Welcome to alumni of the great John Adams High School in South Bend, Indiana. I list reunion information and other material, photos, and stories you will find interesting. This is an unofficial web site donated and maintained by Tom Zoss, an alumnus (Class of 1963) to help spread the word for class reunions and other news and memories related to JAHS. It's an amazing fact that the Adams Reunion information pages here are among the most active of the entire zoss.com site. Please accept my apologies if updates are delayed as I have a day job that takes a lot of time. Thank you for visiting.

WHAT'S NEW ON THIS SITE? The Class of 1963 is planning a Get-Together in 2012 and will soon be working up plans for the 50th reunion in 2013. See some details below. The South Bend Alumni Association deserves your attention and I've added some information and a link below in the "OTHER INFORMATION" section. Please go to the Class Contacts page to locate your class representative to obtain more information about your class, possible reunions, and to give them your current contact information. If no class rep is listed please help me to find someone, or volunteer your own name.

[NEW] Class of 1963 Informal Gathering 2012 50th Reunion Coming in 2013	Penny Meyers Churchill (JAHS '63) on Facebook passes the word *SAVE THE DATE*: Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14, 2012. A JAHS Class of '63 'Mini Reunion' in South Bend! Details to follow as soon as they are solidified. Plans are for two informal get-togethers that weekend (hopefully to meet at the Oaken Bucket on Fri. evening and at Katie Humphreys' house on Sat. evening). So, if you are planning to be in the Michiana area this July, please let her know if you will be able to attend on either or both evenings to reminisce and have fun. And, don't forget that the Class of 1963 - 50th Reunion will be held during the summer of 2013! No, we are NOT getting older....only BETTER!! Find her at Penny Meyers Churchill on FB. Remember to share any reunion dates with this page here for listing. Thanks!
Class of 1965 New FaceBook Page	Ken Wildwood alerts us that the Class of 1965 has a new and active FaceBook page with lots of news photos, etc. CLICK HERE
Class of 1955 Already Planning 60TH	Wilson Taylor writes that the class of 1955 is already in the early stages of planning their 60th reunion! That's just great. They've already made some of the decisions to keep it simple and enjoyable, for instance, details: the date will be June 13, 2015, location is Holy Family Parish Center (56405 Mayflower Road, South Bend, IN 46619), will start at 6:00 PM till midnight. Food? Well, that's easy... Polish Style meal, cash bar, live entertainment. They've also decided they will NOT have: a memory book, picture badges, coasters, etc. You can telephone Wilson Taylor at 937-233-6274.
Class of 1961 Web Site	Jim Champaigne writes (thanks, Jim, long time no see!) that the class of 1961 has a web site at www.Adams1961.com and it's very nice. He reports it uses reasonably-priced software that really looks professional and gets things up and running very quickly. Even if this isn't your class year you might want to visit the site. To contact Jim to get more information CLICK HERE. To see their new site CLICK HERE.
	Go to the Class Contacts page to locate your class representative to obtain more information about your class, possible reunions, and to give them your current contact information. Please see the note below if your class does not have a contact listed right now.
CALL FOR CLASS CONTACT NAMES	IMPORTANT NOTE: An important feature of this site is the page that lists class contact names. As a favor please go to the Class Contacts page and see if the information for your class is correct. If not, or if your class doesn't have a contact listed, please help me get a name for each class. There are several classes that do not presently have a working class contact. Please let me know if you can help update any listing. Thanks for your help. Tom Zoss.
SOUTH BEND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WEB SITE AND MANY SERVICES	My old friend Tim Baker has taken over the chair of this long-time support group of the South Bend Community Schools. Ron Bella is the stalwart Executive Director, and a lot of credit goes to early leader Joseph S. Fragomeni, Sr. They produce a twice-yearly colorful newsletter (edited for many years by the retired SB Tribune's Bill Sonneborn) and help support all of South Bend's High Schools with a lively news interchange, scholarships, and other services. Donations are always welcome for their general support, the newsletter, the scholarships, or the annual celebration for the Community Hall of Fame Banquet. They also run an annual golf outing that is always a big success. CLICK HERE to go to their main web site. Check out the newsletter link, too.
The Unique and Beautiful JAHS Class Ring	Here is a link to information and an illustration describing the unique John Adams Class Ring.
NEW JOHN ADAMS HIGH SCHOOL WEB SITE	To visit a new link for the official John Adams High School web site just click here.
HELP PLANNING REUNIONS FROM SOUTH BEND/MISHAWAKA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU	I received a nice e-mail from Kelly Kimmich, Director of Travel & Tourism at the South Bend/Mishawaka Convention & Visitors Bureau. She can work with reunion planners to help make the whole process easier. The South Bend/Mishawaka CVB is a non-profit and the services they provide are free. They can act as a middleman between the hotels/meeting facilities/attractions/etc and the class reunion planners. They can send out bids and give planners a simple view of all the options available instead of the planner needing to make each individual phone call themselves. Their job is to help reunions (among other events) have the best possible time in the South Bend area. They can also supply photos, video and brochures to help promote your reunion, and assistance with media communications including news releases to announce your reunion. For more information check out the web site at http://www.exploresouthbend.org or you can e-mail Kelly Kimmich by clicking here.
CALL FOR MUESSEL SCHOOL CONTACTS	Shelly Baumgartner has written to ask if I have any rosters for different classes. Unfortunately the answer is no - we just list reunion information and other material shared by the different classes. However, asking for her mother, who is working to organize a reunion for Muessel School, she is trying to locate Ila Mae Reeves and believes she graduated from Adams in 1956 or 1957. Anyone who can help might want to contact her by clicking Shelly Baumgartner.
CLASS OF 1990 OPENS NEW WEB SITE	Charlie Foster, a graduate of the Class of 1990, has just mounted a new web site for his class. CLICK HERE to visit the site. Like all web sites this one is a growing thing and he asks that additions and updates be sent to JohnAdams1990@aol.com.
MUSIC FROM JOHN ADAMS Recordings Online	John Adams had a wonderful music department in years past. Unfortunately, education budget cuts have made things much harder for fine arts and music programs all over the country including the South Bend Community Schools, and the number of class periods in the school day have also been reduced so there's a lot less music. Good music students must often choose between band, orchestra, newspaper and yearbook schedules. If you'd like to hear how we sounded, or just sample what things were like in the old days, I've started putting up some selections. These are old band and chorus recordings. You can hear them in streaming audio. I'd also like to locate other recordings, and perhaps pictures of the band, orchestra, choirs, etc. If you can loan me something please write me at the address below. CLICK HERE for the music page.
MORRIS ARONSON JAHS TEACHER AND COACH	Morris "Moe" Aronson, 90, of South Bend died at 2:05 p.m. Friday, Dec. 22, 2006, in St. Paul's Retirement Community following an illness. Moe retired as a math teacher with the South Bend Community School Corporation in 1984, after 46 years, primarily at John Adams High School. He was a well-known wrestling and assistant football coach at Adams and led the wrestling team to the state title in 1966. CLICK HERE for a larger photograph and the full obituary.
CLASS OF 1981 New Web Site	The Class of 1981 now has its own web site including a list of lost classmates and lots of photos from prior reunions. Click here for the web site.
OLD POSTCARD OF JAHS	Jim Stangas, a member of the JAHS Class of 1983, submitted a scan of this old postcard of the school. Click on the small thumbnail for a larger image. This part of the school, showing the famous Tower, has not changed although recent construction means you wouldn't recognize much of the building today. Thanks, Jim! (Does anyone else have pictures to share from your "good old days?")
MUSICAL REMINISCENCES OF LAURETTE CANTER GOLDBERG, 1949 JAHS ALUM	Alan Compher, husband of the late Laurette Canter Goldberg, a 1949 graduate of John Adams High School, has compiled an interesting web site since Goldberg passed away last April 2005. The main site starts CLICK HERE. There is also an excerpt from her oral history involving John Adams, Dorothy Pate in her early years at then-new Adams High School (the legendary choral teacher at Adams - see the story below about her), Saint Mary's College, the South Bend Symphony, etc. This is located at CLICK HERE. Some interesting photos are included, several of which need assistance with names. It is hoped that some readers here may remember her from the time she lived in South Bend (1932 - 1951). Some called her by a nickname -- "Tita". This photo shows her in about 1948 at age sixteen, as she must have looked as Mrs. Pate's accompanist for the chorus. You can contact her husband, Alan Compher, at 1998 Ocean Drive, McKinleyville, CA 95519-3802, telephone 707-839-3806, or by E-mail to Alan Compher.
A Sad Note	My good friend, a lifelong booster of John Adams High School, and coworker on this reunion site passed away in August 2005, and I want to acknowledge his friendship, his loyalty to John Adams, and his help to keep this site going. Louis Eugene Chamberlin, Class of 1961, (Gino or Gene to his many friends) passed away on Friday, August 12, 2005. The Chamberlins were good for Adams - Gene's mother, Dorothy, was school nurse for many years. His brother Mike (Class of 1963) was school photographer and another good friend of mine. We'll miss you, Gino. [Photo shows Gene Chamberlin, left, and Tom Zoss, right]
A History of John Adams High School	A very interesting history of the school has been posted. Be sure to read it! A couple of interesting pictures are now shown with the history story. We could use more pictures of the good old days. Do you have any we can borrow?
Dorothy Chamberlin Remembered	Nurse Chamberlin passed away October 22, 2000. Click here for a larger photo and some information about this wonderful lady who kept us healthy while in school.
Dorothy Pate	Long-time JAHS choral conductor Dorothy S. Pate passed away on December 25, 1997. Click here for a remembrance of her tenure at Adams and for a couple of really interesting photos.
John Adams Adult Athletic Booster Club	The John Adams Adult Athletic Booster Club is active again and they have a web site. CLICK HERE to go to http://www.johnadamsboosterclub.com and see what it is all about. They will offer news and information regarding John Adams Athletics including shopping for JAHS spirit wear.
Join a John Adams Web Network	Amanda Bartley, a 1997 graduate of JAHS who works for abdesigns.org has established a web ring involving Adams people. This is an online community and you might want to check it out. CLICK HERE to go to http://northernstarshine.tripod.com/jahs/ and see what it is all about. There are links to other Adams-related sites, too.
South Bend Community Schools Web Site	Here is a link to the web site for the South Bend Community Schools.
Other Schools named JOHN ADAMS	There are other John Adams High Schools around the country. If you're NOT looking for the one in South Bend, Indiana, we encourage to cross-post the URL of other web sites with us. For John Adams HS in Portland, Oregon, go to: http://members.tripod.com/~gail_heineman/jahs_portland_or.html
Tell Your Friends Jackson High School Web Site	Jackson High School now has a web site. If you're interested link up to http://jacksonhs.com/.

Site donated by
Thomas Zoss (JAHS '63)
Zoss Communications, Inc.
3431 S. Weeping Willow Way, Bloomington, Indiana 47403 USA
Telephone 812-332-2334, E-mail to Tom Zoss

Copyright © 2011, 2012 Thomas Zoss
Last updated March 31, 2012