Appreciations

Wendy Renneckar

…from our Rogers Park apartment to living in Denver, travels with Wendy will always be great memories. She attended Harper College then finished at Northeastern Illinois University and her goal was to become a librarian. She was an avid reader from Ayn Rand to Tolstoy to Betty Friedan, she always had a book in tow. She liked visiting the bookstore in Old Town and all the record stores for some new tunes! Often giving albums as birthday presents and who could forget receiving the Bruce Springsteen double album or Joni Mitchell’s “Miles of Aisles”…

For years, no memories of Wendy were recorded and now, a short comment that, in my opinion, really does not represent her life at all…no one will ever know the feelings of sadness that she experienced in those final days but one thing is for certain, she left behind many loving family members and friends! May Wendy Rest In Peace, love and happiness!

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the Renneckars for giving me my first job! A group of caring Pharmacists and coworkers that helped young GBS students get their first job and a wonderful opportunity to learn!! How appropriate for the Glenview Historical Society to honor the store at the library this month.

I would like to submit this with hopes that a wonderful friend will be remembered. Thank you.
- Chris Moravcik

See also in memoriam.

Donna Gibbons

The new Paramount movie “Tracy Flick Can’t Win,” starring Reese Witherspoon, is scheduled to hit the theaters next year. Based on the novel by New York Times author Tom Perrotta, it’s a sequel to his 1998 novel and movie “Election.”

I remember watching “Election” in the late 1990s and thinking, “Oh my God, this movie is about Donna Gibbons.” Seriously.

So… where to begin?

I’ve met a few “famous” people in my life. OK, I didn’t meet them—I sat next to them as they tried to remain anonymous. I knew who they were, of course. Diminutive singer Sheena Easton was magnificent in her purple bikini poolside at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. Right next to me. That was in 1985. Larger-than-life actor Michael J. Fox was purposefully reading a book while seated next to me on a trans-Atlantic flight from Europe to the United States in 1998, shortly after I had completed my Peace Corps service in Africa. And Patrick Roy (the Hall of Fame goalie for the Colorado Avalanche) and I sat in Lazy Boy recliners in front of a row of big-screen TVs at an electronics store, The Great Indoors, in Denver in 2002—while our significant others shopped. He had just won the Stanley Cup.

But I had known Donna Gibbons—a bona fide Hollywood actress—and from an early age. We became fast friends when we first met in junior high, and I often walked with her to her house after school. Sometimes we hung out with fellow student Paul Kantner. Donna liked him—as much as any 7th-grade or 8th-grade student can like another student. I don’t recall where Paul moved, but in my mind, he was always the musician who became a guitarist and vocalist for Jefferson Airplane. Years later, I was disappointed to discover he wasn’t the same Paul Kantner.

In the fall of 1964, Glenview Junior High was the big school where seventh-grade students in the Glenview Public School system had progressed from several smaller elementary schools. Early in the school year, we witnessed the engaging spectacle of the Student Council elections. As I recall, the candidates included Jim Siwy and Donna Gibbons. Ambitious Donna was a hot bundle of ambition, acting chops, unbridled energy, and over-the-top campaign promises. 

I’ll never forget Donna’s speech, delivered to the faculty and student body in the gymnasium. She boldly boasted, “If I’m elected, I promise we’ll have Kool-Aid in every drinking fountain.” I chuckled at hearing that, but just in case, I hedged my bet. If she was elected, maybe I could talk her into Hawaiian Punch instead of Kool-Aid.

I think that speech was Donna’s most remarkable performance. Not her performance in “About Last Night.” Not her appearances on television shows. It was her campaign speech in junior high school. That was when she discovered her talent and her love for performing. She was overjoyed with enthusiasm, positively giddy with excitement. I probably didn’t even know what giddy meant back then, but it aptly describes Donna.

We lost touch when I left Glenview in 1969. Oh sure, I continued to hear about her. The first time was in 1974 at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. I was a freshman. I had spent four years in the US Marine Corps and started college when I was twenty-three. When fellow U of I students heard I was from Glenview, they invariably asked if I knew Donna or her boyfriend, Dan Fogelberg. “The singer Dan Fogelberg?” I was surprised. And they said, “Yes, they were quite the pair at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts.” Later, I followed the stories and reviews of her TV and movie roles. I felt pride and gratitude, and I was so happy for her.

 I started thinking about Donna again last week after learning about the scheduled release of “Tracy Flick Can’t Win.” Where would she be if she were still with us? What might she have accomplished? It’s intriguing that she was cast in “About Last Night” with Catherine Keener. Would Donna (like Catherine) have become a character actress, portraying broken, disgruntled, yet sympathetic and relatable characters? She had that rich, husky voice that could convey such emotional depth. Yes, she would have been sought and cast for those roles.

I think Donna was ahead of her time. Imagine if she had been born in 2001 instead of in 1951. She would have become a YouTube sensation with millions of Instagram followers.

And she would be loving every minute of it.
- John Schnell

See also in memoriam.

Mike Lautenslager

They say that memories fade with time, like old photographs. We’re told our recollections are less accurate—at least most of the time. But sometimes, I believe we can recall the details of an event like we’re reliving the moment as it originally happened.

And that perfectly describes the way I met Mike Lautenslager.

It was the summer of 1958, and our family lived on Wedel Lane—just south of Glenview Road, between Shermer Road and Greenwood Road. The Henking School construction project was underway at the Wedel Lane and Linneman Street intersection, just down the street from our house. (Henking School officially opened in 1959).

During planning for the building, engineers discovered a problem. The homes on Wedel Lane were all on septic tanks. But Illinois Building Code required public schools to be connected to municipal water and storm sewer systems.

That summer, the Village of Glenview hired a construction company, and heavy equipment began arriving on Wedel Lane to dig trenches along its length (about 1,500 feet) to install the required water and storm sewer pipes. The trench was 6’ deep and 2’ wide—a perfect playground for kids. 

At ground level in regular intervals, dump trucks left enormous piles of sand to use as backfill after sections of the heavy cast-iron piping had been assembled and lowered into the trench. The pipes were 12” in diameter, and each assembled section was 6’ long.

A couple of days after construction began, I got into trouble (of course). Workers would leave the keys to the heavy equipment in the ignition at the end of the day, which I discovered right away. On the second night after their arrival, I started the excavator (we called them steam shovels in those days). As a seven-year-old, I thought pretending to operate a steam shovel was cool. My mom wasn’t impressed.

The work crews covered the open end of the storm sewer line each night with cardboard to prevent earth or sand from entering the pipes. By the weekend, they had reached the middle of the street—right in front of our house at 902 Wedel Lane.

Loose sand still covered the pipeline in front of two houses, including ours. Further back, they had already covered the sand with the earth they had excavated. My younger brother and I played “army” all weekend long in the 12” deep sand in the trench—a 100’ long sandbox.

And that’s when I met Mike.

Suddenly, this unfamiliar kid appeared next to me in the trench, and he was crying. I thought he was about my age, and he was scared. He kept saying, “I’m lost,” and “I want to go home.” His hair was bleached-blonde and nearly white. I had never seen anyone with hair that white before. And he had an unusually muscular build for a seven-year-old.

After talking with him for a few minutes, I went into our house and got my mom. She came out and asked his name. It sounded like he said, “My name is Mike Lockin Shlogger.” She asked him to repeat it, and he said the same thing. But he didn’t know where he lived.

He spoke with a funny accent—at least to me. My mom thought maybe his parents were from Germany. She grabbed Mike’s hand (I tagged along, too), and we walked toward Henking School. Along the way, she asked neighbors if they knew of any German families that might be new to the area. As we reached the end of Wedel Lane, Mrs. Rapp said that a German family had recently purchased one of the new houses on Linneman Street.

We rounded the corner onto Linneman and approached the row of houses. An attractive-looking blonde-haired woman appeared and yelled, “Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

And that’s how I remember the day I met Mike.

We became friends, although I can’t say we were best friends. I did learn that the original spelling of his last name was Lautenschläger. The German version has those funny dots called umlauts over the tops of letters.

Mike and I had some things in common. Since we were both Catholic, I often saw him in church—first at OLPH and later at St. Catherine’s. We always complained that we hated church because we missed the latest episode of “Flash Gordon,” which aired on Sunday mornings. We were also eager to try things our parents told us not to do, so we experimented with drinking and smoking while still pre-teens.

By the time high school arrived, we had made new friends, had new interests, and drifted apart. But we always remained friendly. Good guy.
- John Schnell

Jim Lacivita

Jim Lacivita saved my life. I say that with all the drama that only a 16-year old high school girl can say. I brought to my senior year the joy of being Glenbrook South's first Booster Club president and the sorrow of my parents' break-up and protracted divorce actions including a brief period where my mother, siblings, and I stayed with my grandparents in Chicago. Jim Lacivita took me under his wing to "assist" him during my unscheduled time in school where I sat in his office with my head in my hands. Occasionally, I did help him but I recall mostly sitting quietly and grappling with my emotions and the problems at home. He gave me the only real sanctuary I had that year.

As the school year was coming to a close, he turned to me one day and asked me how long I expected I was going to grieve over the loss of my childhood and family life? Was I going to get over it when I was 20? 30? 40? In the question asked quietly and compassionately, I knew that there would be an end to my profound sadness and that it would be sooner rather than later for I didn't want the effects of the divorce to determine the rest of my life. Years later, I looked him up and took him to lunch where he showed me photos of his wife Karen and his son Jamie and I got to tell him what a difference he made in my life...and how happy I was! Bless his soul. He was a very good man.
- Carol Suzanne Mitchell

William Schreiner, Chuck Herold, Jim Hagen, Tom Beckmann, George Christensen, Steve George, Phil Moss, Jim Siwy, John Darden, Jeph Harrison

Thank you to Dr. Schreiner. Spring of our senior year, as I was doing my best to rebel against all that was normal in my life, Dr. Schreiner opted to mentor instead of expel me, may have saved my college admission status. The last straw was to be distribution of several hundred copies of a document, salted with the F-word, damning our institutions of education in America and calling for student rebellion. The papers distributed, Dr. Schreiner invited me to his house after school, for a drink (!) and conversation. The friendship, trust, and listening was indeed what I needed. We stayed in touch for the rest of the year, no question this helped get me through. I found my way eventually to a career teaching at University, and Dr. Schreiner’s strong, kind leadership remained with me. Thanks again.

And thank you fellows in the unofficial GBS Bridge Club – Chuck Herold, Jim Hagen, Tom Beckmann, George Christensen, Steve George, Phil Moss, others. Our Saturday nights with camaraderie, pizza, pop, and competition were great fun, comfort for my hormone-addled brain, always heart warming and goofy. We took ourselves so seriously! Bless our hearts. And we became decent Bridge players, though I’ve not kept it up.

Thank you to Jim Siwy, John Darden, and other muscle-brain-bound who were kind in PE. I was physically small, worked hard, and you judged for effort, validated for showing up. Much appreciated.

Thanks to Jeph Harrison. We met, Jeph, in 8th grade homeroom, sat next to each other, of course, through that year and through high school. You were friendly, thoughtful, humorous, inclusive. Yes, I was observing, though I didn’t know it then, or think about it like that. But as I’ve looked back over the years, your example of what-it-is-to-be-a-decent-person has been one of my yardsticks.

And to Bryan LeBlanc, best friend since 7th grade, summer Parks & Rec tennis program. How do we measure importances like this, anyway? For hundreds of days after school, playing pool & pingpong, backboard for ideas, ethics, angst, excitement, pain & joy about regular stuff that happens to all of us. You have always been steady, Bryan, never judged my moods or flight, listened carefully, advised little but well. And when, decades later after a dayhike with my son in the Cascade Mts, in a bar & grill we were challenged by two strangers to a game of pool and I nearly ran the table, got to high-five my adult child in victory -- priceless, and you were there, my friend.

Kathie is so right. We have been blessed with so much opportunity and others’ good intentions, hard work. And with knowing each other. I look forward very much to seeing you in October!
- John Hibbs

James Lacivita

The entire time I was at GBS, I was part of Student Council. The experience was very rewarding due to the guidance of Jim Lacivita. He inspired in me a passion for leadership and governance. It also gave me the opportunity to meet my first husband, Ken Lass, who was President of the Student Council when I was a Sophomore!! That year, I was just a normal council member and on the Social Committee (responsible for Homecoming Weekend), Junior year, again on the Social Committee. But Senior Year!! That was something special. David Bracken and I had the privilege of hosting the Illinois Association of Student Councils at GBS.  This was a one day assembly of 1100 Student Council delegates from 80 schools in the state. Dave was the President and I was the Convention Secretary -- in other words it was my show. The convention looked like a political party convention with tall placards representing each school scattered around the GBS Auditorium.  We had an outside speaker on Leadership and to this day, I have the workbook he used with us. It was the most amazing thing I had experienced at that point in time in my life -- having 1100 youth learning about leadership and what they could do to advance the quality of life at their respective institutions.

Why was this impactful? Only a teacher/sponsor would even know about such opportunities and secondly, have enough confidence in David and I to submit our names for leadership positions. Mr. Lacivita coached us on how and when to do what. He gave us the knowledge and skills we needed to create a memorable experience for so many people. I cannot remember the details but I do know that it made a huge impact on my life and the courage it gave me to do anything I put my mind to.

In my last 17 years of my working life, after obtaining a Masters Degree in Organizational Development (Thesis on Transformational vs. Transactional Leadership), I went to work for Shell Oil Company and during my tenure there, what did I do? Executive coaching with leaders and teams, drove effectiveness projects with an emphasis on the human element, planned and led large conferences to gain organizational alignment, spoke on Leadership and mentored others in the field. Who would have ever guessed that the opportunity I was given as a Senior Girl at Glenbrook would go on to be my life’s passion.  

We were so blessed at Glenbrook to have had the things we did -- the facilities, the faculty and administration, great families that supported education, fun, and exposure to interesting opportunities outside the classroom (if you don’t believe me, pick up your yearbooks and walk down memory lane -- we built houses, had foreign exchange students, sent foreign exchange students, gave food and clothing to the needy, drama, sports -- something for everyone). And now the opportunity to come together and celebrate the lives we have been blessed to experience. I am so looking forward to seeing all of you!!
- Kathie McKiernan Lass Magness

Daniel Cullinan and Jane Britton

When Mr. Cullinan called me into his office in the spring of our last year, he wanted to know why I had not submitted any college applications. I was embarrassed to admit to him that my family was one of the poorer families in Glenview, and didn’t have the money to send me to college. He told me that he would help me find a scholarship and that I needed to start filling out college applications. He found me a full tuition scholarship to any Illinois school, all I had to do was to teach three years after graduation. That opportunity made all the difference in my life. When it came time to choose a major, Mrs. Britton became my role model. I loved her enthusiasm about her subject and the way she encouraged everyone. I still remember the slides of trips she took around the world, meant to broaden our perspectives. They were two people who extended a hand to help me up the ladder of life. I have tried to follow their example and do the same for my own students.
- Marti Gorun

O. L. Mutchmore, Virginia Montvid, William Schreiner, and Dave Tosh

You don’t get to pick your parents. You don’t even get to pick your teachers. Thankfully, nearly fifty years ago three of the faculty at Glenbrook South High School took extraordinary steps to recognize and intervene in a domestic violence situation. Mine.

On Wednesday morning, November 27, 1968, I was sitting in Mr. Mutchmore’s first-period Algebra II class. A student knocked on the door, walked directly to the teacher’s desk, and handed him a note. Mr. Mutchmore read the note to himself, summoned me to his desk, and told me to report immediately to the School Nurse. 

And that’s when Heroes were born. 

Earlier that morning, Mr. Mutchmore apparently observed some injuries that I had sustained before class started. He was highly suspicious regarding the nature of the injuries. I was attempting to hide the gash on my forehead and was completely unaware when Mr. Mutchmore asked a student to take a hand-written note to the School Nurse, detailing his observations. The note said he had reason to believe the School District should report a case of domestic violence involving a student to the authorities. 

Administrative Staff at Glenbrook South, including Dr. William Schreiner and Mr. Dave Tosh (the School Principal and Guidance Counselor), hurriedly called an impromptu meeting. By the time I arrived in the Nurse’s office, I saw my sister (at the time a sophomore at GBS) and Mr. Tosh sitting in the office. I asked what was going on. My sister had just confirmed Mr. Mutchmore’s suspicions and described numerous issues of domestic violence in our home. She informed the Nurse that she was also frequently a victim. I corroborated my sister’s statement regarding an incident that had occurred in our home earlier that morning, before we left for school.

The Nurse then called Dr. Schreiner, spoke with him briefly, and handed the phone to me. Dr. Schreiner invited my sister and me into his office. He advised us that he had notified appropriate authorities about the ongoing domestic abuse in our home, and that he had been granted temporary custody of my sister and me. An investigation would occur. In the interim, we would be living with him at his Swainwood residence in Glenview.

It was the day before Thanksgiving. My sister and I had only the clothes we were wearing, plus the jackets in our lockers. Dr. Schreiner stopped by the school store and purchased a pair of GBS sweatshirts and sweatpants for each of us. Then he told us that we would be accompanying his family to Eagle River, Wisconsin, for the Schreiner family Thanksgiving.

We left Glenview early that afternoon. It snowed during the several-hour drive to Eagle River. I remember thinking how beautiful the snowfall was, as we drove through the northern Wisconsin forest to the Schreiner’s cabin. So quiet, so white and so peaceful. After we arrived, I looked around the cabin. It was rustic, warm and inviting, and within minutes we had a cozy fire going in the stone fireplace. Thanksgiving Dinner was unlike any I have ever had. We had so much to be thankful for.

Unfortunately, my family situation never resolved itself. Eventually my sister and I withdrew from Glenbrook South High School. I never graduated from high school. Instead, as a skinny, scared 18-year-old, I made a momentous decision, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. My sister left home the following week. She moved to Littleton, Colorado, and  enrolled in high school. She has lived in Colorado for almost fifty years.

I have never forgotten that day, and the Glenbrook South faculty who jumped into action so decisively and quickly and took those extraordinary steps which forever changed the lives of two students. 

To Dr. Schreiner: I offer profound thanks for saving my sister and me. I am forever grateful to you and have tried to help others.

To Mr. Tosh: I value your judgment and follow-up in the days and weeks after our family separation. You bluntly told us we needed to leave home, and to put together a plan. You understood there was no other option, and it was the right call.

And to Mr. Mutchmore: I fondly recall a postcard I sent to you in 1975 from Champaign, Illinois. It said… “Hi, Doc Mutchmore - Just a quick note to let you know I got an ‘A’ in Calculus at the University of Illinois! Thanks for everything... John Schnell”
- John Schnell

William Schreiner, John Balgenorth, O. L. Mutchmore, Dan Sonnenberg, Robert Schoenwetter, Dave Tosh

Dr. William Schreiner was and still remains the guiding force for Glenbrook South High School. His insistence that school culture, activities, and athletics were essential to a strong academic program that prepared Titans for life is still the impetus for GBS uniqueness. There have only been four principals at GBS. The two who followed Doc Schreiner were staff members and the current principal arrived via GBN. South is also unique in the large number of former students who are members of the faculty. The “force is strong” among that group and they continue the original vision. I think that is Dr. Schreiner’s legacy. My teaching career in Glenview brought me immediately in regular contact with many of our GBS teachers. John Balgenorth was a teacher I admired as a student and also professionally when he became chair of the social studies department. Ora Mutchmore and Dan Sonnenberg were former coaches of mine who I appreciated even more through the years as I knew them as an adult. I taught the children of John Davis, Bill Stetson, and Bob Schoenwetter. All were great role models as teachers and parents. Interestingly, Coach Schoenwetter was my coach, I coached his son, David, and David taught and coached my sons. Finally, Dave Tosh was my guidance counselor at GBS during our senior year and then returned to teaching at Glenview Junior High. He and I have been lifelong friends and colleagues. Who would have thought it? By the way, looking at the teacher section of the yearbook – they (almost) all look so young!
- Scott Buzard

Dan Sonnenberg, Richard Goodspeed, and Linda Murowchick (Hopkins)

Two faculty members for whom I had special appreciation were Richard Goodspeed and Dan Sonnenberg. Mr. Goodspeed was a wise, steadying mentor as the senior class advisor. Coach Sonnenberg was underappreciated by many folks. He was in a difficult situation in working with teams that had limited talent and experience. He made the best of it, with a great sense of humor.

One student who I want to recognize is Linda Murowchick (Hopkins). As Class Secretary, she saved the day during October of our senior year when I was feeling overwhelmed with all that I was trying to do and what indeed needed to be accomplished for our class. More than anyone that year she was faithful and true.
- Jim Siwy