To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the Lower School children made crafts and art to decorate their classrooms. Some classes chose “Secret Valentines” and sent cards and woven hearts to their friends’ cubbies or home to classmates who are doing Teacher-Directed Distanced Learning. The High School upheld tradition with their annual fundraiser selling roses and festive trinkets. Care was in the air, so we thought it would be fun to chat with a few of our WSGC Alumni Couples.

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Howard Lem ’68 answered for himself and his wife Dorothy (Miller) Lem ’70

WSGC: How old were you/which grade were in you when you met each other? 

HL: I was 16 and a junior in high school. Dorothy was 14 and a Freshman. I believe the year was 1966.

WSGC: Did you date while here at WSGC? 

HL: Dorothy was the new girl in high school. I noticed her right away because she was (and still is) very cute, with long brown hair. I distinctly remember seeing her in the hallway of the high school wearing a red sweater, red knee socks, and saddle shoes. She was very quiet and shy. Dorothy recalls me as a very outgoing, smiling person with lots of friends in her class. She does remember at first thinking my name was “Frederick” because that was the part I had in a Gilbert and Sullivan’s production we were putting on in school. Luckily, the friends I had in her class corrected that error.

WSGC: What was the first thing you noticed about each other? 

HL: We began dating in the spring of 1967. Our very first date was to see The Sound of Music at the movies. We dated throughout high school and college and got married when I was at Boston University School of Law in 1973. This June, we will celebrate 48 years of marriage. We have two wonderful daughters, one granddaughter, and two grandsons.

WSGC: How did you celebrate your first Valentine’s Day together? 

HL: We don’t really recall our first Valentine’s Day, but it probably entailed a card and candy since I have been celebrating this occasion in this fashion with her for the past 54 years.

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Keelah (Nurse) Helwig ’89 answered for herself and her husband, Harry Helwig ’88

WSGC: How old were you/which grade were in you when you met each other? 

KH: 13 years old 8th grade, and 14 years old 9th grade.

WSGC: Did you date while here at WSGC? 

KH: Yes.

WSGC: What was the first thing you noticed about each other? 

KH: We both noticed the other’s smile. 

WSGC: How did you celebrate your first Valentine’s Day together? 

KH: A romantic dinner that Harry prepared!

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Andrea (Bloomfield) Palasek ’05 answered for herself and her husband, Alexander Palasek ’05

WSGC: How old were you/which grade were in you when you met each other? 

AP: We met each other in 8th grade (age 13). We were on the same school bus.

WSGC: Did you date while here at WSGC? 

AP: Yes, we started dating in 10th grade. 

WSGC: How did you celebrate your first Valentine’s Day together? 

AP: In 8th grade, when we were just friends, Alex said he wanted to get me a gift but didn’t want me to feel embarrassed, so he bought a box of chocolate for everyone on our bus. Our first Valentine’s Day dating, Alex got the key to my locker from the office and, while I was in class, filled my locker with flowers and a gift. I was completely surprised when I unlocked it.

A big thank you to our Alumni for participating in this quick Q & A! We wish you many more years of love and happiness together.