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Homecoming, 2002

When it comes to the Alumni Band, I'm pretty much a newcomer, since I didn't start participating in the Alumni Band until Homecoming, 1999. Mind you, being a 1971 grad, I'm an old newcomer, but there is a core group of WYHS alumni who have been participating in Alumni Band for a lot of years.

When I first marched with the Alumni Band, I was a bit nervous - what if I didn't know anyone, what if I was the worst player there, what if I couldn't march? Heck - it had been 25 years since I'd played with a band of any kind.

Welp, when I walked in to the band room that first night, I didn't know anyone there. And I don't know whether or not I was the worst player there - everyone else played loud enough that it covered up any mistakes I made. I do know that I had a lot of fun and met a bunch of really great folks (alumni, students and faculty).

Homecoming 2002 was my fourth performance with the Alumni Band. I now know a few names and a bunch of faces, but I'm still not an "old timer" with the band (though I may still be the oldest alumni marching at Homecoming). The weather looked real nasty before game time. That picture up there was taken on the football field at half-time. With all that mud, you'd never know those were Christina Stoke's shoes, would you? (turns out Christina was born when I was a freshman at WYHS - sometimes I do feel a bit old).

During rehearsals Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, we had more alumni show up than I remember in previous years. Friday night's threatening weather evidently kept a lot of fans and alumni away from the game, which is too bad - the skies cleared shortly after kick-off and we had a great time playing our horns and watching the Rams win. After the game, a group of us went to Donatos for pizza. I understand that Roosters on Hamilton Road was the destination for a lot of other alumni.

The Alumni Band raised enough money to buy a trombone for the current student band, and we'll continue to work on raising funds for a Band Camp Scholarship. If you weren't able to make the game and would like to contribute to the Band Camp Scholarship fund, scroll on down a bit for information on how you can make a donation.

Okay - I know you didn't come to this page to read about the fun I had with the Alumni Band had during Homecoming week. And you sure didn't expect to be asked to donate to a scholarship fund for the kids. You just want to look at the pictures, right? Welp, here 'ya go - links to the alumni picture pages for Homecoming Week, 2002 (if you can help identify any of the folks in the pictures, please come on back here and scroll down to the "Help Wanted" section):

Pictures

 

Help the Kids: Band Camp is now $250 per student. The Alumni Band is collecting money for a Band Camp scholarship fund. Help the kids in the Ram Band attend Band Camp by making a donation to the Alumni Band's Band Camp Scholarship Fund.

Donate By Check: Please make your check payable to "W.I.M.B.A." (Whitehall Instrumental Music Boosters Association), put "Alumni Band Fund" in the memo field, and mail it to Jeff Harriman; WYHS; 675 S. Yearling Road; Whitehall OH 43213.

Donate Online: You can use a major credit card or your PayPal account to donate online through PayPal.com. Click on the "Make a Donations" button to donate:

 

Help Wanted: I'd like to identify as many folks as possible, and could use your help. I'm putting a picture number under each photo. If you see a picture that doesn't have everyone identified, please send me an Email (rob@wyhs.org) with the info for the caption. It would be REALLY great if you gave me the information in a format I can just copy and past onto the web page. Something like "P0904001, Back Row: Joyce (Nichols) Harkless, '71; Lu Ann (Thorpe) Hallstrom, '71; Connie Hale (Preston's wife); Front Row: Preston Hale, '71; Paula (Replogle) Fish, '71; Rita (Artis) Colopy, '71"

Also, if you took pictures at Homecoming and have some you think folks would like to see, please send me an Email and we'll see about adding them to the site.

And, if you have a web site where you've posted Homecoming pictures (or other Whitehall-related pictures), I'd be happy to provide a link from here to there.

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Join The Mailing List!

This alumni stuff is a heck of a lot more fun if a bunch of people are involved. Please Click Here to sign up for the mailing list. Also, please spread the word about the web site and mailing list to your fellow WYHS classmates.

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My wife, Paula (Replogle), Class of 1971, has multiple sclerosis and I started a home-based business so I can work from the house and take care of her. If you'd like to read a bit about the Fish family and my home based business, please click here to reach the "about us" page on my business web site. And if you're a real glutton for punishment, you can check out my personal web site, robfish.com

The wyhs.org / wyhsRams.com web site is a private web site. I've got no affiliation with the Whitehall City Schools or any other "official" organization in Whitehall. Information published on the site is gathered from various sources, and since this is a hobby for me, there's a real good chance you're going to find some mistakes here and there. All information is presented "as is" - if you're looking for perfection, you're going to be disappointed in here. If you find an error or an omission, please let me know and I'll try to get it fixed as soon as I get a chance.