Local storm-chaser Carl Willoughby graduated from Hamilton Heights High School in 1976, when the current middle school building was the home of the high school. Last Saturday, he and some of his classmates walked through their school for what could be the last time.
Photo provided by Greg Hoover
The current middle school, 420 W. North St., Arcadia, will soon be partially torn down, except for the gyms, offices and some classroom areas.
Willoughby and some of his friends talk on a Facebook livestream they call Nightcast Live (NCL), which Willoughby organizes. That is where they came up with the idea to walk through their old high school one last time.
“Randy Hill and I decided to go up to the school to see if he and I could go in one evening to take pictures and do a livestream on Facebook,” Willoughby told The Reporter. “That night we had about 100 people who had gone to Heights watching. After that, we walked though the entire school for about an hour and a half.”
Carl Willoughby, Hamilton Heights class of 1976, leans on his old locker. (Photo provided by Greg Hoover)
Before leaving that night, Willoughby and Hill came up with the idea to try to get a group of alumni together to make a final tour of their school. When the pair pitched that idea to their social media group, they found a great deal of support.
“We had fun,” Willoughby said when asked about Saturday. “There were a few of us who were starting to shed some tears because Heights means a lot to us. When we were in school the teachers believed in their students and made it fun to go to school.”
Willoughby said Heights was a very inclusive school community and was ahead of its time. He told The Reporter every student in class would be included in activities and given the attention they needed to succeed, long before the “no student left behind” policies of recent years.
Photo provided by Greg Hoover
“It’s the best school around,” Willoughby said. “The teachers and coaches encouraged us to set our goals high because when you get out of school it’s not going to be easy. We took that to heart.”
According to Willoughby, several of his classmates have been able to take early retirement, crediting the lessons learned at Heights as part of the reason they have been successful in life.
The timing of Saturday’s walkthrough was a bit challenging for several people because of the proximity to the recent holiday and graduation season. Since not everyone who wanted to take their “final tour” was able to do so, Willoughby is organizing a second chance to do so in early October. If you want to attend, you can contact Willoughby on Facebook at facebook.com/carl.willoughby.52.