WATERMAN – The ghosts of Wolverines past followed alumni Friday night as they took what probably was their last look inside the old Waterman High School, now known as the Indian Creek Middle School.

Coming together from 12 states for their 40th anniversary reunion was the Class of 1976, with a few alums from 1975, 1977 and 1978 also invited. Some 50 graduates and spouses, plus three retired teachers, toured the old school building, destined for closure in 2017 when grades five through eight will be relocated to the remodeled Waterman Elementary School. At that time, Waterman elementary and high school students will be bused to Shabbona, where the high school has been since the two towns’ schools consolidated in 1993 to become the Indian Creek Community Unit 425. At that time, the Wolverines mascot was replaced by the name Timberwolves.

The nostalgic tour was organized by 1976 graduate Linda Loudermilk, now a paraprofessional at the middle school. The three-story brick building may be razed once it is closed; but an addition, which was built in the early 1960s, could be retained for community uses since it has a more modern gymnasium and other upgraded facilities than the original structure.

Teachers accompanying the alumni were David Miner, who spent 19 years from 1965 to 1984 as a science teacher; Joan Correa, who taught physical education; and Sherrie Martin, who taught elementary classes for more than 20 years and is also a graduate of Waterman High.

Walking into his old chemistry lab and science classroom, Miner pointed out where he had hung his white lab coat, and noticed the old wooden intercom box still on the wall. One of his former students, Susan Hunt (Class of 1977), had come all the way from the Big Island of Hawaii to reconnect and reminisce with schoolmates. She recalled the big, long laboratory tables in the room and sinks that no longer are there. Miner quipped that his students thought he wore the same lab coat for years and told him they would bronze it when he retired.

Walking through the old library on the third floor, alumnus Jeff Foose spotted a large register still in the floor and recalled that classmate Kenny Baie used to lift up the floor grate and crawl in there during study hall.

Many of the alumni spent time in the old building’s gym, now used as a practice facility and for P.E. classes. Displayed on the wall at the gym entrance are names of past athletes and the all-time records they set while in school. Lots of photos were taken of that sign board. All around the walls in the cafeteria were trophies and awards won by past teams in several sports. A truckload of trophies had been removed in the 1990s after consolidation and turned over to the Waterman Area Heritage Society for display or sale. Locked inside a hallway display case are artifacts of early days in the school with a smattering of yearbooks, record books, microphone, and even a school bell. Classmates wondered out loud what would become of that memorabilia when the school no longer is there.

Perhaps the most interesting recollection of the night came from Bob Sabin, who said he and four other male classmates decided they wanted to take home economics, which had heretofore been reserved for female students. His mother had to talk the school into allowing them into the class and – along with Eldred Russell, Jeff Foose, John Vines and David Hartman – signed up for home ec, then being taught by Alberta Collier.

They caused quite a stir among the 15 girls in class and tried some new recipes never seen before in the school. Sabin recalled they made “beer-battered smelt,” using cans of beer obtained from a liquor establishment in Hinckley or Shabbona. He couldn’t recall by whom or which tavern, but Waterman was a “dry town” for decades, so they had to go elsewhere for alcohol. One of his female classmates then spoke up and said, “also tell about the pot-laced brownies you guys made in class …,” which  was met by a grin, then silence among the fellows in the group. So that story ended right there.

As the lights were turned out and the front door locked, the classmates almost could hear the refrain from the old Wolverines fight song, sung to the tune of “On Wisconsin”:

Come on Waterman,

Dear old Waterman,

Fighting for your fame.

Fight Wolverines,

Fight, Fight, Fight,

To win the game!