Life moves on, but I’m thrilled that one tradition is being preserved. I rushed to Lynnwood High School the afternoon that the athletic photographs and plaques, some 39 years old, were taken down from walls of the gymnasium lobby.
Relieved to find “Louie” there, we hugged, like old friends do. For four years, Duane Lewis was my daughter Kati’s track coach.
He helped open Lynnwood High School back in 1970 and is considering whether he’ll coach at the new school that is almost finished on North Road in Lynnwood.
Lewis reassured me he will get the old pictures mounted at the new school, in due time.
What a relief.
My daughter’s running career is a highlight of my life. Her freshman year, at her first race, she finished second for her team.
“Varsity,” my husband and I whispered, trying to keep our cool. “Our baby will be on the varsity.”
We adored all the running kids and their parents. We shared trips from Port Angeles to the Tri-Cities to watch meets, eat together at crummy pizza joints and pack Gatorade for our team.
Some women might say the greatest moments of their lives were the day their children were born or the day they got married.
Not me.
The two greatest days of my life were the evening my son, Brody, learned he received a full-ride scholarship at Seattle University as one of five Sullivan scholars.
My other best day came a year later when I got a call from Kati in Texas, saying she accepted a full-ride, including books, to attend college in Abilene.
Mission accomplished for a parent.
College costs in the bag.
This year, as it got closer and closer to her high school closing, those photographs in the gym were on my mind. Kati is shown in several photos and her name is on plaques for winning medals at state track and cross country races.
And there was a picture of Scott Abraham, a dart-playing friend of ours, who was a football, baseball and basketball star at the school in the early 1980s.
It was great to see Ernie Goshorn, the best cross-country coach in the world, beaming in pictures with teams through the decades.
Girls who came to our house for popcorn and movies, grinning from display cases, included Heather Wilson, Leah Thorne and Allison Hartman.
Lewis took a memory stroll with me around the foyer. Amazingly, he had a story for everyone pictured on the walls.
He receives calls from former students who want to know if their school record still stands. Barry Zenk came to the school recently, Louie said, and asked if his 1981 record still stood for high hurdles.
That record was beaten this year at state.
Kieu Vu recently e-mailed Lewis. Did her triple jump record still stand? It did. I noticed a picture of our former neighbor, Annalise Nash, a volleyball star.
Kati’s college cross-country team competed at nationals, but by track season, she was burned out on 10-mile training runs in Texas. We were warned about the duration of her career when her talent soared in the eighth grade.
Folks told us said not many runners can keep the pace in college.
She came home after her freshman year, sour, and vowed to never run again.
Like I said, life moves on. Brody recently ran a half-marathon with co-workers from Microsoft. He wants to do another run in Nevada.
He asked his sister to travel with him — and compete again.
My heart nearly burst with excitement when Kati casually mentioned getting some running shoes.
Could it be?
Off we go again?
She lives in Mill Creek and her daughters will attend Edmonds district schools, including Lynnwood High.
I hope to show them Mommy’s photographs on the walls of their school. Perhaps it will motivate them to try trotting around the track or through the woods.
Thank you, Lewis, for saving memories that mean so much for so many.
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
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