2008

BCA Unites High School Classmates After 41 Years!

Being a member of the Buick Club of America (BCA), Chicagoland Chapter for six years, my husband and I have attended numerous events.  Our travels have taken us from as far as Flint, Michigan to Kokomo, Indiana not knowing the whole time someone I attended high school with at St. Joseph High School in Kenosha, WI was also making the same travels. 

We became aware of our similar past last summer at the Heartland Regional that was held at the Marriott Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, Illinois.  My husband and I were working the Safety Lane and in arrived two 1965 Riveras with Wisconsin license plates (members from the Cream City Chapter in Wisconsin).  Seeing the cars, I recognized them right away from many other events in Illinois and Wisconsin.  The only difference was, there were only two cars this time (not the usual three…they always travel together).  My husband darted for the first Rivera as I walked up to the second.  The gentleman handed me his registration, and the first thing I saw was the town he was from, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.  I said to him, "Oh I see you are from Pleasant Prairie," he said yes, and then he told me the address.  I then explained, "You know I went to high school in Kenosha (located near Pleasant Prairie)," and he stated that he did, also.  He then asked where I attended school, and I said St. Joseph.  Remarkably, he responded with, "so did I".  He then went on to tell me that he graduated in the same year as me (1967).  I then again looked at his name on the application, John Schlater, and was flabbergasted when, all of a sudden, I recalled a student who used to sit right next to me in Algebra class 41 years ago.  He then asked what kind of car my husband and I have (1969 Wildcat), and he remembered it well from all the shows we had been to. The rest was history. 

He mentioned that he really keeps up with the St. Joe High School Alumni web site for our graduation class, and he then informed me that I have been on the "Alumni Missing List" for years, so he e-mailed the site and informed them that I had been found.

We met again this year at the Buick Nationals in Rochester, Minnesota, and I decided to take some photos and share our reunion with everyone, since John is a member of the Chicagoland Chapter as well.

I do not know where our travels will take us in that great Buick Wildcat of ours or, furthermore, who we will run into, but, rest assured, when we do travel, I will have with me my Buick luggage, whether we are in our 1969 Buick or my new 2006 Buick Lucerne. 

Merri Cowell BCA 37296
2428 Grand Circle
Lindenhurst, IL  60046