Welcome to alumni of the great John Adams High School in South Bend, Indiana. We 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. Thank you for visiting.

WHAT'S NEW ON THIS SITE? COMBINED REUNION FOR CLASSES 1970 THROUGH 1975 - planning for a mega-event in 2008 - please see the link in the "Reunion News" section below. A new flyer has just been added. CLASS OF 1959 FIRST LISTING OF 50th REUNION PLANNING. CLASS OF 1968 40TH REUNION IN 2008. CLASS OF 1983 25TH REUNION IN 2008. CLASS OF 1948 60TH REUNION IN 2008? See below. OFFER OF REUNION ASSISTANCE - South Bend/Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau. See below in the "Other Information" section.

CLASSES 1970 THRU 1975 COMBINED REUNION SCHEDULED FOR 2008 NEW INFO AVAILABLE	[FRESH NEWS AND NEW BROCHURE AVAILABLE] As previously discussed, a committee being lead by a group of people from JAHS class years 1971, 1972 and 1973 had a very successful combined reunion in 2002 are planning another expanded version for classes 1970 through 1975 August 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2008, Friday through Sunday. Anyone in those classes (even if they had moved away or for any other reason did not complete the entire four years with their class at Adams) is invited to attend. AN UPDATED FLYER (April 2008) WITH LOTS OF DETAILS IS NOW AVAILABLE. To view the flyer in PDF format please CLICK HERE. If you or someone you know was in one of those classes please have them e-mail Pat McGann, JAHS '72, Pat@McGannHay.com with their complete contact information including: name, class year, mailing address, email and phone numbers. You can also telephone Pat McGann at 574-532-5377. Any school teachers, staff or people who attended one of the other area high schools and just had a lot of friends at Adams who would like to attend are ALL invited and welcome as well. Volunteers are needed, too. Those who might be interested in helping with the reunion activities are also encouraged to contact Pat McGann.
CLASS OF 1963 MORE DETAILS FOR FOR 45TH REUNION IN 2008 GUESTS INVITED	[NEW BROCHURE APRIL 2008] The Class of 1963, which had a wonderful time at its 40th reunion, will hold their 45th reunion in 2008. Click Here for the new invitation and brochure released in April 2008. DETAILS: The room is booked and the 2008 reunion will be held at the Waterford Estates Lodge on Saturday, August 9th, 2008. There are also plans for an afternoon picnic on Saturday, details to be firmed up soon. There are many, many Classmates out of touch so send in your home or e-mail address, phone number or a relative to contact. A list is posted so CLICK HERE and see if you can help with some hints or information. They will appreciate any or all of this contact information you have for classmates. Contact Denny Rose by telephone at 574-247-0323 (anytime), 52097 Wood Haven Drive, Granger, IN 46530-8267, or by e-mail sacdrose@sbcglobal.net.
NEW LISTING CLASS OF 1983 25TH REUNION	The 1983 graduating class of John Adams High School will have their 25th reunion this summer. On July 11 they will be meeting at Corby's for drinks, July 12, they will have a golf outing at Juday Creek, a school tour at Adams, and dinner at Izaak Walton League. Then July 13, they will have a picnic at Potawatomi Park. Invitations are scheduled to go out May 1st. Contacts for more information are Diane (Rockstroh) Kilbase whom you can e-mail at rankil1@sbcglobal.net or telephone 574-277-0827, and Valerie (Davis) Shaw whom you can e-mail at Mommashaw@sbcglobal.net or telephone at 574-232-0531. Thanks to Diane Kilbase for this information.
NEW LISTING CLASS OF 1959 50TH REUNION	The 1959 graduating class of John Adams High School is reportedly planning a 50th class reunion in 2009. They will need help locating lost classmates, and in planning their event. All members of the Class of ’59, as well as people who know or have any information about a member of the class should contact contact Rick Wetmore. He can be e-mailed by clicking here. Thanks to Mary Anne McKenzie for this lead. Please let me know when there are more details to post!
CLASS OF 1977 31ST REUNION DETAILS [UPDATE]	Julie Bergen Wonisch writes that the Class of 1977 reunion committee is planning a 31st get-together on the weekend of July 25-27, 2008. It will start with Friday July 25 at ""Between the Buns" in Osceola for cocktails and conversation. Saturday, July 26, will be a "Night at the Cove" at the Budweiser Beer Garden for a picnic and ball game. Julie notes that the the class of 1978 reunion is on the same weekend (see separate listing here) so perhaps people could touch base with friends. Please e-mail her at shopnjul1@sbcglobal.net with your contact info. You can also write her: Julie Bergen Wonisch, 1550 Kensington Place, Mishawaka, IN 46544, Telephone 574-255-1346.
CLASS OF 1978 30TH REUNION DETAILS [NEW ITEM]	Second-hand word has been received that the Class of 1978 will hold a 30th reunion on the weekend og July 25-26, 2008, with the big event at the Elks Club on Saturday. No other details are known and we have no contact information. IF YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS PLEASE WRITE - ADDRESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
CLASS OF 1953 WEB SITE REUNION DATES	[UPDATED] The Class of 1953 reunion is now set for August 8 and 9, 2008. Plans are to have an informal hearty buffet at Windsor Park Conference in Mishawaka on Friday, August 8, then on Saturday, August 9 to have a tour of John Adams at 10:00 a.m., then the evening of Saturday August 9 a dinner at Juday Creek Golf Clubhouse in Granger with cocktails and dinner at 7:00 p.m. The class contact information has been updated so you can write for more information and to help with lost classmates, etc. Class Contacts
CLASS OF 1971 WEB SITE NOW ONLINE	The Class of 1971 web site is now available. To view the site CLICK HERE. You can also contact Gail Kiley at GKiley1@cinci.rr.com [email updated].
CLASS OF 1979 CONTACT FOR 30TH REUNION	Mary Jo Moore (Whitfield) writes that the Class of 1979 needs volunteers to help with the 2009 reunion. They are in the early stages of planning right now. If you are interested in attending and/or volunteering please send your contact information including address, phone and e-mail to Mary Jo Moore mjmoore31@mail.utexas.edu.
CLASS OF 1948 NEW CONTACT LISTED THINKING OF AMAZING 60TH REUNION!	Back in 2003 the Adams Class of 1948 had a 55th reunion, according to a nice note from Marilyn (Lovelace) Simmerman. She has offered her name as the volunteer contact for this early class and is looking to gather in people who would like to see an amazing 60th reunion in 2008. Thanks so much, Marilyn. Call her at telephone 574-259-0842 or click here to send e-mail to Marilyn (Lovelace) Simmerman
CLASS OF 1968 SETS DATE FOR FOR 40TH REUNION IN 2008	[UPDATED] The Adams Class of 1968 has scheduled its 40th class reunion for September 6, 2008 at St. Hedwig's Hall in South Bend. Eddie Knight will provide the entertainment. Time is 6 pm to Midnight. Cost is $25.00 per person. To get more details or sign up for the reunion you can contact Dave Witt (telephone 574-993-1204) e-mail daw6803@yahoo.com or Cindy Eufemi Gray (telephone 269-699-8033) e-mail swampsparrow@comcast.net. They also are seeking current contact information for their former teachers and classmates. Anyone that wants to attend and or volunteer can also send an email with their contact information to Norm Melick at norman@rtccom.net with "reunion" in the subject line.
CLASS OF 1995 WHAT IS HAPPENING? TIME FOR A REUNION?	Cara L. (Glanton) McGowan has written and is now listed as a volunteer contact for this class. Please write to Cara, who is interested in checking in with classmates and getting a reunion going. Click here to send e-mail to Cara L. (Glanton) McGowan
CALL FOR REUNION CLASS OF 1991	Rachel Moore-Williams has volunteered to be a class contact in the absence of someone else. She's had a tough time this year and lost her house in the Hurricane Katrina attack on New Orleans. You can try to reach her at 4678 St Roch Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70122. or try to send e-mail to her by clicking here: Rachel Moore-Williams.
CLASS OF 1998 PLANNING 10TH REUNION	[NEW UPDATE January 15] The John Adams class of 1998 has set more details for their 10 year class reunion for the summer of 2008. The reunion party will be July 25, 26 and 27, 2008 with the reunion party on Saturday the 26th from 7 pm to 1 am. They have a lot planned (An optional Friday night event, memory books, memorial table for David Kubsch, a full course dinner, free cocktail hour, photographers, DJ, an optional Saturday morning tour of Adams followed by a picnic, etc). For reunion information please contact: Jennifer Gallant at Jennifer.gallant@pearsoned.com or Jonelle Binder at jbinder@ameribuild.com or visit the new class website at: www.adams98.com The list of lost classmates has been updated and is available - click here.
CLASS OF 1970 UPDATE YOUR INFO	The Class of 1970 is eager to have your current contact information including your e-mail address. Please send your current information and e-mail address (and the e-mail addresses of all classmates you know) to Mark Phillipoff at mjp@jonesobenchain.com.
	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. Here are the classes that do not presently have a class contact listed: 1946, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005. Thanks for your help. Tom Zoss.
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.
The Unique and Beautiful JAHS Class Ring	Here is a link to information and an illustration describing the unique John Adams Class Ring.
REMEMBERING 9/11 Katie McCloskey (JAHS '94) Kathy Hawk Nicosia (JAHS '65)	Katie McCloskey, Class of 1994, worked on the 97th floor of the North tower of the World Trade Center that was subjected to an attack on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001. For memorial fund information please click here. We've also learned that Kathy Hawk Nicosia, Class of 1965, was a flight attendant on the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center.
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 Alumni Association New Web Site	The South Bend Alumni Association has a new web site with lots of information. Every Adams grad should join this group (it's cheap and they have a great newsletter!). Click here to go to their site.
John Adams Official School Web Site	Click here to go to the official John Adams High School Home Page [UPDATED LINK].
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/.

Space 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 © 2008 Thomas Zoss
Last updated April 26, 2008