12 • Upper Bucks Free Press • April 2023
Jayson Halteman Named UBCTS March Student of the Month
Jayson Halteman is a Diesel Technology student and a senior at Quakertown Community High School. Jayson has worked at Matt’s Heavy Duty Truck Repair in Sellersville since January 2022 and began the cooperative education program with them in October 2022. He is a general truck mechanic that diagnoses and troubleshoots mechanical problems, including swapping engines and transmissions. He is a First Honors student and received the Outstanding Student award for Levels 2 & 3 in his program and is a National Technical Honor Society member. His employer and mentor, Matt Caroluzzi, is happy to have Jayson as a valued employee. Jayson has won first place two years at the SkillsUSA District Competition and will compete at States in April for Diesel Technology.
Jayson has met all his Eagle Scout requirements and is waiting for board review. Jayson put a flagpole up at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Haycock. After graduation, Jayson plans to continue at Heavy Duty Truck Repair in Sellersville.
QCHS Alumni Spotlight:
Bill Harr and Ron Heller Class of '52
BY RAY FOX '66 I hope readers are enjoying reading the QCHS Alumni Spotlight Articles. This month I had the pleasure of meeting with Ron Heller and Bill Harr, both QCHS Graduates in 1952. I will call them Quakertown Icons because of their commitment to the community and their longevity. They have been friends for 74 years having met in Junior High School. Both have quite a story. BILL HARR has worked in the same store for almost his entire life. Most of us in Quakertown have been to Sine’s on Broad Street in downtown Quakertown. The store originally was owned by Bill’s grandfather, Howard Sine. The store has been in the family ever since and is now run by Bill’s son Bill Jr. and his daughter Linda. Bill became the owner in 1974. Through four generations Sine’s has been a part of downtown Quakertown. In 1976, they bought the former Dimmig Electric from Burton Dimmig, thus expanding the store. While in high school, Bill was very involved in the high school band as well as back stage crew for plays and dances where he oversaw lighting. He was the class treasurer for the Class of ’52 and maintained that position until October, 2016 when the class closed their account by donating their money to the Alumni Association. Until then, Bill was always instrumental in organizing the class reunions for the Class of ’52. He still has many letters and pictures from classmates. While in school, Bill indicated that his favorite teachers were Mrs. Stever and Mr. Strunk. He enjoyed playing the drums in the band and performing at football games. After high school he attended Temple University Extension in Allentown for one semester and then decided to join the Army. While in the Army he was a radio relay operator. He served for three years and spent one and a half of those years in Germany. After his discharge, he came back to the only job he ever had, that of working at Sine’s 5 and 10. Bill retired in 2020 and after a year decided to go back to work at Sine’s. Upon retirement, Bill received a letter of recognition from the U. S. Government. He enjoys the holidays, especially Halloween and Christmas and still does the ordering of merchandise for Christmas. In his spare time, Bill has been part of the North Penn Stamp Club since 1958. He has also been an informal collector of Quakertown memorabilia, much of which can be seen on display inside the store. Many Quakertown old timers would remember the model train that still runs through the store at Christmas time. Also, many will remember the model airplanes which were built by Bill Jr over the years. Bill is married to his high school sweetheart, Marlene Hilmer. They have been married for 69 years and have lived in the same house on ninth street for 63 years. They are very proud of their children, Bill Jr. (QCHS Class of 1974) and Linda (QCHS Class of 1975). Bill Sr. has three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
RON HELLER, Bill Harr’s friend for 74 years, has been best known as a barber in Quakertown for 47 years. However, Ron is much more than that, having been very involved in the Community in several ways. During High School, Ron was on the basketball and baseball teams for all four years. He was also the manager for the football team. He was also a member of the Future Craftsman of American with his area in metal working and he was a member of the dance club. His fondest memories of high school are sports and Saturday gym. He indicated that, in ninth grade, students were required to choose a career path and that was when he chose metal crafts. While in school, he and his family lived in the building at the corner of Nineth and Juniper Streets. He always had his hair cut at
Trumbauer’s Barber Shop in the same building where he lived. One day, during his Senior year, Clarence (Skeets) Trumbauer asked him what he planned to do after graduation. Ron told him he was not sure. Mr. Trumbauer asked him if he might be interested in becoming a barber. Trumbauer told him that, if he went to barber school, he could do his internship in that barber shop. Ron enrolled in and graduated from the Philadelphia Institute of Barbery and completed his internship with Trumbauer. He continued to work in that barber shop for 47 years: 22 years with Trumbauer as the owner and then 27 more years as the owner himself. He retired in March, 2000, receiving a proclamation from the State Government with the support of then Representative Paul Clymer. Ron gave much to the community in addition to his business. He was instrumental in the founding of both Quakertown Little League and Quakertown Midget Football. He was among the early founders including Jim Ebbert, Bob Strunk, John Smoll, George Fox, Richard Wisneski, and Aaron Charles. He continued as a member of the Board of Directors of both for at least ten years as the organizations’ treasurer. He was also a Borough Councilman for eight years serving as the Council President for two and one-half years. He also was a member of the Quakertown Jaycee and the Quakertown Lion’s Club for several years including being the president of both. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and served as Church
Council President as well. He was also on the Board of Directors of the QCHS Alumni Association. He received a commendation from the Borough of Quakertown for his service to the Community. In retirement, Ron enjoys following Quakertown Sports and the DeSales Women’s Basketball Team coached by QCHS graduate, Fred Richter (Class of ’67). Ron also married his high school sweetheart and classmate, Jane Cygan. They have been married 69 years and they have three children: Mark (QCHS Class of ’72), Pamela Heller McGovern (QCHS class of ’75), and Matthew (QCHS Class of ’77). Ron and Jane have seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. As I have found with several of the people who I have written these articles about, Ron certainly has followed the Quakertown Community School District motto: “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve”. The Quakertown Community Alumni Association encourages alumni to participate in the Association activities. Its mission includes fundraising to provide scholarship opportunities each year for graduating seniors. Please check out our Facebook Pages “Quakertown High School Alumni Association” and the Alumni pages of the QCSD.org website for more information. We are a 501(c)(3) organization and always welcome any contributions toward our scholarship endeavors. If you are interested in donating, please email Qchsalumniboard@gmail.com and you will receive instructions on how to do so. Comments and ideas for future articles can be sent to Ray Fox at rdefox@msn.com. The Alumni Board is a group of dedicated people who strive to support the students and alumni as much as we can. You could say that we “bleed blue” but more importantly, that we embody the mottos: “Enter To Learn; Leave To Serve”.