Alumni Weekend Part 2
As you walk up to the blue canvas awning on the west side of the shopping center at 1509 West Chicago Road in Sturgis, you see the door to the Howe Alumni Club is open. Step inside and you step into the 140-year past of Howe Military School.
The Club walls are covered with trophies, photos large and small, and artifacts of the School’s life we all shared. Whether you attended Howe in 1910 or 2010, there’s something here from your life at Howe.
Here’s a rare tinted photo of Mrs. Howe.
Then there’s a sign from the School’s last decade.
The bar is covered with favors for the Annual Banquet Saturday evening. Honorary Alums Desiree DeWitt and Jean Miller assembled these Friday morning.
More walls of photos ancient and modern, and empty tables, awaited the crowd for the Annual Meeting.
The Saturday morning (5 October 2024) group photo on the former campus is in Part 1 of this report above. At the Annual Meeting Saturday at 1300, reports of Association activities and finances were presented. President DeWitt reported on the increasing scope of Association activities in support of Howe alums. Outreach Coordinator Jean Miller reported on the Regional Gatherings and attempted July Open House at the Alumni Club, for local non-Howe organizations to see our collection of memorabilia, and the proposed Gathering next July in Cedar Point, Ohio.
CDR Fred Seibold ’53 reported on additions and improvements to our Association’s website as Chair of the Website Committee. As Chair of the Traditions Committee, he reported on the project to obtain a State of Indiana Historical Marker for our School, and for inviting two Bishops of Northern Indiana to attend our Annual Banquet in observation of our School’s 140th Anniversary. Paul Foerster, President of Great Commission University, was invited to the Annual Banquet. Our Association has retained an intellectual property attorney to register the School Crest and our name as trademarks to protect the School’s intellectual property from encroachment. The extent of this activity was limited by our Board to the minimum deemed necessary to protect the legacy. The Nominating Committee nominated Dr. David Frederick ’48 as Director; he was elected. At the Board Meeting immediately following the Annual Meeting, the incumbent officers were nominated and re-elected to the one-year terms provided in our bylaws.
L-R Alice Snyder, granddaughter of MAJ James Merritt 1917 and niece of COL Tom Merritt ’53; Karen Gray, wife of Bp. Gray; Michael DeWitt 2001, our President; Bp. Gray, and CDR Fred Seibold ’53.
As the Bishops and their wives arrived for the Annual Banquet, they were given a tour of the Alumni Club and its marvelous memorabilia. Bp. Gray asked to see the Gray Memorial Saber, which was a memorial to his grandfather, the Second Bishop of Northern Indiana, who is buried in the St. James Chapel Crypt.
CDR Seibold and Bp. Gray view the saber in the bottom of the display case below the chasubles. The saber has a heavily-ornamented basket hilt visible in the photo; the ornamentation is repeated on the tip of the scabbard. The saber has been removed from its scabbard to show Bp. Gray’s name and title engraved on the blade. What appears to be a box next to the hilt of the saber is actually Grace Libey’s 50-year history of our School. It is a 1934 scrapbook-like tome of typewritten pages illustrated with photos and clippings pasted in. It was locked in the School vault for decades.
L-R Bishop Gray, CDR Seibold ’53, Bishop Sparks
The bishops view the Alumni Honor Wall which displays class pictures of the Honor Classes; this year it’s those years ending in 4 and 9. Bp. Sparks is holding the 1953 panoramic photo of the Corps; the Battalion Staff formation in the foreground. CDR Seibold ’53 is the cadet on the right of the staff formation.
Two views of the Garden Room showing portions of the Annual Banquet diners.
Bishop Gray receives his Honorary Alumnus Award from CDR Seibold ’53, as Bp. Sparks joins diners to applaud.
Bishop Sparks receives his Honorary Alumnus Award from CDR Seibold ’53
L-R Eleni Mitropolous-D’Andrea 2004, 1st VP of HMSAA, Ms. Nancy Phillips, Michael DeWitt 2001, President of HMSAA.
Ms. Nancy Phillips receives her Honorary Alumna Award from Michael DeWitt 2001, President of HMSAA. Ms. Phillips is Eleni’s mother and widow of James Weiss ’53.
She was President of the Howe Military School Parents’ Association and has been a long-time supporter of our School and this Association.
L-R David Frederick ’48, Carol Ann Frederick, Crystal Vaughn 2012, 2nd VP, co-treasurer, and Registered Agent, HMSAA, and Fred Dearing ’63
2nd VP Crystal Vaughn conducts the Trivia Contest at the 2024 Annual Banquet. The questions are taken from our Association website.
The delicious banquet was catered by the Howe Restaurant.
Alums were urged to contact classmates to join the fun.
Plan to visit a Regional Gathering or the 2025 Alumni Weekend in Sturgis, first weekend in October.
Genuine Howe clothing is available from our store.
Please visit our Association Donations page and help us work to preserve the legacy.
Thank you for reading this.
Credits: Photos: Alice Snyder, Crystal Vaughn 2012, Dana Sparks, CDR Fred Seibold ’53. Fred wrote the text.