Danny Russell
VP, Class of 1983
Four decades ago on a crisp fall evening, you may remember when the cheerleaders were enthusiastically cheering.
“83, 83, 80 80 80 80 83”, as the football team scored yet another touchdown. Catchy cheer, right? It did get the crowd fired up. However, the class of 1983 didn’t need much firing up, we were always a lively bunch. If you weren’t playing in the game, you were probably somewhere around the field plotting with one of your friends about what you were going to do after the game and that weekend. We were always planning the next party from week to week.
Back in 1983, somehow without cell phones, the word would quickly spread to where that night’s party was being held. Our desire to get together with our friends each Friday and Saturday was a top priority. Our unofficial class Motto was, “We are sexy, we are free, we are the class of 83”!
Ok, maybe the high school didn’t officially close, but it did close in our minds in the same way that you’re surprised how someone looks, since last time you saw them. The only thing your mind will let you remember is how they use to look. In that way, after we graduated, we couldn’t imagine that any of our younger classmates ever showed up again at Warsaw High School. Surely the friends we left behind were lost without the spirited example the class of 1983 had set. We are sexy, we are free, we are the class of 83!
Our class of seniors is pretty small (ours had 63, according to our yearbook), so it was very natural for us to befriend many of the classmates above and below us from 1982, 84, 85 and 86. And what a great mix of characters! Every time I return to Warsaw, it’s amazing how all of life’s mundane tasks simply fall away when reconnecting with good friends from the past. We instantly morph back in to the students and friends we were in high school as we share stories from then and now. We are sexy, we are free, we are the class of 83!
Those days plotting and planning our weekends, many times would end up on Cold Springs Rd at the house of then sophomore Kenny Willgues. But any dead-end road by the lake would also do. Or maybe someone’s parents were out of town and an instant party place evolved. A baseball hat would soon be passed around and our meager offerings of single dollar bills were tossed in. A short time later, as if by magic, a beer keg would appear. This routine would happen week after week. Our group would road trip to concerts in Kansas City to see bands like Foreigner, Bob Segar and the like. Our school spirit was so high, we would start to come up with reasons to go support any of our teams. Heck, once we all piled into the back of my dad’s truck and drove to a neighboring town just to support our girls on the JV Basketball team. There were even conspiracy theories that the punch at Prom was deliberately spiked (and it was) by someone from our illustrious class. We are sexy, we are free, we are the class of 83!
After graduation we all started our lives in the real world, but all too frequently my thoughts drifted back to those wonderful days in 1982 and 1983. The groups that I was a part of fortunately didn’t experience the same kind of drama that so many kids deal with today. Don’t get me wrong every class has their share of teenage drama, but ours just seemed manageable. I recently visited Warsaw high school and couldn’t even get into the front office because the school was locked down so tight. I guess that’s a good thing with today’s changing world, but doesn’t quite live up to the spirit of our motto. We are sexy, we are free, we’re the class of 83!
Since moving back to Texas after my freshman year at Southwest Missouri State in 1984, I have shared our high school stories with people around the world and I got to relive those glorious days all over again. I’m pretty proud of my college degree but it’s nothing like the pride that I have from my time at Warsaw High School, especially my senior year in 1983. Everything I dreamed of doing in high school seemed to fall into place. You know, as I think about it, I have zero friends that I’ve kept up with from college, but I’m fortunate that I still have lots of friends from my days at Warsaw High School. We are sexy, we are free, we are the class of 83!
Well, come to find out, life did indeed move forward with the younger and older members of our glorious clan. They persevered and found their way to class, through life and made their own memories. Our hope is that the classes from 1982, 83, 84, 85 and 86 were able to make the same kind of memories, maybe due in some small part to the enthusiastic example we set from the class 1983. Although high school life sometimes gets a negative view,
Warsaw High School and the times we had in Warsaw absolutely saved our high school experience. We wanted that high school experience and that feeling of camaraderie to persist. But if you think about it, you may realize that sometimes the things that are special, are special because they don’t last. We are sexy, we are free, we’re the class of 83!
So, as we approach our 40th year class reunion, if you want to experience the people that in our minds, shut down one of the greatest years in high school lore, come on by. We’ll be the ones getting loud and listening to that great 80’s rock music that is still popular to this day. We’ll tell you stories that will blow your mind. After all, we are sexy, we are free, we are the class of 83!
