Happy Holidays from Howe

Keeping the Legacy Alive

The Friday of Alumni Weekend, October 1, 2021, about a dozen alums and friends walked through these doors to visit iconic St. James Chapel, which is now owned by Great Commission University. We thanked them for graciously opening the Chapel for our brief visit. We paused in the choir to recite the Howe school prayer. Most of us were remembering our days as cadets and the dedication of our parents, the school’s faculty and staff, and the many benefactors through the decades, who give us a better start in life with our Howe experience.

Time has taken its toll on Dear Old Howe. Declining enrollment and an aging physical plant much too large for the small enrollment consumed the endowment and forced the School to close. Our Alumni Association has inherited the duty to “Keep The Legacy Alive.” Each of us knows one or more facets of that dedication we experienced at Howe, because we each have carried it throughout our lives. A few years ago, all the documentation and artifacts that explain and illustrate the many facets of all our Howe experiences, was at great risk of being tossed into the dustbin of history.

Our Howe Military School Alumni Association, Inc., an Indiana not-for-profit 501©(3), saw its duty and worked hard to preserve all this history and document the unique experiences that formed it. Much of this work is displayed on our website, www.howealumni.org. Please visit, browse, and refresh your memories. Now we enter this holy season of gift-giving to our friends and loved ones, to commemorate the miraculous, ultimate gift of our Savior many centuries ago. Please remember those who gave you your Howe experience. Help your fellow alums preserve the legacy we all share. Please click the “Donate” button below and be generous.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your Howe friends.

The Lima Rectory

This photo was taken between 1904 and 1909. When Mrs. Howe died in 1904, Dr. McKenzie, the Rector, moved into the mansion and named it The Rectory. The Village of Lima changed its name to Howe in 1909. Thus the handwritten note dates this photo.

Class Agents Needed

Do you like keeping in touch with your old classmates? Wondering who is married, who bought their dream car, who is still working on that second degree, who started a business, who went into the military, or who retired?

Well, the reason I’m asking is because I’m looking for class agents; you know: the unsung heroes who are the fiber to keeping all their classmates in the loop about each other, the Alumni group itself and everything else worth knowing.

So, if you like to chat, keep in touch, maybe plan small trips or huge excursions for your group please let me know – and don’t feel bashful – we’ve all shared that dirt from the parade field; we will always be connected. Besides, you might find a crypto-millionaire in the group.

I look forward to hearing from you. To participate in the Class Agent program or learn more, contact me, James McKnight ’78, at: jmcknight@hmsalumni.org

Directors Needed

An application form is below for those who wish to be nominated to become a director. Your Alumni Association needs more members to step up and help us carry the additional workload, and bring along new ideas for doing so.

Please take time to reflect how you might help, fill in your interests, and e-mail us. Directors are elected at the Annual Meeting, then officers are elected by the directors right after the annual meeting. The bylaws prohibit nominations from the floor, so if you want to get involved, please send in your nomination request below.

Taps

With sadness, we report the passing of our fellow Howe alums on our website, updated weekly. To submit an obituary, send an e-mail to our Alumni Outreach Coordinator Jean Miller: alumni.outreach@hmsalumni.org.

We Need Participation

We are currently experiencing an influx in responsibilities and a shortage of dependable, honest, committed board members. Your Howe Military School Alumni Association is in desperate need of fresh, new ideas along with enthusiastic leaders who will take initiative and help with committee projects as needed.

Our openings include those who are skilled in computer technology, graphic design, event planning, Internet/website management, publishing, organizing, financial experts, and more. We know Howe helped shape some great leaders – now where are you? We need your help now, more than ever.

If you or a classmate have skills you would like to apply to our Association, please contact us and let us know what you can bring to the table.

Please send news of yourself and any other alums to our outreach coordinator Jean Miller at alumni.outreach@hmsalumni.org and be sure to tell Jean if you are interested in hosting a regional gathering.

Have you downloaded the Howe video for yourself and your family?

Your Howe Military School Alumni Association (HMSAA) is happy to remind you that a 25-minute video about Howe is now available for free viewing and/or downloading on YouTube. It was produced by History In Your Own Backyard. The video offers a convenient way to explain your Howe experience to friends and relatives. The drone aerial footage in the video gives us a new view of Dear Old Howe. Please download it so you will always have a copy. Click here to watch the video!

We Survive Thanks to Donations

Help us preserve the 135-year history of Howe Military School. Your donation to our Association supports the preservation of 135 years’ Howe memorabilia and to helping your brother and sister alums stay in touch.

Please visit the Donations page of our website, and be generous.

Thank you for reading this. Please stay in touch with Howe classmates by helping your Association enable contact as the years go by.

Annual Meeting Notice

The Annual Meeting of the Howe Military School Alumni Association, Inc., will be held at 1300 hours EST on October 1, 2022, in the Howe Alumni Club, 1509 E. Chicago Rd., Sturgis, MI 49091, as decided by the Association’s Board of Directors in lawful meeting.

Alums visiting the Alumni Club in Sturgis were overwhelmed with nostalgia seeing so many priceless Howe artifacts displayed so well. Please plan to attend the next Alumni Weekend 30 September through 2 October 2022 to see it all for yourself and share your memories.