Doolittle`s Do Lots in Singapore

The
Kiln
Morton High School
Doolittle’s Do Lots in Singapore
By: Rachael Austin and Kayli Hostetler
While MHS students were enjoying their last few weeks of
summer, juniors Laura, Trevor, and David Doolittle were
coping with the news of moving to Singapore for the rest
of their high school years.
Despite the fact that they didn’t want to leave their family
and friends here in the United States, they were excited to
start their lives in Singapore. Their new lives started on
Monday, August 9, 2010 when they packed up all their things
and started the 28-hour journey to Singapore.
When the Doolittle’s arrived in Singapore, they only had a
few days to get adjusted to their new home before they started
school at Singapore American School. In Singapore school
is
much
harder.
There are
more classes
to choose
from and
a lot more
homework.
“We have
five types of
P.E. classes
and many
history and
language
Heart-to-heart
By: Jaclyn Medernach and D.J. Zahn
Dylan Hendricks
classes to pick from,” said Trevor Doolittle.
David, Trevor, and Laura have more freedom
at school because they can get on the Internet
anytime in class for academic and personal reasons.
In addition to that every student is allotted a free
period in which they can do whatever they want.
“We use our free time wisely to start getting our
homework done. It’s the students responsibly to
do what they want [to get things done] because it is
affecting them the most,” said Trevor.
They have an eight period block schedule that takes
two days to complete which means that they have
four classes a day with breaks in between ranging
from 20-40 minutes each.
Having a strict schedule like that doesn’t leave a
lot of time for things they are used to doing here in the US.
If time allows, on weekdays they like to come home from
school and play tennis. The school sets aside an hour for
after school activities once the academic day is over. There
are more after school activities that they can choose from in
Singapore than in MHS.
“We have badminton club, glee club, tennis club, clubs
that students travel around Asia helping people who are less
fortunate, and many more. None of us are involved in any
of them at this time because we are so busy with school and
there is barely any time,” said David.
Dylan Henricks isn’t just your average high school
senior. On September 26, 1992, he was born without his
pulmonary artery, a condition called Tetralogy of Fallot.
Fourteen weeks after his birth, he experienced his first
open heart surgery. The doctors added a pulmonary valve
so his heart would pump blood efficiently.
He remained healthy until he was two, which is when he
had his second open heart surgery. The doctors took out
the old valve and replaced it with a new one. Then again,
four years later, Dylan underwent the same surgery. The
summer of freshman year, he underwent his last heart
surgery to replace the valve.
This condition originated from his dad and will remain
with him for the rest of his life. Dylan has check-ups every
six months, but this doesn’t hold him back from being
active in sports and extracurricular activities. Dylan has
been playing soccer throughout his life and hasn’t let this
condition slow him down.
Dylan has had the chance to speak at ‘A Gift of Hope’ his
sophomore year and share his life story of success with the
students at our school. Dylan is now a healthy eighteen year
old that enjoys playing soccer, spending time with friends,
and being active in his church.
“With technology nowadays, my next surgery will consist
of being outpatient. The doctors will insert a catheter with
a camera attached to the end into my leg, take out the old
valve, and replace it with the new one”, said Dylan.
By Taylor Dozard and Seth Kehres
Mr.
Dunn Isn’t Done Yet
drive someone to become such a prolific teacher? Well,
For just over a hundred years now Morton High School
has been teaching the community, and for over thirty-five
of those years our very own Mr. Dunn has committed his
time, knowledge, and expertise to the students here. His
commitment to his students and the school has earned the
respect of many, and rightfully so as Mr. Dunn now has the
highest seniority level of any faculty member at Morton
high school.
This long term commitment to teaching did not come
easy though. Mr. Dunn has attended over seven colleges
around the country including ISU, Bradley, Indiana State,
Hawaii State, and many more. He is clearly qualified to
teach the youth of our nation, in fact he has even had
the opportunity to teach in another nation. In China, he
used his teaching skills to bring the English language to an
unlikely classroom.
If your parents have attended Morton you could probably
ask them, but for those who do not know Mr. Dunn so
well, his true passion is in technology. Here at Morton
High School he now teaches multimedia design, intro to
engineer design, intro to CAD, Principles of Engineering,
and Digital Electronics. It’s easy for Mr. Dunn to tell you
what his favorite one to teach is, and that’s all of them. He
enjoys the fact that all of his classes provide a different
aspect of technology.
At this point you may be asking yourself, what could
for Mr. Dunn it started all the way back in junior high. His
inspiration comes from one of his former teachers who is
a survivor of World War II. From that point on Mr. Dunn’s
goal has been to teach. He obviously enjoys doing it too.
The best part of teaching for him is seeing a student learn
something new.
The job can’t be all fun though, as his biggest pet peeve
is students that never listen. In all the years he has taught
it is expected that he has given his fair share of detentions,
right? Wrong, despite his long career in teaching Mr. Dunn
has given less than ten detentions. Teaching may be his
passion, but it’s not the only thing he likes to do.
In his free time Mr. Dunn likes to cook, go hiking,
camping, and even mountain climbing. Another big part
of his life outside of teaching are his children. He has
two sons and one daughter that all are achieving academic
success as well. His two sons are college graduates, and his
daughter is currently attending college.
Though Mr. Dunn’s career may seem to be coming to an
end he claims that there are many years yet ahead of him.
No matter how much longer he decides to teach one thing
can be said about Mr. Dunn, and that is that his true goal in
life is to educate.
So thank you Mr. Dunn for your long service to our
community, school, and most importantly the students.
Singapore is very different than America in many ways. The
country is very safe and everyone is welcoming. The school
and technology is more advanced and the people seem more
formal than they are here.
Even though Singapore can be extremely different in some
ways, you can still find some of the same things here as you
can there. For example, Singapore has a lot of the same fast
food chains like McDonalds and Subway.
The Doolittle’s are happy living in Singapore despite all the
differences. They enjoy the culture, making new friends, and
the beautiful city that they now live in.
Baby Boom
By: Jessica King and Gabby Closner
There must be something in the water at MHS because
everywhere you turn teachers are pregnant or have little kids
at home. Every day many teachers such as Mr. Stauffer, Mr.
Garner, Mrs. Kemp and Mrs. Gardner leave their children at
home while they teach at the high school. Many teachers like
Mrs. Mettleman and Mrs. Holmgren are battling pregnancy
and teaching at the same time.
Being a dad is not easy, especially when you have four
young children. Mr. Stauffer’s kids; Turner, Thatcher, Titus,
and Tinley keep him busy when he is not at work.
“It can be extremely hard balancing work with family, but
it is even harder for my wife,” said Mr. Stauffer.
Their youngest children, Titus and Tinley, came as a
surprise when they turned out to be twins. It was very
exciting but stressful because they added double the work
and attention. Mr. Stauffer enjoys spending time with his
family, especially when his kids say cute things.
One of his many favorite moments is with his son,
Thatcher. Thatcher will tell everyone he is daddy’s boy.
Even when his grandmother tries to convince him that he
is grandma’s boy, Thatcher will tell her otherwise.
Being a dad and teacher for Technology teacher Mr. Gardner
is very difficult at times; he has a little girl named Lauren
that is four years old. Lauren likes to tell everyone that she
is married to Swiper the Fox from Dora the Explorer. He
recently found out that his wife is pregnant again.
“I was very surprised when I found out, as well as excited,”
said Mr. Garner. Being a full time father and teacher can be
tough but he would not have it any other way.
On the other side of parenthood, Mrs. Kemp, is one of
the many teachers with little kids at home. She has a oneyear-old son named Colin. Although she has work and
school she always makes time for her son. Having had
experience with watching children there were not many
surprises with Colin. Being their only son and the only
grandchild in the family he is very spoiled and loved. This
could soon change however, because Mrs. Kemp would
like two or three more kids. With a majority of the high school staff being young and
some newly married, a question arises. Who will be next?
The
Kiln
Alumni Follow-ups
Nathan Springer ‘07
By: Adam Springer
Nathan was born in Peoria, Illinois on August 19, 1989. He grew up in Morton, Illinois where he attended Bethel
Lutheran School until 8th grade when he moved to the junior high. During high school he was in marching band all
four years, scholastic bowl, and symphonic band. He graduated Morton High School in 2007 with gold cord. He now
attends the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. He is a senior at the university, but he will have to go
for one more year because he switched majors after freshman year from Biology Pre-Med to English. He plays the
flugelhorn in Marching Illini and is a squad leader. He has been in the band all four years and plans on doing it again
next year.
After college he plans on becoming a published writer. This has been his passion since he was a kid, and it is his
dream to write novels for a living. He has already started on two different novels. One is about a kid who is a matchmaker and the other is about a family that comes into the ownership of a different world. He is very much enjoying
his college experience at U of I because he likes the feeling of freedom and living with his friends, although not
everything about the college experience is enjoyable to him.
“I don’t like the impersonal relationships with the professors. I really enjoyed being able to get to know my teachers
in high school,” he said.
Also, he doesn’t always like being so far away from home. He wishes that the high school would have offered more
college prep classes outside of American Studies. That class gave him some preparation but not enough to fully prepare him for what college is actually like. There are other ways to help in college preparation according to Nathan.
“Get involved in your school. Get into some kind of student organization like a club to get yourself a social status.
Doing this gets you friends with can really help in college,” he advises.
Cindy Bumgarner ‘84
By: Caitlyn Vandermeer
If you have never heard of Cindy Bumgarner she was the first female player from Morton to be picked for
the All-American girl’s basketball team. She went to Morton High School from 1981-1984. Cindy still holds records
today for most blocks and rebounds in a high school career.
Some things have changed over the years though. In the early 80’s the Jr. High didn’t have a girl’s basketball team. So
Cindy’s first year of organized basketball was when she was a freshman. Although she did practice at home when she
was in Jr. High, almost every day she would shoot at home and play with her brother.
Her dad and brother were a big part of her playing sports. Girls were often made fun of when they played sports.
People thought that competing in sports was something that boys should do, not girls. There were also good changes
too. There are more girls involved in basketball today and because they start earlier now they have a lot more
experience so the skill level tens to be higher.
She wasn’t only a great athlete but also a great student. She graduated with the gold cord and decided to go to
Indiana to play basketball. There were a lot of schools that wanted her to play for them. University of Illinois,
University of Missouri, Northwestern and Indiana University were her top choices. In the end she decided to go to
Indiana.
“When I visited the school, the beauty of the campus buildings and its layout just completely matched the image I’d
had in my mind of what it would look like at a major university” said Cindy. It also was pretty close to home so her
parents could come watch her play.
“Watching my kids play ball, has been the best part of my life so far” said her father Jon Bumgarner who is still a
huge Morton Lady Potters fan.
Her career at Indiana was also a good one. She is recognized in their new gym and her jersey is hanging up in ours.
When asked about the difference between high school and college she said “size, quickness and strength”. In high
school there are player with a wide range of skills. In college everybody can play ball really well. She was one of
five freshmen to come in for the new season at Indiana. They all were over 6’ feet tall. Now Cindy Bumgarner
lives in California where she works at California State University, Chico Language Department as the Director of
the Multimedia Language Learning Center. She has a Masters degree in German and is currently working on her
doctorates in Educational Technology.
Halloween Throwback:
Can you guess
these costumed
MHS students?
Answers on Page 6
page two
Tyler Reiman ‘06
By:Derek Reiman
Tyler James Reiman
was born on March 28,
1988. When Ty was a
freshman at MHS he
was introduced to the
game of poker at a buddy’s house. Ty played
every once in a while his
first three years at MHS
with his friends. When
he hit senior year he
decided to play a game
of poker on an online
site. It was a free tournament, so he figured
why not enter it. He
ended up winning the tournament which got him into a bigger tournament where he could win money. When I asked
him how that feeling was to win the free tournament he said
“It felt good but I didn’t expect my winning to go further.”
The next day he started the tournament and before he knew
it he was the winner of that tournament also. He won 25 grand
and was on his way to bigger things. When asked how the win
felt he said “It felt unreal.” I being his brother along with the rest
of our family did not believe him when he told us that he won
that much money. After that win Ty went along playing more
and nothing really major happened the rest of his senior year.
After graduation Ty started to attend Parkland Community
College in Urbana Illinois. While Ty was there he was lucky
enough to meet a guy who was one of the top players on online poker. Before he knew it he was getting taught how to play
better by this guy. They became good friends and after a while
Ty was teaching other people and also the guy who taught him.
When I asked Ty when he started playing live tournaments
he responded with “my first live tournament was when I was
19 in New York.” That being his first live tournament and also
his first live won tournament. From there Ty started to travel
the world to play poker. He would win little tournaments here
and there. When he was 21, in January of 2010 he got second place for a huge prize in a tournament in the PCA series.
Ever since then he has kept on playing online and a few live
tournaments. He is enjoying what he is doing now and when
asked how long he plans to play he said “I plan on playing for
the rest of my life.” Whether it be a friendly game of poker or
a final table situation, Tyler Reiman will always love the game
no matter where he is playing.
Morton Proverbs
The following proverbs were created in World Literature
class after studying proverbs from Africa. A proverb is a
short, pithy statement that expresses a common truth or
experience.
One shall not ride alone on the Zipper. Brandon Stamm and
Dalton White
The pumpkins are always oranger on the other side. Jenna
Zbinden, Shannon Aune, Emily Salyers, Jashae Rogers
Pumpkin pie takes time. Alyssa Hoadley, Allie Schuck,
Monica Disberger
One does not disgrace the pumpkin. Corinna Minor, Megan
Eastman, Ashley Legel, Liz Siegler
One cannot have his pumpkin and eat it too. Ryan Broy
One cannot lift a giant pumpkin alone. Ducky Seils
The pumpkin doesn’t fall too far from the patch. Joel
Park, Jacob Hagaman, Ducky Seils, Daniel Mayhoff, Ryan Broy,
Ryan Schifeling
Shape your pottery carefully or it might break. Ryan
Schifeling
The
Kiln
Senior Spotlight
Kelly McCorkle
Kelly Marie McCorkle was born into this world with
her bright personality on February 26, 1993
at Peoria Saint Francis Hospital. Many people
would describe Kelly as being an outgoing
and kind hearted person. She has two siblings,
a little brother named Jake and a sister Jordan
who is a freshman this year that she loves
very much.
Kelly attended Grundy Elementary School
and then moved to Jefferson when she was
in fourth grade. She grew up being an animal
lover, and now has two dogs, Winston and
Wilber. Her favorite childhood memories
growing up were going to Six Flags St. Louis
and Disney World with her family. She enjoys
hanging out with her friends and devotes a lot
of her time working with her residents at the
AC Home for the Mentally Disabled.
You will always see Kelly listening and dancing to
music. She loves to give people a good laugh with her
dance moves, and outgoing personality. Her favorite
time of the year is summer. She enjoys the outdoors, and
page three
By: Siera Hasler
loves hanging out at her pool.
“The best part of summer was going to the pit with all of
my friends,” said Kelly.
Kelly attends church regularly and God is a big part
of her life. Castaway and Winter Retreat were the
most memorable experiences for her in high school
that she will always carry with her.
Kelly is very excited to be a senior this year. She
attends all the football games, some tennis matches,
and loves going to dances. Kelly liked all of her
high school classes but her favorite was Spanish
3 with Senora Johnson. After high school Kelly
plans to attend college at either ISU or UIC to be
an occupational therapist. In ten years she wants
to be out of college and working with the mentally
handicapped.
“My gorgeous best friends, Siera, Ky, Olivia,
Braker, Bohnker, Taylor, and Jaclyn, plus the whole
family, made my high school experience a lot better. Love
you guys!,” said Kelly.
“Take what you can from your dreams; make them as real
as anything” –DMB is the quote Kelly lives by.
Jazmine Desiree Castro
By: Mallory Lake
Jazmine Desiree Castro was born on November 2,
1992 in Des Moines, Iowa to her parents Jose and Josephine Castro. Right after being born Jazmine and her parents moved to Chicago where she spent a majority of her
life. Jazmine attended Drexel Elementary School where she
met most of her friends and made friendships. But those
friendships did not have time to grow into strong relationships because when Jazmine was going into sixth grade, her
family moved to Des Moines, Iowa. After living in Iowa for
only one year, her family up and moved again. This time
they decided Morton, Illinois would be the best place for
their family.
Jazmine has many things she adores about Morton,
but her favorite thing is the Pumpkin Festival, and all the
good times that come with it. Jazmine’s favorite childhood
memory is when she went to Six Flags for the first time.
Jazmine has grown up with one brother Jose, and one sister
Adam
Thomas
Bazzetta
By : Adam Craven
Some might know him as “The Ladies Man” but others
may know him as Adam Bazzetta. The stork brought Adam
to his parents, Tom and Becky, on August 2, 1993. He has
two brothers, Andrew and Alec. Andrew is 24 and Alec is
10. Alec is definitely the cutest boy of all three.
When Adam was just a young boy he had grown fond
of the sport soccer. He’s been playing it ever since. He is
captain of Morton’s varsity soccer team this year and has a
lot of confidence in his team. He hopes to “make it past the
wretched Notre Dame and proceed onto state.”
After high school Adam would like to go onto play soccer
in college. In his free time Adam spends most of his time
on AIM. He says it’s a great way to meet new people. When
Adam isn’t surfing the AIM chat rooms, he is attending a
dance party with all his friends. He says “It’s a fun time and
nothing can beat dancing with friends!”
He and his friends mostly like to listen to Kid Cudi but
his favorite artist is Umphrey’s McGee. Adam’s mother is
one of the greatest cooks to ever live in Morton and he
claims that his favorite food that she prepares is her Cheesy
Potatoes. Adam lives by the motto “Live fast, die young.”
So ladies if you need a young, handsome, caring man give
Adam a call because he is “single and ready mingle.”
Joslyn. Jazmine has made lots of friends, and has had many
fun times during her high school career.
“My greatest accomplishment in high school was getting
my license and feeling so fly like a G6,” said Jazmine.
Her best high school experience was going to the Pumpkin
Festival with Mal. And her favorite class in high school was
Spanish III with Señora Johnson.“She is a great teacher,
and I always look forward to her class,” Jazmine said.
Senora Johnson has inspired her to be a teacher herself
someday.
Outside of school Jazmine enjoys many things.
“My favorite thing to do is to walk it out with my girl
Alyssa Mcmillen,” Jazmine said. Jazmine is excited to see
where life takes her, and what her life will be like in future.
Her advice to student’s just starting high school is. “Have
fun, be your own person, and live up your high school
years, because they go by fast,” Jazmine said.
Olivia
Summers
By: Jaclyn Medernach
McKenna
Elizabeth
Krebs
By: Shelbi Ummel
Have you ever seen a spunky, loud, and up-beat senior
walking around the halls? If you have, it is probably
McKenna Krebs. She was born at OSF St. Francis on
January 13, 1993 to Cheryl Ooton-Krebs, and Frank Krebs.
McKenna is a senior at Morton High, and she has attended
Morton all four years of her high school career, and Bethel
Lutheran School pre-school through 8th grade. If you can
think of a sport, she has probably played it. McKenna was a
cheerleader
5th
through 8th
grade,
and on the
dance
team 7th
and
8th grade.
She
has also
played
volleyball
since she
was in
4th grade.
Being
the CoMVP
and captain
of the
sophomore
team,
and playing
on the
sophomore
team as
a freshman,
she
is a very
talented
player.
She
is
currently
coaching
the varsity
Bethel
Lutheran
team
an assistant coach and her skills are a great help to Bethel’s
Lady Flames. McKenna also participated in basketball 4th
through 8th grade. The past 3 years, she has done track and
field for MHS throwing shot and discus and being captain
this previous season. This being her senior year, we all have
a very bright outlook for her this track season. McKenna
enjoys hanging out with friends, listening to music, and
rolling around with the top down, Jammin’ in her 2006 red
convertible Mustang, Vikki. She is currently working at
Famous Footwear and is hoping a promotion to assistant
manager in January. Her best friend is Shelbi Ummel and
they have been best friends since kindergarten. “I want to
go to college for four years. My first choice now is St. Louis
University, my second choice Milliken,” said McKenna. She
plans on majoring in psychology. With her caring nature
and compassion, she is the perfect person to come to with
a problem. When asking to classify herself in one word, she
said, “Awesome! Just kidding, ‘Fun,’ I guess.” So, next time
you walk by her in the halls, give her a friendly hello, she’ll
be sure to give one back.
This loud, funny, and sarcastic senior can easily be heard from clear across the school. Who else could it be but
none the other than Olivia Anne Summers. Olivia was born on October 23, 1992 at Methodist Hospital in Peoria,
Illinois, and has lived in Morton her entire life. Her family consists of her parents, Gary and Beth, her older brother,
Nick, her two older sisters, Allie and Jamie, and her sister-in-law, Molly. She has two cats (Sophie and Callie) and an
adorable nephew named Declan.
“My family and I are really close, and we enjoy doing things together, such as going to Branson, Missouri and riding
four wheelers and dirt bikes.”
Growing up, Olivia’s favorite childhood memory was playing kick the can with her neighbors at night. Throughout her
childhood, Olivia participated in various sports, such as softball, soccer, basketball, and karate. Olivia’s favorite sport is
softball because she has been playing since age four and excels in it the most. Olivia has played on a traveling softball
team for the past eleven years, and also plays for the Morton High School team.
Along with softball, Olivia plays tennis for the MHS Varsity team. Outside of athletics, Olivia enjoys participating in
Interact. She has been apart of various events, such as helping at the soup kitchen, talent show, and working the Delight
Tent at the 2010 Pumpkin Festival.
Inside of school, Olivia is an A+ student. Her favorite class was Honors Physics Junior year because she enjoys
science and it gave her a challenge. After high school, Olivia plans on going to ICC for two years and then transferring
to a University to major in Nursing. Olivia enjoys living in Morton and could see herself settling here with a family in ten
years.
“My favorite thing about Morton is the Pumpkin Festival, because it only comes once a year so it gives me something
to look forward to.”
Olivia says the only good thing MHS has left to offer is open campus to the seniors, which probably won’t be in
effect for much longer. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, riding four wheelers and dirt bikes, and
babysitting Declan.
Olivia’s advice to incoming freshman is to stay to the right side of the hall while walking and to not cut people off in
the hallway. Olivia says she will never forget “the family”, and her lasting quote to Morton High School is “Making plans
to change the world, while the world is changing us.”
The
Kiln
Senior Spotlight
Timothy Henry Luchtefeld
Timothy Henry Luchtefeld was born in Aug 19, 1992, in
Peoria, Illinois. He has lived in Morton most of his life.
Tim’s fondest childhood memories would be his glory days
at Blessed Sacrament School, which is where he attended
up through 8th grade. He played many sports at BSS including basketball and track. His favorite activities include
sports, hanging with friends, and just having a good time.
He also enjoys rubbing in the fact that he is a senior and
can go out to lunch to any underclassman. Tim runs cross
country for Morton High School, and plays church league
basketball in his spare time. His hero and role model is
Michael Scott from the office, which happens to be one of
his favorite shows. “Michael Scott is everything I hope to
be,” he said. Another one of his heroes is John Morrison
from WWE
Raw on Monday
nights. Tim
never misses an
event.
Andrew
Starkey was
ber 4, 1992
Hospital in
drew is an
13 minutes,
not realize
a fraternal
family also
loving parTracey and
brother
Britney Spears’ classic hit “Give Me More.”
If given one
instead of
a fancy car or
nice clothes,
would exchange
ones.” This is
of his simplicity.
million dollars
spending it on
maybe some
Tim said “I
it in for a lot of
just an example
Andrew Starkey
Michael
born Octoat Proctor
Peoria. Anolder twin by
but you may
that he is also
twin. His
includes his
ents Jon and
his younger
Jake.
Andrew
is currently
a senior at
MHS and is
involved in
football and
baseball.
He loves to
fish, beat
Brent Rassi
in Madden 10 on a daily basis, and dance. Andrew says
that “Dancing has come natural to me and I can dance
to almost any song, whether it’s Usher’s “Yeah!”, or even
In his free time he loves to play bass especially slap bass,
and a variety of other musical instruments. The main
instruments he plays are euphonium, guitar, bass and piano.
Grant is in his second year of marching band this year;
he marches baritone and hopes that they do better than
last year at state. He’s also on the chess team and Wyse
By: Luke Starkey
“My favorite memory of high school would have to be
going to state for marching band.” Said Hovey. “My
biggest accomplishment was getting a descent ACT
score’. His favorite classes were Music Theory or any
tech class with Mr. Dunn.
Sitting for a few moments, Ariel tries to come up with
three words to describe her childhood. “Crazy, changing,
and siblings!” Her parents divorced when she was younger
and after her mother remarried, her step dad went to Iraq
for a year and a half, she explained. She also went from
being an only child to having seven siblings as she grew up.
“It was just insane,” she says this with a smile on her face.
Just from her attitude, you can tell that family means a lot
to Ariel.
Ariel remembers her first day of high school as a good
one. She says she was not really nervous, but only a bit
scared about finding where her classes were. But overall,
she said her high school experience was a really good one.
Her favorite memory of high school, or the one moment in high school that she would want to go back and
redo, was in 2008 when the marching band went to Bands
of America Super Regional Finals in St Louis with their
marching show “A.F. 632: Brave New World.” Ariel was
one of the soloists in the show.
Ariel also participated in the 2010 Miss Morton Pageant.
Although she did not win she said she was glad she took
part. “It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. My
S face ended up hurting afterwards,” she says, laughing. With
all the smiling she had to do, it is no surprise her cheeks
O were sore.
A U T U M N I A R A K E
L R E M F I S T P U M P
I I N V Z G W G I N L U C
E J N U D E O X E E I M C
N E I H X R U E N O B P E
S E S G G H W D S E B K R
X R K E X O I E A B Y I A
D B O A L F Z U E R S N V
L U D L E L T I T D D S E
S W A R O Y M V O E R O Y
I H O M E C O M I N G A F
G U D S E N I O R S 1 1 K
S M T N E C I
F I N G A M
Homecoming
Splendiferous
Soccer
Fist Pump
Pie
Ariel
Being involved in four years of marching band, three musicals, one play, she laughs when she tries to come up with
the activities she does in her free time. “What free time?
I’m in band!” Ariel has also been involved in choir for four
years, chorale for two years, and, “Technically I was, still
am, involved in Laws and Order.”
team. Grant goes by a variety of nicknames including
“Hovier” and “Hovercraft”.
Libbys
Magnificent
Halloween
Tennis
Gorgeous
Tim has some mixed thoughts on high school. “Waste of
my time,” he said. His favorite memory of high school is all
the days in American Lit with Mr. Lindley. After graduation he plans to go to college and never look back.
Ariel Davis was born on February 24, 1993, in Morton,
Illinois. She was born an only child but throughout her life
she has ended up with five half siblings and two stepsisters.
If Andrew was stranded on an island and could only take
three belongings with he would take, “Megan Fox, Bear
Gryll’s survival handbook, and Wilson from the movie
Castaway.” He is still unsure where he wants to apply for
college and what he wants to major in, but for right now he
is making the most out of life.
Autumn
Pumpkins
Rakes
Colors
Beauty
So far Tim’s biggest accomplishment in his life is getting a
C in P.E. with Coach Lehnen. “I’m really going to miss that
class,” he said.
Davis
Andrew has aquired nicknames over the years such as
“Chewie, Tuna, Tut, Andy Candy, Duck, and of course
Tool.” These nicknames with the exception of Andy Candy have all been given by his two friends Tim Luchtefeld
and Christopher Duda. Andrew lives by a quote from the
wise Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, “Everybody loves
me, babies, dogs, ya know, hot girls, cougars. I just have
unbelievable mass appeal.” Andrew’s favorite childhood
memory is playing beanie baby wars in Tim Luchtefeld’s
basement. Andrew said that his favorite candy is Peachie
O’s and his favorite soda is Dr. Pepper.
“I plan on attending ICC for 2 years then transfer to
Bradley to finish out my schooling,” said Hovey. His
intended major is electrical engineer. His goal for
the future is to try to get out of his house before his
By: Jordan Sullivan
brother Brandon does.
Tim likes to believe that he is a man of many words. His
favorite quote is “that’s what she said.” According to him
the quote is funny at times and can be used in everyday life.
By: Christian Dullard
Grant Isaac Hovey
Grant Isaac Hovey was born in East Peoria on April 16,
1993 to the parents of Dale and Diana Hovey. Grant has
three siblings Brandon, Chris, and Jennifer Hovey. He
attended grade school in East Peoria for two years before
moving to Morton and going to Lincoln. He is now a
senior at Morton High School.
page four
Ariel wants to get her teaching degree in English so she
will be able to teach at a high school level. She is waiting to
hear back from Illinois State University, Northern Illinois
University, and University of Iowa. She does not have a
preference on which one she wants to go to, she just wants
to go to college.
By Alyssa Hoadley
The
Kiln
Sports & Activities
One to Remember Forever
By: Daniel Jacob
May 24, 2010 was an amazing day. It was not only my
birthday, it was the day that I learned that my dad had
gotten me two passes to go down on the field for batting
practice at a Cardinals game in St. Louis. He had told me I
could have taken whomever I wanted but I simply thought
it would be an awesome time for my dad and I to spend
some time with each other.
My dad had gotten these passes through a charity or
auction at Bradley University. This was available to him
since Andy Masur, an announcer for the San Diego Padres
had graduated from Bradley. My dad had also graduated
from Bradley so he had some connection about the charity
or auction.
So after months of waiting the day was finally here. The
night before my dad had told me that he would have to pick
me up early from school at about noon, so after leaving
school and after a two and a half to three hour drive we
were in St. Louis.
Checked into the Hilton at the ballpark since my dad and
I were spending the night in St. Louis since it was a night
game so we had left the hotel about 4:25 and went to the
stadium got our passes and we went down to the field.
When I first got down to the field I was in awe of how cool
Morton Boys Golf
Season Recap
By: Luke Stickelmaier
As fall starts to set in the Morton golf season is starting
to drift out. The Morton Boys Golf Team has had a fun
season as it is wrapping up. The team started off rocky
losing to a good Dunlap team and an even better Pekin
team.
Although match play was starting rocky, the first
tournament was looking good for Morton’s number one,
Alex Shane. Shane shot a 69 which won medalist and first
place on the hard Coyote Creek Invitational tournament.
Number one Alex Shane and number two Jordan Wanner
led Morton’s varsity team with remarkable consistent
scores.
For J-V golf, Tanner Ridings and Jordan Jenson shot
consistent scores for the team as well. As the season was
winding down Morton played good and had a great team
but had a lot of competition. It was a very competitive
year all season for the Mid-Illini conference. All teams
were competitive and close in the standings. Pekin fought
through and finished first in conference and placed first in
the conference tournament that was recently held at Quail
Meadows golf Club. Before the conference tournament
Coach Tierney said, “I’m feeling pretty good about today.
I think we can get something good started.”
Morton had finished right behind them placing third in
the tournament and third in the overall standings. They
finished better than they did last season in conference.
When Morton placed third Alex Shane said, “I’m not too
happy because I know we could have done much better.”
Coach Tierney is in his second year as the head coach
of the Morton Golf Team. He was proud of the way his
team had played this year and liked the group of guys.
The boys held their regional competition at Prairie Vista
Golf Course in Bloomington. The greens will surrender
to the changing of the weather until MHS Golf is ready to
warm them up next year.
that field at Busch Stadium really was.
I had thought about walking on the
same field as Current Cardinals Albert
Pujols, Yadier Molina, Chris Carpenter,
Adam Wainwright and former
Cardinal Ryan Ludwick and just the
thought of doing that was amazing.
I didn’t really know what to expect
but it was great. First I met the
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa he
signed my hat and took a picture with
me. Next I spotted Cardinals play by
play announcer Dan McLaughlin on
the field I asked him to sign my hat
and my dad took a picture of him and
I. Then we met Andy Masur down on
the field we talked about baseball and
life in general and personal experiences
and we had talked about how I wanted
to be a journalist.
He had also given me some advice about how to talk
without using stats all the time he had said that there were
other ways to talk about that sort of thing like saying he’s
been great with runners in scoring position this year. So
after we talked I had noticed the Padres had taken the field
for batting practice. Then Andy called over my favorite
player in baseball Ryan Ludwick. Ryan and I talked about
how mad I was when he was traded and I told him that he
was my favorite player he said that he appreciated that and
signed my hat.
After batting practice we watched the first inning in our
normal seats and then we accepted Andy Masur’s invitation
to go in the announcers both for an inning. And that was
extremely cool. Then dad and I walked around the stadium
to see what else was around. Next, we entered the writers
room where writers from ESPN, Fox Sports and many
other sites and networks were there. However, it didn’t take
long for me to spot Jimmy “The Cat” Hayes in between
innings.
I asked him for his autograph and he signed my hat and
also offered to take a picture so he grabbed his Fox Sports
microphone and acted like he was interviewing me. So
after watching the rest of the game a clobbering of the
Padres 14-4 we went to find some dinner. That’s when we
went to former Cardinal player and current announcer Mike
Shannon’s restaurant.
It didn’t take long for my dad and I to spot him and
quickly asked for his autograph. After eating dinner we
went back to the hotel and went to sleep. So I believe
it’s pretty fair to say it was an amazing night and one to
remember forever.
page five
Athlete Spotlight:
Ashley Bohnker
By: Ashley Braker
Every school
year a new group
of athletes line
up to support our
school, and lead us
to victories. Senior
Ashley Bohnker is
just one of the many
athletes that works
hard all summer to
earn a spot on one
of these teams. In
the summer she is
a part of a tennis
clinic, plays in a night
league, and will do
a lot of running to
get in shape for the
upcoming season.
She has been playing
since freshman year,
and has continued to work on her game ever since. This
year Ashley has been voted by her team mates to be one
of the captains for the Morton Varsity Tennis Team. All
of the girls have been working hard to achieve new goals
for the school records. They finished in 5th place out of
26 teams in Edwardsville, and 2nd in the Champaign
tournament which is the best Morton has ever done. Being
a senior on the team also allows for a lot more playing
time during the season. Ashley’s favorite part of tennis is
getting those awesome tan lines, but even more than that
she enjoys being with all of her friends. At practice the
girls have conditioning, drills, and they most importantly
practice for upcoming matches. During the season Ashley
plays both singles and doubles. Doubles are her preference
however, because she enjoys playing in matches with
her partner senior Taylor Hartmann. Together they have
earned15 wins, and 4 losses. They work really well as a
doubles team, and are always ready to attack every ball that
comes at them. Being apart of any sports team makes
room for a lot of fun and exciting memories.
“There are so many memories, but the best overall
would be having a rave on the albino rhino while down in
Edwardsville,” said Ashley.
Even though the season is almost over she hopes the
team will keep up the hard work. From the challenges
on the courts to the fun she had with friends, Ashley will
always remember how if felt to apart of the Morton Varsity
Tennis Team.
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By: Erika Payne
This year’s boys’
varsity cross-country
team has had a season
nothing less than
remarkable. The team
is thus far undefeated
in their conference,
and senior Joe
Zeller’s spectacular
performance has
certainly helped the
team. Joe began
running for the crosscountry team his
freshman year of high
school. He chose
cross-country over
soccer, and is pleased
with his decision.
As one of the senior
captains, Joe is a role
model and continues
to motivate the team
every day. He considers
himself the “cool captain.” He prepared for this season by
running approximately 70 miles a week over the summer.
During the season he runs about 40 to 50 miles a week.
Joe’s best time during his running career has been 15:23 for
three miles, and he hopes to set a new record for himself in
the near future. “My goal is to go to state as a team and go
undefeated in conference,” Joe said.
Last year, Joe was the only member of the MHS cross
country team to go to the state meet at Detweiller Park
in Peoria. He placed sixth out of over 150 runners. His
favorite memory is “Austin Bradford.” Joe’s favorite course
is Detweiller Park because it is a flat course. He plans to
continue running competitively after high school. Joe said,
“I plan on running at either the University of Illinois or
North Central, but I haven’t decided yet.” He was named
Most Valuable Player two years in a row.
Joe is not only successful in cross-country, but he is also a
member of the Math Team, Wyse Team, Interact, National
Honor Society, Chess Team, and Track. As a sophomore,
“My goal is to
go to state as
a team and go
undefeated in
conference,”
Joe won the state title for Engineering Graphics on the
Wyse Team and as a junior he placed second at state for
Engineering Graphics. He also ranked at state for the Math
Team. Come out and cheer on Joe and all of his teammates
on the cross-country team!
The
Kiln
Sports & Activities
The Hog Man of Morton
By: Jon Losen and Austin Walschaert
If you have been to any of the recent home football games, you
probably saw a new face on the track cheering on the team. With
great enthusiasm and amazing leadership, this amazing hog mascot
inspires the crowds to cheer on the team. He was finally tracked
down and turned out to be senior Nick Gurdian. With Nick cheering
during the home games, the football teams has achieved success this
season.
The idea for him to wear the suit was all him and he said and he was
given the suit by Mrs. Hocker at the JFL field. Nick said he enjoys
being the mascot very much because it gives him the freedom that a
normal human being couldn’t accomplish. With that said, Nick also
said that the environment inside the suit is 98% humidity and 105
degrees on a hot day. This means Nicks attire under the hog suit is
limited usually to just his boxers. Nick has a rigorous workout routine
in order to stay in shape to be the mascot. He does “a half hour of
cardio, various weight training and resistance workouts plus vocal
lessons three times a week.”
Nick doesn’t know if he wants to keep being a mascot in college but
he said, “I will see where life takes me and we will see what happens.”
He does hope to keep being the mascot at other high school events
though. “If I am contacted ahead of time I would love to.” Nick
plans on passing the suit on to someone next year but he says he will
have to figure out who it will be. He said you can see him for details
about being Hog Man for the 2011 football season.
Soccer Scores 25
This year marks a special year for the soccer program.
It is the 25 year for Morton soccer.
The first was back long ago in 1986.
Back then, soccer was not widely
known to the American public.
In 1976, soccer was a complete
unknown to the majority of
Mortonites. This did not stop
Mike Witzig from posting an
announcement of a soccer clinic in
the local newspaper. This sparked an
interest in the community and players
soon followed. Over the next few
years, players built up their skills and
knowledge of the game and the need
for a high school team surfaced.
Many volunteers in the area gathered resources to bring
the soccer
program to
life at MHS.
The slogan
was known as
“Soccer 86.”
Funds were gathered and the board of education passed
approval to create the Morton High School soccer team in
1986.
25 years later Morton soccer has flourished. They have
won the conference over the last two years and are poised
By: Taylor Hartseil
to win a third consecutive title.
“We have a very deep and
strong team and can contend for
a state championship this year.
” said junior mid field strong
man Tom Homa. This year
the Potters have amassed an
astounding 10 wins in 14 games.
They plan on adding many more
before the end of the season.
The Potters hosted their Senior
Night on October 12 against
East Peoria taking the game 7-0.
“This year I plan on bringing
my yearbook when we play
Notre Dame so Vince Cicciarelli
can sign it,” said junior defender Zach Erickson. Notre
Dame is usually one of the
best teams in the area and
this year is no exception. The
soccer team is fell to Notre
Dame in their road game on
October 14. The soccer team
will continue to grow and flourish as the season comes to
an end.
“This year I plan on bringing my yearbook
when we play Notre Dame so Vince
Cicciarelli can sign it.” said junior defender
Zach Erickson
New Clubs at MHS
Morton High School is getting off to a wonderful start
this year. New clubs like the AV club and the Creative
writing clubs are starting their first year at MHS and are
starting to begin a new and exciting year. Creative Writing
club is a new club that got started by Senior, Colleen
McCann and Junior, Jessy Storck because they wanted to
start something not only that they could enjoy but other
students could enjoy. The creative writing club is basically a
club that people can write whatever they want to and they
don’t have to worry about the grade.
“It’s mostly creative criticism and it’s a great way for
people to express themselves” Colleen
responded.
The creative writing club was started
mostly because there are a lot of people
that love to write and there’s a bunch of
sports, and drama clubs but no writing
clubs.
To be in this club you can be any grade,
or gender. If you have any questions about the creative
writing club talk to Colleen McCann or Jessy Storck or take
a visit to the language arts office on the second floor and
talk to Mr. Lindley.
The AV club is a club set-up to let students capture video
and edit video. Sound engineering, styles, shooting, cutting
Answers: Jake Rudd and Erin Tisdale
By: Jessica King
and slicing film are also available for students that join the
AV club.
“It’s pretty impressive”. says Mr. Gardner.
When Mr. Gardner was asked why did you start an AV
club he responded, “It’s a companion of an already existed
curriculum, our natural evolutionary stage of where our
technology will come to in the future and it helps to let
students express themselves.
The AV club is going to try their best to help out MHS and
the district as much as they can but unfortunately students
need to get a bit of a training period of hardware and
software.
This club is not just set up
for students that are in the
technology class, anybody
can join, and they do no
limit admission. The AV club
started September 13 and will
keep meeting every Monday
after school in 1G.
Now that sounds like a ton of fun joining clubs that let
you express yourself in writing or video/ audio. You can
join anytime during the school year, and all you have to do
is show up to any of the meetings for either one of these
clubs. It’s that easy so get involved in Morton’s two newest
clubs!
“It’s mostly creative
criticism and it’s a
great way for people
to express themselves”
Colleen responded.
page six
The 12th Man
By: Bryce Silverthorn
Rain or shine, sleet or snow, nothing will stop six seniors
from painting up every home football game and supporting
their football team. The six men consist of Adam Craven,
Nick Gurdian, Jaren Glasscock, James Larson, Vince Hill
and Brandon Stamm. With all their support they consider
themselves the 12th man on the field.
Senior guys painting up and cheering from the track
at the home games is a relatively new thing at Morton.
“The seniors started it last year and we are continuing the
tradition” said senior Vince Hill. But other classes have
showed their spirit before. Years ago a hog mascot rode
around on a three wheeler before the games.
The guys are having a lot of fun this year but wishes the
rest of the crowd would get more involved. “We try to get
the crowd involved but there is very limited response. The
crowd is just interested in mingling with each other.” said
senior James Larson. “The sophomores and juniors need
to get more involved,” said Vince Hill. He also added that
he is hoping after the recent win at Washington the crowd
will get more involved.
With temperatures dropping at night its going to get a
little cold for body paint. However, senior Jaren Glasscock
said, “We are going to stick with it.” Overall the response
to The 12th Man is good. “I think they do a better job
than the cheerleaders” says Senior Rand Stringer. “They
are crazy, but they get the crowd and players pumped up,”
said junior Courtney Morsch. With the team having a great
record the 12th man must being doing something right.
Enter the World
of Interact
By: Kayli Hostetler
Ever thought that you wanted to do something fun and
great for your community but didn’t know how to do it
or how to get involved? Well, there is an answer for you!
Join Interact! Interact is a service organization that does
different activities to help out our community.
“Interact has been in this school for a long time, but I have
been helping to sponsor with Mr. Johnson for about four
or five years now,” Interact’s Señora Johnson said.
In order to be a part of this club, you can be of any grade
(9-12), and of any gender. Everyone is welcome!
“The first meeting we had, about 100 people showed up,
around 75 showed up for the second meeting, and many
other kids have been coming in my room to see what they
missed if they couldn’t attend the meeting,” said Señora.
Interact usually meets the first and third Fridays, twice a
month. They meet in Bertha at around 7:15 in the morning
before school but they are now thinking that they might
want to start at 7:30 so it can give more people a chance to
come and come on time.
“We do many activities including: going to St. Francis
hospital and making cards, the soup kitchen, Operation
Christmas Child, Senior Citizenship Day, the Interact
Talent Show which we raised $1,300 for TCRC, Adopt a
Grandparent at Restmoor Nursing Home, and Culvers
Night just to name a few. Most of these activities happen
after school or on Saturday mornings,” said Senora
Johnson.
Interact has some new ideas for this years activities that
they are very excited about.
“Interact, Key Club, and Student Council were all thinking
about being sponsors for a possible informal dance after
one of the home football games. We don’t know all of the
details right now, but it could be super fun if it actually
takes place,” stated Señora.
The benefits in being in the club are beyond explaining. It’s
a good way to hang with your friends and have a great time
at whatever you guys are doing to help out someone else.
The feeling is amazing and feels so good to know that you
are helping someone out that really needs it.
Now doesn’t that sound like a lot of fun? Helping people
out and having fun while you’re doing it! You can join at
anytime during the school year, and all you have to do is
show up to the next meeting and sign up on the sign up
sheets for which activities you want to do! It’s that easy! So
get involved… Join Interact!! ☺