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Rolfe Alumni Essay | |
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Wendy Bennett Eden Prairie, MN Kate (DeWolf) Sutton Nevada, Iowa Stacy (Nielsen) Speck Des Moines, Iowa Rolfe High School Class of 1987 Growing up in any community has its pros and cons. As children, we were quick to whine, "There’s nothing to do in Rolfe!" As adults, we now truly appreciate the things our small town had to offer. Where else can kids play hide-and-go seek on bicycles throughout the town? Where else can a group of girls play "Truth or Dare" sitting in the middle of the street long after dark? Where else, but a small town, is every adult your adopted "mom" or "dad" whether you wanted them to be or not. We now easily see the comfort and safety we had growing up is a thing that is fading from our society. As we have branched out to other, often times larger, communities, we do not have this security with our own small children. We miss it. While reminiscing of our high school days, we realized that (technically) we were the last true Rams. The class of ‘87 was the last class to have the honor of being initiated as freshmen, and we were also the last to graduate under the team name "the Rams," which is why we chose red and old gold for our commencement colors. Because the class sizes had shrunk over the years, it was necessary for Rolfe to start sharing some sport teams while we were in high school, first football with Havelock-Plover, and then several sports with Gilmore City-Bradgate. (We kept our own volleyball and basketball teams.) This meant that our mascot and colors changed (to the blue and gray Rebels), but it also opened us up to many friendships in neighboring districts. Being part of small classes in a small school meant that everyone could try different extra-curricular activities; in fact, everyone had to be in the various activities if we were to keep the programs going. This often had us at school by 7 a.m. and not home until after 9 p.m. While some might argue that none of us excelled at any given activity, others point out that we are well-rounded adults because of our many experiences, be it basketball, drama, newspaper, marching band, or student council. All-in-all, we have wonderful memories of growing up in Rolfe. The Midway at Greater Rolfe Days, building floats for homecoming, and town potlucks in Strait Park are just a few. We are glad our parents chose to make this our hometown, and even though the town has changed, each time we come home we are transformed back to our secure childhood where good memories continue to grow. |
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