THE CONNECTOR A Newsletter By, About, and For Graduates of William Allen High School's Class of 1983 Issue 4 - June 1997

By: Tina Hertel

Now that I am a parent, I know why so many other parents say that they wish their children wouldn't grow up so quickly. It has been almost five years since I learned I was expecting my first child. Now, I am wondering where the time has gone. When I learned I was going to be a mother, I vowed I was going to teach my children everything I could and open up the world to them. A funny thing happened ... I learned a great deal from them.

Do you know that babies wonder what their parents will look like or be like before they make their grand entrance into the world? I remember looking in my daughters' eyes after their births, seeing them, and thinking they were saying, "So, that's my mom!" I watched them as they looked over all my features, probably thinking that I wasn't anything like they had pictured me to be! I remember that they looked at me much differently than they looked at the nurses or the doctor. Babies look at their mom and dad knowingly, calmly, and with acceptance. When babies meet their mom and dad, introductions aren't necessary.

Do you know babies know how to teach you patience? Babies know how much you love them. They realize you will do anything to try to meet their needs. They realize you will do them no harm, no matter how tired or frazzled you may become. Because they know this, babies cry for no apparent reason, for extended periods of time, at any hour of the day or night. They do this to teach us to become more patient individuals. Somehow, that patience is easily lost when dealing with adults who can't communicate effectively.

Do you know how easy it is for children to trust and respect people? Young children don't have prejudices or preconceived notions about anyone. Everyone they come in contact with, everyone they meet, is an opportunity to feed their curiosity. They realize that people can learn so much from each other because each of us is so unique and has so much to offer.

There is so much we can learn from our children. Do you know how fascinating ants are? We all probably did at one time, but have long since forgotten that curiosity, as we have with many other things in life.

Do you know how beautiful a dandelion can be, especially as a gift from a small, thoughtful child? Yet, as adults, we no longer see dandelions as beautiful, but rather a nuisance.

Do you know how much fun it is to watch a bright kite fly against a clear blue sky? Or to plant a tree and watch it reach for unknown heights? Or to splash in the water? Or to slide down a bigger-than-life slide? Or to eat chocolate cake with your hands? Or to make someone smile with a simple hello?

I still hope to teach my children all I can and give them the world. While I do this, I am also going to learn all I can from them and be reminded of the simple joys that life has to offer. I, like other parents, wish my children wouldn't grow up so quickly, because I have a feeling I have a lot to learn from them! I just hope I remember all of this when my two daughters become teenagers!!

Tina (Scholler) Hertel lives in Bloomington, Indiana with her husband and two young daughters. Tina, a graduate of Allen High School's Class of 1983, works as a research analyst in the Office of the Registrar at Indiana University-Bloomington.

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By: Annette Blanar

Since introducing The Connector on the world wide web, I have increased the volume of e-mail in my e-mailbox. I enjoy the variety of comments that I have received and have decided to share some of them with you. I received:
	A message from a former grammar and high school classmate of the current mayor of Allentown.
	An inquiry from two Swedish girls who wanted to know more about our school for their class project on American schools.
	A message from a graduate student in Japan majoring in science. He wanted to know if there was any demand in our school for a Japanese tutor.
	Various messages from people trying to locate old friends from Allen High School or reunion dates. Note: Whenever I encounter multiple people from the same class year, I try to connect them together. I welcome comments from any people from any class year.
	An essay from a concerned former-resident of Allentown about the decay of Allentown and what can be done about it.
	Notes from people wanting to pay to place an ad in The Connector. Note: Sorry, but it's a non-commercial venture.
	A job inquiry from an individual in India looking for a teaching position.
	Notes from various "dudes in charge" asking me to check out their site.
	Solicitations from people offering to increase traffic to my web site or provide me a great fundraising opportunity.
I thank everyone for their comments and encouragement to continue this project.

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Paul Kulowitch entered Drexel after graduating from Allen and received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1988. After graduation, he entered Penn State and earned his M.S. in Engineering Mechanics in 1990. After graduating from Penn State, he began working for the Naval Air Warfare Center research and development laboratory which was based in Warminster, Pennsylvania until 1994, when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission moved it to Patuxent River, Maryland. Paul is currently a senior engineer in the area of Nondestructive Testing/Inspection (NDT/I). He supports the base's Naval Aviation Headquarters by providing technical assistance to their new acquisition programs, such as F/A-18E/F, V-22, and Joint Strike Fighter. In addition, he dabbles in research and development of new NDT/I technologies.

Paul and his wife Melissa were married in 1993 and had a baby girl named Daulton in 1994. They bought a home in southern Maryland shortly after Paul's job was relocated and love the area. They find the people very neighborly and crime almost nonexistent. Since both Paul's and Melissa's parents live in Allentown, they return there often. Unfortunately, he's lost touch with most of his friends from high school.

Melissa Sunnygard-Couse and her husband Peter have a house just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they live with their two cats and their daughter, Hannah. Hannah who is about 18 months old is a cute little red-head who keeps her parents busy!

Melissa finished her bachelor's degree in Architecture and is now working as a draftsman for Lockheed-Martin. In addition, she is a Captain in the Air National Guard. She recently returned from two weeks of active duty in Aviano, Italy. Her husband Peter is a special education teacher at Hayes Middle School in Albuquerque and a basketball coach.

In their spare time, Melissa and Peter participate in the Medieval recreation group, the Society for Creative Anachronism. They find it to be a nice escape from reality. The group allows Melissa to pursue things she has always been interested in, like costume design, manuscript illumination, and music.

Update - Kerry Moyer is now an assistant professor teaching geosciences at Indiana University. He and his wife Lisa are living in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Update - Mark Wilson is engaged to be married to Alice Julie Heiskell, formerly of Dayton, Ohio. A June 1997 wedding is planned.

Update - Wayne Barz and his wife Lori had their second child, Olivia Lynn, on December 12, 1996. Although three weeks early, she weighed in at 8 lbs., 5 oz. She was colicky, but has largely gotten over that, and fortunately, her big brother Connor slept through it all.

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	While a 1994 ordinance in Allentown requires landlords to provide the city with annual tenant lists, many have not been doing so. Allentown Mayor William L. Heydt has started cracking down on landlords who fail to file their tenant lists with the city. The city is losing tax money because there are people living in Allentown who are not on the city's tax records. Residents who are not accounted for can't be billed the $5 annual per capita tax or forced to pay the .5 percent earned income tax to the city. Landlords who fail to file their tenant lists with the city face criminal citations, fines, and possible jail time.
	Due to a city charter change approved by voters in May of 1996, land in Allentown is now taxed more heavily than buildings. The revised home charter rule taxes buildings at 11.2 mills and land at 16.77 mills. While this is good news for Allentown residents who live in row houses as their taxes will decrease, it is bad news for places with lots of land like the Allentown Fairgrounds who will pay more. The land value tax was implemented to try to encourage development in the city.
	It's good news that Allentown's suicide rate fell 50% in 1996. In 1994, Allentown's Health Bureau created a task force to help reduce the city's suicide rate through increased activity and awareness. For 10 years, Allentown's suicide rate has exceeded the national average rate of suicides per 100,000 people. Through study, the task force found that white men between the ages of 25 and 34 and residents in their 70s and 80s were the age groups most likely to be affected. The task force succeeded in reducing the suicide rate for 1996 by providing at-risk individuals with information on warning signs and getting help through billboards, bus advertisements, newspaper stories, and presentations and conducting a guns-for-gifts exchange program.
	Due to increased enrollment and a declining tax base, Allentown schools are overcrowded, with many classes having 30-38 students. While building more school facilities is impossible since Allentown already has the highest school taxes in Lehigh county, the school district is coping with the problem by hiring teacher's aides to assist in classrooms, grouping multiple grades together, and moving fifth graders from crowded elementary schools to Trexler and Raub Middle Schools (which are also bursting at the seams). Teachers are handling the situation by conducting instruction at a slower pace to accommodate most student needs, giving fewer written assignments (so they have fewer papers to correct), and providing less individual instruction during class.

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Please see the Business Page of this web site for a list of businesses being run by members of Allen High School's Class of 1983.

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