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BENTLEY HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI LIVONIA, MICHIGAN |
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BENTLEY ALUMNI LIAISON George Calder '55 7518 Culpepper Court Westland, MI
48185-1918 (734) 455-0045
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Updated February 11, 2010
IMPORTANT: We will no longer list reunions. Instead we will list CONTACTS for class reunions. We just don't have the time to keep making changes so often. Please let us know who to contact for your class, if no one is listed below, or if changes should be made.
CONTENTS
OF WEBSITE
NEWS THE 50s
THE 60s THE 70s THE 80s
GEORGE
N. BENTLEY SCHOOL HISTORY
N E W S N E W S N E W S
CONCERT CHOIR WEBSITE. Members of the Bentley Concert Choirs from
1959 to 1985 got together in 2009 to honor the 50th anniversary of
the founding of the Concert Choir as well as the 75th birthday of
its director, Jerry Smith. They have
their own website at www.bentleychoirs.com
ALUMNI DIRECTORIES. The 2006 edition was delivered in January 2007 to those ordering it. The first two editions (1998 and 2002) were coordinated by Bentley Alumni Liaison George Calder '55. The third edition was coordinated by Jay Young, Director of Community Relations for Livonia Public Schools (now retired). The 2002 edition, unlike the 1998 and 2006 editions, has biographical information arranged by class (instead of all classes alphabetically) so you can read about your own classmates. Also, instead of a listing of names by class, there is one master alphabetical list of all graduates with their class year indicated. The history of our alma mater is about the same in 1998 and 2002, and the history of Livonia Public Schools replaces Bentley in 2006. We still have a couple of copies all three Directories. If you wish to purchase any please send a check to George Calder, 7518 Culpepper Court, Westland, MI 48185-1918. The costs including postage are as follows:
The 1998 edition is $20, the 2002 edition is $40, and the 2006 edition is $90.
The publisher of the Alumni Directories (Harris Publishing) has also created a “Bentley High School Alumni Online Community” at www.graduateconnections.com/bentley
BENTLEY DISPLAYS IN TWO BUILDINGS. The new Livonia Community Recreation Center (Five Mile & Hubbard roads), where Bentley used to stand, opened in 2003. In the Adult/Senior Lounge are pictures and histories of Bentley High School and George Bentley. Money from the sale of old yearbooks and the Alumni Directories was used to enlarge, improve and frame pictures. The Senior Class Composite Pictures are also displayed in the Adult/Senior Lounge. The Bentley "B" from the old gymnasium floor has been saved and is hung on the wall in one of the center's gymnasiums. There also is a Bentley display in the Livonia Public Schools Board of Education Offices (Farmington & Five Mile roads), outside the Board's basement meeting room. Bentley may be gone, but it won't be forgotten.
Bentley displays in the Recreation Center at left and the Board Office.
WANT TO PLAN YOUR REUNION? We have copies of Reunions Magazine that might help you in planning your reunion. Just ask for a copy when you let us know you are planning your reunion. Be sure to contact bentleyhighalumni@yahoo.com since all phone calls to the Livonia Public Schools regarding Bentley Alumni Reunions are referred to the Bentley Alumni Liaison, George Calder '55. You might also want to check out the following web sites for hints, materials, and software to help you. The following are NOT endorsed by us but are listed as a source for reunion planners to evaluate: http://www.reunionannouncements.com/ or http://www.reunionsmag.com/ or http://www.reunionplanner.com/ or http://www.giftofheritage.com/ or http://www.reunions.com/ or http://www.reuniongear.com/ or http://www.theguestregister.com/ or http://www.amazingmail.com/
AT LEAST ONE OLD YEARBOOK IS AVAILABLE for 1954, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973. They are $20 each if you can pick them up in Westland, or $25 each if they must be mailed to you. Contact George Calder '55 at (734) 455-0045 or at bentleyhighalumni@yahoo.com if you are interested.
HAVE YOU REGISTERED WITH CLASSMATES YET? Many alumni have registered at http://www.classmates.com/ and are exchanging e-mails and posting messages for other members of their class. You might want to visit and browse, even if you don't register. There is a fee, however.
The 50s 
1950 contact Don LaMay at (734) 421-6032.
1951 contact Don LaMay at (734) 421-6032.
1952 contact Don LaMay at (734) 421-6032.
1953 contact George Friess at jgeofriess@aol.com or Covert Culley at covertculley@sbcglobal.net
1954 contact Darrel Middlewood at dcmiddlewood736@yahoo.com or at (248) 435-7892 or Carolyn (Shefferly) Cole at ccole56@yahoo.com
1955 contact George Calder at (734) 455-0045 or Joan Oja at joanoja@aol.com
1956 contact Sandy (Mensch) Curtis at sandcurt@sbcglobal.net
1957 contact Sue (Elliott) Fernandez at rtyme2@comcast.net or Nancy (Streeter) Thompson at nathomps@charter.net or Janet (Campbell) Koenig at (269) 469-4039
1958 contact Ellen (Baumgartner) Dorman at (734) 261-6984 or at emdorman@juno.com; or Eldon Dillon at (248) 478-3692 or at himself@ameritech.net; or Jane (Faries) Hopper at (248) 474-3728 or at jho58@aol.com
1959 contact Keith and Ruth Ann (Coolman) Fogel at (734) 455-2594 or at kfogel@comcast.net
The 60s 
1960
1961 contact Gail (White) Miller at gale@galej16.com or at galemiller@hotmail.com; or Sandra (Polonkey) Grabczynski at sandyg43@charter.net Also see www.galej16.com/YEARBOOK
1962
1963
see http://www.bentleyhighschool1963.com/
or contact Tom Parmenter at tompar@sailepic.com
1964
1965 contact Laura (Shanks) Kolberg at kolbergl@arcmon.org
1966 contact Kathy (Sindon) Shinn at 6262 Baldwin Circle, Brighton MI 48116, or at d-kshinn@ameritech.net with "BENTLEY REUNION" as the Subject.
1967
1968 contact Connie (Scarlett) Flynn at (734) 812-7936 or Rick Bantau at rbantau1@aol.com
1969 contact Beverly (Valentine) Wilkie at (248) 366-6492 or at BevWilkie@aol.com
The 70s 
1970 contact Colleen Siembor at csiembor@aol.com or at (734) 455-1395
1971 contact Marcy (Ladouceur) Hare at mhare@chartermi.net
1972 contact Marcia Elliott '73 at mickey55@chartermi.net
1973 contact Marcia Elliott at mickey55@chartermi.net
1974 contact Dave Marlowe at dmarlowe@motor.com or Kathy (Iadipaolo) Jones at meandmrsjones11@hotmail.com or at (734) 462-9438.
1975
1976 contact Steve Dutcher at sdutcher@campbell-ewald.com or Cheryl (Adams) Magalski at magcher2@aol.com
1977
1978
1979 see http://www.bentleyclassof1979.com/
The 80s 
1980
1981 contact Julie (Slomczenski) Wilk at juliewilk@aol.com or Michael Mack at mpatmack@yahoo.com
1982
1983 see http://livoniabentley83.com/
1984 contact April (Greg) Santori at aprilsantori@sbcglobal.net
1985 contact Pamela Riley at pam@kaboom-marketing.com or Ken Rakowicz at ken_rakdc@sbcglobal.net
GEORGE
N. BENTLEY
1875-1955
George Nelson Bentley (the third in his family to bear that name) was born July 1, 1875, in his parent’s home on the south side of Five Mile Road, west of Inkster Road in Livonia, Michigan.
George’s grandfather, George Nelson Bentley, Sr. (1813-1880), came with his two brothers to Livonia Township in 1835 from New York. In 1843 he paid $300 and received his deed for 80 acres on the south side of Five Mile Road, a quarter of a mile west of Inkster Road. In 1840 George, Sr., married the former Elizabeth M. Blindberry, who had been born in Derry, Ireland, in 1813. They had four daughters and three sons: Charles, George, Jr. (died in 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg), and John (1850-1922), who was the father of George N. Bentley.
George’s mother, the former Margaret Bredin (born 1851 in Derry, Ireland), taught at the old Bell School on Middlebelt Road. This school merged with the Chapman School and resulted in the building of Elm School on the east side of Middlebelt Road, south of the railroad tracks.
George attended Elm School from 1882 to 1891. He then entered Plymouth High School and finished the four-year course in three years. He graduated in 1894, the only boy in a class of five. Having passed the teacher’s examination and following graduation, he was hired to teach at the Elm School. He taught there for two years at an annual salary of about $300.
In 1896 he entered the
University of Michigan where he majored in English and took courses in Latin,
History, French, and German. He was
elected Senior Class Secretary. After graduation,
he taught for one year in Chillicothe, Ohio, and then moved to Colorado, where
he taught until 1912. He was
superintendent of schools in Cripple Creek, Colorado, and a friend of the
family of the world-renowned writer and traveler, Lowell Thomas.
He spent over 35 years
working for and with the Livonia schools.
It was in recognition of this distinguished service that his fellow
Board of Education members voted to honor him by naming Livonia’s first high
school the GEORGE N. BENTLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
George was president of the Board of Education at the time of the naming and served in that position until 1952. His wife, Jessie Orr (1887-1944), was also active in school affairs and served as president of the Wayne County PTA. They had three children: Dorothy, Nelson, and Margaret.
Dorothy graduated from Plymouth High School in 1929. Later she and her husband, Leonard Thomas, operated an arts and crafts store in Columbia, South Carolina.
Nelson graduated from Redford Union High School in 1935. He became a well-known poet and professor of English at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Margaret (Mrs. John Roudebush) graduated from Plymouth High School in 1938 and later from the Detroit Business Institute. She then went to work for Nash-Kelvinator.
Except for a four-year period in the 1930’s, George Bentley lived next to Elm School from 1912 until his death on February 11, 1955. During this time, he served on the school board, zoning board and draft board, belonged to the Rotary Club, and operated his business, the Bentley Bros. General Store, with his brother Clyde.
SCHOOL HISTORY
Prior to the 1947 opening of Bentley High School, the students of Livonia, if they wanted to continue beyond the eighth grade, attended Redford Union High School, Plymouth High School or a Detroit high school.
In 1942, Carson Johnston of Rosedale Gardens subdivision, a member of the Livonia Township Zoning Board, wrote to the Elm-Rosedale School Board and proposed that a high school be built to serve Livonia Township. It was Johnston who later recommended that the high school be named after George N. Bentley.
On April 22, 1944, an election was held in the various local school districts within Livonia, and by a 5.5 to 1 margin, eight of these local districts consolidated into the Livonia Public Schools. The Clarenceville district already had a K-10 program and did not join the consolidation. By June, action was started to acquire land for the high school. The Livonia Board of Education applied for state aid in August and hired Eberle M. Smith Associates as architect.
Classes were started in 1945 with 7th and 8th graders at Newburgh School (Newburgh and Ann Arbor Roads) and at Livonia Center School (Farmington Road south of Five Mile Road). In 1946 all 8th and 9th graders attended Livonia Center School (now part of the Board of Education offices) and all 7th graders were at Newburgh School.
The groundbreaking ceremony for Bentley was held on November 8, 1946, in the presence of the students who would attend the new school. The Redford Union High School Band provided music for the ceremony.
In September 1947, the 8th, 9th and 10th grades moved into Bentley High School. By September 1949, the building had been extended with more classrooms, a library, a science wing, and a separate building for shops and home economics for grades 8-11. In January 1950, the 7th grade arrived, and for the first time in the history of Livonia all grades 7-12 were together in one building.
In September 1950 a cafeteria and gymnasium were opened. The east wing classrooms (which were for a time called “Riley Junior High School”) and science laboratories were added in 1954. Grades 7-9 were moved into junior high schools starting in the 1954-55 school year. A lighted athletic field was dedicated “in loving memory of George N. Bentley” on September 14, 1956. Wood and auto shops and a swimming pool were added in 1958.
The year 1959 saw the opening of the auditorium, new band and orchestra rooms, offices for the senior class counselors, and a new principal’s office. In 1964 several additions were completed including a new library, a multi-purpose room, social studies classrooms on the second floor of the center wing, outdoor tennis and basketball courts, and some more classrooms.
During the summer of 1968, remodeling took place inside to form a new guidance suite, a student bookstore, and additional administrative offices. In the fall of 1969 additions were opened to provide new rooms for home economics, special education, and vocal music. At the same time, the cafeteria was expanded and a conference room, later named the Alumni Room, was built and furnished.
In September 1979, the 9th grade was moved back into the four Livonia high schools—Bentley, Franklin (which opened in 1962), Stevenson (1965) and Churchill (1969). June 1985 saw the last graduating class leave Bentley High School. The school was renamed “Bentley Center” and until 2001 was used for a variety of purposes, including adult education.
Bentley High School’s
first graduation, the Class of 1950, was the smallest at 95 graduates. The largest was in 1967 with 908 graduates.
The Class of 1955 with 190 graduates was the only class to attend Bentley for
all grades 7-12. Fifteen of the 36
graduating classes saw over 600 students graduate. The Class of 1963, with 679 graduates, was
the last Livonia district-wide class. The last graduating class, 1985, with 405
graduates, brought the total number of Bentley graduates to 18,246.
In 1997, the voters of the school district approved a millage to demolish the auditorium, shops, library, east wing and central wing; and to operate the remaining parts for about three years. The City of Livonia then bought the building and most of the land for construction of the Livonia Community Recreation Center. The final demolition of Bentley High School was completed in 2002 and the new recreation center opened in 2003. The George N. Bentley Athletic Field remained the property of the Livonia Public Schools.