Mike Rohweder
Mike Rohweder presents me with a gift - a 65-year-old piece of pock-marked wood. Last summer, the GICC original office counter is removed and replaced by a sleeker, attractive and far more functional space. From the depths of the original counter, however, construction workers pry out a 2 x 12 rough piece of wood board. Scrawled across the top of it are hand-written words in ordinary blue ink: Erwin Mich. and Chas Lempha. Sept - 17 - 56 At least that's what we think. Mike and I handle the splintery block as reverently as if it's the Hope Diamond. "You keep it here in your classroom," he says with feeling. I protest. "Oh no, Mike, you should keep it in your office." But he shakes his head. "You keep it. I have plenty of mementos," he assures me. It's true. Nobody on God's green earth is as nostalgic as Mike Rohweder, Central Catholic's business manager for the last 18 years. As the school is periodically renovated, Mike snatches objects...