From left, siblings Lauren (Muncey) Mercadante, DeeDee (Muncey) Sanders and Daryl Muncey came home to Port Clinton for PCHS Alumni Weekend. Not shown is their brother, Steve Muncey. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

On Sept. 27 and 28, Port Clinton High School (PCHS) students from across the decades returned home for the PCHS Alumni Weekend. The event was open to all alumni from every graduating class.

Among them were siblings Lauren (Muncey) Mercadante, class of 1975; Daryl Muncey, class of 1977; Steve Muncy, class of 1979; and DeeDee (Muncy) Sanders, class of 1980. On Friday, they spent the afternoon shopping in downtown Port Clinton and were planning to attend Friday night’s football game.

“The team sports is what I remember most about high school,” said Daryl, who was on the PCHS wrestling team.

Mercandante said she returns to Port Clinton every few years to see family, and she was looking forward to seeing old friends during Alumni Weekend. Among her favorites is Mary Snyder, owner of Mary’s Blossom Shoppe in downtown Port Clinton.

“Mary is my best friend. Mary was my first friend,” she said.

Alumni Weekend gave PCHS alumni from all graduating classes the opportunity to reconnect. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Although Mercandante moved away from Port Clinton, her heart is still tugged by her hometown.

“This is our home. We love it,” she said. “One thing I’ll never forget is the team spirit. We had so much team spirit and rah-rah back in the day.”

Sanders was happy to return to the smalltown feel of Port Clinton.

“I still have lasting friends I’ve known all these years,” she said.

Sanders joked that there was one person she didn’t want to see – her old study hall teacher.

“I still owe them a detention,” she said. “It was the last day of school, and I never showed up.”

Class of 1979 alumni Richard Packert, Kim (Felber) Brucker, Deanna Baker and Teresa (Klotz) Salvia are among a group of former students who reunite in Port Clinton every July. They were excited to see old friends from different graduating classes at PCHS Alumni Weekend.

From left, Deanna Baker, Richard Packert, Teresa Salvia and Kim Brucken are PCHS class of 1979 alumni. On Sept. 27, they met at The Brick House to reminisce. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“Our class gets together in July, and we go to Put-in-Bay. Billy Market takes us over on the ferry,” Packert said.

Although Packert didn’t move to Port Clinton until he was in high school, the connections he made there impacted the rest of his life.

“I moved to Port Clinton in tenth grade, and I quickly made friends that became lifelong friends,” he said.

Salvia talked Brucken and Baker into joining the alumni band on the football field Friday night. Band was a big part of their high school experience.

“Everyone was in band back them,” Baker said.

One of the big draws was band director Earl Warnke. Salvia said Warnke held his students to high standards, which helped them thrive.

“We just loved Mr. Warnke,” Brucken said.

And he, apparently, loved his students.

“He knew every single student and gave every one of them a nickname,” Baker said.

Although Warnke helped his students succeed as musicians, Brucken was a bit nervous about performing with the alumni band.

“I haven’t played clarinet in 45 years,” she said. “So, when your ears are bleeding, it’s Teresa’s fault.”