-Chicago and then the University of Central Florida (where she earned her master’s in early childhood education while teaching at St. Luke’s-Oviedo). In 2006, at Portland State University, she received her Ph.D. She serves as Dean of the College of Education at Concordia-Portland. Rev. Paul Hoemann (N ’80) had graduated with dreams of becoming a journalist. A co-editor of the school newspaper during his senior year, he was inspired by instructor James Hartwig to attend the renowned School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. After serving as the director of communications at Concordia-River Forest, he served as a volunteer missionary in Fukushima, Japan, through the Synod’s Volunteer Youth Ministry program. He returned to St. Louis and attended Concordia Seminary. Hoemann then served as the Northern Illinois District missionary to international students. Under his leadership, the District initiated ministries at the University of Illinois-Chicago (1998), Northwestern University (1999) and Northern Illinois University (2001). In 2003, Hoeman accepted a call as campus pastor to University Lutheran Chapel at Texas A & M. Besides leading the congregation of college students, he has also spearheaded mission trips to locations in Mexico and Louisiana. Like the faculties at Association schools, Valparaiso University and the Concordia University system, he hopes to develop future lay and called servants to lead congregations (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 7). Scott Nipper (N ’81) taught computer science and business courses at Freeburg High School, located in Illinois twenty miles southeast of St. Louis. As a cross country coach, his squads assembled impressive Illinois State Championship credentials for a decade after 2007. Crusaders and Lancers: Team of Rivals See the extended notes about the Sem Games in Chapter 1 Annotated Bibliography, and the extended notes about the Lutheran Day at Busch Stadium in Chapter 3 Annotated Bibliography for source information. Russell appended material about the baseball squads and the 1980 State Football Championship that was originally based on three articles in Fiftieth.

Chapter 3: I Bring You Good Tidings! An Era at Lutheran South, 1965-1984 The Southside Migration Members of the Lutheran North community dealt with the unique challenges of ministering to a bicultural student body educated in Lutheran and non-Lutheran traditions. Its supporting congregations also struggled over divisive Synodical issues. But south side Association membership, comprised of homogenous Lutheran-educated white congregations, faced a different issue: suburbanization. The mid-‘60s had been the high point of economic prosperity and urban congregational involvement in south side Association activities. At the time, if one did not go downtown to shop, local residents could choose between two major retail centers. The Cherokee strip, between Jefferson and Nebraska, included more than one hundred businesses. Anchors included Mizerany Appliances, Globe Drug, Kresge’s, J. C. Penney and Woolworths. Locals frequented the family-owned delis and taverns and attended the Cinderella Movie House. At Cherokee and Michigan, immigrant Hermann Eisele recreated Joe Hrdlicka’s fish fry haven into the German-themed Black Forest Restaurant. A Sears department store was at Chippewa and Grand. The southern anchor of the nearby Kingshighway business district was the decade-old Famous Southtown, located at Chippewa and Kingshighway. That retail center extended north to Arsenal Street and, besides numerous restaurants, included more than twenty car dealerships. Dave Sinclair owned four of them. It was a unique era. Adoring fans, unhampered by security issues, often met sports celebrities during everyday activities. During the mid-‘60s, prior to the Curt Flood case and resulting free agent era, local professional athletes were easily accessible. They often worked off-season jobs at local car dealerships or neighborhood restaurants. Some fans sought contact with the players outside the ballpark after games or at well-known lodging accommodations. Cleveland High instructor Carlton Nebel, a former player in the Cincinnati farm system, took son Mark (S ’70) to the lobby of the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. He solicited numerous autographs from the many players that stayed there while in town playing against the Cardinals. After games at Kiel Auditorium, many Hawks players signed scorecards and autograph books for the high school or college athletes who had played games prior to the featured NBA contest. It was an era of mass participation in community locales. Catholic and Lutheran churches hosted skating and bowling activities. Walther League groups attended skating outings at St. Anthony’s and bowled at basement alleys at churches like Messiah, St. Johns and Trinity. Families and neighborhood residents often celebrated at Casa Loma and Bevo Mill. Stag Athletic Club, the first independent youth sports club on the south side, the Catholic Youth Council and Lutheran Youth League provided additional athletic opportunities for youth at Carondelet, Forest and Francis parks and several nearby recreation centers. Seeking newer homes and larger lots, people moved out of the city core. Some found these in Lindenwood, South Hampton and Holly Hills, while others chose to settle in the inner ring suburbs of Webster Groves, Shrewsbury and Affton. Like on the north side a decade before, flourishing business opportunities, newer shopping centers, white flight and niche communities drew southsiders to move beyond River des Peres. The revolving Vess soda bottle near the bustling Gravois-Hampton city-county bus transfer station was a “green light” for city-dwellers. They could “go” to the far south city limits and nearby suburbs. The new Williamsburg Colonialstyle Hampton Village Plaza at Chippewa and Hampton, complete with a Bettendorf’s grocery and a large on-site parking lot, provided suburban customers easy access to city amenities. As movie theaters like the Shenandoah, Melba and Ritz closed, developers invested in new multi-screen complexes along the South Lindbergh loop, often near auto dealership show rooms established by former city outlets. Families, but especially teens, attended the many drive-in theatres (locally called “passion pits”) that lined Route 66. Everyone, and everything, seemed to be

moving “out.” Long time city family amusement parks Forest Park Highlands burned and Chain of Rocks closed while Six Flags developed its facilities in southwestern St. Louis County. New I-55 and I-44 projects displaced and divided older neighborhoods like Old South and The Hill. Many affected residents noticed how the completed highways provided easy access to and from local destinations and the downtown business hub. They began considering a move to the suburbs. Many did. Long-time city employers Falstaff, Union Station, The Hill’s clay mines and Laclede-Christy Brick Works faced imminent closure. Production centers like the Fenton Chrysler automobile assembly plants and the new Affton White Rodgers campus drew employees out to the suburbs. By the 1970 census, the county population of almost one million finally exceeded the city’s population that had fallen to 620,000. City residents moved from the brick bungalows, shotgun homes and four family flats. They sought a new start in the platted subdivisions built on the formerly spacious truck gardens and wooded hills of Mehlville, Oakville, Sunset Hills and Kirkwood. The Lancers Finish The Decade In 1965, as South’s enrollment continued to grow and North’s student body moved into a new facility, the booster clubs formally divided. While the partner organizations assisted the alternating host school for the Sports Festival, each could focus on funding specific needs for its unique student body. Unhampered by some of the challenges the North community confronted during the era, South’s constituency could worry less about policy and more about daily issues. Fundraisers became a regular part of school activities. Classes at South still competed to sell magazine subscriptions. But the comparative lack of interest in the activity at North dampened the formerly spirited Lancer-Crusader competitions. To finance the Junior-Senior Prom, South’s students supplemented the candy bar sales with car washes. To raise additional funds, they added a popular “carbash” at Lancer Day. For a quarter one could land some sledgehammer blows on a donated sedan. Student Council capitalized on the growing rivalries between classes. It divided the female members of each class into teams. They competed in the first annual fall Powder Puff Football Game. It was held the Friday afternoon prior to Lancer Day. A dovetailing of classroom activities with Student Council committee projects bore fruit. The worship committee approved the organization of the Folkers, a group of folk singers and guitar players who occasionally led chapel and devotions. Engelhardt, always busy with his musical groups, many of whom performed in local congregations and school assemblies, formed The Organist Club. It permitted qualified student musicians to lead chapel worship. Five students comprised the first group. He also continued the tradition of presenting musicals. He directed productions of the tragedy, Carnival; the political satire Of Thee I Sing; the Gilbert and Sullivan comedy The Pirates of Penzance; and the western love story/drama Oklahoma. Wehmueller’s Global Affairs class coupled objectives with the Student Council welfare committee. The two organizations designated fund-raisers and chapel collections for SAIL, Synod’s Medical Mission Ministry; for other developing Lutheran high schools; and for the All Nations mission at Pruitt-Igoe. The worship committee also selected students to complete each day’s final announcements by leading a closing prayer over the intercom. The 1965 football team, coached by Richard Otto and Paul Kretzschmar, continued to struggle for wins. Despite a 3-6 season, the squad did become the only league member to score on undefeated Burroughs. Art Schroeder’s harriers, led by Mel Cottom and Russ Kuecker, won the large Hancock Invitational, finished second in the ABC and eleventh at State. The fledgling soccer squad struggled for goals, its highlight being a 1-0 loss to North on the “new field off Lucas and Hunt.” The large GAA contingent met on two separate days after school: the upperclassmen on Mondays, the frosh/sophs on Thursdays. The informal atmosphere at South was best exemplified by actions of the first student patrons of the Lance. For fifty cents they were permitted to list their “names.” Some made paeans to Broadway, literature, the local Hawks and current events in a special yearbook

section. Peter Pan, John Steinbeck, Jumpin’ Joe Caldwell, Chocolaty Kolander and the Goodie Bars and Dr. Martin Luther King all supported the first yearbooks. Lancers, as members of the younger of the two schools, celebrated their tenth anniversary during the 19661967 school year. Rather than dedicate a yearbook to a specific founder or significant individual, the staff, headed by Kathy Stout and Gary Spieler and advised by Bob Toepper, selected ten individuals who represented administrators and support staff, classroom instructors and the Board. For the first category they selected three individuals. They credited Principal Roland Eggerding for establishing the high standards of learning, conduct and witness for Christ. Registrar/Dean of Students Wil Wehmueller received accolades for his ability to accommodate student enrollment that already overwhelmed the limited facilities. He also received credit for promoting Christian discipline during which he “sacrificed much personal prestige.” After all, office passes signed “WWW” struck fear into the hearts of even the most jaded miscreants. Finally, Gail Wuenscher, school secretary, received recognition for serving as the conduit for chocolate and magazine sales, pep bus money and, like a school “mother,” mending Levis and helping with forms. Serving as liaison between administration and student body was a fourth staff member, Rev. Leonard Kutscher. He represented the Lancer focus on formal worship, cocurricular projects coordinated by Student Council and the coordination of the many activities during Fall Festival and Lancer Day. The editors also honored Conrad Carlton, Henry Engelhardt and Jack Faszholz. They represented those who sacrificed not just salary but extra time before and after school and during weekends to prepare students for performances and contests. Carlton was cited for his artistic contributions to concerts, operettas and class socials and his focus on art appreciation. Engelhardt received kudos for his admirable preparations months in advance for Christmas concerts and operettas. An editor noted he specifically provided participatory opportunities for all. Finally, Faszholz was commended for his “behind the scenes” dedication of marking athletic fields, coaching squads and serving, in his “free” time, as a local pastor. During the late ‘60s, “The Preacher” agreed to help at the Trinity-Troy mission, its mission developer from Warrenton having unexpectedly died. The temporary stint became a four-year assignment. Each Sunday Faszholz led worship in the “chapel” that would later serve as the parsonage. Iris Guenther, a former Central teacher, and Fred Grundmann symbolized, for the Lance staff, quality education. The two, because of their extensive preparation outside the classroom, represented the instructors who made classes “exciting, yet serious, opportunities for learning.” While they did not drive the four bus routes, their outside-the-classroom contributions emblematically recognized those teachers who helped in ancillary activities to bring students into the community of Christ. In a surprising yet prescient selection, the student staff recognized the contributions of northsider O. Charles Klingsick, a Board member since 1961. His daughter, Barb, had recently graduated from North. The Lancers recognized his generous contributions of time, talents and organizational supervision as he now served as president of the Board. They noted his devoted focus of committing four hours per day to analyzing the financial operations of the two schools. They particularly were thankful for his contributions to the capital building and operating funds of the school. This was a unique honor. It was bestowed on a “northsider” by the “southsiders.” Even though he was not considered a “founding father,” the Lancer students noted his ability to nurture and grow the early vision of Christian education Lange planted more than two decades before. The tenth year brought new additions to the old traditions. Carol Mueller was chosen as the first queen in Lancer Day festivities. Student Council issued the first parking stickers, supervised a lost and found, conducted a daily flag raising and hosted a mission fair. Anne Schroeder developed a new Chapel Drama Group to occasionally lead worship, Ralph Lee added a Dixieland Band to the music department—and, like at Central long before, the brass played Christmas carols in the parking lot as many arrived for the annual concerts. Troubadour provided the new advice column “Dear Lancey,” while LaBore’s thespians staged yet another theater in the round—this one J. B, a modern interpretation of the story of Job. Engelhardt’s many vocal groups, now including more than half the student body, filled every available “A” period prior to the start of school. Their participation in the operetta

Carnival, with a now two-dozen member stage crew, sold out each performance. Ruth Schmidt noted the enthusiasm for acting and the fine arts and developed FATE—Forensic and Talent Enterprises. The football team, led by Otto and Concordia-Seward grad and Detroit Lions draftee Lloyd Holsten, finally had access to a new spotter’s scaffold behind the home bleachers. They marshaled the squad to its first 5-3 season. Meyer’s basketball squad, despite starting 1-4 and canceling the snowed out Chicago series, rallied to win its fourth ABC title. Like Engelhardt, Meyer involved non-participants by encouraging others to assist with ancillary duties. The Lettermen’s Club provided floor maintenance and concession service during the packed home games. GAA added tumbling and trampoline to its traditional basketball and volleyball activities. Faszholz’ baseball squad won its first ABC title and would share it with Burroughs a year later. The opportunity to participate in co- and extra-curricular activities while receiving a quality Christian education drew students from distant feeder schools. Many traveled to school via the county bus service that brought them from the city Hampton transfer station. Daily, teachers Walt Pankow, Carl Koenemann, Roy Pfund and Art Schroeder drove school buses to and from Kirkwood, Ellisville and Maplewood to provide additional transport service. During the next two years “second generation” faculty arrived on campus. They joined an experienced group of hands who were still creatively leading student activities. Kutscher and long-time Latin instructor William Brommer shepherded the Bowling Club. The two also started Future Minister’s Club. Kathy Wulfers initiated a Sewing Club. Schmidt’s thespians entertained the members of the Lutheran Teachers Convention in Perryville, Missouri, and performed annual fall plays like Dobie Gillis, Curtain Going Up and One Act Plays. Such service earned them recognition as a charter member of the National Thespian Society. Guenther’s National Honor Society (NHS) chapter began the tradition of caroling through local neighborhoods. And the faculty led the mourning at the passing of student Barry Smith. The new faculty dovetailed its activities with the veterans. Kerney Bunker took over the shop program. Former navy veteran Ted Fosdick (students endearingly called him “The Admiral”) reorganized the library. Ken Bauer taught in the Math and Science departments. He and Jagels supervised the Electronics Club. The first South grad to return to teach, Dan Bopp (’64), assisted newcomers Terry Hynous and Tom Reck in the English Department. He took responsibilities for the Troubadour, farming his printing duties out to Bud Schertel, a parent who owned a local printing company. Bopp could have, but did not, increase his circulation totals by reporting about the adventures of Hynous and Reck. The two shared an apartment. When it was Hynous’ turn to drive to and from school, the ’66 VW (it had a small engine) would occasionally overheat. When that happened, it would not start. The duo would have to push it to get it started—or, when leaving practice in the early evening, ask a couple students to do the honors. Mike Bauer, a teacher at North, joined the duo on a three-week road trip to California. It was like Messerli’s Westward Ho Club at Central—but without the students. They planned on camping, so their gear jammed the back seat of the car, with the remainder tied to the luggage rack. They alternately shared the driving duties and sitting in the cramped back seat. Because of the small motor and heavy load, both inside and out, they could only go forty-five mph. However, they discovered that if they drafted behind semis like stock car racers, they could really go. But of course, if they stopped for fuel or food, two would have to push it to get it restarted. They visited the Grand Canyon, stopped in Los Angeles and headed up the coast. It was the peak of the hippie movement. As three very conservative Lutheran teachers drove a classic hippie car to San Francisco, passing drivers assumed they were hippies and constantly gave them the peace sign! After touring San Francisco, they drove to Yosemite, Yellowstone and home. On the last night of the odyssey, a beautiful summer evening in Iowa, the trio camped in the yard of a farmhouse. Hynous and Bauer set up their tents and stowed the extra gear in the car to protect it from the morning dew. The fatigued Reck quickly pitched his on the downward sloping terrain below the other two. When a thunderstorm rolled in, he woke up in the tent as it filled with water. Soaked, he

raced for the car to shoehorn himself into the vehicle. That fall, stories about the excursion enlivened an occasional class on both campuses. Student organizations followed the lead of these active faculty. Student Council, noting the large number of students driving to school, hosted an auto safety assembly. It brought in Indy 500 driver Bob Veith to describe safe driving habits. Senior police officer Don Miller provided additional insights from his perspective as a traffic cop. Speakers at an FBI assembly emphasized that developing defensive driving skills was a significant part of its training regimen. To help with fall frosh orientation, Student Council started the freshmen mixer. Its leaders also petitioned to revamp homecoming festivities. The administration concurred. From now on the Queen’s coronation would take place on Friday night. The dance would follow. The next day would be the traditional Lancer Day and football contest, complete with the festival tent, booths, games of chance and BBQ. The talent show, band and choral concerts would follow in the evening. The Pep Club, comprised of girls, organized the first backwards dance. The Pom Pon squad and Baton Twirlers continued traditional performances at halftimes of football and basketball games. To recruit prospective instrumentalists, Lee moved band instruction to the 7:40 a.m. “A” period, or “zero hour.” He also developed exchange days with Cor Jesu and North. And he caught the southsiders by surprise as he demonstrated the magic of a massed marching band. The 1968 Lancer audience for The Music Man was amazed as Marian the Librarian (Debbie Heck) and Harold Hill (Dan Giulvezan) led the River City Boys’ Band—that in the grand finale included not just the marching Lancers but also the marching Crusaders! Lee’s success in growing the band was evident the next year as it performed all the music for Engelhardt’s spring musical, My Fair Lady. Athletically, individual successes highlighted the end of the decade. Tennis coach Larry Schmitz helped Dave Stout become the first Lancer qualifier for the State Meet. Schroeder’s Russ Kuecker, who had won the individual cross country league championship the fall of ’67 and earned All State honors for the third time, followed that with a spring victory in the 880 yard run at the State Meet in Columbia. In an incredible feat, he rallied from last place at the five hundred-yard mark to win by ten yards. The baseball squad continued to churn out winning seasons. One of head coach Faszholz’ mentees, pitcher Bob Leslie (S ’69), was drafted by the Dodgers. He had been a member of one of South’s finest baseball squads, a team that in the ‘68 Quarters at “the Greens” lost 2-1 to top-ranked Augustinian Academy. Perhaps its success was spurred by Reck’s work with novice players. He permitted lower-level teams to compete in home run derby competitions. Using a nearby vacant field, sluggers won by slamming balls--over Gravois Road. Meyer’s cagers faced a new challenge as Priory entered the ABC League. Big center Bill Daake clogged the middle against the Paul Pederson and Rob Miklas-led Lancers. During the ’68-’69 season, in the first showdown with Priory, there was an interesting reversal of roles. The smaller Pederson accidentally shattered the backboard during a warm-up dunk. The half-hour delay did the Lancers no favors. Daake’s Rebels won the first confrontation. While winning the Lutheran School Tourney for the first time, the Lancers could not win an undisputed league title. Both Miklas and Daake, honored as Post-Dispatch Scholar Athletes, were selected as two of the top ten honorees and traveled to Washington, D. C., the following June. Defusing Confrontation During a Time of Change As the tempestuous ‘60s ended, conflicts about civil rights and Vietnam divided the nation. But faculty and administrative stability and curriculum innovation apparently calmed any possibility of on-campus confrontations. Over the next several years, the gravest issues on the South campus included only three visible reactions. A few students wore black armbands during the November 1969 Vietnam Moratorium. The following April, several

sported green armbands during the first Earth Day. And, each spring, a few of the girls would tearfully listen to transistor radios in the band room, anxiously noting the order of the dates chosen by the selective service. They would quietly commiserate with each other as relatives’ and friends’ birthdates were chosen. Perhaps prayerful reflections in chapel and open discussions in religion and social studies classes helped defuse any open confrontations. Occasional guarded commentaries in Troubadour attempted to present varying opinions for readers to consider. Thoughtful contemplation permitted readers to analyze the editorials prior to committing to a specific interpretation of contemporary events. Synodical tensions, rarely discussed publicly during the early years of the confrontations, focused administrative and faculty efforts on maintaining a unity of purpose in the high school ministry. During the tempestuous crisis, Eggerding served on the Concordia-River Forest Board of Control. His observations provided helpful insights to Superintendent K. C. Meyer, who served on the Concordia Seminary Board. They, along with Werner, and later Wallace at North, managed to lead the Association through the difficult period. Eggerding, a recipient of the Concordia-River Forest Spiritus Christus Medallion in 1974, maintained a public persona of integrity and faith. Like Wallace at North, he helped insulate the faculty and student body from additional confrontational activities. He also assisted families and students as needs arose. And like Wallace at North, and throughout their tenures, when crises arose in the building, the two responded immediately. Sometimes they were even assisted by their immediate families. At times they would do janitorial work on evenings and weekends, or go back to school in the middle of the night to mop up when the boiler broke down. On at least one occasion after a late-evening hail storm, Eggerding returned after hours to clean up the broken glass. His concerns were not limited to students and their families, every day operations and maintenance. When he discovered a South teacher and his family were on food stamps, he successfully encouraged Superintendent Meyer to remedy the situation by reworking the salary scale. The Synodical situation did impact South journalism students in a very unique way. Editors at The St. Louis Lutheran attempted to help local congregations and service organizations deal with the tensions. They did so by seeking local correspondents to report about the activities of those faith-based organizations. Troubadour staff selected Karen Korte as its first representative. The initiative encouraged South’s journalists to broaden their coverage of Lancer-community activities and adopt new display techniques. Al Schertel, son of the printer who distributed the bi-monthly 1,500 copy run, became editor of the newspaper just as Lance editors Gail Rowald and Kris Green incorporated color pictures in the annual. Eggerding, Student Council advisor Kutscher and two-time Student Council president Brad Roche avoided confrontational rhetoric that could enflame underlying tensions. They encouraged positive action. The three successfully nurtured the development of an Ecology Club, chaired by Earl Kilgore and Ted Wesemann. The implementation of an Activity Day and the formation of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter seemed to absorb any antagonistic energies. These types of activities provided constructive outlets to deal with divisive issues. The Student Council also provided a Christmas party for sixty-eight children from Transfiguration. Student Council Treasurer Paul Eggers played the jolly Santa. The servant events, coupled with the first Christmas Communion service, focused an entire day on celebrating the “good tidings of great joy.” Like the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday and the Easter chapel Communion service, the celebrations became a fixture on the Lancer liturgical calendar. Then, in the early ‘80s, the resolution of some long-running Synodical issues forced termination of the festal celebrations. Student participation in Chapel Committee led to innovative contemporary worship. Budding folk singer Pete Mayer led several chapels. The committee also fostered the permanence of the Organists Club. That incorporated the veteran skills of accomplished musicians Art Eichorn, Mark Bender and Tom Lange. They helped relieve the busy Engelhardt and Kutscher from some of the day-to-day worship responsibilities. It enabled the instructors to do more planning and coordinating of daily worship and festival services. The participation of talented musicians permitted them to adapt new liturgical formats like the Worship Supplement Matins service.

The creation of the Organists Club had long-range effects. Eichorn, in particular, developed skilled musical expertise. His sterling undergraduate career was highlighted by virtuoso concert performances. After he earned his Master of Divinity degree he served as pastor and organist at St. Viator, a congregation in southern Illinois. He continued to perform organ concerts in the Midwest and assisted as a volunteer with the music program at Concordia Seminary. His successful ministry was closely shadowed by Bender. After graduating from ConcordiaRiver Forest with a B. A. in elementary education, he served as Minister of Music at Trinity-Indianapolis. While there, he completed his Master of Church Music at Concordia. In 1991, he accepted a call to St. Paul-Des Peres, and chaired several terms on the LCMS Commission on Worship. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of CPH. Leesburg-Lange served as music director of a parish in Maryland. In 2016, he was compiling material for a biography of Lutheran composer and fellow St. Louisan Jaroslav Vajda. During this period Rohde and Pankow ably staffed the Guidance Department. The fairly young yet experienced faculty, seasoned with veterans of the cross like Kirchhoff, Brommer and Kuehnert, had the energy and stability to focus student attentions on day-to-day activities. A cold winter in 1969-1970 helped the administration reconsider the requirement that all girls had to wear skirts or dresses. It compromised with student demands by permitting them to wear culottes. For the first time girls would no longer have to disembark from Bi-State buses in jeans, rush to the empty hallways to put a skirt on, and then remove their jeans. The next year, the administration agreed to a request by a number of mothers to permit their daughters to wear jeans during the school day. Academically, many things remained the same. Schroeder, Erma Kunkel and Jan Otte taught World and American history classes. Otte, faculty advisor for the Lance, moved photography from the hands of long-time Post-Dispatch photographer Don Ockrassa into the capable hands of students Ed Holderle and Bob Metzler. With Ockrassa’s encouragement, the duo developed unique photo perspectives about Lancer life. They supplied countless images for both Lance and Troubadour. Pfund, Bauer, Jagels and Wacker taught Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Kutscher (in a budding “greenhouse”) and Brommer taught German and Latin, respectively, while a few parents and students suggested that Spanish should be offered as an alternative. Grundmann taught most of the frosh Old Testament classes (“Reuben, Simeon, Levi!”) while LaBore tolerated the sophomores and led engaging, freewheeling discussions about contemporary issues in his senior classes. Larry Schmitz joined Guenther and Meyer to teach Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and Trigonometry, and Calculus. Kuehnert, Diana Smith, Reck and Hynous (who advised the ’70 Lance staff) joined Schmidt in the English Department. To the traditional offerings they added a speech class and several new units about drama. They also initiated a program of electives, developing courses like Children’s Literature. Coaches Holsten, Faszholz and Nancy Bierlein taught PE—and still continued instruction for the square dance unit. The Practical Arts Department included Bunker (Shop and Drawing), Verona Fosdick and Nola Fischer (Typing, Business Law) and newcomer Kathleen Bohlken. She demonstrated the diverse talents of many of the instructors. She taught a variety of disciplines that included Home Economics, Latin and Psychology. Carlton (confronting his “spudsters”), Lee (“Eins, zwei, drei, play!”) and Engelhardt coordinated the Fine Arts. Each spring the school year culminated with a flurry of activities that included the school operetta, Fine Arts Festival and various sacred and themed concerts. Ruth Pieper, who served as the mainstay of the cafeteria for almost three decades, led the daily support staff. The faculty and student body reemphasized the significance of organized worship by providing a daily support staff for chapel. LaBore formed the Altar Guild that would set up the gym for daily worship, including the assembly of a central three-sided altar that served as a central focus. Kutscher supervised the ushers who carefully shepherded students around the basketball court. Some years they even used stanchions and rope as aisle barriers. Eggerding’s administration also orchestrated a first senior assembly, a new tradition that provided recognition of each senior’s activities just prior to baccalaureate and graduation. The other quiet, exemplary ministry involving many students and faculty was the coordination of the education of blind student Judy Schlimpert. Students, Guidance Department personnel and instructors adapted instruction for her so she could

graduate in four years. Schlimpert’s success established some patterns and adaptations that would, several years later, assist Bill Lynne, a deaf student, to complete his studies. The second semester events of 1970 demonstrated the all-encompassing nature of student activities and faculty coordination. Meyer, who had an all-senior starting basketball roster that included Phil Friederichs, Randy Ash, Corky Kurlbaum, Jim Flachsbart and Gary Schimmer, added returnee Ted Raedeke to the lineup two weeks into the season. Despite sometimes giving up as many as twenty turnovers in a game, a strong zone defense and rabid rebounding provided the basis for a nineteen-game winning streak, an ABC League title and a District championship. The Pep Squad, renamed the Spirit Society in an attempt to include male membership (John Garmatz became its first male president), solicited bus riders for away games. As the winning streak grew longer, the organization provided more students with rides to join the lengthening game-night caravans. Spirit officer Jean Conradi drew the short straw. After games, as everyone awaited rides home, she remained behind at the school until all students were gone. In the Quarters at SEMO’s gray-walled band box auditorium, Meyer’s charges defeated a strong Dexter team. In the Semis, the Lancers turned back a favored Buffalo squad at the old saw-dust floored, wooden-bleachered Brewer Field House. The miracle run ended at the hands of perennial power Hermann, 42-36, whose 33-0 record had been made possible by a very deliberate, efficient offense. The disappointed fans, who received the Sportsmanship plaque, returned to St. Louis—with many of them immediately participating in the musical operetta West Side Story. Flachsbart played Tony to Carol Westhoff’s Maria. The sacred concert, Fine Arts Festival and the Spring Sports Festival and Field Day (at North) followed in short order. An Era of Athletic and Artistic Success The dramatic conclusion of the 1969-1970 basketball season ushered in a second Lancer era of athletic success. Schroeder’s cross country squad had already tied, 28-28, perennial national power Principia for an ABC title on its Clayton Road campus. Schroeder based his program on the advice provided by Australian distance guru Arthur Lydiard. In 1970, the entire squad attended the clinic held at the new campus of Florissant Valley Community College. The following spring, at the same site, Schroeder’s charges garnered valuable competitive experiences at North’s first annual Lutheran North Relays. Under the leadership of two-time captain Steve Schmidt, State Outdoor Mile Champion John Baisch and teammates Mike Hutchinson and Jim Prahlow, the harriers made it three consecutive CC titles by the end of the ’71 season. They also nabbed the first-ever Hancock small school title. Sprinters Tom Bingham, Dan Schnitzmeier and Rich Komorech added their firepower to the group to nab the first Lancer District Track title. The three—Bingham, Schnitzmeier and Komorech—had been the skill people on the Holsten/Faszholz-coached 1970 football squad. It, too, made a run in the State playoffs. The season did not start well. After five games, the squad sported a 2-3 record. But the memorable team rallied behind the performance of the offensive backs— who outweighed the front line. In their last four games of the regular season, lineman Vernon Square, defensive backs Mark Marting and Kurt Faszholz and fullback Ben Cox led the squad to wins against Fox, Burroughs and nemesis North. Top-seeded boot-heel power Dexter hosted the upstarts in the State Semis. On the Friday prior to the game, a rousing pep rally sent the Lancers off to their showdown. The next morning a large booster caravan followed. Down three touchdowns at half time, Bingham executed a perfect double-reverse as he handed the ball to Schnitzmeier. The Lancer picket line (and an ecstatic Holsten sprinting along the sidelines!) escorted him to the end zone. The play ignited a furious rally, the squad losing only in the final minutes, 29-26. But the real story was Meyer’s basketball squad. At 6-8, Wayne Hesse led the ’70-’71 contingent through a rebuilding year. The ’71-’72 contingent had high hopes as underclassmen Fritz Raedeke, 6-6 Gary Hoeman, 6-7 Rich Rueter, Al Schertel and Kim Kolander earned occasional starting slots. A clean sweep of both the ABC

Tourney and the League season prepped the squad for a deep tournament run. But an inspired team from Augustinian Academy, playing in its last season prior to closing, upset the favored Lancers for the District title. The underclassmen vowed to complete their task the next year. They did. Buoyed by sixth man Dan Wendel and forward John Hohenstein, the deep squad swept the League championship. District, Regional and Semifinal wins earned the squad the right to play the final in the new facility in Columbia. The 29-1 club faced Kansas City Manual, touted as the best team in the state regardless of classification. Their leader was future Missouri Tiger and Los Angeles Laker Clay Johnson. But the Lancers held their own on the boards and Hoeman played the game of his life. With only a minute to go in the 76-62 win, Meyer called a time out—and told his charges to enjoy the final moments, accomplishing a task they had spent the past year preparing to complete. It was South’s first State championship. Hesse and Hohenstein both continued with post-high school athletic success. Hesse, while setting a career scoring record, led Concordia-River Forest to two CIT championships, an NIIC Conference title and NCAA D-III Regional berth. His prowess earned him College MVP at the traditional Illinois College/University basketball tilt and, after a long teaching career at Green Park Lutheran School, a spot in the Concordia University-Chicago Hall of Fame. Hohenstein continued his career at St. Paul-Concordia Junior College. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he entered the ranks of collegiate referees, working NCAA tournaments and (in what later became the Big 12) conference games. For a period of time he also served in the Association development office and as a teacher, coach and principal at Green Park and St. Paul-Des Peres. Raedeke later became a pastor in St. Louis, serving Zion in north city. The enthusiasm about athletic competition brought new opportunities for the girls. Like at North, the girls received interscholastic opportunities before Title IX legislation required equal access to competition. While it would still be seven years until MSHSAA developed any formal girls’ state playoff formats, Coach Timm mentored the first Lancer girls’ interscholastic basketball squad. Using the six-player configuration (two on offense, two on defense and two “rovers” or traveling players), the squad joined the Independent League. Comprised chiefly of local Catholic schools like Cor Jesu, Nerinx Hall and Notre Dame, the organization provided league competition in volleyball, field hockey and soccer. The female Lancers also annually played the rival Crusaders who were charter members of the North Area Girls Conference. But the move to interscholastic athletics almost gutted the formerly impressive membership rolls of GAA. That situation would soon present a dilemma about whether or not to maintain those intramural activities. GAA slowly faded in significance as basketball and volleyball added “B” squads. Its transition was best symbolized by the 1972-1973 season. GAA activities, formerly separated into upper class and lower class contests, were combined into one organization. Participants still accumulated points to receive awards at the end of the school year. President Ingrid Prahlow (S ’73) led the group through this transition—all the while serving as girls’ interscholastic basketball manager. Within two years, GAA was only a pleasant memory. Multiple opportunities, particularly in the “no cut” sport of field hockey, drew most of the remaining GAA members into formal daily practices and competitions against other schools. The still-strong Bowling Club, with membership hovering above fifty, provided the few remaining former GAA members with a viable new home. But the GAA era was not bereft of developing quality athletes. Sharon Hagenmueller (S ’73) regularly competed regionally for the Kirkwood Track Club. Christie Beckemeier, a ’72 grad who had played volleyball, basketball and softball during the transition years, went on to have a hall of fame career at Concordia-River Forest. A four-year collegiate letter winner in both volleyball and softball, she served as team captain as a junior and senior. In her no-hitter against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, she struck out fourteen of fifteen batters in the five-inning game. After a short teaching career she chose to work with the elderly in the Kansas City area. As South’s enrollment exceeded 650 students, many theater enthusiasts turned to a reorganized DPA: Dramatic and Performing Arts Group. The thespians, led by Ruth Schmidt, performed several fall plays including Ask Any Girl and Tom Sawyer. Those experienced performers joined choir members who staffed roles in the

spring musicals. Student Council president Brad Roche found time to play Arthur in the love triangle with Guenevere (Diane Torrence) and Lancelot (Mark Marting) during the production of Camelot. Others supplemented the chorus for works like Brigadoon and The King and I. But Engelhardt and Carlton faced a problem. The Stage Crew roster was top-heavy with applicants because membership guaranteed being excused frequently from class. Annually, only a few veteran crew members knew how to assemble the stage on the west end of the gym. Periodically, Carlton had to rush from class to the gym to solve a crisis in its assembly. Meanwhile, participants in the “hurry up and wait” process were almost unmanageable at times—or simply disappeared in the school or on the grounds! Engelhardt and Carlton acted. They divided duties between stage, light and sound crews, staffed by separate groups. The effective reorganization maintained the high-quality theater that audiences had come to expect. The community interest generated by the successful productions provided new outreach opportunities. At the suggestion of a new instructor, Engelhardt brought in students from the feeder schools to see miniversions of the operettas. Just as his Choraliers and Lee’s band did in the congregations, Engelhardt nurtured a growing relationship with feeder schools, local parishes, convalescent homes and pastors. Like with Kirchhoff’s choirs a generation before, the budding reputation of the choral music program brought new opportunities for additional public concerts. One notable case included the Choraliers’ performance at the National Military Chaplain’s Convention in the Jefferson Hotel in December 1970. The annual “cutting” of a Christmas record successfully recorded for future broadcast also demonstrated the talents of singers, musicians and organists. Activities like these reiterated the message that Christ was the reason for the season—and the school. They also provided the comforting message of hope during a difficult period of three consecutive years. The community mourned the passing of students Steve Koenig, Bob Rohde and Gary Clark, all in car accidents on South County roads. Engelhardt galvanized the Choraliers by planning a summer European tour that would include a select chorus. Twice during the next four years they completed the odyssey, funding their excursions with paper and glass recycling drives and generating publicity with a live New Year’s Day television appearance—albeit at 7:15 a.m. While visiting and performing at the Luther and Bach sites on the “other side” of the Iron Curtain, a student’s lost passport dramatically revealed the hidden side of a totalitarian regime. They faced several tense days of probing queries and extensive investigations conducted by thinly disguised secret police. The group was finally released to return to West Germany. As their bus crossed the border, they spontaneously broke into applause. A Retrospective Celebration—and Changing Times Between 1971 and 1974, the Association commemorated several milestones. First, Superintendent K. C. Meyer and his staff initiated a move of LAHE offices from the old Central environs. The site had been sold to the New City School for $250,000. Meyer established a new Association headquarters in Clayton Road offices near the Seminary. Then he prepared to lead the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration of the formation of the Association. In a special commemorative brochure that briefly summarized the history of the three high schools, Meyer thankfully noted how the ministry was now supported by seventy-one congregations. He compared the initial operating budget--$80,000—with the new budget of $800,000. He was pleased to announce that it was funded by an annual Association assessment of member congregations at the rate of only eleven dollars per communicant member. The joint congregational ministry had produced 4,320 graduates. Meyer noted that in 1971 there were twenty-six Lutheran high schools with 12,773 students and 634 teachers situated on properties worth $32 million. With more than 10% of the total student population at North and South (1,372) and oneeighth of the property value (four million dollars in the metro region), he thankfully celebrated the blessings God had provided for the many congregations in the St. Louis area. But his was a challenging supervisory task. By middecade, Meyer decided to consider retirement.

On a local level, as South’s campus turned fifteen, Lance editors dedicated the ’73 edition to the “behind the scenes staff.” They noted the specific contributions of long-time custodians Elijah Dale, Ida Flach, and Mr. and Mrs. William Heath, the latter two who were retiring. It was a fine recognition of people who renewed the building after each day’s activities, and who, along with Eggerding, quietly worked behind the scenes to help shepherd the community. The ’74 edition specifically recognized the nine who had been present since the first years of South. That included Grundmann, Jagels, Kutscher, LaBore and Wehmueller. It also featured the four who had arrived from Central: Faszholz, Guenther, Fischer and Rohde. Editor Kris Green summarized the experiences of the group, retelling the story about the early years at Our Redeemer and Hope; how 350 students entered the building in 1960 and were shepherded by twenty-two faculty; and how by 1974 thirty-six teachers and staff taught 692 students. All anticipated the continued extension of God’s blessings on the ministry as the Association completed the purchase of five acres adjacent to the athletic field. It would permit the construction of a track and an additional soccer and field hockey venue. During the interim new personnel arrived. As he had in the past, Eggerding made the hiring process for contracted and called workers the focus of his summer activities. His prayerful, deliberative approach to select those who were committed to Lutheran education—willing to serve for comparatively lower pay and with smaller department budgets—created a talented faculty and staff committed to serve South for their life-long ministry. Marge Groth now helped Gertrude Knipping in the front (now air conditioned!) offices. James Otterstein worked in the Math Department; Rich Reiss assisted in Drama; William Repperger took over the band program. Dr. Don Prahlow, Our Redeemer organist and choir director, circuit leader for the original funding drive for South and teacher at Holy Cross, joined the Social Studies Department. Mark Behling, Dan Harms (N ’68), and Chuck Wuerffel moved into additional sections of Social Studies. Laura Wehrenberg Hoffman joined the English Department. Ruth Markle and Jan Schmook mentored PE students and took over the coaching duties of girls’ teams. Leona Wensman served as librarian. Diana Smith’s arrival signaled a changing emphasis in foreign language. Instead of Latin, Spanish would now be the counterpart to German. Eggerding’s administration encouraged the faculty to initiate several changes as social and educational traditions evolved. Nationally, educators who had been confronted by activist student and social protest groups emphasized that classroom education had to be based on participatory student experiences. Across the country, instructors had traditionally been viewed as authoritative experts in their fields who would only be marginal participants in student life. They would now be expected to make learning “fun” and, using the terminology of the time, “meet the students were they are.” Most of the faculty adjusted. Eggerding, in particular, protected teacher autonomy in the classroom. The traditional Powder Puff game now pitted the faculty against the senior women. Sophomore New Testament students stomped grapes to make wine. The Hynous-led English Department created fourteen semester courses that included a few seminar and practicum classes. Beginning in 1973, Hynous and Reck “met the students were they are.” The two partnered to format courses like College Prep Writing, Creative Writing, Modern American Novel and World Literature. They followed the protocols. The two submitted the new course syllabi to Eggerding. They also listed the qualifications of the designated instructor for that particular course to receive authorization for implementation. Reck designed a Children’s Literature class. The course triggered a unique collaboration between high school students and younger children (K-3). The high school students went to the grade schools and read books to the children. The experiences in the course had an impact on other curricular offerings. Reck also developed courses in Adolescent Literature, and Filmaking and Criticism. Hynous created the unique course Horror and the Supernatural. Examining ideas present in Rosemary’s Baby and Macbeth, students could, like on college campuses throughout the country, openly discuss controversial themes that had previously been taboo. The positive reception by students of these classes encouraged the creation of a Science Fiction semester offering. The new approach also encouraged student participation in drama.

Reiss, whose fall production of The American Dame included, for the first time, the casting of faculty, further refined Reck’s Children’s Literature class. He continued to require students to work with eight-year-olds to broaden understanding of child psychology. Parishes valued the contact with South. Local elementary feeder schools brought students to present chapels. The Chapel Committee developed chancel dramas and presented them at the local elementary feeder schools, and encouraged the children to participate. A new federally-funded reading program, administered through Guidance Department facilitators Jan Cox and Dodi Robinson, incorporated elementary-level fiction novels to harness the interests of students who entered high school at a lower-than-ninth grade reading level. Cox and Robinson shared space with the new Career Center. It provided ready information for students choosing college majors or seeking employment. Chuck Wuerffel, in a Marriage and Family Life class, assigned students to be married “couples.” He required them to create budgets, shop and plan meals just as any married couple would do. Faculty incorporated interviews of local personalities while studying course topics. LaBore invited Synodical President J. A. O. Preus and former Concordia Seminary President John Tietjen (he had delivered the keynote address at the ’73 graduation exercises) to lead a session of the class, Issues in Current Theology. On separate days they presented their respective interpretations of the LCMS crisis. A one time effort, the two individuals answered the many questions students posited about the Synodical crisis. After the visits, the class resumed its regular curricular agenda. Reiss’ marketing students listened to a KADI advertising executive and then developed advertising lines and commercial jingles. Prahlow added a weekly Jeopardy! contest to the U. S. History course. Schroeder, like counterpart Dave McCollister at North, used the board game Diplomacy to help students learn about international negotiations, turn-of-the-century territorial issues and diplomatic protocols. The Student Council also followed national trends. Its executive board streamlined operations in an attempt to more quickly address student concerns. It eliminated homeroom representatives and replaced them with open forum discussions. The leadership council, led by president Marty Steyer, distributed a monthly Stuco News to publicize projects and meetings. At the suggestion of the Chapel Committee, it initiated a free seating experiment for worship. But not all changes were successful. That policy was truncated after a semester by a higher incidence of misbehavior and lack of participation. The earlier attempt to broaden Pep Club to include males also failed, the girls retaking full responsibility for the Pep Pal program and contest seating arrangements. Student Council members, to better serve the needs of local charities, almost continuously collected canned goods and clothing. One early recipient of the donations was Larry Rice’s New Life Evangelistic Center. In another dramatic effort, Student Council members lined an entire cafeteria wall with cans. A bucket brigade delivered the collection to Otis Woodard’s waiting truck. They also started a permanent paper recycling program and an annual March volleyball marathon, the proceeds donated to a variety of non-profits. Recipients included March of Dimes, Judevine Center for Autistic Children, Lutheran Association for Special Education (LASE) and the Diabetes Fund. NHS membership continued the tutoring program and spring Red Cross blood drive. During the ’76 North Central Accreditation visit, the group served supper to the assessment committee and answered queries about college prep opportunities. Capitalizing on student interests, new shop instructor Dave Kuehm renewed the Car Club, last organized by Daenzer fifteen years before at Central. Silliness—to Serious—to Success Administrative-faculty-student relationships, strengthened by more personal contact in the classroom, defused student-administrative confrontations. Even the senior pranks were relatively benign. One memorable effort required more than a month of planning. During lunches, seniors did not return the silverware to the washroom counter. They regularly removed it from the cafeteria. During Senior Assembly, tricycle-riding John Garmatz hauled into the middle of the gym a red Western Auto Wagon filled to the brim with the pilfered items. Another effort filled the bookstore with 1,300 balloons. Another group used mountain-climbing equipment to

scale the local water towers. They painted their initials near the top. Others were not quite so dramatic. An icyslick floor outside the northeast restrooms and marbles scattered on the first floor western wing “dropped” several students rushing to destinations. One miscreant loosed a mouse during an assembly. Streakers dashed through the hallway. A bus was “parked” on the front lawn. And some pranks were generated by miscellaneous groups of students. In a Michelangelo-like imitation, a few used jello cubes and butter patties to decorate the cafeteria ceiling. Broken faucets that threatened to flood a science classroom and a careless commuter’s bike run-in with Harry Witt’s parked car encouraged speculation about future student behaviors. Like at North, spirit dress up days, as part of homecoming festivities, provided interesting distractions from the era’s jeans and Izod “look.” Togas, bell-bottomed button-downs, leisure suits, shreds (for hippies), hats and ‘colors’ identified various classes, teams and groups during the annual week of madness. Teachers were also willing to do virtually anything to boost magazine sales, generate excitement over mock elections and guide celebratory assemblies. Brenda Bollman, Witt, Reck, Roma and Harms, fortified by the makeup artistry of Reiss (without whom the band would not have been able to “conga”!) created a memorable Conga Band that brought the house down during a quick performance. Doc Prahlow cross-dressed to inspire more students to sell more editions of the Ladies Home Journal. Rev. Ron Roma took a pie in the face for a worthy Student Council fundraiser. For the 1976 Bicentennial assembly, Harms and students in the Contemporary Issues class created a series of skits to mark the celebration. A number of faculty portrayed historical figures who reenacted various vignettes. The cast included Nola Fisher as the Statue of Liberty, Doc as Custer and Eggerding as intercom announcer. But the silliness helped bond the community of Christ into a working, growing, evolving congregation ready to confront a serious financial crisis. In 1976, Meyer stepped down as Superintendent. He was replaced by former Central student and early South instructor Dr. David Wiesner. That fall, on a Sunday evening in the South gym, Wiesner was installed during a special Association worship service. Iris Guenther, one of the last remaining Central veterans and one of the first Lancer faculty, had the honor of installing him. He faced a daunting challenge. The economic malaise of the Carter years and the Synodical crisis hampered Association capital fund drives. Nevertheless, Wiesner responded to Eggerding’s long-term plea. He developed specific plans to use available Gern Nursery property to the north in an expansion of the South athletic fields. It was a necessity. Girls’ athletic coordinator Cathy Wietfeldt had directed a rapid growth of the girls’ squads that included field hockey and soccer. A single field behind the school would not suffice for the many teams of both genders practicing on campus. And most girls’ squads had to play most of their matches as the visitors on other campuses. Wiesner’s funding program for this addition included projected income from Student Council efforts at both schools and a more concerted Association booster effort at the Sports Festival. He also targeted several generous donors who had supported, as patrons, the record financing of Lance and Crusader editions. Eggerding helped design the new facility. But as funding stalled, large mounds of earth scarred the north limits of the football field. During the terribly wet and snowy years of the late ‘70s, water drained into “Lake Hank (Engelhardt)” along the southeast corner of the property. Finally, when funding permitted the grading and seeding of the fields, joy riders vandalized the site as they four-wheeled across the pristine prairie. Final completion of the project stalled while Wiesner expanded plans at South to include a new gym, media center, counseling area, additional classrooms and display cases. Plans at counterpart North included tennis courts, paved parking surfaces and new infrastructure improvements for the fledgling computer program. It would not be until 1983 that the constituencies would see progression towards completion. To generate interest in completing the moribund projects, Erv and Alyce Korte and Rich Kramer developed a plan to start a Lutheran Day at Busch Stadium. With the support of Eggerding and Wallace, the first event in May, 1977, was deemed a success. Erv Korte hoped that in the next year’s Lutheran Day, the high school squads could square off at Busch prior to the day’s Cardinal game. It would boost ticket sales and involve many more of the Association community. The Cardinal front office at that time included Joe Cunningham. A former teammate of

Faszholz, he agreed to the request and invited Faszholz’ Lancer and Mike Russell’s Crusader baseball teams to play a game before a Cardinal contest. There would be some restrictions on the preliminary attraction. The game would have a two-hour time limit. It had to be completed by 6:40 p.m. or it would be suspended. The Redbirds would immediately take the field in preparation for their 7:10 p.m. start. When the teams met in the first Busch contest on May 7, 1978, many noticed that by the final innings of the game there were close to twenty thousand people in the stands. While many awaited the Cardinal contest, they did see history being made. Lancer Mark Muench became the first high school athlete to hit one out during the Lancer win. He even got a mention during Jack Buck’s Cardinal pre-game show. When the Cards finished warm ups the combined choirs of North and South sang the Star Spangled Banner and the “perfect” day ended as the Cardinals played their game. With Lutheran Day deemed a success, it established a precedent followed for the next four decades. Wiesner hoped to cultivate more personal relationships to increase funding opportunities. To accomplish this, he fostered developing closer ties between parents and their particular children’s institutions. In 1977, the Association committed to continuing the tradition of holding separate baccalaureate services at rotating congregations. He also lobbied to successfully host separate graduation ceremonies on each school’s respective football fields. By tying funding efforts to each of the two communities, he hoped to raise more donations. It would be a difficult challenge. The local and national economic downturn placed in jeopardy the financial health of the Association. Initially, the approach worked as individuals, concerned about the growing Association deficit and stalled development projects, planned and then organized the first LAHE Auction at Queeny Park. They wanted to raise $30,000 to defer the operating deficit. The Auction would be held on May 6, 1978, the evening prior to Lutheran Day at the Ballpark. Bonnie and Jim Meers, Marianne and Vernon Schroeder and Jeanne (Striler C ’51) and Eugene Siebold (his engineering firm had helped build South) gathered auction items, facilitated the assembly of themed booths, contracted with an auctioneer and coordinated student participation while publicizing the opportunity to help the LAHE. Jeanne Siebold asked Lu Kreyling (C ’50) Lochmann to serve as solicitation chair. It became an annual duty, the Lochmann home serving as a storage facility for the donated auction items. Erv Korte (C ’51) provided several other opportunities for the volunteers to earn money for the Auction. Lochmann enlisted, among others, three mothers of South students—Arline Evers, Marion Holt and Lee Wischmeier--to help complete the tasks. To raise funds and gather auction items for the enterprise, they decorated Christmas trees at Venture stores, hosted garage sales and collected unneeded items at the close of downtown tradeshows. The effort grew into a successful fund-raising effort to meet immediate needs and retire the mounting debt. The first effort netted $50,000. The Board soon moved the annual date to the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving. The Friday before the event, a few faculty and staff coordinated student volunteers to prep the site. The rest of the faculty and staff participated in the ALSS Midwest Educators Conference hosted by either of the St. Louis high schools. On the Saturday evening of the auction, participants wrote their bids on pads to “win” the donated items. After only a few years, as many as twelve themed tables, bearing monikers like Night Owl, Christmas and Outdoors, displayed the merchandise. Many scrambled through the milling crowd to place bids just before parent volunteers pulled the drape cloths over the items. That action terminated the bidding at that particular table. Student volunteers then delivered claim sheets to the winning bidders who were dining and placing bids in the oral auction. As the auction grew in scope and vision, items on the “silent” tables included pumpkin and cherry pies; children’s games and video cassettes; yard and fireplace tools; baby care items; jewelry and watches; Christmas ornaments; wine-and-dine packages; symphony and movie tickets; discount cards for local services and products like Christmas trees and car washes; gift certificates for restaurants and sports camps; and the ever-present bidding cards for Drewes custard. The oral auction included an average sixty big-ticket offerings. Participants raised their table number card to bid on the auctioneer’s posts. Lancerettes and cheerleaders assisted the auctioneer in noting those who accepted posts. Bidders competed to claim items that included a week at a resort condo; box seats for Cardinal games;

entries to Busch Gardens, Six Flags, Disney World; big-ticket jewelry; a week in a wilderness cabin; bicycles; paintings or drawings, particularly of the campuses; camping equipment. The Fantasy Faire Auction, as it would be called, served as one of the key annual collaborative, and social, efforts of North and South parents and students. But Wiesner’s fundraising efforts could not keep up with the rising costs in the Association. Tuition would have to be raised incrementally. It had already more than doubled in only five years. Students paid $250 per year in 1972. By the fall of 1977, Wiesner’s first on staff, it was $550. Each student also annually paid a $20 textbook rental/equipment fee and a $40 registration fee. The second, third (and even fourth!) children in the same family paid reduced tuition: $375 (68%), $225 (50%) and $60 (12%), respectively. Non-association members paid more than double the Association rate: $1,200 annually. On June 1, 1977, his staff officially completed the move from the old Central building to new LAHE office facilities on Clayton Road. While the location of the new offices provided a more accessible location for Association membership, it also raised operating costs. But that was only one of the reasons the Association faced financial challenges. The operating budget continued to rise because of debt service and incremental staff raises. Eggerding and Wallace insisted on protecting faculty pay increases to maintain their highly qualified staffs. Wiesner and the Board had to approve incremental tuition increases. During his first full year as Superintendent he increased the book rental fee to $25 per semester and the registration fee to $50 annually. Base tuition was raised $100 (18%!) for Association members, while non-Association members would pay 14% more. By the nadir of the recession the next school year, the Board increased the base tuition rate by only half of the previous raise and cut by half the rental fee. But the handwriting was on the wall. Wiesner’s commitment to expansion plans at both schools committed the LAHE to a continually rising tuition rate with an annual increase of almost 20%. By the end of his administration in 1982, the Board approved annual base tuition fees that in effect had virtually doubled the 1977 rate to $1,075 per year. The rate of increase for non-Association students was the same, the annual fee increasing to $2,200. Tuition information letters sent to the student families during the era are indicative of the pressing financial difficulties. In 1981, students not only paid the $25 rental fee and $50 registration fee, but a new student activity fee of $25. And, in 1982, as a nod to the fledgling digital economy, the LAHE accepted payment with VISA. With tuition rising so quickly, Wiesner’s decentralization of fundraising efforts to better target each school community did not provide enough revenue to meet the budget. To fulfill specific campus needs, he desperately depended upon auxiliary organizations serving each campus. At South, Booster and Mothers Club efforts focused on raising money to fulfill specific campus needs. The Boosters purchased a weight machine for the weight room. The Mothers Club funded construction of a separate dark room structure to assist expansion of the photography classes. Students also volunteered their time and talents. They assembled a donated pipe organ to help lead worship. The Booster and Mothers Club efforts rekindled interest in Lancer athletics. The groups’ support for additional funding of new uniforms, sweats and athletic equipment bore fruit. Schroeder’s cross country squads started hosting meets for feeder elementary schools. Two of the earliest participants, Matt Prahlow and Tom Gibson, joined Craig Thorburg (God affirmatively answered the chapel prayers for the healing of his broken toe one week prior to the State Meet), Dave Melchior and Bill Wells to make the running Lancers a regional power. In 1976 they earned a third-place plaque at the State Meet. They also won the National Lutheran Postal Meet. A year later the latter two spearheaded the first CC league championship since 1971 and again won the National Lutheran Postal Meet. With Thorburg leading the team with an All State finish, the group nabbed a State Runner Up plaque in Jefferson City. They had carefully done their training on the busy roads in South County. But safety issues required them to move most training runs to Laumeier Park and Jefferson Barracks. Coydogs had threatened local residents and household pets. Aggressive motorcyclists confronted solitary runners along Gravois Road.

The cross country team’s successes at the State level sandwiched a notable track season. Schroeder’s boys won the 3A District championship while Coach Bollman’s girls, led by thrower Sharon Eggerding (S ’77), swept the girls’ end. That latter event symbolized the next halcyon days of Lancer athletics. And many noted that since GAA no longer existed, girls’ athletic squads “. . . actually had real uniforms!” They no longer had to wear the onepiece gold and white gym outfits, competing in faded, awkwardly cut pennies. The football squad, mired in a fifteen-game losing streak, finally broke it and received St. Louis GlobeDemocrat kudos for its commendable efforts. In 1978, new coach Reck designed an offense that scored 143 points and revived the squad’s competitiveness in the League. Meyer’s basketball teams, defeating the Crusaders before a Spirits’ contest at Kiel Auditorium in 1975 and at the Arena in 1976, celebrated yet another League championship and his career 300th win. Wietfeldt’s field hockey squad hosted its first home game, while Schmook’s basketball squad went 12-3 and won its first Independent League Tourney championship. But after school, activity space was still at a premium. A large Lancerette squad had to practice its new dance routines in the back hallway of the academic wing. Nevertheless, it still successfully competed at local pom pon and cheer clinics. The first male coach of a girls’ squad, Terry Hynous, piloted a volleyball team led by captain Diane Albers and MVP Ann Hoerber. He led a successful transition of the volleyball season from the traditional springtime competitions to the new MSHSAA-designated fall season. His successes on a league and district level in St. Louis continued at Orlando Luther in the ‘80s, where he guided several teams to the final four; and later at Concordia (Tomball, TX) and then Lutheran North (Houston) where his squads became perennial State semifinalists in the Texas Athletic Private and Parochial School championships. It was quite a step up from one of his original coaching assignments. He had coached boys’ C team and C Reserve basketball. Initially, the group practiced at Gethsemane-Lemay after school. But the addition of girls’ interscholastic teams during the winter placed a premium on court time even at the off-campus facility. When Harms took over the C team duties, the freshmen boys still practiced at Gethsemane—at 6:30 a.m.! Hynous was not the only teacher who left South and continued to record commendable teaching and coaching accomplishments. In the summer of ’78, Faszholz accepted a call to Concordia-Austin. His youngest, Paula (S ’79), the last of his five children who graduated from South, remained behind for her senior year. For the next dozen years he served as a theology instructor, athletic director and baseball coach. When recruiting Midwest baseball players for the Tornado program, his best recruiting ploy was fairly simple. He mentioned the great mid-February weather that Austin had as the team began its fifty-game season. During his tenure in Austin, he made it a winter haven for northern squads. Many traveled to the area to play games against the Tornados and other local squads during the early months of each baseball season. When he retired and resettled in Belle, Missouri, he, like Russell at North, received a great variety of honors. After being inducted into the Missouri Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, he received a similar honor from the Rochester (NY) Redwings. A Triple AAA club, Faszholz had been their finest pitcher during a lengthy pro career, one season earning an 18-9 record. Originally drafted by the Red Sox, in 1953 he had played two months for the St. Louis Cardinals under manager Billy Southworth. On road trips he roomed with Joe Cunningham. In 2015, “the Rev.” was also inducted into the Concordia-Austin Hall of Fame. Adaptation and Transition During the last years of the era, the school went through a transition period. In 1978, during Wiesner’s second year as Superintendent, and with the local economy still mired in a recession, enrollment had fallen to 623. Many endured financial difficulties. Several consecutive Lance editions featured comments and pictures contributed by the students and faculty who held after-school and weekend jobs. Some students candidly noted they worked so they could go shopping, make car payments and participate in social activities. But most stated they held their

jobs to assist their families in making ends meet. They helped pay high school or elementary school tuition, contributed to general household income, added to their college savings accounts and gained notable experiences for future resumes. Each year several mentioned working for long-time Association supporter Ted Drewes. Most of the girls worked as carhops and most of the boys were hired as inside help. Drewes, ever a Lancer supporter, sent both of his daughters, Christy (S ’71) and Cindy (S ’72), to South. He also developed a generous program in which he aided students in saving for a college education. During this era of second generation teachers, few left for other calls or positions. The stability provided dividends. Curriculum revision reflected contemplative processes that involved parents, students, faculty and administration. Responding to student interest in contemporary events, Dave Strietelmeier created the Social Studies semester elective History of Minority Groups. Like in the English Department, a change led to additional adaptations. Student interest drove the major curriculum change. The original Social Studies curriculum, shaped by Eggerding who had a strong geography background, required a year of Geography, a year of World History and a year of U. S. History. The sequence began with the freshmen year. Electives were additional credits beyond graduation requirements. Until 1971, only Wehmueller, while still in the classroom, taught a semester elective involving contemporary economic and political themes. Prahlow noted student enthusiasm for the in-depth examination of historical eras. In 1972, with administrative and department support, he revised Social Studies requirements. Students would take six semesters of Social Studies. Like at North, they had options to fulfill requirements. Freshmen chose between Geography or World History. Sophomores took U. S. History. Finally, two semester credits would be selected from nine different semester offerings. In addition to courses that examined historical eras, those included Contemporary Issues and Psychology. New offerings focused on specific historical eras. American Revolution, a semester course developed as the nation’s Bicentennial approached, became a popular semester option. In short order, the department offered semester electives Depression and World War II and The American West. Inspired by student requests, Prahlow added courses to study Civil War and Reconstruction, and Contemporary America. Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) helped fund the curricular change. Doc received a grant to develop Civil War and Reconstruction. During the summer of 1978, he spent two weeks retracing the footsteps of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. He took numerous slides to illustrate classroom lectures and collected brochures and maps to enhance instruction. Trips to Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg would amplify studies in U. S. History and American Revolution. After two years, Prahlow and Behling noted students’ perspectives suffered because as freshmen they either missed Geography or World History. To remedy the deficiency, freshmen chose a year of Geography or World History. As sophomores they took a semester survey course in the other topic. The one-year adaptation required a herculean effort by the department. As juniors completed the old curriculum and sophomores started the new, the teachers offered ten sections of U. S. History. Every department member taught at least one section. Additional changes accompanied the curricular revision. Behling, a geographer who wanted to build on his and Eggerding’s experiences, noted Geography, Psychology, Contemporary Issues and Sociology used scientific and statistical methods. He successfully lobbied to change the department designation to Social Science. Called as a social studies teacher (Eggerding stated he had to be willing to coach football, too!), he asserted geography studies helped the insular community develop a better world perspective. He reshaped classes to examine land use, economic systems, cultural mores and the impact of religious beliefs on regional polities. With those curricular adaptations came two more—reading novels and completing projects. The new emphases implemented national trends current in the Social Sciences. During the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, many college faculties promoted the adaptations. They had simply responded to criticisms directed by students against educational practices developed prior to World War II. A second impetus for this change was a revision of the

English Department curriculum. Instructors in that discipline reduced the use of novels in their course of study to better support expository writing and focused research projects. To support the English Department and encourage extended reading, the Social Science Department adopted the contemporary contract system. If students hoped to qualify for an A in a survey course, they read two novels each quarter. To attain a B, they read one assigned novel. If they chose to read no historical novel, they could earn a C if they completed all other requirements. For example, in U. S. History, a first-quarter student aspiring to earn a B could read the gripping page-turner The Scarlet Letter. The A student candidate would also peruse Rebels and Redcoats. Successive quarter options included Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Huckleberry Finn, The Jungle and Grapes of Wrath. World History offerings incorporated Tales of the Greek Heroes, Men of Iron and an abridged version of Les Miserables. Students who took semester electives had no formal classroom texts. In Civil War and Reconstruction, they read assigned sections of This Hallowed Ground; in The American West, Centennial and Life on the American Frontier; for Depression and World War II, Only Yesterday, Since Yesterday and The Lion and the Fox. Holsten, who often had waxed eloquently about kumquats, rutabagas and gardening during the terminated Civics course, developed new expertise in this field. He used the novels to help reengage with students. Harms followed suit. Behling developed a high school geography project that upper-level students completed as part of a semester of focused study. They incorporated simulation games, the most memorable entitled Game of Farming. Using Legos, they designed the fictional Portsville, zoning commercial, residential, industrial and green spaces. This focus encouraged outstanding students to develop expertise in geography. Many competed in geography bees. During the first decade of the new millennium several groups competed—and earned special recognition—in the National Geography Olympiad. The department incorporated biographical studies. Required to complete a family tree and interview participants of past eras, students often turned to parents for assistance. Enthusiastic mothers and fathers garnered information at family gatherings—or late night phone conversations triggered by the impending due date. The son or daughter simply completed the project. Many experienced a similar cooperative effort with the tour book. Each semester of historical study, students visited a museum or battlefield. They took photos. One had to be a selfie. After collecting pamphlets, they assembled a scrapbook. Parents often accompanied the students and made the event a family outing or part of a vacation. The extensive revision of curriculum did not end with the changes in the Social Sciences. Wacker, whose soccer squad had just won the school’s first soccer trophy in the ABC preseason tourney, responded quickly to student requests to take more practical course work. He designed two new classes: Consumer Chemistry and Consumer Physics. Reck added Film Making to the English curriculum. That dovetailed with Harry Witt’s new English sections of Radio and TV, and Discussion and Debate. Semester courses of Religious Drama and Dramatic Productions, when coupled with Barb Streib’s Media Studies and Modern Poetry Seminar, provided additional opportunities for students to examine the impact of media on religious studies and fine arts. Students now had many opportunities to focus their passions in specific fields of study. To recognize student excellence in the focused areas of study, Prahlow encouraged the administration to permit departments to designate the top student in each area. He surmised that these individuals could be recognized in either an expanded Senior Assembly or at graduation ceremonies. For the Lancer community, it would provide additional insight into the academic excellence developed in the Association schools. Noting how this type of addition to festivities would enhance the family-friendly celebration, Eggerding promoted the idea. After 1979, department awards became an additional way of honoring student expertise. As members of each department reworked traditional curricular offerings, a burgeoning interest in journalism drew many students to South’s journalism class. Student enrollment was so large that the registrar formed two sections. Each section produced a monthly issue of Troubadour. The students also contributed to the production

of the Lance. Their efforts received national recognition at the 1979 three-day high school journalism convention held at Stouffer’s Riverfront Inn. David Kramer received the award as best yearbook photographer. Modern journalism also played a part in the magazine campaign. The 1979 rally was videotaped by representatives of Reader’s Digest. The highlight was the appearance of the “Mag Girls.” Harms, Witt and Kissinger used their “secret” identities to promote class, classroom and individual competition. South’s annual profit of more than $8,000 was the largest of all Missouri high schools. The video served as the basis of a new Reader’s Digest public relations campaign. It would demonstrate to other high schools how to drive sales. With little turnover and focused teaching assignments, faculty members could assist Eggerding with a variety of everyday administrative duties. Grundmann took charge of attendance. Bauer moved into the registrar’s office. Harms served as Dean of Students and Meyer as AD. When “Fasz” accepted the call to serve at ConcordiaAustin, a crew of students prepped baseball, football and soccer fields. Despite the lack of progress on the planning for additional fields, several teams could simultaneously travel to contests at “the Greens.” They could go in either of the two new Dodge vans rather than wait for access to the old bus. Torbeck, who enjoyed the fruits of a terrific boys’ 11-5 season, agreed to take detention duty and encouraged the Athletic Department to start a girls’ tennis program. He also created a new focus for upper level PE courses. The PE mentor created units that incorporated life sports. Those included ping pong, racquetball, bowling and tennis. Torbeck’s adaptive inclusive approach deeply influenced a number of students, none more notable than Darren Jubel (S ’79). His father, Henry Jubel, was a German immigrant to the United States. As a ten year-old from eastern Germany, Henry arrived in St. Louis at the start of the Depression. Upon graduating second in his class at Bayless in 1936, he applied for an academic scholarship to Washington University. Henry and his parents took on extra jobs to meet expenses and he graduated in 1940. After working for Union Electric, he attempted to enlist in the military. He was turned down because of his German heritage. So, Jubel invented a new type of riflemounted grenade launcher, for which he was honored by the U. S. Army. After the war, he joined Sterling Aluminum Products and worked his way up the business ladder to become vice president of sales and manufacturing. In 1961, the self-made businessman started Spartan Aluminum Products in Sparta, Illinois. He made parts for Sears radial saws and automobiles and soon opened a second operation in Mexico. He and wife Elvira had three children—Chris, Don and Darren. Darren, whose older brother Don worked in the Spartan plant, was a typical freshman, small in stature as a novice tennis player. He could not survive the cuts that came after tryouts. Torbeck asked Darren to serve as manager. For the next four years Darren contributed to the program, serving the squad wherever it went. Darren and his parents were incredibly appreciative of the support his teammates provided him in the classroom and hallways, particularly during his first years on campus. The humble, quiet family once hosted a memorable endof-season team get-together. In 1981, without any fanfare, they also financed the redesign and future maintenance of the tennis facility that was part of the four-party property swap. The completion of the tennis facility was a significant event. South’s tennis teams had always practiced on city or county courts. Like the soccer team had for years, first Hynous, and, beginning in 1974, Torbeck, bused players to Wilmore, Sylvan Springs, Bohr and Francis parks to practice and play matches. They rode the balky bus to and from practice. During those early years, team members like Mike Miller, Lloyd Mueller and Tim Reischauer had to push the bus so Torbeck could pop the clutch. He revved the engine while the boys made the mad dash to catch the slowly moving vehicle and pile in the open door. The new courts on campus ended the days of “push and catch”—at least for practice! Reiss continued to churn out fall melodramas. With fewer enrolled students and a smaller prospective audience, these were produced in a more intimate cafeteria venue. Productions included The Good Doctor, Our Town, The Matchmaker, Tom Jones, and The Man Who Came to Dinner. Story Theater, cobbling together a series of folk tales, seemed to presage the later Into the Woods. With fewer students, fewer were involved in music. Engelhardt combined the glee clubs into the Sunrisers, a mixed voice contingent that met during the traditional A period. It provided much of the chorus in his elaborate spring productions. Accompanied by Mark Eischer’s band,

Engelhardt’s final performances included Oklahoma, Hello Dolly and reprises of Camelot and The Music Man. At the end of the decade he left for a position in Century 21. South’s own “music man,” Engelhardt had been instrumental in creating, for all students at South, a sense of belonging. His numerous musical groups and massive musical productions provided any interested student an opportunity to contribute to a school production. He accomplished at South what Kirchhoff had done two decades before at Central. Art Schroeder, who had just founded the first girls’ CC squad during the ’79 season, left to develop a family business marketing Tupperware near the Quad Cities. He, too, left a significant legacy, providing the basis for a rapidly improving cross country and track program at South. He also mentored students who later had exceptional coaching stints at South, North, St. Charles, St. Augustine and Orlando. Ann Kissinger, who had only arrived in 1978, accepted a position in her family’s business. She would return two decades later to continue her ministry among the Lancers. Kay Birdsong, who had arrived at the same time, left teaching to write training manuals for Southern Bell. As these teachers and coaches departed, a new era began. It was a time of transition. Long-time instructors departed for other opportunities. Enrollment had fallen. After twenty years of use, the building was in need of repair. The experimental patching of the field house roof had failed. Eggerding attempted to jump-start the completion of the new athletic fields. And Title IX had arrived. The ladies had their own whirlpool. The classroom component for PE that had always been a part of the girls’ curriculum was adapted for use by the boys. And as Wietfeldt reshuffled the girls’ sports schedule to dovetail with MSHSAA’s alignment, new arrival and math instructor Phil Kershner coaxed the fledgling girls’ cross country team to respectability. Kathy Burgdorf and Nancy Behnke represented the Lancers at State. Teammate Kirstin Prahlow joined them on Coach Sandee Eime’s track squad in a perennial State-qualifying 4 x 800 each spring. The successes multiplied. Led by repeat State champion sprinter Lisa Stengel, the ’81 spring edition earned a third place trophy at the State Meet, the best finish at that time for a girls’ squad in any sport at any of the Association high schools. As in track and cross country, new instructors blended quickly into the ministry team. Larry Wahlers took over choral duties and presented South Pacific. Vernon Square joined the football staff. But in the city of St. Louis, as a local desegregation court case meandered through a series of legal appeals, tensions rose. As the desegregation plan was implemented, enrollment at South soared to more than seven hundred. Lancers also noted the racial tensions fanned by de facto segregated residential areas. The two 1980 Lance editors, Chris Carron and Dave Bailey, wrote a lengthy commentary in the student section. They cautioned all about criticizing fabricated stereotypes during daily discussions. They condemned the sometimes underlying anger directed by students towards those of another race and reminded all that God was the God of all, not just a chosen few. The jeremiad attempted to steer South’s new constituency from a white flight mentality to become, like North, a workshop in Christian living. A renewed emphasis on Christian ethics, particularly by the administration and faculty, developed a new focus in the Religion Department. Readings in the New Testament, What Do I Believe? and What Do My Neighbors Believe? became new course offerings. The trials and studies during this locally tumultuous time, while not experienced as intimately as the Crusader constituency, delineated some unique characteristics in the Lancer community. Yearbook editors noted how students learned patience as they awaited completion of the longanticipated fields. Squads cooperated with each other as they often shared the postage stamp-sized outdoor practice facilities. Kindness became a Lancer characteristic as student leadership groups, particularly the servantfocused Student Council led by Pete Schoedel and the NHS, raised funds for a Liberian hospital and supported other local charities. Finally, Lancers practiced love for their God and community as members in the communion of the Holy Spirit. They participated in countless concerts, sportsmanship-focused athletic activities and prayerful classroom discussions. These prepared the Lancer community for a new era. This focus helped the community mourn the deaths of and yet celebrate the hope of the resurrection for several classmates. During a difficult eighteen-month period, Barb Meyer, Greg Steward and Mike Dunbar died.

The End of the Beginning On September 3, 1981, South began its Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration. New Athletic Director Pfund and the persistent Eggerding led the dedication of the additional football field, six tennis courts, softball diamonds, three practice fields and the new track. It had been the culmination of a two-decade effort sponsored by the tireless enthusiasm of the Boosters quietly enabled by Eggerding. He had facilitated and monitored a complex four-way swap of land and assets to create a new campus footprint of an additional 12.5 acres. The owners of Gern Nursery received the Association property on the east side of Tesson Ferry. It extended almost to the railroad tracks. Representatives of Schnucks Markets received a portion of Association land fronting on Gravois Road. The former site of Reck’s home run derbies, it would serve as the parking lot for the new Schnucks outlet. The Association received two plots of land that completed the northwest quadrant of campus. The first was from Gern Nursery. The second was cobbled together from adjoining properties owned by the neighboring cemetery and Schnucks. The Association also received $50,000 to complete the transaction. It financed the addition of a field sprinkler system. When construction began, students on the second floor of the south wing could see acres of cleared muddy fields. During the ‘80-‘81 school year, no outdoor competitions took place on campus. Earthmovers recreated the topography. Groundskeepers laid sod. Finally, the paving company completed the track venue and masons packed clay infields. The dedicatory event for the new facility, accompanied by the twenty-five-piece band shepherded by new instrumental director Elmer Pundman, heralded a new era. Ken Steinbruck (S ’73) joined veteran Gary Sheetz in the Practical Arts Department. Elizabeth Spencer implemented a new Computer Science class for the Math Department. Reiss changed a long-held tradition and opened auditions for the spring musical, Once Upon a Mattress, to not just choir members, but for all students interested in participating. He moved Welcome to the Monkey House into the more intimate setting of the choir room and the ’82 spring musical, Brigadoon, back into the gym. He and Harms, concerned about the effectiveness of the three separate light, sound and stage crews that had been created to staff productions, combined them into a generic stage crew and assigned specific duties to its members. It worked. Another new start was the Science Seminar class. Its success had encouraged other departments to consider enhancing or restructuring traditional curricular offerings. Implemented in 1976, Pfund continued to lead select students in directed independent study. As the basis for the course, each student conducted an individual research experiment or project. To focus research on a variety of reality-based issues, students took a number of field trips to metro-area plants, retail outlets and businesses. Sites included Sigma Chemical, Metro Sewer District and United Produce. They even took a full day visit to the New Haven, Missouri, “snake man’s” house. Additional experiences included behind the scenes explorations at the zoo, a veterinarian’s office and a dog pound. Science Seminar provided a collegiate-type experience for students who desired to focus academic efforts on a specific personal passion. This focus on academic excellence was also reflected by the exemplary faculty commitment to continuing their educations. Two full-time teachers, Prahlow and LaBore, had earned PhD degrees from St. Louis University. South was the only Lutheran high school in the country at that time to have two such individuals. Other faculty and staff also cultivated academic excellence, teaching at local community colleges and participating in congregational educational settings. But some things stayed the same. The Christmas focus was on service for others. Otis Woodard needed a freezer to preserve donations of perishables. Various student groups responded. “Turkey grams” purchased by students and sent to recipients raised the first funds for the project. “Loose change days” in the cafeteria provided another way for students to contribute, while a December square dance pushed donated totals to almost six hundred dollars. Woodard would receive his freezer. At the traditional Christmas assembly, the Life of Christ Clown Troupe entertained the LASE guests who hailed from Salem-Affton.

Some things changed. The ’81 and ’82 CC squads, led by Mike Stadelman, won their fifth and sixth league titles in a row. But in ’82, both the boys’ and girls’ squads qualified for State, Kenny O’Brien joining Stadelman to spearhead the boys’ District run. Nancy Behnke, Kathy Burgdorf and Kirstin Prahlow led the girls’ team to its berth. Coach Witt’s soccer squad initiated its new fall season with a 1-0 win over the Crusaders on the new home field. Meyer’s basketball squad ended a four-year string of losses to North at the annual Sem Games—two weeks after missing, like North, a week of school following the Great Blizzard of ’82. Eleven months later, basketball returnees would celebrate Meyer’s 400th win. That spring Pfund piloted the baseball squad to its second trip to the State playoffs in three years. And Lance editors noted that church league basketball and a new Lancer hockey squad provided additional participatory opportunities for the large student body. Another change was graduation. For the second year in a row, inclement weather required a last-second administrative decision to move the planned outdoor festivities into the gym. Limited seating required students to selectively distribute their ticket allotment. Some of the overflow crowds moved to the cafeteria. There they watched a broadcast of the ceremonies delivered via closed-circuit television. But on campus, the biggest change was in football. After PE students played “pick up sticks” on the new fields to enable practice on the new facility, Tom Reck’s team started to recover from a disastrous “all away” ’80 schedule. Its only highlight had been a narrow “homecoming” loss to generous “host” Priory. The arrival of more than 150 additional students between 1980 and 1983 created a more competitive environment and brought an influx of talent. Newcomer Mark Eggers had just joined the staff. Doc Holliday began developing expertise in scouting and determining blocking schemes. Along with Holsten (defensive coordinator) and Behling (offensive coordinator), who doubled as B-team mentors, the staff decided to keep each class playing on its most opportune league level. The coaches’ patience culminated with a successful three-year run beginning with the ’82 season. Finally winning even on Lancer Day, the revived program went 7-3 and contended for its first league title. Tangled in a three-way tie for the league lead, the Lancers traveled to North for the final regular season contest. The Crusaders led by three with only seconds left. But South had the ball on the Crusader three yard line. During a Crusader time out, Reck checked the officials’ ball placement. As he stepped on the field, Holsten, fearing a penalty call on Reck for stepping on the field, raced up from behind to grab him. During the confusion, Behling called not for the anticipated field goal to tie, but a quick opener to win the game. It worked. Reck’s squad won not only South’s first ABC title, but also the second District title in school history. For the first time in school history, the Lancers hosted a home playoff game. Playing the next Wednesday afternoon before a crowd joined by students enjoying an early dismissal, the Lancers defeated Hillsboro by a score of 37-14. Eggerding, who often patrolled the sidelines, permitted early dismissal the next Monday so students could travel to Union for the next State round. The Lancers fell in an exciting contest, 23-21. All-purpose star Doug Mueller later received a scholarship to play at Minnesota under Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz. For the Association, a big change had already begun. In spring 1982, Superintendent Wiesner proffered his resignation to the Board. He felt called to enroll in the Seminary colloquy program but offered to stay on as an acting superintendent until the Board filled the position. The Board accepted his resignation immediately. Reitz and Eggerding shared his former duties while the Board considered replacement candidates. A year later, Chicago Lutheran High Schools Superintendent Vic Peper accepted the call to replace Wiesner. His installation on November 20 at the Sem was, after the Synodical and social tensions of the ‘70s, a symbol of renewal and unity of purpose. Lance editor Todd Miner noted that while the community was separated by classes, activities and intents, yet “. . . [all are] united: in one building, in one goal to achieve and in one God.” The official participants and officiants represented a cross section of the entire community. Ed Reitz, Barb Klingsick (organist) and Mark Marting (directing the Sounds of Sixteen), Student Council president Brett Taylor, members of the NHS and Rev. Norman Meyer of Grace-Pagedale represented the North community. Eggerding, Wahlers (directing the Choraliers), Marilyn Bader, Student Council president Linda Schuessler and Rev. Walter Schoedel of ConcordiaKirkwood represented the South constituency. Rev. Dr. Paul Spitz, president of the Missouri District and Rev. Dr. Victor Constien of the Synod’s Board for Parish Services represented the LCMS.

Peper’s installation was a celebration of unity that galvanized the entire community. At the insistence of Eggerding and Reitz, he immediately set out to complete the long-delayed projects on both campuses, implementing the three million dollar Faith for the Future campaign. Despite not meeting its goal, Peper believed that efforts to complete the projects on both campuses had to continue. They did. The now eight hundred students at Tesson Ferry saw, in 1985, the completion of the new multipurpose facility for athletics and performing arts and a new library and media center. The latter facility included a Counseling Center like that at North, several new classrooms, library display cases and broad hallways to ease the crowding that hampered student movement in the older educational wing. For the dedication, worship leader LaBore had a representative from each participating Association congregation carry a brick-shaped box to the make-shift sacristy. The participants systematically constructed a symbolic “house of God.” It represented the building of the new facility by the constituent congregations. For a period of time, the construction projects had created a chaotic transition in the library. Gerry Rapp arrived in December 1984 to fill a vacant librarian position. It was in the middle of the construction projects and displacement of portions of the library. In a herculean effort, he managed to reorganize the library and move it to the lower level during the spring semester. He, in particular, could celebrate when, on December 8, 1985, the Association community dedicated the new additions. The dedicatory verses—“I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:4, 5)--represented the partnership effort of the Faith for the Future campaign. North finally received paved parking lots, new tennis courts on the former lower parking lot and adaptive building infrastructure to enable development of its pioneer computer program. The immediate impact of the expansion and refurbishing of both campuses ignited interest in creating a third high school in West County. Its tentative site would be located somewhere along the Manchester Road-Highway 40 corridor. A study committee gathered census tract, business projection and congregational membership statistics. But as the St. Louis region struggled with a fragile Reagan economy and the continued decay of the city center, committee members hesitated to do more than compile information. Within eighteen months the expansion committee determined that a third campus would not draw enough enrollment to warrant the costs of expansion. Despite this immediate disappointment, the Reitz-led North community implemented dynamic new changes (see the next chapter). Eggerding, like Reitz, encouraged the experienced faculty to expand programming to better serve the burgeoning enrollment. The first change was the addition of the Peer Listeners. Marilyn Bader and Behling advised the students. During the program’s first years, students annually attended a four-day training workshop at Camp Wartburg. As the program grew, Bader and Behling moved the annual training sessions to the Tesson Ferry campus. The wellprepared students provided a ready ear for troubled, depressed or substance-dependent classmates who could then be guided to professional assistance. Peer Listeners also conducted workshops for local feeder schools to draw prospects into the Christ-centered community. A second change incorporated this fostering of interpersonal relationships. The Frosh Mixer now included a formal evening of new students meeting assigned Big Brother/Big Sister mentors. Mentor and mentee received a chance to actually meet together and participate in several activities. This replaced the rather artificial introductory experience in which contacts between assigned partners were limited to fleeting nods in the hallways. A third change was in Wahlers’ vocal program. To deal with the massive numbers of prospective choir members, he required tryouts for the Concert Choir, Sophomore and Freshman choruses. During the following semester, vocal exams kept members “on their toes” to maintain their membership in the organization. Immediate success at the District and State levels by Mark Briesacher, Laurie LaBore, Gail Runge and Linda Schuessler validated the more selective approach. Spencer and newly-arrived teacher Mike Albers (S ’68) increased the Computer Science course offerings, complete with thirteen additional computers and three new printers. They began the lengthy process of equipping the building with the proper cabling to support the large expansion of computer services. When long-

time pillar of the Fine Arts Department, Con Carlton, retired, Jim Hayes replaced him and helped buttress several new art offerings: Art History, Water Colors, Ceramics, Acrylics and Printmaking. The focus on math education also saw select students participate in the Forest Park Community College Math Conference. An energized NHS collected ninety units of blood for the Red Cross. A twenty-minute earlier 3:00 p.m. dismissal made possible better travel conditions for commuters, athletic teams and performing groups. Not all was a sobering focus on detail. Crickets filled the hallways in yet another prank. Frosh had to wear bibs on their first day in school. Students sitting in the middle of the bleachers were still flattened during the decadesold cheer, “Iron ‘em out, iron’em out, iron’em out, smooooth!” As part of the annual Magazine Campaign, Judge Carl Volz selected “Miss (Dave Barnes) Ebony” as Miss Magazine Beauty. A basketball shootout for cash and a bounty of one dollar for each subscription sold after the first five, along with the awarding of weeples, netted the school an incredible $30,000. Finally, Lancer weekend was revised. The Saturday football game would precede the dance and coronation while the concerts and talent show would move to Friday. The dynamic era climaxed with significant athletic accomplishments. Coaches Kershner and Prahlow had created a juggernaut. The boys won their seventh consecutive ABC title and earned the first CC District championship in history. In ’83 they nabbed a third-place State trophy. The fledgling girls’ squad, in only its fifth year, did one better than the boys’ effort. Behnke and Jenni Koch led the team to its first District title--and a State Runner Up trophy. It was the school’s best showing since the ’73 basketball championship. Bill Schranz began a resurrection of the soccer program, going 8-8-3 in his first year. Bev Miller shepherded the girls’ tennis team through the new fall season. The Lancerettes initiated an annual pre-season four-day camp to implement more competitive dance-like routines. And Meyer continued to crank out victories, attaining yet another twenty-win season. Dedication celebrations on the expanded campus punctuated the end of the first three decades at Lutheran South. The ministry that had started with brave pioneers housed in the educational wings at Hope and Our Redeemer would now prepare students for the educational demands of the 21st century. In the distant past, the most controversial teaching technique discussed by the PTL and faculty had been the introduction of calculators into the fields of math and science. Now, many noted the new challenge would be preparing students for the impending computer revolution that had already impacted college and university campuses. No longer shepherded by part-timers from Central and first-year teachers at “Southside Lutheran High School,” students were led by a veteran faculty and administration preparing to design curriculum and coursework for a new era. Prescient observers noticed dramatic changes were coming quickly. In just one trade, that of print journalism that had recently become so popular among the students, the owners of the Globe-Democrat, Post-Dispatch and other local papers turned to streamlined automated operations. The resulting downsizing of the typesetting workforce and, within a half decade, the growth of digital media, required agile business and protocol adaptations unforeseen by all. As St. Louisans attempted to recover from the recession of the ‘70s and the deterioration of the city-center in the early ‘80s, the Lancer community and supporting congregations would have to adopt new strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of a troubled region. Peper reflected a new optimism about the opportunities for the high school ministry. At the bottom of each official missive sent from the new Association offices at CPH was the statement: “Teaching Youth that they may set their Hope in God.” The expanded capacity of the modernized buildings at 9515, coupled with the committed faculty and administration, provided a refurbished ministry facility staffed by a group of faithful, patient, kind and loving leaders. Those leaders would guide the students to an understanding of how to face the next challenges. They would live life under the cross. The energetic, growing student body was being prepared and positioned to remind all about the good tidings of the risen Christ.

Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 3: I Bring You Good Tidings! Lutheran South 1965-1984 The Southside Migration The first three pages are a summary of a variety of articles summarized from Jim Merkel, Hoosiers and Scrubby Dutch: St. Louis’s South Side. St. Louis: Reedy Press, 2014, pp. 36-37, 42-45, 51-53, 88-90, 112-114, 124-130, 172177. The creation of Eisele’s Black Forest Restaurant is also from Merkel, Beer, Brats, & Baseball: GermanAmericans in St. Louis, Reedy Press, 2015, pp. 129-131. In 1990, the green Vess bottle was moved just north of the site that became the Cervantes Convention Center. It became the symbol of the appropriately monickered Bottle District. Clayworks information is from Joe Holleman, “Wide alley remains as last sign of clay-mine train,” SLPD, 6/21/2015, p. B2. Mike Albers (LS ’68), 6/30/15, commented about the drive-ins; and Mark Nebel (S ‘70) described the incidents at the Chase Park Plaza. The Lancers Finish the Decade Mark Behling (12/4/15) confirmed the reasons for and the locations of the migration patterns within and outside the city limits. He also noted the significant impact the Communion services had on building the faith life of the student body. Tom Reck outlined the football successes during the early ‘80s. Further information about the competitions is available on the MSHSAA website which annually updates all championship history information. An interesting additional site is http://www.ozarkpreps.com/articles/history-of-missouri-footballplayoff-formats (accessed 12/5/15) which helps explain the evolution of the football playoff system. The 1967 Lance material is from the dedicatory pages, particularly pp. 2-3. Jack Fasholz supplemented the information on 7/29/15. The O. C. Klingsick material is from the dedicatory pages. There is a postscript to the Hynous-Reck-Bauer California trip. Some time later Hynous got the VW diagnosed for its starter problem and was scheduled to take it to a mechanic. He parked it at a Red Lobster while attending a luncheon after Mark Behling’s first daughter was baptized. When he walked out of the restaurant, the car was gone. It had been stolen. Some days later he received a call from the police that his grade book, which had been in the car, was found in a school dumpster in Fenton. After a few more days Hynous received a report the car had been found. It was ruined. The thieves had taken it mudding and then abandoned it—after it would not start. Linda Lockhart (S ’70), a member of St. Philips who lived in Kirkwood, was a Student Council secretary. The only black student in the school at the time, she ran a clever campaign to win the office. She asked students to “put a little color into the council.” Lockhart later attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She has worked at several newspapers around the Midwest, including the SLPD, as a reporter, copy editor, make-up editor, night city editor, wire editor and editorial writer. She also served on the St. Louis Beacon and today serves as an outreach specialist at KWMU-FM, the St. Louis station for NPR. Bauer and LaBore related the high school information, while http://news.stlpublicradio.org/people/linda-lockhart accessed 1/31/16, provided the remainder of the information. Otto left after that school year and continued to teach in Crystal Lake, Illinois, forging a CUC HOF career as he developed a new Lutheran Athletic League for elementary schools in the NW Chicago area. For more information see http://www.cucougars.com/hof.aspx accessed on 7/27/15. Schroeder confirmed the school bus routes. Schroeder also confirmed the Kuecker story (the author saw a grainy color personal home movie of the race). Albers (6/30/15) and Faszholz (7/22/15) verified the Augustinian Academy loss in baseball. Hynous and Meyer outlined the Priory basketball rivalry.

Defusing Confrontation During a Time of Change Judith Meyer (4/8/15) outlined the significance of Eggerding’s and K. C. Meyer’s presence on their respective Boards as aids to circumnavigating much of the Synodical infighting. The information about Bender is from http://www.stpaulsdesperes.org/#/about-us/church-staff accessed on 12/5/15. LaBore and Ken Steinbrueck both reiterated Eggerding’s efforts in protecting teacher autonomy in and out of the classroom (2/13/16). For example, when LaBore was appointed to the Bi-State advisory board, Association Board members expressed concern that he would miss two class days each month to serve his term. Eggerding supported LaBore’s appointment, noting how important it would be to have a faculty representative on the civic organization that also worked with the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council in promoting local economic development. Pfund described the curriculum materials. Hynous, and particularly Meyer, confirmed the State run. An Era of Athletic and Artistic Success Art Schroeder provided the track and cross country material that is included at the beginning of the section. And, yes, the National Federation of High Schools had not yet devised a method to break ties in cross country meets. Phil Kershner very kindly provided editing tips and corrections. Fasholz and wife Annette told the story about the “ecstatic Holsten” racing down the sidelines on 7/22/15. The Hesse material is from http://www.cucougars.com/hof.aspx accessed on 7/27/15. Christie Beckemeier’s illustrious post-high school career is found in http://www.cucougars.com/hof.aspx, also accessed on 7/27/15. Junior Chuck Ockrassa (S ’72) played Tom of Warwick, a supporting part in the production of Camelot. He later received a nomination to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. Upon retirement from the service he moved to Texas where he is in real estate. Don Prahlow confirmed the Iron Curtain experience. twenty-five, p. 8, provides K. C. Meyer’s statistics about the Lutheran high schools. Other members of the ’73 State Basketball champions had successful careers. Barry Braun (S ’74) became pastor of New Harvest Church in Keizer, Oregon. Keith Kolander (S ’73) served as organist at Good Shepherd-St. Louis. Hoeman (S ’73) joined as partner at KPMG, a public accounting firm. Rueter (S ’73) taught in California. Don Lorenz (S ’74) became president of Wilson Manfacturing in St. Louis. Tom Frazier (S ’74) served as general superintendent of Osso Miller Pacific in Jamul, California. Dan Wendel (S ’74), whose older brother and sister attended South, served as an English teacher and basketball coach at Orlando Luther High School and then Boone High School in Orlando. (The Herald, Spring 2009, pp. 6-7) As a coda on the era of basketball excellence, Mark Rohde (S ’79), who watched some of their games as a young boy, later played for St. Louis University. On 11/14/15, Don Prahlow provided an interesting sidelight about “Fritz” Raedeke, following the ’73 State Championship game. The next weekend he starred as the lead in The King and I. An SLPD article was headlined, “Senior Wins and Fritz is King!” A year later, the principal’s son, Brian Eggerding (S ’74), starred as Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof. Baisch distinguished himself after a tragedy at Vianney. During a meet at that high school, one of the top young sprinters in the area died after the 100 Yard Dash. An unknown congenital heart defect ended his life despite the immediate CPR efforts of his own mother, a nurse, who was present in the stands. Baisch and several others gathered donations from the squad to help offset the costs of the funeral. Schroeder and he also arranged for a brief meeting with the bereaved family where he made the presentation. Baisch later took over father Art Baisch’s successful florist business (Baisch and Skinner Floral Supply) that Art had co-founded. Art and Ruby Baisch sent six of their children to South: besides John, Linda (S ‘75) Ferleman, Jane (S ’69) Muzik and Margaret (S ’67) Lukas graduated as Lancers. Art and Ruby established a trust for South. John’s older sister Patty (S ’70) Sprich and co-executor Craig Steffens (N ’79, husband of Lisa Baisch, S ’80) established the Baisch Music Endowment as a partial scholarship for the top instrumentalist in each freshman class. Grandchildren Jordan (S ’03) and Ryan (S ’04) Muzik; Kelsey (S ’09) and Jenna (S ’05) Ferleman; Amy (S ’06), David (S ’10), Julia (S ’15) and Lucas (S ’17)

Steffens, all attended South. Margaret Lukas and her family became supporters of St. Luke-Slavia (FL) and Orlando Luther High School where daughter Jessica graduated in 1996. Her principal was Rich Wallace (C ’50), former principal at North during the ‘70s, while Jim Prahlow, now at North, was one of her instructors. (The Herald, Fall 2011, pp. 4, 5). Herm Meyer (12/23/15) noted that when the Lancer gym was being used in another school activity, Concordia Seminary Athletic Director Pete Pederson permitted the basketball team to practice at the Fieldhouse. That privilege would be reciprocal. During the mid-‘70s, the St. Louis Spirits ABA franchise practiced at the Fieldhouse. Once, the facility was unavailable for the scheduled practice. Pederson asked Meyer if the Spirits could use the South gym. He complied, and it would be a memorable experience. After opening up the gym for the visitors, Meyer went to his office to watch a televised college basketball game. When Spirits star Marvin “Bad News” Barnes entered the locker room area, he heard the game on TV and asked Meyer if he could watch. Meyer asked Barnes about his practice. Barnes simply replied, “I’ll tell coach I’m not practicing today.” Barnes watched the game. As the squad ended its practice, one of the players attempted to dunk the ball. He missed--and tore down the rim, destroying one of the two glass backboards that had just been donated by Russ and Lu (Kreyling C ’50) Lochmann. The Spirits paid for the backboard replacement. A Retrospective Celebration—and Changing Times The first paragraph is based on editorial commentaries and quotes in Lance yearbooks, ’74-’77. Rohde, Written, p. 8, describes the 25th Anniversary Celebration. The statistics are found in twenty-five, p. 8. Prahlow provided the rationale for Social Studies/Science revisions on 11/14/15, with Geography additions outlined by Behling on 12/4/15. Hynous provided the information about the English Department that follows, on 7/25/15. LaBore corrected the following paragraph about the Preus and Tietjen visits. Of the students during the ‘70s, three particular graduates earned national or international recognition. After completing her undergraduate degree at Valparaiso University, Rebecca Pallmeyer (S ’72) earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School and clerked for a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice. After working for five years in private practice in Chicago she served as an administrative law judge on the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and then as a U. S. Magistrate Judge, U. S. District Court, for the Northern District of Illinois from 1991-1998. On July 31, 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated her to fill a seat vacated by Judge William Thomas Hart. After confirmation, she was commissioned on October 22, 1998, to serve as judge of the U. S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_R._Pallmeyer (accessed 11/17/15) Hal Haenel (S ’76), earned two medals in the summer Olympics. Sailing for the California Yacht Club he won medals in the World Championships in the Star Class. In ’88 at the Seoul Olympics he earned a silver medal. In ’92 in Barcelona, he partnered with Mark Reynolds to win the gold. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Haenel (retrieved 11/17/15) The third graduate who made a significant mark in the business world, particularly in Lutheran circles, was Dr. Kurt Senske (S ’77). After graduating from Valparaiso University he earned a law degree from the University Illinois, a master’s degree in International Relations from Schiller International University in Paris, France, and his Ph.D. in Government from the University of Texas. Senske first served as Assistant to the President at Concordia University-Austin; practiced law in Chicago and then became CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the South. He also serves currently (2016) as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Thrivent Financial, and, after leading the LCMS Board for Human Care/World Relief, joined the Board of Directors of the LCMS. He is an acclaimed author, with his most recent release being The Calling: Live a Life of Significance. http://concordia.edu/sitefiles/w3/registrar/kurtsenskeupdatedbio.pdf accessed on 12/14/15.

Besides Eichhorn’s, Bender’s and Lange’s successes in music, Karen (Siebold S ’73) Stevenson served as concert pianist for the National Festival Chorus performance at Carnegie Hall in June 2010. She had also performed at the venue two times as part of a chorus. She serves as organist/pianist at Bonhomme Presbyterian Church in Chesterfield, Missouri and owns and teaches at 88Keys, a private piano teaching studio in St. Louis. (The Herald, Fall 2010, p. 8) Dr. Mark Bender’s biographical information can be found at http://www.stpaulsdesperes.org/#/about-us/church-staff accessed on 11/15/15. Lois Miklas (S ’74) later played a role in helping describe the Drewes’ contribution to local St. Louis lore. Public Programs Manager at Hershey Story Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Miklas provided a full Drewes carhop uniform for the Missouri History Museum (MHM) display 250 in 250: A Yearlong Exhibit Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of St. Louis. The exhibit was open from February 14, 2014 until February 15, 2015. Miklas also loaned her uniform to the MHM for a followup exhibit: Route 66: Main Street Through St. Louis. Visitors could also listen to her MHM recording that included her memories as a carhop. The display, open from June 25, 2016 through July 16, 2017, included Miklas’ snapshots of herself and Carol Grieschen (S ’73) in uniform awaiting customer arrivals; Ted’s daughters Cindy and Christy Drewes; and employee Travis Dillon. Cindy (S ’72) would later marry Kirk Verseman, owner of Missouri Floor Company. Their children--Kristin (S ’01), Christopher (S ’07) and Morgan (S ’12)—all attended South. Verseman also hired former Lancer cross country standout Craig Thorburg (S ’78) to serve as controller of his business (See more about the Thorburgs, below, and in Chapter 11). Christy (S ’71) later married Dillon. Children Bryan (S ’01) and Josh (S ’03) were also Lancers. The Dillons began to play a major role in managing both the Christmas tree and custard stand operations as Ted Drewes gradually reduced his managerial responsibilities. Gerda Thalheimer (S ’75) spent her career in St. Louis working in dentistry and dental surgery. Upon retirement she became the first female dentist to receive the Gold Medal Award. Bestowed by the Greater St. Louis Dental Society, it is awarded for lifetime achievement and service to the dental profession. After retirement, Thalheimer treated the indigent under the auspices of the St. Louis County Department of Health (The Herald, Spring 2009, p. 10). Silliness—to Serious—to Success Ron Roma described the conga line and pie in the face, 6/30/15. Roy Pfund, 7/16/15, Russell (see Chapter 2) and Faszholz, 7/22/15, provided the details about the origins of Lutheran Day at the Ballpark. The faculty did not just participate in student activities and coaching duties. When long-time Dean of Students Wil Wehmueller suffered a debilitating stroke, Rohde organized a number of the staff to visit him on specific days at Alexian Brothers Hospital near Minniewood Park on South Broadway. Along with the family, he, Pankow, Prahlow and several others provided pastoral-like care and also took care of his grooming and occasional clothing needs. The information about Wiesner and the financial challenges is from Rohde, Written, pp. 5-6; and from an email of documents sent from Don Guehring to Ken Steinbrueck, 10/8/15, provided to the author. The material includes letters from LAHE “to parent,” 1977-1987, inclusive, delineating tuition and fees, payment plans and policies. Between 1977 and 1988, the Guehring family sent four daughters through South—Diane, Donna, Dawn and Deborah. Prahlow, on 11/14/15, provided the information about Wiesner’s installation service. Russell, Faszholz, Pfund, and Rhode pp. 4-5 describe the origins of Lutheran Day at the Ballpark. Additional anecdotes about the first Association Auction can be found in The Herald, Spring 2011, p. 3. It includes notes from an interview of Lu Kreyling (C’ 50) Lochmann. The auction continued to grow in importance as severe financial issues challenged the Association constituency. Observers attended the St. Louis University High auction, the first such effort initiated in the St. Louis area, to select ideas to better enhance the Association activities. Ken Steinbrueck noted how in 2000 he and wife Kathy attended the SLUH fundraiser in order to improve the design of Auction computer operations and check-out procedures.

Schroeder (7/9/15) and Matt Prahlow (6/20/15) confirmed the cross country material that follows, including the prayer request. Matt Prahlow also elaborated about Meyer’s quest for victory 300. Today Gibson is a St. Charles area salesman. Prahlow, after teaching stints at Lutheran elementary schools in Florida, is an elementary school teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools. Melchior, who ran at Oral Roberts University, later became a doctor in the Festus area. Craig Thorburg later worked for a local flooring company operated by the Versemann family. His extended family would later contribute, through a Fantasy Faire Auction “name the gym” bid, assistance to refurbishing the facilities. Grandparents Jim (C ’52) and Arlene (Johnson C ’52), brother Tim (S ’80) and his wife Theresa (S ’80) and their son Nick (S ’11) also attended the high schools. See Chapter 11 for more about Lauren Thorburg (S ’08) (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 8; and Spring 2012, p. 7). Sharon (Eggerding ‘S 77) Dierberger, the daughter of Roland and Elaine Eggerding, now lives with her family in Minnesota. She conferred with Sandy (Eggerding) Ehrett, S ’80, who provided many details to the author about Eggerding’s years of ministry at South. Hynous (7/25/15) provided his biographical information. As an interesting side note, Hynous had been serving as South registrar. To help members of the general business community better understand the nature of the call process, Ken Bauer’s move to registrar came about in a rather collegial manner. When Hynous accepted his call to Orlando Luther High, Eggerding needed a new registrar. One early summer day in ‘78, as he was crossing the parking lot to his car, he passed Bauer who was walking into school. Eggerding told him he needed a new registrar—and he would be asked to do so. Bauer stepped in immediately—and would continue his instructional duties in Physics (Ken Bauer, 12/11/15). Jack and Annette Faszholz told the story about the Rochester Redwings on 7/22/15 and provided a DVD of the Concordia-Austin Hall of Fame induction held in January 2015. Tom Reck (1/22/16) provided additional insights about the English Department, baseball and football programs during the era. Adaptation and Transition Prahlow and Behling provided the details about the Social Science curriculum revisions. Reiss proofread the rough draft and provided some significant corrections about the English Department and various drama productions. Reck, Harms, Torbeck, Roma and Bauer contributed to the summary of the Magazine Campaign rallies. Larry Torbeck (in particular) and Ken Bauer on 1/30/16 and Doc Prahlow, 11/14/15, provided the general outline for the story about Darren Jubel. Another source is https://magazine.wustl.edu/2012/october/Pages/Jubels-My-Washington.aspx accessed on 1/31/16. The South County Call included a specific tribute to Henry and his family which one may read online at http://www.callnewspapers.com/Articles-i-2004-01-0866726.112112_Jubel_family_members_are_recognized_at_Lutheran_High_School_South_service.html (recovered on 1/31/16). Torbeck noted that after Darren’s graduation, the family stayed involved with the high school. When the ’81 athletic facility was redesigned to include four new tennis courts, Henry Jubel asked Torbeck if that would be sufficient for matches. Torbeck stated that six courts would enable better match conditions. The design soon included the six courts, with Eggerding assuring Torbeck the cost of the addition “was covered.” The same type of interaction continued in ’93 for the resurfacing contract, Henry Jubel never seeking any public recognition. The South community felt otherwise about this generous, selfless family, and the library is named in Henry and Elvira Jubel’s honor. Darren’s older brother Don served on the Association Board of Directors. Darren, too, appreciated the opportunities he had at South. The thankful young man later donated his entire estate to South. Darren’s older sister, Chris, married Scott Homan. They had three children. Daughter Cynthia (S ’94) also played tennis at South. Son Eric (S ‘96), who also played tennis as a Lancer, later graduated

from Washington University. Upholding the family tradition, Devin (S ‘03) played tennis for the Lancers. In 2003 he finished third in State (see below, Chapter 9). The various vignettes that described the new business opportunities accepted by departing teachers were enumerated by Lance commemorative sections and Art Schroeder, 7/9/15. The End of the Beginning On 2/13/16, LaBore, Steinbrueck and Rauh clarified the four-way land swap and resulting athletic fields on the new Lancer campus footprint. Pfund (7/16/15) fully described the Science Seminar Class. Otis Woodard, a constant visitor to local Lutheran congregations and schools, was a thirteen-year veteran of the Marine Corps. After his military career, he became a staunch supporter of the civil rights movement. Accompanying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis the night of the assassination, Woodard and his pregnant wife feared for their lives and fled to St. Louis. They moved into the basement of an abandoned house in the College Hill neighborhood. Employment as a custodian at Concordia Seminary allowed him to live in homes near Bissell Street and Strodtman Place where he started Lutheran Outreach. He offered donated canned goods and clothing to those in need. He also started Peace Park as a wooded haven from the violence that marred daily life in the north city. For more than forty years, Woodard regularly solicited donations from Lutheran elementary and high schools, congregations and youth groups. With an eye for PR, he always wore brightly colored, loose fitting tops and strands of beads. He occasionally played the ukelele at those assemblies and often led chapels as a guest speaker. In 2015, at the age of seventy-eight, he died. He left behind not just a large extended family but a ministry of hope in the College Hill neighborhood that Synod helped nurture after the Ferguson incidents. Doug Moore, “Civil rights activist built refuge in College Hill neighborhood,” St. Louis Post Dispatch obituary, 2/15/2015, provides more information about this individual who helped Association students understand the daily needs so many desperate local people experienced. See “Ferguson” in Chapter Ten, below, for Synod’s College Hill activities. Information about Peper’s installation is from the service program and order of service, “The Service of Installation of Mr. Victor C. Peper, November 20, 1983.” Steinbrueck and Roma described the creation and dedications of what later became the Kuhlmann Center and Jubel Library. LaBore described the brick building ceremony. Gerry Rapp (1/22/16) outlined the library move. During the late ‘80s, the two additions were named the Kuhlmann Center after donors Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kuhlmann; and the Jubel Library and Media Center in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jubel. Rohde, pp. 5-7, and John Miller, 7/27/15, noted how AC in the Kuhlmann Center was added about a decade after its completion. For seven years, Christ Memorial congregation rented the facility for weekly worship, installing an AC system while there. When they ended their programming on campus, they removed the system. The AC was re-added during the “all school” refurbishing in 2003. See Chapter 7 for its connection to Rittmann’s strategic planning initiative as it affected South. Steinbrueck, 6/30/15, Rohde, Written, p. 9, and Buetow, 9/30/15 all helped clarify the steps in the refurbishing program. Rohde, pp. 5-7, and Rohde, Written, p. 9, summarize the Manchester Road-Highway 40 corridor study for a third high school. Behling (12/4/15) provided the information about Peer Listener orientation. He also noted that upon arriving at South in 1973, he soon moonlighted at Paul’s Bait and Tackle that was located near Famous Barr Southtown. Tiny Holsten did, too! Peper’s financial statements directed to parents are included in the email correspondence, Guehring to Steinbrueck, 10/8/15.

Chapter 4: Great Joy During Trying Times: Lutheran North, 1981-1993 Malaise to Motion During the ‘80s As the ‘80s began, many believed the country suffered from a malaise caused by ineffective international and domestic policies. Dependency on foreign oil, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a Nicaraguan civil war and the Iranian hostage crisis made the U. S. appear to be a fading superpower. Long gas lines, rising unemployment, the Iranian hostage crisis, inflation and a disheartening boycott of the Moscow Olympics discredited the Carter administration. Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan won the election when the majority responded in the negative to his famous question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Reagan appeared to provide direction as he confidently dealt with daunting issues. The Iran-Iraq war threatened to spread regionally. A suicide truck driver killed 250 marines in Beirut. Assassinations of world leaders in India and Egypt and an assassin’s attempt on John Paul II’s life created an atmosphere of fear. The attack on a Korean passenger jet, bombing of a Pan Am flight and hijacking of a TWA jet and the Achille Lauro made many feel vulnerable everywhere. But Reagan provided substantive leadership. He met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and, after successfully labeling the USSR the “evil empire,” softened enough to support Soviet policies of perestroika and glasnost. He encouraged the democracy movements in South Africa as the Mandelas and Archbishop Desmond Tutu demonstrated the evils of apartheid; the Philippines, as widowed housewife Corazon Aquino won a dramatic election; Pakistan, as Benazir Bhutto became that country’s first female Prime Minister; and Poland, where Lech Walesa led Solidarity and his country to economic and political freedom. Domestically Reagan jump-started the economy by revising the tax structure and reintroducing trickle down policies. Despite an assassin’s bullet that almost took his life, little in Reagan’s presidency appeared to go wrong. The Columbia space shuttle success revived the sagging space program. The Senate approved Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice. Reagan weathered the Air Traffic Controllers strike. The business boom in technological industries helped some regions recover from the malaise. Personal computers, car phones, walkmans, CDs and the fax became commonplace. The information age provided twenty-four-hour cable news (CNN), sports (ESPN), weather (TWC) and music (MTV). A countrywide newspaper, USA Today, graced newsstands. But new challenges threatened people’s growing confidence in restoring ethical mores, economic growth and community stability. Actions by Presidential candidate Gary Hart, sprinter Ben Johnson, manager Pete Rose, investor Ivan Boesky and Marine Lieut. Col. Oliver North made many believe traditional values were rare commodities. A stock market collapse in the late ‘80s bankrupted many tech startups. The issues of failing educational systems and crumbling infrastructure were turned over to local authorities for resolution. The Challenger explosion and growth of drug trade-oriented gangs forced a reexamination of safety procedures, manufacturing codes and police tactics. Internationally, the Chernobyl melt down and success of Columbian drug cartels undermined confidence in multinational regulatory agreements and cooperative law enforcement strategies. Famine in Africa, ozone depletion and destruction of rain forest habitat created an urgent need for international scientific and diplomatic cooperation. However, community activities throughout the United States sustained an optimistic tenor. Americans celebrated their athletes’ many victories at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Millions participated in events marking the Bicentennial of the Constitution and Centennial for the Statue of Liberty. The ready election of George H. W. Bush in 1988 sustained an emphasis on patriotism and measures to protect the free world from communism. Within a year of the election the Iran-Iraq war ended, the Cubans left Angola and the Soviets left Afghanistan. The Soviet empire crumbled away, the decade-long unrest throughout Eastern Europe triggering internal economic collapse. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. A chain reaction of Soviet-controlled totalitarian “dominoes” fell: Rumania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, Estonia and

Latvia. And, in parallel activity, apartheid-controlled South Africa did, too. Protesters in Tiananmen Square were not so fortunate. With low unemployment and inflation rates, Bush focused on resolving foreign policy issues. He liberated Panama from strongman Manuel Noriega and drove Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Destructive earthquakes in the Philippines and Japan, flooding in India and Bangladesh and drought in Somalia and Ethiopia galvanized U.N. and American service agencies to provide temporary relief. In the United States, hurricanes damaged the Southeast. Flooding rivers inundated the Midwest. Killer earthquakes delayed a World Series and destroyed large portions of California’s metropolitan areas. Bush rallied Americans to provide relief, many sending financial contributions to service organizations serving distant victims or, locally donating time and efforts to assist recovery. Emotionally moved by local crises that nurtured empathy about world tragedies, American citizens developed a spirit of participatory activism. Hope for Reconciliation in the LCMS The August 1981 St. Louis Synodical Convention marked the end of an era. Delegates elected Concordia Seminary President Dr. Ralph Bohlmann to replace the retiring Preus. As Second Vice President they selected Rev. Dr. Joseph Lavalais, the first black Lutheran to be named to any such rank. By a slim 8% of the votes cast, delegates ended fellowship with the ALC. They also approved Preus’ last proposals to complete an internal consolidation of Board duties. Falling income and membership totals required delegates to create a new Department of Stewardship and Financial Support. On the local level, many congregations depended more frequently on volunteers to maintain service ministry programs. Issues about gender participation and multicultural ministry troubled delegates. In 1984 the formation of the Commission on Women dealt with questions traditionalists raised about the role of women as convention delegates, school teachers and congregational voters. In a forum during the 1989 Wichita Synodical Convention, Lutherans for Life President Dr. Jean Garton expressed alarm about the number of seminarians who favored repealing women’s suffrage. After noting women comprised 75% of volunteers and 80% of the elementary teachers in Synodical congregations, commission members openly fretted about the future participation of young women in the church. They were concerned that those individuals who faced restrictions would probably pursue secular opportunities or even join other church bodies. They also hoped IRS legal issues would be surmounted so commissioned women could receive tax benefits similar to those of their male counterparts. The delegates to Wichita sensed Synod was at a crossroads. For two decades Synod lost alarming numbers of members through the “back door.” They simply quit attending congregational activities and, after a lengthy period of time, were removed from membership rolls. A few delegates also noted that since 1971, except for the celebration in 1977 of the Centennial of Black Ministry, official Synodical concern about multicultural ministries rapidly faded. Synod had not developed effective inclusive multicultural ministries except in a few specific Hispanic, black and Latino communities. To better promote racial understanding and multicultural ministry, the delegates approved several new programs. They changed to four-year status the only historically black Lutheran college, Concordia-Selma. They approved the adaptation of cross-cultural course requirements at ConcordiaMequon and Concordia–Ann Arbor. Finally, in recognition of the approaching fiftieth anniversary of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), delegates voted unanimously to encourage each congregation to settle one refugee family during the next triennium. Perhaps the Bohlmann administration could construct a more mission-focused Synodical polity by expanding these tardy measures. If not, it would require local congregations and schools to design plans of local outreach or even simple survival.

A Crisis for St. Louis The St. Louis of deep roots, long histories and industrial production was on the brink of disaster. By 1980, the region was reeling. St. Louis was in the process of losing more than eighty thousand jobs. The poverty rate rose to almost 25%. Only fifteen years before, the November 1965 issue of National Geographic Magazine described the new spirit of a city celebrating its bicentennial. With the completion of the Gateway Arch, Mansion House Apartments, Busch Stadium II, Gateway Tower, Pet and Equitable buildings, downtown seemed poised for a renaissance. But events along local rivers symbolized the disappointment of the ‘70s. The unfortunate bankruptcy of the relocated World’s Fair Spanish Pavilion and the loss of the replica ship Santa Maria revealed how city fathers’ big dreams seemed headed for disappointing dissolution. Even the minesweeper Inaugural that had survived the storm that destroyed the Santa Maria became a magnet for protestors. And in 1982 on the Meramec River, officials permanently evacuated the citizens of Times Beach because of dioxin contamination. The severe ‘70s recession forced businesses in older downtown office buildings to close or move out of the city. As contracts ended and no one ordered additional materials, plants like long-time industrial giant Scullin Steel simply closed. Downtown buildings and nearby plants had no prospective tenants so developers used demolition permits to knock down the old structures—and build parking lots. At that time, local unemployment was almost 8%—and black unemployment was double that. The production of the last Corvette at the plant on Natural Bridge Avenue and Union Boulevard symbolized what happened across the region. Completed on July 31, 1981, the last Corvette signaled the gradual downsizing of the local industrial workforce. While industrial jobs had at one time employed as many as one-third of all area workers, by the end of the era fewer than 10% worked in traditional factory jobs. Blacks were relegated to a second-class status and residential patterns effectively segregated most schools. During these increasingly desperate years, the city lost 170,000 people. Property and city income tax revenue plummeted, reducing funding for street and sewer repair, school athletic programs, street lighting campaigns, building preservation, park maintenance and removal of abandoned facilities. Lack of tax revenue curtailed police protection. Forest Park’s roads, pavilions and sewers deteriorated. Former beautiful venues in the Grand entertainment district sat unused, ready for demolition, including the Fox. The Globe-Democrat folded, leaving St. Louis with only one daily newspaper. The Rand Corporation in 1972 and the Brookings Institution in 1981 noted St. Louis was the most distressed city in America. Things were so bad that movie mogul John Carpenter, looking for a place to film scenes for Escape from New York found his barren, urban landscape in downtown St. Louis. His most pleasant find was Union Station, deserted, desolate and unused. People fled the city for county spaces and the city itself had only 457,000 in 1980—at a time when St. Louis County had one million residents. But little by little, investors and developers took a chance on reinventing the old venues and buildings. They initiated a revival. Bob Baudendistel, encouraged by KMOX head Robert Hyland, led several partners in rebuilding the Fox. It triggered a rebirth of the Grand entertainment district and Grandel Square. Others refurbished Union Station. It reopened as an indoor mall in 1985. St. Louis Centre, another indoor mall, was designed to become part of the new civic center. In 1994, its patrons could even visit the TWA-monickered dome housing the St. Louis Rams. North County, too, appeared to begin its tardy recovery from the local economic downturn. In 1987, investors completed several tax increment financing (TIF) developments in north suburban jurisdictions. They transformed long-time farmland into shopping centers and housing enclaves. In 1981, developers purchased the property at West Florissant and I-270 that had been in use as the 270 Drive-In. In 1987, they completed a retail strip mall in the northeastern quadrant of the interchange. Its primary anchor was a Dierbergs Market. To the west, across West Florissant, was a festival-type shopping area that later became a Target. South of the highway, Walmart and Sam’s Club opened full-service outlets that included a gas station and light food service. Located in the city of

Ferguson, the “big box” stores drew customers to additional eclectic shops in the adjoining strip mall. That retail strip extended north from Walmart to the just-refurbished Emerson YMCA. In the 270/367 Study, county planners noted they anticipated additional commercial and residential growth westward along the I-270 corridor and north along New Halls Ferry into Hazelwood. Hearing of those predictions, a group initiated plans to refurbish the retail center at New Halls Ferry and Lindbergh Boulevard. Lutherans followed the same patterns. Many parishioners moved out of the city into the suburbs. Urban congregations like Our Redeemer counted on a large percentage of members who commuted from suburbs for Sunday worship. Its leadership combined some programs with Messiah, Emmaus and Holy Cross to serve neighborhoods housing families who needed legal assistance, food, clothing, daycare or even job training. Some parishes, including Pilgrim, Grace and Christ, closed. Others like Zion, Trinity and Bethlehem depended upon dedicated members who struggled to meet budgets or counted on District mission subsidies. In the latter two congregations, the membership retooled their mission and began to grow. Ebenezer remained open because of a large bequest, but its association arrangement with on-campus River Roads school returned to a solo effort as other congregations closed or could no longer support a day school. Many Lutheran parish schools closed. By 1993, north side Lutheran feeder schools had fallen from sixteen to only eight. A simple example will suffice to reveal the severe problems Lutheran education faced. Organizers of the Lutheran elementary school basketball tournament of champions had, in 1968, involved as many as sixteen squads representing four leagues comprised of more than thirty-five schools. They desperately struggled to restructure league play as more than a dozen closed doors. Urban schools that had in the ‘60s served more than three hundred students now housed only one hundred. Tiny schools in rural communities far from urban areas and the high schools had such an increase in numbers that students had to be educated in portables. Prohibitive distances between schools of similar enrollments confounded efforts at restructuring league play and tournament schedules. In St. Louis and the suburban inner ring, congregations and parish school boards in many cases faced precipitous declines in membership and enrollment. Some were tempted to consider or adopt programs of isolated survival rather than expand outreach to and recruiting of (and financially support) young or underemployed families. Under such circumstances, Lutheran North admissions personnel could not maintain enrollment. To complicate matters, a court case that had been filed in 1972 by parents of black children in St. Louis, chiefly represented by Minnie Liddell, finally reached resolution. It indirectly threatened to undermine North’s status as a community Lutheran high school. In 1971, when a black mother did not want her son sent by bus to school in a rough neighborhood, families rallied and successfully opposed their children being sent out of their immediate community. For her son Craton, not yet a teenager, Liddell and the Concerned Parents of North St. Louis filed suit calling the system racially biased. The reason was fairly simple. Despite the enforcement of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, housing patterns separated the races and neighborhood schools reflected the make-up of the local population. Officials claimed they were powerless to change housing patterns. Thousands of whites, particularly in north city, moved to suburbs. As blacks from the South moved north, many settled in St. Louis. In 1972, few white students in north city attended almost all black schools, while only one in five students on the south side was black. The Delmar Line continued to divide. In the public schools, most teachers in each school matched the race of the student body majority. News of violence directed against Boston busing policies heightened tensions in St. Louis, but the U. S. District Court determined that magnet schools, the redistribution of instructors and efforts to end racial isolation appeared to resolve the dispute. The NAACP entered the fray. Its leadership was concerned that in reality, enrollment of whites had fallen to only 28% of the total city school population. Movement of whites to the suburbs left St. Louis City with a black school population and the County with a white school population. The NAACP won when in September 1980, buses brought Cleveland High School white students to Soldan, and Soldan High School black students to Cleveland. It was peaceful—but simply begged the question as white student enrollment in city schools continued

to plummet. The court reexamined the effects of the school transfer, or “deseg” program. Its judges determined that a real integration effort should include neighboring Jefferson and St. Charles counties to create a truly integrated metropolitan school district. Many bristled at this. Some leaders called for constitutional amendments at either local or state level that prohibited involuntary busing. In 1983, U. S. District Judge William Hungate established a voluntary student-transfer program that included St. Louis City and St. Louis County. He ordered the state to pay for it. For the next twenty years the state spent $100 million annually to bring black students to the county and white students to city magnet schools. Despite some schools closing as people moved out of the city, a few schools gained reputations for perceived excellence. Lotteries determined who could attend these educational centers. For most, it had been the initial resolution of a long-time problem. Despite the apparent success of the compromise, in 1985 a self-titled reactionary group called the Council of Conservative Citizens determined to take control of the St. Louis school board. In 1989, local Shaw neighborhood real estate agent Earl Holt III ran a campaign to place a four-member anti-busing slate on the board. He and his supporters vowed to end busing for desegregation purposes, but only two won office. Within four years, after failing to gain a majority on the twelvemember board, Holt resigned and the movement lost momentum. Its leaders and membership would, for the next two decades, be monitored by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. The two civil rights watchdogs noted the Council of Conservative Citizens was attempting to reincarnate the old White Citizens Councils that sprang up in the South during the ‘50s and ‘60s. Regardless of the realities of black/white ratios in the public schools, many black and white families now had a chance to choose alternative educational settings. With the depressed economy and high unemployment they could in good conscience end ties to parochial and private schools. Those parochial and private schools in the city and the inner ring of suburbs, the Lutheran and Catholic elementary and high schools that had long been part of the neighborhood communities, lost many potential students because the families in those areas now seemed to have a viable free educational option. As the Lutheran feeder schools in the city closed, congregational membership fell as many also moved across the Missouri River. With fewer feeder schools, Lutheran North’s enrollment declined. In 1981, as the courts implemented the desegregation plan, enrollment had fallen to 493 students. Significantly the student body continued to reflect, as it had since 1965, the community racial population distribution. Sixty percent of its students were white and the remainder black. As it had since its Central origins in 1946, the “workshop in Christian living” demonstrated that Lutheran education was synonymous with quality education. Despite economic hardships, Synodical tensions, fewer feeder schools, migrating population and now, free, apparent quality educational alternatives, the ministry at 5401 continued, staff and students buoyed by opportunities to witness in a dramatically changing region. The Reitz Era at North The new era began with Principal Ed Reitz coordinating major decisions with Dean of Students Dick Craven. They worked with a veteran staff. There was a unique California connection. First Wallace, and then Reitz, Klingsick, Tirmenstein and Craven had accepted calls to serve at Maier Lutheran High School in Los Angeles. While there they dealt with the tempestuous racial and economic issues of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. They specifically resolved racial tensions in and around the school. At the same time they prepared for a move to a new campus. They had a unique perspective about bi-cultural ministry, many times meeting and planning at their “Friday Morning Breakfast Club” before going to teach. They transplanted this tradition to St. Louis as more of the group joined the North faculty. This informal planning and concern about individual students led to a reshaping of academic counseling personnel. Mike Prange counseled the students in the Guidance Department. But he desired the chance to spend

more focused time helping students evaluate personal goals and their futures. Reitz worked with Prange to change the counselor’s office into a full-fledged Guidance Center. The full time counselor would not have any teaching duties and could immediately respond to a student or students in need of a ready ear. After Velma Martin retired, Reitz spearheaded moving the Counseling Center into the old library in the great room between the gym and cafeteria. Prange and Reitz believed it was important to have students and their families see the more accessible Guidance Department as a place where students would create a five-year plan to prepare for a post-collegiate career. Prange specifically directed students to apply to highly selective colleges and challenged them to fulfill lofty goals. Reitz and Prange later encouraged new teacher Charlotte Ijei to take classes locally to become an additional full-time counselor. They wanted her to move gradually from the full-time teaching of business courses to become a dedicated counselor. By the late ‘80s she moved full-time into counseling. As part of this move to better serve students, and in the same physical area as the Guidance Center, Dick Craven implemented the new special education program. When the Educating Children with Disabilities law (P. L. 94-142) passed in 1975 it guaranteed a free appropriate public education to each child with a disability in every state and each community across the country. With this new emphasis on educating students with a disability, the Lutheran elementary schools of greater St. Louis provided special education services under the direction of the Lutheran Association for Special Education (LASE). The Association Board soon recognized the need and desire of many parents of students with a disability to continue their child’s Lutheran education at the secondary level. Prior to accepting his call to Cleveland, Wallace discussed this need with Craven who at the time was a new addition to the North teaching staff. After receiving a Master’s Degree in Special Education and certification in learning disabilities, Craven developed, implemented and supervised a Resource Room model for North. Sarah Whitney was the first certified special education teacher hired for the Resource Room, followed quickly by Chris Durst who would serve in this capacity for several decades. At the time North was one of the first in the nation to provide a Lutheran secondary education for those students with a disability. Durst, a Wisconsin native and Concordia-River Forest graduate, created the nurturing environment Prange and Craven envisioned for the unique program. Her quiet, patient, supportive approach had far-reaching consequences. Within this nurturing environment, students and parents were encouraged to regularly help the overall ministry in day-to-day functions. They provided assistance in the bookstore, operated AV equipment and served as department clerics. Several parents helped as office assistants. The faculty nurture of individual student growth drove curricular change. The Fine Arts Department, under Tirmenstein’s initiative, restarted the dormant Jazz Band. Its members, performing before the Boosters, home basketball games and at local grade schools, added pep, soul and swing music to the traditional jazz format. Tirmenstein also merged separate, small glee clubs into a mixed chorus. He did all of this while also directing the students who assembled Crusader. Art instructor Pete Richenburg brought back the Art Club while John Hoyer, who occasionally moonlighted as a classical music announcer at KFUO, restarted Drama Club. Other departments developed co-curricular activities and organizations. New social studies teacher Tom Schultze reorganized the Mock Trial group. Surprisingly, in its first year, Mock Trial won the metro championship. Elizabeth Thomas and Barry Terrass, new additions to the English Department, along with science teacher Mike Grupe, formally recruited NHS students to serve in the third LAHE Auction, a student service tradition that continued until it was folded into Saved to Serve activities in the early ‘90s. The Practical Arts Department included four faculty: newcomer Charlotte Ijei, later slated to move into the Guidance Center; Martin Hokamp, Lutrelle McGlokten and Dave Kuenzel. First floor classrooms along the northwest corridor included Drafting, Architectural Drawing and Shop. Typing and Business Law classes met at the west end of the second floor. Those teachers, in particular, incorporated attentive individualized instruction for each student. Just after second semester began in 1982, weather forecasters warned locals about possible heavy snow. On Saturday, January 30, the blizzard arrived, dumping almost twenty inches of frozen precipitation. It effectively

closed all major transportation arteries. Hundreds of drivers abandoned cars in the middle of roads and highways, complicating snow removal. Rear-wheel drive cars could not navigate the hills on Lucas and Hunt. Businesses and stores closed. Cars and buses could not complete routes. Stranded drivers and passengers, abandoned in the middle of impassable thoroughfares or at isolated transit centers, hazarded treks to safety through growing wind-blown drifts. All schools, including North and South, cancelled classes on the following Monday. A few schools attempted to reopen on Tuesday. John Kersten spent an hour trying to drive a few miles to school. He parked his car in the Northland Plaza lot and took another forty-five minutes to walk a mile through the drifts to arrive at North. There he found school had been cancelled, the few who showed up having already been sent home. More snow fell. Later in the week, snow buried the three-foot tall bike rack at North. Custodian Bill Keller spent the rest of the week repeatedly using the tractor as a snowplow to clear parking areas and entranceways. North reopened a week after the initial snow, as did most county school districts. St. Louis Public Schools did not reopen until a second week passed, chiefly because of the city policy of not plowing side streets. It had been the “blizzard of the century.” As the bitter winter thawed, the North faculty was already moving through a transition. During the early ‘80s, several new instructors joined Reitz’ teaching staff. They would help the North community meet the challenges of the ‘80s and develop curricular priorities to shape Association policies for the next three decades. Kersten was the first of the new faculty to arrive. The son of a former Lutheran school teacher, Houston native and ’77 graduate of Concordia-Seward, he taught math and science in his first teaching assignment at Lutheran West-Cleveland. John had married Concordia classmate Karen Fritsche (N ’73). She taught upper grade math at St. Mark-Cleveland. The Kerstens were interested in returning to St. Louis for two reasons. Karen’s family was in St. Louis. Her extended family was also an integral part of the ministry at Ebenezer-St. Louis. Secondly, administrators in the Lutheran High School Association in Cleveland faced difficult financial challenges. John attempted to order new Apple II computers to replace the antiquated Wang processors. He noted that state funding appeared available—but discovered the monies could only be used to purchase textbooks. The computer order was cancelled. He realized the financial constraints in Cleveland would probably limit curricular development. In the summer of 1980, as Wallace accepted a call to serve as principal at Lutheran East-Cleveland, Kersten sent his resume to new principal Ed Reitz. Reitz and Wallace informally conferred about staffing needs in both associations. Reitz formally asked Kersten to come to St. Louis for an interview. After Reitz and Holschen completed the interview, the Board quickly offered him a call. When the Kerstens arrived in mid-summer, Crisler, chair of the Math Department, gave him his classroom assignments. His initial responsibilities included Algebra I and Pre-Algebra. Within a few semesters, he taught Trigonometry, and later taught courses in Finite Math and Data Analysis. He also was able to teach Computer Programming—and had access to the Apple II computers. As arranged by Crisler almost a decade before, the Apple IIs were still connected by teletype to the SLUH headquarters. Karen first worked as a secretary at Valhalla Cemetery on St. Charles Rock Road. After son Mike was born in August 1981, she remained at home with the baby. During the 1982-1983 school year she taught part time at River Roads. The next year she became a part-time school secretary and served there until 2003, when she moved into that position at North. Meanwhile, John joined the football coaching staff and was part of the group that began to build Russell’s storied program. He also assisted Reitz and Mueller with basketball, particularly on the lower levels. He was the only one of the new arrivals to experience the winter “storm of the century.” The second arrival was new biology teacher Mike Grupe. A native of Beatrice, Nebraska, he met wife Debbie Seeber (S ’72) on the Concordia-Seward campus. As Grupe completed his five-year program to attain a comprehensive secondary biology teaching degree, Seeber completed her certification in secondary English. During the spring of 1976, as the two anticipated graduation, married life and the teaching ministry, Seeber met

with fellow Webster Gardens-Webster Groves parishioner Dr. Ben Eggers. At the time, Eggers headed Synod’s Board for Youth Ministry. He suggested the two prayerfully consider joining the Volunteer Youth Ministry (formerly known as Prince of Peace Volunteers) to teach conversational English to students in Tokyo. It would be a thirty-month commitment. Deb had always wanted to go to Japan. Her father, Col. William T. Seeber, a ’46 West Point graduate, had been stationed in Japan following World War II. He was part of the U. S. Army occupation force under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Wife Eunice (Prange, herself the daughter of missionaries) had borne Deb’s two older brothers during the stint in Japan. The newly-weds agreed to accept the position. After a summer mission training at St. Benedict Monastery in Madison, Wisconsin (with lay and ordained missionaries from the LCMS, ALC and LCA), they moved to Japan. Their first task was immersion in six months of Japanese study and instruction in teaching English as a second language. Following this training, they were assigned to teach at the Lutheran Language Institute at the Tokyo Lutheran Center. The Grupes taught classes after school hours—elementary ages in the afternoons, and older students in the evenings. Their students ranged in age between six and eighty-six. They also tutored individual students. Once each week Debbie taught a class at a local Buddhist women’s college. Once a month she instructed a group of tailors who were members of a local trade association. As the Grupe’s term of service ended, Mike placed his name on the call list and received a request for information from Orange Lutheran High School in La Verne, California. Meanwhile, in St. Louis, the Board issued a call to biology teacher Bill Rusch, who had been serving as a biology teacher at Lutheran West-Cleveland. When Rusch accepted the position to teach at South in 1979, the Lutheran High School Association in Cleveland called Grupe to teach at Lutheran West. The Cleveland Association still faced a difficult financial crisis. Wallace, who now served as principal at Lutheran East-Cleveland, had to trim staff and budget to maintain financial solvency. Lutheran West administrators took similar measures. In the spring of 1982, the acting principal at West asked to return to the classroom to teach Biology. Grupe, whose wife Deb was now expecting their second child, would need a teaching position! Wallace heard about Grupe’s situation and contacted his good friend at North, Reitz. Coincidentally that same week, Mark Meschke, a first year Biology teacher at North, had informed Reitz that he would be leaving North to teach at Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville, Illinois. Reitz brought Grupe to St. Louis for a visit and an interview and soon offered him a call. During the summer of 1982, the Grupes moved to St. Louis. That fall their second son, Daniel, was born. Deb’s grandfather, Rev. Rudolph Prange, himself a missionary to the Phillippines from 1948 to 1964, baptized Daniel at North in a special chapel service. During Mike’s first year at North he taught Biology and Anatomy. From then on, he taught Biology, Advanced Biology and Anatomy. For more than a decade he taught General Science/Physical Science and coached the JV girls’ basketball team and boys’ and girls’ tennis squads. In the early ‘90s, when his Masters program demanded more of his time, he gave up basketball, but he continued coaching boys’ tennis until 2005. A year after the Grupes arrived, Mike (S ’71) and Sandy Kratzer accepted a call to North. Both were ’75 Concordia-River Forest graduates. The newly married couple accepted their assignments to teach in the Detroit suburbs. Mike, who wanted to teach high school, taught fifth through eighth grade science for four years at St. Paul-Royal Oak. Early in 1979, the Kratzers placed their names on the call list. Mike received ten contacts from high school administrators interested in calling science teachers. With a shortage of math and science teachers who were interested in computer science, his interest in moving into secondary education generated a lot of attention. During the summer of 1979, the couple accepted calls to teach at St. John’s-Ocala, Florida, a K-12 ministry located between Gainesville and Orlando. Mike would teach high school, including classes in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Advanced Biology, and Computer Science. Sandy accepted a teaching position to teach in second, and later fourth, grades. One of the Kratzer’s teaching colleagues was June Blanco, whose husband was a vicar at St. John’s. Blanco had taught Chemistry at North while her husband attended the Sem. When the Blancos returned to St. Louis for the

final year at the Sem, June told Ed Reitz about Mike’s teaching interests. She believed that with Crisler’s passion for computer instruction and Mike’s enthusiasm for the subject, it would be a great match. During the Kratzer’s Christmas vacation in 1982, as the Kratzers returned to St. Louis to visit Mike’s parents, Reitz asked him to come in for an interview. That spring, the Board issued Mike a call. He and Sandy arrived in St. Louis in time for the beginning of the fall term in 1983. He would teach Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Biology, Principles of Chemistry and Computer Programming. Sandy accepted a call to teach third grade at Grace Chapel. During the next decade Crisler and Kratzer gradually expanded the computer offerings and updated the labs to include a new generation of Apples. As Velma Martin, the librarian, approached retirement, Crisler and Kratzer planned a redesign of the library and media programs. Kratzer took the appropriate course work to be certified in Library and Media Sciences. All that was needed was the financing. During the 1992-1993 school year, the Klingsick family bequeathed to North the funding necessary for the redesign of the program. The library was moved from the first floor to the old business/typing classrooms on the west end of the second floor. The generous contribution financed the creation of computer labs in two of the three classrooms. Most of the books were relocated to the remaining classroom. As part of the process, Kratzer learned the vagaries of electrical engineering. New wiring had to be installed to power the computer labs—and the accompanying air conditioning necessary to protect the sensitive equipment from St. Louis’ infamous humidity. Rich Langefeld was the fourth of the key Crusader teachers to arrive during this era. He was a native Nebraskan and ’74 graduate of Concordia-Seward. Langefeld received his first assignment to teach at Long Island Lutheran High School, where he taught Chemistry. Wife Dee, a fellow Bulldog, had been a DCE in Ohio and a teacher in Missouri. She taught in the preschool. The two lived in the “old house,” a mansion subdivided into apartments where most new teachers lived. With most unable to afford the high-priced real estate in the Long Island community, the newcomers “paid” their rent by completing work assignments. Rich serviced the lighting for the campus access roads, plowed and sanded the driveways during winter snows and maintained the pool. In 1979, he also began coaching football and wrestling. During summers he joined most of the staff in supervising the LuHi summer athletic programs. It was an incredibly popular series of camps that basically funded the high school—and provided the teachers with a way to make ends meet. For several years, Langefeld directed the maintenance staff at the summer camp. In one of his last years at LuHi, he coordinated the transportation office. Having served LuHi for eleven years, the Langefelds, along with three-year-old son Andrew, desired to move closer to family in the Midwest. After submitting his call documents to his District president, Rich received invitations to visit North and Lutheran High-Springfield, Illinois. At North he was interviewed by Reitz, Holschen and Bill Ahlbrand, a Board member. Reitz handed him the call papers on the spot. The next day he traveled to Springfield to be interviewed by Ralph Nitz, principal at Lutheran High. When he arrived, Nitz told him to simply enjoy himself and not be concerned about the interview. Nitz was certain Rich would accept the call to North. Nitz was right. When Langefeld arrived at North the fall of ‘85, he taught Chemistry, Science Seminar, Algebra and Use of the Computer. In the classroom, students used the computers as word processors, created data bases and formed spreadsheets. Dee taught at the Grace Chapel Preschool and subbed occasionally in the elementary school. After a year of adapting to his new course load, Langefeld accepted additional duties of coaching in football and baseball. In the fall of 1987, he and Kersten helmed the C football team and served as assistant varsity coaches. They also did the scouting reports for future opponents. Two of their freshmen players, Norman Harris and William Tolen, showed great promise. The next year they would, as sophomores, help the varsity squad start the unprecedented three-year run of consecutive State championships. As each of the faculty families arrived in the North community, they joined a variety of families that had younger children or were just starting families. Many of the families met as part of an informal “mom’s group.” Karen Kersten, Deb Grupe, Sandy Kratzer, Dee Langefeld, and Kathy Mueller, in particular, met at each other’s homes two or three times a month. Toddlers and children played and ran inside or at local parks, while the

mothers talked and relaxed. Faculty gatherings were often centered around pot lucks in the gym, adults and older children playing volleyball or shooting hoops while the younger children scurried around on the sidelines. The children grew up as friends and fellow students. Most attended Lutheran elementary schools and competed with or against each other. They sang in church and school choirs, joined Cub Scouts or Brownies and participated in North’s Science and Art fairs. Most annually also took part in the music festival, math contest or spelling bee, and, upon graduation from elementary school, helped host former classmates and even younger brothers and sisters as they visited North. Successes In and Out of the Classrooms In 1983, at Tirmenstein’s urging, Reitz encouraged the expansion of the daily academic schedule to include an elective “zero hour.” It started each morning at 7:45 a.m. and ended five minutes prior to first period. Because of scheduling issues, students had been forced out of band. With band meeting during zero hour, the change permitted many to remain in the ensemble. It also gave the music teachers more flexibility in getting out to teach in the grade schools. As the Missouri State Department of Education considered increasing graduation requirements, North’s faculty partially resolved the issue by adding additional advanced courses to the zero hour. Ironically that resulted in again requiring some upperclassmen to make the difficult choice between staying in band or taking other advanced courses. Even a handful of freshmen were involved in having to make choices between course work and athletic participation. Gym space had been in such demand that Kersten’s C team basketball squad practiced each morning between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Ironically, a couple of times the sudden onset of inclement weather forced cancellation of classes—while the team finished drills in the gym. Zero hour provided new opportunities for course work. Pete Richenburg opened the art rooms, students helping adapt the classrooms to more studio-like facilities to complete their independent studies. Holschen taught Calculus as the school administration expanded the offerings certified by St. Louis University’s 1818 program. Students could also more easily access the new campus computer center that Crisler opened in 1982. Fortunately for Tirmenstein, these new academic opportunities did not siphon many students away from his rapidly growing band program. The newly designated time for instrumental ensemble practice continued to work well. By 1985 the growth of the elementary band program provided many new trained instrumentalists for the high school program. This allowed for the high school Beginning Band class to be dissolved. Members of the new Intermediate Band soon practiced alongside the Advanced Band during zero hour. The zero hour band time also enticed twice as many girls to join Pom Pons. That squad no longer practiced after school but rehearsed at the same time as the band because of their many coordinated performances. Pom Pons now included twenty members because the performers no longer faced conflicts with other activities as they had when practicing after school. The complementary programs participated in several unique activities. The band and poms entourage traveled to Mizzou for a mass band performance. They also conducted joint half-time shows with counterparts at Principia and South. Poms, too, earned notoriety as they traveled annually to the Arch to participate in community events and performed in halftime shows of the soon-to-be-gone St. Louis Football Cardinals. Encouraged by the success and growth nurtured by the Fine Arts programs, the cheerleaders added new activities to their schedule. They held clinics at feeder schools and introduced prospective students to Crusader pep. Other traditional programs also flourished. Marting took the Sounds of Sixteen caroling at the airport and Westport. Concert Choir sang several Latin selections and a German cantata. It also took a trip to the Kansas City area to lead congregational worship at several churches and a chapel service at Lutheran High School-Kansas City. NHS members guided the frosh through orientation and their mixer; tutored students and acolyted for chapel; ushered at the academic fair and hosted visiting prospective students.

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Homecoming week still incorporated spirit days. Themes like Kiddy Day, Dress Up Day, New Wave Day (including safety pins in noses), ‘50s Day, Twin Day, Reverse Day, Backwards Day, and Fairy Tale Day always culminated with Maroon and Gold Spirit Day. With falling enrollment becoming more of a concern, Spirit Week soon included on the Friday prior to Homecoming an Eighth Grade Visitation Day. On that day, student organizations and faculty hosted prospective students with “dog and pony shows.” That evening, the pep rally ended with coronation ceremonies of the king and queen. The next morning, cheerleaders decorated the campus and the students prepared cars, pickups and flatbeds as floats. The half-time festivities included a band/pom marching performance and, on the cinder track, a parade of floats preceding the court. The dance followed the football game. This sequence followed uninterrupted through the era, including the soon-to-be added ceremonial Friday night post-coronation bonfire. During the 1982-1983 school year, two unique experiences nurtured the community of faith. The Physical Education Department, in conjunction with Student Council, hosted the first health fair. Nurses and physicians conducted hearing, vision, blood pressure and scoliosis screenings. Counselors distributed information about suicide prevention, exercise programs, CPR training and substance abuse issues. The other experience, though, reminded all about the reason for this Workshop in Christian Living. Mike and Deb Grupe requested the baptism of their newborn son, Dan, during a chapel service. Repp made the arrangements and invited Deb’s grandfather, Rev. Paul Prange, to conduct the service. In a small reception that followed, the family of God celebrated the entry of Dan into the Good Shepherd’s fold. The memory of this event comforted the Crusader family when high school student Robert Brettelle died suddenly the next spring. Athletically, basketball successes highlighted the ‘80s. Following the boys’ squad State banner season in ‘80, Mueller’s ‘83 squad went 21-5 and won the Rosary Tournament. His group also had started the ‘80s tradition of dominating the ABC League, garnering ten titles by the early ‘90s. In ‘85, Seniors Kevin Morganfield, Kevin Richardson and Ron Kirk led the tightly knit squad to a State runner up trophy. Prange’s softball charges won their first North Area Girls Conference (NAGC) title in 1981 and a second five years later. The first title appeared to jump-start the girls’ athletic successes, particularly in basketball, volleyball and track. During the ’82-’83 season, Coach Mac’s minions, led by Kaye Klotzer and Sarah Hohenstein, won a record fourteen straight, swept two tournament wins and lost to State finalist Visitation by only five as they completed their season. In the ’84-’85 campaign, Jennifer Cordes, Christa Allen and Tanye Pralle led the team to a first-ever NAGC basketball title. Klingsick’s volleyballers also prospered. During the ’83-‘84 season they went 12-4 and for the first time won the NAGC, losing in the District final to the eventual State champs. The next year Klingsick’s “super six” set a record for season totals, going 18-5-1 and finally winning the Troy Tourney. The spring of ‘85, Cordes, Allen and Pralle powered the Richenburg-led track squad to multiple invitational titles. Thrower Marion Daniel and sprinters/jumpers Connie Teaberry, Stacey Gatewood and Andrea Stuart swept to wins at the Lutheran North Relays, NAGC and Lutheran South invitationals. They also earned State berths in multiple events. Long and high jumper Teaberry, in particular, started a string of All-State performances that led the squads to exceptional State team finishes. Her performances also led to a stellar K-State career and a berth in the ’96 Olympic Games. The girls’ track team never lost an NAGC meet, sweeping every title between 1981 and 1987. Those squads also earned four District runner up plaques in the eight years between ‘83 and ‘90, and just missed State banners with a sixth-place finish in ’85 and a fifth in ‘86. As GAA ceased to operate, the school developed a separate tennis program and even welcomed female participants in winter weightlifting. During the transition to girls’ interscholastic athletics, some instructors were called to carry out extra duties. The busy Social Studies Department chair, Jeff Bullock, doubled as the girls’ athletic coordinator. Ever vigilant about the economic issues of the Reagan years, he attended volleyball and basketball games, sitting in the stands to supervise the fans, always with the Wall Street Journal in hand. Boys in track followed the girls’ successes as they, too, earned numerous accolades under the regime of the Marting/Klawiter/Tirmenstein triumverate. The squad, usually concluding its season during the halcyon days of Senior Assembly, baccalaureate and graduation, quietly developed a tradition of quality performances. After

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taking three ABC titles in the ‘70s, the team won five of seven between 1980 and 1986. Garnering its first District championship in 1975, the team swept a first or second place District plaque in four of five years. State finishes in ’81 (7th), ’82 (5th) and ’84 (7th) made the squad a local power. In 1988, in what ranks as one of the finest individual athletic efforts in Lutheran North history, senior Robert Ross won the triple jump, long jump, 100M and 200M to individually take fourth place. In the process he set two MSHSAA class records and then went on to Howard University. Coach Terrass once ruefully noted that if the 4 x 100M Relay team had made three clean exchanges to qualify for State, the track team might have won the school’s second State championship. Mac, too, had some success coaching the runners. Senior Tim Potter had been the first Crusader to qualify for the State Cross Country meet. When Terrass ended his coaching stint in soccer, he took over for Mac and guided Anthony Virdure to several State berths and the first All State CC honor for a North athlete. Sister Lia followed in his footsteps, earning her State medals as the decade ended. Administratively, Mr. “V” helped shift the JV soccer season into a split scheduling format. He noted prohibitive cold, snow and ice eliminated skill development and wreaked havoc when ADs attempted to reschedule cancelled games. The ABC League adapted. Outdoor season competitions preceded Christmas. Then the squads competed indoors before finally, several years later, shifting all competition to a fall season. The girls continued to excel. In ’85, Allen and Cordes led Klingsick’s squad to yet another stellar season, winning a conference crown and the Troy Invite. That winter Colette Neal, Sheryl Frazier, Becky Moog and Yogi Bess joined the duo to go 22-6 and, for the first time in school history, win their own Christmas tournament and advance to the Elite Eight. Coach Mac’s teams competed well in the new and powerful Metro Women’s Athletic Association (MWAA), culminating with the selection of Laura Schumacher to the All State squad in 1993.

Good Tidings at 5401

Two events punctuated the end of the first half of Reitz’s administration. The first was an exhilarating trip down memory lane. Marting’s The Wiz of Oz musical adaptation included interesting twists to the stage tale. First, Dorothy Gale traipsed through the enchanted forest with her three companions. But instead of recreating a forest on stage, Marting used a large television screen to show the four actors seeking Oz—but in nearby St. Vincent’s Park. As Dorothy threw the water that melted the wicked witch, stagehands turned the handle of a jack platform lowering her through the stage floor. After Dorothy and Toto returned to Kansas and the finale ended, Mickey Carroll, one of the original Munchkins who performed in the 1939 movie version, walked on stage. The St. Louis native, living in Crestwood, stayed long after the production to answer questions. One spectator called it the single most thrilling surprise in the history of Lutheran North. The second momentous event provided national recognition for North and the Association. Perhaps it was presaged by two earlier episodes. The first significant episode took place in 1981. Senior Gary May visited the White House as one of one hundred students in the country recognized by Reagan as a Presidential Scholar. The recognition was prescient. An outstanding student at North, May graduated from the Georgia Tech School of Engineering in 1985. After earning his doctorate he returned to his undergraduate alma mater where he was named Dean of the College of Engineering. In 2015, after “. . . mentoring . . . and broadening participation among underrepresented groups,” he was chosen by President Obama to receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. He was one of only fourteen to have received this honor. The second significant prelude to North’s national recognition took place in early 1983. The Reagan administration established a U. S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon committee to evaluate the state of education in the United States. Former North principal Rich Wallace agreed to serve on the committee and gather data for the study. His experiences at Lutheran Central, Maier Lutheran, Lutheran North and Lutheran East in Cleveland provided a broad template to evaluate effective educational initiatives. While he served at the four

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schools, all located in major urban areas, he helped design creative curricular programs to deal with unique challenges. Despite daunting obstacles, all four schools developed exceptionally successful academic reputations. North’s national recognition quickly followed. During the fall of 1983, the Reagan administration invited Reitz to Washington, D. C. On behalf of the school, he and Craven accepted an award from U. S. Department of Education Secretary T. H. Bell. Bell announced that North was one of only sixty exemplary schools in the country and noted its school culture established a blueprint to develop other successful institutions. The first point describing North’s exceptional performance recognized its practice of daily “systematic, planned worship that outlines interpersonal relationships in view of their relationship with Christ.” The second point of emphasis noted that students continued to be referred to as “letters of recommendation” in the context of God’s Law and Gospel where penitence, forgiveness and reinstatement were daily practices in the community. Thirdly, teachers maintained high expectations within the framework of a positive school climate, teaching students and not simply subjects. These dedicated servants viewed student “talents and abilities . . . as God-given gifts” enabling them to participate in the workshop in Christian living. Finally, the awarding committee noted the exceptional percentage of students who participated in extra-curricular activities. As a coda to this exceptional performance, four hundred students and thirty teachers staged a six-mile walk-athon. Raising pledges supporting tuition assistance (60%), individual high school organizations (30%) and innercity schools (10%), the Crusader community walked to River Roads Mall and back. Police controlled crossings and a driver staffed a sag wagon for the faint of heart. The successful event permitted students to contribute to the Association and its supporting congregations as it struggled with intimidating fiscal challenges. Reitz was not a principal who dictated marching orders from his office. Like his predecessor he promoted the ministry of presence, oftentimes reciting the mantra, “You can pretend to care, but you cannot pretend to be there.” His folksy demeanor in administrative circles earned him selection as president of ALSS. He also was selected as the first non-public principal in Missouri to serve on the Board of MSHSAA and was its chair for several years. Trustees at Valparaiso University recognized him for his educator service, noting he had been an outstanding coach, teacher and principal not just in St. Louis but also at his third called position at Maier Lutheran High School (LA). Active in the accreditation process, he guided North through yet another visit by the North Central Accreditation for Schools and assisted the Department of Defense in evaluating its programs in Germany. He also learned to work for compromise about Association issues, noting the two high schools had unique characteristics that differentiated their student bodies. He and South counterpart Eggerding encouraged collaboration between the faculties rather than dictation of a uniform curriculum. A variety of factors had adversely affected the North constituency more than the South community. The Synodical crisis, falling feeder school enrollment, the public school desegregation program, migration to St. Charles County and the local recession wreaked havoc with North’s enrollment projections and recruitment efforts. The St. Louis center of population was moving west and south. With fewer congregational and feeder school closures South appeared poised to grow even larger. The Board considered conducting a study to determine if a west county high school site should be considered. Fearful of appearing to follow perceived white flight, the Board, also facing a growing fiscal crisis, resolved to bolster its two campuses by developing new programs. Soon after, elements of the South constituency approached the Board requesting it add Advanced Placement (AP) classes to the curriculum. Teachers at both schools expressed concern about the new agenda. It included unique requirements that could jeopardize standing in the St. Louis University 1818 college credit program. At North, students who sought college-type course work in 1818 classes received multiple credit hours by graduation, and did so for a small cost. At their new institution they could apply those credits towards their major or, if the post-secondary school did not accept the credits in that category, towards their electives. The AP program, promoted by those who administered the SAT examination, appeared to be yet another way for students to begin their college education in their final year of high school. Designed by a coalition of high

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school administrators, teachers and college faculty, it determined credit value based on a summative test taken in early May. Graded on a five-point scale, its promoters strongly emphasized that most colleges and universities accepted only scores of four or five. Its critics noted that distant test graders and curriculum developers could not possibly understand the vagaries of local constituencies and multiple state public education requirements. Parents at South pointed out that west and south side school districts had added this course work option. Without direct supervision by a local university or college, course content was left largely to the discretion of the department and instructor. Discussions raised the issue that it was slightly easier to implement AP because unlike 1818 it did not require the teacher to have a master’s degree in a specialty area. Some noted that the very few who attempted dual enrollment at junior colleges or tech schools were hampered by the more rigid high school schedule. The students frequently had conflicts between a class at the high school meeting at the same time as the class in the outside program. So the AP and 1818 programs provided a viable in-house option for students desiring an early start on collegiate course work. Department chairs arranged curricular adaptations and the crisis passed. With student recruitment always at the center of discussions during this era of fiscal challenges, the principals encouraged implementation at the discretion of each department. Several of South’s departments agreed to fulfill the parental initiative. A few of North’s departments began implementation. Department chairs noted that in the future administrators would have to consider following the lead of a very few high schools across the country. They had changed the school calendars by rotating the academic year forward by three weeks. Those few schools adapted academic calendars that started in August, completed first semester finals before Christmas and ended second semester in mid-May. Because the early May AP testing dates had initially placed their students at a disadvantage, starting school in early August provided AP candidates three additional weeks of instruction prior to the exam. Lack of air conditioning and the traditional coordination of vacations with local feeders delayed the calendar changes at North and South, but the AP option gradually became part of the curriculum. Student recruitment, of growing concern at North, brought about a unique collaboration between the high school staff and Lutheran feeders. French instructor Shirley Hemminghouse, a former teacher at AtonementFlorissant, met weekly with the elementary students and taught the foreign language and culture to elementary school students. Marting and Tirmenstein had already established close contacts with the feeder schools, both teaching their specialties part time outside 5401. Chris Durst continued special education services and helped prospective incoming students and their parents prepare for the transition to high school expectations. Jeri Hennerfouth taught weekly home economic classes for girls bused in from Salem-Black Jack, Grace ChapelBellefontaine Neighbors and Atonement-Florissant. Gary Sheetz provided shop instruction for the boys who attended the same schools. Later, an art option would be added to the elementary curriculum. While the Math Department considered similar coordination, the necessity of daily contact and tighter schedules defused a few attempts. However, the experiences motivated new Registrar Paul Crisler to examine the economies of scale and facility use that might encourage the creation of a common Lutheran middle school at North. In Parentis Locis During the ‘80s the faculty and administration noted two disturbing trends. The groups realized they had to curtail specific problems before they became dangerous and divisive issues. The first was pranks. Seniors annually attempted to create unique ways to express class pride by doing something to the campus in order to “leave their mark.” Some were fairly inane, such as the mounting of wooden numerals over the entry doors, removing the bell covers so the clappers made no sound, swimming in the golf course pond or tee-peeing trees on the facility. Two incidents were comedic. During chapel, seniors released crickets onto the gym floor. Most of the insects scattered to the corners but one intrepid explorer bounded across the gym and landed at the feet of

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Kirk Mueller. He deftly squashed it with his shoe. The second humorous incident also took place during chapel. Two students, bags over heads and clad only in shorts, “streaked” the service and exited to the back parking lot and into an awaiting car. The culprits never announced their complicity. Another prank appeared fairly harmless as seniors released mice and gerbils under the bleachers. Two quickthinking instructors boxed the rodents before any damage could be done. As during the joint graduations with South at Kiel, succeeding classes attempted to out do previous demonstrations. A fire intended to scorch numerals into the east hillside along the football field almost burned out of control. During another pre-dawn morning a teacher almost collided with the school bus blocking the bottom of the entry bridge. It had been rolled across the bridge entrance and, with flattened tires, had to be towed before school could begin. From now on, security would be hired to guard the campus during the weeks leading to graduation. The custodial apartment occupant, typically a Sem student who worked with Keller, would also be placed on security alert. The second galling issue was senior graduation parties. Across the nation, MADD, SADD and TREND developed programs to foster student self-control and end teenage drinking. Many noted that graduation parties and unsupervised celebrations made that night the most perilous of a high school student’s life. To combat this issue parents and administrators met to resolve the problem. Besides starting a school SADD chapter, guidance counselors Prange and Ijei strongly encouraged the creation of a supervised class gathering for celebrating seniors. Held at a local recreation center or YMCA following graduation ceremonies, sponsors provided games, contests, activities and prizes as the graduates met as a class for the final time. By 1990, a new tradition had been created. Virtually every senior would, in future years, sign up to participate in his or her final class activity, Project Graduation. Like at South, Prange and Ijei organized a Peer Listener group, the predecessor of the Hi-Step program. Prange and Guidance Department colleagues trained high school students to address middle school students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The high school students promoted positive personal habits and encouraged participation in a variety of activities. On campus, peer listeners defused student conflict and encouraged troubled students to take more challenging personal issues to the guidance counselors. Finances, New Leadership and Success In spring 1982, Superintendent David Wiesner resigned to enter the colloquy program at the Sem. Before calling a replacement, the Board conducted a study of its governance procedures and long-range needs. During the interim, Eggerding and Reitz shared Association supervisory duties. In 1983, the Board called Vic Peper as the new superintendent. Hailing from the Chicago Lutheran High School Association, he had administered four high schools and developed plans to add two more in far Chicago suburbs. Upon Peper’s arrival, financial issues drove policy. The Board assisted him in implementing the new Faith for the Future capital fund drive. It attempted to raise $3 million for capital improvements at the two campuses. South, under the leadership of Eggerding, had an enrollment of almost eight hundred. It needed a multi-purpose room, new library and media center, counseling center and additional classrooms. Those opened in 1984, as did North’s new paved parking lots, lower level tennis courts and new conduits for the fledgling computer education program. The completion of the expansion programs encouraged Reitz and Eggerding to further enhance the physical profile of the two campuses. Both realized improved entrance and egress would not only improve traffic flow, but also resolve safety issues that arose during peak commuter hours in the mornings and afternoons. After a particularly severe accident on Lucas and Hunt at the front entrance to North, representatives of the St. Louis County Department of Transportation agreed to consider Reitz’ formal request to install a stoplight at the crest of the entry hill. It was installed in late 1987. That success encouraged Eggerding to continue his four-year pursuit to place a stoplight along Tesson Ferry at the northern entrance to the South campus. Because Tesson Ferry was State Highway 21, MoDOT engineers had to justify its placement so close to Gravois Road. Local state legislator

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Irene Trepler agreed to sponsor the proposal. MoDOT officials fulfilled the request—with one condition. South would have to pay for its installation. With the Association facing dire financial issues, Eggerding resolved the problem by encouraging faculty to take the initiative in completing the deal. Steinbrueck, future properties manager at South, organized a number of student car washes to pay for the installation of the stoplight in 1988. When the Faith for the Future campaign failed to reach its goal, Peper led the Board to seek new financial resources to support the ministry. Local challenges of population migration, still-present Synodical tensions, falling congregational membership and the rising costs of maintaining elementary schools curtailed support for the Association. Peper faced fiscal operating deficits. In 1985, Peper had created the Lange Society to develop long range financial planning and programs. Named after founding father Dr. Paul Lange, the administrators of fund raising and financial planning gathered contributions, bequests and trusts from Central, South and North alumni and friends. Unfortunately, the fledgling organization did not immediately raise enough funding to reverse the Association’s financial deficit. While the annual dinner auction supplemented budgetary income for daily classroom needs and some equipment replacement, Peper and the Board had to resolve the financial issues triggered by the campus expansions. They set a deadline of 1987. As the fortieth anniversary of the Association approached, Board members initiated a self-study to evaluate Association bylaws and representation. They also sought ways to more quickly resolve problems and maintain financial support for the ministry. During the self-study, Eggerding, principal at South since 1961, informed the Board of his intention to retire within the next three years. He encouraged the members to organize a search committee. It would take a dramatic turn of events to resolve the financial issues threatening to overwhelm the Association as well as find an exceptional slate of candidates to replace the ever-reliable Eggerding. During the five years prior to the Association’s fortieth anniversary, North’s constituency experienced a period of dynamic institutional growth. The members of the community had plenty to celebrate. Many commemorated its students’ exceptional academic successes, celebrated its selection as one of the nation’s model schools and validated major curriculum revisions. The school also weathered what had been a precipitously falling enrollment triggered by two decades of tempestuous local issues. North’s membership could, with great thanksgiving to the Lord, enthusiastically celebrate the fortieth anniversary commemorations that marked the founding of the Association. They followed that celebration with a three-week fete in September 1987. Student Council and Social Studies department chair Dave McCollister organized a variety of activities that led to the gala bicentennial of the signing of the United States Constitution. Each morning during the build-up to the final commemoration, students presented a “radio” broadcast over the intercom about the events surrounding the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Others decorated the entry hallway for Citizenship Day. Student Council representatives collected a quarter from students in order to purchase a Bicentennial Tree. On September 17, they would plant the tree on the far western end of the median in the south parking lot. Each contributor signed a commemorative copy of the Constitution maintained in Social Studies Department files. On that day, students dressed in red, white and blue colors. St. Louis County Juvenile Court Commissioner Judge Robert Branom, whose two children graduated from North, addressed the student body during an assembly. He talked briefly about the significance of the Constitution. He completed his address by describing the thoughts and actions of the Founding Fathers during the final moments prior to their signing the document. At 2:45 p.m., the students exited the building. They followed a Student Council representative who carried a flag to the location of the Bicentennial Tree Planting Ceremony. Many sat on the south hill to view the occasion. After Mr. Mac led the pledge of allegiance, Student Council President Eric Pfitzinger read the Preamble to the Constitution. After the tree planting, the students honored the moment with two hundred seconds of silence. During that time they heard the pealing of local church bells that commemorated the exact time the Founding Fathers affixed their signatures to the document. North’s student body built on these traditions of commemorative fetes and prayerful thanksgiving by also participating in and celebrating successes in athletics. During the ’86-’87 school year, Coach V notched his one hundredth soccer victory. Mueller joined him in that select circle during the basketball season. The soccer squad

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won the Forest Park tourney and finished 16-8-2, setting an all-time win mark. It would take another four years, but the team finally eased past rival Lutheran South and again won the All Lutheran soccer tourney. In 1993, under coaches Brian Kelleher (DCE at Chapel of the Cross) and Kurt Bergdolt, the squad won its first District championship. Mueller’s charges, led by Derrick Harris, Roland Sangster and Linzy Collins, went 21-8, won their ninth ABC title in ten years and lost a close one to Fulton in the Quarterfinals. Connie Teaberry set the girls’ rebounding mark by gathering in twenty-three caroms—and tied or broke it twice the next year. Band participated in a performance at the Mizzou-Indiana football game. Pom sponsor Charlotte Ijei led the revived drill team program again to performances at Mizzou and at Busch (in the final season for the Football Cardinals) and the group earned third place at the Matthews Dickey regional competition. As the business instructor prepared for more counseling duties, she added a flag detail. Tirmenstein supplemented the percussion section with a tri-drum bongo set geared for those field performances. Russell’s baseball squad earned team of the week honors in the North County Journal. Grupe and Repp’s tennis squads, led by Carla Eckert, won a few matches. Associate Athletic Director Elaine Hunt, who had led an examination of the state of local girls athletics and encouraged North and South administrations to join MWAA, reported that the transition bolstered Crusader participation. In 1989 Jennifer Wehmeyer led the volleyball squad to its first MWAA title with an 8-0 record. A year later Jolie Holschen and Connie Eckert led the squad to a repeat performance. Terrass, with Virdure in the lead, piloted the boys’ CC squad to the school’s first State berth. Boys basketball participated in the 7-Up and then Coca Cola Shootouts. But the big story was out on the football field. The 1988 squad had only a few returnees from the ’87 edition. Captains Danny Eberle (QB) and Derrick Crouch (RB) led the squad through the early season. Russell and varsity assistant coaches Langefeld and Holschen noted the squad actually struggled early in the season but managed to rally for wins. By mid-season the passing game had opened up. The team captured its fifth ABC title of the decade and rolled through the playoffs. In the State championship game, an Eberle pass to Michael Martin put the Crusaders up a touchdown against Chillicothe. When Steve Youngblood blocked a punt and ran it in for another score, the rout was on. The Crusaders preserved the 36-0 shutout stopping the Hornets in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. Eberle, honored as a PostDispatch Top Ten Scholar Athlete and Suburban Journal Male Athlete of the Year, joined Derrick Crouch, Robin Thompson, Sean Huggans and Martin on the All State team. The following year the team replaced its skill people and resumed its winning ways. Winning a second ABC crown in two years appeared to be a steppingstone to yet another State title. A loss to Duchesne in District play almost derailed the Crusaders but Russell’s charges qualified for the playoffs based on the unique MSHSAA point system implemented at the time. After defeating Salem, Fulton and boot heel power Charleston, the team traveled to Springfield for the championship game. With only 1:30 left in the game, Branson led 26-14. Chuck Calhoun completed four consecutive passes, the last to Martin who scored. An onside kick recovery gave the Crusaders the ball at midfield with only seconds remaining. Co-captain Sean Morris got the ball on a draw play and scored from forty-six yards out. In the bedlam that followed, three busloads of fans and the band left the facility for a quick fast-food stop. Euphoric spectators piled into buses without regard to seating lists or equipment manifests. One band student, celebrating with others who had driven to the game, was left behind. The 1990 season would be an overwhelming challenge for North to “threepeat.” No St. Louis team had ever won three consecutive football championships. Russell, Holschen and Langefeld were pleasantly surprised when after a loss to east side power Belleville Althoff “. . . everything fell into place.” Winning an unprecedented third consecutive ABC title, William Tolen and Jerry Terry led the defensive-minded squad into the ’90 playoffs. Limiting opponents to only twenty points in the four games, buttressed by Ryan Smith’s record field goal totals, the team earned the state’s first “threepeat.” Tolen rushed for more than two hundred yards in the 27-13 win over Oak Grove. Terry (for the second time), Norman Harris and Frank Knox joined ’89 honorees Martin, Calhoun and Kevin Fauntleroy on All State squads. The Missouri Athletic Club named Russell High School Football Coach of the Year, and he would be selected as Missouri and Regional nominee for the high school federation’s National Coach of the Year (COY) honors. Russell, who had taken over as AD, had come a long way since he started coaching in the late ‘70s. During those first years he had to drive his car onto the field the night before games. It

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was the only way he could light the area as the clock ticked midnight, the yard markers and goal lines still needing to be painted. Instead of playing at home before empty bleachers, multiple buses now brought hundreds of spectators hundreds of miles to cheer the Crusaders. And now volunteers like Bill Scheller and Trevor Thornton helped out with the “little things” so the program could thrive. Students found other venues of expression besides the athletic field. A tradition of hosting foreign exchange students brought many new faces into the North community. During the ‘90-‘92 school years, students hosted first a Japanese exchange student and then two French exchange students. Two dual citizenship students, Leila To’mey and Rachel White, also attended school with the intention of earning a North diploma. The foreign exchange and travel programs were not all one way into North. Twenty-five students participated in several evening sessions as they prepared for the Foreign Language Department European trip. Chris Koenig played goalie for a squad involved in European competition. Richenburg spent a year in Australia as part of a teacher exchange, Aussie David Cross taking his place in the art room. A year later two Spanish exchange students joined the Crusader family. Kimora Perkins, while working for a modeling agency, spent several stints in Europe before returning to the classroom to make up missed assignments. The staff’s willingness to work with her enabled her to graduate on time. Later she would start the Baby Phat fashion line and, for a time, generously contributed to the student financial aid fund. During the ’92 Prom at the Missouri Athletic Club, Perkins arrived from a Paris modeling assignment in the latest haute couture. Shirley Rauh, longtime South faculty member of the joint Prom Planning Committee, recalled the striking sleeveless yellow dress Perkins wore to the event. The floor length gown included a fitted waist. To better educate this diverse cosmopolitan North community about black history and culture, Ijei founded the Organization for the Appreciation of African-American Culture (OAAAC). The first president, Demond Ross, encouraged the large membership to create a series of participatory community events on campus. The members hosted buffet meals of varied cultural cuisine; created a Gospel choir that occasionally sang in chapel; adopted a family at Christmas; hosted discussions about black history; and, during Black History Month, organized evening speaker forums, dance performances and historical presentations. The traditional morning chapel-time assemblies continued, usually incorporating abbreviated evening festival activities. Those activities galvanized the Student Council to action. Advised by Mueller and Al Smith, the leadership renewed recycling programs for aluminum and paper. Social studies teacher Smith piloted his classroom to several victories in canned food and yellow page collection competitions. Collections benefitted the United Way and PACKT (a Kinloch shelter). The renewed “mitten and sock” tree collection at Christmas provided necessary winter clothing for children in the feeder schools. Traditional homecoming festivities included a foreign dress up day. NHS members followed the lead of the OAAAC and Student Council. They volunteered at a local community shelter, helped at a daycare center, hosted a hygiene products drive for the homeless and reinstituted the health fair. Perhaps all of these activities had been motivated by a new emphasis on service learning. With the arrival of Channel ONE newscasts every afternoon before the last period, students paid more attention to the needs of the community around them. As Reitz and Mr. V contemplated retirement, Repp and the staff determined that someone should be placed in charge of coordinating volunteer opportunities. The administrative group charged new freshman religion teacher Andrea Vahrenhorst with organizing Saved to Serve.

The End—and the Beginning

The Association Board had to get its financial house in order. Fortunately, the proceeds of the sale of Lutheran Hospital had been used to create the Lutheran Charities Foundation (LCF). In 1987, LCF trustees agreed to provide

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a matching grant of $3.3 million to the Association. It would retire the burdensome $1.3 million debt accrued during the past decade. A five-year funding drive would complete the goal. With this heavy responsibility removed from immediate concern, Association membership could examine the recommendations produced by the governance self-study. Two hundred years after the Founding Fathers submitted the U. S. Constitution to the people for ratification, the Association delegates approved a new constitution. The organization responsible for the two high schools would now be known as the Lutheran High School Association of St. Louis (LHSA). Congregations selected only two delegates to represent them at now only fall and spring association meetings. Peper resigned in April 1988. His assistant, Darrell Wallis, served as acting superintendent and then was named Executive Director in 1990. During that period David Waterman, former principal of Minneapolis Lutheran High School, replaced the retiring Eggerding at South. Reitz, retiring as principal in 1993, accepted a call to serve as Association Director of Development. The Board called Crisler as principal at North. Crisler immediately gave North a long-desired facelift. He paid teachers to repaint the classrooms and hallways, replace recessed hall lights with circular florescents and redecorate the cafeteria with a new logo image. Math instructor Mike Kratzer replaced Crisler in technology development. Following the generous donation by the Klingsick family, he spearheaded the transformation of the old typing classrooms into a media center. Mueller continued as Dean of Students, Repp as Dean of Chapel and veteran business instructor Matt Heibel as Registrar. Russell and Hunt divided Mr. V’s duties as he retired. The Lord continued to shower blessings on the Association. Long time North first generation educators like Velma Martin, John Hoyer and Mr. V retired. They were replaced by a new generation of teachers who would continue building the North mission based on their predecessors’ service and ministry. While the trying times that had plagued the St. Louis region in general and North in particular had not been completely resolved, the North community responded to a slogan posted on the podium of history teacher Dave McCollister. It read: “Meet the challenge.” So empowered, North’s community of believers surmounted the grave challenges of the ‘80s. Daily they shared, with great joy, the good tidings of the Gospel. As the end of the millennium approached, they were uniquely positioned to boldly reach out to all people.

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Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 4: Great Joy During Trying Times: Lutheran North, 1981-1993 Malaise to Motion During the ‘80s The first section is a summary of Fields, pp. 125-128 and 167-169. Hope for Reconciliation in the LCMS Fields, pp. 136-137 describe the ’81 Synodical Convention; pp. 191-193 the Wichita Convention. Bohlmann had some familiarity with the LAHE, having spent a number of years in the St. Louis area. A 1951 graduate of the Seminary, he utilized a Fulbright scholarship to study in Germany. Upon return to the United States, he served an Iowa congregation for two years. In 1960, Bohlmann accepted a call to serve on the Seminary faculty as a professor of systematic theology and also began work on his Ph. D. program at Yale. From 1961-1971, Bohlmann served as a part-time assistant pastor at Grace-Pagedale. He also served on the CTCR from 1965-1981. Bohlmann remained on the Sem faculty after the February 1974 “walkout” and became Sem president. In 1977, he developed the World Mission Intiative (WMI). Two years later, in an attempt to nurture Hispanic ministry and Hispanic missionaries, the WMI fostered the creation of the Seminary Center for Hispanic Studies. For more, see “Former LCMS, seminary President Ralph Bohlmann dies,” LCMS Office of the President via lcms.netcommunity1.com at https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#inbox/15627cbdff6bbb75 accessed 7/26/16. After Bohlmann was elected Synodical president in 1981, he and his administration supervised the construction of the new International Center located on South Kirkwood Road. It would be the first separate site for Synodical offices. For the Synod’s first one hundred years, the headquarters had officially been in the city of the Synodical president. Synodical business offices were located at Concordia Publishing House. In 1951, Synod moved President John W. Behnken’s headquarters to 210 N. Broadway, where it remained until 1973. In 1973, President J. A. O. Preus moved the administrative offices to 500 N. Broadway. In 1978, a large monetary gift made possible the consideration of constructing a new Synod-owned facility. The next year, Synod purchased 9.5 acres from the Roman Catholic Society of Mary, the organization that owned the site that included St. John Vianney High School. The transaction had been made with only two stipulations: a right-of-way would be retained for the high school students to enter the educational facility, and no congregation would be formed on the site. The City of Kirkwood required a third: all trees at the site had to be preserved or replaced with similar growth. As groundbreaking ceremonies took place in April 1981, workers had already begun to preserve some of the larger trees by carefully wrapping the exposed root systems. In May 1983, Synod’s administrative heads celebrated the dedication of the IC east and south wings. The north wing was added in August 1988. A decade later, to add needed office space, LCEF purchased the Sunset building located just south of the adjacent I-44. For a more extensive description of the new facility, see file:///Users/teacher/Downloads/A_Tour_of_the_LCMS_International_Center%20(1).pdf accessed on 7/22/16. A Crisis for St. Louis Townsend, “Stadium,” SLPD, 12/28/2014 describes the downtown building boom, while 250, p. 132 reveals the downside. Hammerstrom, “Scullin Steel,” Gateway-Heritage, Fall 1999: 83; 250, p. 142 and O’Neil, “Factories,” SLPD 1/11/15, all outline in varying degrees the St. Louis-area business collapse. 250, pp. 137-139, describes de facto segregation. Fragmented, pp. 85-87, verifies Bill McClellan’s, “As a city,” SLPD, 1/25/15, n. p., description of the abandoned city center. Sorkin, “Baudendistel,” SLPD, 1/15/2015, n. p., summarizes the origins

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of the rebirth while 250, p. 139, enlarges the scope of the St. Louis renaissance. O’Neil, “Desegregation,” SLPD, 1/4/15, n. p., outlines the Minnie Liddell case. 250, p. 136, provides more insight to the regional issues. Finally, Holleman, “Hate Group,” SLPD, 6/23/15, p. A5 describes the continued opposition of hate groups against the desegregation settlement. 270/367 Study provides a general analysis of the local retail and housing markets. The Reitz Era at North The California connection is described by Tirmenstein. Prange provided information about Ijei’s changing duties. Craven summarized North’s development of the Special Education and LASE programs. One of Tirmenstein’s most creative Crusader editors was Chris Lewis (N, ’83). He was responsible for taking, selecting and then cropping the photos for several of the yearbooks. Today he continues to work in customer services at Handyman Hardware on North Lindbergh. John Kersten and O’Neil, “Blizzard of ’82,” SLPD, n. d., n. p., provide the details of the city’s shutdown. The Kersten material is from an interview on 3/17/16. For more about their son Mike, see Chapter 10. Little did the Grupes know at the time, but they had been part of a focused effort by the LCMS Board for Youth Ministries to help restore the credible reputation of the former Prince of Peace Volunteers. Many of the volunteers serving in Japan had been actively protesting the Vietnam Conflict, to the chagrin of both their hosts and LCMS officials. Mike and Deb Grupe were some of the first recruits for the Volunteer Youth Ministry. The Grupe family and professional relationships also played indirectly in creating a unique Association-Music Department affiliation. Long-ago Lutheran High instructor Jonathan Messerli (see Chapter 1) helped found the Lutheran Summer Music Academy (LSM) in 1981. Each summer the organization moved to summer quarters at Lutheran collegiate campuses that included Valparaiso University, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Olaf College and Luther College. Headquartered in Minneapolis, its administrators recruited experienced faculty in instrumental and vocal music. They would instruct high school students who applied for the opportunity to participate in the four-week session. Col. William Seeber, who also served as budget director on the staff of the LCMS Mission Board and later as one of several Directors of Development for Valpo, served as a board member of LSM. He encouraged North and South music instructors to recruit students for LSM. Grandchildren Phil (N ’03) and Becca (N ’06), Mike and Deb’s children, attended LSM. Patrons like the Walt Duda family of Slavia, Florida, long-time supporters of Lutheran education in the Orlando area, supported student recruitment for LSM by providing scholarship money for the organization. One of those beneficiaries was Becca’s classmate, Andrew Prahlow (N ’06). Those experiences encouraged him to later earn an undergraduate degree in musical composition at Luther College, and then earn a graduate certificate in musical composition for movies and commercials from the University of Southern California. The outline for this material was compiled from an interview of Debbie (Seeber) and Mike Grupe on 3/4/16. For more about their children, see Chapters 6 and 8. In an article on p. 3 of the Fall 2004 The Herald, Dr. Barry Bobb of Lutheran South is also noted as a member of the Board of Directors for LSM. Pictured in the feature are LSM attendees: Grupe and Prahlow, Josh Rusnak (N ’05), Jasmine Pampkin (N ’06), John (S ’04) and Heather (S ’00) Groerich, Megan Glass (S ’06) and Mary Ann Lucas (S ’05). The material about the Kratzers is from an interview on 3/19/16. For more about the computer program, see Chapter 6. For more about their daughter, Jody, see Chapter 8. The Langefelds provided information in an interview on 3/19/16. For more about sons Andrew and David, see Chapters 6 and 8.

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Successes In and Out of the Classrooms Tirmenstein outlined the zero hour issues. McCollister described Bullock’s ritual and, along with Russell, confirmed the material about athletics. Good Tidings at 5401 McCollister and Tirmenstein both reminisced about The Wiz of Oz. Dr. Brett Taylor (N’84), the Cowardly Lion in the play, had a distinguished high school career at North. Besides participating in the musicals, he played football and track and field. After graduating from Yale University in 1988, he attended Harvard University Medical School, where he received his medical degree in 1992. He achieved the rank of Major in the U. S. Air Force Medical Corps and currently is noted as one of the top orthopedic surgeons in private practice. Another exceptional medical professional was Dr. Richard Knight, N ’86. He attended Mizzou and became a pediatrician. He married classmate Christine Buescher and the two sent children Addie and Grayson to North. He has also served Grace Chapel in a variety of leadership capacities. The 1985 Crusader Supplement covered in great detail North’s designation as an exemplary school. The information about Gary May, whose selection as a Presidential Scholar triggered the recognition of North’s academic excellence, can be accessed at a variety of Georgia Tech COE websites, particularly http://www.ae.gatech.edu/node/1697, accessed 7/28/15. It is only one of many awards he has received for his leadership in engineering education and family life. The 1818/ACC and AP comparison debate was discussed at Orlando Luther by Jim Prahlow and Acting Principal Ann Daunic during 1986. Don Prahlow provided observations about Association approaches to the issue. In Claudia Wallis and Carolina Miranda’s “How Smart is AP (Time, 11/8/2004, pp. 54-56),” the authors carefully summarized a decade-long study that evaluated both the advantages of AP and the reservations educators have raised about the burgeoning program. Its conclusions helped commit Dave McCollister to a priority of fulfilling the requirements for the 1818/ACC U. S. History courses sponsored by SLU. He then formatted the AP protocols into that framework. During the period between 2012 and 2015 the comparison of the 1818/ACC and AP formats continued to trigger discussions. In spring 2015, North’s Social Studies faculty began to evaluate the revised AP materials within the context of keeping 1818/ACC—and maintained a watchful waiting period as South’s faculty adapted their AP programming to the new, recently revised protocols released in early 2015. Michelle Malkin, in “The Drive to Take America out of U. S. History,” New York Post, 6/3/15 (retrieved on 6/5/15 at http://nypost.com/2015/06/03/the-drive-to-take-america-out-of-us-history/) critiqued the new AP (APUSH Exam) guidelines. Her commentary reported about the critics’ rationale that effectively forced the reworking of curricular changes. Those took place the summer and early fall of 2015 before the modified material was released. For additional comparisons of the programs, one may peruse the Student Information Sheet, Fall Semester (unpublished, from SLU 1818 Advanced College Credit Program, varying years, the latest 2015), which systematically compares the two programs. In Parentis Locis Tirmenstein, Crisler and Repp described most of the pranks and senior activities. Prange outlined the origins of Peer Listeners. A few pranks and issues were similar to those in Chapter 2 and confirmed by various class reunion pamphlets and booklets. Finances, New Leadership and Success The service program, “Service of Installation of Mr. Victor C. Peper, November 20, 1983,” provided details about Peper. Rohde, pp. 5-7, summarized Faith for the Future, Lange Society origins and deficit issues.

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Steinbrueck and LaBore provided the details about the installation of the two traffic lights on Lucas and Hunt Road and Tesson Ferry Road. Crisler, and the pamphlet at Reitz’ Lutheran North memorial service, “Celebration of Life for Edward William Reitz,” November 2014, provided the capsules for Reitz’ service record. He and wife Barbara’s three daughters, Shauna Loizzi (N ’84), Sharon (N ’86) and D’Linda (N ’88), all attended North. Further information about Reitz can be found in The Herald, Winter 2015, p. 7. The description of the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Constitution is from the Social Studies Department binder that includes a Courier summary of the events by Lisa Busekist. The document also includes a note from McCollister to yearbook editors and pictures of the displays and activities that led to Citizenship Day. Student signatures on the faux Constitution are in the binder. For more about Branom and his participation in Association activities, please see Chapter 7, below. The athletic successes are summarized in Fiftieth. The End—and the Beginning This material is a summary of Rohde, pp. 6-8 There are numerous graduates from this era who made their exceptional marks in a variety of professions. Harvey Cloyd, Jr., an ’82 graduate, lives in the LA area and supervises his stock investment corporation, Electronic Transaction Clearing. He has almost one hundred employees at offices in Los Angeles and Montreal. His sister Lisa (N ’86) operates a childcare facility in St. Louis. Their father, Harvey Cloyd, Sr., is a football, basketball and track official who provided assistance at North’s District meets from 2013 to 2016. Kurt Mirth (N ’86) accepted a position as assistant custodian/groundskeeper at Lutheran North in 2015, to work with custodial head Jim Borgmann (N ’86). Borgmann had worked as an assistant at North to Bob Martin, a former Lancer, until Martin left in 2015. Borgmann married classmate Sheryl Frazier, and in 2016 their oldest child, Faith, entered North as a freshman. Marcus Huggans (N ’91) currently serves as the head of External Relations, The National Graduate Education for Minorities. The program coordinates the efforts of corporations, government laboratories, universities and research institutions to encourage and support the graduate studies for minority students who may not have the opportunity to pursue higher education. Huggans currently focuses on recruiting students for STEM education, particularly in engineering and applied science. Those are his two fields of expertise. He earned his Ph. D. in engineering management at UMR (Penny Smith, The St. Louis American, 7/22/15, n. p.). Two other North graduates made their own unique marks in specialty medical areas. Jolie Holschen (N ’91) served as a physician for the U. S. Olympic athletes and the Women’s Ice Hockey team at the 2010 Vancouver Games. To attain the position, Holschen completed a number of field experiences. She had already carried out a variety of medical duties in collegiate sports, minor league baseball, the Detroit Super Bowl, Chicago Marathon, Ford Ironman Championship in Hawaii and the Under 18 Men’s IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Holschen completed the key component of her pre-Olympic preparation while serving a two-week internship in the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 10) Dr. Timothy Ray (N ’72) led a team of chiropractors who specialized in treating sports injuries at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, in October 2011. Ray served as the chair of the International Games Commission for the International Federation of Sports Chiropractics based in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee (The Herald, Fall 2011, p. 8). Another graduate from this era was Kimora Lee (Perkins N ‘93) Simmons. After taking modeling classes as a child, she was discovered by Marie Christine Kollock at a Model Search in Kansas City and sent to Paris. She attended North, teachers and staff, particularly Shirley Hemminghouse, coordinating her make-up work.

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Simmons modeled for Chanel and after graduation continued to work in the industry. In 1998, she married Russell Simmons, the developer of the Baby Phat clothing line. After he stepped down as CEO, she took over and later added a high-end sportswear line, KLS. She has also been the subject of a reality TV series on Style Network. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimora_Lee_Simmons accessed 11/17/15. Jason Greer (N ’92) received his undergraduate degree in Social Work and Social Psychology from Valparaiso University. He earned his MSW from Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work. He has served as a labor relations expert for FOX, NBC, CBS and The Wall Street Journal during the NFL referees strike. More recently, Greer served as a diversity management expert for FOX and ABC affiliates regarding the Ferguson verdict and the impact it had on race relations throughout the country (The Herald, Winter 2015, p. 7). Connie (Eckert) Jander (N ’92), one of the volleyball athletes (she also played softball and was a cheerleader), is a nineteen-year PE teacher in the Ladue School District. She was Missouri PE Teacher of the Year in 2006 and one of five finalists for National PE Teacher of the Year in 2007. Having graduated from SMS with a double major, she was also a certified athletic trainer at Ladue High School. In a couple of unique situations, she helped as a trainer at North in the late ‘90s. Older sister Carla (Eckert) Krazl (N ’89), who played basketball, tennis and softball at North, is a graphic artist. She served for a time as AD at Immanuel-Olivette where her daughters are participants. Connie and Carla are children of Ken and Rita Eckert. Ken served for forty years as a teacher and coach at Immanuel-Olivette, while Rita serves as a part-time secretary in the North office. (Material confirmed by Rita and Ken Eckert, 7/26/16.)

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Chapter 5: Great Joy During Trying Times: Lutheran South, 1984-1993

St. Louis Renaissance

As the South community celebrated and adapted to the new expanded campus, the formerly moribund St. Louis urban center underwent a renaissance. Developers reinvested and rehabbed the Fox in 1981. They triggered an interest in refurbishing the St. Louis Theater as St. Louis Symphony’s own Powell Hall. New restaurants and nightspots drew many to the Grand Center entertainment district. Spurred by tax incentives, rehabbers brought back to life the Lafayette Square and Soulard neighborhoods. Those successes brought investment in other abandoned or underused south side facilities. After the Blues almost moved to Saskatoon, a new hockey ownership group repaired the antiquated Arena. A coalition of political leaders led by Mayor Vincent Shoemehl encouraged continued change by funding Operation Brightside. Union Station reopened as an entertainment center, hotel and mall. Elmer Pundmann’s Lancer band was there to help dedicate the new facility. The downtown St. Louis Centre provided a suburban mall experience for city residents. As retail sales in the new facility exceeded expectations, construction commenced to expand America’s Center convention complex. Its design included a new domed stadium. Laclede’s Landing provided post-game and convention attendees with late night entertainment options. The St. Louis Science Center moved from its cramped Clayton quarters and reopened in the Planetarium. The Missouri Botanical Garden received a much-needed facelift. The old Admiral was transformed into The President Casino. Immigration during the ‘70s spurred further development in the South Grand business district. Large numbers of Vietnamese immigrants created a Little Asia of restaurants and boutiques that lay between Tower Grove Park and the Carpenter Library. In the early ‘90s, Bosnians began settling in large numbers in the Bevo Mill neighborhood. Residents of the burgeoning bedroom and truck farm communities in St. Clair and Monroe counties in Illinois and Jefferson County in Missouri needed better access to South County business hubs. They got it. A joint IllinoisMissouri effort completed a new Jefferson Barracks Bridge. Another MoDOT project widened I-55. South County Congressional Representative Dick Gephardt, noting the migration of many to “Jeffco,” started a lengthy campaign to modernize what was known as Bloody 21. Lancer Renewal and New Leadership The long-awaited completion of the campus construction and growing enrollment triggered a renaissance at South. It provided the impetus to reinvigorate the Fine Arts Department. Pundmann’s efforts with the band program included a new summer clinic and renewed efforts to contact local feeder schools. In only two years band enrollment improved from thirty participants to more than seventy. Wahlers restructured the vocal music program. He reinstituted the choir tour. In one of the first trips, the group performed at a variety of Chicago-land congregations and schools. The notable performances prepared several singers for State competition. Tim Gutknecht and Mike Paul earned selection to the State Choir. Shirley Rauh, wife of ’69 South graduate Steve, joined the staff of the Practical Arts Department. She, Pundmann and Wahlers collaborated with Reiss when he revived dinner theater productions. The revival had been triggered by the completion of the new multi-purpose room in late 1985. The Drama Department would now have enough storage and rehearsal space to sustain a regular schedule. Several of the drama productions

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included A Thurber Carnival (January ’85, starring future Lancer teacher Scott DeNoyer), Our Town and Winnie the Pooh. The performances were held in the more intimate setting of the choir room. In 1986, the collaborators directed and produced The Doctor in Spite of Himself. Rauh’s Foods II students prepared the meal. The profitable partnership continued with Rehearsal for Murder. The musicals continued each spring, participation scaled back in a new format. Professional musicians accompanied the cast, and the reconfiguration of the Music Department ended mass participation by the glee clubs. South Pacific and Bye, Bye Birdie earned the most student accolades. Rauh’s support of other organizations extended outside the dramatic arts. She provided banquet-type evening meals for the dinners sponsored by the teachers in the Foreign Language Department. Classroom instructors taught students in French, Spanish and German classes about the contemporary culture and cuisine of their respective countries. Then, each group participated in a unique country-themed repast. Rauh also joined the North/South Prom Committee. A longtime faculty duty, it was comprised of designated instructors from both schools, ex officio administrators and students. The organization coordinated the fund raising, site selection, theme, menu, party favors and music. The latter topic was always a challenging issue. Many attendees, who represented a cross-section of the St. Louis metro area, expressed strong opinions about the types of music that they believed should be the focus of the evening. During the first years of the prom, rarely were all content with the selection of the band. However, by the late ‘80s, disc jockeys could meet most requests submitted by the planning committee. Participants could then more happily dance the night away. For many, the weekend continued into Monday, designated as Senior Skip Day. First enacted in the mid-‘70s, it enabled the seniors to meet in an unofficial class picnic at a local park. On that special Monday, underclassmen often experienced an elevation of status as a type of rehearsal for the next school year. Juniors took the roles of seniors, sophomores became juniors and freshmen became sophomores. Two decades later, as more and more juniors began to miss classes on Senior Skip Day, administrators considered a variety of solutions. The most successful implementation first took place at North. Juniors, bused en masse to a leadership day retreat staffed by counselors and instructors, prepared for their roles as seniors. Rauh and, until 1986, Kershner, became Student Council sponsors. The two fostered a long-range goal of creating a series of annual school and organizational events. First, they encouraged the members to create nurturing activities that helped freshmen adapt to their high school experience. Members specifically hosted freshmen in orientation, mixer and kickoff events. They also incorporated outreach activities for prospective students. These socials included eighth grade visitation, a junior high leadership workshop and, occasionally, a junior high dance. When Kershner stepped down from his Student Council duties, first Brian Lind, then Adam Connors and, later, Zach Klug, assisted Rauh in developing a comprehensive year-round program. Student Council began each school year with an August retreat. Besides hosting freshmen orientation activities, fall projects included a spirit week that led to a homecoming dance; a blood drive; leadership for a chapel service; collection of chapel offerings; and invaluable service at the Association Auction. Besides a variety of one-time fundraisers that included car washes and “Valentine-grams,” Student Council’s marketing of spirit wear raised funds for its many projects and donations. During the winter the active group developed traditional dances that incorporated unique themes like Christmas, Share the Warmth, Backwards, and Data Match. School exchanges, blood drives, a second spirit week (prior to the Sem games) and varied activities like volleyball marathons and “beach parties” peppered the early spring calendar. Finally, the organization ended the school year with teacher and student recognition days and a culminating Leadership Banquet. As the Student Council maintained this aggressive programming, its leaders participated in a variety of local, regional and national conferences. The representatives from South frequently held offices, led workshops, won scholarships and served as counselors at those gatherings. By the end of Rauh’s tenure, the principles of leadership inculcated by these activities became part of the curriculum. (See Chapter 9, below.) The renaissance continued on the athletic field. Schranz’ ’84 soccer edition earned an ABC League runner up and tourney championship. The following year his crew did the unthinkable. It advanced into the State playoffs.

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After the banner regular season ended at 17-6, the Lancers defeated Bayless 3-2 for the District championship. In the Quarters, Schranz’ squad upset favored Affton by the same score. His charges romped, 6-0, over Smithton in the Semis that were held at Lindenwood College. But the Lancers ran into north side power Rosary and settled for runner up laurels, losing 6-0. The following season returning veterans Mike Dehner, Mark Anghilante and Derek Reis led the squad through an undefeated League schedule. It was the first to do so. “Chem-misery” teacher Pfund’s baseball crew, soon to celebrate his twenty-fifth year of coaching, had a similar success. Perennial contenders for the League and District titles (between ’80 and ’89, Pfund’s teams won seven District titles), the squad had a post-season run during the ’88 season. After winning League and taking District, the highly favored pitching-rich squad won Sectionals, but then was upset by the Farmington Knights in the Quarters. The Reck/Holsten/Behling coaching troika led the football team to its first sustained success. Only 6-3 late in the ’84 season, an overtime win against the Crusaders provided the springboard to the playoffs and a first round victory, 13-7, over Jennings. The group played at Busch Stadium II for the State quarterfinals. They faced the number one-ranked 10-1 Farmington Knights. After three quarters the teams were tied, 14-14. In the final minutes of the game, Behling noted the Knights were playing to take the game into overtime. They had no prevent defense, so he called for a long pass. QB Lenny Meers threw a 73-yard bomb along the sideline to a racing Kurt DeRouse. His last-second score nailed a 20-14 win. The shocked Knights never lined up for the extra point. The next week the Lancers, now semi-finalists, played host Jefferson City Helias during a cold rain. With spotters prohibited from entering the tiny pressbox, and halftime shelter for the team limited to a small storage unit, the Lancers fell to the eventual State champions, 35-14. But it did not dampen the success. After all, the team had contended for the State title two times in three years. Jim Baer of The Suburban Journals named Reck Metro Area Football Coach of the Year. The scribe noted that during his interview, the head coach spoke almost exclusively about his assistant coaches whose work at lower levels, scouting duties, summer planning and daily practices created the amazing run. The selection was further validated by subsequent events. The ‘85 squad missed the State playoffs by only .05 points. Two girls’ activities followed the boys’ successful trend. In ’84, PE instructor and volleyball coach Sandee Eime mentored her 18-3 squad to a league title. The next year her charges posted a 20-3 mark. English instructor June Hill was given the responsibility of shepherding the almost decade-old Lancerette program. Like Pundmann, she, too, added a pre-season summer clinic to the schedule, this one at Eastern Illinois University. During the summer of ’85, her squad earned three “superior” ratings. After leading participation in the Webster Groves Fourth of July Parade where the group earned a First Place Performance plaque, she combined forces with the Crusaderettes at the North-South game to entertain the Lancer Day Homecoming crowd. The squad also attended the State and Miss Missouri competitions. Within another year three participants, Cindy Behrens, Robin Berger and Cheryl Praprotnik, earned bids to perform in a pom pon dance routine at Sea World. Eleven others participated in the ’88 New Year’s Day Peach Bowl half-time performance. The dedication of the completed multi-purpose room in ’85 signaled a transitional era in Lancer and Association history. Superintendent Peper realized the annual Fantasy Faire Auction would not suffice to retire the growing operating deficit and support the new increases in the salary scale. It would be an incredible challenge to create financial stability for the Association. He encouraged the Board to develop a fund-raising organization, The Lange Society. It provided an opportunity for alumni and contributors to channel financial support for the work among God’s young people. The new arrangement enabled Association development personnel to conduct phone-a-thons for specific projects and cultivate contacts with those who might participate in the new benefit golf tournament. The Board initiated a grant proposal its representatives presented to the LCF in 1987. And it created a committee to evaluate governance protocols. Peper also proposed to establish an endowment fund. That came to fruition in 1989, with a six-member Board of Directors managing the investments.

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The transitions continued. Guenther handed the NHS advisory reins to English instructor Harry Witt. Meyer, who had been one of the few local high school coaches attempting to attain five hundred victories, finished his coaching duties with a couple of twenty-win seasons. In ’88, he handed his duties to Harms. At the same time, math teacher Mike Albers replaced Wietfeldt in girls’ basketball. Within two years, his players’ participation in an off-season conditioning program and in multiple summer camps prepped the squad for a run to a Sectional berth. But the biggest changes were yet to come. Eggerding announced his intention to retire. And Peper faced very difficult financial challenges. He had to deal with the halting recovery of the economy and the Association indebtedness accrued during the completion of the expansion programs at both schools. The slow economic growth in the St. Louis area reduced anticipated donations. This prolonged the debt service incurred by the construction projects initiated during Wiesner’s administration. Enrollment at North was negatively impacted by the desegregation program and magnet school initiative. These events forced Peper and the Board to continue raising tuition $150 per year. As concerns grew about rising tuition costs, Peper and Wayne Meyer, Association business manager, encouraged the elimination of the rental and activity fees. They also offered a $50 per semester discount if each student’s semester tuition, $662.50 in 1984-1985, was paid prior to the term. However, they appended a $50 one-time fee for all who paid in the ten-month installment option. But the comparatively large annual tuition figures distributed in billing, public relations and informational materials appeared intimidating to many. So, beginning in 1986, they published only semester tuition rates. The next year they evenly divided the $50 annual fee for the monthly billing option into a $5 per month service charge. The poor local economy hampered tuition payments. Billing statements indicated this rising problem was becoming fairly commonplace. In the 1986-1987 informational literature about tuition, the Association added a clause. It would charge $20 for each check returned to the bank for insufficient funds. That year, for the first time, students who desired Association tuition rates also had to return a membership card to the principal’s office. To qualify for the rate, each student had to have on the card a pastor’s signature noting he or she was a confirmed Association congregational member in good standing. And, in 1987, for the first time in official Association tuition billing, Peper openly noted that “. . . grants-in-aid had not yet been determined and would be included in the August [tuition] statement.” The continually rising tuition rates, still about 8% per year, appeared to create a new need. Many prospective students would need grants-in-aid as annual tuition for Association members climbed to $1,750. In only a decade, base tuition had tripled. The now-aging school buildings needed repairs. Experienced faculty members continued to climb ever higher on the salary scale. The new facilities raised maintenance costs. And the costs of those prior expansions still had to be paid. In April 1988, Peper tendered his resignation as Superintendent. The Board designated Assistant Superintendent Darrell Wallis as the new acting head. At the time, he had just started spearheading the Association and Board self-study to determine the future of secondary Lutheran education in St. Louis. He would quickly discover the South faculty and staff had nurtured a strong connection between the high school and local congregations. And, for the first time in more than a decade, a new revenue source provided hope the financial issues could be resolved. In May 1984, the LCMS sold the Lutheran Medical Center to National Medical Enterprises, a predecessor company of Tenet Healthcare. The two-block area, anchored at the intersection of Miami and Ohio across from Holy Cross, included eleven buildings. Executors used the $40 million proceeds from the sale to create an endowment fund managed by the Lutheran Charities Foundation (LCF—and later, LF). It served as a grant-making ministry of the sixty-one St. Louis area congregation “stock holders” that provided seed money for new ministries. With challenge grants, it would also support long-standing ministries. The Board took a major step towards financial health when it applied for a grant to resolve the debt-service that weighed so heavily on the Association. At the time, the mostly-Lutheran student body quickly embraced the new youth opportunities developed by Synod and the Missouri District. Witt was charged by the Missouri District to provide forty student caretakers to lead Bible studies, ice breaker activities and contemplative sectionals. Many of the participants in these groups then participated in the National Youth Gatherings. The Lance editors periodically highlighted under the category

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of “Summer Fun” many of their activities in New Orleans, Denver and San Antonio where successive gatherings took place. Congregational connections to District ministry opportunities continued under the guise of Eggerding. Concerned about the hardships local families faced as tuition steadily increased, he and Reitz continually advocated for increased student assistance. Eggerding knew his school families well, and at an administrative level attempted to alleviate their burden. Because the local Association congregations were intimately involved in the ministry, he entrusted the day-to-day South/parish interactions to the most visible student service organizations, Student Council and NHS. The two organizations annually collected tons of food for Woodard’s Northside Lutheran Outreach and Lutheran Family and Children’s Services. Annual walkathons, NHS winter fruit sales, student pictures with faculty “Santas,” Share the Warmth Dance and chapel collections helped fund McDonald House and other local charities sponsored by parish organizations. The NHS also provided the guides for the new eighth grade visitation day that took place each fall. Problems—And A Possible Solution: Relational Adaptation Unfortunately, during this era Lance content included candid student commentary that vividly described underage drinking. Brief stories and statements about partying, skipping school, getting “in” with the Greek fraternities, and being carried from homes or being hustled into an ambulance after a “great party” indicated a major problem in the school community. It was the same time the North faculty noted a similar social trend. Fortunately, like on the north side, the Lancer administration and faculty, particularly those involved in the Counseling Center like Dave Rohde and Ron Roma, reacted quickly. They strongly supported the creation of new venues that promoted education about the issues and activities to counter aberrant behavior. Teachers Bill Marler and Suzanne Collins started a SADD chapter. Peer Listeners funded their activities with Homecoming Balloon-, Valentine-, Turkey-, Santa- and Sham (St. Patrick’s Day)-grams. The funds permitted the Peer Listeners to lead a Project Cope weekend retreat for students. Participants could “be themselves” and open up to others. Later a TREND (Turning Recreational Excitement in New Directions) chapter would absorb SADD membership. Its leaders organized weekend activities like trips to the Six Flags’ Fright Night or picnics in local parks. By the end of the decade the DARE and HISTEP programs, as they were also implemented at North, provided an educational component that took high school students into the feeder schools to create positive peer and mentoring relationships. Each of these activities emphasized self-control. Leaders taught coping mechanisms to individuals to better resist peer pressure. They specifically targeted alcohol and “recreational” substances. The administration and faculty implicitly and explicitly approved more subtle efforts that attempted to provide some of the more restless students with an identity. Seniors “protected” their designated hill overlooking the football field. Senior birthdays were listed in Troubadour editions. Teachers commented about the creativity of the Kazoo Crew that performed at football games. Drewes donated custard pints to the annual NHS blood drive. Students who “stole” a school van were not suspended but had to perform detention maintenance in the courtyard. Others who had an A average in a class were excused from that particular semester final. A revived Bowling Club, advised by Otterstein and Kutscher, and a new Racquetball Club, provided opportunities for students to participate in more healthful activities. And Rauh, unafraid of raising eyebrows, reminded her charges each Friday that when “. . . someone says ‘No,’ they mean ‘No!’” In a sense, at both North and South, the approaches to deter misbehavior and self-abuse reflected a societal unraveling of nuclear family ties. There also was a growing fear that adolescents in particular had lost moral exemplars. Many public school districts, particularly in urban areas where families suffered from challenging economic conditions, had been expected to provide ancillary services for their students. These included breakfast and lunch; emotional and psychological counseling; after-school supervisory programs. Harried family

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providers (or non-providers!) were unable to exert the supervision in the home as modeled by the previous generation. School personnel served as proxy parents. Faculty at North and South made the appropriate adaptations to build mentoring and participatory relationships. Rauh, advising Student Council, also worked for inclusion of all students in the school community. She helped implement a Student Council constitutional change in which only the executive committee would be elected. Because the homeroom representative system seemed to assign less than enthusiastic individuals to attend the early-morning meetings, all other positions would be filled by volunteers. Each received an assigned role. The volunteer members soon numbered more than seventy. Those numbers were needed, particularly during the annual LAHE Dinner Auction usually hosted at South. During this time, North’s successful football team was in an unprecedented run to three straight State titles and an appearance in the State final four of the next six years. While the Student Councils and pom pon squads of each school committed to helping set up, serve meals and cadge auction bids at the annual Auction, for several years North’s many minions were hours away at the State semifinal contest, most volunteers unable to fulfill their obligations. Because of the unique conflict, Rauh and her charges might have believed that North’s students were not meeting their commitments and Lancer labor had to “carry” North. The Crusaders, on the other hand, might have become wary of “favoritism” in the apparent selection of the new permanent location as the Auction, in a cost-saving measure, was moved to South. Granted, South had twice the accessible room for vendor booths and displays, dinner and oral auction. But the sentiments of the northern community probably reflected the sentiments of the southern community decades before when the Spring Sports Festival was held at North simply because it had the necessary facilities. As in all families, particularly those of faith like the Association, conflicts and tensions are resolved by prayerful reflection and contemplative discussion. They were this time, too. By the mid-‘90s, North students and faculty advisors would be expected to take more responsibilities at the Auction, and the Auction would be moved again to neutral sites. Another issue that arose during the ‘80s might have been brought about by the rising cost of tuition. Or it may simply have been an indication of students taking advantage of local opportunities. Consistently, as South students were polled about whether they worked after school or on weekends, more than 25% of the student body stated they worked part-time. One may wonder about the ostensible cause for this phenomenon, but it also tells a story about a growing economy in South County. Most jobs were at fast food and retail outlets indicating the successful migration of urban businesses to either satellite outlets or newer outlying strip malls and centers. Unlike the Wiesner years when many students worked to defray family expenses and rising tuition, one may conclude the students earned money to spend on specific activities. As the Lance editors prepared summaries about what students did during spring break, summer vacation or Christmas, many provided pictures of days spent at distant Caribbean resorts, Florida beaches and Ozark retreats. Student life and focus at South was indeed different from that of North’s. Perhaps, coupled with Eggerding’s impending retirement and Peper’s resignation, this triggered the Association self-study of LHSA governance. Leading from the front and enabled by Eggerding, the South faculty had already begun to implement some changes. One of the strengths of South had been the relationships fostered between students and teachers. Students identified their teachers by beloved habits, dress, methods and passion for their classes, often creating monikers for them. Teachers reciprocated by helping the students feel accepted as “a variety of people with a variety of talents all working together to grow in the love of Christ.” Traditionally in the Theology Department, faith walks, chants of “Reuben-Simeon-Levi . . . ,” and vocal declarations of “5-12-5-5-12-5-21-1” had been common educational experiences for all students. To those traditions they added the experiences of puppetry, clowning and miming in the context of the elective Religious Drama. Witt’s charges also used marionette-like figures to help worshippers focus on liturgical themes. Grundmann’s replacement, Les Beccue, dressed up and reenacted Biblical events. Following Crisler’s trailblazing efforts at North, the computer course implemented by Elizabeth Spencer incorporated additional topics that utilized the Appleworks spreadsheet and its unique graphics. By the end of the decade a Computer Club provided additional time for students to explore the rapidly expanding world of personal technology. Hayes added to the fairly new English offering of Film Making the new semester course

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Arts and Animation. In chairman Doc ‘white sox’ Prahlow’s Social Studies Department, “Conga” Behling added Lego mapping to illustrate lessons about urban geographical studies. Mr. Detention himself, Doc Holliday, started a Mock Trial club that regularly participated in activities at the Old Court House. The relationships between teachers and students also helped develop curriculum change in PE. Torbeck’s revision of the PE curriculum had been driven by the large enrollment that had, in 1985, grown to more than eight hundred. It placed an incredible burden on the PE Department, in particular, because of the limited facilities. Each section of the new coed junior-senior PE classes had almost ninety students assigned to each period, at the same time, to the same facility. Many students also desired alternatives to traditional gym class offerings. Torbeck, who headed the PE Department, noted this and added units to upper level courses. The new offerings included raquetball, badminton, bowling and archery. The latter was to the chagrin of Eime, who saw students loose arrows into the cemetery—and once, when she was instructing, into her! By gauging the positive response of the students to the new units, Torbeck and his department members created a new semester course incorporating life sports. Each of the three assigned teachers would teach his or her specialty. In early fall and late spring, students would bus to the bowling alley or racquetball club while others stayed on campus for instruction in tennis. During the winter quarters the indoor options would remain available while others played volleyball in the gym. Student elective choices, determined by seniority, created an atmosphere of excitement and competition. The popularity of the life sports offering grew quickly. Soon, the department incorporated additional units in basketball, gymnastics, softball, track and fitness. The growing enrollment drove additional adaptations of the curriculum. Sandy Bertani had been one of the first to respond to the ’82 North Central Accreditation Report. Its committee noted that South did not have a formal program for students who had special needs. She met with Karen Tichy, head of special services for the St. Louis Archdiocese, and formed a program. Then, with the assistance of the coordinators of the Lutheran Association of Special Education, Bertani created a comprehensive program that now could, as North had done for the past six years, serve this growing segment of the student body. Changes continued as enrollment skyrocketed. Steinbrueck, now virtually alone in his particular branch of the Practical Arts Department, offered zero hour courses in Mechanical Drawing, Machine Design and Architecture. Rauh capitalized on the popularity of her Family Living course. That particular course included the three-day assignment to watch over “egg babies.” She added courses like Interior Design (its students would rehab the faculty lounge), Clothing I and Clothing II. Bill Rusch redeveloped the Earth Space class. Many of his students later recalled fulfilling their responsibilities as weather watchers. But two new developments assisted curriculum change. The first was an increase in the graduation requirements. After 1987, graduates would be required to have two years of a foreign language, two years of math, four years of English, two years of theology, two years of a combination of Health and PE, a year of Practical Arts, a year of Fine Arts and three years of Social Science. The changes had been implemented at the suggestion of Rohde’s Guidance Department. Its members made these recommendations because of the changes they noted in college and university admissions policies across the country. The second area of academic innovation was in adding the 1818/Advanced College Credit (ACC) option for the students who qualified for the program. As the Association financial crisis continued, the Board expressed specific concerns about maintaining budgetary restrictions and proposed increased teaching loads. In response, Eggerding and Reitz, protective of the schools’ curricular offerings and highly-qualified staffs, advocated for the maintenance of the academic programs. Because the North faculty had implemented the 1818/ACC in a couple of cases, some anticipated the adaptation at South would come fairly quickly. While an attempt to add the program had been postponed initially because of the financial constraints, Pfund’s continuance of the college-like coursework in Science Seminar provided hard evidence that such a program would enhance academic standards. Eggerding also realized how much rigor it added to South’s academic program and the selling point it could become in recruiting students. The school began its fruitful relationship with St. Louis University.

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All students who would receive credit for the course work were required to maintain a 3.0 GPA and receive no less than a C in that particular class. The incentive to take the class was the comparatively low tuition charged of the high school students by host St. Louis University. Bauer coordinated its implementation first in the English Department. Reiss offered four semester courses: English Literature I and II and World Literature I and II. Reck offered a semester of College Prep Writing. A year later Prahlow offered the semester course U. S. History To 1865 and followed that quickly with U. S. History Since 1865. The successful adaptation of the 1818 program encouraged Eggerding to adapt long-held traditions for a new generation of students. With faculty support, Eggerding and Rohde implemented a suggestion that the graduation program be enlarged to better inform the South community about student academic accomplishments. During the ceremonies the administration could announce the honors, grants and scholarships as each matriculating senior received the diploma. Students who earned honors and scholarship offers would be recognized at either Senior Assembly or graduation ceremonies. As they were called forward or walked across the dais, an administrator would enumerate their accomplishments. This simple addition to the ceremonies became a point of pride and thanksgiving for families and friends who heard how the students utilized their God-given talents. As the Board and Association prepared to implement the governance self-study, the Lance provided a retrospective evaluation of the Fortieth Anniversary of the LAHE and the Thirtieth Anniversary of South. It noted that from the tiny classrooms at Our Redeemer and Hope had grown a school of 773 students. Almost eighty congregations supported the Association as forty-nine teachers and administrators now shepherded the flock. Eggerding captured the spirit of the times in a Lance interview conducted as he prepared for retirement. He noted, “We pray that the Spirit of service to our Lord and to our fellow man will be an essential part of our everyday life.” This brief thought helped the faculty and staff celebrate the hallway romance and marriage of Phil Kershner to Sandee Eime. It also consoled the community as they mourned the loss of Terry Wayne Miles, a Lancer senior who had, at one time, been the youngest heart transplant recipient in the nation. Finally, it inspired the Lance editorial staff to title the ’88 edition, “Caring and Sharing: The Spirit of Christian Love.” As new principal David Waterman arrived for his installation and Assistant Superintendent Darrell Wallis concluded the Association self-study, Eggerding retired. Of his ministry that totaled forty-five years, he had served twenty-eight years in the Association. Eggerding would spend the next three decades with beloved wife Elaine fishing, woodworking, gardening, golfing, and visiting his children and grandchildren. The First Years of the Waterman Era In September 1989, acting superintendent Wallis joined Concordia-Kirkwood’s Rev. Walter Schoedel in installing new principal Dave Waterman. A former Social Studies teacher at Lutheran High-Minneapolis, he had served as assistant principal and then, since 1982, been principal at the high school. During his first eighteen months the Association revised the constitution, developed new operating protocols, designed a financial program to complete the LCF grant challenge and called Wallis to be Superintendent. Association delegates also formally approved a new name for the organization: The Lutheran High School Association of St. Louis. The original LAHE Board had hoped at some time to create either a local junior college or even four-year institution to extend Christian education through the students’ teenage years. The new name was a more realistic appraisal of the community’s economic and demographic situation. In one more administrative change, AD Mark Eggers, who moved to Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, to coach football, was replaced by Reck. When Wahlers left (he had mentored Steve Glass, Dawn Kaspar and Matt Christian to earn ’89 All State Choir honors), new chorale director Amy Learn added two new groups to the now-traditional Sunrisers and Chorus. The first was an all-female twenty-two-member Show Choir. The second group, called Top Flight, was a select mixed chorus that specialized in contemporary song. She also used June Hill’s approach to reinvigorate the Cheerleaders

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organization. She chaperoned Lancer participants while they attended a National Cheerleaders Association summer camp. The squad won several awards and the following winter placed third in the State championship. Staci DeNoyer, Laura Pahde, Sue Vandermeulen, Coreen Meyers, Sheryl Skaggs and Becky Walters qualified to work with the Show Stopper All Star Drill Team. They performed at Sea World-Orlando during the Thanksgiving break. Two years later Hill led her Lancerettes to a trophy at the Washington University competition, a win at the local Lindbergh Challenge and shepherded six to participate in the Orlando All Star Show. Captains Nikki Bauer, Nicole Mattson, Laurie Morton and Indra Kradle were part of another group that performed during a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field. They financed their trips with Tupperware sales, summer car washes and kick-athons. During Learn’s brief service at South, Pundmann retired and Scott Harder became the new band director. He immediately created a Jazz Band that would make its most dramatic appearance at the traditional Sem games. He also would soon work with Learn’s replacement. He was a South grad, North choral director for a decade and Engelhardt protégé. It was Mark Marting. It would be his task to rebuild the choral program. Reiss continued to produce fall dramas and spring musicals. Barefoot in the Park, Father of the Bride, Ten Little Indians (a dinner theater) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream graced fall and winter activity calendars. Productions of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Once Upon a Mattress and Tom Jones continued the tradition of the spring operetta/musical. As Marting arrived on campus, Reiss directed the comedy, Macbeth Did It! In 1988, when Reck became Athletic Director, Reiss became English Department chair. Reck accepted AD duties just as Peper resigned and Eggerding retired. The Board initiated a self-study, created call committees to vet candidates for the two vacancies and assumed free rein over daily operations. Acting head Darrell Wallis initiated long-range planning for approaching Association anniversary celebrations. The proactive Board soon began evaluating staffing assignments, departmental performance and future needs. When first Waterman and then Wallis accepted calls as South principal and Superintendent, respectively, the Board continued a “hands-on” approach. Apparently concerned about the financial struggles that besieged the previous two Association administrations, the Board determined to promote recruiting and program improvements at the two schools. At North, there were grave concerns about falling enrollment. At South, the alumni sport, football, fell on hard times. A precipitous fall in student participation and a lack of faculty interest in coaching the sport spurred an evaluation of its future. Before the Board attempted to resolve the issues by following individual recommendations for hiring coaching personnel, Kirk Mueller’s recruitment efforts at North showed progress and the South athletic program received well-deserved kudos. As the era ended in 1993, The Suburban Journals recognized Reck’s Lancer program as one of the top five small-school programs in the seventeen-county metro area. Reck’s high profile program, sustained by teaching-staff coaches, netted success in all areas but football and field hockey. Lancer gridiron fans, who had seen the football squads of the ‘80s win 70% of their games, had little to cheer about over the next several years. Even after new head coach Art Hill arrived from Affton, the varsity squad averaged only a win each year. It was amazing how the coaching staff kept nurturing quality behavior and self-discipline during the difficult period. The one bright spot for the team was the weather. The weather for the Lancer Day football game, which for most of the past decade had been played in a traditional quagmire during a monsoon, became crisp and clear. Multiple contests, traditional Lancer Day festivities and the BBQ always followed as planned. In ’93, as Reck returned full time to the classroom, new AD Steve Eggold would have to fill some big shoes. The other squad that built solid student character despite one-sided season records was led by Cathy Wietfeldt. For more than a decade the field hockey squad rarely approached the .500 mark. Scoring a goal was often a highlight of the season as the team, staffed by many because of the “no cut” policy, created its own community of the spirit. The young ladies, most of whom had never played the sport before, became a shelter to each other as they faced continuing athletic adversity. But they forged friendships, secured an identity, became fit. Briefly, Kim Loomis replaced Wietfeldt, but when Loomis left, Wietfeldt returned to nurture her charges about the lessons of life.

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Schranz’ soccer squad continued its run of excellence. The ’88 squad, buoyed by Norwegian exchange student Orjan Ostrik, goalie Derek Reis and scorer Dan Mueller won the District and then swept past Affton and Duchesne to make the State championship game. The squad was edged in the last minutes on a header by juggernaut Aquinas-Mercy, 1-0. The returning players vowed to return to St. Louis Soccer Park in ‘89. They did. After winning League, the 20-5 squad defeated Barstow. But, again, they collided with Aquinas-Mercy at the State championship game—this time losing 5-0. Sandee Kershner’s ’90 volleyball squad, led by MVP Jenny Moore, attained an 18-13-4 record, won the Meramec Tourney and, for the first time, defeated nemesis Affton in the District Tourney. Two years later her group went 27-7-3, won the St. Charles and Meramec tourneys, swept through District, and with seven players at 5’10” or better, defeated Montgomery County in the Sectionals. However, perennial power Duchesne stopped the team’s run in the Quarters. Softball shifted to the fall season, Coach Diane Carney leading the group to a 15-5 record and a conference championship in the inaugural ’91 season. The girls’ tennis team, led by Mme. Paula Larsen, won MWAA II championships twice. Those successes indicated that South had, indeed, joined the local tennis elite among girls’ squads. In one sense, though, it was no real surprise. The ’92 boys’ tennis squad placed third at State. Brothers Craig and Kevin Duffy, Jamie Brickler, Karl Fust, Rich Sturmefels and Dave Herbst had nabbed a District title, earned a Sectional win and then broke into the elite ranks of the traditional powers to take a State plaque. But the real story was taking place on the cross country trails of Jeff Barracks and the roads of South County. Kershner and Prahlow had taken Schroeder’s traditions, added a competitive girls’ squad and built a League juggernaut. Beginning back in ’84, James Haertling and Mike Paul led the guys to their eighth consecutive League title and a District championship. During a four-year lull, the boys “only” nabbed ninth at State at the end of the ’86 campaign and then were limited to Quentin Nuttman’s All State performance in ’88. Then, Stacy Bundren won the ’89 individual State Championship. In ’90, Bundren repeated her win and Kelly O’Hare followed her across the line in second, the eleven-year-old girls’ squad earning State Runner Up. The guys, led by All State runner Brian Carter, swept yet another League championship, District title and a ninth at the big dance. In ’91, the girls won the first of two league titles and became the only non-Catholic squad during the ‘90s to win the fourteen-team MWAA meet. After sweeping Metro and District wins, Bundren, O’Hare and Stacey Schweiss nabbed All State honors to lead the team to another Runner Up. A toe injury to Rachel Pawlitz left them wondering what might have been. The guys, not to be outdone, won yet another District championship, and with Brian Carter and Tim Roos leading the charge up Firehouse Hill, grabbed their State Runner Up trophy. “The Run” provided a dramatic close to the era as the girls won their second of two MWAA titles, swept District and finished ninth at State. Roos, finishing in third, and Bryan Gill led the guys to their fourth consecutive State berth and District title, and, with support of Soph phenom Jack Preus, earned a third place State plaque. Could things get any better for the harriers? As North principal Ed Reitz moved into the development position in Wallis’ Association administration, math instructor and registrar Paul Crisler accepted the principal’s position. He and Waterman would work together to maintain cordial relations between the two unique constituencies. They coordinated their programs as each campus adapted to the demands of educating students for the new century. Both faculties evaluated AP and 1818/ACC course options. While the South Math Department elected to send Advanced Calculus students off campus to Meramec Community College, North’s students participated in the oncampus 1818 program. Members of both Theology departments considered adding a service component to the graduation requirements. It had a precedent. Rauh’s Service Committee was the first to receive certification in the new St. Louis Youth Community Experience (SLYCE) sponsored by UMSL. Frosh would volunteer at their home congregation; sophomores would attend a three-day weekend retreat to examine service learning; and juniors and seniors would log sixteen hours of service with the SLYCE supervisor. North’s Theology Department continued to encourage but not require service activities, but that would change as Crisler implemented several additional curricular reforms. Finally, North’s Social Science and English departments adopted South’s use of novels in the classroom.

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Several challenges awaited the two new administrations. They had already overcome one tragedy. In midApril 1992, art instructor Jim Hayes, who had taught at South for ten years, collapsed and died during a golf outing in Forest Park. The South faculty and staff, in particular, ministered to the students and each other. The community completed the academic year, its members comforted by the hope in the resurrection. That summer, former North art instructor and track coach Pete Richenburg returned to the area. He had just completed his year of participation in a teacher exchange program that had taken him to Australia. With new art instructor and track coach Kurt Bergdolt on the staff at North, Richenburg was available to replace Hayes. Reitz and Crisler concurred. Waterman welcomed him to the South faculty. Richenburg returned from Australia in the midst of administrative changes in the Association. It was an ideal time for reassessment. Administrators and staff members could now consider strategies to meet the new challenges. They would have to learn how to nurture cooperative learning; provide updated resources for students with special needs; broaden the ministry to include a representative cross-section of St. Louis’ multicultural communities; share resources, including personnel; complete the LCF challenge grant; and develop a distinctive recruitment effort to return North’s enrollment to the totals of the late ‘70s. All of these challenges awaited at least partial resolution by the new administrations at building and headquarters level. The challenges would be met in time. It would be in God’s time, and with great joy. Kimberly Smith, a ’90 Lance commentator, got it right: “We are God’s Children and can trust Him to guide us.”

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Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 5: Great Joy During Trying Times: Lutheran South, 1984-1993 St. Louis Renaissance The introductory material for the chapter is from Fausz, 250, pp. 136-142, and Merkel, Hoosiers, pp. 145-150. Lancer Renewal and New Leadership The Student Council material is from Shirley Rauh, 2/13/16. The document is included in the Association archives. John Miller, 7/27/15, described the history of the multi-purpose room. Rohde, Written, p. 11, summarizes the origins of the Auction. Steinbrueck and Don Prahlow, among many others, provided additional information about the early years of the Auction. For a further elaboration about the Board activities in this area during Peper’s administration, see Chapter 4, above. The Guehring to Steinbrueck email of 10/8/15 provides the details about tuition raises. \ A brief description of the creation of the Lutheran Charities Foundation may be found in http://www.stalexiushospital.com/new/about/history/ and http://www.lutheranfoundation.org/content/history.php and “Okays Hospital Sale,” The Southeast Missourian, February 5, 1984, accessed at athttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19840205&id=rLcfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p9cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=22 75,2450505&hl=en, all on 12/6/15. An interesting sidelight would be to peruse the story of the for-profit group that purchased the facilities. See the end of this chapter to discern a cryptic conclusion to the Association LCF grant request.

Problems—And a Possible Solution: Relational Adaptation The Rauh quote is from the ’93 Lance, n. p. Rauh (1/30/16) was a Froebel Elementary and Roosevelt High grad whose father served as a Third District police officer. Steinbrueck, 6/30/15, provided additional information about student responsibilities during the Auction weekend. On 1/30/16, Bauer, Torbeck, Rapp and Rauh described the large increases Peper provided in the new salary scale implemented in 1985. The four also outlined how enrollment increases drove curricular adaptation, including the creation of the Special Education programming Bertani developed after the ’82 North Central report. They also reminisced about Witt’s puppet/marionette ministry. One of the more visible local Lancers from the class of ’86 was local KPLR-TV broadcaster Jeff Bernthal. He attended SIUE and worked at the station as an intern before serving three years as a beat reporter. His first story was about the expansion of the St. Louis Science Center. He followed that with extended coverage of Hurricane Andrew, the Flood of the Century (’93) and the ’96 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He also is a spokesman for Children’s Miracle Network. http://fox2now.com/author/ktvijbernthal/ accessed on 11/15/15. Another significant local figure also graduated from South in 1986. Mike Schoedel, after serving six years as city manager for Richmond Heights between 1998 and 2004, and, after the election of Ben Uchitelle as Clayton mayor, worked in the same position in Clayton from 2004-2008. In both cases he focused his energies on resolving traffic concerns, MetroLink expansion, retail and residential development. He also encouraged consolidation of services by adjoining municipalities. While in Clayton he oversaw 177 full-time employees and was responsible for an annual budget of more than $26 million. In 2008, Schoedel accepted a position to work on

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development-related business for Apex Oil Co., a St. Louis-based petroleum distributor probably more recognizable locally as Clark Oil. http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2004/05/31/focus8.html and http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/12/17/story14.html both accessed 11/17/15. The English Department of the era mentored several students to pursue literary and journalism careers. Stephen Kuehn (S ’88) spent his early career bouncing around as a writer, editor, fitness trainer, artist, tutor and DJ. Finally, in 2010, he published Rainmaker, a sci-fi novel about Earth’s hopeful journey toward survival. David Fiedler (S ’89) has published two works. The Washington University graduate with a double major in German and Political Science, released a novel in 2012. Entitled, My Enemy, My Love, it features original artwork done by a German POW held in Missouri. Based on true stories told to Fiedler by the people who lived them, it is a fictional companion to his award-winning work, Enemy Among Us: POWs in Missouri During WW II. In 2010, Matt Freeman (S ’91) published his third book of poems, Darkness Never Far. He also has edited an Anthology of St. Louis Poetry published in 2011, and published The Boulevard of Broken Discourse in 2012. In 2015 he released another collection of poems, Everything I Love Restored. Bill Maxfield (S’91) while teaching at Mehlville High, received the 2010 Charles Klotzer Media Literacy Award from the Gateway Media Literacy Partners for his ongoing media literacy education efforts during the school year. Travis Scholl (S ’92), thespian for Reiss and ballplayer for Pfund, attended Valparaiso University/Christ College and then earned a divinity degree from Yale. While conducting his graduate studies, he won the John A Wade prize for preaching. After completing his colloquy program, he was ordained. Scholl became managing editor of theological publications for Concordia Seminary-St. Louis, including the Concordia Journal quarterly. He also has worked for Lutheran Hour Ministries, and, along with one-time mentor Roma, served at several National Youth Gatherings. (The Herald, Spring 2010, pp. 5, 8; and Fall 2010, p. 8; Spring 2012, p. 6 and Fall 2012, p. 6; Winter 2016, p. 6. https://english.missouri.edu/gradstudents/1245-travis-scholl includes additional material, accessed 1/7/2015.) Jeremy Rutherford, SLPD Blues beat writer, is also a ‘93 Lancer graduate. Upon graduation he covered youth sports at the Suburban Journals and then joined the SLPD. Prior to beginning his stint covering the Blues he was assigned as reporter for the University of Illinois. Rutherford has also worked in radio part-time at 590 The Fan and 101 ESPN. At the latter station he hosted, with Blues play by play voice John Kelly, “St. Louis Face-off Tonight.” In 2015, Rutherford published 100 Things Blues Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. He also is working with Blues legend Bernie Federko to produce an autobiography. (email, Rutherford, to Jim Prahlow, 12/9/15) Student-teacher relationships highlighted here are from the ’89 Lance, p. 3. Rich Reiss, 7/16/15, provided the information about the 1818/Advanced College Credit program available in the English Department. The mild jeremiad about increased expectations placed on school districts caused by the collapse of the nuclear family is from Peter Meilaender, “Poverty and the Family: LBJ Today,” The Cresset, Lent 2014, pp. 45-48. The problem persisted and grew through the ‘90s and the next decade. It affected even athletics. Blair Lindsey (Principia ’72, who ran cross country and track against Baisch), noted on 10/23/15 at the Metro Conference CC championships at Principia that “we coaches do not expect enough of the runners.” He lamented that the runners expected to put their heads down and run without following anything except a meticulously-lined course with absolutely no obstacles or debris on the path. An additional issue that arose out of these discussions and observations can be found in Ray Williams, “Anti-Intellectualism and the ‘Dumbing Down’ of America,” Psychology Today, July 7, 2014, accessed 12/15/15 at https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201407/anti-intellectualism-and-the-dumbing-downamerica It leads one to striking conclusions about the composition of a major portion of the electorate in the 2016 primary and general elections.

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The Eggerding quote is from the ’88 Lance, p. 2; his biography is summarized in the funeral service worship folder, August 22, 2014, at Salem-Affton. He and wife Elaine, to whom he was married for sixty-two years, had three children: Brian (S ’74), Sharon Dierberger (S ’77) and Sandy Ehrett (S ’80; married to Stuart Ehrett S ’81). A short biographical sketch of Eggerding can be found in The Herald, Winter 2015, p. 7. Elaine Eggerding noted (1/1/16) that her husband believed the reason for so few major staff/faculty problems in the Association was that “almost none of them were in it for the money.” They were committed to the ministry, and while they may have disagreed about policies and administrative decisions, there were “very few egos that got in the way.” In his “post-academic” career, as a member of the KFUO Board, he was a champion of religious freedom in broadcasting for the 1998 landmark decision by the U. S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D. C. In a sense, it was a capstone of his long career as an administrator. Ever involved on policy-making committees, he had left his imprint on the Lutheran Publicity Organization, the Board of the Lutheran Association of Secondary Principals, and the North Central Association accreditation committee. The First Years of the Waterman Era For information about the Board and Association restructuring, Peper’s replacement and parallel issues at North, see above, Chapter 4, “The End—and the Beginning” and Rohde, pp. 5-7. Rohde, pp. 5-8, provides a cryptic summary of the LCF grant and first years of the Waterman era. Mark Marting confirmed his activities in the Fine Arts program. Mark Behling, Ken Bauer and Don Prahlow provided information about the sudden death of art instructor Jim Hayes. They also noted the location of the Grundmann memorial in the entry alcove and the stained glass windows in the library honoring Carlton and Hayes. The challenge of this chapter was confirming some of the springtime activities at South. Yearbooks did not include the last three months of the school year except in supplements, which were largely unavailable. An example of this is the “hidden” story of the era’s highly successful baseball squad. Pfund’s team was a perennial contender for League and District championships. While the squads usually ended the season at the hands of St. Francois County power Farmington, they continued to excel. One of their outstanding pitchers, particularly during the ’88 season, was Christopher Bauer (S ’89). He later became a Kansas State Highway Patrolman based out of Lindsborg, Kansas. Kershner (7/30/15) provided the balance of the CC material. Kimberly Smith’s statement to the challenges administrators would face in the future is from ’90 Lance, Senior Quotes, n. p.

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Chapter 6: Which Shall Be For All People: Lutheran North, 1993-2001

From Reagan to the Millennium

The twelve-year Reagan era ended with a series of American triumphs in foreign policy and international affairs. The first victory was the collapse of Soviet-style communism. Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf led U. N. forces to a second success. They removed Saddam Hussein and Iraqi troops from Kuwait. A third success followed years of anticipation. Representatives of the European Community held their first parliamentary sessions. International competitions heightened awareness of cultural diffusion and tempered ethnic confrontations. Winter Olympic festivities in Albertville, France; Lillehammer, Norway and Nagano, Japan promoted unique local cultural identities within the ideals endorsed by the European Union. The 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games commemorated the contact period initiated by Columbus five hundred years before. And in 1996 the world’s athletes and journalists gathered in Atlanta for the Centennial Olympics. But natural disasters and factional rivalries created new challenges. Earthquakes in eastern Asia, flooding in southern Asia and drought in the horn of Africa threatened millions of lives and political stability. Religious warfare continued in Northern Ireland. Yugoslavia collapsed in a melee of ethnic and religious struggle. Rwandans turned on each other while Basque and Palestinian terrorist activity threatened a tenuous peace. Episodes of sectarian violence raised concerns about stability in Turkey, Iran and Iraq. Religious zealots in Japan released poison gas in subway stations. Fortunately, U. N. and American service agencies provided massive relief assistance to survivors of natural disasters. World leaders intervened where possible and brokered ceasefires. And U. N. and American troops served as buffering peacekeepers, separating hostile groups from reigniting sectarian conflict. By the mid-‘90s, moderate majority parties regained control of governments in several hot spots. Israel, Haiti, Russia and the European Community benefitted from leaders who tempered nationalist extremists. Many government leaders supported international cooperation and economic inclusion. This encouraged many to embrace optimistic appraisals about the world’s future. In the United States, low unemployment and inflation rates continued into the term of President George H. W. Bush. Continuation of Reagan’s policies reduced government restrictions on businesses and investment tools. But urban riots illustrated the frustrations of a growing underclass and the legacy of segregation. Miami’s Overtown residents suffered as many lashed out at what they believed were brutal police tactics. Rodney King’s beating by Los Angeles policemen, captured on video, sparked riots. Domestic issues like abortion, rights of homosexuals, placement of low-income housing and toxic waste disposal provoked tensions between single-interest groups and political organizations. Fears of confrontation with political activists, particularly Native Americans, terminated consideration of a national celebration of the Columbus Quincentennial. The devastating effects and difficult aftermath of Hurricane Andrew raised questions about the ability of government leadership to respond adequately to domestic emergencies. Bush ran for reelection against Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. Despite defeating Iraq and successfully negotiating with Gorbachev at Malta, he found no issues to energize voter support. Clinton promoted the ideal of inclusion for all in governmental affairs and promised to reform national health care. Promoting a Kennedy-type idealism, Clinton won. A Democratic majority in both houses enabled Clinton to implement his platform. He formed a task force to develop a national health care proposal, permitted homosexuals to remain in the military with a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and endorsed Supreme Court abortion decisions. Federal and local responses to devastating flooding in the upper Mississippi River valley and the World Trade Center bombing bolstered the credibility of Clinton’s administration. But reactions to counter-culture organizations in Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas raised

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concerns about the use of federal power. A 1994 Republican resurgence created a legislative branch opposing abortion, assisted suicide and affirmative action. The new Republican majority supported a more traditional definition of family values. Unable to compromise with Clinton’s budgetary proposals, Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich used the furloughing of federal workers and slowdown of government services to gain the upper hand. It backfired. Voter concerns about Congressional actions helped Clinton defeat Republican nominee Bob Dole in the 1996 Presidential election. Subsequent investigations of Clinton’s prior real estate ventures, acceptance of campaign contributions from dubious sources and dalliances with an intern undermined confidence in the administration. The third incident resulted in impeachment proceedings. The domestic terrorist attack on the Borah Building in Oklahoma City, coupled with the Columbine tragedy, raised troubling issues about security at public facilities in an open society. Clinton, affably able to compartmentalize challenges, focused his energies on resolving diplomatic and racial issues. He developed economic contacts in China and encouraged its leaders to use moderate methods integrating differing economies during the annexation of Hong Kong. He expanded NATO. He encouraged ArabIsraeli peace accords. He also created a national discussion of racism to heal the breach symbolized by reactions to the O. J. Simpson trial, the Million Man March and the burning of more than forty churches of predominantly black congregations. By promoting preparations for the possible Y2K technological “melt down” and renewing studies of climate and environmental issues, Clinton restored some credibility to his administration. Vice President Al Gore, the heir apparent, strengthened administrative focus on technological innovation and environmental activism. The Synod Moves On Census data at the 1989 Wichita Convention indicated the Synod was unicultural, older and comprised of small congregations. Of the 1,081 voting delegates only twenty-one were female. Only 203 had been adult converts. Only thirty-eight were non-white. Half the delegates were fifty or older and 60% represented congregations of five hundred or fewer baptized. Only ten years prior to the 150th anniversary of the LCMS, the delegates sensed Synod was at a crossroads. President Bohlmann realized relationships and institutions had to be reshaped to meet mission opportunities. Synodical assignment of personnel and control of subsidies in foreign mission fields had strained relations between the Mission Board and fledgling church bodies. To counter criticism, Bohlmann encouraged the board to share the cost of specific activities in Argentina, extend partner status to Lutheran Church-Canada and develop missions in central Africa and eastern Europe. He promised to meet with ELCA leaders and discuss differences between LCMS and ELCA interpretations of inerrancy, close communion and the role of women in the church. He publicized peace and justice studies in public addresses and noted the many Synodical chaplains and enlisted men serving in Desert Storm. While these actions increased Synodical visibility and promoted involvement in contemporary society, Bohlmann’s activities antagonized some Synodical members. Fearing departure from a more narrowly defined agenda, they opposed his reelection. At the 1992 Synodical Convention, Bohlmann presented a Mission Blueprint for the ‘90s, focusing on North America as a mission field. He emphasized planting new churches among ethnic groups, developing leaders for multicultural ministries and providing help for existing churches in changing communities. He shared the same concerns delegates to the LAHE had studied for more than a decade. On the first full day of business, Dr. Alvin Barry, president of Iowa East, defeated Bohlmann by a twelve-vote margin. He would lead the denomination with Bohlmann’s cabinet, all of whom were returned to office. Barry had an opportunity to continue Bohlmann’s focus on mission. After all, Bohlmann had instituted change in Synod

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missions and rebuilt respect for the denomination. Having brought a high sense of churchmanship to his office, he served as an articulate spokesman for Lutheranism and the Synod. Bohlmann laid the groundwork for Synod activities in the new millennium. A reorganization of administrative councils streamlined decision making. The Concordia University System promoted more efficient operations of the heavily indebted ten colleges and universities. Bohlmann’s encouragement of the CTCR to complete appropriate studies about contemporary issues bore fruit. The CTCR missives provided pastoral commentary to assist congregations and members troubled by Christian care at life’s end, race and the church, women and the church, the use of spiritual gifts and church-state relations. Bohlmann’s work also culminated in the formation of ministries to Native Americans and recharged faltering ministry initiatives among blacks and Hispanics. During his first term President Barry, whose election depended upon active politicization of delegates, faced financial constraints. This was caused by falling contributions that adversely affected world mission operations. Fewer undesignated gifts restricted Synod’s ability to meet normal operating expenses. Exhibiting a folksy persona, Barry had seemed comfortable in the congregational setting and initially ill at ease in large venues. Many hoped he could continue to foster a broader vision of Synodical mission. In 1995, he asked delegates to “select a team to work with me.” They unseated Dr. August Mennicke, First Vice President since 1986. The delegates also voted a slate disseminated in partisan circulars. They removed three of the Concordia-Ft. Wayne regents who successfully sought Robert Preus’ retirement from the Seminary. Discussions about Synodical directives that targeted youth gatherings, worship materials and congregational hymnals concluded with a reaffirmation of close communion practices. One District president commented that this approach “. . . breathes a sense of fear and a guarded and introverted approach to Christ’s Supper . . . [and it becomes] something over which we must have control, and a Meal from which people have to be protected, rather than a Banquet to which they should be invited.” President Emeritus Bohlmann expressed concern some Lutherans, undergoing an identity crisis in both witness and relationships, resorted to political power and Convention resolutions to maintain vaunted traditions. He echoed one impassioned pastor’s plea that historical confessions not be used to “. . . club each other over the head but to build and strengthen each other.” When a member of ALSS approached Barry to discuss the impact of Synodical directives and initiatives on Lutheran high schools and multicultural ministries, Barry declared he had never heard of ALSS. He excused himself from the conversation, too busy to meet with the representative. A carefully planned convention permitted delegates to dutifully close the proceedings a day early. In the mean time, the NAACP pressed the FCC for settlement in a case against radio station KFUO. As the plaintiffs sued to resolve alleged violations of hiring practices at the St. Louis radio station, Synodical administrators responded to Black Ministry Convocation resolutions. They also agreed to review and modify mission policies that affected African partner churches. Synod committed LWR domestic grants to assist rebuilding some of the churches destroyed by arson. It also promoted recruitment of minority students for church leadership. Several Great Commission Convocations, developed to promote congregational evangelism, showcased a number of thriving ethnic ministries. Perhaps in the new millennium ethnic ministries and multicultural initiatives could be more inclusive on the local level than they appeared to be on the Synodical level. The administration at Lutheran North was poised to continue its initiative. A Partial St. Louis Renaissance Despite the devastating Mississippi River flooding, St. Louisans optimistically looked forward to recovery from the difficult challenges of the ‘80s. Lambert was the tenth busiest airport in the nation chiefly because American Airlines and TWA maintained international hubs at the facility. TWA taxed runway capacity. It accounted for twothirds of Lambert’s six hundred daily flights and 75% of the more than fifteen million annual passenger boardings.

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Anticipated growth required the airport authority to build an additional runway. Upstart carrier Southwest, at Lambert since TWA had bought out regional Ozark Airlines in the mid-‘80s, moved as sole occupant to the refurbished East Terminal in 1998. A Metrolink light rail system linked the airport and north suburbs with the new downtown civic center, rebuilt shopping venues and stadiums. And the dome finally had a tenant: The Los Angeles Rams. Lured by lucrative incentives and the opportunity to sell personal seat licenses, the team moved from Los Angeles and opened the 1994 season in the TWA Dome. Downtown benefitted from a new facelift. Office space built during the late ‘80s led to business expansion. By 2000, St. Louis Centre, AT and T Center, One Metropolitan Square and the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse towered over the city. The refurbished mall extended from the riverfront Arch all the way to Union Station. The Delmar Loop, anchored by Blueberry Hill, earned repute for its eclectic shops, unique cuisine and ethnic diversity. There were some concerns. The first was education. UMSL Professor J. Frederick Fausz noted that problemplagued schools beset by challenges of class and racial inequality remained a ticking time bomb. They served as incubators of violence. St. Louis 2004, Great Rivers Greenway and Forest Park Forever created visionary plans for improving infrastructure and quality of life. But the St. Louis 2004 “action plan” agenda that addressed racism, discrimination, gang violence, air pollution, minority business growth and technology needs failed to address an educational initiative or governmental reform. Only a year later frustrations about apparent lack of minority hires in infrastructure projects led to a July 12, 1999, morning rush hour protest. Civil rights and labor leaders blocked traffic on I-70 at Goodfellow Boulevard. A second issue that troubled local leaders was the economic downturn. Local business giants faced takeovers, probable restructuring and inevitable downsizing. Mallinckrodt was purchased by Tyco International. Ralston Purina entered discussions that resulted in a merger with Nestle. By 2000, St. Louis Centre faced foreclosure by creditors. In North County economic recovery stalled. Boeing purchased the McDonnell-Douglas Corporation. A giant in the aerospace industry, home of the Phantom fighter series, origin of the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft and developer of the F series military jets, it had employed as many as forty thousand workers. Boeing’s restructuring reduced employment to ten thousand. And when the Lambert airport authority built the new runway, it used eminent domain to condemn 40% of neighboring Bridgeton’s homes and one-third of its businesses. The new millennium did bring hope. Approaching milestone markers of the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial and the city’s 250th Anniversary Celebration created interest in cooperative planning and regional coordination. Perhaps the region’s many government leaders could deal with local problems and develop a comprehensive outlook to fulfill the simple goals of Urban League head James H. Buford. He challenged people to live their lives to leave an example and legacy for others to follow. North County, its economy stalling, underwent a transition. White retirees, “empty nesters” now that their children were raised, moved out of the area. Many young, often underemployed black families, assisted by government programs, moved into sprawling apartment complexes located in unincorporated areas. Seeking relief from the troubles of city neighborhoods, they found that only one social service agency served, for example, the entire Spanish Lake region. Most did not share the prosperity brought by the renaissance in the downtown center. Plant closures reduced employment opportunities. Ferguson, a traditional blue-collar community close to many now-closed industrial plants, was 75% white in 1990. It was on its way to becoming 67% black by 2000, many of its new residents needing training for tech jobs a long public transit ride away. To complicate matters, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found many area schools deficient during accreditation evaluations. Administrators and teachers in neighboring Wellston, Jennings, Riverview Gardens, Normandy and St. Louis Public School districts faced almost insurmountable challenges in regaining full accreditation.

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Crisler Meets the Challenge By 1993, North’s school enrollment fell below 350. Something had to be done quickly. The first was publicity. Only a year after taking the reins, Crisler had something to announce. ALSS officials had developed a program to evaluate schools deemed commendable for their high educational standards and quality of school climate. They used the services of Missouri District educational executives led by Duane Hingst to conduct the studies. On behalf of North, Crisler accepted the honor of being one of the selected educational institutions worthy of an ALSS moniker as one of the nation’s Exemplary Lutheran High Schools. With a Barry-led Synod struggling to provide any models of higher education in a multicultural setting, perhaps North’s example could spur more creative use of Synod Office Building resources. The second action to counter falling enrollment was creativity. Increased core requirements by the state of Missouri threatened to make obsolete the six-period day. While zero hour provided time for students to take a few elective courses, the traditional schedule would not provide an opportunity for most students to attain the required number of credits to graduate. Growing student demand for more college credit curricular offerings provided an opportunity to reevaluate the entire curriculum in the context of a new schedule. Strengthening ties to St. Louis University with its 1818/ACC offerings and developing more AP course material would fulfill those needs. A stronger, broader academic program might entice more local prospects to invest tuition fees at North for a greater post-graduation return. After all, one of the participants in these offerings was Emily Dehne. North’s community had just celebrated her selection as a National Merit Scholar. Crisler pursued funding to launch a thorough examination of the new Block Schedule. AAL provided a $10,000 grant to support the expected costs of visiting schools and adapting curriculum to the new format. Crisler traveled to Salt Lake City to observe schools that started the block schedule in the ‘70s. The designation itself describes a chapter in the history of education in Utah. When the program had developed in Utah, all public schools were built on blocks owned by the Mormons. Next to each high school was a Mormon seminary building. On schedule, students left the public school to attend religious instruction “down the block.” The students had eight ninety-minute classes—four each day--in a recurring two-day cycle. One of those was designated for the seminary block. It enabled more efficient use of time as students attended class “down the block.” Crisler and Registrar Matt Heibel, in conjunction with Curriculum Coordinator Carl Holschen, visited similar Missouri public school programs at Springfield Hillcrest and Kansas City North. Brentwood High was the only local school with the block schedule. Brentwood administrators had actually hired a Salt Lake City administrator to start their program. With some minor variations, the respective school boards and administrations provided practical suggestions for the North faculty to implement an eight-block schedule. Soon, curricular groups divided the cycle of classes into two four-block days, each block eighty-five minutes in length. Classes met every other day, blocks one through four on “A” day and blocks five through eight on “B” day. On the second day of each twoday rotation, the sixth block became an academic lab. Students read for the first twenty minutes of each lab and then had the next sixty-four minutes of the lab to do a variety of things. They could make up exams, receive tutoring from other students, work on group projects, conduct research in the new media center, complete assignments in the computer lab and confer with instructors. Administrators of the schools that successfully implemented the block schedule also encouraged Crisler to host frequent informational assemblies during the fourth quarter labs. They noted this practice successfully counteracted spring fever and helped students refocus on classroom responsibilities. The old schedule had never had more than fifty-two minutes per class, so the longer blocks enabled teachers to develop more definitive instructional activities. Students could complete the tasks at hand and teachers would still have time to field questions or discuss students’ observations. With the longer block, even short field trips became possible. The PE Department created new units of bowling and golfing and considered the addition of swimming. All depended upon the use of off-campus facilities. Home economics curriculum incorporated visits to local grocery stores and retail outlets.

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Faculty and administrators who visited the sites of successful block implementation noticed the academic lab posed several supervisory problems. They noted the necessity of supervising hallways, tracking student movement and maximizing media center use without overtaxing resources. They also observed how the Hillcrest teachers, strong advocates for the schedule, engaged their students in the learning process by incorporating three different instructional methods per block. Traditional teaching habits would have to change. The Hillcrest faculty did warn observers that another cautionary issue was the cost of implementation. In the new cycle, instructors taught five periods out of eight and supervised an academic lab. The administration would have to add teachers to fill new blocks created by the schedule. A second issue that troubled some faculty was the frequency of classes. Foreign language, math and music courses, in particular, depended upon daily immersion, repetition and practice. As part of the plenary faculty discourse, one veteran teacher/coach asked the rhetorical question, “Should the football team only practice together every other day?” Faculty consensus provided an answer to the query: The new system required students to do more on their own. The program raised expectations about student responsibilities. But several teachers expressed concern about the impact the schedule would have on freshmen and students with learning disabilities. Students in those two categories often exhibited inadequate planning abilities and poor independent work habits. To resolve the issue, the administrative committee adjusted the planned schedule. It designated each Friday of a five-day school week as an “AB Day.” This guaranteed teacher-student contact three days per week during most of the school year. Each student also received a planner. On a daily basis, lab instructors and teachers of freshmen directed use of this key organizational tool. The block schedule created a third challenge. For example, two math lessons of fifty-two minutes each could not be squeezed into an eighty-five minute block. Over a year, a course lost approximately two weeks of instructional time. Departments would have to restructure course content. Students would be expected to complete more material outside the formal classroom setting. A final issue raised by the new schedule was the timing of faculty meetings. During the first year of implementation the faculty rarely met in full plenary. However, administrative heads led periodic sectional meetings. Faculty, available for consultation during specific planning blocks, continued communication about policy adaptation and curriculum development. The new system encouraged student-student and faculty-student collaboration. It developed student selfreliance and fostered the creation of more rigorous college credit course work. Finally, it provided larger blocks of time for lengthier experiences not possible under the old schedule. These opportunities swayed North’s faculty to adopt the new program in 1995. South followed a year later. Most importantly, the administrations provided professional development opportunities. Teachers observed the block system as implemented at other institutions. They also spoke to instructors in other schools about its benefits, challenges and hazards. To help teachers adapt instruction to the unique format, Holschen extensively studied the issues raised by implementation of the new schedule. He developed some common statistical markers about successful dissemination and testing of course content. Using those benchmarks, Holschen compared instructional methodologies used during the traditional “fire drill schedule” as opposed to those utilized in the new block schedule. Students helped complete this task. They charted teachers’ use of time first under the period schedule. Then, after Crisler provided funding and time for teachers to attend professional development workshops, the students repeated the same observations during the block schedule. Holschen analyzed the statistical data that appraised the use of classroom instructional time, noting the shorter classes of the six-period day chiefly revolved around teacher-led lectures and demonstrations. Under the block schedule, teachers used more cooperative and participatory student activities. Test results indicated the latter approach helped improve academic performance. Those comparative observations became the centerpiece of the North Central Accreditation evaluations during the late ‘90s. They also provided him the basis for completing his doctoral research. Initially, class and club advisors hoped their activities could meet during a portion of the academic lab period. That created a number of issues regarding supervisory duties: students missing tutoring time, additional traffic in

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the hallways, appropriate settings for meetings. After only a year, the administration implemented “late start Mondays” to provide the time for the activity meetings. But as South adopted the block schedule, the two high schools shared personnel and could not operate independent schedules. North eliminated the “AB Day” and moved the “late start” to Wednesdays. This permitted, for example, Chris Durst, who worked in student special services, to more easily travel between her destinations. The schedule coordination also enabled North to continue its French program without an on-site instructor. A special interactive television feed enabled Paula Larsen (Gyllenborg) instructing South students to also teach North students at the same time. Two departments, in particular, used the new block schedule to implement several curricular changes and efficiently use the expertise of its department members. The Social Studies Department, chaired by Dave McCollister, reformulated its courses. Freshmen would now take World History-Geography I, developing analytical geography skills and then studying a variety of cultures up to 1763. Sophomores in World HistoryGeography II would study cultures through the contemporary era, spending more than a semester examining the post-1900 period. The American colonial era, Caribbean issues, World War I and World War II would not be included in the junior year of United States History because those topics had been examined in the newly repackaged World History courses. Senior students could take the two semesters of ACC/AP United States History or an independent study. They also had the option of taking Humanities, which was an introduction to Psychology and Sociology. Incorporated in these curricular adaptations were longer media center research sessions, multimedia student-led presentations, the required reading of historical fiction, inclusion of more essay writing as part of exams and more cooperative learning for test review. The department members often discussed these issues at the ALSS-sponsored Midwest Educators Conference. The full-day conference, hosted by Crisler at North on the Friday prior to the LAHE Auction, included corporate worship, an address by a nationally-known educator or motivational speaker, communal lunch, breakout sessions facilitated by department chairs and concluding devotions. Because most schools had similar enrollments, the participating faculties assisted each other in resolving curricular and classroom issues created by block scheduling. North’s Social Studies faculty touted the educational benefits of using the new technology available in the media center. The long-time traditional highlight of the first semester for Mac’s juniors (besides his Bunker Hill charges) was the creation of the video about antebellum slavery. Al Smith, World History-Geography II and Humanities instructor, developed a series of traditional projects based on Contemporary World, a CD-driven program that compared lives and possessions of families from thirty-five different countries. New arrival from Orlando Luther was Jim Prahlow. Like Doc Prahlow at South, he introduced the tour book assignment, requiring students in World History-Geography I to create a scrapbook of photos, pamphlets and commentary about a historic site or museum. In the northwest wing of the second floor, Mike Kratzer juggled multiple teacher and student requests to use the media center, cameras and specific computers for their downloads to complete the new class projects. In 1995 the five-to-one student to computer ratio was one of the best in the area. During the transition to the block schedule, Pastor Repp led the chapel program and Religion Department through a renaissance. While he emphasized the sanctity of the chapel that “masqueraded” as a gym during the rest of the time, he encouraged student participation in chapel. New chapel furnishings in 1995 provided for a renewed focus during worship. Not long after the new altar and lectern had been commissioned for use, Repp’s daughter Angela, a North grad, provided new liturgical banners. Suspended from a pulley support system anchored in the walls and ceiling, the banners helped students note the seasons of the church year. In the aftermath of the Synodical crisis of the ‘70s, the implementation of the inter-district transfer program in the ‘80s and the migration of many to St. Charles County in the ‘90s, fewer LCMS Lutherans attended North. To provide continuity and stability in a student body where fewer than 60% of the students were LCMS Lutherans, weekly worship cycles were very regimented. Each Monday students assisted homeroom teachers with the lectionary readings. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays faculty leaders led skits, presented homilies or held songfests. Wednesdays were reserved for small group devotionals. The ever-present Klingsick accompanied hymns on organ or piano. During festival services the band, choir or Student Council groups accompanied or led worship.

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Repp scheduled several student organizations to lead chapel during specific weeks. Each year in late October a TREND series dealt with the issues of depression and suicide. In late April Student Council led services that emphasized the importance of students making good choices during prom and graduation season. Occasionally these chapels encouraged students to observe additional displays that highlighted consequences of decisions. Each spring Student Council arranged for the display of a car from a local junkyard. It provided a shocking reminder about the problems caused by inattention at the wheel or the hazards of drunk driving. Repp also provided the impetus to systematize the record keeping and require the completion of the Saved to Serve program. Andrea Vahrenhorst, a freshman religion instructor, encouraged students to design and complete volunteer projects in school or in congregations. Her successor, John Tape, adapted the program to better fulfill the needs of local families and service organizations. With the voluntary nature of participation, unlike the program initiated at South where Shirley Rauh incorporated supervised SLYCE initiatives, students rarely provided verification of completed projects. In 1993, the Association Board approved the addition of service hours to graduation requirements. At North, freshmen and sophomores were required to complete ten hours of volunteer service each year. Juniors and seniors were required to complete fifteen hours each year. A simplified paper form turned in to the Saved to Serve coordinator required students to describe in a few paragraphs the service duties completed during the time allotted. Then the individual was required to complete a contemplative paragraph about the experience in the context of either 2 Samuel 7 or 1 Corinthians 3: 9-11. During the first years of the Saved to Serve program, two projects demonstrated the type of servant hearts Saved to Serve proponents hoped to foster. Onyi Ijei logged more than five hundred hours while monitoring phones for KUTO (Kids Under Twenty-one), a local counseling and suicide hot line serving teens. The second project, carried out in June 1996, was completed by a vanload of students. Mac drove the students to Alabama where, for a week, the group rehabbed a couple of historic sites originally used by Rosa Young and ConcordiaSelma. Because of these types of service activities, fraternal organization AAL financially supported the program. The annual stipend was added to the student assistance fund. The focus on nurturing student spiritual growth with faith-life experiences led to a change in the chapel schedule. In 1998, North adopted Southâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s small group chapel setting. Guidance Center personnel and the Dean of Chapel vetted each upperclassman who applied to become a peer minister. Faculty members provided additional insights about the character of each applicant. Prior to the start of the school year guidance counselors and chapel dean led training sessions. They also paired veteran leaders with inexperienced applicants. Then they selected each of the small groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s membership, distributing as evenly as possible representatives of each class and gender. The peer ministers led weekly devotions. They also led their respective small groups in providing Christmas gifts for needy families and selecting Faith in Action projects. Finally, they provided initial rudimentary counseling for students troubled by personal or societal issues. Repp, and later Rev. Mark Meschke, wrote a series of devotionals to assist student leaders develop facilitator skills during the first sessions of each school year. At other times, particularly during specific crises like Columbine and 9/11, they created Biblical study guides to assist peer leaders in facilitating productive discussion. As in the Lutheran tradition, many groups shared snacks during the sessions. Later, when South moved to two small group meetings per week to address its specific needs, North maintained the one day per week tradition. A Puzzling Development With focused worship and servant opportunities in the Association schools, it was puzzling that a few Synodical leaders, Seminary administrators, District personnel and even parish pastors appeared to discount lay- and

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commissioned worker-led ministries. This initially became most obvious in higher education. Support eroded for Valparaiso University and its annual Sunday in January. As the institution’s leadership grappled with the realities of educating a higher percentage of non-Lutherans, the university’s counselors and administrators created new venues to better facilitate interaction with those students. LCMS/ELCA conflicts distracted Synodical leaders from discussions about education. Instead, they focused energies on prohibiting discussion of non-negotiable resolutions to Valpo campus issues like ordination of women. Even a Concordia-River Forest college president appeared disengaged with Lutheran education. He sent his children to a local non-Lutheran school. Some Association teachers at North and South, concerned about the symbolic significance of this issue, started a letter writing campaign to encourage the leader to reconsider. The individual responded pastorally to the queries and reevaluated the family decision. While difficult, the exchanges did result in more positive contact between graduates, donors and the institution and revitalized dialogue between Association, college and Synodical representatives. This was a significant development because at the same time some local parish leaders expressed a few concerns. They perceived “their” students at North and South did not participate as readily in congregational activities because of involvement in high school programs. Fortunately, the publication of empirical data successfully countered those concerns. Between 1996 and 2008, Saved to Serve statistics reveal that more than half of all North students fulfilled their service hours by working in their congregations. They taught VBS, assisted in Sunday school, served as tutors, helped in classrooms, supervised tiny tot play, maintained church grounds, supervised pre-confirmation servant projects, advised junior youth groups and coached athletic teams. Most served above and beyond the hours officially recorded, helping Crisler and Mueller, in particular, reengage with congregational delegates. South, led by Rev. Ron Roma, countered similar concerns on the south side. He fostered direct student participation in feeder school chapels and invited congregational youth workers to lead corporate chapel worship. But looking for support from Synodical and neighborhood church worker personnel was not always successful, and at times even included an ironic twist. When a local north side Association congregation celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, one of its festival Sundays was Christian Education Sunday. The main speaker, a professor at the Seminary, had withdrawn his child from a Lutheran high school. The worship leader sent his children to a public high school. And the congregational representative home schooled his children. Fortunately, students at North benefitted from renewed contacts with the Sem. Like during the Central years, Sem students and wives worked at North. Sem student Jed Maschke coached cross country and track teams. Sem wives Diana Strand taught full time in the Foreign Language Department and Lisa Lessing worked in the Guidance Center. Later Cindy Burreson would head the Guidance Center and Sem student Darin Keener would teach religion classes. Perhaps the healthy relationship between the institutions had been rekindled by the joint North/South baccalaureate service held each May at the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the Sem campus. Co-Curricular and Athletic Success To better focus on student recruitment, Mueller needed to relinquish some of his many duties. The advisor of Student Council, TREND, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, instructor of Christian Living, head basketball coach, Director of Recruitment and Director of Summer Camps also had four children who ranged in age from elementary school to high school. He gave his TREND responsibilities to Mike Prange and Student Council duties to Tim Hipenbecker. He handed Saved to Serve coordination to Jim Prahlow. While he now had the time to focus on recruitment, he also sought new challenges. He and wife Kathy, a preschool teacher at Chapel of the Cross, soon adopted a new child. Hipenbecker, who also led FBLA, used Mueller’s approach to Student Council to broaden outreach activities. Noting that during the early ‘90s the school body averaged at least twenty-five sets of siblings each year, he

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encouraged more social nights. While the three traditional dances continued (Homecoming, Christmas Dance, Valentines Dance) students added activities night (gym activities that included a dunk contest), game night (Mortal Kombat was the bomb!), and swing dancing. An annual faculty-Student Council basketball game, its proceeds benefitting a local charity, took on a life of its own. In the first game played in 1996, Student Council rallied from eight down to tie at the end of regulation. When the first overtime ended at 52-52, all agreed to call it a night. The next year, the faculty held a two-point advantage and the ball as the clock ran down. But a missed layup gave the students a final chance. Dan Grupe hooked in a half court desperation shot to give the Student Council squad a 51-50 upset—while raising almost five hundred dollars for a needy family. In more serious activities, Hipenbecker’s leadership in Student Council and FBLA encouraged students to explore public programs outside the immediate area. His top FBLA student, Sara Carter, earned a trip to Washington, D. C. to compete in a national business competition. Deidra Scott and Stephanie Dooley, daughter of a County official (and later County Supervisor) Charlie Dooley, traveled to the capitol to witness the Clinton inauguration. Another key co-curricular organization was the OAAAC. Annually, between mid-January and the end of February, its members led a series of chapels and assemblies focusing on black history and culture. They organized worship and celebrations that included the talents of interpretive readers, the Gospel Choir (directed by former teacher Angela Gaskin), soloists and dancers. The focus of the assemblies gradually evolved. Initially informational in nature, organizers of the early assemblies confronted racial stereotypes and provided a means of worshipful artistic expression. By the mid-‘90s they transformed the assemblies into affirming, inspirational events. In the thought-provoking presentations, speakers utilized video clips and motivational materials to highlight regional and national events caused by contemporary issues. CPH administrator Rev. John Nunez, Grace Chapel Pastor Dave Mulder, social worker Otis Woodard and Missouri Circuit Clerk Mavis Thompson (N ’74) challenged students to rise above the tensions caused by racism. Ever-present posters and displays highlighting the contributions of black leaders to American culture and society adorned hallway walls, bulletin boards and cafeteria doorways. These visual aids often provoked healthy discussions and interesting educational experiences. As an additional byproduct of this lengthy period of celebration, many developed empathy for other cultures and ethnic groups. John Thomas, a new social studies teacher, served as OAAAC advisor after Ijei left North to develop a private counseling practice. Thomas, whose wife Marti took over the chorale department, broadened the educational component of Black History Month. He renamed the group the Organization for the Appreciation of World Cultures in Christ to incorporate celebrations of additional ethnic and cultural traditions. While still primarily highlighting black history during February, he noted the arrival of many new immigrant groups in St. Louis, particularly along South Grand, West Olive and the Bevo Mill neighborhoods. His series of assembly programs included outside speakers and student groups that provided information about Caribbean, African and Latino cultures. These dovetailed with his classroom duties that included instruction about modern themes in world history. Marti Thomas did the same with the choral program. In her first year she tripled the number of students in the chorus. Successful performances fostered her goal to make the second semester of the class an “audition only” organization. Her enthusiasm for co-curriculars quickly recruited students for a show choir. It led assemblies at local elementary schools and churches. Thomas also started an annual coffee house that highlighted student performances. One of those students, Ed Williams, followed her cue and played piano occasionally during lunch hours. During this era, Thomas and the Drama Department head—first Steve Gruenwald, then Rachael Hamre and finally Kelly Hobbs--annually co-produced a musical and a drama. Gruenwald’s most memorable productions included Little Shop of Horrors and Godspell. He edited the latter offering to include an appended resurrection scene. Gruenwald used his exceptional voice and acting abilities for the general benefit of the Association. Twice he appeared at the Sem games to promote an Elvis Presley SH-Boom concert benefit for the high schools. Gruenwald also led a barbershop quartet involving art teacher Kurt Bergdolt,

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former North instructor Nierman and North parent Dave Drewes. They sang at congregational dedications, church picnics and delegate gatherings. Hamre, who also coached the Dance Cru, directed musicals like Once on the Island and Les Miserables. Hobbs had a penchant for nostalgia. She directed Arsenic and Old Lace, 1940s Radio Hour and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Tirmenstein’s band program broadened its scope and successfully coordinated performances with recruitment efforts. The band, with the addition of North and SIUC grad Derek Spears, took trips to Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois and Minnesota that included day trips to Opryland and Mall of America. A 1999 citation for earning a “1” at the annual State band fest became another notable achievement, as well as Jon Krekel’s participation in the trumpet section of the All State Band. His three-year run continued with similar recognitions later earned by Brian Funke and Brian McEuen. The drum ensemble developed a quality tradition earning several high ratings in the State competition. In 1993 Tirmenstein noted that Concordia-River Forest rekindled local interest in the school as its wind symphony led worship at Immanuel-St. Charles. The following spring he and Crisler contacted Rev. David Groth at Grace Chapel and asked if the North band could help lead a worship service. He agreed, and the band led hymns at worship. It started a tradition in which congregations could see and share in the development of their students’ Christian education. Lutheran North Sundays soon dotted the calendar, the musicians leading hymns during worship and Crisler or Mueller conducting an informational meeting during the adult Bible class period. The concert and jazz bands also performed at local elementary schools, including Mueller’s new feeder, Ascension Catholic, that frequently sent as many as six graduates to North each year. The local tour approach led to an unexpected bonanza for band enrollment. By 1999, the band membership, exceeding more than one hundred, could not fit in the band room. The registrar added a separate Beginning/Intermediate Band class to the schedule. The annual Academic Fair and Music Festival continued its success. Traditionally on the first Friday of March, Lutheran elementary school choirs, bands and chimers performed before judges. The next day soloists and other musician groups joined “mathletes” and spellers to compete for ribbons and ratings. Parents, teachers and students could also view judged art work or science projects displayed in the gym. After 2002, students competed in a new Bible Fact competition. In 2006 Social Studies became a third subject in the triennial project rotation. Athletic excellence at Lutheran North, already established during the ‘80s, became part of the school culture during the ‘90s. Year after year, student-athletes in many sports competed not just for league honors but for State plaques. Naturally, building on the success of the late ‘80s, Russell’s 1993 football squad started the run. Comprised chiefly of the ’90 winless C teamers, the ‘93 edition won the District competition and advanced to the State playoffs. Sweeping through the first three rounds, the favored Crusaders traveled to Columbia to play at Mizzou on a cold Thanksgiving weekend. This meant North’s squads had played in the State finals five of the last twelve years, and more incredibly, four of the last six. Quarterback Nate Ritter and running backs Chevron Williams, Deric Johnson and Byron Devrouax led the group, rallying to close to 13-12 against Warsaw. Late in the game the squad drove down field. A missed field goal denied the team a fifth state championship. That spring, several of the football players, including John Hundley and Ellis Gales, joined the track squad. Crisler, now principal, had completed his track stint with a flourish, and made certain the “cupboard was not bare.” During the ’93 campaign Rodney Hester won the 100M title. Devrouax, Johnson and freshman Byron Mischeaux, who joined Hester to earn fourth in the 4 x 1, all returned in ’94. They added Williams to the relay— and finished fourth again. Jonte Greer earned fourth in Triple Jump (TJ). Hundley, who in his first year of track, earned individual medals in the 300 Intermediate Hurdles (IH) and Long Jump (LJ), joined Gales, D’Anthony (“Smooth”) Smotherman and Ryan Mays to score in the 4 x 4. After having won an ABC League title three weeks earlier, it was a nice way to end the season. A bigger surprise awaited. As the team was packing up to leave they heard the announcement they had just earned the second track plaque in school history. The girls, whose season two years before had ended with no one participating in District, were led by vets Tammy Taylor and Taedra

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Rutlin. The duo and three new freshmen earned medals at the meet. Things looked particularly promising for the girls’ future fortunes. That fall was momentous. First, one of those new freshmen, Rachel Mueller, tried cross country. Having enjoyed track in elementary school, she liked running in the parks around the area. Because of heavier traffic in the community, administrators no longer permitted students to run the roads and daily Coach Terrass traveled by van or bus to a local park. On a team with five other novices, she found herself running through parks with the boys. After opening strongly at the Lutheran South Invite, she medaled in every meet. Coach Terrass’ boys, too, improved each meet, spending a lot of time at the Prin course where District was held. Mueller won the individual District title. With Smotherman, Lathundrel Robinson and Carl Darris in the top five at District, the guys qualified for State for the second time in school history. Continuous rain in Jeff City during the week leading to the meet prohibited course tours. Mueller, having seen it only from afar, found herself up front at the 2K mark racing her Valley Park nemesis in the pouring rain—and pulling away. She won the school’s first individual State cross country championship with the largest victory margin of the day. About a half hour later, in a separate classification, Lutheran South’s boys earned their second consecutive State cross country team title. Jack Preus of South duplicated Mueller’s individual win. It had been quite a day for the Association schools. Two weeks later, North soccer coach Kurt Bergdolt announced that Grant Brinkmeyer earned All State honors, too. The following spring Soph Dan Fennewald finished in the top five of several golf matches. Putting his best game together at District, he became the first Crusader to compete at the State golf championships. The baseball team, too, had an exceptional run. The District champions, led by captain Kevin Drury, Joel Nierman, Kevin Thurman and Doug Beckman, went on a twelve-game tear during mid-season and swept into the Quarterfinals. The 14-4 Crusaders, however, could not rally late and fell one game short of the Final Four. Smotherman and company returned to the track. After sweeping a second ABC title, a dropped baton in the 4 x 1 cost the squad a District championship. With four events qualified for Jeff City, coaches Terrass, Tirmenstein, Bergdolt and Prahlow hoped for some medals. Smotherman, who won the 800M, anchored both the 4 x 2 (including Jared Owens, Mischeaux, and Johnson) and 4 x 4 (including Owens, Mays and Demon Buckley) to wins. Joe Beard awaited his rounds in the TJ that started about the time the 4 x 4 ended. Meanwhile, the girls were on their way to a surprisingly easy State championship. Already having won the first of four consecutive league titles and the first of eight consecutive District championships, they were ready. They won the 4 x 200, vet Taylor pulling Crystal Guynn, Shamica Buckley and Amy Tirmenstein to a school record. Taylor led the 4 x 100 of Guynn, Melanie McDaniel and Jazale Greer to another victory. Mueller finished runner up in both the 1600 and 800, as did Tirmenstein in the TJ. Guynn sneaked into a fifth in the 300LH and came back to join Tirmenstein, McDaniel and Mueller in a 4 x 400 win. The Lady Thinclads won North’s first State track title, while Beard waited to jump. On his final jump he slipped up into fifth, the guys now only 1.5 points behind Palmyra. On the final jump of the meet, the fourth-place athlete leaped into second, pushing Palmyra’s jumper back to third, losing two points. The Crusaders had their second State championship of the day! It was quite a bus ride back to Lucas and Hunt. The following fall, Smooth returned for his final year. Rejoined by Darris, veteran Dan Grupe and newcomers Ed Barron, Ed Deloch, and Troy Brown, the cross country squad finished runner up at the District meet in O’Fallon Park. The team had qualified for State for the second year in a row. The team had entered mid-season improving quite rapidly when Barron’s and Brown’s families decided to participate in the Million Man March. The two, galvanized by the experience, returned to the squad after the lengthy bus ride from D. C. At the urging of Beard, they shared their stories while riding to and from practices. The team bonding helped them finish seventh at State, Darris and Smotherman in the top thirty. Melanie McDaniel took her cue from Beard and occasionally, during post-workout bus rides, led the Matins choruses Bergdolt had introduced in chapel. She, along with Guynn and frosh Jana Tillman and Randi Sellers, became the first girls’ squad to earn a District plaque and compete at State. Mueller reprised her State success with a tenth. That winter, both girls’ and boys’ basketball teams lost tight games in the District finals. Perhaps the highlight of the winter had been when Nate Mueller hit a late trey to defeat South in overtime in the Sem games (at

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Fontbonne!). But both teams seemed poised for future quality performances. Baseball, led by pitcher Corey Biegener, second baseman Greg Mueller and Jim Bowling rebounded from a disappointing year. In the spring of ‘96, the veteran track squads again swept double State victories. Smotherman, Mischeaux and Buckley led underclassmen Darris, Shaun McMorris, Brown and jumper Ishmael Sistrunk to a surprisingly easy win at the State meet. They swept three relays and Mischeaux won the 100M. Smotherman won a second consecutive 800M title. The ladies had a few technical troubles, hurdler Guynn false starting and Mueller ill with the flu. But the crew rallied, Tillman scoring big points in the 400M, 200M and HJ. Guynn and Mueller recovered to join Tirmenstein and McDaniel on the 4 x 400 to complete the day with a runner up slot, but a second consecutive State meet win. It was an exceptional crew. Smotherman ran at Grambling and then coached and taught in St. Louis before doing the same in Atlanta. Beard continued his trumpet performances during his collegiate career at Jackson State where he earned a business degree. After majoring in journalism at Mizzou, Sistrunk returned home as a sports writer for the St. Louis American. In 2015, his wife, Ebony, became a counselor at South. Darris, who graduated from Alabama A and M, earned his doctorate in molecular biology after attending Tennessee State and Meharry Medical School in Nashville. Mueller and Tirmenstein ran at Concordia-Nebraska and Augustana, respectively, and then coached together at Denver Lutheran. Tillman played basketball at SLU before serving as an administrator in the St. Louis Public School system. Written On Our Hearts and Lives The accomplishments of those particular North graduates were symbolic of the hundreds of success stories of other Crusaders. Christian secondary education buttressed their quests for achieving academic and vocational excellence. Those experiences could easily be coupled with similar achievements by Central and South graduates. The successes provided innumerable reasons for thankful celebration. The stories of accompished graduates nurtured by Christian secondary education made the Association fiftieth anniversary year a memorable commemoration. In August 1995, participants at the opening services for the academic year at North and South celebrated the many blessings God bestowed on the Association. Both services highlighted 2 Corinthians 3:2 as the theme for the celebration: “Written On Our Hearts and Lives.” Commemorative banners decorated both campuses. Administrators coordinated three Lutheran High School Sundays at Association congregations. Homecoming festivities included half-time recognitions of alumni. The guests partook of snacks in hospitality tents while renewing acquaintances with classmates. The November Fantasy Faire Dinner Auction included images of high school activities through the years. In December a few alumni caroled at Kiener Plaza. At the February Sem games former athletes from the two schools were recognized. The late-May baccalaureate service included prayers of thanksgiving for the fifty years of blessings. The final culminating event was the Golden Reunion Weekend Celebration of July 12-14, 1996. Alumni toured the campus facilities at North and South. At each site they perused yearbooks, pictures and memorabilia. A number of Central graduates visited the old campus on Lake and Waterman. The Golden Reunion Banquet at the Cervantes Convention Center, preceded by a cocktail party, included a brief address by Central and North teacher and coach Myron (Mike) Marty. The weekend closed with a special worship service at the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on Sunday morning. ’70 South grad Mark Bender, the minister of music at St. Paul-Des Peres, led a mass alumni choir. Seminary Dean of Faculty Rev. Jack Preus (N ’71) coordinated the festal service. The celebrations encouraged participants to retrospectively examine the state of the Association. In the official fiftieth anniversary publication, Written on Our Hearts and Lives: 1946-1996, Central and South teacher Dave Rohde provided a capsule history of the three high schools. After fifty years, more than eleven thousand

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“letters of recommendation” had graduated as either Crusaders or Lancers. He noted that during the early years only about 45% of the graduates went on to college. But by the early ‘90s, more than 90% of the graduates attended college. During the golden anniversary year a total of 990 students attended South (662) and North (328). Of the sixty-two Lutheran high schools across the country, South ranked third and North twelfth in enrollment. More than 70% of the students participated in athletics. Approximately 50% of the students participated in fine arts performance groups. More than 80% of both faculties held master’s degrees and two had Ph.D.’s. Faculty members averaged 17.5 years of experience. While the fiscal 1946 operating budget was $80,000, by 1996 it was $4.8 million. Tuition, initially $85 per year, rose to $3,624 for Association members. Association congregations, originally providing 50% of the operating revenue, now contributed 20%. Rohde noted the key to the successful expansion plans of the ‘80s and the “dreamed of” campus additions of the new millennium were possible only because of the LCF and the commitment of parents and congregations. He concluded the “state of the union” analysis by quoting Dr. William A. Kramer. Kramer, the editor of the 25th Anniversary History of the Association, concluded his 1971 work by challenging parents, students, teachers and the organized church to commit their resources for Christian education. He had been uniquely positioned to evaluate the Association on its twenty-fifth anniversary. Born and raised in Perry County, Missouri, he attended Concordia-River Forest, graduating from the two-year college program in 1922. When the college expanded into a four-year degree-granting program, he completed his work for a bachelor’s degree, and in 1943 earned a master of arts degree in education at St. Louis University. Kramer taught at and served as principal in rural congregations in Missouri and Illinois. From 1940 to 1961, he served the LCMS as editor of school materials; then as assistant secretary of schools; and finally, from 1961through 1970, as secretary of elementary and secondary schools in the Board of Parish Education. As editor of school materials he wrote or edited dozens of books and served on the editorial board for This Day magazine—all the while serving his local congregation, Holy Cross-St. Louis, in a variety of offices. He also served on the LAHE Board. In a sense, he was the grandfather of LCMS and Association education initiatives, and from that position understood the significance of the Association ministry. With those sterling credentials in his lifelong ministry for the church, many avidly sought his advice and counsel. The words he used to close the twenty-fifth anniversary commemorative history were just as applicable to close the fiftieth anniversary history. He had written: “. . . [W]e assess the future of Lutheran secondary education . . . [and] Christian nurture . . . [as] essential for children and young people . . . [We use] the anniversary observance . . . as an occasion for new commitment, new confidence and new courage in providing the necessary means for Lutheran secondary education . . . [We are thankful that] God so richly blessed St. Louis’ modern venture in Christian secondary education.” His words, based on the Word, still held true. Golden Athletes That July in Atlanta, not long after the Golden Reunion Banquet, ’88 North graduate Connie Teaberry competed in high jump in the Centennial Olympic Games. It had not been an easy road to Olympic Stadium. Teaberry grew up on the north side of St. Louis, attending St. Matthews. As a tall, gangly freshman, Coach Pete Richenburg noted her jumping potential. He arranged for her to attend a high jump camp and she was enthralled with the event. Success in the jumps came quickly. As a junior she suffered a knee injury during the basketball season. The tenacious competitor desperately rehabbed and managed to return to the track that spring. After winning the Missouri State Title in the high jump her senior year, the all-around athlete signed with Kansas State. Despite several recurring injuries, she won three Big Eight Outdoor HJ titles and became a six-time NCAA All American. In 1992 she was chosen as the NCAA Athlete of the Year and competed at the Olympic Trials. To continue training, she developed jumpers while serving as an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky and

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the University of Toledo. After recovering from reconstructive knee surgery in 1993, Teaberry resumed training to compete internationally and prepared for a last chance at the Games. It paid off. She first represented the United States at the 1993 and 1995 World Championships. In 1996, on her third try at the last height, Teaberry cleared the bar on the “make or break” jump and leaped into second place at the Olympic Trials. She had made the Games! In 2004, after completing assistant coaching stints at Arizona State and Ohio University, she accepted the head track and field coaching position at Northern Illinois University. Like so many other successful athletes, she later came back to North, running Crusader Summer Academy track camps and visiting with North athletes. Currently head coach at Northern Illinois University, she, too, is a visible presence in the sports world. She is not alone. Russell and Coach V could be quite proud of the program they fostered as athletic directors. In addition to many athletes who played a variety of sports in college, at least ten Crusader football alums played in the NFL, and two Crusader baseball players played professional baseball. Bobby Joe Edmonds (‘82) attended the University of Arkansas and played both football (six seasons with the Seahawks, Raiders and Bucs) and baseball (Tigers). He was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie with Seattle. Lorenzo Scott (‘00) attended Ball State and played nine years of professional baseball after being drafted by the Orioles. He played for fourteen different minor league teams in that nine-year career. The Petersen brothers (Mark ‘71, Kurt ‘75) both signed NFL contracts. Mark played for the Illini and had a tryout with the Chiefs. Kurt was a defensive end and captain at Mizzou. He was drafted by the Cowboys, where he played for six years. Thomas Rooks (‘82) was the all-time leading rusher when he left the Illini in 1985. He played for the Vikings and Cardinals. Tony Buford (‘82) was linebacker at the University of Tulsa and for the Big Red in 1987. The most visible success was Steve Atwater (‘84). He was a two-time All American safety at the University of Arkansas. A first round draft pick by the Broncos, he was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times and played in the Super Bowl four times, helping the Broncos win two. After ten years with the Broncos he played one last season with the Jets. He was selected to the Bronco “Ring of Fame” in 2005. During the NFL celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Super Bowl, he designated North as the repository for his Golden Football award. He personally brought it to the school and presented it to the community at a special assembly. Clarence Woods (‘84) played at Concordia-Seward and made the Saints as a free agent wide receiver in 1988. Despite playing only two seasons at Mizzou, Linzy Collins (‘87) is still a top-ten receiver in school history for a single game, single season and career. Drafted by the Packers, he played in Europe through the 1996 season. Robert Douglas (‘00) played football at the University of Memphis. After signing as a free agent with the Titans, he spent time with the Texans and Bucs. In 2007 he played for the Super Bowl Champion Giants. The Successes Continue Under business teacher and new soccer coach Tim Brackman, the ‘96 squad started a rebuilding program with a goal to meet perennial power Aquinas-Mercy in the District tourney. They did, and while losing, learned to retool their offense. The football team missed the playoffs, but the squad earned local accolades when during the regular season it defeated defending Class 4A State champion Mexico. Mueller won her second individual District cross country championship, accompanying Jana Tillman and Randi Sellers, and District runner up Darris, to the State meet. An interesting sidelight during the 1997 Homecoming celebrations reveals how the community under the cross lived in the real world. After being crowned Homecoming King, senior Ed Barron changed quickly in the locker room and left North to eat with friends at a local restaurant. Stopped by a St. Ann policeman because of a broken taillight, he was asked for his identification—and discovered he had left it in his dress pants in the locker room. He was immediately arrested and taken to the local jail. Only after his father arrived at the police station with the

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papers was he released without charges. Annually, as Mac’s U. S. History students studied the American Revolution and its causes, this case was used to illustrate the spirit and principle of the writ of habeas corpus. And, after issues about municipal policing were raised in the Ferguson crisis, the Barron incident helped preface discussions about problems in the North County “Balkans.” The winter of ’96 and ’97, the girls’ basketball squad, after a promising start, faced a number of challenges. Having won the season opening Orchard Farm tourney, the team had to overcome key injuries. In January, Guynn suffered a broken nose. Erika Neu, the three-point shooter, suffered a detached retina. And only weeks prior to the tournament, Mueller broke her collarbone. The team faced a tough Burroughs squad in the final. Having lost to them twice during the regular season, the recovering Crusaders rallied to tie the Bombers at the buzzer. The squad nabbed an early lead in overtime and held on for a 41-38 win. For the second time in school history the ladies won the District. In the Sectional tilt at Mineral Area College, they defeated Caledonia 56-54. The next Saturday the exciting ride ended in the Quarters at Flat River Central. Cape-Notre Dame defeated the Crusaders 56-44. During the ‘97 track campaign perennial power Berkeley, a team that won a dozen State championships in the previous two decades, moved into Class 2. Interviewed at the beginning of the season by a North County Journal sports reporter, Berkeley Coach Rod Staggs commented it was like “putting a shark in a fish bowl.” Several Crusaders posted that comment in their lockers, reminding themselves daily what their task was. While the North squads again won closely fought District meets, the State meet was even on paper. The Lady Thinclads peaked at the right time. They eased to a forty-point margin of victory, scoring a girls’ all-class meet record of eighty-nine points. The usual suspects—Guynn, Tirmenstein, Mueller, Buckley, Greer, McDaniel—had additional help from high jumper Tillman, jumper Melissa Hamilton, sprinter Michelle Johnson and thrower Samantha Jefferson. They needed that because Tirmenstein had spent the last portion of the season on a “day-to-day” basis, nursing an injury that kept her out of her specialties. Her incredible 4 x 400 come-from-behind third leg gave the squad their huge margin of victory. The boys had a different road. The coaches quietly talked about how the graduation decimated a team that could be leaderless and bereft of quality points. But the athletes who had been in the shadows rose to the occasion. Darris, Brown, McMorris and Barron began the final day with a runner up in the 4 x 800. Stacey Johnson earned runner up medals in the two sprints and anchored two relays to wins. Gerren Burton scored in the HH. After helping win the 4 x 100, Jason Oatis joined Hezekiah Webb in the discus finals while Mays scored in the 400M. Sistrunk won the TJ, the 4 x 400 finished second and, while the faces had changed, the results had not. South graduate and beat reporter Jeremy Rutherford captured the story for the Post Dispatch. He described the victories as a “threepeat” and noted the impressive depth of both squads. Staggs was the first coach to congratulate Spears and Tirmenstein. The North squads became the first Missouri high school to earn, in Crisler’s words, a “double threepeat.” His folksy wisdom, freely shared with the coaching staff that now included Spears, helped coaches maintain an even temper during difficult times. The mentors could enjoy themselves as long as they remembered his maxim: “Do not make your happiness dependent upon teenagers running around in their underwear.” Crisler’s support, parental enthusiasm, the athletes’ quality work habits and the event coaches’ focus, earned Prahlow a National Federation of High Schools Coach of the Year nomination. He received the award the following May in Kansas City. At the ceremony he was cited in particular for his Orlando-Luther (Florida) teams helping coordinate Lutheran agency relief work for victims of Hurricane Andrew. Attaining High Expectations Long-time Central and North instructor Art Repp retired in 1997. He left behind a legacy in which he pastorally challenged teens’ accepted tenets of the secular life. He also created a departmental philosophy that encouraged

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students to live their lives in the service of God. He provided his replacement, Rev. Mark Meschke, a former biology teacher at North in the early ‘80s, the tradition of Gospel-based daily worship. As Meschke became Dean of Chapel, Heibel accepted a call to Decatur, Illinois, to start a new high school. Hipenbecker became the new registrar. Mueller moved full time into recruitment. Thomas became Dean of Students. Diana Strand, once a student teacher at North, returned to teach Spanish and coach distance runners. It was an almost seamless transition in the administration, in the classroom and on the athletic field. The winter of ‘97-‘98, Ed Boaz and newcomer Mike Sutherland joined Gerren Burton on the basketball floor, seeking another trip to the State tournament. Late in the District championship game against Berkeley, a loose ball scramble led to a time out. North almost had the game in hand. As the two squads walked to the benches a Berkeley player head-butted Sutherland. He unknowingly played the rest of the game with a concussion. The ensuing inevitable confusion on the Crusader offense led to defeat. Two days later, after studying the photographic evidence provided by the game videographer, the two schools passed the information on to MSHSAA. The miscreant athlete was held out of the next round. Soccer continued its rise to won-loss respectability, Jon Purcell, Nate Rueckert and Danny Creaghan leading the squad to a Forest Park Tourney win. The following season they would win it again—and finish 10-10-4, at .500 for the first time in a decade. Football returned to post-season play. QB Jon Harris and running backs Stacey Johnson and Mike Irving won Russell yet another District title. The team finished the regular season at 9-2, but ran into Portageville in the Sectional tilt, losing 34-33. They made a pact to return to the playoffs. The boys’ basketball team focused on reclaiming what had conceivably been taken from them by a miscreant opponent. The “wolfpack,” led by Sutherland, David Farrow and Aaron Mueller, played tight defense and made few offensive mistakes, winning another ABC title. At District they defeated Westminster 97-90 in overtime. They followed that with a defensive gem against Bismarck at Mineral Area College, winning 55-53. But they, too, ran into the Portageville nemesis, losing 79-66, finishing 23-8. That spring Mueller returned to the mound, and along with Biegner and Mike Peters, dominated the ABC League. Undefeated through fourteen games, Russell’s minions swept through the District tournament—and then lost to Elsberry. The Prange-coached softball team improved to 6-8. Led by Chandra Webb and Mandy Drury, the team had a chance late in the season to reach .500 for the first time in school history. On the track the girls attempted to win an unprecedented fourth straight State title. After winning MWAA for the fourth year in a row, the Buckley-Hamilton-McDaniel trio led newcomers Melodie Carr, Jennifer Barney and thrower Rosalyn Knight to a fourth place State finish at Lincoln U. The guys, led by Johnson’s two seconds in the sprints and two wins in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200, finished the 4 x 400 in a hail storm, earning a second-place State plaque. Triple jumper medalist Wilson Vault distinguished himself during the second day of competition. A group of athletes, sent to the local McDonald’s to get out of the oppressive heat, met a woman collecting beanie babies. She offered to purchase every squad member a Happy Meal as long as she received the beanie babies. After all the meals had been distributed, ten remained. Vault ate them. It was quite a ride back to St. Louis. In ‘99, the squads, in a rebuilding year, finished seventh (boys) and sixth (girls). Expectations had risen and the irony is that many viewed this success as a disappointing conclusion to the season. The groups looked forward to redemption. Russell retired before the ’98 football season. After a distinguished coaching career at Parkway South and Parkway West, Jim Manion returned to the helm. Manion retained longtime assistants Holschen, Langefeld and Meschke along with statistician Bill Scheller, his assistant Trevor Thornton and the rest of the crew. The squad did not miss a beat. It returned to the playoffs. Jaracz Martin had been ABC leader in sacks. Darryl Clines and Lorenzo Scott each had more than one hundred tackles. Mike Irving led the league in rushing behind the blocking of Andrew Reno and Patrick Craig. Cherrod Williams and D’Andreis Smotherman shared the team lead with four “picks.” Hopes were high. After beating Berkeley in the District championship they defeated St. Pius X and boot heel power Scott City. But Monroe City derailed the team’s road to the Dome, 21-3.

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Boys’ basketball again won the ABC League. In an incredible show of program stability, Kersten’s B team and Hip’s C team swept their schedules with perfect 10-0 marks. The varsity, led by Rueckert, Sutherland, Mueller and Wil Coleman won nine in a row—and lost their last league game in the last minute to Prin. The program finished with a cumulative league record of 29-1. After sweeping through District, the squad went again to Park Hills Central—and met Portageville, losing 69-64. Baseball had a similar experience. Going on a fourteen-victory run, they swept through the league season, pitchers Mike Irving and Aaron Mueller leading the way. Purcell and Reno provided offensive support as Mueller racked up an 8-0 record with a 1.22 ERA. After winning their eighth District title in nine years, they rallied in the seventh to win 5-3 against North Callaway and earn another slot in the Quarters against Valley Park. Trailing in the seventh inning they rallied again to tie 3-3, but lost 5-3 in extra innings. The 18-2 record still stands as North’s finest overall baseball finish. During the first four games of the 1999 football season, the Crusaders outscored their opponents 49-4. Captains Robert Douglas, Lorenzo Scott and QB Aaron Mueller led the charge with Jaracz Martin, Cherrod Williams and Jeff Horton grinding out yardage and shoring up the defense. But Priory and MICDS bulled over the defensive line, their running game defeating the Crusaders. The squad rallied to win District and then in short order defeated St. Pius X 48-13, Scott City 47-21, and Palmyra 40-10. In the Dome they faced defending State champs Kansas City-St. Pius that featured a running game. But a Douglas thirty-yard TD run, a Scott two-yard dive for a second score and a forty-yard Mueller to Horton pass for a touchdown seemingly gave the team an insurmountable lead. Pius rallied to tie, scoring three straight times. With only 3:24 left, the Crusaders received the kickoff. On a third and five, Mueller rumbled sixty-three yards on a keeper and finished on the five-yard line. After a penalty, Mueller ran it in for the final score. Quincy Smith’s second interception of the game snuffed Pius’ final desperate attempt. In the spring, the coaches and team received recognition by the Rams, who, in their Super Bowl championship season, honored all the MSHSAA football champs at a banquet. Several other teams completed notable seasons. After a 10-0 league season, the 22-5 boys’ basketball team faced the eventual State champion in the District final. Mueller’s squad could not quite hang on and the season ended with District runner up laurels. It would be his last season at the helm. Girls’ soccer started under first year coach John Hope. After going 0-8, Kami Litton scored the first goal in school history to defeat Soldan in the opening round of District. The girls’ track team returned to Lincoln University. Another District and League championship in hand, they wanted a plaque after having missed in ’99. With Shanta Teaberry winning the 100M, Hamilton medaling in the jumps, Jennifer Barney stabilizing the relays and Rosalyn Knight throwing for big points, the ladies earned runner up, the first of four consecutive new banners for the gym. The guys took on a talented Berkeley squad that defeated them at Clayton by more than seventy points. In an incredible golden hour, Williams won the HH; Martin the 100M; and quartets the 4 x 200 and the 4 x 100. Andrew Tirmenstein, who had run on the 4 x 200, scored in the 300H immediately after Darrion Branscomb nabbed big points in the 400M. With Micah Glenn scoring in the TJ, and the squad placing in the 4 x 400, the Berkeley triple jumpers needed a strong finish. They got it and won by only 2.5 points. Branscomb held a meeting on the infield after the meet. All pledged to prepare for the next spring campaign. Branscomb did not wait until the spring. Even when a shoulder injury threatened to end his football season, the co-captain, along with Charles Blackwell, Jason Horton and track vet and medalist Charles Jones led the squad to an ABC League championship, beating nemesis MICDS for the first time in ten years. After winning the three District games by a combined score of 111-22, they faced a rematch with a Principia team that had made the playoffs for the first time in its history. A 21-7 victory ended the Panthers’ first run at the title. Incredibly, on the next Monday night, five busloads of fans traveled to Malden, located more than halfway from St. Louis to Memphis. Not far from the single stoplight blinking at the town crossroads, the team won a 12-6 victory. Younger brother Jeff Horton and Phil Williams continued to lead the team in rushing, brother Jason leading the squad in scoring. As Williams and spring thrower David Eberle had more than one hundred tackles, everyone hoped that Palmyra would not end the run to the Dome. They did, 21-14, before a disappointed home crowd.

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New basketball coach Brent Rueter took over the boys’ squad. Without missing a beat, the team swept the ABC title with a 10-0 record. With a final record of 19-5 and returning all but three, the group hoped to earn a long sought-after State berth the next season. The girls’ track team coveted another State championship. With eight seniors, they hoped to bump up from runner up to the winner’s circle. Despite prom gutting the squad’s MWAA efforts, the team rebounded to win yet another District title. On the final day of State, the Jed Maschke-coached middle distance runners Rebekah and Sarah Snyder, Melodie Carr and Becky Rusnak earned medals with a school record and a place in the deep 4 x 800 field. Jennifer Ratliff reprised her medal in the HH and Teaberry again placed in the 100M. While Barney scored in the long jump and Kathryn Givens ran two legs on the sprint relays, Carr scored in the 400M and Teaberry in the 200M. The 4 x 400 nabbed another medal and the squad finished—second. Thrower Ros Knight, along as a manager, had not been able to compete because of a major health issue. After hospitalization she returned to North and supported her squad as a manager. The guys had lost fifteen graduating seniors. Focusing on the state meet, the squad chose preparation over winning the Clayton meet and still finished a close second to a loaded Berkeley team. Winning another District championship and League title, the squad completed the feat of qualifying an athlete or relay in every track event except the 1600M. With Glenn in the TJ, things looked very promising. On day one in the 4 x 400 prelims, they even ran a season best during a heavy rain. However, when state CC medalist Martin Popp went down in the 4 x 800 the next morning, the squad drew a collective breath. But Brian Rueckert, Jay Tillman and Jason Horton rallied to get back in the money. Two scored in the HH and 100M. Branscomb anchored the 4 x 200 (including Tirmenstein and Glenn) to a State record win and the 4 x 100, led by Aaron Reno, nabbed a fourth. Branscomb won the 400M, Tirmenstein scored in the 300H, Rueckert earned a medal in the 800M, Branscomb won the 200M, Popp medaled in the 3200M—and the 4 x 400 of Branscomb, Tirmenstein, Rueckert and TJ medalist Glenn finished second in a school record. It was a State championship again. As with the previous generation of exceptional athletes, these students, too, excelled after leaving North. Ratliff and Teaberry, after graduating from Quincy University and Mizzou, respectively, helped Connie Teaberry at several Crusader Summer Academy Track Camps. Rusnak and Rueckert competed at Concordia-Nebraska. She returned to teach and coach briefly at North. Rueckert taught at Green Park Lutheran School in St. Louis and later moved to MICDS. Ros Knight attended Spelman College and earned a degree in medical services. Branscomb ran at Concordia-St. Paul and earned a degree in business. Tirmenstein, who competed with Glenn at ConcordiaChicago, heads the Concordia-Michigan track program and worked with Teaberry at North summer camps. Glenn became an LCMS pastor. Popp ran at Drake University and today, as a businessman, perennially contends to win the Blue Division of the Drake Relays Corporate Mile. These exceptional student-athletes are only a representative sample of those who reflect the values inculcated by parents and teachers. To help understand the quality of character that motivated these individuals, one need only attend an alumni gathering and listen to recollections and comments. Invariably, at each reunion, all will concur that the many unsung participants—those who did not qualify for State, those who served as alternates, those who were injured—encouraged all team members to embrace a tireless work ethic. The decorated athletes are thankful for the exceptional daily work habits practiced by those who did not earn the accolades. They realize the actions and sacrifices of the average athlete pushed and motivated those whose God-given talents permitted them to excel. The supportive team members were not just additional competitors in the sprints or jumps. Like their more exceptional teammates, they, too, used the God-given lessons of the athletic fields, classrooms and hallways to become competitors in the world of business, commerce, congregation and home. The family-like ties they forged with their more decorated teammates during the difficult workouts and challenging competitions helped all to mature. Each team’s stars owe much to the unheralded loyal teammates who helped build the community of Christ. It had been an incredible decade of excellence. The school changed its master schedule, revised its curriculum, remodeled the interior, restructured worship experiences, reworked the coaching staff, reinvigorated the vocal

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and musical ensembles, and said goodbye to some long-time pillars in the ministry. The Association celebrated a half century of commitment to Lutheran secondary education. It had also been quite a run in athletics, with many deserved kudos directed to Russell and Hunt for communicating with parents and donors, funding new sports and seeking new coaches as others retired or left for other ventures. The blessings showered by God on this community of Christ preserved a unique multicultural Lutheran high school. It was anchored in a multicultural community finally recovering from the ravages of a faltering local economy. The message of the Good News was indeed for all people. Those blessings also provided comfort and the peace that passes understanding as the community mourned the losses of graduate Ed Barron and cafeteria attendant Carol Ann Walls. Barron, a budding musician, had been killed by an errant shot while riding home after a Fathersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day celebration. Carol Ann Walls collapsed in the kitchen during a lunch period and medics were unable to revive her. Asleep in Jesus, their passing reminded the community to turn to the shadow of the cross sheltering the ministry at 5401.

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Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 6: Which Shall Be For All People: Lutheran North, 1993-2001 From Reagan to the Millennium Fields, pp. 167-170, outlines the Reagan era. The Synod Moves On Fields, pp. 192-202, provides a summary of Synodical activities. The District president’s quote is from pp. 223224. The pastor’s plea is found on p. 225. Rich Wallace’s comment about Barry and the ALSS was made in August 1992. Synod’s later activities are from Fields, pp. 222-226. A Partial St. Louis Renaissance 250, p. 144, noted the ticking time bomb, while Fragmented, p. 163, reiterated the causes of the problems that led to the I-70 protest. “Race,” SLPD, 8/31/14, p. B5 describes the issues. 250, p. 137; Ken Leiser, “Lambert plan,” SLPD, 2/5/2015, p. A13 and “Growing Pains,” SLPD 1/25/15, p. E1, coupled with O’Neil, “St. Louis Aviation,” SLPD 1/25/2015, p. B1, describe the issues that first fostered and then hampered local aviation manufacturing. Buford’s advice is from 250, p. 145. The Spanish Lake documentary (see above) and the Association census tract study made available to the plenary faculty on 2/4/15 provide additional composite information about local neighborhoods. Crisler Meets the Challenge The lengthy description of Block Scheduling is from Fiftieth, “North First,” p. 8, and Crisler, 3/20/15. Holschen’s contributions are from his comments on 3/20/15, while the Social Studies revisions are compiled in the annual Social Studies reports, 1993-2001. During the era, members of North’s Counseling Center phased in a dual enrollment program. It permitted students to attend school at North either in the morning or the afternoon. The other part of the day they would attend at a local tech school. St. Louis County Special School District provided bus transportation for the arrangement. Most participants in the program attended North County Tech and trained for fields like EMT services, pipe fitting and medical technology. Jon Prange (N ’00) had a unique agenda. He attended West County Tech where he studied environmental technology and landscaping. After graduating from St. Louis Technical College in ’02, he worked his way up to serve as an assistant golf supervisor at Bellerive Country Club. He currently is the Golf Course Superintendent at Holiday Island Country Club, Eureka Springs, Arkansas (from posted article, North News [front entry hallway] HISID Newsletter, n. p., n. d.). A Puzzling Development The Saved to Serve material is from Prahlow’s Saved to Serve records, 1996-2008. Mueller and Prahlow noted that during the 1993-1994 school year, many students included as their service hours the staffing of sandbagging teams that held off the rising waters during the Great Flood of 1993. Co-Curricular and Athletic Success Dan Grupe (N ’01), the Student Council basketball hero, later earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Wisconsin. His dissertation was about brain structure and function in veterans with PTSD. Grupe

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followed that by accepting a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds in Madison, where he is investigating the neural correlates of meditation practice in expert practitioners and meditation-naïve individuals (The Herald, Spring-Summer, 2014, p. 6). Brother Ben (N ‘99) followed a similar path to his Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of California-San Diego. His research focus: deep-sea ecosystems called “methane seeps” (The Herald, Fall 2013, p. 5). Steve Gruenwald later accepted a position at the Synod Office Building, working for Concordia Plan Services. He became the lead Health and Wellness Educator while also serving as the newsletter editor. Both of his and wife Bev’s children, Kellie (S ’07) and Philip (S ’09), had started at Grace Chapel prior to moving to South County. Philip would later return to work in the Association offices. Tirmenstein provided most of the information about the origin of Lutheran North Sundays and growth of the Academic Fair and Music Festival. The athletic statistics included were verified by Mike Russell (6/8/15), Prahlow, Tirmenstein and McCollister. Written On Our Hearts and Lives “Written On Our Hearts and Lives” is a summary of Dave Rohde’s official fiftieth anniversary Association publication. Entitled Written On Our Hearts and Lives: 1946-1996, it is the final draft of Rohde’s “rough draft” referred to in previous chapters. It includes pictures and marginal notes and provided the basis for the Fiftieth newspaper-type format the Association released in 1996. The “state of the union” is based chiefly on pp. 13-14 while the Golden Anniversary Weekend is from the supplemental public relations piece included in the Fiftieth. Marty’s speech, “Pressing Our Noses to Memory’s Glass,” is typed in its entirety and can be found in the North principal’s history files. The material about Dr. William A. Kramer can be found, among other sources, at http://www.lutheranhistory.org/collections/fa/m-0006.htm accessed on 12/21/15. Golden Athletes The summary of exceptional athletes at North was verified by Mike Russell (6/8/15), Prahlow, Tirmenstein and McCollister. That information had been available on the North website from 2010-2016 before it was reformatted, effective 7/1/16. Teaberry’s mini-biography is from http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/wtrack/mtt/connie_teaberry_243803.html accessed on 6/16/15, while the story about Teaberry qualifying at the Trials is from Crisler. Teaberry also proofed the material and provided corrections via email as noted by Donna Turner, the Associate Athletic Director of Communications, Northern Illinois University, 8/13/16. The Successes Continue ’97 graduates Rachel Mueller and Amy Tirmenstein both continued their running careers in college, Mueller at Concordia-Nebraska and Tirmenstein at Augustana (IL). Both ran at Nationals—Mueller in cross country, Tirmenstein in track. Mueller married fellow Seward grad Matt Hill and the two spent two years teaching at a Lutheran station in India. Tirmenstein worked for Trailnet in St. Louis, married Grace Chapel Lutheran instructor Brad Buerck and moved to Colorado. Both women met again in Colorado, Rachel teaching at Parker Lutheran High School and Amy worked as a third party administrator for 401K plans. The two then coached at Parker, Rachel handling distance and throwing events, Amy the jumps and hurdles. The Hills later returned to St. Louis when Matt accepted a call to teach at Grace Chapel. Shamica (Buckley N ’98) Sweat, ’97 State Champion in the 100M, ran at the University of Northern Iowa. She transferred to Mizzou and, after graduation, moved to McKinney, Texas where she worked for State Farm Insurance as a catastrophic claims adjuster. Duties required her to assist recovery efforts after hurricanes Katrina and Ike (The Herald, Spring 2009, p. 5).

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One of Mueller’s cross country teammates at North was Dan Hanson (N ’97). A long-time teacher at St. JohnArnold, Hanson regularly brought his elementary school cross country squads to the North and South elementary meets. Like many others who were born and raised on the north side but ended up working in South County, Hanson sent his charges and children to become Lancers. Other graduates like Wayne Hesse (S ’72) and Brian Rueckert (N ’01) also sent their athletes to the North- and South-sponsored cross country meets. In a final interesting denouement of the era, teammates Mike Kersten (N ’99) and Eric Funke (N ’00), State qualifiers in track and cross country, continued their running in college. Kersten ran at Concordia Nebraska while Funke trained for marathons at Valpo. Both were educated as teachers—and both followed the lead of Mike and Deb (Seebers, S ’72) Grupe. They became international missionaries. Kersten worked first in Taiwan and then Hong Kong International School where he married a co-worker. For more about Kersten’s ministry, see “Michael Kersten N ’98,” The Herald, Fall 2004, p. 3. Funke, whose story will be more fully told in Chapter 11 (see below), first taught at North. After renewing acquaintances with college acquaintance Linda Davis at Chapel of the CrossSt. Louis Summer Camp, they married. Linda, who had been trained in social work, accompanied him to work in the classroom in Tanzania. During their ministries there, they adopted a child. For much more about their experience, see “Where Two Roads Collide,” Valpo (quarterly magazine publication), Spring/Summer, 2016 at http://www.valpo.edu/valpomag/2016/06/30/where-two-roads-collide/ accessed on 7/5/16. Kersten’s classmate, Rachel Ehrhard (N ’99), also entered international ministry. After receiving her degree in Director of Christian Outreach from Concordia-St. Paul, she accepted a call to St. Paul-Melrose Park, Illinois. In 2008, she helped officially charter the Haiti Mission Project. After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the group raised almost $40,000 to fund a field hospital and assist in helping the orphans and students who survived the destruction of an orphanage and school sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti. Brother Jacob (N ’73) became a minister whose first parish was in central Illinois. He later accepted a call to Trinity-Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Father Ray (N ’73) is married to wife Cheryl who works in the LHSA offices as Director of Alumni Relations (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 6). Foreign language ministry was not a provenance of only North students. Erin Mackenzie’s (S ’05) focus on Spanish at South encouraged her to take a position as the Servant Event Coordinator at the Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, Texas. Having visited the mission during a St. Paul-Des Peres servant event in 2003, she was no stranger to the area. Serving chiefly as a liaison between servant event groups and the mission itself, she guides them in one of three project areas: construction, VBS/Bible study, and the medical clinic. It is not limited to the El Paso area, but also includes serving six mission sites in Juarez and four near Chihuahua City. She hoped to qualify to serve as a Lutheran Bible Translator (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 4). Attaining High Expectations This material is from the yearbooks and an occasional Courier clipping (no dates) of the era verified by Tirmenstein, Russell, McCollister and Prahlow.

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Chapter 7: Which Shall Be for All People: Lutheran South, 1993-2001 Tensions and Migration During the summer of ’93, catastrophic flooding covered large portions of the upper Mississippi and lower Missouri river valleys. The floodwaters converged at the confluence. During late July floodwaters came within a foot of topping the downtown levee wall. Like the big rivers did to West Alton and Chesterfield, the River Des Peres and the Meramec River inundated subdivisions and shopping centers, covered rich bottomland and swamped major thoroughfares. On the south side, the River Des Peres left its banks and swept into the Phillips Petroleum liquid propane tank farm. The water raised the tanks off concrete cradles, awkwardly bending the feeder piping. A broken valve and a single spark would have created a catastrophe. Police and firefighters evacuated twelve thousand city and county residents who lived within a mile of the storage facility. While divers courageously rigged flexible detachment fixtures to the tanks, the Columbia, Illinois levee collapsed. Waters receded as engineers drained the tanks. Within a week, residents returned to homes and businesses. The flood and tank incidents brought attention to the south side city and county. Hundreds of volunteers, including Lutheran South and Lutheran North students, helped at key points of the watersheds. They sandbagged at the levees and assisted with relief work. As they and the rest of the community anxiously watched news reports describing the flood, they also saw images of the quaint neighborhoods and park-like river bluffs that encouraged them to reacquaint themselves with the urban environs. The downtown renaissance continued through the ‘90s. One of the new attractions on Wharf Street was the President Casino. Along with Casino St. Charles on the Missouri River, the boats in moats drew many back into the area. They played at the first casinos licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission. Local residents took day trips to stroll down Cherokee Antique Row. Families attended Muny musicals, zoo exhibitions, Cardinals, Blues and Rams contests. Tourists visited the refurbished Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park. Flourishing Central West End shops, eclectic Delmar Loop businesses, vibrant South Grand Little Asia restaurants and the new Bosnian family businesses near Bevo Mill drew metro residents to the new venues. But visitors had to be careful. St. Louis was the official per capita murder capital of the nation. A decade of fear caused by the infrequent forays of the South Side Rapist mandated caution. As Mayor Freeman Bosley took office, those factors reminded many why they had moved to Arnold, Ballwin, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, Fenton, High Ridge and Manchester. Even Globe Drug, a city institution for bargain hunters, built an outlet in Affton. One perceived safe living could only be in suburbia. Manchester Road, Watson Road, Gravois Road, Highway 21 and Telegraph Road provided access to spacious homes, large back yards, nearby shopping centers and recreational complexes like the Affton White Rogers facility. All were within easy driving distance. Even health care was close by. St. Anthony’s Medical Center enlarged its facilities to meet the growing demand. The expansion included a new plaza for doctor visits and outpatient care. The only drawback seemed to be what North County counterparts experienced in communities like St. Ann and Calverton Park. Aggressive policing in towns like St. George and Marlboro seemed to target teens or outsiders who received traffic citations and court dates. The more numerous South County Lutherans attended relatively newer congregations than on the north side. They were unencumbered by the long-held North County and city parish traditions of a single congregation supporting a single school. They also benefitted from the migration of city Lutherans out to the county. The transplants more readily combined resources to strengthen already reputable educational institutions. Students at Washington, Green Park and Christ Community Lutheran (CCLS) schools benefitted from pooled parish resources and departmentalization. That approach helped retain experienced teachers and pastors. However, like on the north side, south side Lutheran city schools closed. Messiah, Holy Cross, Emmaus, St. Lukes and St. Johns all faced the inevitable. Congregations even closed--first, Christ, and then, later, Our Redeemer. Soon,

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Ascension had the only functioning Lutheran school in south St. Louis city, and it, too, faced issues. But following the South County parish lead, it created a multi-congregational K-8 operation renamed Word of Life. Perhaps others would follow suit. A Workshop in Christian Living The school year began with a laudatory announcement. Lutheran South had earned the U. S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award. It was designated as one of the top 260 high schools in the country. Like counterpart North that garnered the same accolade a decade before, Lance editor Carrie Hartung pointed to “. . . an experienced and enthused instructional staff” that provided assured guidance and mentoring for the entire student body. She noted how extensive parent participation helped create the sense of community. Finally, she concluded her summary of the study committee findings by announcing that 90% of students participated in extra-curricular activities. The honor, accepted in Washington, D. C., by Waterman, Wallis and faculty representative Gerry Rapp, affirmed the curricular changes and community building the Lancer administration implemented. Others noticed that the rigor of the program included graduation requirements of twenty-four credits. This meant virtually every course would have to target a specific requisite. Some students would have to utilize zero hour to take additional electives. Examples abounded of how the staff created an atmosphere of focused, goal-oriented mentoring. Spencer’s informal Computer Club helped students develop expertise with Pascal. It also provided unique reverse mentoring for faculty who struggled to develop computer skills. The adoption of Channel 1 programming, a daily contemporary news magazine video, provided students with a window on the world. It often triggered animated discussions in classes like Contemporary Issues where new teachers like Jenny Haertling easily related to student concerns and interests. Close-Up Washington was another of the faculty/student programs that promoted focused analysis of contemporary events. Comprised of seniors who traveled to Washington, D. C., for one week, the group witnessed government in action. Prahlow met a Social Studies teacher from Bayless High School who told him about the program. He gathered information and took it to Waterman. In his report, he noted how it would foster student expertise in government studies, create cooperative work habits and develop planning skills as the students raised funds to defray trip expenses. Waterman endorsed it enthusiastically. Some faculty, including Behling (and Crisler at North, where they also considered the program) raised reservations about students missing a week of school during the early spring. But after instructors configured adaptive assignments, Prahlow held a meeting for interested students. They sought sponsors and donors for the project. They hosted an annual January trivia night (won one year by North faculty interlopers) and sold sub sandwiches on Super Bowl weekend. They also solicited funding from the generous Drewes family and the Gerfens, owners of the Nottleman Music Company. Parents enthusiastically got involved and assisted with the activities. Annually, about thirty students participated in the activities. Each March, the group flew to the nation’s capital. They listened to lectures by lower-level government aides and participated in discussions with speakers from the State, Defense and Agriculture departments. Students and faculty toured the city. They visited sites like the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the Smithsonian, Arlington and the White House. They also saw a play and, if they could complete their itinerary, met with St. Louis-area congressmen and viewed House, Senate and Supreme Court sessions. Some later noted how the experiences inspired them to focus on a future in law and politics. Two participants during the early years of the program, Brent Beumer (S ’93) and Mike Pogue (S ’95), later became lawyers. Participation was so successful that one year Prahlow’s wife, Jane, received a free trip. During the late ‘90s, as Prahlow moved to part-time status and approached retirement, Behling took over the program. He placed more responsibilities on the students to raise

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the funds. As at North, students planned to participate in European tours, national youth gatherings and spring break beach vacations. The alternative options reduced the number of seniors who might have considered participating in the program. Behling creatively recruited junior participants. The next generation of teachers would sustain the activity until 2011 (see below, Chapter 11). As faculty strengthened relationships with students, June Hill’s Troubadour staff nurtured student/student relationships. The staff highlighted the accomplishments of enterprising seniors with the new “Senior Spotlight” feature. The positive actions reported in the articles motivated many to develop servant hearts. Their efforts provided positive leadership in the community of ordinary saints. The Blue Ribbon commendation recognized one final strength of the South program. The extra-curricular activities provided an inclusive environment for all, faculty and students, to participate. These endeavors continued to thrive. Large, multiple-level groups like cheerleaders, Lancerettes, football, soccer, cross country and track could absorb virtually any number that tried out for the squads. Field hockey, with a no cut tradition, provided an additional opportunity for participation. Even sports like basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball that had to limit rosters had staffs for multiple sub-varsity squads. Intramural competitions initiated by Albers (ping pong and tennis, in particular) included those who never participated in interscholastic athletics as well as many out-of-season athletes. Co-curricular activities like the voluntary participatory Student Council, dramas and musicals supplied even more opportunities for student involvement. The mostly-Lutheran student body, closely connected to local congregations, used congregational and youth group experiences to reshape worship life. As many discussed their experiences while attending the LCMS National Youth Gathering (NYG) or planned to attend in the future, they embraced the ’94-’95 school theme of creating “A Workshop in Christian Living.” Students were interested in sharing faith experiences in a more intimate setting modeled by parish youth activities. So, two DCE’s, two pastors and a representative from the LCMS Department of Youth Ministry met with Roma to format a youth group-style Campus Ministry Program. Roma conferred with the faculty and five students about the operational and training issues created by the implementation of the small group program. Then he spearheaded the change. Corporate chapel worship continued in the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On each Tuesday and Thursday the student body, divided into groups of twenty met for devotional activities in classrooms. To foster a more cohesive student body, each of the small groups were equally divided between freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. One student leader, vetted by faculty, and one or two faculty advisors, shepherded each group. They integrated a variety of activities into the twenty-minute sessions. Those included short devotions, discussions about the Christian aspects of social issues, sharing of highs and lows, Bible readings, films or even Bible trivia contests. The smaller setting also encouraged contemplative discussions and personal faith building. In the good Lutheran tradition, all participants shared snacks. North’s administration adopted the program a year later, limiting it to one small group meeting each Wednesday. But it also used the program to develop the collective servant projects later organized under the Faith in Action banner. Perhaps that too, though, was a collaborative inspiration. North emphasized general small group service events while South fostered student service within the context of its congregations and Student Council. These approaches were evident as Lance staff recorded summer service activities. As South students who were members at Christ Memorial-Affton, Concordia-Kirkwood, St. John-Ellisville, King of Kings-Chesterfield and Resurrection-Sunset Hills returned from the ’95 San Antonio NYG, all the groups hit the beach on the Gulf Coast. But on the way home, two groups went to Brownsville to deliver relief supplies of food and clothing. There, at El Cavario Lutheran, they were the guests of a fiesta celebration, parishioners thanking them for their assistance. Two other groups, as they headed back to St. Louis, honored the sacrifices of servicemen. On Independence Day they placed flags next to gravestones in military cemeteries. Some of those participants helped create the Rauhadvised Student Council Service Club. It was formed to coordinate volunteer services for major projects. It readily enlisted those with membership in the NHS or other organizations who sought additional service opportunities.

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Another development that sprang from the small group experience was a fledgling mission effort involving the feeder schools. Beginning in the fall of ’99, twelve students approached Roma and asked him to help create a chancel drama/music leadership group. The new Messengers program promoted a family-type ministry. It included two parents on the planning committee that used a four-week period to formulate its goals. Its members would serve South by leading chancel dramas and musical devotionals at area churches and schools. They took their Gospel message to lead chapels at CCLS, Salem-Affton, Green Park and St. Paul-Des Peres. At Our Savior-Fenton, they presented their signature Batman Chapel and engaged the younger students in presenting the Gospel story in a unique medium. While not quite as scintillating as the memorable motorcycle chapel highlighted by the surprise entry into the gym of a real Harley, the students envisioned not just the school but the world as their workshop in Christian living. Academic and Co-Curricular Growth The second major change Waterman implemented did not, like small group chapels, start at South. It had been initiated at North. With twenty-four credits required for graduation, students had little flexibility in scheduling electives and advance college-credit courses. To encourage students to take more courses, buttress the Fine and Practical arts options, and provide more opportunities for lengthier lab or participatory experiences, Crisler and curriculum advisor Carl Holschen adopted the Block Eight schedule. (See above, Chapter 6, “Crisler Meets the Challenge,” for a more complete description of its development.) Students would take seven classes, four the first day (A Day) and three the second (B Day). During the second day, the entire school would, at one time, have academic lab. It provided time for groups to work on projects, students to get help from instructors, and, early in the program, an opportunity to schedule specific meetings or tutoring sessions. In the fall of ’96, Waterman adapted the program for South, the school day now starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 3:00 p.m. In order to help students deal with the new block schedule, administrators distributed planners so students could better fulfill their obligations in a sometimes confusing sequence of courses. The effort was successful. Initially, the only difference between the program at South and North was the academic lab session. At South it was relabeled the seminar. Later, as financial constraints required a reevaluation of the schedule, South’s faculty developed a different set of teacher responsibilities than North’s adaptive permutation. The block schedule helped reinvigorate the Fine Arts program. It had undergone a transitional period. By ’94, the entire department was comprised of new faculty. Scott Harder shepherded the musicians. His revival of the Jazz Band created excitement and notoriety at pep rallies and games. The Wind Symphony grew in numbers, particularly as prospective members realized tours would become the highlight of the performing season. That first spring the Wind Symphony traveled to Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Its final performance was at the Art Museum in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Marting’s Mixed Chorus, Concert Choir and Show Choir enlarged repertoires and focused on tour performances at locations in Chicago—and the Bahamas! When Harder left South, he was replaced by Rodney Paglialong. Along with Marting, Reiss and Art Chair Pete Richenburg, who had arrived from North, the four collaborated on the ’97 production of Oklahoma! “Pags” then submitted an audition tape to the St. Louis Symphony and, following a tour to Alabama, Florida and Georgia, the Wind Symphony performed at Powell Hall prior to a St. Louis Symphony concert. Richenburg, who had a unique ability to empower his department colleagues, gave new instructor Laura Samuelson freedom to develop several emphases in the classroom. Their partnership nurtured student upperclassmen to exhibit self-expression in the context of two- and three-dimensional art projects. Student Council, under Rauh, hosted a Senior Prom for Laclede Oaks residents. Its members also helped blend the newcomers with the returning students and encouraged participation in a Sadie Hawkins backwards dance. As a fund-raiser for service projects, the members partnered with TREND to host a Mr. LHSS Contest. Later,

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during Lancer spirit weeks, the students expanded participation opportunities by creating two new competition categories. A male and female would be awarded Mr. Legs and Ms. Lips titles, respectively. Fifteen years later South grad and North instructor Mike Lorenz borrowed the South idea to create the Mr. Crusader Contest. Like its predecessor at South, the competition included three contestant categories. The first was the formal dress competition. The individuals, who were chosen to represent a club or athletic team, faced the judges while wearing what passed as their Sunday best. The second was the talent competition. It often included (somewhat) interpretive poetry readings, ham footed dancing, vocalizations that passed for singing or performances of the Hokey Pokey. In the final segment, contestants had to answer questions provided by the gallery. Judges awarded the first loser a Mr. Congeniality Award and the winner the Mr. LHSS title. The Science Department sponsored an Earth Awareness Club. It started by targeting only recycling efforts. But its members soon helped the custodial staff with weeding, planting and preservation of local foliage. Later, advisor Schranz would take them to visit other local ecology efforts that included the Wolf Sanctuary. Doc Holliday, working for a combined Foreign Language and Social Science effort, created the International Society. It had been spurred by an influx of foreign exchange students from Russia, Albania, Portugal, Taiwan, Spain and France. It also was an acknowledgement that of South’s student body, 3% (twenty-five) were students of color. Representatives of the International Society, along with counterparts from North, attended the World Conference at Principia and participated in the Model United Nations at Union High School. Its members later helped organize a Chinese New Year party and the International Festival at Queeny Park. Other teachers promoted programs. New German instructor Elfriede (Thalheimer S ‘71) Jerry developed excitement about her subject by hosting Gemuetlicher Freitag celebrations. She later led a group of German students to a summer tour in Europe. Collins formed an Academic Team to compete in Quiz Bowl-type competitions against other schools. Spencer’s Computer Club developed a web page for the high school. In a unique partnership, the four members--Aaron Hill, Aaron Meyer, Rob Schack, and Mike McFerren--utilized the resources of the Cooperating School District. It was the first of two key collaborations with outside computer education groups. The web page the group created provided specific information about classes and assignments. Students could verify an assignment due date and its requirements. One teacher hoped that in the future students might even be able to turn assignments in online. Later, under the tutelage of Jeaninne Meyer, the Computer Club, renamed the Technology Club, sent Paul Reifsteck to make a computer presentation at the St. Charles Midwest Educators and Technology Conference. Progress was so stunning that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch devoted a whole page in the December 18, 2000, edition noting South’s computer-savvy student body. Albers, too, got involved in the more technical aspects of math instruction and created a Math Club. In ’01, its representatives competed in the State Championships. Meanwhile, in his “free” time, Albers annually escorted a number of Lancers for Life to Washington, D. C. Each January they participated in a March for Life protest against the Roe v. Wade decision. Like Lancers for Life members, Lancerettes participated in activities not normally associated with their traditional performance venues. They assisted at the Association Fantasy Faire Auction and at the Lutheran Family and Children Services Dinner and Auction. The group, led by captain Alicia Smith, also initiated a Baby Lancerette clinic each summer. Besides encouraging middle school students to consider South for their high school education, the effort recruited new dancers for the squad. Some of the juniors noted a new emphasis on physical fitness and healthy life choices. Encouraged by Wietfeldt, they promoted, as did North, the Win With Wellness campaign to improve nutritional choices and change sedentary habits. Many attended an annual UMSL seminar with their North counterparts where they were encouraged to develop creative new activities to promote those goals. At South, one of the first activities they created was a benefit volleyball Bumpfest. Various student-formed squads played each other in an evening tournament. The proceeds from entry fees and concessions funded DARE programming. At the same time they also promoted TREND activities to promote positive recreational choices.

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From an administrative standpoint, the necessity of students developing and participating in those specific activities helped justify the implementation of Project Graduation. South administrators saw a need to reduce the grad night temptations by hosting a last class activity. Initially held at Brentwood Community Center, participants followed their graduation ceremonies with a last night together. Contests, prizes, swimming, basketball, volleyball and other activities filled the wee hours of what sociologists referred to as the most dangerous night of a high school student’s life. It became an immediate success with more than 90% participation. The administrators realized they could provide community support for seniors during their last days in high school. After his arrival in the late ‘90s, Paul Buetow fostered a new event: the Senior Breakfast. Served by administrators and some juniors, the seniors met at the morning festivities prior to their convocation. It led to the focus of the week: A worship service that included a festival homily and an address by a guest speaker. The special assembly highlighted academic accomplishments, honors earned by recipients and scholarships awarded to classmates. Like the “Senior Spotlight,” the activities that started with the Senior Breakfast helped model for the underclassmen exemplary behavior, focus and sacrifice for excellence. Each senior would be recognized for having used his or her God-given talents to build the community of faith. The Senior Breakfast and convocation reflected a focus on the community of Christ. In 1994, after a lengthy hiatus, the graduating classes of South and North participated in a joint activity. Administrators coordinated the Association baccalaureate service at the Seminary Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. Graduations were still held separately on respective campuses or at other local venues. Departures, Accolades and New Leadership There had been some changes. Grundmann, Guenther and Rohde retired. So did Pieper, the ever-present cafeteria supervisor who had served almost three decades. Meyer was replaced by Albers as Math Department chair and by Harms as basketball coach. He ended his sterling coaching career with 498 varsity victories (512 overall), a State Championship, a State Runner Up and numerous ABC League titles. Prahlow, replaced by new chair Behling, and Kershner, who was attending Eden Seminary to become a pastor, moved to part-time teaching/coaching and part-time coaching status, respectively. In the Science Department, Pfund was replaced by Wil Rusch. North Social Studies instructor Al Smith replaced Holsten. New Theology instructor Dick Trah, counselors Sandy Bertani, Jan Hoffman and Rich Arnold and Sandy Griffard joined the South faculty. They joined the staff as all celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Association. They also bid goodbye to both Wallis, who retired, and Waterman, who accepted a call to serve as the new Education Executive for the Missouri District. It was a memorable time. Wallis, who started his term as an acting superintendent, moved from caretaker to administrator. He gave his principals great leeway to improve their communities. The Cape Girardeau native who attended Concordia-River Forest, used his earlier teaching and administrative experiences from Chicagoland and Hong Kong to patiently shepherd the Association for a decade. As a culmination of his successful administration, he planned the Association anniversary fetes and compiled a brief Association history published in newspaper format. Wallis commissioned Rohde to write the official Fiftieth Anniversary commemorative history of the Association. It was entitled Written On Our Hearts and Minds. He also helped guide the Board as it dealt with the troubling debt service that had grown appreciably during the previous two administrations. Association President Mark Kuhlmann noted that by the end of the Wallis years the Board marked its fourth year in repaying internal debt and had successfully budgeted for accruing depreciation expenses. The revitalization of Association finances permitted both schools to focus on announcing the clarion call: “Here we openly speak of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.” The community of Christ, particularly at South, could take comfort in that joy, as they mourned the untimely death of Michael Alan Rogers. As Waterman left South, the ’97 Lance staff noted his contributions. They celebrated, again, the Blue Ribbon recognition; the development of the small group devotionals; and the implementation of the block schedule. As

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Rapp also prepared to retire, Waterman made possible the final cabling of the building to provide sufficient support for the expanding computer program. It was a time of accolades. Wietfeldt received some long-deserved recognition. She accepted a MSHSAA Referee of the Year honors for high school girls’ basketball. The athletic program earned additional kudos at the Olympics. Tom O’Hare qualified to skate short track events in the Nagano Winter Games, and Carol (Leimer S ‘72) Callan served as part of the USA Basketball Olympic organization that traveled to the Atlanta Games. Callan’s participation on the U. S. Olympic team staff had a connection back to the early days of the Association. Father Erv Leimer was the first athletic director of Lutheran High. His successes at Bismarck High School prior to his move to Lutheran High and again at Parkway Central and St. Louis Priory earned him a selection into the Missouri High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. Daughter Carol gained recognition by coaching the Fairview High School girls’ basketball squad to the 1985 Colorado State Championship. Hired as the Women’s National Team Director for the inaugural 1995-1996 Nations Team program, she continued her responsibilities through and after the Atlanta Games. She also became the color commentator for the radio broadcasts of the University of Colorado Buffalo women’s basketball team. Paul Buetow replaced Waterman. He previously served as principal—and girls’ basketball coach extraordinaire--at Davie Lutheran High School in South Florida. He had recently retired after serving as principal at Lutheran High School in New Orleans. For Registrar Ken Bauer it was in the nick of time. When Waterman accepted his call, the Board began its search process to find candidates for South’s principal position. In late May, at the end of the school year, Rittmann met with Bauer who had offered to serve, with Harms, as acting administrators. But Rittmann assertively stated that a final decision about temporarily filling the principal vacancy would be made by June 30. If no candidate accepted the call, Bauer would have to find a Physics teacher to replace himself in the classroom and, with Harms, determine how to fulfill the duties of the registrar. On June 29, while celebrating his wedding anniversary with wife Cheryl, Bauer received a phone call. Rittmann had some news. He had managed to contact Buetow who was peacefully living in a retirement community in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Buetow stated he would consider the call. Within hours he would be on a flight to St. Louis! Buetow accepted the call. He was the newest of the three chief administrators that included Crisler and Rittmann. It became a time of dynamic administrative action. Rittmann, former headmaster at Hong Kong International School, took the new title of President. He consolidated Association offices in empty classrooms at Lutheran North. Then, to defuse some of the divisive rivalry that occasionally disrupted the cooperative ministry, he sponsored collaborative faculty activities. He encouraged the Board to adopt a policy governance approach to foster leadership, and focused on promoting college level programming for upperclassmen. He increased tuition at a faster rate to support the improvements. He also improved faculty salaries. Following an informal mantra, “You get what you pay for,” Rittmann hoped to fulfill his wish that by 2002, he could “. . . provide everything that Burroughs does except for class size.” As long as the American economic boom continued, his goals seemed attainable. With a stable total enrollment of one thousand students attending South and North and a seventy-one Association-member congregational support structure, Rittmann initiated a master plan for the two campuses. But Rittmann’s vision extended beyond Association duties. His contacts with LCF provided him with a steppingstone to save the flagging Lutheran elementary opportunities in south city. Noting the successful collaborative congregational efforts in the county, he duplicated the structure. Gaining a challenge grant (He once noted, “Get it started and fund the heck out of it!”), he helped found Concordia Middle School. Initially a consortium of Holy Cross, St. Johns, Messiah and Trinity, it provided for one hundred students in three middle school grades the opportunity to receive Christian education in the large building that had once housed Holy Cross School. Unfortunately, St. Johns congregation almost immediately withdrew from the cooperative effort and, when the grant ended three years later, the operation closed. But its initial success encouraged congregations to consider another project that would provide Lutheran elementary education for the south city.

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His connection with LCF on behalf of the middle school effort did not distract from his Association responsibilities. He pursued his goals to broaden the high school ministry. As part of the master plan, Rittmann funded, over a three-year cycle, the attendance of the schools’ joint faculty departments at national conferences. Planning a rotation in which department chairs at the two high schools would alternate the planning for the triennial events, the English departments (perhaps because he had been an English teacher?) started the rotation in 1998. By 2000, the last year of the cycle, Behling had planned and led the Social Science departments to San Antonio for the National Conference for Social Studies, and Rauh led the Family And Consumer Science (FACS) North/South contingent to attend the American Vocational Association Conference in Las Vegas. The professional development activities also provided an opportunity for administrators to visit with department members at the other Association school. Buetow attended a national science conference with the department members of both faculties. While there he met North teachers Mike Grupe and Rich Langefeld and began to understand the significant similarities and differences present in the Association partnership. The cordial relationships developed between the faculties helped Buetow to later encourage the retired Pfund to teach a semester at North. Buetow also came to a better understanding about how Rittmann’s pre-service joint faculty meetings continued to build the unity of purpose in the Association. Finally, as he and Rittmann began to evaluate the South faculty they drew a startling conclusion: some members of the South faculty sensed their ministry was a tentative enterprise with no real identity. Rittmann resolved the issue at one of Buetow’s first faculty meetings. He assertively endorsed Buetow’s observation that South was indeed one of the flagship Lutheran high schools in the country. Based upon faculty comments, it effectively put to rest the feelings of insecurity and instability. While Rittmann directed studies of Board policy, governance and the physical plants, he also encouraged the Board to consider possible expansion in far west St. Louis County. In 1998, during the tenure of Board President Mike Vincent, the Board created a strategic planning committee. It partnered with the Mackey-Mitchell architectural firm. Dr. Ray Hilgert, a member of the faculty at Washington University’s Olin School of Business, former Lancer parent and member at St. Paul-Des Peres, chaired the committee. Along with Board members John Hohenstein and Mark Doering, Buetow, Rittmann and South faculty member Elizabeth Spencer analyzed the projected demographics in west and south county. As the committee completed the three-year study in 2001, the ebbing economic boom and anticipated initial low enrollment at the new facility discouraged little more than speculative projections. The members concluded any future development should take place on the Tesson Ferry campus or contiguous additions to it. The recommendation and subsequent Board decisions were based on South’s traditional commitment to making high quality, college preparatory Christian education available to the people of south St. Louis and South County. A few committee members expressed concern about the impact of a new facility on South’s enrollment. They believed in maintaining the traditional commitment to south city and south inner ring suburbs that had supported South and the Association for the past half century. As school administrators implemented educational programs like the block schedule, the committee concluded an expansion program would probably tax financial resources and undermine long-time relationships with nowstruggling urban congregations like St. Johns, Hope, Trinity, Holy Cross and Messiah. As North briefly dealt with two Association congregations reconsidering Association membership, committee members expressed concern a new campus might also create uncertainty among supporters at Salem-Affton, Abiding Savior, Word of Life and Green Park. Although the efforts of this initiative were supplanted by an updated study five years later, the Association would implement three significant recommendations developed by the strategic planning committee. The first was entering a long-term lease agreement with the neighboring Sunset Memorial Cemetery. The plot of land lay immediately south of the original campus. There the Association would develop two baseball and two softball fields. The second significant outcome was triggered by the March 2000 death of John Emde. He was a longtime friend and supporter of South. His love of the Lord, the high premium he placed on developing and nurturing inquiring minds and his genuine affection for students inspired him to bequeath his estate for the benefit of

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South. Valued well in excess of one million dollars, he hoped the contribution would be used to assist those struggling to overcome economic limitations. He also desired that the balance of the funds would be used to purchase the land owned by Christ Memorial that lay immediately north of the South campus. After completing the purchase, the Board planned to develop the site as an auditorium and additional gymnasium. By mid-decade, revised campus plans permitted its use as ancillary track and field venues and overflow parking. The strategic planning committee included one additional recommendation—air conditioning for the entire building. It was a logical response to a series of changes implemented during the past administration. The school year now began in early August. Local churches and youth groups also desired to utilize the facilities during the summer months. Lancer parents heatedly noted that neighboring school districts already had air conditioned facilities. Their appeals worked. By 2004, Rhymes Heating and Air Conditioning installed the cooling system. Finally, as Rittmann, Buetow and the Board resolved possible strategic planning committee concerns about south and west side demographic shifts, they witnessed a resurgence in Lancer athletics and academic success. Lady Lancer Success While the Guys “Step Up” Just as at North during the earlier Title IX era, the girls’ squads, already nurtured by the Athletic Department prior to the legislation, enjoyed a string of successes. Larsen’s ’93 tennis doubles squad of Heidi Fust and Kala Ave-Lallemant nabbed State Runner Up. Not long after, Gyllenborg (she’d married during the interim) used the leadership of doubles combo Emily Dierberg and Krissy Tiongson to pocket a District title. In ’99, the group avenged a bitter ’98 District loss to MICDS. Dierberg teamed with Lindsay Sullivan to win the State Doubles title, and the team earned victories over Fredericktown and Springfield Catholic to take third in State. Gyllenbourg, who taught French not only to her South charges but also over a unique closed circuit television broadcast to North students, received the Coach of the Year award from the United States Tennis Association for the Midwest Region. Wietfeldt, taking a hiatus from field hockey, founded a girls’ swimming program. Dierberg qualified for State four years in a row both as an individual and part of the two relays. She led a number of athletes to compete each winter at the new St. Peters Recplex. New teacher and girls’ volleyball coach Laurie (LaBore, S ‘84) Senkbeil, piloted the squad to victories at the Lutheran St. Charles and ’93 District tournaments. But the frequent District champs always seemed to run into exceptional Borgia squads at Sectionals. McQueen’s softball team began to make an almost annual trip to the Final Four in Columbia. The ’96 edition, led by All State selections Erica Larson and Jenny Rice, was undefeated in League and then romped past rival DuBourg, 9-0, for the District title. A two-run pop double by Angie Leible against Winfield gave the team a comefrom-behind Sectional win, and after a loss to Fatima in the Semis, the group rebounded to defeat Eureka 3-1 for a third place State plaque. After reprising the League title the next year, the ’98 edition duplicated the sterling third place State finish, defeating nemesis Affton 1-0 for the District title, Owensville 2-0 for a Sectional win and St. Pius 4-1 for the Quarters victory. But the squad lost to Willard, 1-0, in the Semis. A 5-0 defeat of St. Dominic capped the season, the exceptional pitching and defense giving up only five runs over the last nine games. Using the same approach the following season, the team went an incredible 27-4. But a defeat to Incarnate Word Academy in the Semis again “limited” the squad to a third place State finish after a rebound victory over Kansas City O’Hara. After a rebuilding year that included twenty-three wins and a District title, the team seemed poised to contend for the elusive State championship in ’01. New cheerleading coach Judy McMurray added male yell leaders and developed routines that incorporated tumbling. During the summer of ’98 the group hosted a National Cheerleading Association (NCA) clinic for several hundred athletes. It earned NCA recognition as one of the Top 1000 cheer groups. Randy Rogers helmed the girls’ basketball squad. It was led by Robyn Gerber, a multi-sport athlete and daughter of two early-’70 grads, Glenn (S ’70, former principal at Green Park and international missionary) and Judy (Parker, S ’71). Robyn scored

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more than 1,100 points during her career and led Rogers’ program to become a perennial District power. Unfortunately, even when the 23-6 ’01 edition won the prestigious Queen of Hearts Tourney at Villa, the tightlyknit group could never get past Borgia in the Sectionals. The boys’ programs, too, shared in the continuing successes. Schranz’ ’94 soccer squad began the era with a CYC Tourney win and, unlike the other squads, got past Borgia and Union. But, in the Quarters, it lost to St. Mary’s, 1-0. Even when Schranz accepted the challenge to build a girls’ soccer program in the spring, the guys never missed a beat, going 18-5-4 in ‘99, and by the end of ’00, going 20-0 through the League schedule. New AD Steve Eggold, who had arrived in ’92, replaced Reck when he reentered the classroom full time. After receiving the approval of Torbeck’s tennis squad, Reck’s baseball team and track coach Art Hill, he hosted the Affton Sports Festival. It featured a tennis tournament, three baseball games and two grade school track meets. Hockey was resurrected and, after struggling for victories, went 18-9 in ’00. The program then added a JV squad, cheerleaders, and made the Division II playoffs. The once-moribund golf squad, piloted by Coach Ernstmeyer, sent Josh Henson three times to the State Meet. Rich Faeth would follow in ’00. A year later new arrival Zach Klug coached his charges to a team State berth, earning only the second such honor in South history. Hill, who had taken over the football program when he moved over from Affton High in 1992, scratched out four- and fivewin seasons. In the memorable ’00 season, the best Lancer season in fifteen years, his charges defeated Burroughs for his 100th win. He also helped advise the new FCA chapter, noted for its “Devos and Doughnuts” early-morning meetings. Soon, along with Lind and Behling, he took over the track programs. Frequent trips to State were highlighted by the successes of distance runners Kate Meade and later Kelly Waterman. The squads regularly ended their competitive seasons after the matriculating seniors had participated in graduation ceremonies. Harms led the boys’ basketball squad through a 23-6 campaign during the ’94-’95 season. They had nabbed the Rosary Tournament, League and District titles. Led by Jeff Reis, three-point expert Joel Karsten, and slashing point guard Matt Rall (who also doubled as Lance editor with teammate Pete Nafzger), the team ended its run at Sectionals. During the next two rebuilding years, South grad Brian Lind joined the coaching staff and the 15-12 ’97 edition won its own Southside Tourney. The cagers also edged undefeated South County Tech in the District final. All-ABC pick Jon Nafzger led the squad past Sullivan but the run ended against ever-present Borgia. In ’98, the superb 22-5 quintet just missed the League title but returned to the winner’s circle at both the Southside and District tourneys, bowing again in the playoffs just prior to reaching “the promised land.” As the millennial season ended, punctuated by the Fiftieth Anniversary celebration of the first Sem games, Harms handed the reins to successor Lind. Baseball, under the steady guidance of Pfund, seamlessly underwent the transition as assistant coach Reck replaced the retiring chemistry instructor. The duo guided the team to an ABC League title in ’97, and three—Dan Jackson (RHP), Tim Paul (C), and Chris Tiemann (SS)—signed to play college ball. Reck’s 17-8 season was an early highlight of Eggold’s tenure as AD. The really successful program during the era had been making its mark since the late ‘70s. The KershnerPrahlow coaching tandem continued to coax and cajole excellence out of its athletes on such a regular basis it was almost taken for granted by the Athletic Department and student body. The ’93 girls’ edition included the O’HareMeade-Schweiss triumverate. They led the squad to a fourth place State plaque. Not to be outdone, Junior Jack Preus (sixth), Bryan Gill (tenth), Brian Looney (who moved up thirty places after Firehouse Hill) and sterling efforts by Ben Dehnke and Matt Rall won what was virtually a dual meet for the State Championship at Oak Hills. They defeated rival North County-Desloge 67-76. It was South’s second State Championship. The following season, hampered by incredibly wet weather, the girls’ squad sneaked into a State berth and finished in the middle of the pack. Meanwhile, the returning champs had suffered a series of nagging injuries. At Hancock they faced a fired up North County squad in a midseason confrontation that would become notable for its muddy conditions. Kershner chose to hold his troops out of the meet and the rivals romped. Damage to the course was so bad that for the next two years meets were held across the road on another trail. But after loping

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to another League title, the Lancers faced their nemesis in Jeff City. During a pouring rain (in which Doc’s youngest grandchild, only two years old, had to be revived from hypothermia), Preus won the individual title in a match race with North County leader Ryan Pirtle. Rall and Dehnke earned All State honors in tenth and eleventh. They’d split North County’s second and third runners. Oft-injured Gill sneaked into twenty-seventh, Tim Albers into fifty-second, the duo splitting North County’s number four and five runners. The one-point victory, 68-69, the closest in MSHSAA history, had been determined up front as Preus powered to a win on the last hill. It was quite a day for the Association schools. The Lancers had won their second straight State championship. North’s boys had qualified for the same meet for only the second time in school history. Crusader Rachel Mueller, a novice soph, won the individual Class 1A-2A title. In an interesting denouement of the South-North CountyDesloge rivalry, Preus and his North County rival, Ryan Pirtle, earned scholarships from Mizzou. The two competed for the Tigers, starting their collegiate careers as roommates. And, of course, Kershner earned Missouri Coach of the Year honors for the second year in a row. The following year the girls’ team did not make the trip to State. But Meade returned again to earn All State honors. Her individual Runner Up finish highlighted the rebuilding year. After a sub-par year in ’96, the guys’ squad compensated for having no frontrunners by running in a pack. They surprised fields at the Metro and League meets and after finishing District Runner Up, hoped for a top-five finish at Oak Hills. Doc was now head coach because Kershner asked to serve as assistant coach while he pursued his divinity degree at Eden Seminary. The two long-time collaborators were the most surprised of all as the team, earning no individual All State honors, packed everyone within forty seconds to steal a State Championship! It was their third in five years. According to the Lance reporter present at the concurrent home Lancer football contest, the announcement over the PA brought bedlam. When Doc retired the next year to teach part-time, he and Kershner stayed with the program. The next year Josh Vassalli, Brian Greeves, Earl Colvin and George Schroll won four regular-season, League and District titles. They had high hopes for a repeat, but “only” finished third at State. The girls’ team, reloading after a short twoseason hiatus, were buoyed by Donna Buono, Waterman, Kristin Verseman and Abby Stenbeck. The foursome led the squad to runner up finishes in five invites and the League. They peaked at the right time and won District. They punctuated their exceptional year with a fourth place State plaque. In a “down” year during the ’99 season, both teams returned to Jeff City and finished in the top half of the competition. Waterman led the girls back to State the following year, her individual fifth spearheading a team ninth. After another two seasons, Kershner retired from coaching to serve as a United Church of Christ pastor in Marine, Illinois. His Concordia University Hall of Fame career concluded, the former math and history teacher left behind a Lancer tradition of outstanding distance running. Upgrades, Accolades and Family When Buetow first arrived, several planned academic changes were being implemented on a case-by-case basis. He supported faculty initiatives by circulating a weekly bulletin, NBs. Latin for Nota Bene, it can be roughly translated, “Pay attention.” Buetow’s previous experience as a sportswriter helped ease his transition into the leadership position. He used his concise prose to promote unity of purpose and support Rittmann’s vision of Lutheran education in the community. In the missive, Buetow announced faculty accomplishments, posted possible agenda items for the next meetings, and outlined curricular and program revisions faculty had implemented. His supportive approach encouraged faculty creativity. Collins sponsored a new honors, or challenge, program. Fifteen freshmen, selected by scores on the admission exam, proposed to their designated mentor a specific project to complete during the semester or academic year. At the conclusion of the independent study preparation and presentation, the designated course to which the extra project applied was marked with an H to note the more rigorous requirements fulfilled by the student. Early

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honors student projects included web programs, a compilation of interviews with Holocaust survivors and physics labs to test theories. Other departments got involved in the honors program. Soon students developed fashion portfolios and multi-media presentations about specific historical eras. The honors students had to overcome one specific daily challenge: a shortage of accessible computers. An expansion of the computer program and the demand for computer use during seminar required the administration to add two new computer labs. Each lab contained thirty new units. Richenburg resurrected the Art Club to provide opportunities for more extensive student work in ceramics, pastels and acrylics. New arrival Bruce Beaver, a former administrator in Riverview Gardens and later a math instructor at North, developed an Informal Math Class to provide structure for those not working at grade level. Science coursework incorporated dissections of worms, fish, fetal pigs, cats—and in Physics, the design of potato guns. The demonstration of the student-built launchers always drew a crowd. Bauer’s success in galvanizing student interest in Physics firmly fixed in Lancer lore, he demonstrated another principle of physics in a dramatic class activity. Bauer caught student attention as he used a carbon dioxide cylinder from the cafeteria to propel himself across the room on roller skates. Home Ec classes completed a major transition. Since 1987, when Todd Harris wore his football jersey and sat in the front of the room to trail blaze the path for male participation, the program had been retitled and refocused. Renamed Family and Consumer Sciences, class participants continued to assist with dinner theaters, international culture fests, donor dinners and open houses. Curricular expansion included new courses in Interior Design, and Child Development and Parenting. The latter course simulated childcare with first eggs; then, bags of flour; and, early in the new millennium, Baby Think it Over dolls. Members of Clothing Class created a commemorative Fiftieth Anniversary Quilt. It included thirty-six squares completed by south side Association congregations. An LF Compass Grant supported research about European Culinary Trends. A summer enrichment camp included two levels of culinary arts for middle schoolers. Students taught third-graders table manners, served as judges for bake offs, and chaperoned fine dining at Tony’s Restaurant. During Rittmann’s administration, South and North FACS instructors, like the other departments, traveled to the American Vocational Association Conference—in Las Vegas! Buetow’s changes did not only deal with academia. Along with Roma, he developed a specific focus for the annual celebration of National Lutheran Schools Week. To help students identify with the servant-focused ethic of Christian living, they developed an award for Senior students, Christo Servis. Meaning You Serve Christ, the award showcased seniors who made a significant leadership contribution to South in fostering spiritual growth and service in school and community. The students awarded the honor would lead specific devotional aspects at graduation ceremonies. Buetow also developed a new tradition. Beginning in the fall of ’98, he initiated Grandparents Day at South. Like a similar assembly at North, students’ grandparents arrived as guests for a special worship service. Then, Buetow introduced the grandparents and their grandchildren. He awarded a small token to the oldest and youngest grandparent, the grandparent who had traveled the farthest and the grandparent who had the most grand- and great-grand-children. Occasionally, some seniors would spend the rest of the day with their extended families. Buetow understood the importance of public relations. The condition of facilities could impress—or depress. He realized many of the students’ families and guests attended assemblies and performances hosted by a variety of school organizations. So he enabled the custodial staff to complete some long-desired improvements. New facilities custodian Rick Ehrhardt answered some literal chapel prayer requests. He mounted doors on restroom stalls and created display areas for the many District championship plaques. The building underwent additional renovations, the most significant triggered by the arrival of Dana Meyer. Wheelchair bound, Meyer’s presence provided the impetus for Student Council to host annual wheel chair games with the St. Louis Rolling Rams. Like the Preachers at the Sem had done back in the ‘60s, Student Council publicized and raised funding by hosting activities that assisted differently-abled individuals. An LCF challenge grant made possible the completion of a

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new elevator. This major change came at the same time new goalposts, practice field fencing, restroom sinks, altar, and additional parking spots refurbished the campus. It culminated a drive Rittmann initiated at the ’98 Auction, sponsored by Diane Matzat, that provided money to replace bleachers at both South and North. Student Council’s exceptional leadership in school activities received appropriate commendation. For ten consecutive years (it would soon be extended to sixteen!) it earned the highest honor awarded by the Missouri Association of Student Councils: the Gold Council Award. Rauh stated, “[We simply want to] recognize the gifts of the kids in the school [and help them use those gifts] to the glory of God.” That sentiment was reflected as Student Council and Chapel Committee designated collections and fundraisers to support Ilse Gutsch. She was an independently funded German missionary nurse who served in the Panamanian plateau. For several years she visited both South and North campuses and described how caring medical personnel could help spread the Gospel. Students at both schools fervently supported her mission during a several-year period. The new annual Father-Daughter Dance, developed by Harms and supported by the senior class, also was a great success. Probably just as satisfying was defeating the Crusaders in a competitive can drive for local food banks. Lancers collected 5,416 cans. They had collected almost three tons of food to donate to others. In a unique development where life imitates art, intriguing story lines in two fall plays, Rehearsal for Murder and Witness for the Prosecution, triggered an interest in law. Board member and generous contributor John Emde had advised the new Mock Trial organization. In ’98, highlighted by the testimony of witness Mike Lorenz, the group won District and finished eleventh at State. Emde had served for several years as an unofficial advisor. He developed close ties with the students and the school as he mentored them in their group. He also had, as a member of the Missouri Athletic Club, sponsored the elegant Junior/Senior Prom for North and South. Dressed in his tux, he would stop by to welcome students as they arrived. After he died, many desired to memorialize him in an appropriate manner. The Wind Symphony provided the musical accompaniment for the hymns at the memorial service held at the Seminary Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. Lance editors of the ’00 edition dedicated their successes, and the annual, to the man who had given so much to the students of South. In that spirit, the administration asked Judge Robert H. Branom of the St. Louis Family Court to address the graduating class. When he did so, he outlined how Christian family values, so exemplified by Emde, could help resolve troubling societal and family issues during a new era. (See Chapter 4, above, for additional information about Branom’s support for the Association.) The Fine Arts Department upgraded its tour and concert schedule. The Wind Symphony, financing a tour to California via Las Vegas, presented a Pasta in Pops concert. Spectators purchased an Italian pasta specialty and, in a dinner-theater setting, listened to the performance. The Jazz Band performed at Grant’s Farm, the arrival of Santa at Kirkwood Station and on the television broadcast Window on St. Louis. The 1998-1999 school year brought the arrival of new high school band director John Miller and wife Ellen. They replaced outgoing directors Rodney Paglialong and Shannon Wiegert. The Millers immediately restructured the grade school band program and made efforts to increase enrollment. Changes included an expanded schedule of Combined Grade School Band concerts at the high school and biennial Band Festivals. High school band tours were changed from spring break extravaganzas to shorter trips in which students would only miss two days of school. Like Tirmenstein had done at North, Miller increased the number of Sunday morning congregational performances by the Wind Symphony. He also scheduled regular grade school mini-tours by the Wind Symphony, Concert Band and Jazz Band. The groups performed at Association congregations including Concordia-Kirkwood, Salem-Affton, Peace-Lemay and Resurrection-Sunset Hills. Miller’s first band tour to the Washington, D.C., area, although a musical success, almost ended in tragedy. Following a blinding snowstorm on the return trip through Maryland, a passenger vehicle rear-ended one of the two band buses and caused a semi to jackknife across the highway. The ensuing pileup snared traffic for hours in freezing temperatures, putting in danger many of the stranded motorists, injured or uninjured. The musicians dutifully exited one of the buses. It was used for treating the injured. They boarded the other bus and rode it to a neighboring high school where they spent the night. The next day they completed their odyssey, fortunately none

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the worse for wear. Three of the individuals on the trip—Laura Schmidt, Carrie Smith and Bryan Dillon--later earned Missouri All State Band recognition. The next year, the Wind Symphony performed at John Emde’s funeral, held at the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. This was an emotional highlight for students and directors, considering the high level of support which Emde bestowed on the band program. The Wind Symphony and Jazz Band capped their busy year with a tour to Disney World. In subsequent years, the group toured through Arkansas, Texas, and to New Orleans. The 1999-2000 year also brought the arrival of Nick Stark, an addition to the growing South elementary band program. When St. John-Ellisville and St. Paul-Des Peres joined the South-sponsored program, the South program included fifteen band feeder schools and more than 350 students. Stark, who also became an assistant high school director, implemented a more robust jazz program at the high school, started a Junior High Jazz Band and began the Band Trivia Night. Band members annually hosted the festivities, raising funds for the band tours. Marting’s last hurrah was a culmination of his career at the two Association schools. He led his Lancer Singers in performances at Ambush soccer games and Mothers Club meetings. During Lutheran Schools Week, he led had them sing chorales at the LCMS headquarters. Later in the school year, after flying to Hollywood, the ensemble sang in the Music Fest at Universal Studios and performed in a variety of venues in the region. After directing his last sacred concert at Salem-Affton, Marting departed to lead the St. Louis Priory vocal program. Susan Goris, a Ritenour grad, replaced Marting. The highlight of her first year was leading the group to several tour performances in the Bahamas. The following year included some unique challenges. As the choruses prepared for the Chicago tour, a sudden snowstorm almost cancelled the traditional Christmas Concert. After performing a second, better-attended Christmas concert at Faith-Oakville, the touring group skirted threatening weather to arrive in the Windy City—and suffered a burglary of the bus. Despite having to madly scramble to replace equipment and other stolen items, the students regrouped. The tour stayed on schedule. The singers visited Navy Pier, the John Hancock Building and the Shedd Aquarium. Later that spring, in one of the first “normal” events of the season, Andrea Stout and Kristen Heard earned “1s” at the State competition. And, as usual, some participated in the spring musical. It was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The decade was quite unique regarding the close family ties reflected in enrollment and adult-student rolls. During the late ‘90s, more than thirty families had more than one student at South, and at one time there were seven sets of twins. Incredibly, there were four Striegel and three Lorenz students who attended the school at the same time. Each year South grad and office secretary Deb (Koenig) Smith helped them with their elaborate registration process. The Striegels, in particular, formally participated in the daily life of the school. Their family led a chapel. Pastor preached, Mrs. played a hymn on a harp and Nick and John assisted. Like most years past, other teachers had offspring in the building. For Witbrodt, it was Nora. For Torbeck, it was Matt. For Roma, it was Tom. For Jerry, it was Tim. For McQueen, it was Julie. For Rauh, it was Kristopher. For Debbie Smith, it was Cory. For Albers, it was Bethany. For Trah, it was Lindsay. And for Grandma Groth, it was grandson Aaron Borchelt. At the ’00 Senior Convocation Pastor Groth, just recovered from a stroke, addressed the class. A year later, the retired Wallis returned to South, this time on Grandparents Day to sit by grandson Jason Reinking. As Pfund finished his coaching career, his Lancers scheduled games with St. Dominic—coached by son and ’78 South grad Steve. When Reck later retired from coaching baseball, Steve moved to South and took over the baseball program. Doc Prahlow, who had coached cross country and track while all four children attended South, now coached against son Jim who was a Crusader cross country and track coach. After retiring from coaching Doc would assist and announce at Crusader meets and cheer his five grandchildren as they ran in Jeff City. Former Crusader AD V had a similar experience. By the end of the era he was cheering on his Lancer grandchildren, particularly as one pitched against the Crusaders. With so many close ties on staff and in the student body, many alumni desired to honor specific teachers or administrators with in-house memorials. When contributors donated one to honor long-time Old Testament teacher Fred Grundmann, and two more were added to honor Con Carlton and Jim Hayes, several teachers discussed the practicality of memorial placement on the campus. In 1993, a faculty committee of retired and

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active teachers, chaired by Prahlow, proposed that a memorial be created “to the glory of God” simply listing those teachers who had served the Association at least ten years. As faculty retired, they would periodically update the memorial with the addition of plaques that listed eight names on each. They chose simple symbols to represent the ministry at South. One was a rock, quarried from southern Missouri. It would remind all about Jesus, “the rock of our salvation.” The other was a symbol carved on the rock. It was an image of the Lamb with a cross, signifying the Good Shepherd who had commissioned the faculty to shepherd His flock. The memorial would be placed in the entry alcove. Buetow presented the proposal to the Board and by the fall of ’98 it was ready. In a special dedicatory service attended by many former teachers and staff, Buetow said the following in his dedicatory sermon: “The rock in the foyer is a symbol of the steadfast witness of faculty members who served ten or more years at South.” Valedictorian Brian Keller (S ’01), moved by the ceremony and “the Rock’s” purpose as a daily reminder why South existed, used it as a springboard to address his graduating class. He noted that “Teachers Rock” and described how they, like the symbol of the Agnus Dei in the entryway, provided an exciting yet stable Christian environment to nurture future community leaders. And they would live in the shadow of the Shepherd. Indeed, the message was for all people! Keller’s valedictory called attention to the daily visual reminder in the entryway that provided Lancers with a message of comfort. The nation in general and Lancers in particular would need that reminder of the Shepherd’s presence in the face of unimaginable tragedies that unfolded during the fall of 2001.

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Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 7: Which Shall Be for All People: Lutheran South, 1993-2001 Tensions and Migration Merkel, Hoosiers, describes the catastrophic flooding, pp. 164-165; Bosnians, p. 56; fears of urban living, p. 68; John Karel’s work in Tower Grove Park, pp. 126-127; Globe Drug, pp. 88-89. More information about the Bosnian migration to the Bevo Mill area can be found at http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21684143-howmuslim-refugees-bosnia-transformed-corner-midwest-doing-just-fine?frsc=dg%7Cc accessed 12/29/15. Special thanks to Mark Behling for this information. Also, see above, Chapter 5, for more local details about the Bosnian community. A Workshop in Christian Living Prahlow, 11/14/15, provided details about Close-Up Washington. Hartung’s quote is from the ’94 Lance, p. 3. The overall academic excellence of the Association schools was reiterated in 1994 when, in a parallel development, the Missouri District, sponsored by an AAL grant, recognized North as an exemplary school. Roma, 6/30/15, provided extensive information about the Campus Ministry Program. The Messengers program is only one of the various outreach activities Roma described as the administrative team retooled the worship life on campus. Academic and Co-Curricular Growth Paul Buetow, 9/30/15, provided several insights about the Fine Arts program, particularly in the classroom activities. Rapp, Bauer, Rauh, and Torbeck also noted the successes of singer Erin Bode who attended South between 1991 and 1994. A native Minnesotan and daughter of a pastor, she moved out to the Eureka area for her senior year, and later graduated from Webster University. More information about Bode can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erin_Bode (accessed 1/31/16). Buetow and Rapp also helped clarify the creation of the Computer Club/Technology Club and other ancillary clubs’ participation in community activities. Activities for Seniors--Senior Breakfast and Grandparents Day--were aspects which Buetow prided himself on fostering. The success of the Computer Club at South benefitted the entire Association constituency. Galvanized by the South success, Tim Brackman’s Multimedia Presentations class at North designed a new website for the Lutheran Elementary School Association (LESA). It would help the association of thirty-nine Lutheran elementary schools in the St. Louis metropolitan area with curriculum development; teacher in-service programming; administrator training; joint advertising; and mentoring programs for new teachers. In addition, curriculum guides written specifically for the schools by collaboration between local high school and elementary school instructors assisted in updating instructional techniques and objectives. Those, too, had been implemented during Behling’s revision of the Social Studies curriculum to a Social Science focus. The effort had been coupled with the Jim Brackman-chaired LESA committee that revised the K-8 Social Studies curriculum in 2001. The committee, consisting of twenty-five representatives from Lutheran elementary and high schools in St. Louis and St. Louis County, consulted with Roxanna Mechem, coordinator of Social Studies and Character Education in the Rockwood School District. They consolidated their curriculum adaptations in a lengthy document targeting all Lutheran elementary Social Studies teachers. The new LESA website also included information about the Building Blocks Financial Assistance program, the elementary school counseling program, the Lutheran Association for Special Education (LASE), Lutheran school nursing services, the OASIS intergenerational tutoring program, and Camp Wartburg (“North Students Create New LESA Website,” The Herald, Fall 2004, p. 4; and “St. Louis Lutheran Schools Social Studies Curriculum Guide, Grades K—8, 2001-2002”)

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The first joint baccalaureate at the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus was in 1994. Dedicated on November 15, 1992, the sanctuary was large enough to hold most immediate family members of the participating graduates. John Emde and Ken Steinbrueck supervised the NHS usher crew for the first service. When the offering baskets were brought back to the narthex, no one had prepared to take responsibility for the more than $1,000 collected for the student assistance fund. The duo decided Steinbrueck would carry the huge pile of cash, mostly in small bills, back to school the next morning. Occasionally, seating for the festal service was at a premium. In 2012, a few anxious families desperately seeking seating removed cords that reserved rows for the respective faculties. As the faculties entered the chapel for the procession during the opening hymn, no seats were available! They received hurried instructions to process up the center aisle—and immediately out the entryway via the side aisles. As they had after past baccalaureates, all quickly regathered in the Sem cafeteria. Most assumed it would be a lengthy wait for the annual recognition of faculty members who were retiring, departing or celebrating significant teaching anniversaries. But in a prescient gesture, administrators permitted the cafeteria staff to immediately open service lines for hors d’oeuvres and adult beverages. Many faculty later recalled that this particular baccalaureate was their favorite event of the school year. Departures, Accolades and New Leadership Kuhlmann’s comments are from “Through 50 Years,” Fiftieth, p. 15. O’Hare’s and Callan’s Olympic experiences are partially from a clipping provided by Paul Crisler from Ray Bosenbecker’s So, Where’d You Go to High School? Virginia Publishing Corporation, 2004, p. 113. O’Hare skated for the US Team in the 1998 Nagano Olympics, helping the Men’s Short Track 5,000 Relay finish sixth. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/oh/tommy-ohare-1.html accessed on 11/17/15. Callan’s Olympic experience is from the 2014 edition of Alumni Today, p. A147. The material about her connection to father Erv Leimer is from The Herald, Fall 2010, p. 7. A third student, Jon Burford (S ’87) also would, in the future, experience his own unique Olympic experience. Having officiated basketball games since he was in eighth grade, he began officiating wheelchair ball in 1993 and received his international license in 1997. After officiating at international tournaments in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Japan. While a court administrator for the US Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis, he was chosen to officiate in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens (The Herald, Fall 2004, p. 4). In 2016, Jenny Karner (S ’01), a mainstay of the Lancer basketball squad during her time at South, led the FaithLas Vegas Crusader basketball squad to the Nevada High School State 1-A Championship. Commentary about and observations by Rittmann are from Buetow, 9/30/15 (particularly about the issues raised by the curtailing of the economic boom); and Rohde, pp. 6-7. The summary about Wallis’ administration is from The Herald, Fall 2007, p. 7. Ken Bauer (12/11/15) provided the details about Buetow’s initial arrival. For a further elaboration about Rittmann’s planning, see above, Chapter 6. Rittmann’s comments were during a North cafeteria lunch period in October 1999, to the author. Buetow related the Rittmann story about South being one of the flagship Lutheran high schools. Further impact of Rittmann’s policies on both schools can be found in Chapter 8. In a 1/30/16 interview, Bauer and Gerry Rapp described the cabling of the school that began in April 1997. Rapp has the blueprints and design materials in his document collection. Bauer, Rapp, Torbeck and Rauh also noted the significance of Buetow’s communication skills and willingness to support faculty initiatives, particularly in the context of Rittmann’s creative outreach to the St. Louis area in general. Buetow also elaborated about the significance of John Emde’s leadership and activities with the student body and Association. See below, in the chapter, for more about Emde’s contributions. Finally, the AC installation is from the same Buetow interview.

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Randy Rogers later left South to accept a call to serve as guidance counselor and coach at Valley Lutheran High School in Saginaw, Michigan. After a decade there he became the men’s coach at Concordia University Chicago, joining his brother who was the counterpart for the women’s program. For more, see Jim Eagan, “Mr. Rogers Returns to the Neighborhood,” Forester, Fall 2015, pp. 31-32. Lady Lancer Success While the Guys “Step Up” Kershner described the cross country successes during the ‘90s. His own contributions to Lutheran education prior to his pastorate can be found in (http://www.cucougars.com/hof.aspx, accessed 7/27/15. Two of his many runners went on to Mizzou. Ben Dehnke (S ’95) later completed his education at the University of Missouri. While teaching English at Brookwood High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, his 2009 boys’ squad won the Georgia State Meet. It later competed in the Nike Nationals in Portland, Oregon. Jack Preus, also a Mizzou graduate, taught and coached cross country at Orange Lutheran High School. He received Co-coach of the Year honors in 2009. His father, Jacob A. O. Preus (N ’71 and see Chapter 2) served as President of Concordia University-Irvine. (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 8) Upgrades, Accolades and Family Ken Bauer, 7/27/15, provided confirmation of his physics demonstration. The FACS transition is found in Rauh’s 2/13/16 document, chiefly from p. 3. Roma, 6/30/15, and Buetow, 9/30/15, provided information about the Christo Servis, Senior Breakfast and Grandparents Day at South. Buetow clarified the role of the LCF grant for the elevator, and the Emde guidance for the Mock Trial team. Rauh’s comments are from the ’99 Lance, Student Council section. The Honorable Robert Branom of the St. Louis County Family Court who spoke at graduation, had long been an Association supporter. A member of the Quarter Master Corps of the U. S. Army, he practice law for thirteen years, most with the firm of Zimbalist, Sacks, Schramm and Branom. After serving three terms in the Missouri House Representatives while he represented a North County district, he served as Director of St. Louis County Juvenile Court and then was elected Commissioner by the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit, St. Louis County. He also served as an adjunct professor at UMSL and conducted training sessions on Indian Child Welfare topics. Branom also served as a Director of Every Child’s Hope (Evangelical Children’s Home) and on the Lutheran High School Association Board of Directors. Son Hank Branom (N ’83) was a member of the first Crusader State football championship, earned his law degree at Washington University and later served with the Federal Defenders of Montana. Daughter Rebecca (N ’86) Goldman graduated not long after and later served the City of Maryland Heights as Payroll Clerk. The family, members of Immanuel United Church of Christ-Ferguson, annually funded a scholarship for a North student. Hipenbecker, Brackman, http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stltoday/obituary.aspx?n=robert-henrybranom&pid=177670789&eid=sp_shareobit (accessed 2/11/16) and “Celebration of the Life of Robert Henry Branom,” funeral service folder, 2/28/16, provided the information about the Branom family. See Chapter 4 for his participation in the North celebration of the Bicentennial of the Constitution of the United States. John Miller, 7/27/15, provided extensive information about his and wife Ellen’s experiences in the Fine Arts Department. They, too, noted Emde’s role as a generous benefactor. With Emde’s ever-present support, Miller successfully encouraged many of his musicians to take individual lessons to hone their craft. The resulting performances—and honors earned—speak for themselves. Shirley Rauh recalled his assistance in securing the MAC for the proms. Tom (S ’04) and Steve Roma (S ’07) both followed in Rev. Ron Roma’s footsteps by entering the ministry.

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The ’99 Lance, p. 4, includes editor Steve Meyer’s quote. Buetow confirmed Keller’s use of the symbolism of “the Rock” in his valedictory, which also was noted in the ’01 Lance “Graduation Section.” Rittmann strongly endorsed the significant placement of the “inspirational religious symbol.” Steinbrueck, 6/30/15, provided additional background information about “the Rock.” It is noted that in 2009, portions of “the Rock” memorial were stored outside the Budrovich Warehouse. In 2012, those portions were moved into the school courtyard. In May 2016, Hipenbecker confirmed that it was determined the plaques listing teachers and administrators who had served the Association for at least ten years would be periodically updated. The first updating would be during the summer. The school entrance now is as it was prior to the installation of the memorial. A “Hall of Faculty,” also frequently updated, currently includes framed 5 x 7 pictures of every past faculty instructor.

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Chapter 8: For Unto You, A Changing World: Lutheran North, 2001-2008 Adaptation in the Post-9/11 Era On September 11, 2001, nineteen Islamic terrorists flew two American Airlines planes into New York City’s World Trade Center, killing three thousand people. President George W. Bush and Congress quickly created a Transportation Security Administration, providing it with broad police powers and funded as a national security necessity. The FBI, CIA and Immigration and Naturalization Service created and enforced a “no fly” list. Cyber specialists monitored computer communications. Investigators plumbed financial transfers to ferret out those supporting terrorist activity. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in St. Louis, squirreled away in the old Civil War Arsenal east of the Anheuser Busch plant, tracked movements of terror cells. The 9/11 attack gave Bush and Congress a compelling interest to pursue Al-Qaeda, remove the Taliban from positions of authority and nurture fledgling democracy movements. This would be very difficult, if not impossible, in the tribally divisive, ethnically confrontational Middle East long fraught with sectarian violence. Bush organized a NATO coalition to move into Afghanistan in 2001. Two years later, claiming Saddam Hussein developed weapons of mass destruction, Bush ordered troops into Iraq and dismantled the regime. As advisors assisted Afghans and Iraqis in fostering democratic institutions, sectarian violence disrupted progress. On the domestic front, the Bush administration faced several challenges that brought into question its organizational credibility. In 2003, the Columbia space shuttle disintegrated upon reentry. It raised anew the investigative queries about quality control and security procedures. Those issues had plagued many military and aerospace companies since the Challenger explosion. In 2004 and 2005, the arrival of hurricanes Charley in southwest Florida and Katrina in the central Gulf coast forced heads of FEMA and other agencies to reevaluate relief efforts. Poor coordination of local and federal emergency services hindered recovery. The crisis in New Orleans, in particular, captured national headlines. Journalists posted heated editorials. They lamented about antiquated infrastructure, inadequate emergency preparation and complex relief bureaucracies that hampered lifesaving measures and recovery efforts. Despite his reelection to the Presidency in 2004 and a Republican ascendancy in Congress, the controversies and crises provided critics with opportunities to question his leadership abilities. During the late ‘90s, conservative Republicans had pilloried Clinton about his alleged unethical personal behaviors. Now many Democrats attacked Bush’s perceived motivations for promoting specific policies. The President’s troubles continued to mount. As Congress removed some of the New Deal-era restrictions on financial institutions, investment houses like those controlled by the Lehman brothers created a housing mortgage “bubble.” In 2008, the questionable brokerage practices resulted in a mortgage crisis, thousands across the country losing homes because they had been underfinanced. Hardest hit was the Denver area where as many as 40% of homeowners faced repossession. The Bush administration did attempt to construct a comprehensive response to the crisis in public education. The President pushed through Congress the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). He desired to reward successful education models with federal funding and grants. States would be responsible for distributing the funds to districts that attained accreditation standards. Standardized testing, progression rates and matriculation totals would determine the effectiveness of the schools and districts, the better performing ones receiving the funding. The NCLB also encouraged state educational initiatives to create and administer tighter accreditation standards, enabling legislatures to take control of and administer districts that failed. Critics proclaimed this was an attempt to federalize education. They noted that standardized testing was in many cases culturally biased. Enforcement of penalties against underperforming districts would end local educational initiatives and local control of school districts.

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As the national economy stalled and school district administrators debated the merits of the controversial NCLB, the Bush administration appeared to lose touch with many in the middle class. They believed Bush had passed the reins of leadership in domestic affairs to corporate interests and major contributors. They were convinced he had abdicated control of international affairs to Vice President Dick Cheney. Bush opponents portrayed Cheney as a Rasputin-like puppeteer controlling the administration. Barack Obama, first-term Senator from Illinois who started his political career as a neighborhood organizer, successfully defeated chief challenger Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primaries and won the party’s nomination. Exhibiting an energetic persona, he successfully garnered support from new and youthful voters. Basing his Presidential campaign on the simple slogan of “Hope and Change,” he promised to resolve the issues that beset the Bush administration. He asserted he could get Washington to function as it should and easily defeated former Vietnam POW and Arizona Senator John McCain. The Synod Stabilizes President Barry died suddenly in early 2001. His First Vice President, Rev. Robert Kuhn, replaced him to complete the term as the constituency readied for another convention. Kuhn fulfilled the pledge he had given Barry in 2000—he would not run for office. Delegates at the St. Louis meeting selected Texas District President Gerald B. Kieschnick to lead the Synod. Providing energetic leadership like Guido Merckens, dynamic sermons like O. C. J. Hoffman and pastoral counseling like L. Lloyd Behnken, Kieschnick had increased Texas district membership rolls more than 10% while Synod lost almost a half million members. During his three-term administration, Synodical membership stabilized at 2.2 million. Kieschnick, elected by an eighteen-vote majority in 2001, spent much of his first term defending Atlantic District President David Benke against charges of unionism. The accusations stemmed from Benke’s participation in a civic interfaith event in Yankee Stadium following the 9/11 attacks. Adjudication through the church court system made the denomination appear to be inwardly focused on doctrinal discipline rather than help heal the wounds dealt by terrorists. But Kieschnick initiated a restructuring of the church administration and revival of domestic and international missions. He encouraged local collaboration between circuit congregations to support cooperative schools, social service agencies and community involvement. Kieschnick’s reelection by a 20% majority in 2004 affirmed his measures. He encouraged activists to march in the annual Walk for Life in Washington D. C. and promoted Biblical pastoral counseling regarding troubling social and political issues. But problems arose. Disputes about KFUO editorial content and the sale of the FM station to an Albert Pujols-backed Christian group raised tensions with traditionalists and the St. Louis arts community. Traditionalists that had supported Barry soon questioned Synodical expenditures and administrative reforms. A large segment of the traditionalists, energized by some of the perceived controversies, pursued delegate votes in advance of the 2010 Synodical convention. St. Louis: Uneven Growth During the era St. Louis city continued to hemorrhage population. Many of the now fewer than 400,000 city residents were plagued by a median income amounting to 15% less than the median incomes of the surrounding counties. A reduced tax base did not bode well for the future of urban redevelopment or a renaissance of the faltering public school system. The effects of the national economic malaise were unevenly distributed through the region. Many moved to the outer suburbs and exurbs that grew rapidly in population and income. The central business corridor along I-64 expanded west. New malls and planned developments mushroomed on the

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newly protected Missouri River flats outside the I-270 ring. A high concentration of medical facilities, insurance underwriters, law offices and tech startups created a magnet for highly educated and higher income residents. But county residents did not stay away from the city. They commuted to work and play in the city, drawn back by refurbished facilities, new start-ups and unique entertainment venues. They continued to support the ZooMuseum-Gardens special tax district that funded the updating of aging facilities. The support encouraged the directors of Missouri Botanical Gardens to join representatives of Washington University, BJC Healthcare, UMSL and SLU to create Cortex. Located in the Central West End (CWE), the technological and bioscience research hub created many employment opportunities for those who had appropriate tech experience. UMSL initiated a campus makeover. Its centerpiece was the Touhill Performing Arts Center. By the end of the decade, with the completion of the I-64 rebuild project and the reconfigured I-270/I-170 interchange, residents of western and northern suburbs had ready access to business hubs, local attractions and cultural amenities. While the Arch grounds, Forest Park institutions and Botanical Gardens continued to draw locals and visitors alike, many also visited Bob Cassillyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s City Museum. It was an eclectic collection of historical artifacts in a museum/playground housed in the old International Shoe warehouse. And at night, just blocks away, they could stroll along the growing Washington Avenue Loft District that bustled with crowds seeking the latest nightclub opening. Cardinal fans excitedly anticipated the opening of Busch Stadium III and its ancillary entertainment district. A refurbished Civic Center that had been constructed on the grounds of Kiel Auditorium hosted not only Blues games, but also the annual Missouri Valley Conference Arch Madness and NCAA Regional basketball contests. Those events generated much-needed tax revenue for St. Louis coffers. The St. Louis Sports Commission and other local sponsoring organizations also won bids to host the NCAA Frozen Four, NCAA Wrestling Championships, U. S. Figure Skating Championships and, later, the USA Cross Country Championships. Those events would draw thousands of spectators to the region. Sponsors would be able to showcase business, housing and entertainment venues available in the urban core. In 2008, those successes rekindled civic efforts to revive the long-dormant plan to refurbish Kiel Opera House. South County benefitted from the urban exodus, too. Its slightly more accessible real estate values and industrial parks were located in closer proximity to the city. It drew more middle class residents out to the Meramec River flood plain and the pleasantly undulating Jefferson County hill country. Central and south city neighborhoods began to change. Little Bosnia by Bevo Mill and Little Asia along South Grand and in University City developed flourishing communities and civic organizations as new immigrant families received support from their neighbors. Despite the uneven regional population and economic growth, civic leaders like St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and County Executive Charlie Dooley understood they had to resolve the difficult challenges caused by poor educational systems before individual frustrations evolved into concerted confrontations. The Rittmann Era One issue that occurred just prior to the new millennium intimately affected student life at both North and South. On April 20, 1999, two boys carried automatic weapons into Columbine High School and murdered twelve students and one teacher before committing suicide. In every school system in the country, administrators, faculties and boards quickly reevaluated security procedures, the vetting of visitors and supervision of noncampus personnel. Law enforcement officials held national summits to discuss appropriate responses to perceived threats. Counselors and psychologists advised school authorities to monitor social networking sites and investigate threats, bullying and confrontational behaviors. At both Association high schools, administrators created a crisis team comprised of head office personnel, counselors and health service professionals to prepare for possible future threats. At North, safety protocols had included only fire and tornado drills. Now three new drills needed rehearsal to deal with intruders, outside threats and earthquakes. Soon crash boxes and emergency CPR units were posted at key emergency exits. Tragically, intermittent school shooting incidents continued. They

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heightened awareness of bullying issues, the conceal-carry debate, and the importance of institutional emergency preparation. The new administrative team that dealt with these issues had already been assembled. In 1997 Superintendent Wallis retired. The Association called David Rittmann, formerly headmaster of the Hong Kong International School, as the new president. Prange retired after thirty-seven years in the Lutheran teaching ministry. Cindy Burreson, wife of Sem prof Kent Burreson, worked with Prange for a year and then accepted the call to head the Counseling Department. Thomas continued as Dean of Students while Mueller focused on recruitment. When Hipenbecker left to head the formation of a new Lutheran high school in the south Denver suburbs, Tim Brackman moved into the registrar position. Nancy Poggemoeller, who had briefly replaced longtime school nurse Brenda Nierman, left for another position. Jane Mark joined the office staff. At South, Paul Buetow served as principal after David Waterman (1989-1997) became director of Missouri District Lutheran Schools. Rittmann was a hands on leader who reduced financial costs by consolidating Association offices in the north wing of 5401. He carefully examined the financial situation in the Association, regularly visited with local pastors and congregations and encouraged faculty and staff to develop “ideal” programs. With his honesty and integrity, he brought instant credibility to the Association and its operations. Noting that “people get what they pay for,” he unapologetically raised tuition, salaries—and expectations. As he developed campus expansion programs he tempered some of the rivalry issues that at times disrupted North/South cooperation. He accomplished this by simply attending many athletic events and fine arts productions at both campuses. He believed one could not just pretend to care—he had to be there. To improve instructional practices in the block schedule, Rittmann required faculties to attend the same national conferences. Ever active on a personal level, he formed a faculty book discussion group and regularly participated in both faculties’ social activities. To foster leadership, he encouraged the Board to adopt a policy governance approach. He focused on improving faculty salaries and college level programming for upperclassmen. The Board agreed to increase tuition at a faster rate to support those improvements. With a stable total enrollment of one thousand students attending South and North, and seventy-one Associationmember congregations continuing support, Rittmann created a master plan for the two campuses. After acquiring the necessary acreage at both sites, the Board approached the Lutheran Charities Foundation (LCF; later, LF) to help finance construction of new athletic fields, tracks and future sites for performance and chapel venues. The $3 million challenge grant required the Association to raise $6 million in capital gifts. Planning began as coaches, athletic directors and other stakeholders shared and discussed design issues, drainage and access. Crisler in particular held several meetings with the coaching staff, encouraging them to visit collegiate and high school facilities to evaluate the design options. Periodic meetings included updates from Hastings Chivetta associate Clayton Klein who meticulously recorded notes during the lengthy discussions. The North campus had more than doubled in size, its forty-eight acres creating a semicircle footprint stretching from Lucas and Hunt west and south to I-70. Construction began, Crusader spring and fall squads dodging earthmovers, skirting mud holes, practicing at local parks, playing away schedules. Progress continued—until the Army Corps of Engineers intervened. A “water course” created by the construction of I-70 three decades before was classified as a flowing body of water. The aptly christened Crisler Creek required appropriate drainage. Its ironically intermittent water flow had to have permanent egress to the creek that flowed under the track and football field. The delay added two months to the construction timetable. Mueller, working in development, and Russell met with donor Jim Crane (N ’72) who had already made sizable contributions to his elementary school (Grace Chapel) and his college (University of Central Missouri). His generosity, when combined with the local fundraising of a group of former Crusader football players Gary Mantei (N ’73), Bill LaMothe (N ’72), Mark Peterson (N ’71) and Walter Negwer, came from a spirit of wanting to thank coaches for their sacrifices. On a dedicatory plaque later set east of the pavilion, they specifically thanked

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Oetting, V, Manion and Holschen for the “dedication of their lives” to the service of God and their students. The group pushed the challenge grant to completion. The facility included soccer fields on the upper terrace, a baseball and softball field with batting cage on the second terrace, a practice baseball field and discus/javelin/shot put area on the third, a pavilion for storage, concessions and announcers, and an eight-lane track surrounding the football field. The south side concrete bleachers provided seating for Crusader fans. Visiting fans would occupy the north side portable bleachers bordering the golf course. The old sole baseball field could still be used for baseball, football and soccer practices, PE classes and parking. The new facility provided more opportunities for community use. Local church leagues competed on the old field. Junior Football League squads used practice fields. Summer baseball squads spent time in the batting cage. The UMSL baseball team used the facility while their construction program moved to completion. Schools participating in the elementary school soccer league played most of their games and final tournament on campus. The elementary volleyball tournament continued annually. Recruitment bused in students from Lutheran feeder schools for trivia contests, band concerts and drama performances. The most amazing growth was in the elementary school cross country meets. When Barry Terrass hosted the first one in 1993, twenty-six participated in one race. After the new facility had been completed, more than three hundred students from pre-K through eighth grade competed in twelve age-group races twice each season. Rittmann supported professional development and insisted entire departments from both faculties should periodically attend the same national conference. For example, the Social Studies departments, led by South department chair and geography guru Mark Behling, attended the National Council for Social Studies San Antonio conference. Crisler insisted Mac and Prahlow drive out to the LBJ homestead and ranch and view the historic Flint Hills region. They did. The two even visited the neighboring Lutheran church that Ladybird occasionally attended. At the conference Mac and Prahlow heard presentations about student-led local history projects and the latest uses for technology in the classroom. They also enjoyed the Tex-Mex cuisine and saw the Riverwalk, Alamo and a World War II museum. Thomas and Hope spent their time examining the technological opportunities displayed at the convention center and experiencing the unique San Antonio culture in the city proper. The Science Department also benefitted from Rittmann’s support for curricular and equipment updates. Grupe, Roth, Klingsick and department chair Langefeld utilized new equipment to expand traditional classroom instruction. In Biology students dissected owl pellets and cats. In Chemistry they used paper chromatography and found imaginative ways in memorizing the periodic table. New microscopes permitted examination of e.coli (Don’t eat in the lab!). Genetics studies based on fruit fly reproduction (What do I do!? Mine are waking up!) provided an introductory college-type experience. Later in the era, the Physics egg drop contest and the Physics Day at Six Flags added intriguing components to the math-based course work. Math instructors Schiefer and Holschen prided themselves on the performance of the joint Math-Sci Team. They consistently finished in the top three schools at the annual fall competition at Concordia University Chicago. In 2002, Phil Grupe, Brian Kersten, Matt Froeschner and then-student Eric Funke won the competition. Three years later at the State math contest at St. Dominic, Jordan Pauluhn, David Langefeld, Becca Grupe, Andy Wesche, Annie Froeschner and Jocelyn Nebel earned runner up laurels. With these successes in math and science, little wonder that Mike Grupe received the Missouri Biology Teacher of the Year honors. His and Holschen’s mentoring of these students, in particular, nurtured exceptional post-graduate careers. David Langefeld travels throughout the country as a representative of an Austin, Texas-based firm specializing in forensic engineering. Phil Grupe graduated from the University of Wisconsin and currently works for an energy efficiency consulting company in Madison. Becca Grupe is working on her Doctorate in Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin. Matt Froeschner currently cultivates animal cells for his work for a local pharmaceutical company. Younger sister Annie today works for Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Brian Kersten is employed by Amazon in the Kindle department in Seattle, verifying and correcting language discrepancies. Jordan Pauluhn, after graduating from Westminster College, earned his Doctor of Law degree at Washington University and

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currently serves in a local law firm. Andy Wesche, a grad from the University of Georgia, worked for the Bulldogs’ Sports Information Department. Jocelyn Nebel, after graduating with honors from Truman State, teaches upper level Spanish courses in the Rockwood School District. Outside the Box Rittmann left in July 2002 to become headmaster of the new Concordia International School in Shanghai. Paul Middeke, a former treasurer of the LCMS, served as interim Association head during the next school year, conferring closely with campus principals Buetow and Crisler. Board members sought viable candidates for the position. They hoped to find someone who had worked closely in educational institutional affairs and had experience in five areas: fund raising, the hiring of supervisory personnel, the promotion of academic programs, the recruitment of students and the equitable distribution of financial aid. A Clayton School District board member, serving as an Association consultant, asked Dr. Judith Meyer, vice president for academic affairs at Fontbonne University, to submit her name for consideration. The Board noted her career service at the University of Connecticut included stints as vice provost for undergraduate studies and associate provost for academic affairs. She had expertise in all five of the areas the Board had targeted as priorities. Meyer, who joined an ELCA congregation in Connecticut because there was no local LCMS congregation, attended Bethel after returning to St. Louis. In 2002, she and her husband joined Concordia-Kirkwood. That had, years before, been her father’s church. The Board offered her the call. Her husband, David, was the son of K. C. Meyer, second Superintendent of the LAHE. When Board chair Scott Negwer introduced her to the other members, he noted they had been asked to think “outside the box” when calling a new Association president. He also editorialized that while she was from “outside the box” the former Lutheran South graduate (‘61) was also “inside the box” in the context of understanding the community and Association membership. Meyer’s husband, a professor at Brown University, would commute to fulfill his duties. Understanding that some Association parishes and pastors might be concerned about the status of a woman leading a church institution, Meyer committed to worship in Association congregations during the Pentecost, Trinity and Epiphany seasons. In that manner she would worship in each Association congregation once every two years and still participate in her home congregation’s choir during the Advent, Christmas and Lenten seasons. Meyer also conferred with her pastor, Rev. Vernon Gundermann, the renowned preacher, to arrange meetings with each Association pastor and circuit. These conferences renewed the personal contacts with pastors. Those had not taken place during the presidential vacancy. Upon her installation in May 2004, development director Art Sommer informed her they had only until July 1 to raise $1.5 million. They had to complete the challenge grant begun three years before or they would lose the matching funds. Sommer arranged the contacts and along with Meyer, attended the meetings. They completed the project on time. Sommer’s incredible attention to detail made this possible. During his tenure as director of development, he made at least two visits each weekday to solicit prayers and financial support from prospective donors. Sommer’s meticulous planning and contact with a broad range of possible contributors provided Meyer the opportunity to complete the task. The new administration helped usher in an auspicious era. After more than a twenty-year hiatus, North hosted its first full home track meet with the 2004 ABC League championships. And, for the first spring season in twenty-five years, students no longer had to quickly move their cars from the west parking lot after school. Foul balls at the new baseball field would no longer land in the parking lot—or shatter windshields. Parents, grandparents and friends of Lutheran South students, who at the time attended additional baseball, football and soccer games at North, had just been polled regarding their priorities for a campus expansion project. Selected as the last priority was a new track and football/soccer facility. After many saw the new North facility, South stakeholders by consensus pushed to prominence their overwhelming desire for a comparable athletic facility.

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To fund the $6 million undertaking, Sommer worked closely with many South parents. They represented a cross section of local Lutheran high school graduates. For example, Gary Mantei was a North graduate (‘73)— whose children now would attend South. He had already generously donated to the North campus expansion and would now help fund the South facility improvements. Others also straddled the North-South divide, including now-retired Wayne Vogelsmeier who was always a Crusader—unless his grandson was pitching for the Lancers. Mark Belew’s (N ’72) children attended South. Jane (Kramer) Prahlow (C ’52), a Crusader from Central days who became a South booster when husband Don taught and coached at South, cheered for her grandchildren who ran at North. With these unique family connections, Sommer and Meyer organized a study committee to create the master plan for South campus improvements. It would be funded by a general appeal because no one individual stepped forward to commit a large sum. All initially agreed the project would not begin until funding had been guaranteed. Meanwhile, three other issues arose. The first was an outgrowth of Meyer’s experiences in academia and service learning outside of St. Louis. She strongly encouraged faculty and staff to nurture student participation in new efforts “outside the box.” She applied for and in spring 2007 received three years of funding from LCF for the Faith in Action program. She chose St. Marks-Eureka member Jill Tendler to coordinate the servant activities students from both high schools would complete one day each spring and fall. The first year funding provided for transport, water and food for the more than one thousand students, faculty and staff. Each of the seventy small groups from the high schools completed projects that varied in length from four to six hours. Groups assisted at Missouri Veterans Home, repaired the basement at Our Redeemer, packed meals and sorted clothing for Otis Woodard’s College Hill Peace Park, assisted at local elementary schools with reading and playground supervision, painted fencing and cleaned playgrounds at women’s shelters, distributed fliers for community meetings, cleared new ground for community gardens, repaired paths and trimmed honeysuckle bushes in parks. The prohibitive cost of transport rental forced the two high schools to stagger their dates to pool their buses, and South administrators later divided their program into fall frosh/soph and spring junior/senior service days. Faith in Action success encouraged another method of service: the Polar Bear Plunge. Raising pledges for a variety of charities, the first three participants were Mike Lorenz, Rev. Keffie Deen and Paul Endorf. The trio’s efforts soon included students and additional faculty each February at cold Lake St. Louis. The second challenge Meyer faced dealt with an issue that originally surfaced during the late ‘80s. Families from West County, particularly St. John-Ellisville, met with Meyer and treasurer Jo Cronin to promote the formation of another high school along the Highway 40 corridor. Unfortunately for the concerned parents, the North campus expansion had just been completed and the South campus expansion had just been designed. When a demographic study determined any effort would only be attended by a small prospective enrollment, discussions ended. St. John would later withdraw from Association membership. Ironically, with the hindsight that provides perspective, one can only imagine what might have happened if the Association had been able to expand to meet other requests posited in the mid-‘80s. Interested in Lutheran secondary education, St. Charles County parents desired a campus in that area. Unfortunately, the Association’s financial straits at that time, coupled with falling enrollment, prohibited consideration of that opportunity. When the St. John proposal arrived, the St. Louis and St. Charles high school associations had vastly differing structures that prohibited a merger or cooperative effort in the west county corridor. The disappointment expressed by those affected by the final resolution of the issue may have encouraged a few to seek a reevaluation of the structure of the LAHE. During the mid-‘90s, in a couple of long-time north side congregational mainstays of the LAHE, a few families asked their parish councils to consider transferring membership and support to the high school association in St. Charles. While the concerns they expressed had been satisfactorily resolved, some Association members at that time began to reflect the national political and Synodical trends already present in American society. As segments of the national political electorates identified with more conservative camps, they sought to exert more local control over what they believed were their own affairs. They faced-off against energized liberal groups who appeared to resort to executive fiat to resolve the

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problems. And both sides resorted to campaign techniques as society did in courtrooms: adversarial confrontation. Fortunately in the Association, cooler heads prevailed. A few parents, hearing about the St. John initiative, developed a request to divide the association as the Chicago association had done a generation before. They rationalized the separation would promote more local control by local stakeholders who could finance their own projects in their immediate community. While partially motivated by the North-South rivalry and continued misperceptions that “South money” was supporting “North needs,” it reflected more of a sense of ownership by South membership, most of whom attended Lutheran schools and churches and desired the best for their community. Board membership alleviated their concerns, reminding them how the perceptions had been reversed back in the ‘60s and early ‘70s. North’s development personnel had also fully financed the campus expansion at 5401 while South’s fundraisers struggled to meet the continually expanding goals of the building program at 9515. Discussions about dividing the Association ended as Board members renewed a more unified approach to development. The third issue Meyer confronted was specifically a recruitment issue. Lutheran South alumni, in particular, noted that South students were not applying to top tier universities and colleges. Taking a cue from Mike Prange as he retired from Lutheran ministry, Meyer met with guidance counselors Rich Arnold (South) and Cindy Burreson (North) to encourage students to consider investigating enrollment opportunities at traditionally notable colleges and universities. When assured that many wanted to stay closer to home, she suggested providing a list of those institutions within a five hundred-mile radius. Students could consider, for example, applying to Vanderbilt, Loyola, SLU, Valpo, University of Chicago, Creighton, Purdue, Drake or Bradley. As college tuition skyrocketed, she noted that these schools, with large endowments and quality reputations, would provide middle class families an opportunity to receive a quality education without breaking the bank. As more students were accepted at these institutions, Association directors of recruitment could publicize such opportunities to prospective middle-school recruits. To help students think “outside the box,” Meyer brought in Association graduates to discuss the opportunities these upper tier institutions provided for future vocations. One particularly effective speaker was ’72 South grad Rebecca (Pallmeyer) McAdams. A federal judge in northern Illinois, she addressed a mixed Lancer/Crusader group, discussing with students issues like civic responsibility, public service and educational excellence. As the Board supported the resolution of these issues, the South expansion plans grew in scope and cost. Only a complete rebuild of the bleachers could accommodate a new track/football/soccer facility. And the planning committee had added a spacious press box, ornate fencing, an expansive scoreboard touted as a revenue generator, a storage pavilion—and additional baseball, field hockey and softball fields on neighboring cemetery land leased by the Middeke administration for a twenty-five-year period. The project required more than $6 million. Meyer attempted to recruit new Board members. But she noted that if she recruited prospects who had the financial means to generously contribute to the project or contact those who could, some congregations might perceive the selections as a sleight to proper representation of the general constituency. She realized such efforts could be viewed as the consolidation of power in the hands of a few well-connected congregations. While at-large Board selections could alleviate some of those concerns and place candidates in appropriate positions, the situation could shake confidence in operating procedures and protocols. An administrative retirement at South directed attention away from those issues. Meyer and the Board initiated what turned into a lengthy call process. Meyer supervised the change of administrations at South. In 2006, Paul Buetow, principal of Lutheran South since 1997, retired and, as the Board searched for a replacement, turned to veteran North-cum-Green Park principal Paul Crisler. He served as acting principal until spring 2008, all the while supervising the construction project on the Tesson Ferry campus. When Brian Ryherd accepted the call to serve as principal, he arrived that summer and, with Meyer, participated in the dedication ceremonies at Lancer Stadium. The October event completed a whirlwind era of equitable expansion on both campuses.

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As Meyer neared retirement in 2009, both South and North constituencies desired creation of fine arts centers. Drama chair Rich Reiss at South and music coordinator Steve Tirmenstein at North discussed with colleagues the possibilities of such expansions. But the costs of the just-completed project at North and the new construction at South delayed formal consideration. When Meyer retired, the two campuses had completed significant face lifts and facility expansion. The work at South, nearing completion, still had not been fully financed, but Board membership, particularly the regional representatives, appeared ready to meet that responsibility. Meyer had encouraged the constituency to consider significant changes in the philosophy of ministry, to look “outside the box” to find and serve ministry opportunities. She had attempted to broaden leadership opportunities for perceived outsiders and create openings for potential leaders despite governance protocols. Most significantly, to underscore the Association’s commitment to the Christian community in general, the new Acting President would be Gerald Kirk, a 1980 North graduate. During his brief tenure, the biggest challenge the Board faced was rising tuition that curtailed student recruitment. Meyer, interim South principal Crisler and North Director of Recruitment Mueller prodded the Board, supported by statistical evidence and compelling individual cases, to prioritize student aid. After all, the local economy continued to stall, particularly on the north side. All sources had to be tapped. An examination of the issues again tied possible resolution of the problems caused by rising tuition to the support of past ministry efforts in the city. During Rittmann’s administration, Crisler encouraged LCF support for Concordia Middle School (CMS), a consortium of still-remaining city congregations that used the facilities at Holy Cross and Messiah. When LCF funding ended, many of the member families could not meet tuition requirements and CMS closed. Both he and later Meyer shifted that support to the three-campus King of Glory elementary school. Mueller, on site at 5401, noted that students unable to meet tuition costs at those schools could not meet tuition fees at North and South. He could also describe to the Board cases like the sacrifices of Mike Williams, long time security guard at school functions. Williams, who occasionally served as a football coach and whose sons attended North, often donated his compensation for security stints to the student assistance program. Perhaps LCF could alleviate some of those issues by providing seed money to create a tuition assistance endowment. But it appeared that persistent Board appeals to the LCF would have to await resolution. When Mueller retired, North lost its griot. Like Vogelsmeier, he was the man who could remember names and faces of multi-generational families and their relatives. When he left he took with him much of the oral history about North’s middle decades. But he was not gone. As a trust recruiter for the Missouri District offices, he established his office at Chapel of the Cross and worked behind the scenes as an Association supporter. He continued to encourage the development of a tuition endowment fund. After all, he would be a stakeholder. He still had a daughter who would attend North. He and wife Kathy also shared an inclusive vision for North County Lutheran education. As Kathy’s teaching career neared its end, she encouraged Chapel of the Cross, its preschool program serving an area where 60% qualified for free school lunches, to merge resources with Grace Chapel. In 2014, the preschool operations formally combined. The Williams and Mueller families’ commitments to the North ministry were only two of many examples that encouraged the Board to seek additional funding for student tuition assistance. The Board renewed requests to the LCF for financial support. Persistent pleas paid off. LCF generously granted a gift of $3 million to establish an endowment for tuition assistance for financially strapped families. Perhaps anecdotal information about other families would encourage similar funding for additional Lutheran schools. Unexpected Expenses To assist recruitment of students and retain quality faculty, the Board limited tuition hikes, increased student assistance and incrementally raised staff salaries. Unfortunately those policies, combined with the unexpected

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rising costs of maintaining the updated campus facilities, exacerbated a growing fiscal deficit. At North, the great joy of being able to stay on campus for practices and competitions for track, baseball, soccer, and softball was tempered by the costs of cutting the grass, trouble-shooting the spotty sod, pruning trees and securing the facilities from illegal use and abuse. With only one full-time custodian it was impossible for North to adequately maintain the facility. Mowing and leaf removal alone during the nine-month growing season required hundreds of man-hours—and properly operating equipment for which there had been little budgeted. Coaches and parents pressed into service would have to line fields, drag baseball cut-outs, anchor parking signage, mow key competition areas and even move sand into pits. Unlike other high schools in the area, coaches had to hang their own batting cages, move their own hurdles and pits and collect or purchase, piecemeal, old tires and PVC pipe to save pits from dry-rot or safely anchor wind fencing. The breakdown of a mower, cart or tractor could spell disaster, requiring many more hours of intensive labor until the equipment was replaced or repaired—the costs usually exceeding budgetary allocations. The Board had to reconfigure the fiscal budget. They had to account for the increased costs of depreciation and maintenance. The new facilities and open fields invited unauthorized use. Just after completion of the North project in 2004, administrators and coaches confronted groups that used the fields outside of normal operating hours. The occasionally fully equipped football squads would be asked to leave. They were encouraged to apply at the business office during the next normal operating day to secure rental agreements and insurance waivers. A year later a coach ended a full-fledged soccer tournament. Local neighborhood teams had even hired referees. The damaged gate by the Shell station permitted quiet, surreptitious entry. In one particularly galling incident, children of local families illegally residing with friends in the Lucas and Hunt Apartments made regular forays under the fencing. They damaged facilities. They savaged pavilion glass brick windows during target practice and attempted several times to break in to the concession area. In 2007, during a final confrontation, a half-dozen children under the age of eleven raced across the west golf greens. Norwood Hills greens keepers ran in hot pursuit. The children had taken golf carts and sand trap ‘dozers’ for joyrides, ramming them into the track fencing. They abandoned the vehicles and darted across campus towards the anonymity of the apartment complex. An alert coach, athlete and principal nabbed two of the culprits near the pavilion. With the help of the County police department, caretakers of the country club and cooperation of the apartment management, the families illegally squatting in the complex were removed from the premises. The vandalism ceased. The buses also provided a special challenge. With bus rental cost-prohibitive, even for singular instances, the Board generously funded and maintained buses and vans for each school. Before the campus expansion, many of North’s squads traveled each day to proper practice or competition facilities. Between 1993 and 2004 the track team traveled at least three days a week to practice at Jennings High School. For many of the successful athletes and teams of that era, the generosity of the Jennings administration and athletic department will never be forgotten. Home track meets were at MICDS—the annual Lutheran North Relays. Softball squads played home games at Forestwood Park. The tennis team hosted matches at either Norwood Hills CC or at Forestwood. Golf squads (and a few PE classes), when not using Norwood Hills, journeyed to Hazelwood driving ranges. Soccer and baseball teams played on the one football practice field behind school or played away “home games.” For decades, bus service was a key component that facilitated quality practice sessions and competition. Until the mid-‘90s, Tirmenstein’s early-August band retreat determined the reliability of the school bus(es) and van. Because the vehicles sat idle for two months, Tirmenstein learned to test the vehicles the day before he needed them. Occasionally they would not start and needed new batteries. Sometimes the tires needed refilling. The fuel would always need topping-off. Obstacles challenged the volunteer drivers returning to Camp Wartburg to pick up the band members for their return trip to North (via Swing Around Fun Town). The occasional tire shred required returning to North to switch to another vehicle—which invariably needed fuel. Other times the driver would note that after dark the dash or running lights would not function and needed electrical repairs. It was always an adventure that continued into the fall as coaches signed up for bus use.

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Bus sign-up was traumatic for the affected coaches. Signing up for a bus did not guarantee its use for a variety of reasons. At times cross country squads traveling to meets in Shaw Park were bumped from their vehicle because a volleyball team needed transport to a rescheduled game. Several times a frustrated administrator, pressed into service as a replacement driver, grabbed the first available bus for a quick trip—taking with him equipment already loaded onto the vehicle for another team. Sometimes volleyball, cross country, track, softball, soccer and baseball teams shared buses to common destinations to attend regular season competitions. The preparation for the trip often was an experience by itself. First, the responsible driver had to find the key for the vehicle for which he or she had signed up. Each month—and in the spring each week—the driver could count on having to conduct at least one forty-five minute forensic investigation during the free period determining who had used the bus last—and then pray the key was somewhere in the building! Then, the driver would hope the assigned vehicle was in the bus parking area. It might have been borrowed by a local elementary school, unbeknownst to all but the head office staff who had permitted it to be used when that school’s bus had been taken in for repairs. If the vehicle was on campus, then the coach prayed it started—while ardently beseeching the Almighty that its fuel gauge not be on empty. Fueling the vehicle was an adventure, each coach usually tasked with tracking down the one credit card available in the office—that was never open on a Saturday morning when teams were heading out to a major competition. One creative coach, faced with losing his assigned vehicle to the softball team, exchanged his assistant (who drove for the softball team) for a second vehicle for his own squad. Another new teacher, tasked with watching his two pre-school sons immediately after school, took them not to the intended practice session which he hoped to attend but to watch a soccer squad’s game for which he had to drive. “On the road stories” provide enough material for a reality series. There was the time two South athletes mooned a family out of the back of the crowded track bus—and then were confronted by the family that followed the vehicle back to campus. Another South bus stalled in traffic in the depressed lanes under the Arch—and was pushed by a semi and jump-started by the expert coach/driver who knew how to use a clutch in that situation. A North squad that had just won the ABC League track meet at Priory had to drive to South with the Lancer squad they had just defeated. They had to do so before riding the South bus back to North. Having lost the bus key while at the meet, the Crusader coach could not retrieve a key from North because only Coach Vogelsmeier—who was at a baseball game—had a key to enter the office where a replacement could be found. Over the years, various buses had nicknames. John Kersten had the misfortune of driving Burners. In both cases proper maintenance did not stop the main engine gasket from cracking and setting fire to the engine along I-170. Two were beepers—Big Beeper (it seated more) and Little Beeper. Big Beeper had a lower beeping sound originating in the brake warning system. Over the years, numerous checks by certified mechanics could not terminate the distracting noise. Little Beeper had a grating, higher pitched rapid repetitive sound which made it distinguishable from Big Beeper even in the dark. Little Beeper also did not like to use its emergency brake. It insisted the driver pirouette from the vehicle with chock block in hand to sweep it under the front right tire and freeze it in the designated spot. After several interesting rodeo-type performances, coaches learned to keep an athlete on board who could more agilely complete Little Beeper’s parking exercise. Blinky had a turn signal that sometimes turned off—when the driver needed it most. Winky I had emergency blinkers that, once triggered, would continue operating even when the battery was disconnected. Winky II had dashboard lights that usually worked—but only in daylight. In the dark, probably fatigued from a heavy workload, Winky II shut down its dashboard lights. Buzzy was the vehicle that had the special back door evacuation lock. The vehicle could never start unless the lock was in the open position. At least that is what the vehicle manual stated. When Buzzy started, it sometimes buzzed continuously during operation. After several weeks a creative track athlete discovered a baseball trading card insulated the metal slip lock from the triggering mechanism. Buzzy also was timid. It disliked city driving. An old catalytic converter would shut the engine down when traveling at less than twenty miles per hour. Once it did not like driving to a Faith in Action work assignment in

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the Lafayette Square neighborhood. Four times in one mile along Tower Grove Avenue it insisted on stopping to look at the beautiful Missouri Botanical Garden stone wall. A second vehicle had to deliver the students to the site. Relieved of its burden, Buzzy happily returned to North via I-70 without incident. Buses sometimes ended up in interesting places. One coach, returning from a late game, quickly backed the bus up to the parking curb—and rolled over the curb. Fortunately, he slammed on the brakes and stopped descent onto the golf course below. A pickup truck had to pull the vehicle into its proper parking space. Another vehicle, returning from a Sectional track meet in Mexico, provided a sweet, expansive aromatic perfume smell for its passengers. The diesel fuel line had broken just west of the airport—and only an hour after the coach had filled up in Kingdom City. It resided on the exit ramp at Lindbergh and I-70 while awaiting its tow date. Even rental vehicles provided material for exciting story lines. As the boys’ basketball team prepared for the State semis, representatives of a local rental company insisted their buses sat seventy-one passengers. The administrators rented enough buses to transport the almost two hundred adults and students who signed up to travel to Mizzou Arena. When the buses arrived three hours prior to game time, all noted the seventy-one passengers assigned to each bus would have to be three-to-a-seat pre- or elementary schoolers--not grown adults jammed cheek-to-cheek. Administrators quickly hired a coach to drive students on a North bus—and they threw in a cup of coffee on the way back! In one final incident, an alert student returning on I-70 to campus from a summer outing at the Arch noticed a North bus parked in a Jennings subdivision. When a custodian arrived to reclaim the vehicle, County police informed him that an East St. Louis chop shop ring had been accepting old buses without question and selling parts to repair companies. The bus had been hotwired and prepared for delivery to the chop shop. South was not so fortunate. It had two vehicles stolen during a rash of early-morning bus heists where thieves sought valuable chair lifts and catalytic converters. Finally, Vanny, a cargo van near and dear to all, served as an all-purpose vehicle. It hauled cones and lumber, old furniture and yard equipment, scrap metal and discarded desks, fuel and seed, concrete and sheet rock, sod and garden stones. And sometimes all at the same time. On its last legs (wheels?) for years, planks covered the gaping holes in the cargo floor. The cab was decorated in the latest style of freshman male college dorm couture: old coffee cups, partially filled soda cans, used sandwich wrappers, spare parts, apple cores and orange peels. Easily offended, it would frequently slip out of gear when placed in park. Because the engine was difficult to start (though sometimes the driver could simply turn the key slot sans key and it would run) drivers kept it running when loading and unloading. One coach, moving a mower to cut a swath for a cross country course, did not know its idiosyncrasies and had to chase it down a driveway. He caught it just before it drove away in a huff. A band instructor, leaving it unattended while unloading equipment, watched in amazement as Vanny, apparently offended by being abandoned, backed fifty yards into a tree. No one was hurt—and the now fashionably curved double cargo door would make it easily identifiable on any “as is” used car sale lot. The Mission Continues “Lutheran High School North is a diverse educational community whose unity is in Jesus Christ. We exist to nurture young Christians for further education and Christian service.” The Mission Statement shaped the educational activities that took place under the cross. SALT, TREND and Student Ambassadors provided cocurricular opportunities for student leaders. The first two emphasized Christian stewardship and held traditional Bible studies. SALT members annually collected canned goods during a Halloween “trick or can” drive and provided informal training for peer ministers. Guitar duo Phil Grupe and Abi Lessing led chapel and small group worship. When founder and math instructor Nathan Schiefer accepted a teaching position in Indiana, new math instructor Eric Funke (N ’00) moved the organization under the FCA umbrella. He, and later business instructor Paul Endorf (N ’03), held bowling outings, pizza parties and cookie contests centered around weekly morning Bible studies and service projects.

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During the formative early years of the organization, TREND participants developed the traditional Christmas Tree of Needs and helped homerooms choose Christmas and Easter service projects. Yellow and Red Ribbon weeks, coordinated by counselors Cindy Burreson, Mark Snyder, Byron Devrouax and assistant Donna McFarland, reminded students to avoid the dangers of Alcohol, Tobacco, Or Drugs (ATOD). They later provided a dozen students with the chance to attend the weeklong Regional Teen Institute. These efforts, coupled with Elaine Hunt’s and new instructor Bill Lucas’ supervision of the Thirty Days of Fitness, gave students many positive incentives to lead healthier lives. In addition, Mueller’s Ambassadors led informational workshops, provided guidance for prospective students and assisted at the frequently scheduled Open House events. Lucas coordinated Black History Month activities. He invited local Lutheran elementary schools to send their choirs to lead chapel. River Roads, Our Redeemer-Overland, Immanuel-Olivette, and Unity-East St. Louis accepted invitations. He conducted a poster contest to commemorate the historic events and periods examined in chapels. He brought in outside groups like Kids of Controversy, the Central Visual and Performing Arts Gospel Choir and McCluer North’s Gospel Explosion. He strongly encouraged students Melanie Askew and Stephanie Dillon to mime and use interpretive dance during chapels as another form of religious expression. English teacher Keith Ware and son Caleb shared their gift of song in an assembly. Speakers like County Administrator Charlie Dooley and Rev. John Schmidtke, both of whom sent their children to North, helped students understand the importance of learning the lessons of the past to overcome the issues of the present. Lucas’ work with Askew encouraged her to revive and direct the dormant Gospel Choir, and with the assistance of Association Office HR secretary Sharon Thurman, provided stability for the group. After Askew graduated, Mariah Evans continued the tradition of the group being led by a student director. Askew later became a training leader for a New Orleans Teach for America project. Lucas’ emphasis on presenting the Gospel-centered story of healing the wounds of racism created, as later Dean of Students Marlon Lee (N ‘98) stated, “. . . a feeling that we all were like a family.” To close each month’s celebrations, Lucas added an impressive flag ceremony conducted by local army color guards. Annually they presented the flag to distinguished servants of the high school. Recipients included the soon-retiring Kirk Mueller, the departing curriculum coordinator Kristin Rathje, statistician Bill Scheller and executive office assistant Rachel Pauluhn. One of the most emotional ceremonies was in 2006 when retiring long-time custodian Bill Keller, handyman extraordinaire, received both the flag and a Crusader dedication. Lucas also stepped onto the softball diamond. A former middle school basketball coach at CMS, he transitioned the softball squad from a recreational-type spring league to a competitive fall activity. In his first season at the helm, the squad, led by Julie Mark, catcher Michelle Tschannen, Shay Chin and slugger Tequila Prewitt won the District tourney, defeating Viz and JFK to advance to the Quarters. While St. Charles West won, it established the team as a perennial District contender. During the 2001-2002 school year enrollment had rebounded to almost four hundred. With a larger enrollment, more students shared common interests and formed new groups. The student-led interest that restarted the Gospel choir encouraged a number of students who had taken dance classes to revive the Dance Cru. Coached by Gwen Williams and Alicia (Smith) Klug (S ’95), the first group was captained by Charli Cooksey and Samantha Smith. Encouraged by Klug, the rookie squad competed in a St. Charles high school dance contest and earned a second place. They established a tradition of competitive excellence. For the next several years a core group that included Cristy Wirtel, Jodi Kratzer, Kelsey Arrighi, Cheryl Branneky and Aleisha Gilliam created the energetic routines that earned several top-three finishes in a variety of competitions. The Cru also developed home grown leadership. First Smith, and later participant Deanne Leatherberry who danced under Smith’s tutelage, coached the Cru during the decade. During one season Smith added three boys to the Cru to provide more options for routines. While Cletus Hatten, Darrion Rice and David Johnson acquitted themselves well, available alternative preparations for their spring sport seasons proved to be too strong a draw to continue the arrangement. Besides Smith and Leatherberry, two dancers had notable post-high school careers in St. Louis. After a successful collegiate career at Concordia-Chicago, Kratzer returned to the St. Louis area to teach high school choral music, and, along with mother Sandy, spearheaded the Grace Chapel worship ensemble that led

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contemporary worship. Cooksey, who created a non-profit education center to mentor young girls, later returned to North as a guest speaker during the Ferguson crisis. North’s traditionally competitive athletic squads met their high expectations. Perennial contending football and baseball squads won District championships but ran into buzz saw Burroughs as it headed to Final Four berths. Three multi-sport athletes—Ryan Williams, Phil Williams, Jon Mueller—would not let Burroughs derail their 2002 basketball run. Led by that trio and Rebeil Durley-Petty, James Collins and Tony Irons, the group lost injured star Stanley Brooks in mid-season. Business teacher and coach Brent Rueter challenged his charges to rise to the occasion, particularly against long-time nemesis Cardinal Ritter. After disposing of the Lions in the District final the squad rolled over Valley Park at Mineral Area College and surprisingly defeated Charleston. A 46-42 overtime win against St. Joe-Bishop LeBlond put them into the final against a well-disciplined Elsberry squad. Rebounding again won the game as the crew, easing to a 72-62 win, claimed the first boys’ basketball championship in school history. Track ran into a weather buzz saw. After winning ABC and District titles, the Andrew Tirmenstein/David Eberle-led group appeared poised for another State plaque. The girls, who swept their eighth consecutive District title, had similar hopes but the squads faced a five-hour rain delay on the Friday prelim day at State. Prelims eliminated a number of key boys, forcing them to hope for a top ten finish. The girls, led by Teaberry, Amber Byrd, Dwoynne Johnson, Ratliff and Cooksey, added frosh sprinter Kimberly Prather to their contingent. At 10:40 that night, in fifty-five degree weather, anchor Prather got the stick in the 4 x 400 in seventh, fifty meters out of the second place qualifying slot. As she caught the second place runner ten meters from the line the team erupted. Later, riding on two cold buses, fortified by cold pizza purchased by visiting former coach and teacher Barry Terrass, the group arrived at a Lake of the Ozarks motel at 12:30 a.m. The next morning, both squads rallied furiously, the girls easing into fourth, the boys sixth. It ended an era of five years where the squads averaged thirty-five rostered athletes at the State meet. New Frontiers In and Out of the Classroom The next fall new personnel brought creative energy into several areas. Kelly Hobbs returned to reprise her leadership of the Drama Department, adjusting to the overwhelming female numbers who tried out for the musical by scheduling Fiddler on the Roof. Her assistance provided the bridge for Claudia Tendler to continue the musical tradition the next years with Little Shop of Horrors and Into the Woods. The Music Department added Robin Weatherall and Larry Walton to help with band instruction. Weatherall produced Shakespeare productions. Presented as more modern interpretations, Romeo and Juliet were an Israeli/Palestinian couple pursuing forbidden love. Twelfth Night was staged in late October outside on the south parking lot. The south hill served as a striking backdrop. The chilled spectators thankfully purchased the hot chocolate sold during intermission. Weatherall converted the cafeteria into an island for the presentation of The Tempest. He moved productions to full stage facilities at Chapel of the Cross for performances of My Fair Lady. Weatherall also continued the tradition of using home grown North musicians like Andrew Prahlow, who aspired to become a professional trumpet player. Later, when the director’s high personal performance standards resulted in his hiring of professional accompanists, he invited the new North strings group to supplement the pros during performances of Beauty and the Beast. Weatherall and Walton regularly accompanied Tirmenstein as chaperones on the band tour. The longest band tour in school history was the six-day trip to Denver. Tours of the Rockies and local historical and cultural sites made the memorable excursion a treasured collective experience. It also gave the students an appreciation for the conveniences of the St. Louis area, many often wondering how cell phone service could be so spotty. As always, the last night before the return home, Tirmenstein chaired a meeting of the seniors to reflect about their high school band experiences and share their future goals.

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The Fine Arts Department continued to evolve, instructors encouraging more rigorous pursuits. Mike Lorenz (S ’98), a football coach and weight lifting sponsor, added a spring art show that featured the work of a graduating senior. He also solicited performances by the jazz band. The availability of light refreshments brought back memories of Marti Thomas’ earlier show choir festivities. The first art show featured Aaron Prahlow and his paintings, one of which soon graced the entryway to the Association offices. He later graduated from SIUE with a BFA and became a jeweler. As long-time English instructor Liz Thomas prepared to retire, the principal encouraged her to revive some past traditions of student expression. As first Kristin Bork and then new department chair and later curriculum director Kristin Rathje arrived and encouraged her, Thomas created a writing lab. She suggested changes for the ACC classes that Rathje later used to repackage English curricular offerings. Adam Pearson, a junior transfer, engaged students to create a literary collection of expressive poems, reflections and short stories. Reminiscent of the Crusader Penorama entries of the early ‘70s, it provided students a chance to better prepare for post-high school writing opportunities. In 2008, Rathje introduced the Poetry Out Loud competitions, Laura Briggs winning the first school competition and finishing second in the regional contest. It ignited a school-wide interest in the poetry slams that became a highlight of the late fall. New addition Jean Holtgrewe revised curricular offerings in Practical Arts. She added a Fashion Design course for upper level students. In other course work, like Rauh did at South, she regularly incorporated visits from expectant mothers and trips to childcare facilities to better educate teens about raising families. The empathy bulge, worn as a vest during a twenty-four hour period, simulated a pregnancy. It helped the boys, in particular, better understand the body’s changes during the nine months of gestation. Those who carried the baby dolls experienced, for three long days, the twenty-four hour duties of new parents. The emotive baby dolls also made chapel services and classes occasionally sound like regular church worship experiences in the reserved nursery section. The Practical Arts extra-curricular extension of FBLA also earned recognition. Its members organized the penny wars collections that benefited the March of Dimes. Supporters of one class could deposit pennies in a special see-through container. Silver coins like nickels and quarters deposited into competitors’ containers reduced penny tallies by that amount. After the winning class was announced, its members shared a giant cookie. The FBLA also coordinated weekly café or breakfast offerings, the proceeds financing the costs of participating in business competitions that provided real-life experiences for prospective college students. In 2005, Kyle Niewald finished second in State in Business Procedures. And finally, financed by a generous donor, advised by South robotics instructor Ken Steinbrueck, supervised by volunteer Brian Storm, and using the facilities of the Peterson family, David Kersten and Annie Froeschner ventured into the school’s first robotics competition. Some sports teams suddenly experienced success. During the 2003 tennis season (after removing a car steered by an errant driver onto the courts), Paul Endorf qualified for State. Chris Solomon made the trip five years later. In the fall of 2004, Hunt’s female charges, including Ali Pauluhn, Penny Johnson and Cooksey, qualified for Sectionals with a 10-7 record, the first winning record for either tennis team at North. The next season new coach Jim Murphy coaxed Lindsey Webster and Becca Grupe out of District. And soccer finally made its breakthrough. Going 15-4 in 2002, Brackman’s squad cruised through the next campaign with a 12-7-3 record, setting the stage for a veteran group to contend for the 2004 District crown. Erik Peterson, who set the career mark for goals with one hundred, led Cory Remspecher, goalie Drew Bucholz and Andy Mansfield to the first Class 2 District championship in school history. The 17-8 squad lost in the Quarters but left long-time mentor Vogelsmeier, who served as statistician, a high degree of satisfaction. Peterson earned All State honors on the strength of his prolific scoring. In 2002, the boys’ cross country squad, led by three-time State qualifier and ABC and District champion Brad Herbstreit, won the first team District title in North’s history. Dan Snyder and Kevin Turner joined him as District medalists, and Rome Clower, Andy Wesche, Brian Kersten and Andrew Prahlow moved on to State. With Herbstreit finishing in twenty-sixth, the string of All State CC honors started by Martin Popp (who had benefitted

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from Mike Kersten’s focused leadership) and continued by Chris Rolland, was briefly interrupted. Turner earned laurels the next season. Wesche would return three more times individually to the big dance, too, and with cousin Prahlow, set the stage for the significant successes of the middle distance runners through the rest of the era. Jocelyn Nebel would do the same for the Lady Thinclads. In the final athletic event of the ‘02-‘03 year, only a handful of the girls’ track team journeyed to Lincoln U. While Prather placed high in the 100M and 200M, and Cooksey, Givens and Rachel Voss provided support in the relays, the squad scored only twenty-four points. Coach Prahlow made the long walk to the van while Spears and Tirmenstein cleaned up camp and prepared to leave. As Prahlow parked the van in the loading zone on Chestnut, Spears hollered at him to get down to the track because the girls had earned a fourth place plaque! Prahlow had to leave manager Andrew Webb sitting in the driver’s seat in the loading zone so he could rush down to the field to join the joyous celebration. That same year, as Crisler celebrated the second last of his thirty-eight years in North County, the perennially competitive football team maintained its tradition of excellence. The ‘02 football squad, led by QB Jon Mueller, linemen Zach Poggemueller, Tim Downs and Phil Seris, and skill people like Wyn Arps, Jeff Horton and Keith Wyatt, again won the District by a combined score of 88-14 over its three opponents. After defeating Prin 37-13 for a second time in the season, the team sneaked past Portageville 13-7. However, at Centralia, Jeff Horton suffered a broken finger in the first quarter and the offense stalled. The 14-7 defeat ended the State semifinalists’ bid for another championship. Another District title in 2003, led chiefly by Seris, Wyatt, running back JeMaine Lewis (future Athlete of the Year at Concordia-Nebraska) and lineman Craig Robinson ended in the rain and wind against Caruthersville. In the 2004 season the team recorded its twenty-second District title. The rugged group that used a savage defense to propel it through the District by a combined 140-20 score traveled to a water logged Kirksville field. With Jeff Leslie, Matt Thurman and Rolandis Woodland handling the ball behind Josh Cody, Dan Schmidtke and Willie Stallworth, the Crusaders could not quite overcome the final 21-13 deficit. The first three used their experiences to motivate themselves to complete their goals on the court. Rueter’s ‘04-‘05 basketball campaign started a little behind schedule as football players finished their extended season. But after a Christmas tournament they played with purpose. Leslie, Thurman and Woodland joined LaRico Martin and Mike Woods to dominate the ABC League and defeat Whitfield in the District final. After beating an undefeated Bowling Green squad 56-53 at St. Charles West, they eased by Fayette 50-43 and then defeated Versailles in the Semis 47-42. Multi-state champion Charleston had a huge front line but tough rebounding and solid defense made the final 72-63 score much easier than it appeared. The only question was, “Would three more years bring another title?” The baseball squad returned to its winning ways, for the first time in three years winning the District tourney. Mueller, Jamaal Jackson, Justin Wilson, catcher Clark Wise, basketball star Jeff Leslie and Jimmy Niemczyk provided the fire power, defeating Priory 11-1 in Sectionals. The Warriors of St. Charles West again derailed the trip to State, 7-6. But many noticed Russell’s well-developed tradition of quality efforts and good sportsmanship. In 2006 the thirty-two year veteran mentor, who had earned eleven League and twelve District titles, was selected to the Missouri Baseball Hall of Fame. The Umpires Association awarded him Coach of the Year honors. That summer of 2006 the athletic department, led by Manion and Lorenz, refurbished the weight room. Many parents of former students contributed the funds that financed the purchase of supplies and new equipment. Manion’s minions emptied, cleaned, drywalled and painted the storage area north of the boiler room. Then they rewired it for proper lighting. Finally, the group moved the salvageable equipment from the rectangular cubicle behind the boys’ athletic locker room down to the new facility. Some of the returning football players took advantage of their new opportunity to lift and condition. During fall 2006, Manion’s squad again ran through the regular season to finish at 8-2. After winning the District they

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won their first round game in the State tournament and traveled to Owensville. The home squad shut the Crusader offense down, ending the season with a disappointing loss. That same fall the CC squad returned State vets Nik Karg and Paul Crets. Joined by returnees Steve Liggins, David Kersten, Aaron Prahlow and frosh Adam Prahlow and Ryan Tucker, the squad won plaques at the Lutheran South, Hancock and Border Wars meets. The seasoned group earned a spot at State with their runner up finish at District, setting a school record team time. Junior Katie Nebel and soph Sarah Bachmann qualified individually. Following the fall season, assistant CC coach Mac made a fateful decision. He came out of retirement and reentered the basketball world, this time as an assistant to veteran replacement Anthony Virdure. It turned into a pleasant surprise. While only going 8-16 prior to the District tournament, the team jelled at the right time. Constance Clay’s three-pointers, Natalie Patton’s pressure defense, Jessica McKinley’s ball handling and Laura Truetken’s rebounding gave the squad—and Coach Mac—a dramatic come-from-behind win over Orchard Farm and the first District title in ten years. The boys were not so fortunate. While winning the ABC League for the second year in a row they could not get over the hump. Veterans Charles Dunbar and Tyler Shaw vowed to be better prepared the following season—after they took care of business in track and the 2007 football season. Shaw and Dunbar led the track squad to Lincoln U. Two relays placed well, and while Shaw won the HH, he hit the final barrier in the 300H and fell back to second. Shaw and Dunbar were joined at State by Josh Cody in the discus and Liggins, who scored in the 1600M—and the team just missed a plaque, finishing sixth. That fall, with Shaw at QB and Dunbar at DB, the squad finished the regular season 3-4. But the blocking of Javan Harvey, Nate Schmidtke and Travis Kersten opened holes for Malik Hagens and the Crusaders swept through the District with a 3-0 record. But again a loss in the round of sixteen terminated the season too soon. It also ended Manion’s stint as head coach. The retired math teacher who returned to his alma mater (he actually graduated from Central), ended his ten-year career with a 90-29 record. Called to replace him would be Cleveland West Director of Recruitment, football coach and husband to South grad Kymm Gaines (’68)--Troy Fehrs. Two girls’ teams garnered rare berths. The volleyball squad, feeding off the energy of the previous basketball District title, set their goals for the same. Missy Gould, Anne Carter, Sandy DuPree and Mia Pauluhn led Coach Cheri Mansfield’s squad to a surprising 17-11 record and a District championship. It was the first since 1992. The girls’ CC squad followed the lead of vet state qualifiers Katie Nebel and Sarah Bachmann. Newcomers Brooke Chavers, Liz Renaud, Devonne Degler, Krista Karg, Anna Rathje and Megan Jenkins rounded out the deep team. A dominating win at Northside and pr’s at Prin provided a springboard for the ladies to nab the second qualifying position at District, beating the Burroughs squad for the first time. The veteran boys’ ’07 CC squad faced early adversity. Liggins had to recover from a stress fracture suffered during the ‘07 State track meet. Aaron Prahlow had to rebound from a hip injury. As they rehabbed, Adam Prahlow completed what arguably was the best CC season in North’s history, finishing in the top seven in every meet, setting the school record, winning Hancock and District. The surprise savior for the team was Danny Wesche. After “. . . avoiding anything that had to do with sports,” he entered the National Guard the summer of his senior year, ran six miles a day, lost forty pounds and joined the pack at District to help the team earn a berth. At State, Adam Prahlow and Liggins finished fifth and fifteenth, respectively, placing two on the All State squad for the first time in North history. The ladies finished twelfth but got some valuable experience. Proud Grandma and Grandpa Doc Prahlow, a coach of the three-time State champion Lancer squads in the ‘90s, watched three grandchildren run in the meet. That winter Dunbar and Shaw rejoined basketball players Tim Frierdich, Kendall Ware, Gevoni Eley and Chris Thames. The nucleus of the previous year’s squad eased through the ABC League schedule for another championship and then got over the hump, winning the District title. They continued their pressure defense and solid rebounding, North grad Phil Williams (‘99) assisting Reuter on the bench. They reached the finals at Mizzou Arena. For three quarters they survived Maplewood-Richmond Heights’ pressure defense and helter-skelter offense. With the ball on a break late in the game, Frierdich drove to the bucket and scored—but it was disallowed by a charge call. The Blue Devils scored the winning basket with only seconds remaining. The

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disconcerted fans behaved in such a way that at the tear-filled awards ceremony that followed, North received the Sportsmanship plaque. The dynamic duo, delayed by the late completion of the basketball season, faced incredibly cold early-season track meets. But the Clayton Invite win, the first Crusader Blue Division title under the new format, provided an early measure of progress. At State, despite heavy rain that delayed the finals for two hours, Shaw won both hurdles races, Dunbar scored big points in the long sprints, and the duo joined Matt Degler and Justin Welch to win the 4 x 200. The 4 x 400 ran a school record for second, but Berkeley finished right behind and eased to the championship. Sometimes winning happens—just not on the scoreboard. Shaw went to Northwest Missouri State where he helped the football squad win several conference championships and the 2009 NCAA D II National Championship. He also became a six-time All American in the hurdles. Today he is a personal trainer. At Concordia-Nebraska Dunbar led the basketball team to a CIT championship. He currently is a budding musician. Welch ran at Drake and Liggins at North Carolina A and T. It would be very difficult to reprise the previous successes. The following year, Prahlow suffered a hip injury and returned only to qualify for State with teammate Tucker. The soccer squad, mired in the midst of a 2-23 season, had vet coach Brackman taking the opportunity to teach skills—and, in a pouring rain, create the memorable slip and slide practice that many still talk about today. With Fehrs at the helm, the young football squad struggled to win the close ones. After going 1-6 through the regular season, the squad rallied to win District. Unable to stop Borgia’s option, the season ended at 4-7. But Fehrs encouraged the renewal of an old tradition. He supported a suggestion formulated by Lorenz that the Student Council sponsor a Powder Puff football game. It had been a decade since the last one and the Crusader ladies jumped at the chance. Each class received the advice of a coach and a male football veteran. They arranged their practices after school in the gym or, if weather permitted, on the practice field. With male football players reffing and female players sporting PE flag belts over team t-shirts, the groups played the semis and finals just prior to the start of the spring sports seasons. The experiences ignited increased extra-curricular participation, particularly for the girls. Three squads did exceptionally well. The ‘08 CC crew of Bachmann, Rathje, Karg, Renaud and Jenkins added novice pole vaulter Mandy Spallek and frosh Megan Schmidt to their rolls. The crew swept through the season, grabbing plaques at Lutheran South, Hancock and Northside. Four medaled at District and for the first time in history won the title. At State, in a sixth place team effort, Bachmann ran to thirteenth, Rathje nabbed nineteenth and for the second year in a row the CC squads placed two on the All State squad. Coach Traska’s ’09 girls’ soccer squad valued his bird of passage year at North. Led by Anne Carter, Katherine Sattovia, Jessica Huecker, Casey Remspecher, Kelsey Mansfield and Shanequa Tolliver, the team finished 10-7-2, beat rivals Lutheran St. Charles and St. Elizabeth, and nabbed the first District title in school history. Traska’s move out of state complicated the situation because he had to race back from supervising the movers after the District win and before the Quarterfinal contest. The baseball team returned to the State playoffs, winning District yet again. Chris Mansfield, John Lampe, Sam Gahr and Zach Burnett provided the leadership, but they did not advance any farther. Community Under the Cross The doll sat in a chair in the middle of the gym. Rev. Meschke carried his toolbox into chapel. The eye on the gym’s east wall, symbolizing God’s presence, cast its steady gaze on the proceedings. Meschke first drove nails into the doll’s arms. Then, piece-by- piece, he dismembered the figure, the limbs and torso scattered on the floor. It was what the Christ sacrifice meant for all, His sacrifice absorbing the brunt of our punishment under His Father’s mournful gaze. So went one of the most memorable chapels in North’s history. It set the tone for the rest of the era.

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Little did anyone know, but at that time Meschke began to fight cancer. During his lengthy battle he courageously led chapel and taught class. Wife Dottie transported him to his many treatments and his attendance at Friday morning breakfast club faltered. Rev. Keffie Deen and Sem student Darin Keener took responsibility for a few of his classes. Meschke took a leave of absence in fall 2008. On December 12, a month after giving his final chapel, he went to his Lord. Ever vigilant, he had planned his funeral service, specifically requesting the participation of the North band. Most of the student body, the football team and thirty faculty filled two buses and many additional cars. They took the trip through a light snow to his beloved Illinois country. The family of God celebrated his gift of new life in Christ and his future resurrection. His ministry to students, faculty and staff during the daily life at North continually reminded all how the Savior had been sent unto us.

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Endnotes and Sources: Chapter 8: For Unto You, A Changing World: Lutheran North, 2001-2008 Adaptation in the Post-9/11 Era For the 9/11 crisis and following reaction, see a quick summary in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush accessed 3/10/15. Nick Pistor, “Federal Agency Plans Move,” SLPD, n. p., 7/14/14, describes the role of the NGA in anti-terror activities. For the sequencing of general events, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States accessed 3/10/15. The Synod Stabilizes For Synodical events, see http://www.lutheranhistory.org/presidents/pres_barry.htm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_B._Kieschnick, http://www.lutheranhistory.org/presidents/pres_kieschnick.htm and http://www.lcms.org/president/about-thepresident, all accessed 3/10/15. An extensive analysis of the state of the LCMS can be found in The Lutheran Witness: Special Edition, February 2008. It provides a readable format that particularly reveals Kieschnick’s interpretation of the statistics compiled during his administration. It also provides snapshots of congregational activities throughout the country that have successfully served their communities and expanded the Gospel mission. St. Louis: Uneven Growth 250, pp. 138-150, describes some of the local events, venue construction and statistical analysis of regional economic issues. Fragmented, p. 163, outlines community priorities as they were enumerated by civic boosters. Additional information about anticipated needs for the North County area may be found in 270/367 Study after p. 13; and Tom Hale, “Reconstructing I-64 in St. Louis,” Building, Design + Construction, 7/28/08, accessed at http://www.bdcnetwork.com/reconstructing-i-64-st-louis on 2/15/16. The Rittmann Era https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre (accessed 3/10/15) describes in detail those events that triggered an Association evaluation of emergency protocols. Rohde, pp. 6-7, outlines the David Rittmann-era administrative efforts. Doris Rittmann, David’s widow, confirmed the individual details on 7/29/15. More information may be found about Mike Williams and his family in Steve Stranghoener, Ferguson Miracle, Lexington, KY: Amazon.com, 2016. It provides an intimate, heartfelt description of the events in the context of the local Ferguson crisis in 2014. Lauren Carter (N ’04), a former basketball player and thrower, is a St. Louis County police officer. In 2014, she received the Distinguished Service Citation for Valor. She and two other officers “performed an act of heroism in the face of personal injury” for having helped rescue a fleeing suspect and passenger from a burning car. Christine Byers, SLPD, 9/2/15, from http://www.stltoday.com/news/specialreports/heroes/from-lifesaving-to-life-taking/article_61b573b9-aa11-5e2a-a983-912e6f1aa41e.html accessed on 6/16/16.

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The inscription on the dedicatory stone by the pavilion and the plaque on the entry to the athletic fields describe the contributions of the individuals who helped complete the challenge grant. Russell confirmed the rest of the information. A more thorough biography of Crane and his business/philanthropic activities, particularly as related to his company, Eagle Global Logistics, may be found in “North Receives $1 Million Gift,” The Herald, Fall 2004, p. 1. The endnotes of Chapter 2 include a brief description of his career. Outside the Box Most of the Meyer material is from an interview on 4/3/15. Rohde, pp. 6-8, provides additional information, as well as the summary of Rohde in the Alumni book published in 2004 and updated in 2014. Rohde continues to outline the relationship between the Association and LCF in pp. 6-7. More about Rev. Vernon Gundermann and his pastorate at Concordia-Kirkwood may be found in documents connected with the “A Service of Worship Honoring the Ministry of Rev. and Mrs. Vernon Gundermann,” Saturday, June 4, 2016, at Concordia-Kirkwood. The Rev. Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President Emeritus of the LCMS, provided the homily and many reminiscences. Celebrated when Gundermann, suffering from ALS, could still attend, Kieschnick’s remarks at the service/fete included a variety of stories about his ability to preach and provide pastoral care and counsel. Perhaps the best example of this was when the thirty-five members of the LCMS Council of Presidents, meeting at the Synod Office Building during the early ‘90s, would walk en masse the half mile to Concordia-Kirkwood to participate in Gundermann’s services. Gundermann, as a pastor to pastors, guided the creation of the Pastoral Leadership Initiative. For such ministerial efforts as this, he and his wife, Betty, received the Aeterna Miliri Award from Concordia-St. Paul. Unexpected Expenses The bus/van stories are compiled from the many tales shared by drivers like John Kersten, Steve Tirmenstein, Rich Langefeld, Dave McCollister, Josh Baumann, Mike Russell and Jim Prahlow. The North Mission Statement is from the ’02 Crusader, p. 2. Lee’s quote is in the ’09 Crusader, p. 16. Russell confirmed the football and baseball material compiled in the chapter. The material about the new weight room and facilities is from Mike Lorenz, 6/10/16. Lorenz remembered carrying drywall into the new location, all the while nursing agonizing pains caused by a sunburn on his back. The Mission Continues This section is based exclusively on the era’s yearbook materials. New Frontiers In and Out of the Classroom Most of the material is from the era’s yearbooks, verified chiefly by Dave McCollister, Jim Prahlow and Mike Russell. Tirmenstein’s comments about band tours are also included. After Crisler “retired” from North, he would be called back into service to assist as acting principal at both Green Park and then Lutheran South. In the meantime, he also assisted Dr. Carl Holschen, who had become a professor at Missouri Baptist University. The two evaluated and assessed the creation and implementation of charter school objectives and operations in the St. Louis Public Schools. One of them was Madison Prep. Two graduates of this era followed their passions about producing and recording and settled into unique local careers. Arlington Lane III (N ’02), works at KMOX radio. He serves as a part-time producer and works on the soundboard during broadcasts. Ron (Boler-Gilliard) Notch (N ’02) developed his abilities as a music producer heading up King of Twelve Recordings. He also led the local The Notes for Life Arts and Technology Program,

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sponsored by Microsoft. A STEAM-centered program, students meet once a week to take ninety-minute classes. They use their arts education background to develop musicianship and are mentored by local music entrepreneurs to create their compositions with assistance of technology education. The program, with Midwest teaching centers in Chicago, St. Louis and Dallas, can vary in length from four weeks to six months. Specific programs in this new field include hands on demonstrations and student collaborations. Further information may be found on www.notesforlifeat.com (accessed on 2/29/16). In 2016, Steve Purcell (N ’01) was appointed as the assistant athletic trainer for the Chicago Fire soccer team. 2007 North graduate Sidney Cross, who tied the girls’ pole vault record in her final season at the school, distinguished herself in her later academic and vocational career. An international affairs major at Trinity Washington University in Washington, D. C., she served as president of the Student Government Association. She also was elected as the vice chair of the Black Caucus of the National College Democrats. After graduation, she joined the State Department. Her career has included a stint in the foreign service in Mexico. As she graduated from Trinity, her uncle, Harold Williams II (N ’84), was readying to be inducted into the Minor League Football News Hall of Fame in Mesquite, Nevada. He had completed a nineteen-year career playing cornerback and coaching for minor league football teams in Maryland and Pennsylvania (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 9 and Spring 2009, p.10). Sidney is the brother of Louis (N ’10). They are the children of Rhonda (Williams N ’76) and Kevin (N ’75) Cross. Community Under the Cross This brief elegy is based on Jim Prahlow’s eyewitness accounts.

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Chapter 9: For Unto You: Lutheran South, 2001-2008 The Good Shepherd and the Cross While American citizens mourned the victims killed in the 9/11 attacks, activities across the country slowly returned to normal. After a five-day shutdown of the airways, flights finally left Lambert. Schools resumed scheduled extra-curricular activities. Except for a heightened sense of security at public facilities and major gatherings, NFL and MLB contests proceeded. Students at South, some still excited about the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, witnessed another sterling fall athletic season. The soccer team was on its way to an undefeated League championship. Coach Reinitz’ volleyball squad was assembling a twenty-win season and Sectional berth. Jill Dierberg was in the middle of a campaign in which she would win third place in State Singles Tennis competition. Coach McQueen’s softball squad opened with ten straight wins. The team swept its last nine games through League, District, Sectional and Quarters, outscoring the opposition 51-1. The talented group would play central Missouri power Helias in the State Semis at Columbia on October 19. Buetow permitted students with parental approval to leave school and attend the game. Heading to the contest, three students—Brian Meyer, Lee Davis and Amanda Truss—died in an automobile accident just outside Columbia. Back at South, administrators held a special assembly to quell rumors, provide information and offer solace. The next month would be a trying time. Some squads cancelled contests. Groups postponed activities. Administrators organized a memorial service attended by the students’ families, students, staff, alumni and community. As ’01 valedictorian Keller noted, “the Rock” of salvation was the Good Shepherd cradling the Cross, just as He cradled all students. The special masthead memorial in the ’02 Lance read, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. John 11:25.” The Biblical reassurance buoyed students, faculty and staff. While the tragedy encouraged faculty, administrators, parents and students to evaluate issues related to school policies, communication methods, early release and students driving to offcampus events, the community healed as the Good Shepherd held the cross, and His children. He provided solace in the hope of the resurrection. Two others had been involved in the accident. Seriously injured were sophomore Tim Stephens, whose sister Stacy was one of the softball squad’s leaders, and Alexis Langenbach. A freshman at Lindbergh High School, Alexis had been a classmate of Mandy Truss at CCLS. While recovering from her injuries she received tremendous support from the Lancer family and eventually transferred to South. The school’s theme for the year was “Rooted and Established in Love” (Ephesians 3:17). That theme served as the basis and inspiration for the grieving to heal. Gradually, the community resumed traditional activities. The rescheduled Homecoming Dance was preceded by enthusiastic participation in Spirit Week. It included, as did many high schools across the country after 9/11, a Patriot Day theme. Laughter returned to the hallways. A karaoke machine in the cafeteria provided seniors the opportunity to select an occasional unfortunate freshman to serenade diners. At the dance, Abby Dittmer received the crown as Queen, and was joined by a newly elected “royal” position—the King. It was Tim Hohenstein. The senior class hosted the Father-Daughter Banquet. The Fine Arts Department held the annual sacred concert. It included a candlelight processional. Basketball season began. Semester finals punctuated the end of 2001. The rest of the school year, Lancers focused on rebuilding their community. Small group leaders understood the key was “. . . growing in Christ during the tough times.” Roma noted that among the Messengers, led by Jill Dierberg and Dave Rabbit, “The main focus of the Theology Department is to have the Word remain fresh in the young hearts here at Lutheran South.” It did. Rogers initiated a Christians in Action organization

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patterned after an FCA format. Coupling Bible study with service projects, the group provided another venue to nurture recovery from the tragedy.

The New Year: 2002

Scheduled co- and extra-curricular winter activities helped students renew focus on fulfilling their individual responsibilities. Participants shared an esprit de corps that resulted in some surprising successes. During a rebuilding year, Lind led the boys’ basketball team to an unexpected championship in the Southside Classic. His upstart cagers challenged even mighty North as it was on its way to League and State championships. The Lancers sneaked into the District finals and finished a surprising 15-11. Because the girls’ squad was notably smaller in stature than in previous years, Rogers used a helter-skelter defense and run-and-gun offense. Julie McQueen’s area-leading 214 assists sparked the team to an incredible season. Averaging a school record sixty-six points per game, the squad went 21-4. In the League, it completed a perfect 8-0 mark. It was the first time in League history any team had finished with an undefeated record. Hockey went a surprising 19-5. And the Lancerettes performed their annual end-of-the-season light show as a touching tribute. They honored former member Mandy Truss and the victims of 9/11. That winter the NHS funneled its members’ energies into collecting coats and blankets to distribute to the homeless. They raised additional contributions by hosting a rummage sale at Mt. Tabor. The members also collected toys just prior to Christmas. Those, too, were distributed to needy families. The directors of the traditional traveling music ensembles planned spring tours. But Goris’ choir and Miller’s band stayed closer to home. The Concert Choir and Lancer Singers traveled to Colorado where, between concerts, they skied at a resort, hiked through Red Rocks and dined at Casa Bonita. In the Fine Arts festival at the end of the year, Goris’ charges, paying heed to the significance of immediate past events, directed a tribute to all veterans. They presented them with poppies in recognition of their service. The Wind Symphony and Jazz Band, whose members practiced mornings beginning at 6:50 a.m., toured Wisconsin. They finished the trip with a visit to Concordia University-Chicago. The successful performances in the department created a memorable spring. In 2002, Miller’s outstanding musicians attained more All State honors than ever before or since. Seven earned accolades. John Groerich earned the honors for Orchestra; Kevin Herr and Mary Schmidt for Band; Peter Wahlers for Jazz Band; Kristen Heard and Sarah Peregoy for Choir; and Mary Ann Lucas received Honorable Mention. The renewed community in Christ continued to recover and flourish. Two teachers returned to the staff. Deb Eischer took responsibility for the sewing classes. Ann Omura who rejoined the faculty after a lengthy hiatus, replaced June Hill, who had suffered a sudden stroke. After serving part-time in the English Department, Omura agreed to go full-time and supervise yearbook. Students participated in high stakes competitions. Albers’ “mathletes” prepped for the inaugural Great Plains Math Contest. Held at Florissant Valley Community College, the squad, headed by Chris Hettenkofer, earned third place as a team in the March finals. Instructors created memorable lesson plans. Bauer, who wanted to demonstrate the power of gravity for his Physics class, used an efficient potato gun to illustrate almost the opposite. A strong wind caught one missile as it sailed high over the parking lot. It very nearly hit a student’s car. Student gawkers used hyperbole to create the Bauer “legend.” According to their “baked” account, the “tater” sailed to the Schnucks property. A sense of joy and mystery returned to campus life. Parents created a new tradition to nurture closer relationships with their daughters. Mothers illustrated this after they “kidnapped” their senior daughters for a breakfast. They awarded several of their “victims” kudos for having the worst bedhead, wearing the best pj’s, or appearing the most sleepy.

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As the school year ended Lancers celebrated several accomplishments. Coach Markus’ girls’ soccer team returned “. . . to respectability,” with an 11-9-2 record. Reck’s baseball squad swept the St. Dominic Tourney for the third year in a row. Klug’s 12-1 golf squad won the ABC Tourney and the District championship. All State golfer Jeff McKenna led the team to a seventh place at the State tournament. The girls’ track team earned a District runner up plaque. And Torbeck coached tennis star Devin Homan to All State honors with his third place State finish. The long-time tennis mentor soon retired from coaching, finishing his career with eighteen consecutive winning seasons and 298 career dual match victories. Buetow moved graduation ceremonies from the traditional venue at Affton High School Auditorium to the refurbished Scottish Rite Cathedral. There, in a nod to history, he asked founding father Dr. Paul Lange to address the seniors. As he did, Buetow and attending Board members realized they would have to meet a new challenge in order to continue the tradition of quality Christian secondary education. Rittmann announced he would be considering a call. Rittmann announced to the Board that he received a call to build the ministry at Concordia International School in Shanghai. Recalling that Rittmann had already spent two decades at Hong Kong International School, Buetow and North counterpart Crisler realized they might have to do what Eggerding and Meyer had done in the early ‘60s. They might be required to supervise the day-to-day operations of the two high schools while the Board determined the role and identity of the future Association President. They guessed correctly. Rittmann accepted the call. As the search committee vetted nominated candidates during the ’02-’03 school year, the two advised former LCMS treasurer Paul Middeke as he oversaw Association operations. The search committee accepted the nominee submitted by a Clayton school district administrator. It recommended the Association call Dr. Judith Meyer to fill the vacant position. She accepted. By June 2003, the deadline for completing the LCF challenge grant was nearing as the new Association President took office. Meyer and Development Director Art Sommer completed the drive in the next month and the design-build process for projects on both campuses began. The challenge grant provided the South community with an opportunity to prioritize its campus needs. The process determined the priority of campus projects. Each would be undertaken in the order determined by the stakeholders. After the Board members facilitated discussions and polling of the constituency, they noted the lowest priority was a new track and athletic field. But that remained the case only until visiting Lancers saw the new Crusader bowl and adjoining terraced fields. As members of South’s community traveled to North for athletic contests and Association meetings, Lancer faithful reevaluated campus needs. Priorities changed. Meyer and the Board restructured the South land-use plan. A new era dawned for the Association, and for Lancers. They would witness the construction of a new track and multi-purpose field facility. The new era included some traditional events. Reiss led the fall drama productions that included, among others, The Mousetrap, Rehearsal for Murder and Don’t Drink the Water. He also partnered with the rest of the Fine Arts Department in producing spring musicals like Babes in Arms, Once upon a Mattress and How to Succeed in Business. Choir and band groups performed and toured in Florida and Oklahoma, respectively, while the softball team continued its run of excellence—third in State in ’01, State Champs in ’02, and Sectional finalists in ’03. That same year, Reck’s baseball squad, led by Tim Egart (S ’03), who would go on to play in the Arizona Diamondback system, swept District. They, too, lost to the future State Champion—in this case, North CountyDesloge--in the Sectional. During this period, Dr. Barry Bobb joined the faculty, replacing Susan Goris. His tenure marked a high point in South choral music. The Show Choir was dropped from the curriculum to better focus personnel and departmental resources on more traditional vocal groups. Bobb’s concerts were notable for his inclusion of South instrumentalists and visiting professional musicians. A key change facilitated its growing reputation in the local community. The Lancer Singers, founded a decade before by Marting, now met as a class during the school day. This increased contact time in the classroom and created a competitive environment for aspiring singers who had to audition for parts. As Bobb established high expectations for his charges, it helped old-timers fondly recall the days of Kirchhoff’s choirs at Central and Engelhardt’s days at South.

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Directors in South’s Fine Arts Department also provided students an opportunity to receive expert instruction from noted collegiate and university professors. Three years after the Wind Symphony program and Lancer Singers garnered seven All State berths, Miller reprised the Midwest trip that contributed to such accomplishments. Just as Tirmenstein’s Crusaders had done a few years before, Miller’s group received a special music clinic conducted by Dr. Richard Fischer at Concordia University-Chicago. Miller’s long-ago mentor provided for many of the aspiring musicians a once in a lifetime experience. Fischer explained to them how to hone instrumental expertise and contribute to a refined overall performance. The event symbolized Miller’s commitment to academic excellence and the commitment to nurture each student’s God-given talents. It also was a reflection of the values modeled by all Lancer faculty. The focus on using God-given talents to pursue academic excellence was not limited to the performing arts. That original goal of the Association had never changed. “Mathletes,” who prided themselves on beating the Crusaders, were also successful. They won the small school Great Plains Title and sent three to State. There they won the first of three straight State titles. Football continued to struggle while basketball teams perennially contended for State berths, usually falling in the Sectionals or Quarters. Cheerleaders and Lancerettes regularly helped Student Council execute well-planned pep assemblies and competed regionally. But some things changed. Feeder school enrollment precipitously declined. Middle class Lutherans who migrated out along the Highway 40 corridor began considering enrolling their children in other private schools. Higher tuition policies, implemented to fund major campus initiatives and personnel development, discouraged many from even applying for admission to the Association schools. Something had to change in day-to-day operations. A generous LCF gift of $3 million established an endowment. It provided financial assistance for families with extraordinary tuition needs. It also funded staff development, program expansion and facility upgrades. Meyer noted that recruitment had to become a specific priority. In 2003, she encouraged both schools to hire recruitment directors. At South, Jayne Lauer initially worked part-time as Director of Recruitment and Public Relations (a dual role) from an office created out of the old bookstore. The old metal roll up door was dry-walled in to create the new workspace. Lauer worked with front office secretaries Deb (Koenig) Smith, Marge Groth and Merle Henthorn. Phyllis Witbrodt served as the school nurse. The front office team could quickly proclaim the new changes recently added to the school plant. Spencer’s computer program received a boost as two new classroom sets of computers arrived. The entire school, including the spacious Kuhlmann Center, received air conditioning. Besides the attractive facility facelifts, new academic developments provided additional incentives for prospective elementary recruits to choose South. Two engineers, Neil Wolf and Roger Seifert, approached Steinbrueck about starting a robotics program. Graduates of the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR), the two hoped they could encourage South students to attend UMR to study engineering. They also hoped the new students would join the campus-based engineering fraternity. While it would not be a Lutheran fraternity like Beta Sigma Psi, it would create a heavily Lutheran influence in the organization. Having already formulated a rudimentary robotics-focused automation technology course in ’93, Steinbrueck agreed. The men solicited funding from a generous donor. Coupling enthusiastic leadership with a NASA grant, they ignited interest among a number of students who embraced the opportunity to not just create, but also compete, in robotics. Within three momentous years the Robotics Club won Regional competition. The members also won a Sportsmanship award. In ’05 and ’07, the group competed at the Atlantaarea national competition. While focused efforts of volunteer professionals and dedicated students inspired and nurtured development of a similar program at North, the club members also used their experiences as steppingstones to the future. Many earned degrees in engineering. And at South they left behind a wellorganized program that provided for Lauer a unique recruiting niche in the competitive South County academic environs. The perceived need for enabling students to follow their passions resulted in the formation of an Anime Club, school sponsorship of the Foreign Language Honor Society, and rebirth of the Art Club. Department award winners, chosen by respective faculty groups, received recognition in either special assemblies or at Senior

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Convocation. Retiring Richenburg (“In Art there is Truth!”) was replaced by first, Adam Connors. He joined remaining staff members Laura Samuelson and Peter and Dawn Henerfauth. When Connors left after only a short term of service, Martin Liebmann joined the group. During the transitional period, the Fine Arts faculty developed a Ceramics Club. Its members also sponsored students who participated in the craft fairs held annually at Meramec Community College and South. The seamless transition in the Art Department was a pattern reflected in other staff changes. Several longtime mentors of co-curricular, extra-curricular and classroom activities scaled back their responsibilities and handed the tasks to younger staff. June Hill, recovering from a sudden stroke, relinquished her role as Lancerette coach to South grad Alicia (Smith) Klug. Her father, Al Smith, soon replaced Rauh as Student Council advisor. Torbeck, too, retired from coaching. For thirty-one years he had mentored budding tennis players. Those charges garnered 298 dual match wins and completed his run with eighteen consecutive winning seasons. Biology students took classes led by Steven Schmid and Amy Selter. Behling’s Social Science Department had all new faces: Nate Johnston, Ike McMillan and Jeff Sanders. Sanders not only took the reins in football, but implemented a significant new Lance tradition. His staff created a complete year volume, published and distributed at the end of each summer. Historians of South would later herald his significant contribution that greatly simplified research. Sanders also revived the tradition of dedicating yearbooks to individuals who made significant contributions to Lancer life. Two other events marked the changes that came to pass. The first had been a traditional Association gathering that brought the entire Association community together to support competitions between the two high schools. Started as an intrasquad rally when only Lutheran High had existed and the Sem had just christened its new Fieldhouse, the Sem game continued beyond its fifth decade. As the Fieldhouse underwent renovations, the new site of the competition at Fontbonne University provided an ideal location and facility to continue the rabid rivalry. Occasional scheduling conflicts with collegiate activities required successive moves to Meramec Community College, Maryville University and later, Missouri Baptist University. At each new site, Association staffers hosted an alumni room and boosters sold spirit wear. For a period of time, during half-time festivities, Association and Board officers honored families who made significant service or monetary contributions to the high school communities. The second event that marked the era of changes symbolically signified the passing of South’s second generation of teachers. Lloyd “Tiny” Holsten, asleep in Jesus, was memorialized by one of the last in that generation—Tom Reck. His gracious words reflected Holsten’s lifelong commitment to the teaching ministry. Reck’s heartfelt comments were echoed in the ’06 Lance. Editors Heather McKeever and Joey Wuerffel stated, “We are set apart by God to be His ambassadors to the world, the work of His hands and a light in the darkness.” Holsten, like so many others before and after, had been a light in the community of Christ. As the changes during the new era continued, students and faculty served as ambassadors of that Light. Ambassadors on a New Mission Buetow retired at the end of the 2006 school year. It ended an era in which the faculty and administration mentored a creative relationship with students. They specifically incorporated student leadership in recruitment activities and cooperative worship. During the last year of Buetow’s administration, Lauer selected a Student Ambassador group. Its members assisted her in recruiting activities. The students took trips to grade schools to answer queries about South’s programs. They served as hosts for students shadowing at South and hosted Open House and other admissions events. The Messengers, who continued to be a highlight in Lancer chapel services, took their chancel dramas to off-campus youth and elementary school gatherings. Schmid’s and Perry’s Praise Teams led chapels, small group worship and inspired students to do the same in their congregations. As ambassadors, students readily assisted the placement at South of three members of the Brda family and Garret

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Santiago. Hurricane Katrina refugees, they joined the school community and regained a semblance of order in their lives. Several groups, some in conjunction with their congregational youth activities and Lutheran North students, assisted annually with the Bundles of Love Lutheran World Relief efforts. Each fall they loaded semis and moved freight crates at the Hall Street warehouse docks. They also helped with the Orphan Grain Train activities on the south side. These successful activities encouraged the Association administration to create a formal comprehensive service event. The entire student body participated in the Jill Tendler-led, AAL-funded, Lancer-Crusader Faith in Action (FIA) days. One day each fall and one day each spring, school buses carried students to servant work sites. Working in areas as far away as Spanish Lake, Arnold and Eureka, the more than seventy groups assisted elderly at the Salvation Army refuge; rebuilt a portion of Our Redeemer’s basement; painted fencing at family shelters; cleaned windows and trimmed bushes for the infirm; landscaped community gardens and group homes; cut honeysuckle in county parks. Each FIA day, the groups volunteered more than ten thousand combined hours to assist, among others, Association congregations, schools and community organizations. Service learning, long a part of each school’s graduation requirements, served as a community builder exemplified by the efforts of the students. But the Association faced a new task. The Board had to call a new principal for South. While the Board members and South faculty conducted a brief self-study, solicited nominations and considered candidates, South had no formal principal. Former “life” Crusader (it was on his CRSDR license plate!) Crisler, after retiring from North in ’03, had served at Green Park while that faculty sought a new principal. He arrived to shepherd the Lancer community during the search for their new chief administrator. It was a time during which the faculty and staff prayerfully and quietly dealt with the tensions generated prior to Crisler’s arrival. After Buetow announced his plans to retire, the faculty discussed several options and settled on what they considered an effective solution. Almost a decade before, when Waterman left, Harms and Bauer served in a principal partnership until Buetow arrived. Faculty consensus determined that Harms and Bauer could reprise their roles, but this time as advisors to interim principal Brian Lind. Lind, a budding prospective administrator, would have a significant amount of time to gain administrative experience. But the Board and Meyer intervened. They had determined that Crisler’s leadership would be a viable solution for what became a lengthy call process. As a credit to Crisler, Lind and the South faculty, the two-year period was a fruitful, professional relationship that continued to build the ministry despite facing unique challenges in the Association. Assisted by new AD Mark Probst, Crisler oversaw a faculty staffed by a much younger, tech-savvy group. Only a few teaching veterans like Bauer and Harms remained on staff. Even the long-time pillar in the Theology Department, Rev. Dr. Richard LaBore, retired. He had been a life-long Lancer ambassador to pastoral circuit, Missouri District and Synodical gatherings. Like others in the extended Association family, he continued his ministry after formally retiring. He would remain involved as an occasional conferee, historian and worship leader. At the same time, the experiences of one of the new faculty shed light on issues that challenged the Lancer administration. He had lived through experiences that accurately reflected the rapidly growing problems that could shake the foundations of Lutheran education in South St. Louis. Instructor and tennis coach Joel Gilbert, who taught at South during the ’06-’07 school year, moved the following year to King of Glory (KOG) Lutheran School. It was a multi-parish association that, as Concordia Middle School (CMS) depleted its funds, became the last attempt to maintain a Lutheran school on the city’s south side urban core. Anchor Trinity-Soulard became intimately involved in the enterprise because of its prior involvement in CMS and Rittmann’s membership there. Trinity’s members provided most of the leadership in creating KOG’s multi-campus organization. But administrators in St. Louis Public Schools had been strongly encouraged by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to permit the creation of charter schools. Supporters of the charter school movement noted the existing public schools had been plagued by issues associated with the desegregation school transfer program. One of the key shortcomings of the existing public school structure had been the failure of the system to achieve accredited status. Charter schools seemed to provide an opportunity to renew education

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initiatives. They would provide alternative educational organizations with select student bodies that could focus on attaining academic achievement. Parents perceived they had a viable, free alternative to the local comprehensive neighborhood Catholic and Lutheran tuition-driven elementary institutions. Because of this, KOG enrollment, which had been steady through 2009, plummeted just as LCF completed its financial commitments. Beth (Daenzer) Landon, daughter of long ago Central teacher Gil Daenzer, returned to St. Louis with her family (including two children who attended South) to serve as principal of KOG. A continuation of the mission that had started at CMS was not to be. Monetary resources evaporated. Only a spring 2011 dinner auction and monies from the just-sold building of the decommissioned Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer permitted the faculty to end the year with pay and benefits. The staff had to scramble to find new employment. The next year Gilbert taught at the Southern Illinois District mission Unity Lutheran School in East St. Louis. In 2012, he received an Association call to begin the year at South as a Social Science instructor and cross country coach. As his odyssey through urban education ended, it was obvious that most, if not all, future urban core Lutheran education efforts might only be sustained by Rittmann’s “fund the heck out of it” methodology begun a decade ago. Unfortunately, financial resources might not always be available to support such ministries. The only other viable option seemed to be north side Bethlehem congregation’s adaptation of the wrap around charter school. The actual school on the church campus was formally funded by St. Louis Public Schools. That eliminated overhead costs of operating a school and actually provided rental income for the congregation. It also eliminated formal Lutheran education during the regular school day. However, the wrap around format provided students the option of continuing Lutheran religious instruction. Voluntary student attendance in religious classes could take place before or after school hours in any of the charter school operations. A new ministry precedent had been established. In the future, prospective Lutheran students in areas pressed by economic hardship might not be formally educated in the traditional church/school setting. Rather, under the auspices of a unique public/parochial partnership, they could receive the Good News in the wrap around format. While South’s enrollment stabilized, the loss of KOG, the second south side Lutheran collaborative failure in less than a decade, boded ill for the future of the traditional church/school arrangement. On the south side of St. Louis, only Word of Life remained as a fully operational Lutheran elementary school. Lauer would have her work cut out for her. The original base of congregational support for South just three decades before, Lutherans interested in sustaining Christian education on the south side of the city had to consider turning to the Bethlehem solution advanced by Rev. John Schmidtke. During Gilbert’s experiences, two new instructors joined the South staff. Jeff Reis arrived to assist in the Business Department. His duties included teaching the new Leadership Seminar, a vision promoted by both principals and designed by Shirley Rauh. Matt Janssen accepted a position to help build the music program on the south side. Beginning in 2006, Janssen served as both grade school band director and assistant high school director. The new staff members arrived during a significant year. It was the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of South’s origins. Omura partnered with yearbook editor Jenny Akers to provide, in the Lance, a retrospective of a half century of Lancer history. They highlighted the things that were gone: GAA, thirty Student Council representatives, a fairly restrictive dress code, and an era when there was only one typewriter to serve the yearbook staff. They also enumerated some things that remained the same. The Magazine Campaign still jumpstarted each school year. The staff helped students succeed. Daily worship, in chapel or small group, still took place. Finally, the editors noted the entire history of the enterprise had been to guide the students to “grow in Christ.” Like his predecessors, Crisler continued this tradition. At significant ceremonies and festivities he enabled distinguished church leaders like Rev. Leroy Biesenthal, Rev. Victor Belton and Rev. Dr. Richard Hardel to address the student body and parents. They, and he, noted traditional elementary education in the city had been

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transformed by social and economic forces. Administrators at South and North had to consider new approaches to resolve the systemic challenges arising locally since the beginning of the new millennium. Perhaps the addition of a new Association high school would, like in the late ‘50s and again in the mid-‘60s, galvanize the membership. As Meyer, the Board and Association dealt in earnest with the growing financial issues raised by the South property and facility expansion, they also considered the recommendations of a Board subcommittee. Focusing on the western Highway 100 corridor, the group evaluated possible support from Lutherans in Ellisville, Gray Summit and even Washington, Missouri. They determined an additional high school in Gray Summit might serve members of several congregations. However, the costs of the South expansion and the limited number of prospective students from congregations in the vicinity of the proposed new campus ended discussions. The congregation of St. John-Ellisville, which had strongly encouraged the development of the new high school, ended its membership in the Association. While dealing with a possible proposal to expand Lutheran education, administrators learned that this was a new era of concern not just with the urban charter school movement but also with the expectations posited by suburban congregations. A New Era The development program at South included property acquisition and new competition fields. Like at North five years before, the students excitedly anticipated the completion of the new venues. They also responded on the athletic fields. Between 2005 and 2008 the Athletic Department coaxed new accomplishments and squad revivals out of an engaged student body. In ’05, softball finished its sterling era with a 21-5 record and District title. Under Carol Reinitz, the volleyball team went 24-7-4, won two regular season tourneys, District and Sectional. The next two seasons they went 26-3-2 and 30-5. Led first by Kelly Van Gennip, Jessica Heimrich, and Kaitlyn Gunkel, and then by Emily Mack and Ashleigh Huskey, they earned unprecedented consecutive Final Four spots in Kansas City. In cross country, new coaches Behling and Johnston first shepherded Brianna Frigerio and Super Soph Adam Behnke to State. Frigerio finished eleventh in her first of two All State berths. Behnke finished fourteenth in his first of three. The next two seasons, while both boys’ and girls’ teams qualified for Jeff City, Behnke earned All State honors two more times. His last CC race at Oak Hills was a heartbreaker. Favored to win the event, he suffered from the flu during the days between District and State. With only five hundred meters to go, he led by fifty. But the illness had sapped his strength. He grimly hung on to earn runner up laurels. Gilbert’s tennis girls won a District title. Reis’ soccer squad returned to respectability, going 10-11-1 in ’06 but surprised three overconfident opponents to steal a District crown. Kyle Banahan led an 18-9 squad to the District final the following year. In ’06, Reis piloted a Frigerio/Courtney Lauer/Michelle McQueen-led basketball quintet to a 25-6 record, League title and a third place finish in the Final Four. A dramatic reprise the next year ended with a loss in the Quarters. In ’07 and ’08, Wietfeldt’s swimmers Heather and Hannah Miles and Katie Schumacher (twice) earned All State honors. Lind, in the midst of another rebuilding year, piloted an outmanned ‘08 10-13 boys’ basketball squad to an unexpected District title. That season Lind’s squad had been the visiting team at the annual Sem game. In a unique set of circumstances, it was held at Meramec Community College. For the first time, all spectators sat on the same side of the facility. The previous season, with the traditional Fontbonne setting scheduled for another event, South had hosted the contest. Several of the five games came down to the final seconds. For the first time in years, rowdy crowds in the confined spaces exchanged less-than-admirable cheers that grew in intensity. Heads of both athletic departments agreed they had to defuse the situation. As tensions reverberated through the Association, some parents, faculty and staff wrote formal letters to the Board or principals to either chastise coaches for running up the score or beseeching administrators to quell the perceived conflict. Issues seemed to be resolved during the Meramec contest. Spectators sat on the same side of the gym. Orchestrated “spontaneous” cheers

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could not be seen by the opposition. The following year the administrators moved the Sem games to Maryville University where more spacious facilities continued to reduce tensions. Games between the Association’s team of rivals would continue in the traditional Sem game format. Lancer teams and individuals garnered additional kudos. Johnston and later Albers mentored superb golfer Niko Bentzinger to reach State three consecutive years. Klug’s Lancerettes earned two performance opportunities at Mizzou. And in baseball, Reck was inducted into the Missouri Baseball Hall of Fame as his squad won the last ABC League title ever awarded. In a tragic turn of events, on the day his exceptional ’08 squad lost in the District championship game, he and his charges attended the funeral of long-time JV Baseball assistant Coach Fietson. It was the second staff death of the year. Doris Boaz, a kitchen worker, had died the previous fall. The newly resurrected track squads were now helmed by Scott DeNoyer, Dennis Sander, Lind and Schmid. They were not building from scratch. In 2004, Christen Lauer won an individual State championship in triple jump while Sky Hagy garnered discus honors. Lauer would later go on to compete at Truman State and earn a D-II medal at Nationals. Hagy competed at UMKC. Now, with younger sister Courtney Lauer in the jumps, Beth Steinbrueck in the sprints and Rickael Roach in the throws, the girls earned an eighth in State in ’06. The next year, with Roach sweeping wins in both throws, they moved up a place. The younger Lauer later competed at DePauw University. She placed three times in D-III Nationals in pentathlon and heptathlon. Roach later competed at SIU-Carbondale. The boys, spearheaded by Behnke’s distance prowess, won three invitational titles and the District in ’07. In ’08, they won the ABC League title. Behnke continued his career at Columbia and, later, Indiana universities. After the spring of 2008, the boys’ and girls’ athletic programs would, for the first time, compete in the same league. The ABC League athletic directors at MICDS, Burroughs, Priory, North, South and Principia considered adding Villa Duchesne and Westminster Academy to a new organization. They rewrote the ABC League bylaws to create, at least for the boys’ competitions, a provisional period for the addition of Westminster. Competitions could now be better coordinated and the girls, in particular, would no longer have to bow to the whims of the large-school athletic directors who controlled the monolithic MWAA organization. Hunt and Wietfeldt, the girls’ athletic coordinators at North and South, respectively, readily adapted competition schedules for the new arrangement. The school year that ended with initial discussions about a new league was significant for other Association reasons. Meyer had retooled the Association logo, using the new compass insignia to provide a better branding identity. Noting the success of the school uniform dress code at North, she encouraged Crisler to implement the same policy at South. Concerns about campus security and difficulties in enforcing clothing protocols encouraged the decision. Beginning in the fall of 2007, female Lancers wore black and gold plaid skirts, gray, white or gold polos, gray or black fleeces, and khaki or black pants or shorts. The guys had similar choices of shirts and pants. The new uniform policy had an interesting impact on student activities. During Spirit Week prior to Homecoming, seniors ruefully noted how many more participated in the dress down days. This was a new-look Lancer era. Since 2004, ball teams had used the new middle and lower terraced fields that lay on cemetery grounds. Two consecutive twenty-five year leases would provide sufficient competition facilities for those programs. That stability provided the impetus to retool the track and competition field. In the fall of ’07, Meyer led groundbreaking ceremonies for Lancer Stadium. She was accompanied by Board representative Gerald Kirk, Dr. Keith and Kathy Odegard, Adam Behnke, who represented the athletes and student body, and Jeff Budrovich. An early redesign of the turf field and track also included lighting. Supporters of the more costly redesign justified the expense. They noted a number of local athletic organizations desired to regularly rent venues after Lancer teams completed activities. They surmised the new revenue stream would more than pay for the additions. As Christ Memorial congregation completed its move to the new Lindbergh location, the Athletic Department could pursue possible use of the congregation’s plot of land that lay just north of the main parking lot entrance.

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Curriculum, too, underwent a transformation. In the first case, a new course was added to the curriculum. After three decades of training student leaders, Rauh and the administration applied for and received an LF grant. It funded a leadership development program. It would incorporate in the classroom the values promoted by the Student Council and other honors organizations like the NHS. Outside speakers served as key personnel who addressed the class. They provided candid commentary about the challenges of growing a business; handling political issues as applied to expanding plants, purchasing property and seeking rezoning; and participating in public/private enterprises and service organizations. Some of the speakers included Rich Beumer (C ’55), retired CEO of Jacobs Engineering and one-time chair of the Association Board; John Komlos (S ‘81), from Arco Construction and member of the Board; Rev. Alan Erdman, President of LFCS; and Mike Schoedel (S ’86), Clayton City Manager. The course created an Association initiative that involved freshmen and sophomores from both South and North. At UMSL, they attended a series of workshops sponsored by Focus St. Louis: Youth Leadership. During the workshops, students listened to motivational speakers and clinic leaders. Their discussions in breakout groups dealt with civic responsibilities and civic consensus building. Group leaders led teamwork activities. The representatives from more than thirty school districts learned how to shape cooperative efforts in groups that included people of diverse talents and interests. The participants also practiced conflict resolution so they could better serve as mentors in their home communities. The students, who met monthly between September and April, also took tours of local sites. These included the St. Louis Holocaust Museum, SLU Medical School, St. Louis City and County courts and prisons, the City Museum and social service agencies. Program graduates would be considered for advisory board memberships on local service organizations. For example, if the local United Way chapter selected one to serve, that individual could help determine the allocation of funds for area projects. When Rauh retired a year later, she left behind a Student Council that had become one of the more successful leadership and service-oriented organizations in the metro region. She, herself, had also received some accolades for classroom and curricular development. Rauh served as president of two major groups: Missouri Association of Home Economics and St. Louis County Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Organization. She also had been a ten-time recipient of honors scholarships for Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education summer classes (including the Culinary Institute of America), and the honoree for both the Citicorp Innovator Award and the Emerson Electric Excellence in Education Crystal Apple. The second case of curriculum revision was not quite as easily resolved. Costs of maintaining the block schedule had risen quite markedly. Personnel compensation increased because teachers taught fewer courses. As part of their assigned duties, teachers at North and South all supervised a seminar. In a cost-cutting measure the faculties were asked to simply distribute the academic labs or seminars as a regularly scheduled class. No longer would all be free to collaborate at the same time, so the seminar would resemble the traditional study hall. North adapted to this schedule and added additional counseling and academic advisor components to the period. South’s faculty petitioned the Board to create a more adaptive schedule for their perceived needs. The South faculty was concerned about losing seminar, a time when every teacher was free to work with students. After careful planning, the situation was satisfactorily resolved. South faculty taught seven out of eight blocks to maintain a common seminar block. They successfully negotiated to receive a stipend at the end of each semester to compensate for their self-imposed heavier load. It caused no friction between the faculties. When the Board received an affirmative answer to the call tendered to Brian Ryherd, Crisler ended his twoyear stint as acting principal. As his last formal action, Crisler had introduced the new dress code. It was not the only change Ryherd noticed as he arrived on the South County campus. Meyer, too, had implemented her last major goal. She had strongly encouraged more Association students to consider attending top-tier and highly selective universities. During the past three years, Rich Arnold at South and Cindy Burreson at North had helped shape this focus. The most noticeable of the first students to do so was Behnke who attended Columbia University.

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Meyer’s focus on encouraging students to attend top tier universities had been a long-time coming. Her husband, David (C ’61), taught at Brown University and she had spent a large part of her career in the Northeast. Upon her arrival, she and Buetow agreed to continue to emphasize that students who chose to come to South were making an investment for their futures. Buetow viewed the approach as a continuation of a previous impetus already implemented at Rittmann’s suggestion. During his administration, Buetow had encouraged the counseling staff to persuade students to apply to top tier universities across the country. Counseling center personnel at South, as well as North, did so and top students at both schools regularly earned letters of acceptance to Ivy League-type programs on the East and West coasts. Most, though, chose to stay closer to home at institutions like Vanderbilt, Drake, Bradley, Valpo, Washington University and St. Louis University. Buetow was satisfied with this focus. He also felt that the mentoring faculty, many of whom had graduated from the Concordia system, modeled commitments to a life of ministry. He did not want to diminish the Concordia option for students who, admiring their mentors, might have considered a career in the ministry prior to the “top tier” initiative. After all, before the “Choice, Not Chance” program that incorporated bus trips that frequented the Concordias, Richenberg had regularly taken students to visit Concordia University-Nebraska. Buetow was also concerned about Meyer’s apparent emphasis on strongly encouraging students to actually attend one of the more distant select institutions. He believed that many institutions much closer to home offered similar high caliber education and opportunities in many disciplines. Such a choice would also result in students enrolled in institutions closer to home, perhaps encouraging parental participation in campus activities. He noted Meyer also seemed to believe such enrollment choices by matriculating students would strengthen Association recruitment programs. School recruitment personnel could more confidently pursue students who were actively recruited by locally perceived top tier college prep programs. Meyer and Buetow only differed by a small degree in shaping the focus for matriculating seniors. Regardless of each administrator’s perception, recruitment personnel at both high schools could in good conscience inform prospective students about opportunities available at top tier colleges and universities in all areas of the country. The pan-Lutheran high school bus trips of “Choice, Not Chance” could also show students a slice of life on the frequent visits to one of several Concordia campuses. As Meyer entered her last year in office and began considering retirement, as the earthmovers prepared the South landscape for a dramatically new configuration, and as the faculty prepared for Ryherd’s arrival, Behnke graduated and attended Columbia University. The era that started with such loss of life ended in a flurry of activity. The South community renewed its identity grounded in events that took place a half century before. The new administration would undertake the traditional role of proclaiming the message to the community and to its adolescent charges: The saving work of the Savior, Christ the Lord, given unto you.

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Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 9: For Unto You: Lutheran South, 2001-2008 The Good Shepherd and the Cross The John 11:25 quote is from the ’02 Lance, p. 33, as is the remainder of the summary about the tragic losses. Roma, 6/30/15, confirmed the details, with his quote about “the tough times” on p. 9 of the same Lance. His following quote about the Messengers is from p. 113. Buetow clarified the events of the aftermath, particularly in the context of the theme for the year, “Rooted and Established in Love.” Reck, 1/22/16, noted that the worst day of his teaching ministry was the day he had to sit in the gym and listen to the reading of the names of the students killed in the accident. One of them had been in his class The New Year: 2002\ Note that hockey and field hockey are not MSHSAA sports. Both sports are administered by local organizations whose members have banded together in order to provide an opportunity for recreational sports and club sports to continue at the high school level. The local Mid-States Club Hockey Association competes chiefly at suburban recreation centers. The Lancers compete in Division II. John Miller, 7/27/15, summarized, again, the transitions and successes in the vocal and instrumental music programs. Bauer, 7/27/15, clarified the “legend of the ‘tater.’” Markus’ quote is from Girls Soccer, ’02 Lance. See above, Chapter 8, and Rohde, pp. 6-7, for a more thorough outline of these events during the transition of administration from Rittmann to Meyer. For more about Rittman, see http://blogs.lcms.org/2006/davidrittmann-shanghai-school-headmaster-dies, accessed 7/27/15. Rohde again provides information about the South land-use plan on pp. 6-7. In their comments, John Miller and Buetow elaborated about the programming and faculty changes that impacted the Lancer Singers, in particular, and Dr. Barry Bobb’s activities, in general. Steinbrueck and Buetow described the development of the robotics program. Al Smith, 6/30/15, confirmed the Student Council adaptations. ’06 Lance editors McKeever and Wuerffel are quoted from the introductory pages of that edition. McCollister, Reck, Behling and Buetow all commented about beloved “Tiny” Holsten. Buetow also explained the role of South in resettling the Brda siblings and Garret Santiago. Ambassadors on a New Mission Chapels at South were generally much more informal than those at North. With a vast majority of Lancers hailing from Lutheran congregations, chapels followed a youth group format, incorporating praise songs, student skits and student groups. Memorable chapels not included in previous chapels date from the early ‘70s: Fritz Raedeke walking out of the bleachers to confess his sins and making an altar call; a local preacher accidentally dropping a flower pot prop and watching in horror as it shattered on “Meyer’s gym floor;” Prahlow’s series about the Herdman children in the Best Christmas Pageant Ever and his “cuss chapel” based on Galatians; a speaker accidentally knocking from the lectern dozens of 3 x 5 cards; returning alumni speaking about how fortunate they

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were to attend South; Otis and his ukelele; Sheetz always talking about pacifism; and later, Senior Assembly/Convocation. Buetow provided the details about Crisler’s arrival as principal at South. Joel Gilbert, 6/30/15, clarified the KOG ministry and challenges faced by urban Lutheran educators. Howard Holschen, long-time teacher and principal at Hope-St. Louis, served as executive director at KOG. A supporter of the high schools, younger brother Carl taught at North for many years. Howard’s children included Daniel (S ’83), Andrew (S ’84) and Rachel (S ’93) Pena, and grandson Zach (S ’11) (The Herald, Winter 2016, p. 6). A New Era Chapter 10, below, summarizes the impact of the accreditation issues on local school districts—and the impact of the charter school initiative on those districts. An examination of those subjects will reveal many of the causes of the Ferguson Crisis. John Miller confirmed the staff changes. Jayne Lauer corrected the material about athletics, Lancer Singers, Student Ambassadors and the resurrection of the track and field programs that would continue into Chapter 11, below. She also clarified the options permitted under the new dress code. Judith Meyer, 4/8/15, and Buetow, 9/30/15, delineated the issues and goals of the St. John-Ellisville initiative and outcome. Meyer and Buetow also had slightly differing philosophies about the top tier initiative. Meyer’s is presented more fully in Chapter 8, above, while Buetow’s is summarized in Chapter 9, here. It will be instructive to read about the “Choice, Not Chance” program (Chapter 8) created at North and later adapted in kind by South. Both schools, along with Metro East Lutheran and Lutheran St. Charles, combined supervisory personnel for the bus trips. Finally, Buetow strongly encouraged counseling center faculty to promote the Concordia option for the students who showed any inclination to pursue a career in the teaching or preaching ministry. On 2/13/16, Steinbrueck, LaBore and Rauh outlined the reconstruction of the athletic fields that formally began in 2004. Steinbrueck, who later served as facility coordinator, provided the details about the two twentyfive year leases and redesign process. When LaBore retired, he and wife Gaylene stayed involved in both the Association and the general St. Louis community. A prime example of this latter commitment is in the fine arts. In 2015, they desired to honor the founder of the Bach Society, William B. Heyne, in the group’s seventy-fifth season. They commissioned a new work by Stephen Mager titled Sarabande. It was performed with Faure’s The Requiem in its premier on March 13, 2016, at Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. The performance featured soloists Jane Jennings and Ian Greenlaw (Sarah Bryan Miller, “Slatkin returns for ‘Romeo’; pops series pays tribute to Bowie,” SLPD, 3/6/16, p. D5.). Gaylene had sung in the chorus for fifty-seven years. While at South, Rev. LaBore had served on the Board of Directors of the East-West Gateway Council of governments, the Board of Commissioners of the Bi-State Development Agency (later, Metro), alderman for the city of Crestwood (twenty-three years), and President of the St. Louis County Municipal League. Since retirement, LaBore serves Resurrection Church as Associate Pastor. He is also Visitor for the Affton Circuit of the Missouri District. The Student Council Leadership Initiative and leadership curricular addition is included in Rauh’s 2/13/16 missive on p. 2. On p. 1 is a compendium of the Student Council accomplishments. These include: recipient of the Missouri Association of Student Councils Gold Council Award (16 years); participation in the MASC State Leadership Conference (18 years); Gateway Association of Student Councils Regional Leadership Conferences (20 years); National Association of Student Councils Leadership Conferences (13 years); and National Leadership Camp in both Colorado and South Dakota. Participants traveled across the country to take part as leaders, facilitators and counselors at these conferences. Locations included Tulsa; Ft. Meade, FL; Phoenix; Wichita;

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Minneapolis; Cupertino, CA; Charlotte, NC; Virginia Beach, VA; Buffalo; Las Vegas and Philadelphia. For thirty years, Rauh also taught Sanitation for Restaurant Managers for the St. Louis community college system. Richard Beumer also served as a Trustee for Valparaiso University, and on boards of directors for AAL and Thrivent Financial (see http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=282219&privcapId=282159 accessed 2/27/16, for additional information). Among other duties, John Komlos serves on the board for YMCA Camp Lakewood (see http://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/people/17414304-john-komlos and http://www.rejournals.com/2010/06/07/the-benefits-of-creativity-turning-a-warehouse-into-an-icerink/comment-page-1/ both accessed 2/27/16, for more information about his creative local construction projects). His father, John Komlos, was a ’54 graduate of Lutheran High. Rev. Alan Erdman, currently a member of Concordia-Kirkwood, oversaw the expansion of LFCS services, created a foundation for the organization, and was an adjunct faculty member at SLU. For more information, see http://www.ckhome.org/ministries/adults/mens-ministries/crosswaters-speaker-schedule/ accessed on 2/27/16. For Mike Schoedel, see notes to Chapter 5. A description of goals and projects promoted by the Focus St. Louis: Youth Leadership initiative may be found at http://www.focus-stl.org/?page=YouthLeadershipSTL (accessed on 2/27/16). An interesting sidelight that took place during the end of this era was a unique North-South connection in higher education. In December 2011, Kori Rauh (S, ’07) Neely, wife of Tom (S ’05), received her B. S. in Civil Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. She received her diploma from Dr. Gary May (N ’81—see Chapter 4 above), Dean of Engineering for Georgia Tech. Kori’s proud parents are long-time South teacher Shirley Rauh and Steve Rauh (S ’69). She also has two siblings—Katy (Rauh ‘S 96) Schmitt and Kris Rauh (S ’00) (The Herald, Spring 2012, p. 6.). Katy Schmitt, wife of Jeff (S ’96), currently works in public relations for Green Park Lutheran School and teaches alongside numerous South graduates including Stephanie Torbeck, Wayne Hesse, Beth Herwig Meyer, Jan Doering Cibulka, Brenda Palisch Huster and Donna Calvin Auer.

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Chapter 10: A Savior, Christ the Lord! Lutheran North, 2008-2016 Obama Faces Challenges After winning the 2008 election, President Barack Obama faced challenging social, environmental and economic issues. Domestically he worked with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to pass the Affordable Care Act, effectively nationalizing health care. But like Bush and Clinton before, his party quickly lost control of Congress. Few of his measures promoted during the Hope and Change campaign made it out of Congressional committee. Of his education initiatives, only Race to the Top, a revision of NCLB, received funding. It provided guidelines that encouraged implementation of Common Core Curriculum. But on local levels the measure met opposition. Many opponents perceived the effort was an attempt by the federal government to regulate state departments of education and local school districts. Disasters threatened the economic stability of the Gulf and New York-New Jersey regions. In 2010 the BP Gulf oil spill devastated the central Gulf coastal area. The ensuing assessment of clean-up techniques and the formation of future safeguards caused additional controversy. It pitted environmentalists against promoters of business development and job creation. It also raised issues about influence peddling in government circles. But when Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey in October 2012, coordinated relief work by federal and local agencies provided an effective response to the crisis. The cooperative relief efforts to assist the victims of Sandy became a symbol of what could be accomplished by inter-agency and political cooperation. The economy, faltering during the last two years of the Bush administration, continued to leave investors, corporations and the un- and underemployed wondering when the administration could help resolve the issues. A bailout of major auto manufacturers successfully restored jobs and regional economic stability. Despite the repayment of the loan money to the government, Republican critics, angered by what they felt had been a Democratic power play to enact Obamacare, initiated a determined policy of obstructing future Democratic legislative initiatives. While the Republicans controlled both houses, Obama utilized executive orders to enact his programs. The politics of confrontation led to an economic “. . . middling performance that defined much of the six-year-old recovery from the Great Recession.” Polls indicated many harbored a growing sense of uncertainty about the future. As the percentage of Americans either working or looking for work fell to less than 63% of those considered employable, economists noted the era reflected statistical trends that led to the severe recession in the late ‘70s. The official unemployment rate was only 5.5%. But that statistic masked the reality that many without jobs no longer seeking employment were not counted as unemployed. Part of the problem was that many once familiar occupations continued to automate, move offshore or disappear outright. The only apparent options for immediate employment involved positions like cashiers, waitresses and waiters, personal care aides, custodians and stock clerks. Of the top ten occupations with the most openings, those five opportunities fell into government-designated wage categories of “very low” and “low.” These minimum-wage jobs that required generic skills meant workers had limited negotiating power. They could not hope for quick advancement, frequent pay raises or long-term employment. The capture of Osama bin Laden did not quell Obama’s domestic critics or slow the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. As Iran developed nuclear potential, the unsettled Middle East posed difficult challenges for world leaders. Intense diplomatic efforts by western powers attempted to alleviate the tensions in that region. With world attention focused on the Middle East crises, Russian leader Vladimir Putin resurrected several former Soviet policies in an attempt to restore his image as a world leader. His chief initiative followed the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Putin moved troops into Crimea and then provided support for seceding Ukrainian rebels. He had carefully chosen his prey. Distant international opponents of his actions could do little more than threaten economic sanctions.

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As a direct affront to the United States, Putin granted temporary residence to Edward Snowden. Snowden had released National Security Administration (NSA) communiqués that raised issues about the safety of Americans’ right to privacy. The release of additional information about successful NSA surveillance of foreign diplomats provoked the ire of American allies. They also discovered the CIA and FBI had tapped the personal cell phones of their leaders. Having supported the United States as Obama condemned Putin’s actions, they felt betrayed. Cyber security was not just an international issue. Data breaches of Sony, Target, Alliance Health, and locally, of Schnucks and Michael’s, revealed a fragile American economic infrastructure easy prey for financial pirates. Online security might be one of several new campaign issues in 2016. As Obama ended his second term, many realized common sense preparation and coordination of responses could resolve some problems. Cooperative international support of trained medical personnel quickly terminated brief Ebola and measles epidemics. All hoped a similar effort could stem the Zika outbreak. But lack of preparation and poorly coordinated efforts to deal with the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis indicated some issues would severely tax resources and diplomatic protocols. The gravest threat, though, rose from the ruins of Syria and Iraq. That threat lay in ISIL, the ruthless militant terrorist organization. Its members were dedicated to creating a caliphate controlled by Sharia law. They planned to leverage international influence by launching worldwide terrorist attacks. The next administration would have to develop a comprehensive response to the campaigns carried out by ISIL militia and the attacks by lone wolves inspired via social media. During 2015, mounting concerns about ISIL threats became a bitter reality. The year began with militant Islamist attacks in the heart of Paris against the staff of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Sixteen died and twenty-two others were injured. World leaders rallied to stand against the atrocities and the threat against a free society. During the year, Boko Harem attacks in central Africa seemed a world away. An assault on a U. S. Navy Reserve center in Chattanooga and another at Ft. Hood were not. A November attack against attendees of a Paris rock concert provided a cautionary warning about sleeper cells. But the December 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino by a radicalized married couple heightened tensions about the issue of admitting immigrant Muslim refugees. Many feared more lone wolves were busily conspiring to do damage. In March 2016, coordinated ISIL attacks at the Brussels airport and a metro station ended with almost 350 casualties. And the brutal attack in Orlando raised grave concerns about the radicalization of even native-born American citizens. The frequent assaults directed against the United States and its allies helped amplify the rhetoric and rancor generated during the 2016 Presidential primary season. The 2016 Presidential campaign featured two viable Democratic hopefuls and as many as twenty Republican candidates. Hillary Clinton, former First Lady and Secretary of State, ran a conventional campaign. She deflected criticism about her disposition of State Department emails while facing off against Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont. The two were not that far apart on women’s rights, and both supported equal-pay bills, universal pre-kindergarten and paid family leave. They also were fairly close in their beliefs about immigration and campaign finance. But they vehemently disagreed about the Keystone pipeline, taxation of coal and oil companies, implementation of Obamacare, gun control, repayment of college debts, reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act and plans to resolve the Syrian crisis. Clinton used town meetings and assembly hall rallies to solicit delegate support. But Sanders and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump used non-traditional campaign appeals to galvanize supporters. Each of their movements provided a voice for those who sought to implement the executive powers to resolve troubling economic and social issues. Many of their supporters appeared to desire a leader who could unilaterally revive American exceptionalism. An ideal, a concept first developed by the Pilgrims, it had more recently been invoked by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan. But its definition was malleable, determined by the messenger. Sanders and Trump passionately promoted responses to resolve perceived critical national crises. They vividly demonstrated personal, charismatic, authoritative leadership styles.

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Sanders openly embraced socialism. He proclaimed the system was rigged to benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of everyone else. He asked—and received—the majority of campaign contributions from most who gave less than twenty-five dollars. Many millenials, in particular, who were disillusioned by politics, politicians and the state of the country, served as his core constituency. They embraced Sanders’ promises he would harness the government to do big, bold things. The temperamental Trump funded his campaign from his own substantial fortune. Like Sanders, he claimed to be an outsider. The former television reality star garnered support from those who believed Obama’s policies had destroyed the domestic economy, and whose disastrous foreign policies encouraged continued terrorist attacks. Almost daily, his confrontational style earned him front-page headlines. During rallies, Trump described grandiose images of future success. He promised to build a wall to keep Mexican drug users and rapists out of the United States; questioned the judicial bias of an Indiana-born judge of Mexican heritage; called for a prohibition of admitting Muslim immigrants. He taunted opponents, belittled those who debated him, ridiculed the press, denigrated former prisoners of war, antagonized allies, directed sexist comments towards women, and lashed out at debate moderators. His followers flocked to his authoritarian persona. The sole leader of his movement, he shunned advisors and advice, policy papers and polite persuasion. Trump’s bombastic statements captured the attention of friend and foe alike. Providing simple answers for complex issues, he promised that as President he would take immediate action by having Congress comply with his demands. He, too, as a boss, would use the government to do big, bold things. Synod and Society In 2010, traditionalists who sought authoritative leadership elected LCMS World Relief and Human Care head Matthew Harrison as Synodical President. In 2012, he sought to discipline the pastor who participated in a televised civic interfaith event. The pastor had taken part to provide care to the devastated community of Newtown, Connecticut. He provided prayerful public counsel to the families and friends of twenty school children (some of whom belonged to his congregation) and six educators who had been murdered by a single gunman. Harrison responded quickly to assuage those who appealed to him to stop such unionist activity. The Synodical president appeared to be a disciplinarian who defended the church and confronted the pastor. Resurfacing were many of the issues in Synod raised by the adjudication of the similar Yankee Stadium-9/11 incident. The old divisions in Synod reappeared. Harrison quickly rescinded his decision, but the public image of the Synod appeared to be one of isolation and insulation. When Harrison was reelected in 2013, those who supported him created a groundswell to consolidate more authority in the Synodical administration. Many hoped he could counter the policies implemented during the Obama administration that they believed undermined Biblical principles. Two legal decisions threatened the traditional values embraced at institutional and local levels. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act initially required religious institutions to provide certain contraceptives, including abortifacients, for all female employees. And when the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, many believed the decision threatened the traditional definition of the family and the institution of marriage. A third change required congregations to reevaluate their support of Scouting, a popular, civic organization noted for developing character and self-discipline. The National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, under legal pressure to permit openly gay adult leaders, acquiesced. Harrison encouraged congregations to reconsider their support for and hosting of Scouting organizations. Harrison personally voiced fears about where these court decisions and civil policies might lead. In the 2016 convention workbook he included an editorial commentary supportive of a task force resolution about the Concordia University System. He noted “. . . we are but a court decision or two away from a scenario where the federal government could eliminate our ability to participate in student loan programs, and thereby quickly make

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it impossible for our schools to survive. We face threats from the Department of Justice, Department of Education, EEOC and others.” To assist in protecting the universities from secular intrusions, he requested permission to appoint one or two representatives to each university board of regents. The appointees would provide him more adequate knowledge about each institution. He also initiated a study of the issue of closure, divestment or consolidation of Synodical universities in the event of financial failure. Harrison feared the alternative would be to “. . . simply watch the universities [seeking federal money available only by adjusting to the new mores] drift away into religious and moral ambiguity.” He also needed to streamline traditional protocols to more effectively protect Synod from protracted public disputes. Concerned that the dispute resolution process implemented in 2004 had not helped clarify protocols for resolving grievances about doctrinal issues in particular, Harrison formed a task force to evaluate the system. Resolution 12-01, under consideration at the 2016 Milwaukee Synodical Convention, would permit any aggrieved party to appeal to the Praesidium and Synodical President. It would more quickly expedite concerns raised by parties about doctrinal issues and unionist actions. In effect, its adoption would also make the Synodical President the final arbiter. The latter issue, unionist action, was a growing concern among the authorities who coordinated foreign mission work. Apprehensions had risen regarding the need for collaboration in foreign mission fields. Synodical administrators expressed fears that congregational- or individually-sponsored independent mission efforts could be undertaken without proper safeguards. The independent missionaries might combine efforts with charismatic and other non-Lutheran churches and societies. Harrison announced that congregations supporting independent missions would be required to funnel financial gifts through the Board for International Missions. Or, they could work through the more traditional mission societies that included auxiliaries like the LWML, LLL and Recognized Service Organizations. Since 2010, a majority of Synodical delegates to two national conventions perceived they had to combat legal, societal and unionist threats to doctrine and mission. To do so, they centralized authority in Synodical leadership and the office of President. Harrison had acted assertively in several cases to exercise his ecclesiastical supervisory duties. Those who answered his critics stated: “A fair evaluation of the past six years will show that President Harrison continues to be very judicious and careful in the exercise of presidential responsibility [.]” One could hope that Harrison’s responses to future challenges would be pastoral, particularly with his prior experiences in world relief efforts. Harrison seemed to return to that focus as he cultivated fellowship agreements and world missions with fledgling and developing churches in Europe, South and Central America, Asia and Africa. He provided resources for Rev. Randall Golter to lead the Synod in planning the 2017 Reformation Quincentennial celebration. He also spearheaded the creation of the stand alone Wittenberg Project in Germany. The Synodical president initiated preliminary fellowship talks with the Wisconsin Evangelical Synod and the Evangelical Synod. Concerned about expanding local mission efforts, he personally led a drive to sustain urban ministry and Lutheran Housing Support. As Synodical members delegated more authority to Harrison, perhaps they hoped he would develop a judicious and inclusive pastoral approach to nurture creative responses for local needs. Those opportunities dramatically appeared in the St. Louis area in the fall of 2014. Closely supporting local congregational initiatives, Harrison and Synod would, in this instance, rise to the occasion. Local Challenges

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For St. Louis-area residents, the 2008 recession continued into the next decade. It worsened racial income disparities, lowering St. Louis household income for white households by 7% and for black households by 17%. By 2010, the city had only 318,000 residents, having lost half a million people in only sixty years. In 2013, white median income was $3,000 above the national median—and twice that of black households. Unemployment statistics reflected similar patterns. With difficult commutes from and soaring prices of far-suburban property, many young single workers moved into the city. They had the opportunity to witness what many locals hoped would become an urban revival. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Administration strongly considered selecting the north city area as its new location. If that happened, developer Paul McKee planned to build five hundred housing units on nearby properties. Ikea did open a retail center in the CWE. The Missouri History Museum board began to explore city fathers’ requests to take over the Soldiers Memorial. Local music enthusiasts finally found an available building to house the National Blues Museum. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers finalized plans to purchase a north side boarding house. The birthplace of the union, it would be retooled as a museum. The St. Louis University Law School moved to downtown quarters, while a consortium of businesses in Grand Center initiated designs for a five-level parking garage and a new streetscape. Investors sought funding to transform vacant structures like the LaSalle Building, International Shoe Company and Union Trust into upscale hotels. The City-Arch-River project moved through another phase. Construction began on the levee to renovate and raise the riverfront and architects created a redesign of Kiener Plaza. In far north city, Bob Cassilly’s widow, Gigi, buoyed by the continued success of City Museum, rekindled interest in restarting the construction on a new “playground:” the fifty-five acre Cementland on Riverview Drive. Investors considered new developments in the inner ring suburbs. Billy Busch expanded distribution in the Midwest and planned to enlarge his local Kraftig brewery. He even initiated an attempt to start a small brew house at Grant’s Farm. Centene, having announced plans to open a new service center in Ferguson, sought rezoning permits in Clayton to consolidate it headquarters on one campus. Promises of new development continued in the outer suburbs. Cortex announced desires to create a plant science district in Creve Coeur. Amazon revealed plans to open two warehouses in Edwardsville. Corporations specializing in resurrecting older malls planned retooling of former retail space in Crestwood and Hazelwood. Both redevelopments included designs for residential and even outpatient medical facilities. And in Hazelwood, developers purchased old industrial sites for future use as warehouses and factories. But in 2010, most of the plans for new development were just that. Hopes and plans for a regional revival may have clouded perceptions about local realities. Those who considered moving back into the city had their choice of the thirty-five thousand vacant houses. The many who did not move into the bustling Washington Avenue loft district gentrified communities like Lafayette Square and Soulard. But their arrival created conflicts with longtime residents over rising tax assessments. They also desired to limit the scope of private relief agencies like New Life Evangelistic Center. As the homeless sought shelter and a warm meal at Rev. Larry Rice’s refuge, the new residents claimed they had become easy targets for panhandlers and street criminals. They openly campaigned for removal of such private relief facilities. Those who left north city for north suburbs found little change. A 2008 demographic study indicated that what had happened in Ferguson and Spanish Lake was repeated elsewhere north of the I-70 corridor and east of the Missouri River. Ferguson, 75% white in 1990, was now 67% black, with most of the new residents clustered in the many apartment complexes located off West Florissant and north of Buzz Westfall Plaza. Spanish Lake, a rural community in 1990, was 90% white. By 2010 it was 90% black, with a population five times greater than it had been. Most were clustered in densely built, inexpensive rental apartments north of I-270 and east of and along SR 367. Environmental factors at the Bridgeton landfill and Coldwater Creek raised additional issues about North County land use, leachate drainage and soil contamination reminiscent of the Times Beach incident.

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To complicate matters, at the beginning of the decade many county school districts were permitted to voluntarily participate in the desegregation program. Several school districts dropped out of the program, effectively reducing transfer opportunities. A recently developed charter school movement also seemed to undermine local school districts’ attempts to meet accreditation standards. Leaders of local boards of education raised issues about the motivations of the new for-profit charter educational corporations. The charter schools had been empowered to select students through a process pioneered by the magnet schools. The new charter schools selected students perceived to be more academically focused, including those who might have transferred to county districts participating in the desegregation program. Those who were not selected for the new charter institutions remained in the neighborhood schools. Many believed this new effort was an attempt to siphon the top students out of the public system. They feared it would lead to the neighborhood school districts first losing accreditation and then being taken over by the state. Soon, judged by the measuring instruments developed within the guidelines of NCLB and Race to the Top, many neighborhood schools and several districts faced the nightmare of being classified as either provisionally accredited or unaccredited. When auditors of the Riverview Gardens district discovered financial irregularities, the board replaced its administration. The new administrators discovered they would soon face state takeover. When the Wellston district lost accreditation, its problems were so great that a state oversight committee formed by Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) moved its students into the adjacent Normandy district. Shortly after, the Normandy district was placed on provisional accreditation status. At its next assessment, it lost accreditation. Like in the Riverview Gardens case, DESE appointed a new administration. It also required both districts to bus to an accredited district those students who chose to leave. The costs would be borne by Normandy and Riverview Gardens and, after only a year, would force the two districts into financial insolvency. DESE would then take over all operations. When a sympathetic FergusonFlorissant school district superintendent accepted students from the two unaccredited districts, he faced opposition from his school board members. He was removed a few months later. The collapsing education system, concentration of under- and unemployed in crowded apartment complexes and relatively few social service agencies created a potential for economic and social strife. It was a regional problem. To make matters worse, many faced household food shortages. More than 60% of all families in the Chapel of the Cross, Grace Chapel, Immanuel Chapel and Salem-Black Jack census tracts were eligible for free school lunches. The challenging issues might only be resolved by a comprehensive response. Perhaps North County Lutheran congregations and educational institutions could pool resources. Their leaders and stakeholders had the opportunity to construct a strategic model to help alleviate and perhaps resolve some of the systemic regional problems. One In Christ: Vision 2020 As North’s enrollment fell to three hundred and South’s to five hundred, Association President Tim Hipenbecker crafted a strategic plan. The Concordia-Mequon graduate was uniquely equipped to add to the campus transformations begun by Rittmann, nurtured by Meyer and completed during Kirk’s interim administration. During his first years at North, Hipenbecker served as a business instructor and Student Council advisor. As C basketball coach, he arrived each winter morning for the 6:00 a.m. practice sessions. With lengthy days that often included evening meetings, Hip was noted for his copious consumption of Mountain Dew. In the mid-‘90s, when Registrar Matt Heibel accepted a call to start Decautur (Illinois) Lutheran High School, he agreed to replace him.

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After a few years as registrar, Hipenbecker accepted a call to found a new high school for the Denver Lutheran High School Association. He supervised the placement, construction and staffing of Parker Lutheran High School in Denver’s southern suburbs. It was strategically located close to the new light rail terminus. Meanwhile, families supporting decades-old Denver Lutheran High confronted challenges similar to those faced by congregations and feeder schools in St. Louis. The outmoded downtown high school facility could not be inexpensively refurbished. Several of the formerly large association congregations had lost membership. This severely curtailed their ability to financially support and recruit students for the high school. According to a Denver Lutheran High administrator, it would have better served the community and the Denver association to sell the old campus to a charter school and use the money to finance the Parker operation. The only problem with that approach was that prospective Lutheran secondary students on the north side of Denver would not, because of prohibitive distance, be able to attend the new campus. While developing the building program, Hipenbecker started the Parker school in a strip mall. Perhaps the Mountain Dew sustained him as he served as principal, registrar, substitute teacher, bus driver, coach and dean of students. Then, as the building program reached completion, he saw a new opportunity—at Lutheran North. Crisler had retired. Hipenbecker accepted the call to return to North. He helped complete the many on-campus changes started by Crisler and Rittmann. Then, as Meyer retired, he submitted his name to be considered for Association President. He accepted the call. Bill Lucas, former athletic director at Concordia Middle School (CMS) and Dean of Students at North, accepted the position of interim principal. A year later North registrar, soccer coach and former Lutheran High-St. Charles and Concordia-Nebraska graduate Tim Brackman accepted the call to serve North as its new principal. As Association president, Hipenbecker had a unique opportunity. The Board members, in conjunction with the new Association organizational structure, identified a variety of challenges that beset St. Louis-area private and parochial schools. With many local congregations losing members who moved to the St. Charles and Jefferson county areas, the traditional feeder schools faced similar issues. Hipenbecker had experienced those dynamics both in St. Louis and Denver. He brought a broader perspective to his administration that could help resolve those issues. He also could tap into resources made more accessible by Meyer’s earlier efforts. In the last years of her administration, she developed better communication between the four chief St. Louis Lutheran organizations: Lutheran Social Services (LSS), Lutheran Charities Foundation (LCF, or later LF), Lutheran Elementary School Association (LESA) and the Lutheran High School Association (LHSA). Hipenbecker planned to develop the organizations into a cooperative network to cultivate a shared vision for metro-area Lutherans. The Board members contacted a variety of representatives to meet in small groups and discuss challenges Lutherans faced in their local ministries. Over several months they compiled a list of significant issues local Lutheran organizations needed to resolve. Then they sought possible solutions for those challenges. They also designed a methodology to better distribute financial resources and provide expertise to those attempting to resolve the issues. In October 2011, the Association hosted the final conference meeting in the upper-level restaurant at the Renaissance Hotel. Board members, administrators, faculty and representatives of the constituency completed the final draft of “One in Christ: Vision 2020.” Their resolutions targeted three critical areas to first stabilize and then expand St. Louis-area Christian education. According to the conference resolutions, the most critical priority was for the high schools to be recognized as first choice institutions. To fulfill this objective, administrators would program methodical marketing and recruiting efforts. Prospective students could be assured the diverse student population at both schools would include ethnic and international representatives of varying socio-economic backgrounds. Technology integration would be a primary component of daily classroom experiences. The second priority developed by the conferees required the Board to conduct a budgetary and fiscal analysis. After completing the task, the Board would acquire key strategies to formulate a program characterized by financial viability. After analyzing the 2007-2008 fiscal budget of almost $10 million, the Board concluded it had paid for all daily operating expenses. But the debit payments left only a $300,000 surplus to improve the two

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campuses, support professional development, develop new programs and finance student recruitment and aid. An annual surplus of that size would not meet depreciation needs. Track resurfacing, roof repairs, technology updates and vehicle replacement would have to wait. So, the Association administration focused on “catching up” to fund the new priority items. It successfully promoted contributions to the endowment to establish long-term institutional viability. The concerted fundraising also enabled the Board to set in reserve one year’s depreciation costs. The successful effort had been a difficult challenge. Tapping more from the two chief sources of income—congregational support and student tuition—would not be possible. Association congregations, contributing 10% of the operating budget, could not be expected to give more to the high school ministry. They were financially strapped simply trying to fund their own ministries and programs. Furthermore, while tuition provided 80% of the operating budget, tuition increases to finance the “catch up” program would depress enrollment. So, the Board followed the successful pattern that had funded campus improvements during the first years of the new millennium. Its members approved a project-driven development program. Within two years the approach yielded substantial gifts and planned bequests. This made possible a significant increase in financial aid and enrollment rebounded. Tuition remained relatively stable, averaging an increase of only 2% per year while other local private and parochial high schools had to double or even triple that average increase. By 2014, Association indebtedness of about $4.5 million had been refinanced. Financial projections indicated it would be reduced by 30% over the next four years. The Board added a grant writer, Ken Meyer, to the Association office staff. As the Kitebridge program successfully integrated Chinese students into both high schools, the Board initiated a study to consider the creation of a middle school international program. The third component of One in Christ committed the Association to create a comprehensive educational system for all students desiring a Lutheran Christian education, pre-K through 12. Abortive attempts to create collaborative Lutheran schools at CMS and KOG had not been for naught. The collaborative efforts encouraged Association nurture of LESA goals. The resulting contacts with institutional supporters and the personal success stories of individual students motivated the Board to consider the final commitment in the One in Christ campaign. This last targeted area was not a new development. Originally contacted by LESA in 2008, the Board shaped the format of a LESA regional census tract survey of metro St. Louis. This study provided extensive information about census clusters. The statistical content included, among many other characteristics, median household income, ethnicity of residents, the number of parents and children in households and adult educational level. The distribution of the data to other organizations fostered a more cooperative spirit between the Association and the other two local Lutheran high school associations anchored in Edwardsville and St. Charles. After analyzing the data, the Board created a task force to financially fund Lutheran education in the immediate Association area. The task force also examined how to develop more shared programming. It noted two long-time collaborative programs that could help shape future efforts: the long-standing high school-sponsored band instruction at the elementary schools, and the regional academic fair and music festival held at North each spring. While the One in Christ program was formally adopted by the Board in January 2012, it had already provided guidance for institutional expansion, academic focus, student recruitment and financial assistance. As a living document, it could evolve through the targeted period ending in 2020. Ideally it would promote financially viable Lutheran education through the period ending with the Association’s Seventy-Fifth Diamond Jubilee. In July 2015, the plan included an initiative to create and maintain relationships with prospective families, current students and families, congregations, feeder schools, donors and alumni, alumni parents and the greater Christian community in the St. Louis area. Supporters and recruiters could continue to proclaim to young people that attending the high schools provided them with a golden opportunity. The students would participate daily in an educational community that nurtured their lives to be dedicated to Christ and service in His name. It would also prepare them for the future. Supporters could tout the benefits of a quality Christian education that resulted in more than 98% of graduates matriculating from college.

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Implementation of the One in Christ program created several immediate effects for stakeholders. The first specifically dealt with the recruitment component of One in Christ, particularly at South. It involved a reevaluation of the day-to-day operations of the schools as they utilized the block schedule. Most south side private and parochial high schools had adopted the Block Eight program. To differentiate South’s program from the competition, administrator Brian Lind and Principal Brian Ryherd considered implementation of the new flexmodule schedule, a program that resembled the modular programs of the early ‘70s. To create more class time for rigorous course study, they developed unique adaptations like elements online education. This online work permitted self-guided completion of designated elements, or graduation requirements, like a health module or a Missouri Constitution component. The removal of these online experiences from classroom curriculum provided more clock time for AP/ACC classes. Instructors could also incorporate more elaborate lab experiences and focused classroom activities within time frames dovetailed to fulfill each student’s educational needs. The second immediate impact of the implementation of the One in Christ program took place at North. Brackman, following Hipenbecker’s lead, encouraged the faculty to examine the structure and creation of certificate programs that nurtured student interests. For example, one program ready for adaptation was the International Baccalaureate Program. A second easily created certificate program was the environmental studies focus. In that particular case, the student would concentrate his or her electives in areas such as Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Geography. A third example of this type of certificate program was Romance Languages. The student could take multiple years of instruction in French and Spanish and select electives in European history. A final impact of the initial implementation of One in Christ was the exploration of collegiate online educational course work. Administrators encouraged faculty members at both schools to monitor online opportunities that embellished and enriched course work and curricular offerings. Between 2013 and 2015, Lydia Snyder and Olivia Thompson took online coursework developed by Stanford University. Snyder examined how ancient cultural mythological creatures reflected the values and mores of those societies. Thompson examined how early nineteenth century literary works of women revealed societal issues and gender bias. These experiences provided initial working knowledge and critical evaluations about available classes and curriculum. Members of the Counseling Center monitored and evaluated the effectiveness of those opportunities and considered protocols of quality control. They discussed the benefits and hazards of incorporating specific online collegiate courses as determined by the new trend of creating an electives-focused curriculum. On the Athletic Fields, Part 1 In the fall of ’09, Fehrs faced a challenge. After going 1-6 before the District portion of the football schedule, an opening round District loss to Trinity almost guaranteed an early end to the season. But he rallied the squad to beat Burroughs and McCluer South Berkeley to earn yet another District title. Unfortunately, the 45-15 loss to Bowling Green ended the run. It also foretold a challenging year for all squads. On the day of the District cross country meet at Spanish Lake, fall rains had filled North Lake. Waters topped the fifty-year shoreline. The course had to be changed, a thirty-minute delay providing time for squads to tour the new route. Miserable footing hampered all competitors. Sliding through the mud, Anna Rathje and Meagan Schmidt qualified individually for the State Meet. Unfortunately the squad, favored to return to Jeff City, did not overcome the conditions and just missed a team berth. The boys fell prey to the same challenges. Chris Floyd and Paul Degler earned berths along with returnee Adam Prahlow—and the boys’ squad fell only a point short of qualifying. At State, Rathje ran a perfect race and earned her second State medal. Prahlow did too, completing a storybook comeback. In his first meet of the season he set a course record on the SIUE Mud Mountain circuit-despite fracturing his fibula in the last 100M. After spending the season biking and swimming, he ran to an

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eighth-place State Meet medal, becoming the first male Crusader to receive such repeat laurels. He would later earn five NAIA All American honors in track at Concordia University-Nebraska. The following spring, Coach Mike Russell’s baseball team and Coach Jim Prahlow’s track squad appeared poised for State runs. On the diamond, Josh Brackman, Joe Ryals, Connor and Brendan Buenger, Tanner and Tyler Branneky, Zach Burnett and Trey Massenberg raced through the schedule to win ABC and District titles. After easing through Sectional, the squad played, again, the afternoon after graduation, many having attended Project Graduation the night before. The Quarters loss was difficult to accept. The track team easily won League—and then illness and injury decimated personnel. It, too, was difficult to accept.

Adaptation in the Classroom During Faculty Transition

It had been a challenging era for all educators. Despite federal and state initiatives that attempted to improve student learning, some elementary students still fell behind their peers. Unable to read or compute at grade level, they progressed through educational systems in which attaining designated benchmarks rewarded schools and districts for maintaining exceptional regular promotion rates. In other cases, lack of economic resources hampered educational development. Families without online access—or personal computing devices— desperately struggled to access educational resources. The issue also deterred parental involvement. The disintegration of the traditional family unit, particularly in regions affected by high unemployment, threatened to limit parental mentoring of children through their formative years. During the early years of the new millennium, educators faced an additional challenge. In some communities, parental interest in a child’s success became an overwhelming determinant in raising their children. Across the nation, “helicopter” parents hovered over every one of their child’s activities. “Tiger” parents aggressively intervened any time a child’s performance did not reach expectations. With these types of parents choosing the activities and shaping outcomes they believed their children should experience, many now-adolescent students had not been required to take accountability for their own decisions. These children, too, were ill prepared to make significant choices that would impact their lives as young adults. How could they possibly determine the nature of their post-high school education? A recent study revealed that high school graduates were not often prepared for college. Local officials noted that many attending Missouri’s public universities had to take remedial courses before participating in regular collegiate course work. Parental presence in every aspect of their lives—or a lack of parental presence in their lives-- appeared to create a generation of students unable to function on their own. Many could not independently maintain a quality academic performance. Forty-five percent who went to college did not graduate in six years chiefly because of poor classroom attendance. One tech startup even developed an app that would inform distant parents if their sons and daughters were attending class. Noting these national societal trends, Kristin Rathje, Cindy Burreson, Brackman and the administrative team created a two-year plan to assist high school students develop decision-making skills. Within six months the group constructed the new program. During junior and senior years, students participated in periodic classroom workshops and meetings that guided individual self-study. During three class sessions in junior English and history classes, the team of counselors helped students determine vocational interests. A variety of online and print sources provided assistance for each student to select possible concentrations or majors. Students also prioritized the characteristics they desired in their future school. They might be interested in attending a large public institution focused on garnering research grants and in which major college athletic competitions triggered social activities and celebrations; or perhaps they might prioritize their desire to attend a small private religious college that focused on only two or three specific majors and provided participatory opportunities in diverse student service organizations.

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Instruction in the “Choice, not Chance” program depended heavily on the new computerized Naviance system. After determining his or her academic priorities, a student selected from a menu of the characteristics he or she desired to experience at the future collegiate institution. For example, the student could choose to explore all universities within a six hundred mile radius of St. Louis. That student might also desire an institution that required applicants to meet highly selective admissions criteria, emphasize Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) education, provide extensive student aid, encourage a term of study at a sister European university and participate in an NCAA Division I athletic conference. After entering the choices into the computer program, the student received a list of schools that met the designated criteria. Additional links provided information about each of the listed school’s admissions requirements and application deadlines. Another component of this process required students to attend college recruiter visits. Students had to attend at least one of these twenty-minute sessions to obtain information about a school of their choice. They also had to participate in a field trip that explored one of several local college campuses. Students missed a few blocks of class to tour at SLU, MoBap, Lindenwood or Flo Valley. An alternative to this option was the weekend bus trip. Each February, interested juniors visited a variety of Midwestern colleges. A cooperative effort with Lutheran St. Charles and Lutheran South, they would observe classes, speak with admission counselors and peruse dorms. Occasionally the itinerary would include an institution where North grads would share a meal with the visitors. The juniors prepped for their final high school year at a class retreat held at an off-site location the Monday following the prom. After a short devotional they discussed the five tenets of leadership: challenge the process, inspire a shared vision, encourage the heart, enable others to act, model the way. They simulated leadership opportunities and discussed how to resolve conflicts with administrators, teachers, other students and parents. A class t-shirt fostered a unified identity. During senior year they attended monthly senior breakfasts. Each session included recognition of those who earned service awards. They also discussed one of the five themes outlined at the spring retreat. At other times the seniors ate a breakfast of pancakes prepared by the faculty (December) and queried a panel of college students (January). “Choice, Not Chance” successfully nurtured the students’ independence and initiative. It also triggered a cultural awareness about their immediate surroundings and the world in general. The program provided immediate dividends. In one dramatic production, seniors Josh Jones, Maggie Burreson and Nathan Wesche coordinated a TREND mock car crash on the front lot. EMTs and fire department personnel arrived as school started. Students watched the “dead” body being taken away as the “drunk” driver was cuffed and placed in a squad car. It was a sobering experience the week prior to prom. As a second example of the program inculcating leadership values, Brendan Mark and Adam Prahlow set up a collection station for the Shoeman. The Shoeman funded the construction of stone-lined wells and new tractors, drills and storage facilities. The two gathered enough shoes to fill a car. Sold for twenty-five cents a pair, the proceeds helped provide for the production of pure water in remote villages in Kenya. A third example of fostered student initiative was Josh Hipenbecker’s creation of an environmental club. It triggered faculty discussions about developing possible certificate programs as students pursued their passions. A time of transition began. Steve Tirmenstein retired. He had just completed thirty-four years at North. Prior to his final official concert, daughter Amy Buerck (N ’97) and son Andrew (N ’02) arrived secretly to assemble a power point presentation about Mr. T’s career. They also arranged for many of his former band students to return and play for him during the concert. The final performance served as a fitting retrospective about North since the late ‘70s. People at the post-performance activity usually focused on stowing away chairs and removing the band shell. But this time they engaged in a lively mini-reunion. The many former students and faculty who gathered to honor beloved Mr. T remained long after his final official performance to share stories and reminisce. The concert and informal celebration also marked a new beginning. While Tirmenstein stayed on part time to coach jumpers and hurdlers, he assisted new band director Brian Scheller. Scheller had joined the staff in 2007.

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After Marting departed in 1988, the choir had seen a revolving door of nine directors. Scheller, a ConcordiaNebraska graduate, solidified the program by fostering a continuity it had lacked for two decades. He also nurtured the chorus program. Choral director Carolyn Rusnak joined the staff and established Concentus, a select choir that resembled in many ways Marting’s Sound of Sixteen and Thomas’ Show Choir. A trip to Chicago galvanized the organization. Like the new Strings program, Concentus met twice a week in the mornings during the old zero hour slot. Math instructor Eric Funke followed his boyhood dream to become a missionary in Africa. A newlywed, he and wife Linda, both Valpo grads, worked together at Chapel of the Cross summer camp. While structuring a bus ministry using North buses and drivers and coordinating transport for Immanuel-Olivette and Grace Chapel, they decided to spend a year raising the funds to follow such a venture. Ron Wittler replaced him in the Math Department. Other changes followed. Deb Tiefenbrueck and Suzanne Ambler took full responsibility for the Foreign Language Department, temporarily adding to their staff a Katrina-displaced Suzie Schmieding. Perhaps as an acknowledgement of the fourteen international students on campus during the 2010-2011 school year, they considered offering a new language option—Mandarin. Christine Tseng was hired to teach the new classes at both North and South campuses. Carolanne Kneznekoff returned, too, to the English Department. Devrouax created the Diversity Club to rekindle some of the free-wheeling issues-oriented discussions that had taken place in the Counseling Center a decade before. And Chris (Durst) Storm revised the purpose and protocols of the Resource Room program. Storm exemplified the new approach to the Association’s emphasis to provide holistic Christian education. Storm had long ago had left the Crusader basketball coaching ranks to coordinate services to meet the needs of students who qualified for educational adaptations. She effectively modified the Resource Room to better serve the growing number of students who needed to confer with her on a daily basis. Storm also tweaked her curricular offerings to dovetail skills development in geography, math and reading. This provided the mainstreamed students extra help with specific coursework being taught in the regular curriculum. She also facilitated the testing and resulting adaptations recommended by the Special School District and the comparable Lutheran Association for Special Education. Her commitment to ministering to the needs of individual students exemplified the caring, nurturing environment and marshaling of services that exemplified the spirit of the One in Christ initiative. By 2012, the Kitebridge program brought Chinese students into the hallways. Housed in dorm-like accommodations in the CWE, the students from the People’s Republic of China attended both North and South as diploma-seeking students. At both schools their fee schedule provided funding for students needing financial aid. If necessary, those local students could also move to the dorm in order to help the international students adapt to American culture and life—and receive tuition assistance. Like other foreign exchange students, the Kitebridge recruits helped raise academic expectations for all. Desiring to enter top tier schools upon graduation, they intensively focused on classroom duties. Except for the rare exception (and the fact they were teenagers), students who could deftly communicate in English excelled in the classroom. By the end of the second year of formal program engagement, many of the students participated in student organizations, attended social functions and games and joined fine arts ensembles. One student, Esther Huang, started an informal quartet, conducting tryouts and writing some personal selections the group later performed. A reemphasis on a more rigorous education also arrived as the administrators shifted the celebration dates for National Lutheran Schools Week. Moved to January, it dovetailed with the elementary school celebrations. It also made the week of the academic fair an additional time for celebrating the heritage of Lutheranism. During these celebratory weeks, new director of recruitment Julie Meyer used that theme to initiate direct high school contact with the prospective students in feeder schools. The HiStep groups sponsored by the Counseling Center

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provided additional recruitment support. As prospective students and their parents toured the campus, Meyer could showcase a renovated Biology Lab and refurbished gym. The final transition during this period dramatically transformed the classroom experience. With a $400,000 grant from LCF, each student would work with his or her own iPad. While the Smartboards had been a creative measure for math and foreign language classroom use in particular, the iPad initiative created new opportunities for all departments to adapt contemporary instructional methodologies. The one-to-one ratio transformed room and resource use, enabling students to do more research online, develop expertise in a flipped classroom setting (especially promoted by South instructor Cathy Wietfeldt) and much more easily record video and keynote projects for alternative assessment. The faculties received a year’s advance notice about the transition. Administrators, including Association tech coordinators Mike Kratzer and Kathy Steinbrueck, provided many professional development opportunities to nurture expertise in the new medium. Chief among these was the annual St. Charles area Missouri Technological Educators Conference. Presenters provided practical instruction for implementing the new learning strategies. The approach helped individualize instruction, increase student engagement and promote student collaboration. A few issues did detract from iPad use. Some students who misused the new system could not stay on task, instead searching online sites for athletic statistics, instant-messaging students in other classrooms, downloading game apps to play during class or taking pictures of quizzes or exams to send to others. The many workshops held in preparation for this creative program, though, provided several prompt solutions. The most effective discipline for student misuse of the iPad was quite simple. If a student dropped below a certain grade threshold, the media center supervisor eliminated all non-essential apps from that student’s iPad. On the Athletic Fields, Part II Athletic squads rebounded from the disappointments of recent seasons. The 2010 volleyball squad led by coach Jim Borgmann went 12-8-2. Morgan Meyer, Lydia Hohenstein, Kelsey Mansfield, Hannah Snyder and Kamilah Collins captured a District championship. The next year Borgmann added Kelsey Kennedy and Maggie Burreson to the mix—and then had to play a month without a home gym. A delay in gym floor repair required the team to practice at a facility generously provided by the Emerson YMCA, site of the annual Project Graduation. Toughened by the rigors of commuting to practice, that squad also won District. Russell returned to the gridiron in 2010. After a rough transition created by a series of untimely injuries, the Glenn Bradford-quarterbacked club rallied to win District. But C. J. Stepherson, Cletus Hatten, Troy Penny and Brandon Ross could not overcome the personnel losses and the squad fell to the dynastic Burroughs Bombers. To complete the transition begun in 2010, QB coach Jon Mueller arrived at the start of the 2011 season. Like the addition of quarterback coach Mark Eggers at South in the mid-‘80s, the addition proved to be a boon. After losing a 62-52 shootout to Lutheran South, the first loss to the rival in twenty-eight years (1984: 13-10, OT), the squad refocused and again won District. With Anthony Virdure (twenty-two TDs) shagging passes from Justin Baker (3,065 yds.), Connor Buenger kicking a record thirty-four FG and Demetrious Mosley and Joel Cardin stopping the run, the 9-3 Crusaders made it to the State Semis. Russell and Mueller also coaxed the 2012 baseball squad to the District championship, and, like the football team, the 16-11 squad led by Troy Guffey, Connor Buenger and Josh Blight, lost to South—but this time in the Sectional contest. Girls’ soccer, relieved of the burden of having to play a now-closed Aquinas-Mercy, won three more District titles in ‘11, ‘12 and ‘13. Remspecher, Mansfield, Emily Laffold and Allison Schmidt provided the nucleus of the first group, and Jody Braun’s charges in the second and third groups followed the leadership of playmakers Mackenzie Burnett and Karsten Klotzer. However, the seasons ended with Duchesne moving on to the Final Four.

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The CC squads continued to qualify for Jeff City. The 2010 edition, with two-time All State vet Rathje leading the way, dominated the Spanish Lake District competition. Liz McKittrick, Schmidt, Amber Stout and vet Meagan Schmidt medaled, pulling Natalie Kost and Burnett with them to State. Rathje garnered her unprecedented third State medal, leading the squad to seventh. The next year at Prin, newcomer Klotzer led vets McKittrick, both Schmidts, and Martina Karg to a title. The newcomer would earn an eighth at State. A half hour later the boys, inspired by the incredible 2011 Cardinal rally in Game 6 and the courage of Josh Blight (injuries forced him to warm up on a bike), qualified for State by the slim margin of two points. Rookies Joe Bachmann and Steven Yang and vet Nick Gaeke pulled Jacob Meyer, Alex Tomazi, Blight and Evan Dalton to a Jeff City berth. The following fall 2012, hobbling Klotzer and struggling Karg eased through the season. Newcomers Zoe Hamber and Kaiah Farid provided meet leadership. Stout and Burnett returned to their soph form, and were joined by Marie Karg. In a nail-biter, the squad tied Whitfield. Stout’s personal record effort served as the tie-breaker. Hamber and now-vet Joe Bachmann both earned State medals, the third time in four years two Crusaders stood on the dais on the same day. The real story, though, was the basketball squad. In Rueter’s final year during March Madness--2012, the Anthony Virdure-powered team won the ABC League. With Renell Wren dominating the middle, Alex Mathis and James Mitchell rebounding and Isaiah Holman providing floor leadership, the young group dashed through the playoffs until losing to eventual champion Madison College Prep—coached by former Rueter athlete Tony Irons (N ’02). Winning the third-place game, they vowed to return. They did. New coach Anthony Hall made sure the players knew he had high expectations. Beginning the season 7-9, the team rallied the second half of the season to go 12-2. After shutting down Cardinal Ritter’s ace to win District, the squad defeated O’Fallon Christian by twenty and Southern Boone by ten. The loss in the Semis, though, tested their mettle. But veterans Virdure, Wren, Davis, Holman and newcomer Cameron Jackson finished strongly with a 74-47 win over Fatima in the thirdplace contest. That spring of 2013, the veteran baseball squad would try to win one more for Russell. Buenger, Branneky, Ryals and newcomer Ethan Wallace led the team through another District tournament. After beating O’Fallon Christian 10-3 in the Sectional, Hallsville ended the historic run with a 4-2 decision. It was the end of a memorable mentoring and teaching career for Russell, who spent his entire forty-one-year career at Lutheran North. He left the squad and the athletic department in the able hands of former student and athlete Jon Mueller (N ’03). The game also marked the end of a beginning. As one of Russell’s last major activities he helped create the new Metro League. Because the girls had been under the umbrella of the MWAA, schedules often did not dovetail with the ABC rotations, causing coaches and ADs occasional headaches as they attempted to schedule regular season contests, tourneys or the inevitable makeup games. The eighteen-school MWAA also included a much greater range of enrollments, school facilities and sports which could, in smaller schools, thin rosters (particularly on the developmental level) that might end in season cancellations. North, South, Priory, Prin, Burroughs and MICDS, all ABC members, combined with Westminster and Villa Duchesne to comprise the new league. The Metro League now included seven schools in all activities. Following a three-year transition, competition commenced during the inaugural 2012-2013 school year. During the second year of competition no squads won league titles. However, football, volleyball and girls’ soccer swept to District titles, the girls’ soccer squad winning its fourth in a row. New head football coach Brian Simmons led his charges into the season with experienced hands Baker, Wren and Holman. He added to the roster newcomers Brandon Sumrall, DeMarcus Dotson, David Knox, Donovan White and Kitebridge transfer Robert Brown. After losing the first four, Simmons challenged the crew to make better decisions and move forward. They won their next seven, including the District title against Herky at Lutheran St. Charles. Their play on that bitterly cold and rainy Halloween night showed how the squad had matured as its members approached the playoffs yet again. After defeating Brentwood 26-20, they eased past Carnahan 49-8 and then beat Caruthersville in a 56-41 shootout. A defending State champion Lamar, hailing from Harry Truman’s home town, snuffed title hopes on a cold, windy day. The group committed to focused summer preparation to return to the playoffs the next season.

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Borgmann’s volleyball squad, only 5-18 during the regular season, meshed at the right time. Bailei Johnson, Jacobi Collins, Lexi Stuart and Emily Schroeder led the team through District and then lost at Hallsville. Coach Romeo’s soccer team went through the regular season 5-10-1. But Klotzer, Amy Powell, a healthy Taylor Jenkins, Megan Krone and Anna Pagano made it memorable when, for the first time in ten years, the team defeated South, 1-0. That temporarily buoyed hopes as they won District—but again lost to Duchesne. Individuals marked some milestones. Junior Emily McFarland qualified for the State Tennis Meet in 2011. When Asha Hammons made the trip the next year it marked the first time the squad had qualified someone for State two years in a row. In CC, Hamber matched Rathje’s career leading total of three State medals. Track Coach Derek Spears, a starter during the cross country season, received recognition at the same awards ceremony. The National Federation of High Schools awarded him Cross Country Official of the Year for Missouri. And Isaiah Holman snapped the one thousand-point barrier. He did it in an improbable way in a unique setting. At the annual Sem game at Maryville, as the first half clock wound down, he tossed a half court prayer—and it went in! As summer vacation began, coaches moved spring athletic equipment into pavilion storage. North’s staff had participated in a busy spring, hosting baseball, soccer and, for the second year in a row, track District contests. Registrar Josh Baumann, who distinguished himself by coaching three throwers to Sectionals, accepted a call to serve as a principal in Minnesota. Ron Wittler moved into the registrar position. Second year Dean of Students Dan Wenger filed his final report and prepared to start North’s first wrestling team. Dave McCollister received the James Jurgenson Award for Excellence in Education bestowed by the trustees of Concordia-Wisconsin. It was his first of two such recognitions that year, followed by his nomination for the M. Cathlin Casey Award for Teaching Excellence. Custodians Bob Martin and Jim Borgmann scheduled dates for painting classrooms, refurbishing floors and moving white boards. New media center specialist and after-school supervisor Cheryl Hill remodeled the library/computer facility, the emptied shelving utilized in other classrooms. Kratzer readied the campuses for expanded bandwidth, working with Steinbrueck to expand appropriate connections to all parts of the buildings. Rathje packed her personal items and moved with husband “Pastor John” to serve the Concordia-Michigan community. Bork replaced her as Curriculum Coordinator. Endorf supervised the Crusader Summer Academy, Langefeld doing most of the daily duties carrying students from Chapel of the Cross and Grace Chapel to North’s camps. Mueller found coaches for basketball teams and brought aboard North grad Liz Renaud as the coach for the new girls’ swimming team. Football and soccer squads regularly worked out on campus and in the weight room. The coming year showed great promise. Ferguson About noon on August 9, 2014, in the Canfield Apartment complex, a Ferguson police officer shot and killed a recent Normandy graduate. When Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown, it was the spark that turned years of frustration, distrust and anger into protests and violence. Fueled by social media, the protests spread. New issues emerged. The name of the otherwise quiet suburb became national shorthand for yawning racial and social gaps, inequality, distrust of police, armored vehicles, looting and arson. For the next three months, the ruins of the Ferguson QT station, burned in the initial aftermath, became ground zero. In the first week of protesting, rioters destroyed or damaged twenty-one businesses located on West Florissant between Ferguson Road and I270. Police from more than two dozen local communities, St. Louis County and the State Patrol responded. When Governor Jay Nixon arrived in North County, the state police requested use of North for his press conference. They decided to use a Chambers Road church site instead. State Police Captain Ron Johnson coordinated a response. He also met with various neighborhood groups and clergy.

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For the next several weeks, at 5:00 p.m., officers closed northbound West Florissant at the intersection with Lucas and Hunt. Protest groups gathered at ground zero as the summer sun set. Each evening about 9:30 p.m., a few protestors would appear to move towards the police line. Above the din, local reporters noted occasional distant gunshots. Officers, shadowed by armored vehicles, advanced with tear gas, and national media outlets led nightly news broadcasts with the vivid images. An announced curfew antagonized local residents. The state police moved their staging ground into Buzz Westfall Plaza. News trucks lined up behind the MASH tents and rest areas. Tensions rose as County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch convened a grand jury investigation to determine if it would serve a bill of indictment. While community members and press representatives speculated about the evidence examined by the grand jury, civil rights leaders periodically arrived in St. Louis to speak with members of the community. Businesses boarded up as owners feared more violence. Protestors occasionally led groups to downtown Ferguson to march in front of the police station and city hall. On the week leading up to the shooting, Charles Davis (N ‘85) and wife Kizzie purchased their new restaurant site in Ferguson. Opening the week after the shooting, they never boarded up. Their Ferguson Burger Bar became a haven, a neutral ground where local protestors and national news media could grab a bite to eat. Rioters left it alone even after the grand jury decision was announced. The grateful couple donated two hundred turkeys to families in the Normandy school district so those families, too, could celebrate Thanksgiving as the difficult year came to a close. A late November Monday night release of the grand jury decision to not indict Wilson triggered new violence. Some businesses that had been damaged in August had been repaired—and suffered new damage. Governor Nixon called out the National Guard and again Buzz Westfall Plaza became the staging area. Finally, a week after the grand jury decision, peaceful demonstrations focused primarily on the police station and city hall. An uneasy peace returned to the community as rebuilding began. Local groups painted over the boarded up store fronts, adding color and a Christmas theme to the otherwise drab surroundings. Some businesses began the process of recovery. Meanwhile, protestors staged “die ins” and even “sing ins” at local malls, street festivals, athletic contests, fund raising banquets and Powell Symphony Hall. To help resolve many of the issues that caused the confrontations, Nixon appointed a Ferguson Commission. Commission members included sixteen representatives from all walks of life: lawyers, CEOs, former and current police officials, educators and a protester. The work of the Ferguson Commission, combined with local action summits and community open houses, provided venues for discussing the causes of the unrest. Local political officials and citizen organizations submitted legislative and judicial proposals to the General Assembly in Jefferson City. Another group sponsored by the NAACP prayed with their feet and marched to the state capitol. Whatever happened in the future, “[I]t would be emotionally raw around here for a long time.” What caused the confrontations? Commentators and political leaders selected a myriad of probable issues: joblessness, predatory traffic courts, racial profiling, collapsing school systems, poorly trained municipal police, racial disparities on elected councils, poor voter turnout. As 2015 began, hopes for at least partial solutions to the issues hung in the balance as an omnibus bill made it out of legislative committee. It included measures to implement municipal court reform, require officer body cameras, form civilian oversight committees and fund job fairs and job creation. Members of the Ferguson Commission held open forums and collected information. They indicated their report about the myriad causes of the conflicts and the recommended remedies for those problems would be presented in September 2015. Communication between government, law enforcement and community groups would be key in resolving many of the issues. It would be of particular interest for the North community because two of the members, Scott Negwer (N ’75) and Kevin Ahlbrand (N ’80), were North graduates. North Student Council president Clifton Kinnie (N ’15) spoke at several of the community meetings and in February noted the troubling legal and economic inequities that divided the community. Another North parent, Mary Edwards-Fears, stated that when it came to police activity, “People will not tolerate being kept out of the information loop.”

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During this period of confrontation, the campus community was never in any danger. Most members of the North community suffered only minor traffic inconveniences. To guarantee safety, the administration implemented two measures. In August, all school activities had to end by 5:30. A few evening activities were rescheduled. To short-circuit any growing on-campus issues, Burreson and Devrouax led a special faculty meeting, specifically addressing student and parental concerns that indicated some were picking sides. They promoted prayerful contemplation, guarded discussion and private disputation. This could take place within the context of a normal orderly school day. It would help all cope with the day-to-day stress oftentimes exacerbated by intense local and national news coverage. A three-day school holiday caused by collapsed sewer and water lines probably defused any initial problems families would have experienced navigating to and from school. However, tensions rose among the students. Some considered staging walkouts and protests like those at other local high schools. Frank discussion by administrators and student government representatives led to contemplative action. Small group leaders distributed and collected anonymously submitted student commentary. Counselors offered to meet with students affected by the crisis. Chapel leaders carefully selected their messages, emphasizing the healing actions and servant hearts that could help alleviate at least some of the physical suffering experienced by locals. A canned good drive targeted a local food pantry. And every day, the counselors reminded all they would be available to listen to those who needed assistance. Some students, alumni and parents pitched in to help out with the clean up and painting along West Florissant. Synodical officials like Rev. Roosevelt Gray, Jr., Rev. Steven Schave, and Rev. Nathan Ruback of Grace Chapel, as well as other community leaders, walked through the area, prayed with affected locals and helped clean. Others patronized local commercial outlets or purchased the Ferguson gift cards that benefitted businesses. After the second round of rioting in November that followed the release of the grand jury decision, Synodical President Harrison convened a meeting with Synod’s leaders and representatives of local congregations. They committed emergency funding for the area and started planning to open a permanent Hope Center in Ferguson to “rebuild hope and trust.” Harrison also encouraged local clergy to respond as they had in August. During that Thanksgiving week, Vicar Chris Chandler (Immanuel Chapel), Rev. John Lewis (St. Matthew), Rev. Dr. Willie Stallworth (Unity-East St. Louis), Rev. Adam Filipek (Salem-Black Jack), Rev. Mark Koschmann (Chapel of the Cross), Gray, Schave and Ruback walked and worked the streets. They quietly listened and prayed with desperate, angry people voicing, as Chandler said, “Raw pain. Raw anger. Raw emotion.” Their involvement provided congregational engagement to help resolve the issues that led to the multiple tragedies. During the second community crisis precipitated by the release of the grand jury decision, no one knew about the conditions in the surrounding community. Brackman, cautious about students traveling to and from school during the difficult period, declared the school’s first e-learning day on November 25. In a mass phone blast to staff, parents and students on the evening of the twenty-fourth, Brackman stated, “In light of tonight’s Grand Jury announcement and the unpredictable nature of upcoming events, we will not have a regular school day tomorrow. Instead, we WILL have an e-learning day. This means students will be learning from home. . . . I ask that you do your best to carry on even in this very difficult time. . . I am very saddened by these events but know that our God is more powerful than anything . . . Remember the words of Jesus from John Chapter 14, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. . . . Let not your hearts be troubled . . .’” It enabled instruction to continue online as virtually the entire student body participated in the instructional modules. After chapel on Monday, December 1, Brackman, in one of his finest moments, addressed the student body. He made an impassioned plea to focus on the tasks at hand in the classroom and remember to include all parties in prayers. He asked any that had specific grievances to share them with faculty and counselors and called on all to live as a Crusader community. Near the end of his brief talk, he proclaimed, “This place is different! We have unity because of our relationships . . . with Christ and each other.” The impromptu address again focused the congregation of teenagers on living life under the shadow of the cross. During that difficult fall, extra- and co-curricular activities helped students release some of their pent-up frustrations and energy. The football team put together a memorable season that ended in the Quarters only

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because of a series of debilitating injuries. Perhaps it was the willingness of Brian Simmons’ coaching staff to quietly but firmly maintain high standards. This focus on the task at hand emblematically represented the school’s reaction. The members of the soccer, volleyball, cross country, tennis and softball teams developed unique bonds in the context of relieving the siege mentality. They prayed prior to practices, shared snacks and continued traditional social activities like tie dyeing shirts and stopping for smoothies at QT. The fall play, Much Ado about Nothing, continued as scheduled. At Lutheran North Sundays, choirs and the band led worship. It was business as usual—but in the shelter of each other, and with an eye for helping and supporting those who worked to resolve the local issues that triggered the troubled times. By the end of the semester, “normalcy” returned, students quietly talking more openly about the issues and incidents. In February, after Davis addressed the students gathered for a black history assembly, students purchased Ferguson Burger Bar meals, all proceeds donated to the Ferguson recovery. In another assembly, Charli Cooksey (N ’02 ) spoke about the necessity of providing future educational opportunities for all students. She modestly noted that her non-profit, nurturing young girls to develop quality habits to finish college, had been her dream just months ago. She encouraged students to think creatively and help solve the troubling problems plaguing the community. Student life returned to normal. Seniors, in particular, marked the progression of dates that led to graduation: One in Christ Breakfast, Lutheran North Sundays, Powder Puff Football, the Social Studies Fair and Fine Arts Festival, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Faith in Action Day. In spring sports, baseball, girls’ soccer, boys’ tennis and track and field all got off to good starts. Most students also noted a new administrative emphasis about the collective heritage of Lutheran education. On April 24, retirees Rev. Art Repp, Barb Klingsick and Paul Crisler joined a dozen late ‘60s-era graduates for a special chapel service and reception. A rededication of the campus, it was the first of several events held during the year to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of North. Repp led the Service of Rededication. Crisler outlined a few of the changes he had seen take place at the North County institution during the five decades he had served the Association. He also reminded the students about how Christian service and engagement in the community had always been one of North’s key principles. North’s community under the cross had a golden opportunity to continue service to the local neighborhoods. It could help alleviate the tensions, suffering and hopelessness so evident during the events of the past nine months. North’s community would have a unique new partner. LCMS President Harrison was true to his promises and facilitated the creative relief effort. He tasked Black Ministry chair Rev. Roosevelt Gray and Urban Ministries leader Rev. Steve Schave to develop an ongoing program of ministry that specifically addressed the needs of the North County communities affected by the Ferguson confrontations. Working in cooperation with out-going Missouri District President Ray Mirly, five North County congregations and Hipenbecker, the Synodical officials offered leadership and financial resources to support an outreach station. They also assisted in applying for an LF grant to initiate the program. Hipenbecker worked closely with Marlon Lee, the Urban League Director of Community Development. Lee (N ’98) helped the group gain designated space inside the Urban League’s planned Empowerment Center (EC). The EC would be located on the site of the QT station that had been ground zero during the fall 2014 protests. On June 5, Schave, Mirly, Gray, Hipenbecker and the five congregational pastors met in North’s Blue Room to finalize planning. They discussed a number of options to permanently maintain the outreach station in Hope Center. Several also followed Harrison’s lead in publicizing the effort by joining him in a “peace walk” and organizing a food drop. The next day they and Harrison participated in the Peace and Praise Walk for College Hill. The marchers, who totaled about one hundred participants—residents, volunteers, city representatives, clergy— “pray[ed] for the neighborhood and . . . celebrate[d] all the good things and all the good people that live there.” Leader of the march, Rev. Edward Watson of St. Paul-College Hill, organized the first such march back in October. The second march commemorated the initial success of the LCMS National Housing Support Corporation that developed a project to bring twenty new family residences to the community. Similar to Better Living Community sponsored by Bethlehem Lutheran Church, it would assist in building, rehabbing and repairing local neighborhood

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homes. It also triggered additional local interest in the status of the Hope Center outreach station and the upcoming food drop. On June 23, thirty student and faculty volunteers unloaded a semi truck of its food cargo. They stored it in Northâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art room. Volunteers repacked the non-perishables into more than 2,500 backpacks. Others distributed the supplies in the Ferguson and College Hill neighborhoods, informing recipients about the Hope Center. So began a focused effort to remind all that Christ, the Savior, was present and helping heal the wounds of the past year. Jeremiah 29:11 That same month, the Board developed a long-range planning initiative. During the fall academic semester, its members selected the firms, Zwick & Gandt Architecture, Inc., and Meitler Inc., to implement the initiative. The two organizations conducted the research to redesign, refurbish and, where necessary, construct facilities to enhance the physical plants at both schools. These changes would be driven by academic program development and as part of a long-term commitment to serve the respective North and South communities. Faculty, staff, parents and students participated in follow-up conferences. Fall 2015 was a significant time for the Crusaders. Accreditation, which had been a three-year ongoing concern for committee chair Kristin Bork, culminated with the AdvancED team visit the second week of November. The group, chaired by William Cochran, also represented the National Lutheran School Association to determine if North had fulfilled that bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accreditation requirements. Like the faculty had done in preparation for the visit, the committee assessed the five rubrics that determined accreditation status: Purpose and Direction; Governance and Leadership; Teaching and Assessing for Learning; Resources and Support Systems; Using Results for Continuous Improvement. The team also pored over the supporting documentation that ranged in complexity from attendance totals to comparative disaggregated standardized test scores. After the visiting team examined self-assessment documentation that summarized stakeholder evaluations, its members conducted classroom visitations. The visitors based their twenty-minute slice-of-life evaluations on the Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool (ELEOT). The compilation of data garnered by the observers from the self-assessment, examination of the supporting artifacts and the ELEOT observations effectively determined whether the high school fulfilled its objectives. The results of the annual Graceworks Survey, a survey administered chiefly by faith-based schools, consistently matched the evaluations as determined by the AdvancED Survey. Both surveys indicated a high satisfaction with the academic curriculum, safety, school leadership and the many support services offered. There were no grave issues to address. The visitation team indicated there were only two areas that might need to be addressed in the future. In its first conclusion, the group suggested improving technology infrastructure. The committee expressed the belief it might have lagged behind the cluster use that frequently followed the adaptation of a classroom one-to-one ipad program. The second issue was also classroom related. In their summary, the visitors suggested instructors place slightly more emphasis on better engagement with students in the classroom. That would ensure achievement of learning expectations. Overall, the end result of the lengthy, intensive evaluation process was an encouraging endorsement of the ministry conducted in the shadow of the cross. The visitation committee arrived during the busy days of the pre-Thanksgiving rush that included the football post-season. Under the tutelage of new head coach Carl Reed, the football squad won yet another District title and entered the State tournament with a 5-4 record. After rolling over Transportation and Law in the Sectional contest, 72-0, the squad handled Herman, 56-22. The Aqeel Glass-led high-powered offense outscored an undefeated Brentwood squad 64-38 and faced off, again, against Palmyra. The host Crusaders, behind 28-0 at half time, rallied furiously but fell short, 38-28. While the dream season ended there with an 8-5 record, several

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signees that included David Knox (Lindenwood) and Cameron Russell-Clemons (Western Illinois) would continue gridiron careers in college. The visitation committee saw additional evidence of successful student engagement in extra- and co-curricular activities. Zoe Hamber set a school mark for the girls’ cross country program, qualifying individually for the State Meet for the fourth time. The fall play had just concluded, and Brian Scheller was already planning tryouts for the spring musical, The Little Mermaid. Jenna Fackler and Jake Roeglin earned leads—and both would later serve as graduation speakers. Scheller and choral director Carolyn Rusnak continued to lead groups at Lutheran North Sundays and prepared for the annual Christmas concerts. Justin Dixon’s forensic team completed its first full season, junior Alana Chandler earning laurels at the regional contest. Rich Langefeld and John Kersten finished preliminary mailings for the early-March Academic Fair. The 2016 focus would be science. The visitation committee, specifically noting student and faculty engagement, approved accreditation. That winter the girls’ basketball squad completed the regular season with a stellar 19-9 season. The two highlights included a Renetha Dickson-led North squad hosting a Leketor Member-Meneh-led South team in the 50th Annual Sem Games. In the aptly renamed Hoops Classic, the top two scorers in the metro area faced off in the Crusader gym. The hosts won, 71-52. The boys’ tilt ended with the opposite result, scoring machine Lezoghia Member-Meneh dashing Crusader hopes in the 87-67 Lancer romp. While a brief rally against South in the second quarter may have been the highlight of the boys’ season, Dickson, a University of Tulsa signee, led her squad to the District final. But local nemesis Cardinal Ritter used a three-minute scoring blitz to run away from the hosts, 71-49. The conclusion to the basketball and wrestling seasons and anticipation of the Academic Fair muted reactions to the collapse of the Kitebridge program. Not many publicly discussed the ramifications for the future of the international program. When the Kitebridge board declared bankruptcy in February, Hipenbecker and the Association Board committed to adopting the program and sustaining it through the end of the semester. They immediately downsized the advisory and supervisory staff and reconfigured transportation arrangements. At the end of the school term, they planned to move the dorm students to new quarters. To continue the international program, Hipenbecker sought to establish arrangements with new recruiters based in Asia. With some new students recently arriving from Korea and Vietnam, there was hope the program could be sustained. In the midst of the fiscal crisis caused by the Kitebridge bankruptcy, Meitler representatives arrived to implement the long-range planning initiative. Its representatives held conferences with faculty, staff, parents and students beginning on February 17. They planned to make recommendations to fulfill the perceived needs determined by the stakeholders. Most who participated assumed the firm would provide guidance to modernize both North and South campus infrastructures. Based on thoughts shared at a late April plenary faculty meeting, Hipenbecker also hoped to use the information to broach, among other topics, long-range discussions about the fiscal health of the Association, the formation of a middle school for international students, and perhaps the creation of satellite campuses or campus consolidation. As North entered the second half of its first century, its stakeholders faced immediate and long-term challenges. They had to help rebuild their local community and support efforts at resolving the long-term problems that led to the tempestuous confrontations in 2014. It would be done with a very visible Crusader presence. On February 28, 2016, voters of Grace Chapel’s congregation joined Chapel of the Cross to call ’16 Sem graduate Micah Glenn (N ’02) to serve as pastor of the new Hope Center. He would establish a mission presence in the neighborhood community site that North graduate Marlon Lee had helped formulate. Shortly after the call was issued to Glenn, representatives of the Urban League announced that the jobs-and-education center at the Hope Center would be enlarged to thirteen thousand square feet. More than $3 million in donations by community agencies and corporations provided the support necessary for the three-fold expansion of the facility. It would house Glenn’s urban ministry outreach; accommodate the Save Our Sons workforce program; and provide space for servicing housing, counseling, rent and utility assistance and mental health needs. Glenn was

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installed at Grace Chapel on September 4, 2016. Schave delivered the sermon, based on Luke 14: 25-35. He emphasized how Glenn, and all servants of the Word, would have pay “The Cost of Being a Disciple in Ferguson.” Glenn was not the only LHSA graduate in the Sem’s class of ’16. Stephan Roma (S ’07), Adam Thompson (S ’07) and Noah Burgdorf (N ’08), also graduated from the Sem and received calls. Roma, ordained on June 12, is the son of South campus pastor Rev. Ron Roma. He began his ministry at Resurrection-Santa Clara, California. Thompson, son of Rev. Dr. W. Mart Thompson of Zion-Pevely, accepted his first call to Fairlawn-Akron, Ohio. Burgdorf accepted a call to Salem-Forest Green, Missouri. Two other Sem classmates had a unique connection to the LHSA. Rev. Christopher Chandler, whose daughter, Alana (N ’17), attended North, accepted his first call to Ebenezer-St. Louis. His ministry includes a close association with the students of River Roads. And Rev. Jim Kirschenmann, new pastor at St. Paul-College Hill and Immanuel Chapel-Ferguson, agreed to teach two theology classes at North during the 2016-2017 school year. Perhaps the late spring opportunities for community engagement in Saved to Serve, Faith in Action and the newly planned Hope Center overcame the disappointment of postponing the Band/Concentus tour into May. Or maybe it was the excited anticipation of the Mr. Crusader competition, Physics Day at Six Flags and the prom. The first ever all school ACT testing day on April 19 helped all focus on the academic responsibilities that underlay daily school agendas. The community under the cross moved confidently toward traditional end of term activities: Senior Assembly, graduation and the post-season. Coach Jon Mueller led the baseball squad to a 3-1 victory over the Lancers in the annual Lutheran Day at the Ballpark. The District hosts also nabbed the title, defeating Cardinal Ritter 14-0 and Trinity 4-3. Unfortunately, Mueller’s veteran squad had their five-game winning streak terminated in the Sectional tilt against Lutheran St. Charles, 8-0. Paul Endorf’s surprisingly resurgent tennis squad, stringing together a series of wins, broached the .500 barrier. The girls’ soccer squad, piloted by newcomer Josh Brackman (N ’10), hosted and won another District title. In short order, the team defeated Jennings 6-0 and McCluer South Berkeley 7-2 before losing in Sectional to four-time State champion Duchesne, 11-1. The real spring story was on the track. The guys’ squad, led by senior jumpers Austin Betts and Nick Ricks (a Valpo signee), and sprinters Bryce Pease, Austin Davis, and Carneil Kinnie (senior class president), won four meets. The deep veteran group finished no worse than fourth in major invitationals at University City and Clayton. As District hosts, the team earned runner up laurels and a team plaque for the first time since 2002. After finishing third in the Mexico (Missouri) Sectional—where they competed against Chase Nierman of Palmyra, grandson of former North teacher Don and son of Scott (N ’89)--the squad finished fourteenth at State. Betts (LJ, TJ) was an individual double medalist for the squad. Pease earned medals in the 4 x 2, 4 x 4 and 400M. In the post-season, the group recorded six top-ten performances on the all-time track honor roll. The ladies did even better. During the post-season they recorded fifteen top-ten performances in school history. Hamber’s unprecedented triple victories in the 1600, 800 and 3200 led the team to a third at District. The squad rallied into third at Sectional, and finished sixth at State. Spearheading the way was the 4 x 1 that won the State title in school record time. Jordyn White (who also medaled in the TJ and HH), Leah Hodges and Kaiah Farid (both of whom medaled in the third-place 4 x 4) and Jayla Pierce (who medaled in the 200M and 4 x 4) did the honors. If one included as medalists the alternates like Camille Ricks who ran a relay leg at District, eighteen of the nineteen participants at the new Jefferson City High venue garnered All State honors. It was not just track athletes who earned kudos at season end. Long-time coaches Steve and Chris Tirmenstein received the Bill Scheller Servant of Christ Award at the 2016 graduation ceremonies. They were recognized for their continued assistance with the music program, instrumental repairs, bus driving and coaching. And the more recent recipient of the Concordia-Wisconsin James Jurgenson Award for Excellence in Education, Mike Grupe, retired. It was a fitting coda to the first school year following the Ferguson crisis. The Tirmenstein and Grupe families represented two of the last second-generation teachers still active at 5401. Of that unique group, Kersten, Langefeld, Kratzer and Storm still remained. Along with third and fourth generation teachers like

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Brackman and Fehrs, Bork and Tiefenbrueck, they helped renew the ministry and shaped patterns for the recently-arrived fifth—Mueller and Dixon, Roth and Pomerenke. Saved to Serve, the members of the Association community prepared for the opportunity to put their Faith in Action. They would reshape and sustain the Ministry of Presence to begin a second half-century of Christian education. Enabled by the Spirit who helped them understand the sacrifices of Our Savior, Christ the Lord, the members of the community of faith could confidently proclaim Gabriel’s clarion call of Luke 2:10: “[F]or behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all people!” S. D. G.

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Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 10: A Savior, Christ the Lord! Lutheran North, 2008-2016 Obama Faces Challenges Refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama (accessed 3/13/16) regarding a general outline of national and international affairs. See Josh Boak, “U. S. Job Growth Brakes Sharply,” SLPD, 4/4/15, pp. A1, A6 for the first quote and items about the Great Recession. John Schmid, “Most job openings low-skill, low-pay,” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 4/5/15, pp. A1, A12, provides extensive analysis of job opportunities. It summarizes statistics from the U. S. Department of Labor published in March 2015. Brian Feldman, a researcher-reporter with Open Markets Program at New America, a Washington-based nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute, used detailed analysis to evaluate the St. Louis-area economy. In “All the tools for success: What went wrong in St. Louis?” The Washington Monthly, March 2016, Feldman determined that federal policy decisions deserve much of the blame for the economic challenges many municipalities face today. He concluded that those who live in St. Louis and other small- and medium-size cities across the country may correctly deduce “. . . the economic fates of their communities may not be the result of their own failings . . . Rather, their fates may be the result of decisions in Washington, influenced by a small group of legal scholars and economists, to overturn antitrust laws passed by elected official of both parties over the course of the 20th century, quietly changing the rules of America’s economy.” One may find a summary of the report at SLPD, 3/13/16, pp. E1, E4. The complete report may be found at bit.ly/1Rdcawx (accessed 3/13/16). The issues surrounding Snowden’s actions are from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden and include a description of US-Russian tensions (accessed 3/13/16). Jennifer Kay, “What’s scarier: Zika or GMO mosquitoes?” SLPD, 5/13/16, p. A-11. Accounts about the terrorist attacks and the Syrian refugee crisis are numerous. Particularly helpful was Alexandra Zavis, “Refugee crisis poses tough challenges to economies, philosophies of EU,” SLPD, 1/2/16, p. A-9; and John-Thor Dahlburg, “NATO sends warships to Aegean amid migrant crisis,” SLPD, 2/12/16, n. p., and a series of articles compiled in the SLPD, 3/24/16. Lori Hinnant and Paisley Dodds provided an overview of terrorism in “Islamic State trains 400 fighters to attack Europe in wave of bloodshed,” 3/24/16, p. A-1. Coverage of the 2016 primary campaigns is quite extensive. For an easily understandable comparison of the Democratic frontrunners, see Maxwell Tani and Samantha Lee, “Here’s where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders stand on the issues,” Business Insider, 11/14/15, at http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-vs-berniesanders-on-the-issues-2015-9, accessed on 6/11/16. For an interesting comparison of Sanders and Trump, read Eugene Robinson, “The rock-star appeal of Bernie Sanders,” The Washington Post, 10/1/15, at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-sanders-and-trump-have-in-common/2015/10/01/269acbd6686b-11e5-9ef3-fde182507eac_story.html accessed on 6/11/15. Robinson provides the “big, bold things” quote. For a quick summary focusing on Clinton and Trump, see Chuck Raasch, “Ugly 2016 campaign isn’t unique,” SLPD, 4/7/16, p. A10; “Clinton assails Sanders on gun control stance,” SLPD, 4/7/16, p. A10; “Chaos in Cleveland? Odds of contested convention increase,” SLPD, 4/7/16, p. A10; “Clinton and Trump work toward parties’ unity;” “GOP senator tells audience to pray that president’s ‘days be few;’” Jill Colvin and Jonathan Lemire, “GOP insiders seek signs their candidate can be ‘presidential,’” all from SLPD, 6/11/16, p. A5; and “One Republican who won’t back Trump,” SLPD, 6/11/16, p. A10. For thoughtful, less strident commentary about the election, the primary issues and strategies, see, from Cresset, Easter 2016, pp. 36-46 for: David Lott, “Master Narratives in the 2016 Election;” H. David Baer, “Stumped by Trump;” and Peter Meilaender, “Building a Wall.” Synod and Society For a summary of the Newtown issues, see http://www.religionnews.com/2013/02/11/missouri-synodpresident-apologizes-for-role-in-newtown-debacle/ accessed 6/10/16. There are additional LCMS materials

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Harrison distributed during and after the initial reactions to the tragedy. The remainder of the material is from three sources. Today’s Business (file:///Users/teacher/Downloads/Todays%20Business%20-%20First%20Issuev3.pdf accessed 6/10/16), the work book for the 2016 Synodical Convention in Milwaukee, reports about the issue of ecclesiastical supervision. His report in Part II is on pp. 21-23, while the quote is from p. 22. The centralization of authority in the office of the Synodical President is outlined in an email issued to all called church workers, 6/6/16. It is entitled “FAQs address issues raised by former CCM members,” and issued by the Praesidium of the LCMS. Those concerns may be found in the 5/24/16 email from Gerald B. Kieschnick to those on his subscription list for his weekly devotional, Perspectives (at gbk@concordia.edu). While discussing the Task Force report published in the convention workbook (R-65: Task Force on Dispute Resolution, pp. 297-307), and concerns about the centralization of authority in one office, the response by the Praesidium provided the additional quotations regarding ecclesiastical authority, exercise of presidential duties and foreign mission fields. Harrison’s supporters compiled The United List, endorsing specific candidates for the 2016 Synodical elections. It’s staff, active in a number of independent organizations comprised of a variety of Missouri Synod Lutherans since 1992, utilized social media to communicate the list of endorsed candidates to the probable voting delegates. One may find its website at http://theunitedlist.org/about/#.V18zs5ODGko accessed on 6/13/16. Material about Synodical fears of government restrictions on religious organizations is based on Roger Drinnon, “LCMS Judge Under Fire,” Reporter, June 2016, pp. 1, 5; and Drinnon, “Government Encroachment on Religious Freedom,” Reporter, March 2016, pp. 1, 5. An example of the Boy Scout issue as it concerned congregations may be found on the local level in “Minutes of Grace Lutheran Chapel [Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO] Voters Meeting,” 10/20/13, New Business, p. 2. More can be found in Robert Patrick, “Lutheran decision has little effect on Boy Scouts,” SLPD, 1/2/16, p. A-8. In a final issue about the authority of the pastoral ministry, convention delegates would have to deal with the status of Licensed Lay Deacons. LLDs are laymen who serve as pastors only in unique congregational settings. Because of a shortage of pastoral candidates, Synod had developed a program to provide pastoral care by training laity to fulfill very specific local needs. At issue in 2016 was the status of this office and whether its participants could continue fulfilling their duties without intending to complete requirements leading to ordination. Overtures about this may be found in the 2016 work book, pp. 172-176. Jesse Bogan, “Synod’s lay ministry under fire,” SLPD, 5/23/16, pp. A1, A4, provides a lengthy overview of the LLD issue. Another summary of convention topics can be found in Jesse Bogan, “Issues emerge in Missouri Synod’s presidential election,” SLPD, 6/11/16, p. A8. The Lutheran Housing Support material is from a mass broadsheet appeal distributed in February 2014 over Harrison’s signature. Delegates to the 2016 Milwaukee Convention amended two of the three key resolutions that could have empowered Harrison to authorize specific Synodical action. In the first case, ecclesiastical supervision and dispute resolution, Resolution 12-01A, supported a return to past LCMS practice (1956-1989). That left responsibility for suspension or expulsion of a member from Synod in the hands of the president and district presidents. See “Ecclesiastical Supervision and Dispute Resolution,” Reporter, August 2016, p. 12, and “Delegates adopt alternative resolution,” Reporter, August 2016, p. 14. In the second case—presidential authority regarding the CUS—the delegates determined that further study would provide counsel about whether the president would be permitted to appoint an at-large member to any Concordia board of control. See “Convention Summary,” Reporter, August 2016, p. 11 and “Synodical Convention Resolutions Guide” at synodconvention.com/about/ accessed 9/18/16. Note that the latter source is not an LCMS website. In the third case—Synodical supervision of international mission efforts and the LLD program—the delegates passed resolutions delineating specific protocols for Synodical control of international mission efforts and funding, and a certification process for LLD servants. For more information about those issues, see “Be bold,” Reporter, August 2016, p. 6; and “Word and Sacrament ministry,” Reporter, August 2016, p. 13.

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For more information about the Reformation Quincentennial, see Roger Drinnon, “It’s Still All About Jesus,” Reporter, April 2015, pp. 1, 4; Randall Golter, “Reformation is Near!” Lutherans Engage the World, SeptemberOctober 2015, p. 20; and “LCMS President Reprises Luther During Wittenberg Dedication,” Reporter online, May 5, 2015, accessed at https://blogs.lcms.org/2015/wittenberg-dedication on 6/11/16, and James H. Heine, “Solo Verbo,” Reporter, May 2015, pp. 1, 5. A description of fellowship talks with other church bodies is from Roger Drinnon, “Talking it Out,” Reporter, January 2016, p. 1. Local Challenges 250, pp. 144-149, describes the local challenges St. Louis residents faced as well as the racial inequities regarding income and housing. Nancy Cambria, “A house, a pastor,” SLPD, 10/26/14, pp. A1, A14, describes Rev. Richard Sering’s ministry at St. Michael’s-Kinloch and his assistance to a black family moving into Ferguson in 1968; Townsend, “Lengthy deseg case,” SLPD, 1/4/15, n. p.; Townsend, “For African-Americans in St. Louis,” SLPD, 8/31/14, n. p.; Spanish Lake Documentary; 250, pp. 145-149; 2008 LCF analysis provided by Brackman to faculty, February 2015. All outline a variety of issues about local school districts and the development of a culture of failure. 270/367 Study describes the issues caused by older housing stock, partially-occupied strip malls and the mixed results of entrepreneurial efforts at converting empty big box stores to new uses. Sources about the renewal efforts in urban, inner ring and outer ring suburbs include these articles from SLPD: Nicholas J. C. Pistor, “City Ups Ante on Spy Site,” 3/8/16, p. A-1; Pistor, “Defense budget for NGA land near Scott Air Base,” 3/4/16, p. A-1; Pistor, “States Battle for NGA,” 3/5/16, p. A-1 and Pistor, “The last word: NGA stays in St. Louis,” 6/3/16, p. A-1; Francis Slay, “Progress on the new NGA site,” 5/25/16, p. A-15; Pistor, “500-unit housing plan in the works,” 6/8/16, p. A1; David Hunn, “Restoration and Revival,” 2/29/16, p. A-1; Kevin C. Johnson, “Home of the blues,” 3/27/16, p. D-1 and “They’ve Got the Blues,” 4/3/16, p. A-13; Lisa Brown, “High-Voltage Plans,” 4/1/16, pp. B1, B4. Koran Addo, “Law School’s New Order,” 5/31/16, p. A-1; Tim Bryant, “Grand Center has a growth spurt,” 6/5/16, p. E-1; Tim Bryant, “New downtown hotels are going upscale,” 5/22/16, p. E-1 and Bryant, “Developer views Jefferson Arms with fresh eyes,” 3/4/16, p. B-1; Leah Thorsen, “Renovated Riverfront,” 6/2/16, p. A-1; Ashley Jost, “Eerie, Ethereal,” 5/22/16, p. B-1; Lisa Brown, “Kraftig expands, adds 5 cities,” 2/19/16, p. B1, David Hunn, “Busch delivers Grant’s Farm plan,” 3/2/16, p. A-1, and Jessica Bock, “St. Louis Zoo pulls offer for Grant’s Farm, 3/5/16, p. A-1; Samantha Liss, “Centene in top spot,” 5/29/16, E-1 and Steve Giegerich, “Centene plan spurs discord in Clayton,” 6/7/16, p. A-1; Lisa Brown, “Cortex planner developing plant science district,” 1/29/16, p. B-1; Jacob Barker, “Amazon opening two warehouses in Edwardsville,” 6/3/16, p. A-1, and Barker, “Amazon Angle: Build it, They Will Come,” 6/5/16, p. E-1; Lisa Brown and Tim Bryant, “St. Louis Outlet Mall faces a turnaround challenge,” n. d., n. p. and Brown, “Nonretail space may bring new zing to mall,” 5/22/16, p. E-1; Tim Bryant, “No Ceiling to the Industrial Space Demand,” 3/11/16, p. B-1. Howard Fuller and Nina Rees, “Anti-charter lawsuit strikes blow against schoolchildren who need the help the most,” SLPD, 5/25/16, A-15 and Elisa Crouch, “St. Louis Public Schools says it is owed $42 million by charter schools,” SLPD, 4/19/16, accessed on 6/12/16 at http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/st-louis-publicschools-says-it-s-owed-million-from/article_051bef08-264d-590c-acb5-bede59dc6e72.html describe the troubling internecine dispute dealing with financing the St. Louis public and charter school system. In April 2016, the district’s Special Administrative Board and the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Board of Education. At stake was $42 million the charter schools had received. In 1999, the year charter schools were founded, city voters passed a tax to replace the state funding that had formerly paid for the court-mandated desegregation programs. The legal issue was whether charter schools were entitled to a share of the funds. If the court determined the charter schools may not use the revenue, they would have to close. Michele Munz, “County library’s free summer meals program expands,” SLPD, 6/5/16, p. H-1, describes the expanding need for free school lunches even during summer months.

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One In Christ: Vision 2020 This material is compiled from Rohde, pp. 8-9, that deals with Meyer’s and Hipenbecker’s contributions to the program; the pamphlet, “One in Christ” which currently serves as a public relations document; Prahlow’s personal notes, Plenary Faculty, 4/1/15; the interview with Meyer; and a follow up interview with Hipenbecker, 4/4/15. Flex-mod and certificate programs are from Plenary Faculty, 4/8/15, where Lind and Ryherd presented their goals; and a letter distributed to the faculty, Hipenbecker to Brackman, March 2015. On the Athletic Fields, Part I Four members in the Lutheran North class of 2010, all successful high school athletes, earned accolades fairly quickly in their chosen fields of expertise. Adam Prahlow was one of two to coauthor journal articles in specialty areas. As a Concordia University-Nebraska undergraduate student and intern at the Metro-Homicide Unit, South Bend, Indiana, he contributed to the July 2014 Trauma article, “Proper handling of bullet evidence in trauma patients.” It may be found on pp. 189-194. Later, while completing his Masters of Science in Forensics at Nebraska Wesleyan University, he would also coach cross country at Lincoln Lutheran High. It made him his family’s, and the Association’s, first third-generation cross country coach in a Lutheran high school. Classmate Josh Jones, a 2014 graduate of St. Louis University, coauthored “Ferguson, USA: A Scholar’s Unforeseen Connection and Collision with History,” The Western Journal of Black Studies, Winter 2015, pp. 273279. In the article, he commented about the Ferguson crisis that began in August 2014. Jones, while completing his Masters in Social Work at SLU, served as a Graduate Assistant for the African-American Male Scholars Initiative in the Cross Cultural Center and is a lifelong resident of Ferguson, Missouri. Chris Mansfield (N ’10), a soccer and baseball player at North during his four-year tenure, played soccer for Truman State. In 2015, Mansfield earned a spot on the St. Louis Ambush soccer club (The Herald, Winter 2016, p. 7). Another classmate, Kevin Hagens (N ’10), is the founder of Topik, a social media/digital storytelling platform. Taylin Humphreys (N ’11) assisted in developing the site's promotional video. They recently started working with schoolmate C. J. Pasley's (N ’11) Show Me Love organization to promote “up and coming” musicians, artists, and designers (email, Mike Lorenz to Jim Prahlow, 2/18/16; and The Herald, Summer 2016, p. 6). During the Spring 2016 semester at Notre Dame University, Alex Schutte (N ’13) was selected as an assistant drum major for the 2016-2017 school year. The Pre-Med Biology Major would help direct band performances in stadium events and serve as a mentor in Bandlink, an instrumental outreach program directed to local Catholic elementary schools (from the Notre Dame Band website, http://www.ndband.com/nd-band-news/nd-bandnews/2016-17-drum-majors.cfm accessed on 9/24/16).

Adaptation in the Classroom During Faculty Transition “Choice, not Chance” is from the following: The challenges college students face are from Osgood File, KMOX, 2/6/15, 7:25 a.m.; Jessica Bock, Bailey Otto, “Graduates often not prepared,” SLPD, 2/8/15, n. p.; Michele Munz, “Protect mental health of a college-bound child,” SLPD, 8/23/15, pp. H1, H5; and classroom notebooks and Naviance materials distributed annually, particularly 2010-2013. Another interesting perspective can be found in Peter Meileander, “Poverty and the Family,” The Cresset, Lent 2014, pp. 45-48. Leonard Sax, “Parenting in the Age of Awfulness,” West Suburban Journal, 12/18/14, p. A-6, summarizes what some physicians see as a growing permissive society that cultivates disrespect for traditional authority figures like parents and teachers. He also draws some inferences from longitudinal studies about these kinds of behaviors that encourage uncivil exchanges between those of differing political, moral, religious and social backgrounds. Sax, a practicing physician in Pennsylvania, laments the cultivation of a culture of confrontation.

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Wietfeldt provided specific examples of flipping a classroom in a North faculty Cool Tools seminar in November 2014. The Kitebridge program received extensive coverage in The Herald, Winter 2015, pp. 3-5. The material includes student interviews about dormitory life, outlines “a day in the life of a Kitebridge student,” and describes student/counselor cooperative efforts. Attendance at optional devotionals were part of every evening agenda. Students noted how they often engaged in discussions about their faiths and faith lives. The interchanges between students helped nurture fruitful results. Just prior to the termination of the Kitebridge program, new arrival Henry Nguyen, the first Kitebridge student from Vietnam, was baptized at Ascension. See the notes in Chapter 11 about the end of the program’s association with North and South. On the Athletic Fields, Part II This material is compiled from yearbook summaries and end-of-season reports in the athletic department archives. Russell and McCollister confirmed the details. During the late winter of 2014, McCollister was nominated for the M. Cathlin Casey Award for Teaching Excellence. It was a most appropriate recognition of his forty-year commitment to teaching in the 1818 program. Awarded by St. Louis University, its namesake, Sister M. Cathlin Casey, was noted for epitomizing the philosophy of the 1818/ACC program. Nominees for the award had to exhibit commitment to academic excellence, rigorous expectations of students and a contagious sense of joy. Mac’s senior seminar requirements and incorporation of the canon of historical fiction exemplified the first quality. The memorable exams that required meticulous dovetailing of historical terminology within essays fulfilled the second quality. And anyone who has seen the famous Bunker Hill or Antietam lectures will understand his contagious sense of joy in teaching history. Program, “Annual Appreciation and Awards Dinner,” March 9, 2015. Ferguson The Ferguson events received extensive coverage locally. The following articles provide a variety of reports and insights as the events unfolded. Steve Giegerich, “Clearing rubble,” SLPD, 2/4/15, n. p.; Christine Byers, “Investigation into arson,” SLPD, 2/4/15, pp. A1, A6; O’Neil, “From Laclede to Ferguson,” SLPD, 2/8/15, pp. B1, B3; Nancy Cambria, “History Repeats itself,” SLPD, clipping, nd, np; McClellan, “Shrimp is unambiguous,” SLPD, clipping, nd, np; Aisha Sultan, “Davis,” SLPD, 8/24/14, p. B4. Finally, Kouichi Shirayanagi, “North’s ZIP codes still bearing brunt of mortgage crisis,” SLPD, 7/5/15, pp. E1, E4, describes the predatory lending practices and percentage of under water mortgages so prevalent in north city and North County. E-learning days have origins at Gibault High School, Waterloo, Illinois. In “With virtual lessons, snow days are go days (SLPD, 1/19/16, pp. A1, A8),” Jessica Bock describes how Brackman adapted the program for North. He also outlined its purpose and function within the context of the Association one-to-one technology program. An explanation of protocols and expectations for teachers and students was included in the 2015 accreditation materials as a separate green broadsheet. Steve Stranghoener, an assistant Crusader football coach for head coach Brian Simmons in 2013 and 2014, wrote a unique commentary about the issues that arose in Ferguson in Ferguson Miracle (Lexington, KY: Amazon.com, 2016). He provides, in memoir/devotional format, an intimate look at the impact Crusader football in particular had on the lives of the players and students who attended North during the 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons. Stranghoener was amazed at the miracle of God’s grace taking place daily at North, located only a stones’ throw from Ferguson ground zero. The story, focusing on the framework of leadership provided by Tim Brackman, Brian Simmons, Jon Mueller, Mike Williams, and Dan Wenger, concludes with the transition of the program to new head coach Carl Reed and his first full season at the helm. The first Brackman quote from November 24 is from pp. 247-248. The second Brackman quote from December 1 is found on p. 253. For a very

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personal eyewitness account about the impact of the Ferguson issues, see Josh Jones, et al, “Ferguson, USA,” pp. 276-279 (see above endnotes in “On the Athletic Fields, Part I”). An interesting sidelight to the football story is the contribution to the program by Karsten Klotzer (N ’15). Klotzer was the first female Crusader to score points for the football team. A kicker, she set a field goal mark during the ’14 season. She was the second girl to play for the squad. Jessica Pritchard (N ’06) had been the first. More about Klotzer’s gridiron accomplishments may be found in Ferguson Miracle. The football story is an intriguing contrast to the troubling developments that took place on the University of Missouri campus beginning in October 2015. A good place to examine a summary of the issues and their long lasting ramifications involving minority students, athletics, the school of journalism, administrative resignations and state funding can be found in Rudi Keller and Alicia Stice, “MU faces ‘financial crisis’ of lost enrollment and state support, official says,” Columbia Daily Tribune, 1/14/16, accessed at http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/politics/mu-faces-financial-crisis-of-lost-enrollment-and-statesupport/article_f58d83a7-c570-5f0c-869c-fabea63facdd.html on 6/17/16. An outside source of commentary during the protests may be found at Doug Criss, “University of Missouri campus protests: ‘This is just a beginning,’” CNN, 11/10/15, at http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/10/us/missouri-football-players-protestpresidents-resigns/ accessed on 6/17/16. It includes a video summary of the events that led to the actions considered by the General Assembly. The reactions to the post-grand jury announcement can be found in Byers, “Investigation into arson,” SLPD, 2/4/15, p. B6; Jim Gallagher, Tim Bryant, “Struggling to Recover,” SLPD, 2/8/15, pp. A1, A4; Nancy Cambria, “Brainstorming a better way,” SLPD, 11/16/14, p. A5; Lisa Brown, “Activists begin,” SLPD, clipping, nd, p. A4; quote from O’Neil, “From Laclede to Ferguson,” SLPD, 2/8/15, p. B3. Stephen Deere, “Nixon announces members of Ferguson Commission,” SLPD, 11/19/14, n. p., outlines his directives to the commission. Paul Hampel, “Activist wars of lasting rancor,” SLPD, 2/24/15, pp. A1, A4; Margaret Gillerman, “Economic struggles,” SLPD, 2/24/15, p. A4; quote from “Activists begin,” p. A4. All provide analysis of the issues raised by the Ferguson confrontations and include some information about the Ferguson Commission. Paula Schlueter Ross, “Pastors Visit Ferguson,” Lutheran Witness Reporter (LWR), 1/15, pp. 1, 4, outlines the LCMS response on a Synodical level. Paula Schlueter Ross, “Faith in Ferguson,” LWR, 9/14, pp. 1-2, provides an official reaction and response to the initial incident. James H. Heine, “Seeking Peace,” LWR, 7/15, p. 14, describes the College Hill efforts. “Lutheran High School North,” The Voice (a Missouri District LCMS publication), 2015 Convention Edition, p. 10, describes the April 24 rededication service. Jeremiah 29:11 A more complete treatment of the design/build programs initiated by the Board in June 2015 can be found in “Imagining the Possibilities,” The Herald, Winter 2016, p. 4. Accreditation material is compiled from the author’s personal notes, Curriculum Committee Meeting, 11/20/13 and personal notes, plenary faculty meeting, 2/19/14; Monday morning announcements, faculty bulletin and personal notes, 11/2/15 and 11/9/15; and plenary faculty meeting, 11/4/15. Finally, for further data and analysis of the accreditation consultation, see Accreditation Report—NLSA, Lutheran High School North, Document Generated on 10/9/15. Most of the information regarding areas of notable achievement and areas in need of improvement is found on pp. 36-39. In August 2016, Cochran, the chair of the accreditation committee, accepted a call to serve as interim president of the LHSA. He filled the position vacated by Hipenbecker the previous June. Hipenbecker became an executive recruiter at Westport One. Cochran, a 1966 graduate of St. John-Winfield, Kansas and a 1968 graduate of Concordia-Nebraska, served as a Lutheran elementary school teacher in Michigan and Illinois; a school principal at Good Shepherd-Collinsville and CCLS-St. Louis; and as superintendent of Lutheran schools in the Eastern

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District. Cochran co-founded programs such as “Leadership with Purpose,” three funding academies and authored materials for LCMS administrators. From 2002-2014 he also served as Director of School Ministry with the LCMS Office of National Mission. Respected throughout Lutheran education circles, Cochran has been honored by both the LEA and the ALSS. More about the third interim president in LHSA history may be found in “Cochran to receive honor from Concordia, Ann Arbor,” 3/20/13, accessed at https://blogs.lcms.org/2013/cochran-doctorate on 8/30/16. The Kitebridge issues that led to its bankruptcy are covered more fully in Chapter 11, with the endnotes citing the appropriate sources. There was one curricular change that was partially triggered by the Kitebridge association. Henry Nguyen, the first Kitebridge student from Vietnam, arrived in January 2016 (see above notes for, “Adaptation in the Classroom During Faculty Transition”). He needed tutoring as an ELL student, and Kymm Fehrs (S ’68), wife of theology instructor Troy Fehrs, noted how many topics taught in junior Church History were already covered in World History-Geography I. For some time as Theology Department chair, Fehrs had been considering a refocus of the theology curriculum offerings to center more on Biblical studies. Freshmen would still register for Old Testament; sophomores for New Testament; and seniors for Christian Living. But beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, the junior course included four units: Psalms; General Epistles; Law and Sin (Doctrine); Key Doctrine Terms with a focus on Justification and Sanctification (email, Fehrs to Prahlow, 8/22/16; and email, Fehrs to Prahlow, 8/30/16). In a second parallel development, Fehrs, Rusnak and Scheller, in cooperation with the administrative council, reformatted chapel worship. The new emphasis would incorporate standing during congregational singing; utilizing projected images for responsories, readings, liturgy and hymns; and the use of more video homilies. Finally, the traditional readings for the week were moved to Fridays. Students would listen them in anticipation of the lectionary passages read the following Sunday. On September 12, 2016, in one of the most memorable episodes of the past decade, in a chapel based on Galatians 2:20 entitled “Bravado or Bravery?” Lorenz challenged Wenger to a wrestling match. Wenger, in street clothes, pinned the “bravado” uniformed challenger in less than thirty seconds. Little wonder that initial reactions to the changes implemented in chapel were positive. The information about the expansion and planned use of the Hope Center is from “A phoenix from the ashes,” SLPD, 3/16/16, p. A4. A similar summary is found in Paula Schlueter Ross, “Rising from the Ashes,” Reporter, August 2015, pp. 1, 4. The summary of Glenn’s installation is from the service folder, “Installation Service of Rev. Micah Glenn, September 4, 2016, Grace Lutheran Chapel, Saint Louis, Missouri.” Additional information about the other ’16 Seminary candidates can be found in “Servants of the Word,” The Herald, Summer 2016, pp. 4, 5. The actions of four students illustrate how the Ferguson issues encouraged student civic engagement. As a senior, Lauren Harris (N ’15) served as a student intern at the Missouri History Museum. At North, she conducted an independent study of the Civil Rights Movement. She compiled a video essay that compared the causes of the events of the ‘60s with the events of Ferguson. Monet and Jonet Davis (N ’16) served as student interns at the Museum. Finally, Student Council president Clifton Kinnie (N ’15), who compared the same two eras during his independent study, attended Howard University. There he interned for Georgia Congressman John Lewis. A fifth student, Maggie Burreson (N ’12), like Sydney Cross (see endnotes, Chapter 8), also worked in Washington, D. C., as an advocate for religious liberty. A graduate of Texas Christian University with a B. A. in Religion and Political Science, she interned for the Baptist Joint Committee to focus on both separation of church and state and the free exercise of religion rights (The Herald, Summer 2016, p. 7). The actions taken by Harris, Kinnie and the Davises encouraged more interest in serving in Congressman Lacy Clay’s Congressional Youth Cabinet. In 2016, Alexa Halliburton (N ’17), Courtney Harris (N ’17) and Zairai Moore (N ’18) all received appointments to this organization. Finally, one student responded to some of the root causes of the Ferguson crisis by focusing on the rehabilitation methods used in prisons. Alexandra Rensing formatted a program in “Spreading Love for Uncommon Places,” an organization that utilizes meditation and education to rehabilitate prisoners and reduce recidivism.

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The 2015 spring sports seasons were not curtailed by any of the Ferguson incidents. Baseball, girls’ soccer and track squads hosted District competitions. Led by vet Karsten Klotzer and frosh sister Keeley, the soccer squad won yet another District title. The track teams held not just the Class 3 District meet, but in the inaugural year of the new five-class MSHSAA track competition, hosted other North County schools in the Class 5 qualifier. Parkway North Guidance Counselor and former Crusader Student Council president Moyende Anwisye (N ’94) reunited with former mentors Tirmenstein, Spears and Prahlow. Several of his squad earned Sectional berths. Two weeks later, Crusader Erica Mueller (TJ) became a three-time All State athlete at the State Meet. Relay specialists Maya Kirk, Kaiah Farid, Essence Blankenship and Jayla Pierce finished runner up in both the 4 x 2 and 4 x 4. Coupled with Hamber’s place (and school record time) in the 3200M, the athletes earned yet another top-ten team finish for Spears. Jumper Nick Ricks became the first three-time male Crusader medalist since the 2008 championships. Ricks scored in LJ and TJ. He also ran on the 4 x 4 that included Phil Irving, Carneil Kinnie and David Ugweje. Christian Gauss scored in the HJ and DeMarcus Dotson in the HH. It was an encouraging way to end an emotionally challenging year. And it was a shared celebration. Lancer sprinter Maya Cody and the juggernaut throwing group led South’s girls’ squad to yet another State plaque. In a coda to the Ferguson crisis, Katie Mueller, wife of Aaron Mueller (N ’00), suggested finding a way to assist local business owners whose storefronts had been damaged. Rachel (Mueller N ’97) Hill posed the question on Facebook, wondering if any friends could connect Rachel and her family to such a program. Many replied it was a great idea, and within a week, they launched Ferguson Christmas: Neighbor2Neighbor (N2N) that was adopted by several of the north side Lutheran churches. The program established an online gift registry for employees of the Ferguson Burger Bar owned by Charles Davis (N ’85—see above). Jamie Mueller, wife of Jon Mueller (N ’03) coordinated this effort for the employees and their families. Donors purchased items from online registries and N2N made a big delivery shortly before Christmas. A second component of N2N, coordinated by Rachel (Ehrhard N ’99) Legoute (see above in notes for Chapter 6), involved giving gift cards to the owners and employees of Ferguson businesses. More than $8,000 in gift cards and donations was raised to provide $125 gift card bundles for groceries, gas, gifts or household items. The bundle also included a devotional, Christmas card and Christmas ornament inspired by one of the painted boarded windows in Ferguson. Amy (Eberwein N ’92) Brofford, Mary Laesch (wife of Rev. Laesch at Chapel of the Cross) and Natalie (Cameron N ’97) Bishop helped with the distribution of materials. More of this story can be found at The Herald, Winter 2015, p. 7. In May 2016, Rebecca Bazan (N ’17), a junior, was selected as the Florissant Valley of Flowers Princess. She earned the honor by modeling the “. . . school’s values to the community, [highlighting] the servant leadership qualities embodied by Lutheran North students.” During her senior year, she will speak, model, volunteer and interact with participants at Florissant auctions, parades, meetings and dinners. Bazan will then pursue a degree in nursing (http://www.lhsnstl.org/page/News-Detail?pk=859068&fromId=201745 accessed on 7/3/16). Several track athletes on the 2016 squad had notable accomplishments. Nick Ricks signed to continue competing at Valpo. Austin Davis and Kaiah Farid would go on to run at Missouri Valley. Betts went on to further his education at the University of Tampa, while Hamber entered pre-medicine studies at Tulane. The Tirmenstein award is from “Lutheran High School North 2016 Graduation, May 19, 2016” folder. That folder also defines the meaning of the cords both North and South graduates currently wear at baccalaureate and graduation exercises. Traditionally, gold cords had long been used to designate those who were members of the NHS. But in the last few years, the administrations added silver cords to designate those who were members of the Sabre Honor Society; blue cords to designate exemplary community service activities; and white stoles to note the recipients of Christian character awards. At the graduation ceremony, Hipenbecker announced that more than five thousand students had graduated from Lutheran North since the first official class matriculated in 1966. The Crusader class of 1965 that attended North during the month of May graduated with “Lutheran Central” inscribed on diplomas.

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Officially, after the May 2016 commencements, graduates from the three high schools totaled as follows: Central—2,124; North—5,091; South—8,057; total—15,272. Special thanks to Cheryl Ehrhard, Alumni Coordinator in the Association office, who provided the totals on July 7, 2016, via email to Jim Prahlow. The summary of the end-of-year Association Appreciation Dinner at Norwood Hills Country Club is from the program, “A Hollywood Salute to Our Stars,” June 4, 2016.

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Chapter 11: A Savior, Christ the Lord! Lutheran South, 2008-2016 St. Louis Renaissance In downtown St. Louis the building renaissance that began during the last years of the millennium continued into the new. Developments encouraged by St. Louis 2004, coupled with construction of a new Busch Stadium, the Eagleton U. S. Courthouse, and plans for a retooled Old Court House-Gateway Arch extension of the central mall, brought renewed interest in city living. New residents in the Tower Grove neighborhoods followed the lead of the rehabbers who lived in the Lafayette Square Historic District. Other groups retooled the Peabody Opera House, Central Public Library, Grand Center and the Art Museum. Express Scripts and the new National Archives and Records Administration Building opened on the north side. In the Central West End, Cortex and its expansion drew development that included an Ikea outlet and the construction of a new campus for the St. Louis School of Pharmacy. The central corridor that extended into the county included headquarters for some of the largest employers in the region: Enterprise Leasing, the Special School District, Monsanto, Schnucks Markets and Dierbergs Markets. Despite the shutdown of the Fenton automotive assembly plant, business expansion continued on the south side. Growing enterprises like Roadway Express, St. Anthony’s Hospital, the Jefferson Barracks VA Center and the new River City Casino offered employment opportunities. Casino developers promised neighborhood investment in the Jefferson Barracks area. They initiated planning for the new recreation center, The Pavilion at Lemay. The completion of the Grant’s Trail extension of the Great Rivers Greenway provided additional exposure for a growing, vibrant region suitable for young families. A Metrolink expansion to Shrewsbury affirmed that for many, the suburbs were places to sleep while the city was the place to play. The region, broken into homogeneous neighborhoods, subdivisions, municipalities and school districts, when assembled as a whole, was quite diverse. Residents could live a local small town lifestyle with cosmopolitan amenities. Around South, development continued. A rebuilt Grasso Plaza encouraged investors to build ancillary fast food outlets on outparcels. A refurbished Grant’s Farm, a temporarily rehabbed Crestwood Plaza and a bustling Gravois Bluffs shopping center only fifteen minutes away placed South in the middle of a growing community. Good news also arrived as St. Louis County officials began the laborious process of applying for a Great Streets grant. It would reconfigure Gravois Road between River Des Peres and Mackenzie Road. Grant’s Whitehall National Historic Site and new suburban development brought additional traffic to the area. Soon to be gone were the isolated, rural-like shoulder-free country lanes like Musick and Baptist Church roads. A sign of changing demographics was the construction of a mosque at the intersection of Reavis Barracks and Mackenzie roads. A section of Our Redeemer Cemetery was also reserved for the interment of deceased members of other local mosques. This shift to a more diverse population was not just a South County phenomenon. A short seven mile drive from Manchester Road north on Wiedman to Clayton, east to Mason, north to Ladue, and east to Ballas takes any casual observer past Roman Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Presbyterian, Christian Science, Greek Orthodox, Mormon and Jewish worship centers, educational facilities and sectarian campuses. The membership of Christ Memorial, long beset by landlocked property boundaries, briefly considered a partnership with South to construct a new facility on the Gern Nursery site adjoining South’s northern boundary. When a big box shopping center closed on South Lindbergh, access to surface parking and major traffic arteries enticed the church board to approve a move to that site. South now had provisional access to an additional five acres, while the Christ Memorial expansion indicated slow but steady growth among the Lutheran population in South County.

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That significant development fanned an interest in buttressing urban ministry. In a unique partnership, the Christ Memorial congregation partnered with the SLU campus ministry housed at Christ, or Crave, Lutheran Church. The parish had last been led in the ‘70s by Association supporter Rev. Paul Hutchinson. Like several other city congregations, its few remaining members decommissioned the parish during the St. Louis nadir of the ‘80s. Restarted with the assistance of Missouri District campus ministry support, Rev. John Rathje, husband of North curriculum coordinator and English Department chair Kristen Rathje, led the fledgling mission. Volunteers refurbished the decrepit old facility. The partnerships between town and gown and town and country paid off as the mission grew. Even when in 2014 “Pastor John” accepted a call to serve as a dean at Concordia-Ann Arbor, support continued for the mission. It’s All About the Students Lancers began their sixth decade. They celebrated their fiftieth anniversary during the 2008-2009 school year. New principal Brian Ryherd was an ’84 graduate of Concordia University-Chicago. After completing a CUC Hall of Fame career there, he taught and coached for nine years at Lutheran North in Houston. After serving as principal at St. Paul-Oak Lawn and then Our Savior, Springfield, Illinois, Ryherd spent six years as Superintendent of the Lutheran High School Association in Decatur, Illinois. After Ryherd’s installation, the Lancer family quickly prepared for the October 23, 2008, dedication of Lancer Stadium. Students, parents and faculty had avidly followed the progress of the large project, daily checking its evolution as marked on a commons-area football/track drawing of the new facility. The Friday evening ceremonies began with Roma leading the service of dedication in the Lancer Dome. Guest speaker Rev. Joel Christiansen (Webster Gardens-Webster Groves and N ‘74) delivered the homily. NHS president Dean Odegard and senior class president Sarah Kramer served as student readers. After Roma completed the dedication ceremony and benediction, the packed house, led by the Concert Choir and Wind Symphony, sang Old Hundredth. Lauer, who oversaw the program, made certain the Student Ambassadors led the spectators to process outside for closing remarks and the ribbon cutting. Meyer, LHSA Board Chair Marilyn (Kuhlmann S ’62) Brickler and members of the Odegard family did the honors. The following Valentine’s Day, at the Maryville University Sem Games, LF Board representative Bob Beumer (S ’65) presented Brickler with an LF challenge grant for $250,000. The completion of the grant provided funding to cover most of the overages incurred as the design-build project neared completion. While the boys’ soccer team had already hosted a contest on the new turf field just prior to the dedication, the reenergized football team anxiously awaited an opportunity to play a home game the next evening. The new scoreboard included a state-of-the-art billboard that some thought would draw advertising sponsorships. It also would, hopefully, record some wins. An expanded press box perched on top of new bleachers. A pavilion at the southwest perimeter of the track housed storage facilities, snack bar and restrooms. It could also service adjoining soccer, baseball, softball, field hockey and throwing venues. Like at North, homecoming festivities took place on the athletic field. After calling the roll of the various fall teams, emcees recognized the members of the court as they, escorted by their parents, walked to the track in front of the jammed new bleacher seating area. In a unique conclusion, King Ben Ema had two consorts because balloting for Homecoming Queen ended in a tie. Rebecca Vasel and Alison Kurtz shared the honor. In an interesting footnote to the event, new English teacher Casey Stelmachowicz, a former student teacher at North for Rathje, joined the South faculty that fall. He was the grandson of South’s first principal, Rev. Michael Stelmachowicz. It had been an auspicious fall. Rauh coordinated a Leadership Cabinet. She served as a facilitator between South students and representatives of Youth Leadership: St. Louis and also implemented a new leadership program. Rauh taught a course whose participants developed organizational skills, formulated public relations

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programs and prayerfully designed projects that included a servant component. This undertaking, coupled with the servant focus of the many Lancer clubs and organizations, symbolized Lutheran youth participation in the area’s service activities. These efforts helped earn the St. Louis region recognition as one of the highest per capita communities for volunteerism of all major U. S. cities. Sarah Sprague, editor of the ’09 Lance, noted the school credo had evolved to “[. . . doing] whatever we do, we do all for the glory of God.” The activities of the many service organizations bore witness to this unique focus. And the small groups, renamed Kairos, provided renewed Biblical study of this theme. FIA and STS programs continued as well as avid participation by students in their respective parish youth servant projects. In addition to these formal programs, the Thea Hempel-advised FBLA hosted a Roaring ‘20s Dance at a local nursing home. The organization also participated in a Friends of Kids with Cancer program, selling programs, “drama-grams” and baked goods at Reiss’ drama and musical productions. Later, the proceeds generated during the fund drives were designated for the St. Martha’s Hall Family Shelter. NHS members participated in a Light the Night activity at Forest Park and a local pasta drive. They funded and organized a Christmas toy collection for LFCS. They also hosted a booth at the Special Olympics festival on campus and renewed support for the Lymphoma Society and Gateway 180. Lauer encouraged coverage of these events and publicized each group’s efforts as she advised the Journalism Club and Troubadour staff. As South implemented the one-to-one iPad program, newcomer Mike Nations spearheaded the formatting of this coverage on the new digital newspaper website. It went online during the ‘13-‘14 school year. On campus, groups emphasized taking care of oneself so participation in the general community could continue. Rauh fostered a Win With Wellness program that included a run, bike and walk across America motivational component. Students attempted to cross the country, charting their mileage on a daily basis. Organizations followed Rauh’s lead, emphasizing participatory activities to build a cohesive school community. TREND membership reshaped its objectives into TATU (Teens against Tobacco Use) and publicized events like the Great American Smokeout. Members of South’s Lutherans For Life chapter walked in the annual Washington, D. C. March for Life. In ’09 and ’13, Close Up Washington students participated in President Obama’s inaugural ceremonies and met with local representative Russ Carnahan. Advisor Martin Liebmann’s National Art Honor Society (NAHS) and Art Club prepared and provided exhibits in local fairs, expositions and festivals. Initially, the small groups cooperated, carving pumpkins, creating gingerbread houses and firing bowls. They also hosted an annual horror film lock-in. Soon, the united group grew so large that Liebmann had to recreate the format of the two original clubs. The Art Club members hosted a sci-fi festival, sci-fi makeup contest and participated in a graffiti “paint in.” The NAHS promoted participation in local and regional art competitions and exhibitions. Its members also provided the props for homecoming activities. Their most notable homecoming contribution was the backdrop for the ’13 Alice in Wonderland theme. These activities encouraged students to individually take part in the greater community. The Association’s close ties to south side Lutheran educational ministries provided a ready conduit for welleducated students who comprised 75% of the student body. The leadership opportunities and participatory activities so readily available at South strengthened ties to multi-parish educational associations and traditional single-parish schools. Indicative of these trends were some enrollment statistics of the time. Graduates of association operations comprised 46% of the high school enrollment: CCLS (18%), Green Park and Word of Life (14% each). Graduates of stand-alone parish schools totaled 30% of the high school enrollment total: SalemAffton (15%), Abiding Savior (8%) and St. Paul-Des Peres (7%). Despite the ever-changing migration patterns in the St. Louis region, South, unlike North, continued to be identified as a predominantly Lutheran high school, its close ties to several congregations maintaining the Lutheran character of its student body. Early in her term of office, President Meyer noted these trends and considered specific measures to buttress aggressive development campaigns, particularly at South. As she retired it would be a task for her successor to consider. In 2009, Acting President Gerald Kirk, an ’80 North graduate, became caretaker for the Association as it sought a new head.

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In 2010, North Principal Tim Hipenbecker accepted the call to serve as new Association President. At North he was succeeded by Acting Principal and former Dean of Students Bill Lucas. Lucas, who had served as a teacher at Concordia Middle School and then as a North Social Studies instructor, had unique Association ties. A member at Concordia-Kirkwood, son William, who had graduated from CCLS, attended South. The Lucas era provided a unique opportunity for comparing the two unique constituencies. While there was a danger the comparisons could encourage occasional divisive activity, the administrative heads had an opportunity to implement common programs like the one-to-one iPad initiative. They could also consider adaptations of the flexible modular schedule. Using the economies of scale, financial issues could be resolved and yet each school could dovetail its programs according to the special needs of the differing communities. In 2011, Registrar Tim Brackman accepted the call to serve as principal at North. The collaboration of school administrations, developed during Lucas’ administration, continued. It also provided Ryherd with a unique leadership opportunity. He was the dean of dayto-day building leaders. To better guide seniors whose anticipation of graduation sometimes clouded judgments, Ryherd maintained a number of traditional activities that had started as far back as the early ‘90s. Grandparents Day, held each October, permitted participating seniors to introduce their grandparents. The principal also awarded a variety of medallions to the guests based on distance travelled to the celebration, the one with the greatest number of grandchildren, the oldest participant and the youngest grandparent. The Senior Convocation, like at North, started with a breakfast for seniors and their families. A lengthy chapel followed, incorporating a time to recognize the graduating seniors’ academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Included was a video presentation. It started with each student introducing his or her parents—as freshmen! During freshmen orientation, the now-graduating seniors had been told to introduce their parents while a videographer taped the proceedings. They also briefly summarized their personal background, noting their congregation and middle school. At the Senior BBQ, after the humorous proceedings ended, the class viewed its video slide show, pieced together by students supervised by Harms. It described the events of the past year and featured photos submitted by class members. Parents enjoyed participating in this type of celebration. Some considered organizing additional activities that focused on celebrating the accomplishments of graduating students. Two long-time unofficial activities did continue. The Mother-Daughter “kidnapping” breakfast, traditionally a mid-spring surprise for the girls, had first been held in 2003. Sharon Shearman, of St. Paul-Des Peres, organized the Moms in Touch program event. The senior moms surprised their daughters with a breakfast during a latestart morning. They finished the festivities with a number of awards and a group picture. To that had been added a separate Senior Men’s Breakfast, hosted by the fathers. While neither was an official school-sanctioned event, students began to annually anticipate these activities. Despite the imposition of AP exams, the end of the weekly late-start day and additional scheduling conflicts, the parent-supervised events continued. Two other events continued, but because of unique parameters, had to be reformatted. Mothers’ Club had been distributing cookies after a chapel just prior to Mother’s Day. Initially, the club provided very detailed directions for the mothers to prepare the tasty tidbits. Each individual chocolate chip cookie had to be of specific dimensions so no student would feel slighted when receiving two of the items while processing out of chapel. As the practice continued, some mothers expressed concern about the rigid specifications and the time required to bake an assigned quota. Soon, organizers asked contributors to simply provide cookies for the cookie chapel. The homemade items were distributed prior to those that had been purchased from retail outlets. To the delight of all, Cookie Chapel became a mainstay each October and April. And to the delight of Crusader students, mothers on the north side also adopted the tradition. The second transformed event Warm Fuzzy Day. At first, during the Waterman administration, small group leaders met each October at Elfriede Jerry’s home to make the yarn warm fuzzies. In small group devotions, leaders presented a pre-written devotional that emphasized sharing the love of Christ. Then they distributed the fuzzies. During the remainder of the day, students spent their free time exchanging hugs and the fuzzies.

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Unfortunately, as the tradition continued each fall, the hallways and classrooms became cluttered with unraveling fuzzies. Infrequently, hugs became grappling and groping events. Occasionally, a few wrestled to possess a stray fuzzy. Administrators Harms and Ryherd, in addition to instructor Bruce Beaver, expressed misgivings about continuing the annual event and considered terminating the activity. In 2009, leaders of the Moms in Touch and Mothers’ Club determined to refocus the activity. The mothers created the fuzzies, and Lauer (S ’77) met with Roma to retool the small group devotional. The mothers helped present the formal chapel meditation in the spring. The revived tradition caught the students off guard. None of the yarn critters had been distributed the previous October. As chapel began, six collaborating students carried boxes of fuzzies into the Lancer Dome. They scattered the mounds of Warm Fuzzies onto the gym floor. Immediately, the students erupted with cheers. The mothers read the enhanced devotion and Bible verses explaining the meaning of the Warm Fuzzies, with the suggestion to add “God loves you and so do I” to the Warm Fuzzy greeting. The surprised, happy students responded and were more reserved in their mutual salutations. The delightful, affirming tradition in the context of the Peace of Christ continues to this day. The student body responded positively to this structured yet festive environment. They reformatted the traditional Lancer Day talent show and held it as part of the On Broadway production. Student performances included singers, instrumentalists, dancers and actors. At one show, students modeled haute couture fashion designed in the classrooms. A Mentor-Mentee Club (the M & Ms), created by Lauer and school nurse Chris (Dietz S ‘79) Wilson, helped new students assimilate to South. Its members provided follow-up assistance after the Student Ambassadors helped recruit and introduce them to the Lancer community. Many clubs served local needs and provided recreational opportunities. The most prominent example of this approach was the new Black, Gold and Green environmental group, started by Philip Gruenwald (S ’09, and a future LHSA Communications Coordinator). It incorporated not just activities that revolved around recycling and participation in community clean-stream projects but also hosted social activities like a kickball tourney and ultimate Frisbee competition. Intramural-type programs continued. Weekly, Bowling and Chess clubs provided after school activities for students. The spirited development of new clubs encouraged the resurrection of an old Central-era organization, the FPIM, or Future Professionals in Medicine. Unlike in Central days, the membership included both females and males. Rusch and school nurse Wilson advised the group and they participated in activities hosted by SLU, Barnes Hospital and Washington University. There they completed studies of cadavers and discussed developments in areas as diverse as urology, OB/Gyn and CPR. At Barnes they even assisted in emergency evacuation drills. Future curricular plans included the introduction of a Medical Careers Exploration course. Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, the class would become one of the requirements in the new Health Professions Core program. The program’s first instructor, Nurse Wilson, would coordinate the curricular offerings in conjunction with Maryville University. Pfund’s and Rusch’s science program and the development of the FPIM paid off in a unique way. Abby Brown (S ’13), who attended Illinois Wesleyan University, was only a month into her collegiate career when she made a startling discovery. A biology major, Brown had been chosen for a select Student Education Alliance lab charged with studying phages. Using soil from her own yard, she tested, collected and posted data, discovering a previously unidentified phage she named Zonia. A B-class phage, Zonia successfully killed Mycobacterium smegmatis, a bacterium similar to those that cause tuberculosis and leprosy. It was one of two new phages discovered by college students participating in the program. A spirit of participatory competition permeated the more traditional pursuits. FBLA members earned several All State awards. Jennifer Gradl finished fifth in public speaking in the ’10 State finals. Jordan Duecker and Sean Siering made the trip the next year followed by five more—Andrew Meyer, Natalie Mayor, Sarah Cooksey, Karisma Smith and Bryan Burns—all representing Hempel’s organization. They financed their service activities and trips to competition while manning concessions during drama performances and basketball games. ’11-’12 treasurer Brynn Burns earned State laurels in Personal Finance while club president Jordan Duecker qualified for

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the national competition in Public Speaking. Two more students, Ethan McGue and Joe Tortorello, earned kudos in ’15, qualifying for FBLA Nationals. In ’11, the Academic Team qualified for a State berth. Later, advisor Jeaninne Meyer’s group nabbed the championship of the SLUH Scholar Bowl and a Runner Up in District. Omura’s Mock Trial advisees competed at a local level, the ’09 State qualifiers having their trip to the finals truncated abruptly by a cancellation imposed by a late winter storm. Joe Cox later replaced Omura as Mock Trial advisor. The ’11 “mathletes” earned a fourth in the State contest and the Social Science Department sponsored participants in the Union High School Model United Nations. They received recognition for their accurate portrayal of the cultures and foreign policy of Kewpies, Colombians and Moroccans. Fine Arts Successes and Educational Innovation The quality music instruction in the Fine Arts program continued as Greg Gastler replaced Bobb in the choral department. South also expanded its outreach to feeder schools by adding Kelly McCord to the staff. She taught general and choral music. Gastler used the annual venue of the On Broadway production to honor his exceptional singers. Nick Desmuke and Rachel Schmidt, among others, received the National School Choral Award. Some instrumentalists and vocalists also performed in the annual spring musicals produced by Reiss, including All American, Bye, Bye Birdie and Brigadoon. The instrumental program had a banner year in 2009. The growing high school organization, now including more than one hundred students, achieved statewide recognition. The Wind Symphony was selected from more than 140 applicants to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Conference. It would be honored at Tan-Tar-A Resort, the site of the annual meeting. This honor was a first for a Lutheran school in the state of Missouri. In addition, Miller’s instrumentalists continued their run of outstanding musicianship, with Anna Cooksey, Alicia Tape and Tim Grev earning selections to the All State Band and Orchestra. And, on February 23, 2009, Miller himself was honored at Tan-Tar-A as the outstanding music educator of the year. The ceremony followed a similar recognition awarded earlier by the Metro District 8 of the Missouri Music Educators Association. The successful string continued. In 2015, Emma Hopfer, Noelle McCord and James Robinson earned berths in the All State Band and Orchestra, while Jacob Palmer earned a similar honor in choir. The performing arts troupes continued to tour, the Choir through Wisconsin, Chicago, Nebraska and Indiana. During the Nebraska tour the participants received direction by the Concordia-Nebraska music faculty. They participated with Concordia Singers in a music clinic. After touring in Indiana, during which they visited Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, they returned to St. Louis and recorded Worship for Shut-ins. The recording provided choral music for use on KFUO AM. Between ’10 and ’15, the Wind Symphony and Jazz Band continued to present traditional concerts at local parishes. The groups also included a Disney trip among more traditional tours to Michigan, Arkansas, New Orleans and Chicago. The ’14 Chicago trip had to be curtailed as severe winter weather approached. In the regular classrooms at North and South, a new idea took hold. With a $400,000 grant from LF, each student would work with his or her own iPad. The innovation of the one-to-one ratio transformed room and resource use, enabling students to do more research on line. They could also more easily create video and keynote projects and utilize the iPad in alternative assessment. Finally, students could participate in the flipped classroom setting. This teaching technique, especially as developed and promoted by Wietfeldt, required students to watch teacher-designed videos at home. Then, their classroom time would be utilized to complete homework, all the while supervised by the instructor. The faculties received a year’s advance notice about the implementation of the program. Administrators encouraged teachers to observe how neighboring faculties used the iPad in the classroom. They also facilitated

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attendance at local technology conferences to assist the instructors in developing appropriate lesson plans. Mike Kratzer (Instructional Tech Director) and Kathy Steinbrueck (Informational Tech Director) guided instructors through workshops and provided many professional development opportunities that nurtured expertise in the new medium. The approach helped individualize instruction, increase student engagement and promote student collaboration. Some creative faculty experimented right away, utilizing drop-boxes, online quizzes and expanded forms of the flipped classroom. As second generation faculty retired, they commented about the changes they had witnessed during their teaching careers. Opaque projectors and filmstrips of the early ‘50s had given way to the end-of-the-decade’s automated film strips. The presentations were later keyed to a record or tape narration. During the ‘60s, reel-toreel movie projectors replaced those audiovisual formats The projectors disappeared in the ‘80s as AV departments purchased the new Betamax and VHS players. Those projected the contents of cassette tapes onto wall screens. By the late ‘90s, DVD players replaced those outmoded materials. Websearches replaced the overhead projectors. Blackboards evolved into greenboards, and then to whiteboards and smartboards, complete with QR codes. Slide rules had been replaced by calculators. Those in turn evolved into graphing calculators. An innovative Association administration that promoted professional development encouraged adaptation of curriculum and teaching methods to meet the needs of each new generation of students. It also encouraged academic creativity that could improve recruitment. The South County area had a demographically smaller pool of students than in past decades. Traditionally strong Catholic and private schools aggressively competed for those recruits. South needed a new advantage to entice prospects through the entry portals. An assessment of the now almost-generic block schedule gave the faculty time to reevaluate student needs. As it did so, it also considered ways to enlarge its academic niche. Directed by the administration, the faculty considered adapting the rotating modular system. First used in the ‘70s, with some adjustments, it would be reconfigured as a flex mod schedule. After experimenting with the new system for two weeks in the spring of 2015, the administration adopted the program for the 2015-2016 school year. In November 2015, as it completed a successful accreditation cycle, the North faculty, driven by dissimilar recruitment and academic issues, committed to evaluate the flex mod option. The new flex mod schedule permitted an expansion of South’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) curriculum. It was one of several certificate programs that were under faculty consideration during the early planning of the One In Christ initiative (see Chapter 10, above). Started in the fall of 2014 as a joint effort between the Math, Science and Industrial Technology departments, a number of students began working towards a STEM certificate that would be appended to academic credentials. To receive the certification, students were required to complete the specified coursework in addition to all other graduation requirements. Candidates had to select at least two credits from the Industrial Technology Department. In addition to choosing from four electives (one of which included 3D design), they had to enroll in Pre-Engineering and Architecture/Engineering Design/Development. Aspirants for the certification had to schedule a minimum of four credits in science. That coursework had to include Introduction to Engineering Design, Environmental Science and Energy Sustainability; and one of Physics, AP Biology or AP Chemistry. The student also had to take at least four credits in math, including Honors Algebra. Students striving for the credentialing had to maintain a 2.5 overall GPA. STEM instructor Scott DeNoyer (S ’86) noted, “We want students to have the opportunity of having a mentor who does what they’re interested in on a daily basis, then working with them in that environment . . . [and] be[come] problem-solvers on a large scale.” In the fall of 2016, the faculty added STEM 3 and STEM 4 to the program curriculum. For STEM 3 coursework, individuals had to take Kinematics and Systems Design. Students in STEM 3 would apply STEM 1 and STEM 2 techniques to address environmental concerns, examining how multiple issues impact the environment. While modifying or reconstructing previously-developed devices, they would achieve higher levels of efficiency or fulfill multi-faceted objectives. DeNoyer and his colleagues tailored STEM 4 activities to be implemented in the context of a mentor-student relationship. Using real-world examples, the student would formulate an independent study to focus on a semester-long project that addressed an area of

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concern in the STEM field. The immersive experience would permit students to showcase STEM expertise when applying to colleges and universities. Athletic Success In Lancer athletics, some programs returned to standards of past excellence. Others rallied to new heights. Behling and Johnston took over cross country. After an almost ten-year absence, with underclassmen Amanda Behnke leading the girls and Alex Zisser, Ian Quinn and Brad Hart the boys, the teams earned State berths in ‘08. The ’09 and ‘10 reprises ended with the boys winning three invites and two District titles while Behnke, after joining Hart for All State honors, did the same the following season. She concluded her exceptional career while leading the girls back to Jeff City twice. Her courageous State race with a stress fracture brought back memories of older brother Adam just missing an individual State title after being stricken with the flu. Hart would later run at Truman, Zisser at SEMO and Behnke at Indiana U. But then, at least on the State level, came a drought. It would be another four years until 2014 when Riley Schelp earned the first of two consecutive All State medals on the rolling cross country trails at Oak Hills. The volleyball team swept to its twelfth consecutive District title in ’12. During the string the squads had averaged more than twenty wins per season. While they consistently lost in Sectionals or the Quarters to Notre Dame-Cape Girardeau or Perryville squads lurking in the bracket, it did not happen that season. Coach Carol Reinitz’ group again defeated rival Bishop DuBourg to win the title and defeated nemesis Perryville and upstart Windsor to move to the Final Four. The 23-7-2 squad finished the season with a win in the third-place game over Pleasant Hill. Two years later Samantha Budrovich and Maya Cody led yet another group to a fourth-place State plaque. The softball team, fortified by Lambert’s throwed rolls during their annual participation in the Jackson tourney, also swept through the era with District titles. Despite consistently exceptional pitching and hitting, and even a thirteen-game winning streak in ’14, they did not reach the Final Four. In a pleasant surprise, tennis Coach Toni Heifner and assistant Barb Murray harnessed the leadership of Ashley Schumacher and Victoria Johnson to ease past Kennett and Rosati-Kain to earn a rare spot in the Final Four. The squad finished fourth. In ’12, co-captains Emily Lewis and Grace Schwerdtfeger led the 12-5 regular season netters to a duplicate trip to Springfield. The next season Heifner’s charges finished an impressive three-year run with Jessica Rakers, Emily Brown and Alissa Holthe representing Lancer fortunes at the State finals. Heifner did the same as she took over the boys’ program, coaxing the squad to a Sectional berth in ’11. Sam Ranzetta earned a trip to State. In ’10, Albers started the fledgling girls’ golf squad, Mallorie Renth qualifying for the State matches. In ’12, Nikka Bazzetta earned thirteenth at State. Albers was just as successful with the boys’ team, earning a Sectional berth in ’11. Two returnees from that squad, Jake Hartwig and David Kirkman, returned as individual contestants the following season. Kirkman led the squad to a State berth in ’13. He just missed All State honors, and continued his athletic career at Springhill College. In ’14, Christian Terrill and Mitchell Moellenhoff continued the new tradition of sending at least two representatives to the State matches. Even Wietfeldt’s long-suffering field hockey team got into the act, rebounding from a swine flu mini-epidemic to build, through its two lower-level teams, an incredible, never-even-approached ten-win season in ’12. During the rise, one of her protégés, Lauren Thorburg (S ’08), earned field hockey kudos in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for her seasons at Hendrix College of Conway, Arkansas. Girls’ efforts continued to shine. New basketball coach Ben Ealick’s ’12-’13 squad finally won District laurels, losing only in the Sectional to local power Rosati-Kain. Klug’s Lancerettes continued their exceptional performances. Allison Gehl and Emma Powers led the ’12 group to the Full Out Award at the SLU summer camp and garnered a Missouri State Competition runner up. A year later in the Sugar Bowl Competition in Springfield,

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Senior Captain Grace Mohr led the group to first place in both the Kick and Jazz competitions. They finished the event with a runner up in Poms. Besides the golf and tennis successes, some additional boys’ squads rose to the occasion. Lind’s basketball team won a District title in ’11-’12. In the ’13-’14 season, three-year veteran Parker Van Nest completed a career in which he became the third-best all time Lancer scorer. After he signed to play for Webster University, it inspired the squad to go one better. The next year the team swept the Seckman Tourney and won yet another District championship. After a few seasons of rebuilding, the ’12-‘13 boys’ soccer team, piloted by Coach Jerry Amsler (who had coached the girls’ squad to a District title the previous spring), assembled a 22-8 campaign. Winning the first ever Metro Conference Championship, the group swept through District, edging past perennial local power St. Mary’s 2-1 for the Sectional title and trouncing Windsor 5-2 in the Quarters. Despite losses to Carthage (2-0) and Smithville (3-0), the hardy crew returned to campus with a coveted fourth-place State plaque. Again, as one of the local powers, they would win another District title two years later. For several of those on the ’12 State team, their key experience of the season was a reflection of the servant community fostered by the Lancer credo. They noted that their most memorable event was helping the competition sponsored by the Special Needs Soccer Association. That experience would help trigger planning for a special all-day event two years later. Coach Steve Pfund’s baseball team won the ABC title in ’10. After rebuilding in ’11, the 20-5 ’12 nine defeated Bayless and Affton to sweep another District title. They eased past Lutheran North 4-3 and Kennett 2-1, and defeated Savannah 8-6 in the Semis. But juggernaut Westminster, in the middle of its dynastic State championship era, defeated the Lancers 10-4 and sent the squad back to St. Louis with a hard-earned State Runner Up plaque. They could not easily repeat that memorable campaign. In the ’13 and ’14 seasons they lost to Westminster in the District championship tilt. The younger Pfund had filled the shoes of two baseball greats— father Roy and Tom Reck. Both had been inducted into the Missouri Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. With a state championship at St. Dominic already under his belt, he seemed to be a quality candidate for a similar future honor. Schmid, who started the wrestling team during the ’11-’12 season, turned Maxwell Newbury into a local individual star. Newbury ended the regular season 40-2 while leading an inexperienced squad to an 11-6 record in the program’s second year. Newbury finished fourth at State individually and, after earning a second such honor the next year, signed with Lindenwood-Belleville to continue grappling at the collegiate level. The track squads, undergoing a renaissance since the new fields had been dedicated, followed the lead of Jon Lauer. Running chiefly the 400M and 4 x 400, he led the group to two ’11 invite titles, a District victory and Sectional Runner Up. He also broke the Lancer 400M record set back in ’77. The next season the boys’ team won the Clayton Invite and Metro League. And teammate Nadeem Member-Meneh rebroke Lauer’s short-lived mark. The girls’ squad swept the Lutheran North and Lutheran South meets and both teams finished District Runner Up. The ladies, led by sprinter Maya Cody, distance ace Amanda Behnke and throwers Jan Steinbrueck and Cecilya Johnson, finished fifth at State. The next season, with the coaches using the same developmental formula, quarter miler Lezoghia Member-Meneh continued to lead the boys’ revival on the oval, spearheading a thirteenth-place effort at State. The girls followed similar fortunes, and went one better. With Alicia Hager in the throws and Behnke in the distances, they set the stage for dominant team performances that followed. For three years, beginning in ’13, sprinter Maya Cody and thrower CeCilya Johnson, supplemented by a continuing roll of supporting actors like thrower Jan Steinbrueck, earned three consecutive State plaques. In the first campaign, the team finished State Runner Up, missing the title by only a single point. In ’14, with Cody winning the 400M and 200M and shot putters Emily Eller and Jan Steinbrueck going two/three, the group finished fourth. In ’15, with a similar lineup, the Cody-led group finished third. It had been a remarkable run. Behnke joined the Indiana University program. She ran with brother Adam as he finished his eligibility as a Hoosier. As a junior, she earned All Big Ten honors in track in the 10,000M and qualified for the NCAA championships. Cody continued her career at Mizzou. She qualified for the 2016 NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon, as part of the 4 x 100. Johnson,

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Eller and Steinbrueck joined the throwing contingents at Tulsa, DePaul and Concordia-Nebraska, respectively. Steinbrueck would be a member of the 2016 Bulldog NAIA National Championship squad. The real story, though, at least for die-hard Lancer fans and generations of football players, was on the gridiron. After a decade of frustrating no-win or single win seasons, the new facility seemingly goosed the flailing program back to life. In ’09, excitement about the squad’s successful goal of winning an additional game each year already had netted three wins. The overwhelming response by fans, almost as rabid as their Sixth Man basketball predecessors, brought their competitive fire to a Fox 2 TV contest. Designated as one of the most enthused student bodies, they earned coverage of a 6:30 a.m. (yes, that’s right—a.m.!) pep rally and successfully brought exposure for the school and Association. John Auble (S ’10), grandson of local legendary newscaster John Auble, received the opportunity to make a network program introduction. Later, while earning his degree in architectural engineering at Missouri S & T, Auble played baseball at the school. During his collegiate career he set the Miner record for most innings pitched. As student enthusiasm and a Lancer-supported Junior Football League grew during the interim, the program, and facility, continued to expand. On Homecoming Night, October 1, 2010, Dr. Matt Gornet (S ’79), an acclaimed surgeon in the St. Louis region whose family had contributed to the fund completing the facility, addressed the festive half time crowd. Hoping to inspire others to “give back to their school,” Gornet represented three generations of Association graduates. Those included father Kenneth (C ’53), brothers Nathan (S ’81) and Tim (S ’83) and son Cameron. In their honor the school named the two-year-old facility Gornet Field. Improvement continued. For former Board member and facility designer Mark Doering (S ’78) it was the culmination of many years of work. Having served on the Board during the ‘90s, the UMR graduate with a degree in civil engineering had worked on projects at North and South. But this “night of nights” as he called it completed his vision of what the $3.5 million Lancer facility could be. He had gifted a portion of his design services and engineering to the school. Noting the school’s commitment to excellence, he gave back to the school as a thank offering. He particularly noted his appreciation of the mentoring provided by Harms, Torbeck and Meyer in basketball, and the inspirational Physics lessons taught by Bauer. In 2012, in mid-season, new Coach Chuck Faucette led the former doormat into the promised land. The inspired Lancers, for the first time in twenty-eight years, defeated nemesis North in an incredibly entertaining shootout, 62-52. In a nice denouement following the proceedings, both squads earned playoff berths. The hockey team duplicated the football team’s quick rise to success. Led by South grads Dan Bertarelli and Dave Stelmacki, the 18-9 team, captained by Chris Hill, qualified for the Wickenheiser Cup championship match at Scott Trade Center. The loss to Whitfield in overtime did not defuse the revived interest in the sport. New Frontiers in Education and Mission In June 2013, at the annual Board fete, six South staff retired from their lengthy service to the Association. Behling, Albers, Arnold and Reiss represented the second generation of teachers who could still recall the days when there was no air conditioning, no elevator, a full Lancer Day weekend and only one bus and two vans to cart teams and performing groups. Albers, in fact, represented a family typical of many of the early supporters on the south side who made multi-generational commitments to Lutheran education. There had been an Albers family member at South since the fall of ’64. That run would end in 2015 when his nephew, Cooper Carney, Diane (Albers S ‘77) Carney’s son, graduated. With the retiring male foursome were Iezzi and Meyer. Iezzi, too, represented the six who so notably illustrated life lessons during daily course work. Her unique contribution in Spanish classes had been humorous, yet instructive; fleeting, yet memorable. The Barbie and Ken dolls, used to illustrate a discussion of Spanish driving terms, served as a talisman for returning graduates. The former students often returned to greet her with the familiar chant, “Golosinas! Papelitos! Beep Beep Beep!”

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Jeaninne Meyer, who also served as librarian, caught the spirit of God that motivated these six, who represented dozens of faculty, staff and administrators who had come before. In the ’11 Lance she quoted: “Lutheran High School South educates for excellence in a Christian centered environment, preparing youth for leadership in service to the church, the home and the world.” As the mission statement of the school, it captured the essence of the committed individuals who were now veterans of the Cross. A new generation of educators arrived in the community. Those were represented by new staff members Matt Marty and Mike Nations. Marty, a Lutheran St. Charles graduate, facilitated a revival of FCA and created a service focus. New arrival Mike Nations had, at the conclusion of the production of his first play, Welcome to the Monkey House, proposed to his girlfriend. The celebratory response by all in the Kuhlmann Center was a reminder that our Savior, Christ the Lord, was indeed the Bridegroom, His Church the bride. The students who witnessed the joyous event would be shepherded by the Shepherd’s called staff. After all, He promised in Rev. 21:5: “I make all things new!” The editors of the ’12 Lance captured the essence of the school’s successful development of the old-new dichotomy. “Each day in the classroom teachers and students use their God-given abilities to help each other grow into strong Christians and able leaders . . . From Tom Reck’s in-depth discussions about literature to Brian Lind’s hands-on lab activities and Jean Iezzi’s celebration of Day of the Dead, students actively pursue knowledge and experiences to gratify curiosity and prepare for life after high school.” The Theology Department provided the prime example of “. . . grow[ing] . . . strong Christians and able leaders.” Roma and Joe Cox developed a classroom simulation to better prepare students for participation in congregational life. The multi-week unit included a variety of typical parish activities. Using LCMS and CPH resources provided to congregations, the students resolved representative parish issues. Some of these seemed almost mundane. They selected the envelope pattern for weekly contributions. But others were very complex. Serving as a board of elders or parish call committee, they formulated an annual budget for church and school and called candidates to fill vacancies. The realistic simulation nurtured a participatory, cooperative spirit in adolescent Christians who were just beginning to formally participate in congregational life. New activities like those in the Theology Department followed on the heels of the old, with students developing additional programs incorporating service and worship. The successes of traditional fall plays and spring musicals (Twelve Angry Jurors and Our Town; You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) encouraged the formation of the new NHS-sponsored Talent Show. The revival of the FCA and formation of the Iezzi-sponsored Spanish Honor Society encouraged the creation of the new Fedora Club. That new group focused on devotions and spirituality. It also collected canned goods. Continuing activities by the Messengers fostered interest in the Steven Schmid-sponsored Chapel Praise Band. Nations’ Troubadour staff developed a webcast to broadcast portions of its news, including an occasional note about service opportunities and social awareness. The staff also presented the Troubadour videos to neighboring eighth-graders in feeder schools. As Omura’s Lance personnel created the yearbook and Student Council continued its service work, the members of both organizations provided activity outlets of stocking stuffers and Toys for Tots as benefits for the children of Wounded Warriors. A pink out for Breast Cancer Awareness Day became a staple of Homecoming Spirit Days. Various clubs and service organizations continued developing activities to serve the local community. NHS members conducted a drive to assist the Ferguson pre-school library. Key Club participants gathered items, particularly throw blankets, for Nurses for Newborns, and sent holiday cards to soldiers on active duty. A new Animal Club provided volunteers to help at Open Door Sanctuary and collect supplies for the Bi-State Pet Food Pantry. Even after-school workers focused on social needs. Lauren Wirtel, Grace Niebling and Hannah Frentzel were three of six who worked at Laclede Groves in Lutheran Senior Services. But the largest and newest social service activity was the Special Olympics. In the spring of 2014, and again in 2015 and 2016, the student body spent an entire school day serving the needs of Special Olympics participants. Two years before, the boys’ soccer squad sponsored a day of soccer activities for the differently-abled. Using that experience as a guide and designing a Faith in Action-like activity,

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students served as buddies for the Special Olympics competitors. After accompanying them around the track in the traditional torch-lighting and flag-raising ceremony, they assisted them in completing their events on the track, throwing circles and runways. Volunteers from groups like the Foreign Language Honor Society officiated at additional competition venues like the ring toss. Others led the participants into the Olympic Village, a series of booths staffed by groups like the National Art Honor Society, Yearbook and Chess Club. There the participants could partake of refreshment and choose small keepsakes. Those who were not immediately engaged in assisting the completion of the program participated as spectators, filling the stands and cheering all as the guests competed and received their awards. The spirit of service, inculcated at the youth gatherings, fostered by congregational involvement and promoted by the Faith in Action and Saved to Serve programs, continued to build momentum as others shared their experiences of faith activism. A combination of the old and the new provided an opportunity to reinvigorate Lutheran education in the city and support a new ministry in Africa. In 2013, with only three Lutheran elementary schools extant in the city, Rev. Dr. Matt Hoehner of Educational Enterprises, Inc., developed a partnership with St. Johns-Morganford. Rev. Mike Tanney (son Adam was N ’10) coordinated the on-site work that renovated the school and assisted the formation of EAGLE College Prep, a free public charter school. Tanney and Hoehner implemented the Compass Educational Program. It created a Christcentered preschool and wrap around Christian educational experience for school-aged children. Of the EAGLE Prep elementary school’s two hundred students, almost half of them participated in the Christian education classes held before and after the regular class day. The success of the program in the renovated facility encouraged developers to design similar efforts at Emmaus and Messiah. Funded by LF, the Missouri District, LFCS, CPH and the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, the urban ministry initiative appeared to successfully adapt a traditional Lutheran education model to fulfill the needs of local communities. The programs could also encourage students to consider attending South and North, helping city congregations renew faltering contact with the Association. Three other groups on the north side formed similar partnerships in an attempt to create or maintain Lutheran education initiatives. The first, at Bethlehem, lasted five years. Rev. Schmidtke of Bethlehem adapted the charter school wrap around concept. Sponsored by the University of Missouri, the charter school board, headed by Kathleen Mueller, created a kindergarten through sixth grade school. Housed in Bethlehem’s facilities, it partnered with the joint parish/community housing program, Better Living Communities (BLC). Each year it provided an education for 160 neighborhood children. Despite some small improvements on the Missouri Annual Performance report card, the scores were not substantial enough to warrant continued operation. The University of Missouri ended its sponsorship at the end of the 2015-2016 term. The second initiative occurred as the BLC effort ended. St. Matthews’ administrators, led by Rev. Johnathan Lewis, received some unexpected assistance. Chris Carter, St. Louis Alderman for the 27th Ward, was a graduate of St. Matthews. When he heard of Lewis’ plan to develop a wrap around program, starting with kindergarten and first grade, he promised to head a community renewal effort. As the congregation planned renovations in classrooms and the gym, Carter noted the facility could also serve as a community center. It had the potential to house tutoring, counseling, fitness and food bank facilities. The enterprise would warrant support by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen to improve surrounding streets, alleyways and services. The third initiative was similar to the Christ Memorial/Christ (Crave) partnership on the south side and the St. Paul-Des Peres/St. Paul-College Hill collaboration on the north side. Administrators at River Roads received some counsel about reorganization from retired Immanuel-St. Charles administrator Hank Raedeke. A few members of the suburban congregation also began to consider forming a plan to help stabilize River Roads’ financial situation. The renewed emphasis in community involvement, a growing awareness of world ministries and the participatory nature of many student activities encouraged outreach to and the welcoming of new members of the Association community. Its participants were a unique addition to the communities at North and South. The Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA) had provided a nurturing environment for new immigrant arrivals. Since 2007, the ministry created relationships in which local residents helped new arrivals acclimate to American

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society. Centers in participating congregations like Ascension, supported by volunteers from sister parish Timothy, provided a safe Christian place where children learned Christian values, improved English skills, received tutoring and garnered assistance in navigating the challenges of daily life. The development of this program helped determine the call tendered to Reverend Matthew Clark (S ’98), who was serving at Immanuel-Waterloo, Illinois. Having grown up locally, he attended Our Savior-Fenton, South and later, Concordia Seminary, and knew the area well. In 2013, he accepted the call to Ascension. Like the congregational members and additional church staff, he was in a unique position to help strengthen the CFNA program and the ancillary operations connected to Word of Life Lutheran School. The After School Education Outreach, in conjunction with the CFNA program, provided a haven for the new arrivals. Students from countries such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone attended nine participating Lutheran elementary and high schools. Almost all of the students joined St. Louis area congregations. Virtually every student completed the program. Staffed chiefly by volunteers, the mentors arranged soccer and basketball events to bring students into contact with CFNA and partner churches. Seminary students like Tim Anas also served as volunteer mentors. They assisted the new arrivals and refugees with meal preparation, helped them cope with housing issues and tutored them in academic subjects. Three participating new arrivals became mentors in their own right. James Gayeyou, Marchello Kaka (and later, brother Sekondo) and Henry Manu, all Word of Life graduates, progressed through the program. Gayeyou and Kaka entered North. Manu attended South. As juniors at their respective schools, they served as mentors in the Kitebridge program, assisting newly-arrived Chinese students in social acculturation. They helped the Asian newcomers learn English and provided day-to-day support in resolving everyday teen issues. As dormitory students, they also benefited from the tuition assistance that allowed them to attend the Association schools. The old and the new continued to influence Lancer outreach ministries. During spring break many still traveled to resorts in Cozumel and Florida or took senior excursions to Chicago. But several used the time as an opportunity to help others. Emily Odegard, Katherine Craig and Jennifer Meyer, among other Lancers who attended Webster Gardens Lutheran Church, journeyed to Belize. For a week, the students helped at an orphanage. They read to the residents, cooked for the staff, cleaned for the community. Many others attended the National Youth Gathering in San Antonio. The participants encouraged the student body to act on observations about social needs. To help students empathize with the destitute, many spent a day without shoes. In ’12, Student Council hosted a dodgeball tourney won by the outlandish Jabbawockeez. Its beneficiary—Dan Harms’ African friends. Like Funke at North, longtime South Dean of Students Dan Harms became involved in a mission far beyond the friendly confines on Tesson Ferry. Colleague Bob Hansen (N ’68), who had been a classmate of Harms at both St. Jacobi-Jennings and North, worked for Humanity for Children in Rwanda and Tanzania. In 2010, while at a funeral for a mutual friend, Hansen encouraged Harms to assist him in the ministry. Each summer Harms joined Hansen in East Africa to work for the organization that was committed to improving the quality of life for children. While Hansen initially worked in health clinics, he and Harms supervised a microloan program. Funding enabled residents to purchase honeybees, pigs and chickens. The recipients would then repay the loan as they produced their products. The microloan project also helped locals establish a welding service, hair salon and wedding dress millinery. In 2015, Beth (Palisch S ‘89) Berner, South’s Director of Admissions, joined Harms on his annual trek. It had been an era of renewal and awakening to the call of local and world ministries. Even local marketing for LHSA and the schools had been shaped by these new opportunities. Lauer, former Director of Admissions and Community Relations at South, had spent a year at LCEF. In 2015, she returned to the Association, called to serve in the newly created position of Director of Marketing and Communications.

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Revelation 21:5 As school opened the following fall, the South community had yet again an opportunity to follow official school communications on an updated website. The online material included a weekly calendar and daily bulletins. It was from this website that parents of new students could, like at North, be kept up-to-date about the late July and early August dates for distribution of the ipads. The site also included contact information for parents needing more information about ipad use, school activities and auxiliary organizations. Those included the Booster’s Club, Lancer Men’s Club and Mothers’ Club. Another organization, like the one led by Kymm Fehrs at North, was Moms in Prayer. It replaced Moms in Touch. Carrie Patterson and Miriam Lee led weekly prayer sessions each Monday morning from 8:30-9:30 a.m. All were invited to request prayers for a variety of specific needs and thanksgiving for blessings. The online Troubadour, led by Mike Nations, became an illustrated font of information. Adapted from the traditional print format, it provided students with an opportunity to share information, feature contemporary topical discussions and note significant accomplishments. Plans included adapting online podcasts—troubtalk— for the new website. The online missive provided an accessible repository for yearbook editors and future historians. The budding journalists wrote about a variety of topics. Features included reviews of Loufest, Wicked, Christmas concerts, light displays and teacher playlists. Editors also expressed hope that the cafeteria offerings would adopt a proposed gourmet lunch program. Reporters evaluated the overall benefits and comparative rigor of club sports like soccer, baseball and volleyball contested outside school environs. They interviewed college athletes like Kentucky Wildcat catcher Jenny Schaper (S ’15) and Lindenwood baseball signee Mark Melville (S ’16). Both described goal-driven careers and the added responsibilities of competing as a student-athlete on the collegiate level. Troubadour staff also featured unique class activities. One correspondent reported about the Advanced Speech eulogy assignment. Instructor Casey Stelmachowicz demonstrated an appropriate format, eulogizing Mike Nations. To his credit, “Mr. Stel” permitted Nations to present a humorous response. The staff posted brief announcements and information about school activities. These included athletic accomplishments, calendar dates for standardized testing and reports about special school activities. Feature articles incorporated interviews of key participants and a review of the events. One such illustrated effort included a brief synopsis of Pippin, featuring leads Sophie Scotino and Mark Young. Another feature article included a lengthy description of the Academic Fair. Faculty, staff and students hosted the now-traditional March activity for the Lutheran elementary schools. Five “bees” provided venues for future Lancers to earn bragging rights. Gilbert hosted the Geography Bee. Stelmachowicz guided competition in the Spelling Bee. Additional faculty coordinated Bible, Math and Art Fair activities. The fall athletic season included several auspicious accomplishments. Riley Schelp again earned All State honors in cross country. The girls’ softball team, only 12-11 after the regular season, defeated Affton 6-1 and Pacific 15-11 to win the District. But after beating Clayton 15-0 to win Sectional, the squad ended the season with a 13-3 loss to Notre Dame-Cape Girardeau. Girls’ volleyball, too, at 23-9-1, defeated Miller Career for the Sectional title. But a loss to St. Pius X ended the run in the Quarters. Prolific runningback and two-way player Cody Schrader led the 5-3 football team into the District tourney. The team beat Miller Career 35-20 before falling to Affton 38-7. It would be Faucette’s last game at the helm. He accepted a coaching position in Dallas. He would be replaced by Jameson Allen, a veteran mentor who had coached at Windsor and more recently at University City. Lancer boosters could hope Allen would have successes similar to a past University City football coach who had joined the Association ranks just one year before: Crusader head Carl Reed. Winter sports participants anticipated traditional success in basketball and wrestling. Led by senior Lezoghia Member-Meneh, the boys’ cagers were quickly on their way to a 21-6 season. It included a big victory over the rival Crusaders in the 50th Annual Sem Game, 87-67, and District wins against Festus (81-63) and Hillsboro (87-75).

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A 56-44 loss to Parkway West derailed the anticipated trip to Columbia. The 19-9 girls’ team was not so fortunate. A 68-56 loss to Notre Dame-St. Louis in the District final ended the season. Schmid’s wrestlers were mostly underclassmen, but Carl Paetow joined Crusaders Isaiah Azubuike and Devin Hart as Association representatives at the State tourney. But the squads—as well as the entire metro region—had to overcome a unique challenge that winter season. During the last days of December, the St. Louis area received a record amount of rainfall. After a mild Christmas Day, weather forecasters warned local residents that historic rainfall amounts of five to eight inches would cause record flooding. At risk were all Meramec River crossings in South County. Those living and commuting along traffic arteries I-55, I-44, SR 21, SR 141 and Telegraph Road received warnings to prepare for the worst. Similar declarations were issued to Illinois communities along I-70 and I-55. The weather forecasters were correct. Initial inundations on December 26 overwhelmed water conduits in Brentwood, Rock Hill and Grantwood Village. Flash flooding along Manchester Road in Brentwood required local water rescue units to evacuate eight. But the worst was yet to come. The rain continued steadily through December 28. Meramec waters surged over 141 in Valley Park, closing that route and I-44. Roads became snarled with traffic as the rising Meramec closed SR-21 and I-55. For twelve hours on December 30, only one partially open lane on Telegraph Road linked Jefferson County with St. Louis County. Firefighters rescued dozens of residents and motorists in Pacific, Eureka, Valley Park and Arnold. Business owners and residents in Kimmswick and Pontoon Beach evacuated while volunteers desperately added sandbags to levees. In many areas, flood crests broke records set during the devastating 1993 flood. Fortunately, the Meramec flooding spared most educational facilities. As hundreds of residents sought shelter in Red Cross emergency centers—some located in schools— volunteers created a sandbag barrier to save almost all classrooms at Eureka High School. In Valley Park, the levee and floodgates constructed in 2005 protected the high school. Unfortunately, the damage was not limited to roads, river crossings, rail lines, homes and businesses along the rivers. Basement backups, particularly in Fenton and Arnold, forced some evacuations and in some cases inundated lower floors of structures. But even those hardships were not limited to South County and Jefferson County. Residents in Ferguson and Florissant, too, received the brunt of run-off rainwater that overwhelmed drainage culverts and local creeks. Almost immediately, desperate residents purchased all available wet-dry vacuums, emergency generators and supplementary water pumps. Families struggled to salvage keepsakes, freezers, furnaces, washers and dryers from the fetid sewer water. As the rivers fell, local emergency officials released damage totals. St. Louis and Jefferson counties alone lost 2,027 homes and businesses destroyed or badly damaged. Initial damage estimates approached $300 million in losses. Governor Jay Nixon asked the federal government to declare a disaster area in forty-one Missouri counties along the various watersheds. As affected families awaited the declaration, many turned to local charities for assistance. They found an effective consortium of charities and government offices that could meet their immediate needs. The Multi-Agency Resource Centers marshaled resources to efficiently dole out assistance to the more than one thousand in need of housing, utilities and food. Just as the flash flood arrived so quickly, it departed. Most Lancers and their families had only experienced minor inconveniences related to commutes. It was a thankful group of students who reconvened in early January for the start of second semester. A few participated in discussions about the impending departure of the St. Louis Rams, but most quickly settled in to normal classroom routines. Won by Christ, One in Christ, they sustained their participatory servant spirit over the next five months. In quick order, the student body rallied around the international students when the Kitebridge program ended. They celebrated spirit week, danced at Sadie Hawkins and hosted the Academic Fair. Many participated in the spring musical, attended On Broadway, organized and assisted at the Special Olympics and prepared for prom. Seniors and their families worshipped at baccalaureate and celebrated after graduation. Almost lost in the excitement were a couple of notable achievements. Cross Country Coach Eric Glassner agreed to coach golf—and witnessed Zach Shirley earn All State honors. DeNoyer, too, reprised his squads’ previous successes. The girls’ team surprised everyone by running

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away with the Metro League title. And Member-Meneh earned accolades as one of a handful of Missouri high school athletes to crack the forty-eight second barrier in the 400M. As the school year ended, the Association held the traditional end-of-year fete at Norwood Hills Country Club. During the recognitions of milestone anniversaries, several servants of the Word received thanks for their commitment to the ministry. Ken Steinbrueck, Cathy Wietfeldt, Ron Roma and Bill Rusch all received heartfelt thanks from the Board and their colleagues. The four represented the second-generation faculty who provided a last link to the Lancer founding fathers (and sisters!) as South opened. Steinbrueck symbolized not just the multigenerational family commitment to Lutheran education, but also the new emphasis on STEM education and iPad instruction. Wietfeldt represented the dedicated coaching staff, committed to not just winning, but teaching character and perseverance. Roma epitomized the basic foundation of Lutheran education—a Gospel-centered faith-building enterprise. And Rusch, in a sense, represented the life-long commitment many made to coax, cajole and encourage students to attain academic excellence. A fifth also represented the passing of the old and the arrival of the new. Stelmachowicz had accepted a call to Lutheran High-Kansas City. He was the grandson of the first Lancer principal, yet represented the new generation of teachers who arrived to sustain the congregation of believers. They, as well as their veteran mentors, would continue to lead the community through the second half of the Association’s first century. One in Christ, they would use the new technology, adapt to the byzantine OnCampus grading format and shoehorn coursework to fit in the new flex-mod system. The One, the Savior, Christ the Lord who made all things new, continued to inspire and motivate the members of the Association community. Since Lange had fostered the origins of Lutheran High School, the traditional parish-school partnership faded as the primary model for Lutheran education. But the community of Christ forged new paths of outreach. Its leaders and students reinvigorated corporate and individual commitment to nurture both in-house faith activities and faith building efforts in the community, regions and the world. Indeed, they would continue to proclaim the message of Luke 2: “[F]ear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people!” S. D. G.

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Endnotes and Sources, Chapter 11: A Savior, Christ the Lord! Lutheran South, 2008-2016 St. Louis Renaissance This material is chiefly from Fragmented, pp. 166-168; 250, pp. 146-161; “List of Largest St. Louis Employers,” SLPD, 10/30/2011, n. p.; Hoosiers, pp. 124-127; and Steve Giegerich, “A New Look for a City that isn’t Technically a City,” SLPD, 5/21/16, pp. A-1, A-4. More about the local Bosnian/Muslim community can be found in Frances Levine, “Commemorating the Bosnian War,” Currents, Summer 2015, p. 10. Chris Truemper (S ’73), longtime superintendent of Our Redeemer Cemetery on Mackenzie Road in Affton, helped facilitate the cemetery arrangement. The Christ Memorial/Crave connection is from the Christ Memorial Church Website, http://cmstl.org/ accessed 7/1/15. Rev. Paul Hutchinson’s three sons who graduated from South include Paul (’69), Mike (’72) and Dave (’75). It’s All About the Students This section includes material about Ryherd garnered from http://www.cucougars.com/hof.aspx accessed 7/27/15. He also provided a variety of corrections contained in the rough draft of this chapter in an email to the author on 11/24/15. The dedication of Lancer Stadium is from “The Dedication of Lancer Stadium,” program, October 23, 2008, and The Herald, Spring 2009, p. 7. Statistics about volunteerism are from 250, p. 160. Sprague’s quote is from the ’09 Lance, pp. 2-3. The turf for the stadium and practice fields was from the University of Alabama. For more information about Meyer’s goals and the succession of programs and leadership during this period of transition, please see above, Chapters 8, 9 and 10. For a more thorough description of the evolution of Grandparents Day see Chapters 7 and 9; for the Mother-Daughter “kidnapping” breakfast, see Chapter 9. Jayne Lauer, in particular (12/8/15), and Paul Buetow, 12/5/15, provided additional clarity about these school and nonschool activities for senior students and their families. Note that at one time, Carol Markway helped develop the Senior Men’s Breakfast, which followed a similar effort called Moms and Sons. Abby Brown’s discovery is from The Herald, Winter 2015, p. 8. Fine Arts Successes and Educational Innovation The material about music accolades in was provided by John Miller on 7/27/15. As an additional aside, Miller’s students earned several other notable honors. Evan Sanft (S ’07) later served as Director of Music and Director of Elementary Bands at Martin Luther High School in Northrop, Minnesota (The Herald, Fall 2012, p 5). ’09 graduates Matt Wilson (trumpet), Scott Bates (tuba), Becky Vasel (clarinet) and Adam Singer (trombone) played for Marching Mizzou. Wilson, son of school nurse Chris (Dietz ‘79) Wilson, also traveled with the Mini Mizzou troupe that followed the Tigers through the NCAA basketball tournament (The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 9). Meyer, Pfund, McCollister, Crisler and Prahlow all contributed thoughts regarding the changes in instructional technology. See Chapter 10, above, for a more thorough description of the one-to-one iPad initiative and the reevaluation of the block schedule. The description of STEM programming is from “The STEM Program at Lutheran South,” The Herald, Winter 2015, p. 5. It was supplemented by comments from Scott DeNoyer and Ken Steinbrueck. South’s STEM emphasis in rigorous “in school” coursework was unique for high schools throughout the area, but the new emphasis on STEM brought about other co-curricular opportunities in many other circles. In August 2016, Grace Chapel implemented a “STEM Evening,” bringing students and parents together to solve problems by collaborating to create solutions with materials provided. It was part of a new emphasis of STEM education in

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local middle schools throughout the area. Cheryl Hill, Media Center Assistant, noted the opportunity for expanding co-curricular offerings at North. A Boeing representative, electrical engineer Henry Graham, provided information about the First Technical Challenge (FTC). A STEM approach to robotics contests, it would not be developed “in house” at North as another program had been created a decade before. Rather, it would be implemented with the support of a partnership with Boeing. William Henton (N ’96) encouraged the cooperative effort and Boeing paid for North’s registration in the “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)” program. FIRST, of which FTC was the local portion, was financed by corporate investments of $1 million per year. The organization supported 517 local teams, including the “Lightning Lancers,” an independent STEM group comprised chiefly of Lancer students. After holding an informational meeting, Hill chaired the first meeting at North on September 10. Hill provided the information about the formation of the program at North on 8/15/16. When Hill accepted a full-time position in a local technology company, she was replaced by Tequila Prewitt (N ’03), daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Schmidtke (see the sections in this chapter about Bethlehem Lutheran Church, its “wrap around” charter school and its program for Better Living Communities). The information about Thorburg’s hockey kudos is from The Herald, Spring 2010, p. 8. See Chapter 3 Annotated Bibliography for more information about the Thorburg’s multigenerational participation in Association activities. The Herald, Spring-Summer, 2014, p. 7, describes the younger Auble’s accomplishments. The Gornet material is from The Herald, Fall 2010, p. 3. The Doering contribution to the retooling of the South facility is from The Herald, Fall 2010, p. 5. New Frontiers in Education and Mission Rich Reiss (7/16/15) clarified the Mike Nations’ proposal. The old-new dichotomy quote is from Grace Bishop, Alyssa Sontag, Julie Jackson, editors, ’12 Lance, pp. 3, 7. In an email Joe Cox to Jim Prahlow on 9/12/16, Cox provided the documents and outline used in the new theology course that simulated congregational life. The material that follows the information about Educational Enterprises, Inc., partnership is from “A New Strategy to Raise Serving Leaders in Urban Settings,” The Lutheran Layman, July-August 2015, p. 8; Elisa Crouch, “Another charter school shutting down,” SLPD, 1/7/2015, p. A5; Freeman Teaberry (member at St. Matthews-St. Louis), 9/26/15. Daughters Connie (’88) and LaShanta (’03) both attended North. See above, Chapters 4 and 6. Clark’s pastorate is from http://ascensionstl.com/staff accessed 12/29/15. The After School Education Outreach is from Allan Buckman, Stanish Stanley and Judith Meyer (former President of the Association), “Education’s Mission,” The Lutheran Layman, September-October 2015, pp. 1-5; Gerald Perschbacher, “Mentoring Right Where You Are,” The Lutheran Layman, September-October 2015, p. 5. Material about Gayeyou, the Kakas and Manu are from Mark Thompson, “Mentors Lead to Success,” The Lutheran Layman, July-August 2015, p. 10. More about the program’s profound impact on individuals’ lives may be found at http://www.cfna-stl.org/henry-manu/ (accessed 6/27/16). Tragically, Henry went to his Lord after a drowning accident in the Meramec River at Castlewood State Park on 6/25/16. In February 2016, eighteen months after the arrival of the first CFNA students at North and South, the Association ended its partnership with the Kitebridge program. The Association took responsibility for the international students, local student mentors and staff. The students’ educations at North and South continued without interruption. Financial issues had undermined the solvency of the Kitebridge organization and its directors filed for bankruptcy. Its recruitment efforts in eastern Asia had failed to draw enough additional students to maintain its promised quality of services. According to Jim Hewitt (2/15/16), coordinator for international students, the global publicity about the Ferguson crisis made it very difficult to attract new recruits for St. Louis-area institutions. On February 18, 2016, Dr. Michal Rozbicki of St. Louis University, 1818/ACC coordinator for the college credit courses offered in history at North and South, commented about an additional issue. At the annual History Day Seminar at SLU, he noted that the university, too, faced challenges recruiting

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Chinese students. A faltering Chinese economy had caused much uncertainty for college recruiters and prospective students alike. As coordinator for the faltering Association international student program, Ali Thomas prepared to reconfigure the organizational structure. The Board directed her to place students in a “home stay” arrangement. In a few short weeks during the summer, Thomas placed all twenty-four of the returning students. Home parents would receive a monthly stipend of $750. Only two students did not return: one desired a dormitory experience and pursued that elsewhere; the other preferred to move to Boston. In her report to the plenary faculty at North on 8/2/16, Thomas reported the returning students had spent the summer at SAT “boot camps” or rejoined their families for travel. Chloe Liu, interested in pursuing a future degree in the biological sciences, visited the Galapagos Islands. Thomas noted that home stay participants would have more English language immersion, develop interpersonal relationships with “pseudo-siblings,” and regularly attend local worship services. She did remind the teachers that the international students would not have access to the tutoring and study sessions Kitebridge counselors provided in the dorm program. Thomas concluded her presentation by describing the Association’s new partnership with LPI Learning, the international student recruiting organization. She hoped the Association efforts to maintain the international student program in a new format would reassure prospective families their future Lancers and Crusaders would receive a rigorous, quality education preparing them for admission to top-tier universities. Harms’ Africa initiative is from The Herald, Summer 2015, pp. 4-5. On September 25, 2016, he and Claire Flesch (N ’07), a teacher at Sappington School, made a presentation at Bethel--University City about their summer missionary experiences in Tanzania and Rwanda (“Events,” SLPD, 9/24/16, p. A10). Revelation 21:5 The descriptions of the 2015-2016 Lancer school year are chiefly from the Lutheran High School South website. The extensive archive of materials with images may be accessed at http://lhsstroubadour.com/ The author accessed the site on 6/13/16. From her position as Director of Marketing and Communications, Lauer had encouraged the move of the Troubadour publication from print to online publication, much like she had done with the alumni publication, Herald. Most of the scores and results for the athletic contests during this time are from a variety of sites found on the MSHSAA website, accessed at http://www.mshsaa.org/ several times between 2/10/16 and 2/16/16. The last significant access was on 6/13/16. The SLPD provided extensive coverage of the historic December 2015 flood. The primary articles that provided the material for this section are, Michele Munz, “Day of heavy rain swamps streets,” 12/27/15, p. A3; Tim O’Neil, “River crests predicted at heights second only to ’93,” 12/29/15, pp. A1, A7; Stephen Deere, “Folks on alert, on the move as impact of rain unfolds,” 12/29/15, pp. A1, A6; Elisa Crouch and Kim Bell, “Meramec flooding mostly spares schools,” 1/1/16, p. A9; Tim O’Neil, “Roads jam as many are forced to evacuate, navigate closures,” 12/31/15, pp. A1, A10; O’Neil, “Meramec’s Muck,” 1/2/16, pp. A1, A5. Koran Addo, “Basements here take a beating,” 12/29/15, p. A7, provides a brief description of what happened in many locales. Even more recently installed storm systems could not process the incredible volume of water that poured through communities. North Registrar Ron Wittler, a Hazelwood resident, fought sewer backup that seeped in while he, wife Lori and their children visited relatives. Fortunately, they suffered only minor damage. In Florissant, Ingrid Nebel (S ’73) was only one of many who suffered a devastating sewer backup. She was fortunate because she received assistance from out-of-town relatives, including sister Kirstin Stellfox (S ’83), who had recently arrived to celebrate the holidays. In only seven hours, aided by a next door neighbor’s water pump and the dozen kin that included nephew Adam (N ’10) and sister-in-law Linda Prahlow, Nebel managed to remove the ten inch depth of sewage that bubbled up into her basement. She and the group desperately salvaged some items. They limited damage to floor, dry wall and tiling by quickly mopping and sanitizing. Carefully gloved, they

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moved the sopping, damaged goods to a makeshift curbside dump. The immediate response to the issue permitted her to quickly prepare for the repairs that needed to be made. The local sewer company provided a stipend of $3,000 to restore most of the damaged area. Regional damage estimates are from Tim O’Neil and Kurt Erickson, “Local emergency agencies draft reports on damage from flood,” SLPD, 1/6/16, p. A11 and O’Neil, “The Flash Flood of 2015,” SLPD, 1/18/16, pp. A1, A4. The summary of the end-of-year Association Appreciation Dinner at Norwood Hills Country Club is from the program, “A Hollywood Salute to Our Stars,” dated June 4, 2016.

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