No. 434: You Can't Demolish A Legacy

No. 434, Warren Western Reserve High School by Tom Wills, pencil, March 2019

I was a Raider at Western Reserve High School in Warren, Ohio, from 1975 to 1979. Then I was a Kent State Golden Flash, then a writer, parent, artist and grandparent. For me, a 40th-year high school reunion is a dicey proposition. Senior high school was a long time ago -- and if that was the highlight of your life, then you haven't had much of a life.

Black and gold.

I was going to sit this one out, although my classmate-wife Patty wanted to go and see how everyone's holding up. I can tell you:  We're 58-ish, graying and heavier. But hopefully now we're wiser and established -- my words for "settled."

So I was surprised when another grownup Raider, and my once-neighbor, proposed very early this year that I create a special piece of art for the event. Not gonna lie, he waved a few bucks at me and, well, out the window went my reunion resistance.

Imagination amok.

John said to let my imagination run and come up with whatever I wished. So I perused Raider yearbooks for ideas and settled upon the Indian head logo, the Raider mascot with spear, the musketeer that graced the auditorium, the band (the drummer is not me), cheerleader, majorette and -- of course -- the once-rival Reserve and Warren G. Harding Panther football players. I spaced these across the backdrop of our beautiful alma mater, which was demolished in 2010. Patty and I attended a final walk-through before the bulldozers brought their madness.

The art piece became a not-to-scale collage of varsity activities, played out on the school's front lawn. I sent John regular updates and he just said "do it."

Our reunion is Sept. 28 at DeLucia's banquet hall in my Warren hometown; my house is five minutes from the venue. Many living far away can't make it, including John, who funded most of the party but has sudden, critical business matters to settle elsewhere.

Many prints!

He and I made prints of the artwork for everyone who shows up to take home for free. And I'm taking the massive, framed piece to the reunion -- even though John won't be here to take it home.

But he'll be back for it, I know. It seems we mighty, mighty Raiders always come back -- eventually.

Artwork commissioned by the Rush Family Trust, 2019.