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Sheila Glenn-Whitford (Glenn)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Has-been RN
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: West, wewaxation & wetiement: The gospel of Elmer Fudd.
As a sexagenarian, I clutch my red, white & blue Medicare card with gratification, realizing this Godsend is not bestowed to all.

Till the end of time, somethings never alter: A hint of patchouli remains in the air, my girls chastise me "say flip-flops Mom, not thongs, tie dye, beads--lots of beads & belting out the chorus of Smoke on The Water.

Much of my life 'to dos' of amazing experiences to be had, have been accomplished. Some highlights being: Get High on the Rockies, drove a team of mules, "Get up Annie", home-schooled our girls, llama in the back field & a DJ to a couple of blues music shows on live radio. Initially concerned that my checklist for the most part complete, but no--wait, what's left, blessings in disguise. As Arlo sang "You can get Anything you want at Alice's Restaurant ".

My partner & I continue to carve out our niche on the small parcel of land we live. He's actually stopped saying "you have some splaining to do", while rather, surmising "that's my wife". Our adult daughters, with children that believe me to be the 'hipster' gray-haired Granny, are all located in the surrounding area. My 45 yr. nursing career ended with Covid, as life took me to Branson to care for my parents. Yes--I'd say my riches surpass those of King Soloman as my Heavenly Father ever provides His endless love.

I remain inquisitive as to when John & Paul penned Magical Mystery Tour, did they have any idea seniors would be performing water aerobics to it with zeal?
Or if those mosquito foggers that toured the residential streets of Ames in the mid-60s had any lasting effect on us?
And how long was one willing to stand in line at Veisha for a cherry pie?

So beam me up Scottie, while I listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed, & of course I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

Just take those old records off the shelf.
I'll sit and listen to them by myself. That kind of music just soothes my soul, with that old time rock 'n' roll.

Kerry Helvey (Goodwin)

Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 3
Occupation: Semi-retired photographer
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: I can’t believe it’s our 50th! In short:

After high school I went to UNI for 2 years. Summer 0f ’75, I met my (“first”) husband (married in ’77) with whom I had my amazing daughter, Stacy. The marriage ended in 1980, and Stacy and I moved to Cedar Rapids where I enrolled at the U of Iowa to re-focus on my education/degree.
Not long thereafter I met the love of my life, Larry Helvey.  He too was divorced with 2 teenage boys. We married in ’84 and began the process of merging /blending our new family. Lots of time and energy paid off; we are a very tight family of five!

While my husband focused on dual careers as both a medical doctor and an attorney, I focused on our kids, completing my studies at UI and at the same time becoming a professional photographer, a successful pursuit that I continue to this day. 

With the kids finally grown and out of the house, we exhaled and took advantage of that newfound freedom to enjoy our home base, Cedar Rapids. We have many years and good times with our friends here.  And many more to come!

Now with both of us (mostly) retired, we split our time each year between Iowa summers and Palm Springs/La Quinta, California winters while traveling to various other places…just to see what’s there.

So here we are-- a half century after we exited the hallowed halls of AHS, the rock & roll of the Seventies is still our soundtrack. Life is good and we are blessed! 

Hope you all are too!

(KerryHelveyPhotography.com)

Meg Griffin-Monroe (Griffin)

Marital status: Divorced
Children: 1
Occupation: Retired

Ann Grindeland

Marital status: Divorced

Crystal Hagert (Hagert)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Single
Children: 0
Occupation: Retired
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: I've had a wide variety of several careers, from an Interior Decorating Studio in Davenport IA to Materials Inspector for a Concrete Company replacing Interstate 80 across Iowa. My current project has been a Soap Shop for the last 5 years making essential oil soaps and shampoo bars. It has been a learning experience all my life. One of the most enjoyable is finally taking surfing lessons in Hawaii and enjoying the waves in a new sport. I do my own stunts... LOL

David Hakes

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Retired Economics Professor
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: Graduated from ISU in ‘77. Married Carolyn Curry ‘78. PhD in economics ‘85. Moved to St. Louis where I was a professor of economics at University of Missouri-St. Louis and Carolyn was a commercial property manager. We moved to Cedar Falls in ‘92 when I took professorship at UNI. I’m mostly retired but I continue to consult on an economics textbook. We have two married daughters, one in Nashville and one in Seattle. One grandson in Nashville. We split our time between Cedar Falls and Clear Lake. This year we will winter in Phoenix. I cycle in my spare time. This summer I plan to ride my 25th RAGBRAI.

Bruce Hammond (Hammond)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Realtor
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: So after high school I started working. Mostly I did construction and labor type jobs. I was a mason tender, a carpenter, a concrete finisher, a tile setter and a roofer. At the age of 28 I returned to school at DMACC, and to my astonishment (and to the delight of my parents) did amazingly well, earning a scholarship for academic performance and graduating with a 3.85 GPA, a Specialist Certificate in Small Business Management and an AAS degree in Industrial Marketing and Management.
I eventually started my own roofing company and ran it for a decade or so, but got tired of fighting the Iowa winters, trying to make ends meet in lean times, so moved to Florida and took a job with a large commercial roofing contractor in West Palm Beach. After I had been with him for about 5 months, he approached me to enlist my assistance with cheating his customers. My resistance to this idea caused a rift which led to my quitting.
My wife (now ex-wife) thought it would be a good idea to get another job right away and so I attended a career night at Coldwell Banker and ended up getting my real estate license and becoming a Realtor. We moved about 45 minutes north of from West Palm Beach to Port St. Lucie, Florida where I worked for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate for 11 years and then moved over to ReMax Masterpiece Realty where I have been for the last 13 years.
My first wife and I divorced in 2002 and I remarried in 2006 to an Iowa girl I managed to persuade to come down to Florida and marry me. We are happy in Florida except for the sweltering summers which are punctuated by an occasional hurricane.

Craig Hanway

Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Architect
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: I went to Iowa State after graduation and got a degree in Architecture. Met and married my wife Kathy while there, and we will celebrate 46 years in December. We were in the Colorado front range area for a couple of years, then work took us to Seattle. We’ve been in Seattle since 1980.

I am a practicing Architect; Kathy is an Interior Designer. We both worked for various firms in Colorado and Seattle for about ten years, then started our own company when our first son was born. We shared our own firm for 31 years, which was a great lifestyle when the kids were growing up and going through school, but 5 years ago, we decided to close our company and take jobs, so I am now a Senior Architect/Project Manager at one firm and Kathy is Interior Design Purchasing Manager at another. Now I get to mentor young architects coming up and realize how little I knew when I was getting started. Somewhere in there, I got an MBA, which was useful in managing my own firm and helping to manage a larger firm. Kathy is retiring this year, but since no one is going to pay me a pension, I’ll probably be working in some way, shape or form till I drop!

We have two sons we are very proud of. Jeff lives in Tacoma and is a business consultant/RevOps specialist (still not entirely sure what he does.) He has one son. Nick lives in Texas and drives a truck for a living (probably making more money than I do!) He and his wife are expecting their first baby in September! We are starting to look at what splitting our time between Washington and Texas might look like.

Just like in high school and college, I have continued to be a committee guy, serving on church committees, school committees, professional committees, neighborhood councils, and city commissions, mostly dealing with planning and design issues. I helped plan the re-design of the Seattle waterfront as a member of the Central Waterfront Committee and worked on the reimagining of several urban Seattle neighborhoods as a neighborhood planning chair.

We used to go to a lot of movies, but they don’t seem to make anything we like anymore. I have no idea what we are going to do with all the books, records, CDs, and DVDs we have accumulated over the years! We got hooked on Netflix during Covid and watch way too many foreign TV shows. Seattle has a lot to offer, so we go to lots of theatre and concerts, and cheer for the Mariners and the Sounders. I had fun coaching Little League baseball for 17 years when the boys were younger. We try to travel somewhere every Fall, mostly in the U.S., but occasionally further afield, and we go to find the sun in Palm Springs every Spring. We enjoy finding local art galleries wherever we go and collecting things we like.

Things have not always gone the way I expected 50 years ago, but who wants that! I’ve had my share of challenges and setbacks, but I’m healthy and my family doesn’t mind having me around, so it has turned out pretty well. I am grateful to have grown up in Ames and gotten a good education at a great high school.
Comment: I won't be able to come, but I hope everyone has a good time, and thanks to the committee for putting this together.

Helen (aka Missy) Hartman

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Single again
Children: 3
Occupation: Retired
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: Married (to Craig Kitzman - AHS 73) for 20 years; K-7 art teacher; Stay-at-home mom; Homeschooled kiddos for a few years; Admin.Asst. at UW-Madison Waisman Center in speech/language disorders; Worked at Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities; Worked 13 years as Exec Admin Asst for Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Wildlife Mgmt Program. Currently contracting with DNR on project basis. Enjoying: spending time with kids and grandchildren (5); traveling; gardening; reading; music; hanging out with my dog; volunteer with my ELCA congregation; kayaking; birding; spending time with family and friends.

David H Hatch

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Lutheran pastor for 41 years (34 years at the same church); Hospice chaplain
So, what have you been doing for the last 50 years?: Fall of 1973 - I was unable to go into law enforcement due to color confusion. My sister (AHS 1963) living in Milwaukee, told me about a great little Lutheran college near her. I steered my motorcycle (1972 Suzuki GT 750 water-cooled triple two-stroke) to Concordia College in Milwaukee. It was a two year college. Little did I know it, this school was historically a pre-seminary boarding school for guys going into the ministry. Those pre-sem guys encircled me with friendship and I was on my path. It was here that I met my precious wife and life partner, Therese.

Fall of 1975 - Enrolled at Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois to finish my B. A.

Fall of 1978 - Married Therese and we headed to Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana

1980-1981 -Vicarage (One year seminary internship) in Ridgewood, New Jersey, just across the Hudson from NYC

Spring of 1982 - Graduated from the seminary and became an Admissions Counselor at Concordia College in Bronxville, NY

1983-1989 - Pastor at Love Lutheran Church outside of Albany, NY

1989-Present - Pastor at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Green Bay, WI

Along the way:

Therese and I have been married 45 years this fall! A wonderful walk together!
We have two married sons with children. Both sons and their families live within minutes of our home. Yeah for grandchildren!
Therese is a full time caregiver for her special dad (93) who lives with us.
My hobby has been collecting hobbies with too many to name, but I might as well name a few: Breadmaking; Graphics; Photography; Ham radio; Kiting; Bicycle repair; Canoeing, old Jeeps and more
Still riding three motorcycles, all 50+ years old (1972 Honda CB 350, red, just like my first one. It sits in my office at church; 1973 Yamaha DT3 250 Enduro; 1972 Honda CT 50).
Helping out a local hospice agency as a chaplain

All family members have passed away with the exception of my brother, Larry (AHS 1971) who lives in Ohio.

With binoculars you could see from my boyhood driveway at the West end of 9th Street, looking East past Roosevelt School to the entrance to the Ames Municipal Cemetery, where my folks and sister are at rest. There is something beautiful about that!