You may remember Jack Shaw tooling through the halls of Woodward in his wheelchair, or maybe Bruce Baum shuttling Jack from class to class. But at the Friday night get-together, Jack made an arrival at the Beer Sellar that will live long in Woodward Class of 61 reunion history – he was borne up the stairs by Michelle Calo Wilkins’ two sons, Mike Walters and Chris Walters (thanks, guys!). I’m positive Jack was laughing during the whole episode, but I concede that his teeth should have been clenched in fear!
Such was the beginning of Jack’s first class reunion. It was an adventure that had begun more than three days earlier, when Jack packed his specially equipped van and drove himself from Sarasota, Fla., to Cincinnati. Jack moved to Florida from Cincinnati in 1974. My wife and I hitched a ride with him to the Saturday night event because he remembers the city’s streets better than I do. On the way, he diverted to go past Woodward.
Jack has had cerebral palsy since birth, which means his brain and muscles don’t talk to each other the way they should. His mind, though, is just as sharp as anyone’s. Jack uses the joystick on his battery-powered wheelchair to navigate his way around, and a lift and a ramp provide him with easy access to his van.
Problem was, the Beer Sellar has no elevator to the upstairs, so Jack needed a “lift” to get there. Michelle’s boys provided it, and, after the event, classmates carried their friend Jack down for the return trip (photo above). As Patty Rapp Nulsen, who took these pictures, says of the photo at top:
“That’s what friends are for!”
--Bill Curry
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