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Gregory Calvimontes

Frank G Styzek

Hi John! Thanks for sharing your amazing story. It is interesting how fate can bring two people together such as you and Dr. Lynn. I hope you continue to be successful in your fight against the disorder. One thing for sure...I am glad you went to Lane because Chemistry class would not have been as fun without you. Best of luck and always here if you need anything. 

Deborah "Debbie" Tono

WOW ...

That was truly a note worthy piece John! Had tears in my eyes & chills up my spine as your story concluded. Am glad you wrote it down & shared it with us  - thank you. 

Thsnk you for your service & please extend my regards to Bobby & Frank (not sure if Frank remembers me!)  The world we live in is much smaller than we think  We need to cherish the memories, live in the moment & love all who we encounter in the future  ❤️

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Hey art majors... especially those of you in Division 657, if you were a fan of Terri Boelter (now Theresa Dubose, living in Atlanta), she's coming to town in September and we're planning a mini-reunion. If you are interested in participating, send me an email at michelle_wnr@yahoo.com.

John Simmers

Some third-year nursing-students from Herzing University [Kenosha] are helping out today at a Veterans Outreach Program that I'm associated with (in Racine, WI).

When I earlier met with some of them, I discovered-- through introductions, that three were from Chicago, who all grew up on the northwest side, and one of them was an LTHS alum (class of '03).

As the four of us were talking -- it struck me funny that -- when I shared about me being a bicentennial-alum of LTHS -- and our freshman-class (in Fall '71) being the first to have included girls, their immediate in unison response was to ask --- "Lane was an all-boys school?"

Me with Kim DeMariano --- Class of '03

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

A REPORT FROM THE FRONT recent activity at Hero's.  Since closing just a few months after our momentus 40th reunion... the building has remained dormant.  Last fall someone repaired the roof and just in the last few days, the building exterior was given a fresh coat of paint, (including painting over the "Hero's" logo on the awnings. They also put up a new "no parking" sign, but we can't see anything happening inside yet.  I really thought they'd raze the bulding to make way for million-dollar condos but the building still stands and continues to incur $24,000 in real estate taxes every year. It's a cold-cut mystery, drenched in seasoned oil, and wrapped in a checkered-paper riddle, stuffed into a plastic bag with some chips!

Robert Cole

Let's all petition for "Son of Heros"!

Robert Cole

Well, another May has come and gone in Indianapolis. And another almost RECORD crowd at the Indy 500. 320,000 reserved seats filled. Not to mention the tens of thousands they fit in the infield. The LARGEST single-day sporting event in the world and the LARGEST sporting arena. New fact this year... did you know that ALL FOURTEEN of the Big Ten football stadiums would fit in the infield of the Indy 500?

And, of course you all noticed the famous LTHS alum added to the starting field at this year's Indy 500???

More to follow!!!

Robert Cole

Yes... the LTHS Bicentennials are now represented at the Indy 500!

And, let me tell you... it's a real SQUEEZE getting into those cars! The fireproof suit is about 2 inches thick and hot as hell. Professional racer Gabby Chavez is in the front and yours truly is in the back.

I got to do three hot laps around the track last week. 0 to 100mph in 3.5 seconds is a real gut-wrencher!
But, even tougher than that is pulling 3-4 Gs when you hit the corner at 180mph!

Of course, tradition dictates that the winner gets the milk and a kiss from the princess at the finish line.

(My daughter was a 500 Festival Princess 6 years ago)

Chalk up another win for the LTHS Bicentennials!!!

Timmy Wong

Hey Robert, I was there and saw you race!!!.  I attended my first 500 this year with my son and daughter and friends.  We tail-gated before the race and got to walk around the track as well.  It was a really exciting event with a great finish althought the three red flags almost ruined it!!  We had a great time and hoping to be able to attend again in the future!!

Robert Cole

Glad you liked it! This was probably my 32nd year at the 500 in a row. Except for a couple of covid years I missed. It's kind of fun to meet the newly married couple in the row behind you. Later, meet their kids. Then  watch their kids grow up! Before sitting in the stands, I spent 5 years working the 500 on the Timing & Scoring crew. Sat on the casting table at Methodist Hospital next to Mario Andretti. He hit the wall at 200mph... I dropped a computer on my foot. But, we both got hurt at The Track! His cast was red. I chose purple!

Racing is a big deal in Indy. I've also attended road races, sprint and midget car races, F1, motorcycle, and even an airplane race!  You haven't seen anything until you've watched figure-8 racing on a dirt track! Indy also hosts the NRHA drag nationals in the fall and they make IndyCar look like it's standing still! Spent a few years volunteering there, keeping little kids from playing in the sand of the safety pit at the end of the strip. If a dragster loses its parachute at the finish line you've got only a few seconds before it hits the sand pit!

Then there was the time I worked an observer post at Turn 4 of the Indy 500. A car bounced off the wall at Turn 4 and came skidding right toward me. I jumped over the railing of my tiny, plywood stand, dove behind the 3-foot concrete wall, and looked up watching car parts fly a few feet over my nose! Learned why they never got anyone to work the Turn 4 observer post more than ONCE!

One year I took a Skip Barber racing course on the road course at Raceway Park here. Spent the day learning how to drive a Formula Ford. Only gets up to about 125mph. But, it's open-wheel, open cockpit, and you're still just a few inches off the ground and away from the wall. Double-clutchin' that baby at 125mph. It's a thrill!

Robert Cole

And, No, you didn't actually see me race. Unless you were there the Tuesday after. I was only joking!

John Bliss

So Bob, you comin' in to race at NASCAR in Chicago this summer? It's bound to be a clusterfark! 

Michelle Milkovic (Weiner)

Hey gearheads!  What do you know about this place? Would it be fun to host an alumni event there?

Timmy Wong

Hey Bob, looks like you're an old timer at Indy and racing.  Our seats were off turn 4 towards the pit area and it was a great view.  It was very exciting finish.  I know you weren't racing as I was just kidding you.

Hey Michelle,t the Klairmont Collection is awesome.  I put together an event for our car club and we were just there a couple of months ago.  It is a very eclectic collection put together by Larry Klairmont who, unfortunately, passed away not long ago. They have cars from different eras of the auto world as well as automobilia and even airplanes. I have the contact there to help put it together if you need help.

Marion B Bastle

Jeffery Mazur

So excited to hear all of the racing stories. I also was hit by the bug . First Indy was 1967 of to many to count . (Racing family) Milwaukee , Michigan , mid Ohio, Iowa , barber Motorsport , Joliet (rip) road America (leaving in 3 days) and Kentucky. And those are just the INDYCAR tracks. Was part of a Can -Am pit crew (so cool ) . Was Leary about doing the ride along ( control thing ) so I did the drive by myself at Joliet (high bank). loved it.  You are so right, the cockpit was so tight I could barely move my head to check mirrors. Wanted to break 180, only got to176mph . I passed a bird on the main straight (the spotter got me laughing at 172mph) . OMG! Mean bump in turn 3 . We have been up and down the ranks from dirt tracks to drag strips . Had my share of rides . 68 Chevelle 350 small block , 1971 AMX 401 Ram , then lots of family cars . Right now I am enjoying a 2003 50th anniversary zo6 corvette. My hat is off to all the race fans. You don't understand it till you do it . If you're going to Road America for the INDYCAR weekend next week , maybe I'll see you in the paddock.  P.S . Hi Norman .

Robert Cole

The "Miracle Mile" in West Allis is SUCH an exciting place to watch a race! Love the high-banked tracks! That's the only problem with Indy.  The banking is so low it makes passing more of a challenge. Kind of narrow, too.

Indiana is home to so many wonderful little tracks, paved and dirt. I have a friend who used to race sprints and SCCA and I used to watch him in tracks so crappy I thought the wooden stands were going to collapse. He's now got a collection of old classic 'Vettes, and a legit Shelby Cobra I like to go drool over. His Cobra is probably worth more than his house... and he's got a MIGHTY BIG house! One of these days I'm going to convince him to let me take his Cobra out for a spin!
Got a great pic of my friend taking a turn at an SCCA race, at speed. Bet you didn't know you could get a stock Toyota minivan up on two wheels!

When I used to live out East I quite often attended races at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen and Oswego. Also great old race tracks. 

My next goals are to take the ridealong on the road course in Indy, and to take one of those performance car experiences where they let you do donuts in a Maserati or Ferrari or something.

If they'd invent a Top Fuel Dragster ridealong I'd be there in an instant!

Norman Vorne

Hi Jeff!

Andrew Flor

Andrew Flor

Andrew Flor

Andrew Flor

Jeffery Mazur

Andrew how are you doing? Been bowling lately? Haha . I never raced anyone from school. Willy Page had a really quick Chevelle SS as I recall . Love Siebkins . Road America, best track food. All this race talk brings to mind Meadowdale , great road course in Carpentersville , no longer there . 60's . Impressed about your car.

Ken Ortiz

Hello all,

Good to see some familiar alumni here. And I am truly loving all the posts. I haven't posted in awhile, cause I got back to work. So, eventually I will update you all on some new MFTE's (My First Time Ever's) I got to do last year, because why? Because we were on frikkin strike! My First Time Ever (MFTE) I was on strike. But because of that, I got to do a lot of cool (MFTE) stuff. I thought this position I accepted in May 2021 would be my bridge to retirement, and even though it was 3rd shift, it was very laid back, plus I was competent enough that my managers trusted me to let me handle issues that the other 2 shifts would not, because they had the resources to call on (we did not). What I did not know when I was hired on was that our union contract was expiring in May 2022, and the union (UAW) and company were negotiating a new contract. But those talks were not going well and we walked out on May 2nd 2022 (I was asleep, so I did not know until later that day, which was funny, because my 1 year anniversary was the day after). I thought that our strike would only last for a while as I got strike pay for picketing and I had time to do a lot of cool things over the summer. But we did not go back to work until the end of January 2023. So essentially 9 months we were on strike. 

Anyway, this weekend is the one year anniversary of the 50 years of Women of Lane celebration, which I attended (Yes, they were menaces, but I still love them). The funny thing is that the same weekend was the Puerto Rican festival at Humboldt Park (where I grew up). It is going on this weekend this year. Another funny thing (not really funny) about last year was that I was heading from Lane Tech to my sister's house in Berwyn and I usually take the shortcut via Sacramento and do not have to take the highway. Well, I did not know about the festival going on that same time last year and Sacramento was all blocked off and traffic was super backed up all around that area. I tried to hit North avenue to Western, but that was all blocked off as the parade is on Division street, etc, etc, so I had to do a ewwee (u-yee?) and get back to North avenue and go east to I-90/94 and hit the freeway to hit the Eisenhower west to head to Berwyn. What a nightmare! I called my sister and said I might be delayed a bit. (like frikkin 3 hours delayed!) On second thought, I could have gone west on North avenue instead of east and taken that to Narragansett (which turns into Ridgeland Avenue and is a nice ride to Berwyn).

So enjoy the Puerto Rican fest this weekend at Humboldt park! I am thankful that Father's day is next weekend as I will be hanging out with family down there in Chi-town and hopefully without any festival back-ups. And a Happy Father's day to all the Dads (and Grand-dads, and Great-Grand-dads?)