History of Luther HS:The LHSA of Central FL, Inc

              Orlando Luther
550 N. Econlockhatchee Trail
Orlando, FL 32825
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Permit No. 976
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 8
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
OCTOBER 1994
A Dream Begins to Take Shape
It seems so strange as we begin to look
forward to the celebration of the 20 years of the
existence of the Lutheran High School Association of Central Florida that the planning and
working of many individuals has been shaping
for several years.   As we move toward the
anniversary of that special day, September 2,
when in 1975 the first class was held at Luther
High School, we want to take some time to look
at the many people and the great effort that
made that first day a reality.  It will be a very
special day next fall when the celebration of the
beginning of the 20th year begins.
But for the next few months we want
to use the Crusader to recount much
of our beginnings and to enjoy the
growth that our Lord has given us.
It was on February 25, 1971 that
a meeting was held at the Florida/
Georgia district offices to discuss the
desirability and feasibility of establishing a junior/senior high school in
the greater Orlando area. The first
meeting was chaired and the documents prepared by Mr. Carl Moser,
who was the principal of Trinity School.
The records indicated that 22 congregational representatives attended that
first meeting. They were:
Lester Zimmerman,
Principal in 1975.
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First Luther students on campus at Prince of
Peace, September 1975.
Luther High School at worship
Rev. H.C. Abram, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church,
Orlando  •
Mr. Dick Bachmann, Ascension, Casselberry
Mr. E.L. Bellhorn, St. Luke, Oviedo
Mr. Daniel Dinda, St. Luke, Oviedo
Vicar Paul Faust, Prince of Peace, Orlando
Mr. Rogers Fiedler, Prince of Peace, Orlando
Mr. Melvin Fournier, Prince of Peace, Orlando
Mr. Robert Haberkamp, Zion, Orlando
Mr. Troy Harness, Resurrection, Orlando
Mr. Arthur Hensel, St. Paul, Apopka
Mrs. Arthur Hensel, St. Paul, Apopka
Mr. Martin Kreidt, Trinity, Orlando
Rev. John Kucharik, St. Luke, Oviedo
Rev. James Kunze, Trinity, Orlando
Mr. Paul Mikler, St. Luke, Oviedo
Mr. Carl Moser, Trinity, Orlando
Mr. M.B. Rhodes, Ascension, Casselberry
Rev. Gerald Seaman, Ascension, Casselberry
Mr. Vern Spilker, Trinity, Orlando
Mr. Robert Stoviak, Resurrection, Orlando
Mr. Ed Wells, Resurrection, Orlando
Mr. Thomas Zastrow, Prince of Peace, Orlando
That group of names brings so many memories.
Many are still very active in our Lutheran circles. Dr.
Carl Moser is now the director of the school's unit of
the Board for Parish Service at the LCMS synodical
office in St. Louis, and the Rev. Gerald Seaman (who
must have been very young then) is now the executive director for Missions of the Florida/Georgia district. Each of those names has a story to tell but at
that time they were telling a different story. It was the
story of a new school that would be sponsored and
supported by the Lutheran congregations in the
area. Between February 71 and January'72 at least
six more meetings were held and more people were
involved. The additional names that appeared during that first year included:
Dr. Kurt Biel, Resurrection, Orlando
Col. (ret.) Edward Bowie, Trinity, Orlando
Rev. John Kutz, Zion, Orlando
Rev. Lance Netland, Missionary-at-Large
Mr. Bud Yeager, Trinity, Orlando
Mr. David Vorpagel
Mr. William Leighton, Prince of Peace, Orlando
Mr. Tom Fears, Atonement, Orlando
Rev. Zoltan Antony, St. John, Winter Park
Mr. W.J. Baker, St. Paul, Apopka
Mrs. W.J. Baker, St. Paul, Apopka
Mr. Ronald Roby, Redeemer, Winter Park
Mrs. Marilyn Spake, Redeemer, Winter Park
Mr. Eugene Slegel, Redeemer, Winter Park
Mrs. Jean Karris, Redeemer, Winter Park
Dr. Paul Wehr, Ascension, Casselberry
Mrs. Ingrid Bell, Trinity, Orlando
Rev. E.A. Reuscher, Redeemer, Winter Park
Mr. Dennis Dolgner, Redeemer, Winter Park
Mr. Dick Hubek, St. Paul, Apopka
Mr. Harold Lieske, St. Paul, Apopka
Mrs. Marilyn Blackwood, Trinity, Orlando
Mrs. Dorothy Fournier, Prince of Peace
Rev. Delvin Ressel, Vacancy Pastor, St. Paul, Apopka
Col. (Ret.) Warren Maust, Atonement, Orlando
Mrs. Jane Jarand, Redeemer, Sanford
Mrs. Alice Perley, Prince of Peace, Orlando
By April 29, 1971, a steering committee had
been appointed. It was the job of these six individuals to formulate guidelines that could be reviewed by
the general group so that they could arrive at a formal
resolution regarding this proposal. If the outcomes
were positive, this resolution was to be presented to
the congregations for their ramification. The six
persons charged with this enormous task were: Tom
Zastrow (Chr), Dick Bachmann, the Rev. John
Kucharik, the Rev. Dr. Kurt Biel, Elmer Bellhorn and
Carl Moser. The initial seven purposes for having
this new school that the steering committee presented to the general group for consideration were:
1.
To continue Christian education begun in
Christian elementary schools.
To provide a continuous Christian atmosphere
and experience.
To guide in Christian living.
To strengthen the faith of young people.
To develop their ability and lead them to
participate in the life and work of the church.
To evangelize unchurched or nominal
Christians.
7. To lead them into enthusiastic and intelligent
participation of the building of a Christian
community and world.
How do those purposes sound for today? As we
proclaim that our school should strive to be a
"workshop in Christian living" where we discover, define, develop and demonstrate our
relationship to God and to others, we see the
goals of yesterday are still the foundation for our
goals today.  At a later date we will examine
more closely those cornerstones of our current
mission statement and practices.
What happened next?   By September 71
the general group had taken action to invite
other congregations and Lutheran synods to
join the effort; picked the temporary name of
Lutheran Education Association of
Central Florida; decided to form an
ad hoc committee to do a formal
feasibility study; and to solicit non-
LCMS pastors for their support. By
October 71 St. John, Redeemer
and Atonement had joined in the
discussions along with the Florida/
Georgia district.
In January 72 a group of
twenty persons attended a meeting at St. John to formally elect
officers and committee chairpersons for the feasibility study. The officers elected
were President Dick Bachmann (Ascension), Vice
President Dennis Dolgner (Redeemer, Sanford), Secretary Dorothy Fournier (Prince of Peace), Treasurer
Bill Leighton, Christian Finance Committee Head
Harold Lieske (St. Paul, Apopka), Christian Student
Population Committee Head Dr. Zolton Antony (St.
John, Winter Park), and Christian Building and Site
Committee Head Martin Kreidt. These committees
selected additional members and the studies were
begun. Letters and questionnaires were sent to
congregations and individual families, and information about numbers of interested parties and the
costs involved were studied. The study was a
grassroots effort with most of the materials being
donated by individuals. The total contributions recorded for this study were $1,900 with $1,000 being
given by a pastor of a local church. One church
printed the stationery that was designed by Steve
Wise, children at St. Luke stuffed and sealed envelopes, Prince of Peace typed and mailed letters, and
many congregations helped by mailing the letters to
their members and paying for the postage. The
steering committee met with Mr. Al Senske, Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Schools, BPE,
LCMS, to obtain his reaction to this venture and his
opinion regarding the future of Lutheran high schools.
His reactions were positive and so were those who
responded. More than 182 parents responded positively to the questionnaire and indicated that they
had 282 students who they would consider sending
to the school.
In June 73 a general meeting was held at Prince
of Peace with 28 representatives present. The
decision was made to send a request to all churches
to adopt the resolution to appoint delegates who
would meet to elect a permanent board of directors.
Eight Lutheran congregations endorsed this resolution and action.
Thus, on September 5,1973, a general assembly meeting was held to hear the completed results
of the feasibility study which had been shared with all
pastors beforehand. The group voted unanimously
to form a high school association.   The ad hoc
— Continued on page 4 —
Alumni Sought for 20th Anniversary Celebrations
As plans get underway for the celebration of
Orlando Luther's 20th anniversary, efforts are being
made to learn the whereabouts and adventures of all
her alumni. If any of you has a class list with current
addresses or if you know of a classmate who has
moved recently, please let us know. We are also in
need of photographs, athletic and tournament cham
pionship records, plans for reunions, photos from class
reunions, and other archival information. We hope to
have complete records of colleges and degrees, employment accomplishments, family additions, and other
details that make for an extended school family.
Plans for next year's issues of the Crusader are
to feature Luther's alumni, who are the stories of the
school's success. Those stories are essential for the
"Crusaders" in attendance today. You can be the
bulwark for our sixth graders, with their childlike faith
in God, family and school; and the motivation for our
upperclassmen, who are questioning, doubting and
needing proof positive that "It's worth the struggle."
Keep in touch!