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Impromptu college reunion renews old friendships
McCOOK, Neb. -- Fifty two years ago, when she was a senior at McCook High School, Sharon Kuhlmann was scared witless when one of those 'beautiful bad boys' from the college, Tony Vino, took her on a thrilling motorcycle ride, swerving in and out of traffic and driving more than a little too fast. Sharon hung on for dear life, which may have been one of the purposes in Tony's young adult mind. Tony was one of a number of guys from the East Coast that came to play football for the McCook Junior College Indians.
Shortly after one of those rides, but this time while riding alone, Tony was in a life-threatening accident on the city streets of McCook. While recovering, Tony was offered a home for the remainder of the year with the Fred Marsh family, forming a lifetime bond with Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marsh and their son, Bill, who -- late in life --is again living in McCook.
Tony's accident did not deter Sharon's interest in the young, cycle-riding boy, but did cure her of ever riding motorcycles again. Although they never dated, Sharon never forgot the handsome Italian boy from Brooklyn, New York, and she often wondered what happened to Tony after he left McCook for distant horizons. This long-lasting bond resulted in an impromptu gathering of 40 alumni from McCook Juco (as it was known in those days) and their junior and senior friends from McCook High School.
Reaching out to Tony through a mutual friend, Bob Harris, Sharon (Kuhlmann) Huegel and her and Tony's good friend, Judi (Trail) Johnson, re-connected with Tony this past March, initially on Facebook, learning at that time that Tony had fashioned a career in the field of music. As an entertainer, Tony played in several high profile bands and is still active in the entertainment and education fields in his current home: Boca Raton, Florida. His past entertainment business affiliations have brought him in contact with many famous individuals from throughout the United States and abroad.
The rekindled friendships between Tony, Sharon, Judi and Bob not only produced pleasant memories for the guys and gals who met in the 'Sixties, it also spawned a reunion, with word spreading through phone calls, internet messages and personal encounters that Tony Vino would plan to stop by McCook the third week of July, 2016, after visiting his brother in Colorado. "Judi (Trail) Johnson was exceedingly helpful in putting the reunion together. I call her 'The Sleuth.'" Sharon said. "She found more names, addresses and phone numbers than you can shake a stick at. Don't bother hiding, Judi can find you," Sharon quipped.
Remarkably, just through those word-of-mouth and face-booking exchanges, 40 folks who met a half century ago in McCook, Nebraska, agreed to get together for a Friday day and night and a Saturday day and night of reminiscing about the old days and bringing each other up-to-date on what has happened in their lives since those sweet, simple days in the 1960s in good, old McCook, Nebraska, USA.
"There's been a lot of water under the bridge since those young and silly days in good old McCook," Sharon said. "But, you know what?," she added nostalgically, "You wouldn't know it from our conversations. At the reunion, we sounded more like we did when we were teen-agers and twenty-somethings than we do now as old-timers."
Among those sharing inner-most sentiments was Andy Heck, a New Jersey running back who was recruited to play football at McCook Junior College by Rex Grossart, a football coaching guru who went from McCook Juco to lead the football program at Chico State in California.
Under the tutelage of Coach Grossart and McCook Juco's track and field coach and philosopher, E.P. Baruth, Andy earned junior college All-American honors as an MJC running back. From McCook, Andy went on to play football at Wake Forest and he later became a Canadian League pro football player and, after that, embarked on a career in business, becoming president of Sylvania.
But, you know what, Andy gives much of the credit for his success to his years in McCook and -- most especially -- the guidance he received from E. P. Baruth. Andy told this writer, "I've lived my life at a rapid pace, believing every step of the way that I had to stay "one step ahead of the posse because I was out of bullets."
No doubt about it, July 22-23, 2016, was a really fun weekend for the 1960s-era bunch, with some sad moments thrown in to remind the now 69- to 72-year-old crowd that life, while at times giddy and gleeful, is at other times deadly serious.
The most sobering time during the reunion weekend was when Andy Heck and Bob Loshbaugh told of the wounds they suffered in Vietnam ... and the solemn ceremony at the McCook Public Library, during which the gathered group paid an emotional tribute to the ultimate sacrifice paid by their good friend, Michael Klingner. The reunited friends also remembered Michael Confer's sacrifice, too, during the McCook lads' life-ending Vietnam wartime service.
The fun times for the young-acting old-timers came at frequent around-the-town outings, including stops at Fuller's Family Restaurant, Sehnert's Bakery and the Bieroc Cafe, Loop's Brew Pub, the Cornerstone Fellowship Hall, and The Coppermill. At each and every stop the conversation flowed, with both real and enhanced stories entertaining the young-again feeling group of celebrants.
Really and truly, it was 'Old Home Week.' "All these years later," Sharon Huegel said, "I can't get over how completely the 'Jersey Boys' took so kindly and completely to McCook, Nebraska. They fell in love with this small town in the middle of America. I think the reason was that they discovered, in McCook, that everyone is part of the family. We all care. We all share. Except for the closeness of their own families, the Jersey Boys had not experienced the community-wide closeness we have in McCook. Our community closeness not only impressed them, it stuck with them -- and, on many levels, -- changed their lives. The 'Jersey Boys' gift to us was helping us build one of the best junior college football teams in the nation. Our gift to them was sharing with them a feeling of home which has helped carry them to success and fulfillment throughout their lives."
That's one of the reasons -- and there are many others -- that McCook has been known as "The Magical City of the West" ever since this city's founding in 1882 as the mid-city railroad stop on the Burlington line between Lincoln, Nebraska, and Denver, Colorado.
May that 'Magic' -- and McCook's close community connections -- never die. There are too many more McCook College and McCook High School grads, yet to be, to ever stop the bonding and the becoming.