BHS_Berlin_WI_Alumni Association

Home
United States
Berlin, WI
BHS_Berlin_WI_Alumni Association

Fun Fact: The Berlin High School Alumni Association is the oldest active alumni association in WI.

09/12/2025

Over the years various classes from Berlin High School have contributed back to the high school and community of Berlin. Recently the Class of 1971 planted a tree in Riverside Park by the north baseball diamond. This was done in coordination with Berlin's Parks Department. The plaque next to the tree reads, "In memory of 'Bucky' and Berlin High School Classmates of 1971." Wayne "Bucky" Wesner (1953-2025) was a well known business owner in Berlin.

Classes thinking of contributing back to the high school are encouraged to support the BHS Alumni Association scholarship fund and the Teaching and Learning Grant Fund which benefits K-12 students and teachers. More information can be found on the Association website at berlinalumni.org.

08/19/2025

Congratulations to Joe Stellmacher, BHS Class of 2002, who will be inducted onto the Berlin High School Athletic Wall of Fame on September 26. Stellmacher played football all four years of high school and went onto play for the Badgers at the University of Wisconsin. At BHS he also played basketball, baseball, and track. After graduating college he became the defensive quality coach for the Badgers in 2007. He became a physical education teacher and returned to Berlin in 2010. Stellmacher became the head football coach in 2011, co-head track coach in 2013, and was named BHS Athletic Director in 2020. Stellmacher follows in the footsteps of his father, Steve Stellmacher who was also a coach at BHS. For more information see the 8/14/2025 Berlin Journal.

08/11/2025

Coach Bob Prellwitz will be honored and placed onto the Berlin High School Athletic Wall of Fame on September 26. The Berlin Journal stated that Coach Prellwitz was "a versatile coach whose career lasted over 45 years and encompassed 85 sports seasons." He spent 39 years as a part of BHS football staff including 32 years as an assistant coach, and seven years as head coach. For 17 years Coach Prellwitz acted as a basketball coach where his teams won 199 games and two conference championships. He also coached track and field. He continues to coach JV football and high school track and field in addition to supervising the BHS weight room during the winter months. Coach Prellwitz was a social studies teacher at BHS for 35 years. In 2024 he was inducted as an honorary member of the BHS Alumni Association. Congratulations Coach Prellwitz and thank you for your dedication to the students of BHS! For more information see the August 7, 2025 Berlin Journal.

08/01/2025

This year the Berlin High School Athletic Hall of Fame is honoring the 1989 football team, three individuals, one coach, and six referees. Inducted into the BHS Athletic Hall of Fame will be the 1989 football team which reached the states semifinals but lost to Milton 12-7. Bob Prellwitz will be inducted for coaching at BHS for over 45 years and 85 sports seasons. During that period he coached football, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls track, and gifts softball. Joe Stellmacher, Class of 2002, will be inducted as an exceptional four-sport athlete. Also placed onto the Wall of Fame will be Sue Drecktrah, Class of 1981, who lettered in four sports at a time when girls athletics was still in its infancy at BHS. Erik Derleth, Class of 1990, will be inducted as a multi-sport athlete at BHS in football, basketball, and track. Six Referees will also be added into the Hall of Fame. They are Tom Butt (46 years of service in five sports), Paul Splittgerber (39 years), Tom Kollat (38 years), Paul Youngbauer (33 years), Ken Marti (30 years), and Dallas Lewallen (26 years). The Induction ceremonies will take place at the high school commons on September 26 prior to the football game and they will also honored at the game. The public is invited. For more information see the 7/31/25 Berlin Journal.

07/19/2025

Seventy years ago, in the summer of 1955, a new addition was being built on the north side of the historic 1919 Berlin High School building. Many Wisconsin cities experienced mid-century economic growth in the 1950's which greatly expanded enrollment. The graduating class of 1955 had 120 students as opposed to the class of 1919 which had 29 graduates. The addition was needed to handle this increase in students and to replace the small school gym which was not of regulation size.

The addition featured a new full sized gym with a main entrance on Park Avenue with a seating capacity of 2,000 people. Six new classrooms, a library, and offices for the city superintendent and school officials were also found in the addition. The addition also connected the previously free-standing shop building to the school. The shop was improved by adding a drafting room, a large storage space for wood, and a nearby classroom.

The basement of the new building was used for boys' and girls' locker rooms, a boys' varsity locker room, storage for football gear, track equipment and janitor material. The basement opened directly onto the upper campus track which was a short walk to the lower campus athletic fields.

The new addition was dedicated on December 4, 1955. The entire school building is now the Historic Berlin School Apartments and the gym has been converted into an indoor parking garage.

07/05/2025

It's July and the halls of Berlin High School are empty. This years seniors have graduated and a new class of students look forward to walking the halls of BHS. Tom McCarthy, Class of 1993, remembered the southern hallway staircase in the historic high school building (1919-1996) saying, "On the south end there was an open double staircase. It had stone steps...they were worn a little bit in the middle from where there had been thousands, maybe even millions of footsteps going up and down. I remember thinking that every student made an impression on the building but what a bigger impression it made on us."

06/27/2025

Thank you to Ramona Sternitske Miracle, Class of 1961, for her dedication and service to the Berlin High School Alumni Association Foundation! Ramona has served on the BHS Alumni Association Board of Directors for fifteen years from 2010 until 2025. She was very active in helping with scholarships and we appreciate her commitment and enthusiasm in helping both the graduating seniors at BHS and the BHS alumni.

Please consider helping the Alumni Association by serving on its board of directors. The Association has monthly meetings available in person or via Zoom. The Association provides scholarships to graduating seniors, and gives grants to teachers K-12 within the Berlin Area School District for items and experiences that might not be covered in the normal budget. Since 1871 the BHS Alumni Association has gathered together BHS graduates on a yearly basis to renew old friendships and remember their years in high school. The Association also keeps a history of the high school and the BHS Alumni Association with an archive dating back to 1869. This history can be discovered through the book "The History of Berlin High School and the Berlin High School Alumni Association" available at the Berlin Public Library or on Amazon.

Anyone who attended Berlin High School for three years or graduated from the school is considered a member of the Alumni Association. The Association also recognizes long term teachers at BHS by awarding them honorary membership.

06/24/2025

It has been ten years since students walked the halls of the historic 1918 high school building. In 1996 the school district built a new high school turning the old building into a middle school. A new middle school was attached to the new high school in 2015. The historic high school building is now home to The Historic Berlin School Apartments. The photos seen here come from a 2015 farewell booklet printed by the school district.

06/19/2025

Thanks to Dan Freimark, Class of 1981, for the donation of some great Berlin High School memorabilia! This will be added into the BHS Alumni Association archives, which are housed at the Berlin Public Library. These archives date back to 1869.

06/06/2025

Here's more coverage from the Berlin Journal of the 2025 BHS alumni banquet. Congratulations to the seven $1,000 alumni scholarship recipients! We extend a warm welcome to those former teachers that became honorary members of the BHS Alumni Association. Thank you to the BHS Alumni Association Board of Directors for gathering the alumni of Berlin High School together each year and for overseeing programs like the scholarship fund and the Teaching and Learning Grant which is available to all teachers within the Berlin Area School District.

06/03/2025

A few more photos from the 154th banquet held on May 24.

Address

PO Box 267
Berlin, WI
54923

Website

http://berlinalumni.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when BHS_Berlin_WI_Alumni Association posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to BHS_Berlin_WI_Alumni Association:

Shortcuts

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Berlin?