Rittman High School - 1987

RHS Class of 1987 25-Year Reunion

2012-04-23T12:59:00.004-05:00

Hey all of you Rittman High School class of 1987 graduates.

We have decided to use Facebook as our main communications portal.

For news and updates about the upcoming class reunion, please point your browser to:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/RHS87/

...And Fun Was Had By All

2007-07-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

Wow! Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time at the Rittman High School Class of 1987 20-year reunion.

Classmates were greeted with pop tunes of the past complimented by a rotating slide show from the same genera. Becke Huffman and Hope Arbogast Frady manned (womanned?) the sign-in table as classmates filed into the upstairs banquet room of Rawiga Country Club. The unspoken yet prevalent anxiety of 20-year changes was quickly dissipated with Becke’s and Hope’s big smiles and bigger hugs.

If stories from the past and laughter were the ammunition of a small band of revolutionaries, the country of Rawiga would have quickly fallen prey to a coup. Most of those in attendance showed within a half hour of that first shot. Introductions of spouses/dates and even more hugs broke the ice. Tales of remember-when quickly came to life, each one feeding upon the other as ’87 Rittmanites hopped from group to group.

According to at least two attendees, the master of ceremonies, Vic Marinello, was worth the price of admission. Vic was charged with running the raffle and other general announcements. Vic was voted most talkative back in the day. Some things change. Some don’t. With quick quips and light jabs, Vic had everyone laughing as he gave away throughout the evening a very respectable table of raffle items. At one point he used his skills as an auctioneer to auction a book filled with stories of Ohio’s haunts. Greg King won. Vic’s reply, “What are you going to do with a book, King, add it to your collection”.
Ron Craddock was the man with the music plan. Crad worked for weeks “acquiring” the appropriate music for each stage of the reunion. From 80s fluff to the mullet days of hair bands, lacy frills and jean jackets, Crad played it all. Breaking genera for culture, a brief stink of classical chamber filled the room during dinner. Post meal, Air Supply, REO Speedwagon, and the like prompted several near-40somethings to reenact the days of slow dancing in the gym of Rittman Middle School.

Classmates spent the hours after dinner rekindling old friendships, exchanging contact information, and vowing to keep in touch.

Many, many thanks go to the planners of the reunion. John Leatherman took charge and got the ball rolling and coordinated party planning, collecting of funds, mailing, purchasing and/or begging for raffle prizes, decoration, and set up. Mike and Deb Knapic deserve much praise for their forethought of times to come. Their planning from the 15-year reunion left organizers of the 20-year with enough funding to make a lot of this reunion possible. And yet even more thanks to Crad, Todd Brewer, and Vic for helping with setup on the morning of the reunion.

I’m certain I’m missing a few additional but very necessary praises of gratitude for making RHS Class of ’87 20-year reunion a great event. To any of those I didn’t mention, thank you.

On my personal soapbox, just a few words. I’m going to use myself as an example.

There are some, probably most, who fear for one reason or another coming to such a gathering. Judgment from others probably tops that list.

It’s like this; people continue to change. (Yes, my prophetic ability astounds me, too.) Not one person at our reunion is the exact same as they were when we graduated. The physical changes are the most apparent. Heck, I’ve gained two pounds since I earned my diploma. Two pounds times 30, that is. And maybe, just maybe, I’ve lost a hair or two.

Ya know what? No one cared. Sure they noticed. You would have to be blind and memory repressed to not, but no one cared.

No one passed judgment upon me based on the physical aspects of my body, or my marital status, or job title, or salary base. No one used stories from the past to tease me with a malicious intent. They shook my hand, they hugged me, and they asked with sincerity about my life and person who I’ve become.

I’m willing to bet that every person in attendance had the same experience.

So for any of those who didn’t come because you were embarrassed about change, know this: It’s our friendships, our shared memories, and our similar experiences that bind us as a group. Mix in twenty years of maturity and what you get is nothing more than fantastic stories and a lot of laughs. That being said, and speaking in extremely oh-so-male language, get past it and come play with us at the 25-year reunion.

I will be placing photos and video of the reunion on the RHS Discussion Board over the next week. As quickly as possible, I’ll make sure that all of those photos are available for download should you want them. I would encourage everyone with additional photos to email copies to me and I’ll post all photos in one big slide show and download link.

The Reunion Is Coming...The Reunion is Coming

2007-07-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

The Reunion is this coming Saturday.

As of 7.16.07

FORTY People are Registered for the Reunion!~

It's Gonna Be a Good One!

If you haven't yet paid for a ticket, there is still time. Heck, go ahead and just show up and give your money to John Leatherman at the door. However, we would prefer that you at least let someone know if you're coming. Simply email twhims@gmail.com if you know. But if not, hey, just show up.

When: Saturday, July 21, 2007

Where: Rawiga Country Club
Cost: $25 per person

Agenda: Social Hour - 6:00-7:00 p.m. | Buffet Dinner - 7:00 p.m.
Payment: Please make all check payable to:
John Leatherman
C/O Class of 87
P.O. Box 448

THE PLAN - RHS Class of 1987 20-Year Reunion

2007-05-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

*Please View This Link Regarding the RHS Class of '87 list of MIA*

When:

• Saturday, July 21, 2007

Where:
• Rawiga Country Club

Cost:
• $25 per person

Agenda:
• Social Hour - 6:00-7:00 p.m.
• Buffet Dinner – 7:00 p.m.

Menu:

• Appetizers – Cheese Tray, Veggies and Dip
• Chicken Marsala
• Beef Tips with a Mushroom and Onion Wine Sauce
• Potatoes Au Gratin
• Green Beans Almandine
• Tossed Salad and Assorted Rolls
• Dessert
• Assorted Pies and Vanilla Ice cream
• Beverages
(Soda, Tea, Coffee, Water, Iced tea, Draft Beer-1st keg only)

A vegetarian option is available. Please include a note in your payment with the number of meals needed should you choose the vegetarian option.

Payment: Please make all check payable to

John Leatherman
C/O Class of 87
P.O. Box 448
Westfield Center 44251
Please list 87 Reunion in the memo section

****ALL PAYMENTS ARE DUE TO JOHN LEATHERMAN NO LATER THAN JULY 16TH, 2007.****

RHS 20-Year Reunion Current Survey Results

2007-04-16T07:25:00.000-05:00

RHS Class of 87 Survey Results Thus Far

Hey kids, I thought that I might give you an update on the survey concerning what we should do for the 20-year class reunion.

Given the fact that there are still many people out there who know nothing about this website/discussion board, I’m going to continue to let the survey run for the next several weeks. However, I think that the current results give a pretty good idea of the direction we’re heading.

Remember, this is your chance to voice your opinion. It’s completely anonymous, and you have an opportunity to voice your opinion about additional options.

In addition, under the discussion topic MIA Where Are They Now, I've written a list of email addresses that continue to be returned to me. If someone knows where these people are located, please email them or pass the current email address along to me.

The results can be found at the RHS Discussion Board in the Pages Section

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THE REUNION IS PLANNED!!!!!

2007-04-11T14:09:00.000-05:00

Well, it's really not, but it will be with your help. John Leatherman and Ronnie Craddock have been making a few phone calls, pricing a few options, and are coming up with a plan.

We have narrowed it down to two options. However, I’m not telling you what those two options might be.

Why, because we want you to take the survey. If you want a voice in the matter, this is the way to do it.

Please take the time to fill out the survey about the upcoming class reunion. It’s only five questions and will take you less than five minutes.

The following link will take you to the RHS '87 survey, which is hosted by a company called Survey Monkey. It's free, and they gather no information of any kind about you, not even an email address.

This survey is COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. Not even the author of the survey (me) can discern between respondents. As the results come in, I will post them to the RHS Discussion Board.

This survey is only for the RHS Class of 1987. Please take it ONE TIME ONLY.

Click Here To Take The Survey

On a completely different note: I've been working on the Songs From The Rittman Swimming Pool. It seems that some people have been having problems playing the music. If you still have problems, update your Adobe Flash and Shockwave plugins first. If it still doesn't work, you probably need the latest edition of the Java plugin. Don't worry the company websites do all the work for you. All you have to do is click. The Adobe links are below. The Java link is here. Simply click on the best link that fits your version of Windows. Mac users, well, I bet you know what you're doing.

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It's Working

2007-04-07T19:44:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Just a quick update regarding the RHS Discussion Boards. Our networking has had a great deal of success so far. As of this posting, we have 20 of our classmates signed up as members and probably a few others who know about the site but haven’t accepted their invitation yet to become a member. Just say no to the evil Classmates and Reunion dot coms!

As for the upcoming reunion, I suggest everyone email Crad and Leatherman and tell them to get off their butts and start coming up with a solid action plan. If you have any suggestions, I’m sure they would love to hear about it.

I’m in the process of scanning several more documents from days past to post on this. If any of you have photos to share, please post them to the RHS Discussion Board. Just click on the “Files” section of the navigation, click on the “Browse” button to locate the files on your computer and then click “Upload”. That’s it.

Does anyone have digital photos from the 15-year reunion? I’d love for someone to post those if you have them.

I’ve just posted several new question/discussion topics on the RHS Discussion Board including, Funniest RHS Moment, Likes and Dislikes of Rittman, Best/Worst RHS teachers, and a discussion about the quality of your RHS education. I also started a computer help section for those people who need a helping hand with computer issues. (I’m a computer nerd, ya know) Additional topics are also listed.

One last thing. Did you know that if you are a contributing member of this blog (email and ask me if you want to be), you can easily embed video from YouTube or Google Video for others to see? Blogger and YouTube do all the work for you. Just FYI.

As always, send me an email if you have any questions or requests. twhims@gmail.com

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Rittman High School Discussion Board

2007-03-29T15:54:00.000-05:00

Now this is going to be fun if people start participating. I've just made the Rittman High School Discussion Board. This discussion board is open to all Rittman High School graduates. Anyone can post a reply.

Members can post new discussions, photos, a bio, or whatever. See the site to learn how to become a member, it's pretty simple. Bascially, you have to make a request to me and answer one question that pretty much assures me that you are a Rittman grad.

I've posted a few discussions to get things started. Those included:

Confession - It's Time To Fess Up About What/Where/When/Who You Did
The Best Party Between The Years 1984-1987
10-0
MIA-Where Did They Go

So take a few minutes and check it out. It's worth it, or at least it will be when people start posting stuff.

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TEST: Are you Really from Rittman?

2007-03-28T12:05:00.000-05:00

First a little history. Fred E. Rittman was treasurer of the Atlantic & Great Western, later the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio railroad, when the general offices were at Meadville, in 1870, under the administration of Gen. J. H. Devereaux, as president, and later receiver. Upon the reorganization of the Atlantic & Great Western into the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio, in 1880, Mr. Rittman left Meadville for Cleveland, Ohio, when the general offices of the railroad were removed from Meadville to that city.

Mr. Rittman was born in 1847 at Cleveland, and while living at Meadville married Miss Georgiana Derickson (who survives him), a daughter of Major David V. Derickson. On Jan. 1, 1885, during the time the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio railroad was under lease to the Erie, Mr. Rittman resigned his position as treasurer to accept that of cashier of the National Bank of Commerce, Cleveland, which responsible position he held for an extended period of years. After severing his connection with the Cleveland banking institution, Mr. Rittman engaged in other business activities, and from 1901 to 1905, under President McKinley's administration, was auditor for the War department at Washington, and during the European war his duties were with the Council of National Defense, Washington, where he lived latterly with his youngest daughter, Mrs. Georgiana Butts.

Mr. Rittman was a man of marked ability, showing it in every position held by him, of dignified and pleasing personality, and during his service with the railroad was well and favorably known by the railroad employes of the western end of the Erie. The present Erie station at Rittman, Ohio, west of Akron, was named after him.

Fred E. Rittman died September 3 (1919) at the Emergency hospital, Washington, D. C., after a long and painful illness. Mr. Rittman was survived by a son, David Derickson Rittman, of Akron, Ohio; two daughters, Mrs. Josephine Grace Cerri, wife of the Italian vice-consul of Italy, located at Cleveland, Ohio, and Mrs. Georgiana Butts, of Washington, D. C; and one grandchild, the son of Mrs. Cerri. Funeral services were held Friday, Sept. 5, and interment made at Washington, D. C. ~From the October, 1919 Issue of Erie Railroad Magazine~
________________________________________________________________

How Rittman Are You?

1. You understand where the term "Rittmanite" originated.

2. You are able to name at least 8 places of worship in R-town.

3. You can name all 3 bars ( as of 2001)

4. You know that "on the hill" is the place where the rich kids live.

5. You know what makes Mrs. Ferguson “special”.

6. You accepted the fact that Mr. Simms and our Band won more awards than all of our sports teams...combined. (Editor’s Note: More is good, an unbroken 10-0 record is better)

7. You have heard the stories of how Mr. Winkler lost his fingers at least 3 times.

8. There was at least one kid in your class named Steiner and/or Beery.

9. You have witnessed the Indians being destroyed by the Smithies at least 2xs

10. You have heard the Stories of how Halstein Hall is Haunted.

11. The Fact that Senior Option is Mandatory still makes no sense to you.

12. You've ever gone to prom on a Tractor or a Fire engine.

13. You've been or dated a junior fireman.

14. One of your immediate family members work/worked at LUK, Morton Salt, PCA , or the School District.

15. You know that special smell means that the farmers are out working again.

16. You understand cow tipping

17. You have had multiple valedictorians

18. At least two girls got married and two girls had children within 12 months of Graduating...and usually not the same 2.

19. Long jean skirts were something only certain girls wore.

20. You never played a single sport but always won the post-game Fight.

21. You say you’re from Rittman ...and people look scared.

22. You say you’re from Rittman and people ask, "Where?"

23. You would know everything that had happened over the weekend to everyone before the tardy bell rang on Monday.

24. You can compare and contrast in detail the differences of Apostolic, Mennonite, and Amish.

25. You had a least one relative in your grade.

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Rittman High School Class of 1987 Yearbooks

2007-03-23T12:02:00.000-05:00

I’m really not sure why I have kept all of this stuff for this long. Regardless, I have it, so I thought I might as well make it available to all of you.

What you’re seeing to the left is the West Hill Yearbook from the 1976 – 1977 school year. We were in first grade. Click here for the 1976 Yearbook.

There is another that I have scanned. It's the Rittman Middle School Yearbook from 8^th grade, the 1982 – 1983 school year. Click here for the 1982 Yearbook.

If you have photos that you would like me to post, feel free scan and email them to me, or click here to learn how to become a contributor so that you can do it yourself. It's really easy and you don't have to know anything about Websites. twhims@gmail.com

Must Have Items to View Content on this Site:

It seems that some people are having a hard time viewing some of the video/music on this site. All music and video on this site is in Adobe Flash or Shockwave format.

More than likely, your Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.) has the Flash and Shockwave plugin s installed. However, if you're having trouble viewing or hearing anything on this site, it’s a good idea to make sure that you have the most recent versions installed. Click here and download the latest version Flash Player. It’s free and completely automated. Just click the obvious button the page.

The next step is to ensure that you have Adobe Shockwave player installed. To do this, click here. Again, it’s free and completely automated. This will take slightly longer to download.

Downloading the latest versions of these two plugins will virtually assure that all items within the pages of this blog will play properly. Please keep in mind that those with dial-up access are going to have a hard time viewing/listening to any of this stuff. It’s certainly possible, but it’s going to take a good long time for things to load.

RHS '87 Blog

2007-03-21T08:36:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick update about the new—and now improved—Rittman High School Class of 1987 Blog.

Spring Layout - The blog is now based on percentages instead of pixels. What this means is that the layout of the blog will now show the same way on all monitors. Being the geek that I am, I usually design on a 23” monitor, two of them, actually. So I tend to make my layouts in a 16x9 aspect ratio, a format that is quickly becoming industry standard. And this ends the nerd portion of our program.

Updates Via Email – The box on the left side of your screen allows you to enter an email address and subscribe to this blog. What this means is that anytime there is updated information, you’ll receive an email. The email is from a service to which I subscribe, FeedBurner. If you choose to use this option, a confirmation email will be sent to your box. Make sure to check your junk mail folder if you haven’t received it.

Video – A Rittman Wedding is a video that I put together several years ago. It’s a compilation of video from the weddings of Todd Brewer, Mic Becerra, John Leatherman, and a round of golf before one of the weddings. The video should load pretty quickly unless you are on dial-up. It’s certainly worth a look…and turn it up.

Music – Songs from the Rittman Swimming Pool is a compilation of 70s and early 80s tunes that I remember listening to during the days of Swim Team. A small window will pop open when the link is clicked. All you have to do is hit play. If you don’t like the song, click on FF. There are about 60 songs in this group. Shhhhh…don’t tell ASCAP/BMI.

Photos – Numerous shots of the 20-year reunion of the RHS 10-0 Football team.

Downloads – The last edition of our 8^th-grade Smoke Signal from May, 1983. It’s the Last Will and Testaments issue. “It’s Classic Nostalgia,” say Tim Whims, Manager, Department of Redundancy Department.

Resources – Under the resources heading you will find links about how to become a contributor to this Website, and links to the RHS 87 Support Site. The support site houses Rittman graphics that you can use to spruce-up your blog posting, as well as a few other items that aren’t so conducive to a blog layout.

Links – Just what the name implies. These are links to several things Rittman. It also includes a link to my personal blog, Worlds Beyond Rittman, which in all reality has nothing to do with Rittman. It’s simply a not-so-private journal of my musings.

Please note: Several items on this page are based on Flash. If you are having trouble viewing something, please update your flash Internet browser plugin from the Adobe Website. It’s free, takes about one minute, and all you have to do is click here.

As always, if you have questions, feel free to send me an email – twhims@gmail.com.

Top Photo: Amy Bauman and Tim Whims ready for our Senior Prom.

Middle Photo: (From left) Matt Whims, Beth Johnson, Tim Whims, & John Leatherman at my 10th birthday party. Take note of one of my presents that can be seen over my left shoulder - Merlin!~ What a classic.

Bottom Photo: (From left) Vic Marinello, John Leatherman, Mark Brewer, Mic Becerra, Tim Whims, Ronnie Craddock, & Todd Brewer at my wedding in Greenville, S.C., September 12, 1998. It was sooooo South Carolina hot on that day.

Rittman Class of 1987 Blog

2007-03-14T10:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the official Rittman High School Class of 1987 Blog. I’ve put this site in place as a way to keep all of us informed about our class contact information, reunions, etc.

Have a look around, read a few blogs, and look at some of the photos. There is an area marked, comments, at the end of each blog post. We encourage you to post your comments.

Unless you have a Gmail/Blogger account, your comment will be posted as anonymous. Therefore, we encourage you to type your name at the beginning of your comment so we know who you are. However, this is not necessary if you wish to remain anonymous.

The ability to comment is available to anyone who finds this blog, as is the ability to remain anonymous. So don’t be alarmed if you see something that you don’t like. If by chance defamatory comments become out of control, administrators of this account have the ability to moderate. For now, we are leaving it open.

Would you like to be able to post blogs and photos instead of just commenting? Only members of the class of 1987 can have contributor privileges. You must sign up for a Google Gmail account to be a contributor. It's free, takes about five minutes, and give you a tremendous amount of free resources for living online (if you want them). Once you have a Gmail account, email me and I'll take care of the rest.

Tim Whims
twhims@gmail.com