Linganore High School Alumni Association Newsletter, August 2020
Nick
Linganore Alumni News
Board meets every fourth Tuesday, Linganore High School, 7:30 p.m.
Vol. 24, No. 1 education.fcps.org/lhs/alumni August 2020
Plan to attend your Dinner/dance
It really is for everyone, you know, although many of the five-year classes have made special efforts to attend the dinner/dance and invite their classmates to celebrate with them. While they consider it their special night, it’s for everyone.
Despite COVID-19, the Linganore High School Alumni Association still plans to hold its annual dinner/dance Nov. 9 at the Frederick American Legion in the western section of Frederick, where we’ve held it the last several years. The Legion is located at 1450 Taney Avenue in Frederick. The 28th annual event will be held Saturday evening, November 7.
We will honor the Class of 1970, as its members celebrate their fiftieth reunion. Also celebrating will be other classes with five-year anniversaries: the classes of 1965, 1975, 1980, and 1985. (Groups from later five-year classes will be seated together if we have interest.) While all alumni are welcome, the program will include time for each of these classes celebrating special reunions to speak.
Everyone attending seems to enjoy the evening that includes dinner, lots of time for reminiscing, a short program, and dancing,
The evening begins with mingling around a punch bowl and snacks, as well as a cash bar, all starting at 5:30 p.m.
Kendall Stevens ‘06, the niece of last year’s photographer, Shirley Miller Stevens, will not be charging for photographic services but will post online, where you can download and then have photos you would like printed commercially. They will take couples photos, group photos, and class photos, beginning at 6 p.m. You can print any or all of the couple, group, or class photos taken.
If you are in one of the reunion classes, please be sure to arrive by 6:15, when the class photos are staged. These photographs are great “keepsakes” from the dinner/dance.
The silent and Chinese auctions, organized by a not-so-silent auctioneer, Curtis Lawson, Class of ’78, has become a favorite part of the agenda. Consider donating something you think alumni might appreciate. Contact Curtis at clawson924@YAIKO, use linganor...@gmail.com, call Marty Burdette at 301-6625-0775, or simply bring it the night of the dinner/dance.. The auction bidding will be open from 5:30 until 9:30, when high bidders will be announced. Pay the auctioneer with cash or check and can claim your prizes.
Dinner begins at 6:45 p.m., highlighted by fried chicken and ham, and accompaniments that go well with both, prepared by the American Legion Ladies’ Auxiliary, as they have the past two years.
Our favorite DJ, Darlene Weller McFarland,’70, will provide music for dancing from 9 until midnight. Darlene does a great job of mixing the music to keep everybody entertained.
The cost remains $30 per person, and only $10 for a dance-only ticket.
Plan now to join us for an enjoyable night with your LHS friends! There is a reservation form in this newsletter. Requests for a table reserved for your group will be on a first-received, first-served basis. This is also the perfect time to contribute to the alumni scholarship fund.
Please send your reservation, with payment, to reach Sue Ensor by October 28, 2020.
This sign that appeared on Main Street in New Market, sums up the positive outlook that was experienced by the class of 2020, their families, and the community. This was a year of firsts for everyone and this issue of the newsletter is including a section dedicated to the Linganore High School Senior Class of 2020.
Senior Breakfast: Due to school closure for the COVID-19 virus, activities that were planned for the seniors could not be held or needed to be greatly modified. For the first time since 1993, there was no Senior Breakfast sponsored by the Linganore High School Alumni Association.
Senior Parade: Tuesday evening, June 2,2020, was the night originally set aside for the LHS graduation ceremony at Mt. St. Mary’s College. The virus that stopped the event from
occurring as planned did not keep the class from planning
a celebration that was the first-of-its-kind graduation ceremony for LHS.
The seniors assembled at the Mike and Lisa Gaver Farm east of New Market. They proceeded through town in a variety of vehicles, decorated with congratulations and names of colleges where they are bound. Fire company vehicles from both New Market and Libertytown proceeded through the parade, reminding us that Linganore High is a melting pot for the two communities.
Families, friends and interested bystanders clapped as the cheering seniors drove through town. Neighborhood picnics and dinners outside at the New Market Derby Restaurant followed.
One bystander, who said she was the mother of an LHS junior, stated that she hoped they did this again next year.
Congratulations Class of 2020 – and great job on making the best of a difficult situation, and possibly setting a new LHS tradition.
Five winners awarded Alumni scholarships
For the first time, the Linganore High School Alumni Association awarded five scholarships this year, up from three the last five years, due to strong support for our major fundraiser, the golf tournament, and good return in last year’s stock market.
This year’s winners were Nabila Putri, Sarah Buckley. Gerald Fattah, Connr Boie, and Hunter Wolf.
Nabila Dwi Putri, Mt. Airy, is a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, majoring in computer science, cybersecurity, with a 4.28 adjusted GPA. She graduated from Frederick Community College. She is secretary/treasurer of the Muslim Student Association at Maryland, and vice president of public relations for Phi Theta Kappa, which recognizes academic achievement. Nabila has volunteered in Frederick’s CAA Soup Kitchen, and cleared trails at Rails for Trails in Mt. Airy. Her mother, a widow, is a restaurant server.
Sarah Buckley, a 2019 LHS graduate, now lives in Jefferson. She is a junior at Hood College, w
ith a double major in business ad
LHS Alumni Dinner/dance Ticket Order Form
November 7, 2020, at the Frederick F.S.K. American Legion
Name ____________________________________________________________ LHS Class of __________
Name of Guest_____________________________________________________ LHS Class of __________
Mailing Address ________________________________________________________________________
City, State, ZIP _________________________________________________________________________
E-mail Address _________________________________________ Telephone _______________________
Number for dinner/dance_____ @ $30 = ____________ Make checks payable to LHS Alumni, Inc.
Number for dance only ______ @ $10 = ____________
Contribution to the Alumni Scholarship Fund $________
Total enclosed $_________________________________ Deadline: October 28
Mail this reservation form with your check to Sue Ensor,
3198 Hooper Road, New Windsor, MD 21776
ministration and global studies, preparing to be a diplomat to a South American country. She was president of her high school Model United Nations Team, and secretary of the same team at Hood, where she carries a weighted 4.52 GPA. She plays clarinet in the Hood Wind Ensemble, and is an office assistant in a work/study position at the college, and an intern for Maryland Delegate Ken Kerr. A Gold Star Girl Scout, Sarah is active in the Jefferson Ruritan Club and has planted garden beds for the Frederick Food Security Network. Her single mother teaches special education.
Connr Lane Boie, Mt. Airy, is a 2019 graduate of LHS. A sophomore a the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, he majors in computer engineering and cybersecurity, where he has a weighted 4.6 GPA. An Eagle Scout, he was active in four honors societies in high school and volunteered at Lancer Candy Lane. He Is a member of his college’s Ultimate Frisbee Club and the Cyber Defense Club.While in college, he has helped raise funds for Alzheimer’s research.
Gerald Raisein Fattah, New Market, a 2020 graduate of LHS, will be a freshman at James Madison University this fall, where he will study chemical engineering. His goal is to return to his hometown in Palestine and help those in need there. His weighted high school GPA was 4.81. He was active in the Student Government AssociatHunter Nicole Wolf, New Market, graduated from LHS and the Frederick County Career and Techn
ion four years, and vice president of the National Honor Society. On the track team, he also played varsity soccer for two years. He has raised money for Tails of Hope (homeless pets) and set up meals at Calvary United Methodist Church. He has taught Quranic, ethical, and Arabic studies at the Islamic Society of Frederick and volunteered at the Frederick Rescue Mission. His work experience includes a summer at York Automotive and a year as cashier at Weis Markets. There are five other children in his family, one severely autistic, and his parents also support his grandmother.
ology Center in 2020. She will be attending the University of Buffalo this fall, wanting to study biomedical science, and may want to be a researcher after working the past two summers at the National Cancer Institute, but is also considering pediatric oncology. Her weighted GPA was 4.72. She has volunteered at New Market Middle School, where her mother works. She was captain of the high school junior varsity soccer team, where she played three years, and SAC United Blue team soccer, and volunteered at the Fast and Furious Feet soccer camp. She has been a shift lead at Tropical Smoothie Cafe and also worked in food services at Keys Stadium.
A Different Graduation, but Meaningful
By Kris Buckman
Marty Wiles asked me to write an article based around graduation. I graduated from LHS in 1993. Below is an article comparing the two and sharing our family's experiences this year.
The year was 1993, Bill Clinton was elected president, the Buffalo Bills lost their third consecutive Super Bowl, and in this one Micheal Jackson performed a solo appearance.
Ironically, a respiratory virus hit the United States that ended up killing 32 people by the end of the year. This virus, however, did not impact Linganore High School's Class of 1993 graduation ceremonies.
Once the last bell rang for seniors in May 1993, graduation ceremony practices began. We didn't need to travel far because graduation was held at Linganore High School. I recall the sweltering heat previewing the summer to come, as we practiced marching over and over again in and out of the gym.
Baccalaureate was held the night before actual graduation in the gymnasium. The gymnasium was hot. I can't really recall the speeches that were made at Baccalaureate, probably because all I remember hearing was the whirls and hums of huge fans brought in to keep our families "cool."
The following day was our final duty as grads. Parents sat in "bleachers," not the roomy, sturdy bleachers we now sit on for Friday Night Lights at LHS, but the old bleachers where our families squished together to see their kids walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. If we thought the night before had been hot, graduation day was unbearable. The typical whoops and hollers could be heard as kids' names were announced one by one. But, by far my fondest memory of graduation day was the moment where the Class of 1993 came together one last time to throw our caps into the air in celebration － we were free! Twenty seven years later and I still remember that feeling in my stomach as those hats flew high in the air on the LHS football field. Feelings of relief, satisfaction, finality, accomplishment, and new beginnings.
Fast forward, the year is 2020. Donald Trump is our president, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl and the next day all everyone could talk about was the J-Lo and Shakira halftime show. We had no idea a new respiratory virus was lurking in the shadows. When my son caught the school bus for the very first time in 2007 for the first year of all-day kindergarten in Maryland, 2020 seemed so far away.
Yet, here we were. Caps and gowns were being ordered, senior pictures were being taken, Safe and Sane celebration planning had begun. Mount Saint Mary's was to be the location for the class of 2020's graduation ceremony and Safe and Sane party. However, when the doors closed on Friday, March 13, 2020, no one ever dreamed that would be the final day students would walk out of that building in the 2019-2020 school year.
As more and more restrictions were put in place to stop the spread COVID-19, a respiratory disease that took us all by surprise, concerns about graduation ceremonies being canceled began to emerge. Parents began to talk, letters were written. As each day passed, hopes of a "normal" graduation became more and more distant. When word finally came that graduation ceremonies as we know them would officially be canceled for the Class of 2020, parents swooped into action. Facebook pages were created to discuss options, make plans and celebrate a group of young adults whose lives had been turned upside down. Something they'd been anticipating for years wasn't going to happen. Little did we know that the doors that closed on the class of 2020 were going to be replaced with wide-open windows of new celebrations.
Administrators and parents went into overdrive planning and preparing for what would become a unique and memorable graduation for a unique and memorable class. A long list of things were planned to celebrate this class that it was almost hard to keep up. The memorable events that stood out for my family were the adopt-a-senior Facebook group, the mini ceremony at the school, and the community parade.
The adopt-a-senior Facebook page gave people a chance to get to know students in the class more personally. We found out what snacks the seniors liked, their hobbies, where they liked to eat and shop. As fast as senior profiles were posted for "adoption," they were scooped up by friends, family members, and even by teachers and administration from LHS. My son was adopted by one of his favorite teachers from his ninth-grade year. It was bittersweet for her to reach out to him and deliver a cooler full of goodies and encouragement. I'll never forget the grin on his face when she pulled in our driveway. He felt celebrated and seen.
I sifted through emails to keep, with all of the things we had to sign up for at specific times so we had the least amount of interaction with other people as possible. The day we showed up at LHS for "graduation" (just like old times!), I was blown away by how personal the experience was.
All of the staff there greeted us by name and offered congratulations. There were photo op stops along the way, as they worked us all through the process. Once in the auditorium, it hit me as the stage was set up for a beautiful ceremony and the administrators were dressed in their graduation attire, diplomas were stacked on the table, and the podium was ready for speakers. But the seats were all empty.
We got to cheer for our grad as he was formally announced and walked across the stage to pick up his diploma and get a photo with Principal Doll. I was so impressed at the effort that went into making those ten minutes special and memorable. I honestly believe more work went into planning that and pulling that off than a "normal" graduation.
Once we were finished ,we were encouraged to take photos around the school at various places where fences were stuffed with congratulatory messages and signs were made for each student. I will admit it was nice to be in and out in under 20 minutes!
Uncertainty surrounded the parade that was being planned on the day that the original graduation was supposed to be held. My son decided, almost last minute, to attend. Again, the planning that went into this event was amazing! This event was the highlight of graduation for us and my son. Thank goodness I wore sunglasses to hide the tears forming in my eyes as I drove him through the parade route. I was blown away by the community of supporters that showed up in New Market for the class of 2020! My son saw teachers, friends, and family. This was the closure the class of 2020 needed. The smiles on the kids' faces were infectious and hopeful.
Personally, I enjoyed seeing the cars decorated, especially those that announced what college some students would be attending. It was a beautiful, warm, festive evening that I hope becomes a tradition. If it does, I vow to attend every one, to give back that feeling to each and every grad to come.
Our celebration concluded with watching the virtual graduation on television. We were more than happy to have our whole family watching with our grad in the comfort of our own home. Was it the traditional ending to high school? No. Was it memorable, filled with personal touches and emotion? Definitely. The same feelings I experienced and remember so fondly from my own graduation (relief, satisfaction, finality, accomplishment, and new beginnings) were all present. These are the things that make graduation memorable and meaningful. Although ceremonial traditions were missing, graduation was nonetheless meaningful. I feel blessed to have had a graduate from the class of 2020 at Linganore High School.
I can't wait to see what they all become!
Liberty Open Golf Canceled in 2020
The Annual Liberty Open Golf Tournament scheduled for May 8, 2020, was canceled due to overwhelming restrictions in place to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its initiation,, this was the first time we have ever had to cancel. The Golf Committee had already contracted many former sponsors and gotten sponsorships for this year’s tournament.
All sponsors were contacted and given three options:
1. Having their check refunded.
2. Having the money put toward the 2021 Golf Tournament.
3. Donating their sponsorship, to be divided equally between the Libertytown Lions Club and the Linganore High School Alumni Association (co-sponsors of the golf tourney)
The third course was chosen by Dotterer Farms (Paul and Karen Dotterer), Spirit of Liberty, Lighthouse Seafood, and Pfaff Builders. Their donations will be split between the two organizations, given to their scholarship funds this year.
Those taking the second course have committed $1,400, to be held in a separate fund by the treasurer of the Liberty Lions and put toward the 2021 Liberty Open Golf Tournament. We have selected May 14, 2021, as the date for that tournament.
If your business would like to be a sponsor for next year’s golf tournament, contact Sue Ensor and the committee at suee...@comcast.net. For golfers wanting early registration for your team, use the same contact information.
More information will be available closer to the event.
We will be adding our golfing proceeds to our scholarship fund with the Frederick County Community Foundation. The Alumni Association currently has more than $93,000 invested with the Community Foundation of Frederick County and awards scholarships from annual investment earnings. Over the past 22 years, we have given more than $46,500 in scholarships.
Alumni officers reelected again
President: Marty Burdette ’87
Vice President: Curtis Lawson ’78
Secretary: Krissie Smith-Alvey ‘75
Treasurer: Sue Ensor ’74
You can always get in touch with the alumni officers using our e-mail address: LinganoreHS Alu...@gmail.com.
The Alumni Association also has a board of directors. Current members are:
Darlene Wiles Burrall ‘76
Roland Castle ‘66
Bob Ensor ‘80
Skip Isaacs ‘66
Anita Linthicum Kent ‘74
Darlene Weller McFarland ’70
Pam Ensor Rollins ‘77
The board was unanimously reelected at the June Alumni Meeting. It is a good sign that officers are willing to stay in office, but this also shuts down the potential for new ideas. Anyone interested is welcome to attend a board meeting, the fourth Tuesday of the month. Email President Marty Burdette for locations of council meetings this summer.