The Banquet

The builder and architect had never worked together before, but each said that they had never seen a project go so smoothly.  

Coachie, reminiscing and showing appreciation for each of the considerable contributions put forth.

In his remarks at the dedication, the High School Principal, Dan Robinson said that the reason that the Library was named after Charles and Betty Holsinger was not because of Coachie's decorated war service, nor because of both their accomplishments as coaches nor Coachie's role as superintendant.  He said that when alumni of that era write to the school, the names of Coachie and Betty Holsinger come up again and again as having had a lasting impact on their lives.  

Dan Robinson said that in naming the library for Charles and Betty, it also showed appreciation for hundreds of other dedicated and inspirational faculty members who have served over the years.  

My personal experience bears that out, both as a student and minor athlete under Coachie, that Coachie was less about passing on tedious minutia in history and government class and more about how to process information in a way that had perspective and meaning.  He taught goal setting, decision making and need to be motivated not by self-interest but by the guidance of our Lord.  A close relationship to Christ was pivotal.  

Coachie and Betty did not give up on people and they always worked as a team.  They saw value in those who others might dismissed.  There is no question that a number of alumni credit Coachie and Betty with providing them with clarity and resolve at important decision points in their lives.

Dan Robinson, High School Principal, addresses the gathering.

Morrison String Ensemble

School Superintendant, Tim McGill, presents Coachie a gift.  Chairman of the Board, Mark McCrary at the podium.

Reception in the dining room.

With protocols complete, it was time for some serious celebrating at the shacks.  There is really only one shack left.  Four decades ago, the shacks were a row of suitably named restaurants which perched precariously on stilts over a drainage canal.  After a couple of moves, the last remaining shack is in a more substantial building on a narrow street in Taichung.  The owners have always taken, perhaps too literally, the precept that form follows function.  However, behind its somewhat disheveled appearance,  is a tiny kitchen which produces Chinese dishes and dumplings which have garnered devotees for decades.  

In high school the shacks was affordable, even for students.  A platter of ten steamed, boiled or fried jautzes (pot stickers), was 25 cents, so of course, eating copious quantities of jautzes became a competitive event.  My personal best of 30 was no where near world class.  

For most, their traditional dishes of beef and green peppers, a garlicky sweet sour pork, kung pao chicken and other standards imprint a memory that is never forgotten.  

After a couple of hours of noisy banter, Bruce Moore surprised the proprietors by presenting them with a gift for all their years of satisfying the culinary appetites of Morrison faculty and students.  They were a bit surprised and taken back by the paparazzi that materialized, but visibly pleased. 

Pep and Irene, Naomi and Lowell Williamson, who was on the board of directors, and Coachie.

Bruce Moore in the zone.

Second generation owners of "The Shacks."

Paparazzi.

In the center is Robin Dale, a musician and performer. 

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