AFTER GRADUATING VOLTA (1947) AND VON STEUBEN (1951), I MOVED ON. TODAY, OF COURSE, I'M RETIRED. STILL, I AM CURRENTLY CO-CHAIRMAN OF THE VON STEUBEN CLASS OF JUNE 1951 REUNION COMMITTEE. NEXT OCTOBER WE WILL BE HOLDING OUR 60TH YEAR REUNION. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 24 MEMBERS ON THE COMMITTEE. 11 ARE FROM VOLTA!!! THE REST ARE FROM PETERSON, HIBBARD AND PALMER. WE ALL LOVED THE SCHOOL. AND THE TEACHERS. AND, YES, EVEN MR LINO. MY FAVORITE TEACHER WAS MISS KATHERINE JURS. A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. JOHNSON, WALKER AND HINKLEY WERE ALL GOOD. ON ANY SUNDAY MORNING THERE WERE AT LEAST 3 SOFTBALL GAMES GOING ON IN THE PLAYGROUND.. I SOLD KOOL-AID TO THE PLAYERS. THE 8TH GRADERS HAD A SOFTBALL TEAM CALLED 'THE AVENGERS'. 7TH GRADER'THE ? MARKS'. THE 6TH 'THE MUSKETS'. I WAS A 5TH GRADER IN 'THE EAGLES'.

BACK IN THOSE DAYS, WE WOULD LEAVE OUR HOMES ON SATURDAY AROUND 9A.M. AND RETURN HOME AROUND 6. WE WOULD FOLLOW THE RIVER NORTHWEST AND RETURN. NOBODY LOCKED THEIR DOORS.

AT VON, I WAS A MEMBER OF THE ANACONDAS S.A.C. 18 MEMBERS: 14 GRADUATED FROM VOLTA.

WHEN I WENT TO LAW SCHOOL, I MOVED INTO MY PARENTS HOME ON AVERS. MY OLDEST SON ATTENDED THE 1ST 2 GRADES AT VOLTA. MISS JURS WAS THERE AS ASST PRINCIPAL. SHE REMEMBERED ME WHEN I WALKED IN WITH MY SON AND I TOLD HER "MISS JURS, I PUT MY BOY UNDER YOUR CARE." WE BOTH HAD TEARS IN OUR EYES. I NEVER FOUND OUT WHAT EVER BECAME OF HER. AS I SAID, A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN INSIDE AND OUT.

VOLTA FOREVER!!!!!

I am seeking Debbie Miles who graduated in June, 1958. Anyone know her whereabouts?

Ms. Johnson was a great influence on my life.  She was my teacher for both 7th and 8th grades.  Class of June 1953 were more than one class-ful (the majority were with Mrs. Jurs) and only eight of us were the overflow.  Therefore, we shared the classroom with the next youngest grade.  In those days, there were 48 desks; 40 of them were the younger and eight of the older.  When she was teaching us, the rest of the class were studying; while we did the same as she instructed the majority of the room.  To this day, I can tune out an entire group of noisy and loud conversationalists.  Ms. Johnson's patience, soft way of speaking, interest in various subjects and her intelligent manner of teaching left a lasting impression.

I always wanted to tell her of that impact, but I had moved to California and when I returned to Chicago and to Volta, she had left the school system and was living in another state.  So perhaps here on the written page I can say, Thank You!  I did become a teacher myself.  My interest, passion and drive to become an educator was based on what I had learned from Ms. Johnson.  As I look back on my professional career of teaching pre-schoolers, as well as adults, who themselves are going into the profession of teaching, I am so gratified that what I did, I did well.  All because a teacher cared about what she taught and how it influenced a young mind who was lucky enough to be in her class.