Heidelberg Germany Will Never Be the Same

This Friday is a very sad day for me and many, many, many of my friends.  The Heidelberg American High School  in Heidelberg Germany will be closing its doors forever.  I would not be the person I am today without the 5 years of experiences I had in Heidelberg. The US Military is leaving Heidelberg and the bases and housing areas are all being cleared out and closed and with it, a place many of us will hold in our hearts forever.

I feel sorry for people who didn't consider high school a wonderful memory.  Today we hear so much about bullying and kids not being accepted for who and what they are.  I'm sure we had bullying but I don't remember it being the problem it is today.....


I guess our lives were lived differently in Germany, we went places by ourselves, we were old enough to drink, not on post but outside of it (and we did), we had reliable public transportation and we weren't afraid to use it.  Sure some people had cars and we used those too, but we could take a train, or a street car and the buses that were run by the military and go just about anywhere, by ourselves, because our parents allowed us more independence.  I don't know if this was a Brat phenomenon, or just a safer time in history.  My parents were more strict than others but I still managed to have a great time and stay the night at a friend's house when necessary.

It was no big deal for us to take a week off of school to go skiing in some of the most amazing places in the world, or trips to Spain during Spring Break (the senior class trip.)  The French club took trips to France, heck, a few of my boyfriends took me to France for lunch! Why, because you could jump in the car and get to France in about an hour or you could take the train!  I took several trips to England, London mostly, but other parts of England as well.  I saw some of the most famous plays and musicals in London.  I've walked the Lanes of Brighton, I went to Poland and visited family when it was still a communist country, and of course almost all of us visited Berlin, before the wall came down.  I also went to Rome with my Catholic youth group and saw the Pope and toured Rome and Florence.  I may never have those opportunities again, but I hope I do.

It was a different time in the '70s and '80s.  Yes there were  terrorists and we had a horrible incident in the '70s at Campbell Barracks located not far from our high school.  The cafeteria was bombed at the height of the lunch hour.  But we didn't live our lives in fear, we had our favorite restaraunts and gasthauses.  Yes, a large number of us drank, but if you lived there for any length of time, you didn't go out to get drunk, you went out with your friends and hung out and had a few biers.  We ate pizza with a knife and fork, and many of us still do.  We embraced the German culture and participated in Fasching (Mardi Gras, German style, although it lasts just a little longer), we cruised the Neckar River and watched the Castle Illuminations.  We STILL love our bratwurst, our schnitzel, our cordon bleu, our spatzel, our pomm frittes....I could go on and on.  I guess we had our share of "ugly Americans,"  you know the folks who expect everyone to speak English, don't appreciate the culture and opportunity they have been given.....but my friends and I didn't see much of that and if we did, we apologized to the locals and said something to the people being rude.  Most of us learned to speak enough German to get by, if not more.

I remember high school as one of the best times of my life.  I became a teenager, I was a Cheerleader, I was the football manager, I fell in love for the first time. I made memories that I know I will never forget. I forged friendships that have lasted a lifetime and Facebook has allowed many of us to reconnect with our old friends.  As Military Brats people moved in and out all the time, it was hard to say goodbye so often, but thats why we can still get together, even 30 or 40 years later and have a party just like we did in High School!

I was in Heidelberg from the summer of 1975 to the summer of 1980.  I turned 13 there and left when I was 17.  The first year I was there they were building in brand new Middle School in our housing area.  I attended 7th grade at the High School and then 8th grade at the Middle School.  My class was the very first "graduating" class at the Middle School.  I made memories that I have shared with my kids and grandkids....ok, maybe I haven't shared EVERYTHING.....I have always dreamed of being able to take my kids to Heidelberg and show them where I spent most of my teen years.  I may still get to do that sometime, but it won't be the same.  

Closing ceremonies for the High School were held on Friday, May 31st and several of our Alumni attended and have posted pictures and quoted speeches given during the closing ceremonies.  I believe one of our former teachers, who 30 plus years later has become an administrator had one of the best quotes: 

“We danced where dukes and duchesses once walked,” said Carol Kuzmick, a Heidelberg teacher, principal and administrator for the past 27 years. “We’ve walked in the footsteps of Mark Twain on the Philosophers’ Way. We’ve partied under medieval arches.”  “It’s the lion’s last roar, the end of an era,” Kuzmick said. ”Yes, the doors of Heidelberg High School will close in June. But the roar of the mighty lion will continue to echo through the Neckar Valley.” 

I believe the German community will be taking over most of the housing areas and leasing the apartments or using them for dormitories.  I don't know what will happen to all of the office buildings, etc. but I hope they aren't left abandoned to fall in to wreck and ruin.  I am sure the German population will miss the "crazy" Americans as much as we will miss them.  Yes, we contributed to the economy, but that wasn't all, I wonder how many of them have stories about US?  We used to hold a German/American Fok Fest every year on Patrick Henry Village where I lived, we had rides, a bier tent, food both German and American, etc.  The German folks would come in and buy ICE CREAM.....little, pint size boxes of ice cream.  They would bring coolers and FILL them, the ice cream always sold out quickly and I can remember seeing people with armloads of it, along with their coolers. 

I will never forget Heidelberg, Germany.  I have 5 yearbooks to help keep my memories alive.  But I know there are thousands of people out there who will never forget Heidelberg either.  Heidelberg American High School was open for 67 years.....thats alot of years of memories.  I wish I could be there on that last day, June 6th, during that last hour, to hear the cheer that I KNOW will be echoing through the  halls one last time, HEI...DEL....B..E....RG!  Ich hab mein Hertz in Heidelberg verloren.....  And remember....though the Lions may be gone.....our voices, our memories, and our ROARS will live on until that last one of us passes on to a better place....and I'm pretty sure we will all meet again in that big Bier Tent in the sky!

Guten Nacht, meine Freunde!