Appreciation: Darth Winkler
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Darth Winkler, a former student at Lewistown Community High School, and the son of football coach Darren Winkler.
Darth Winkler was found Wednesday morning in northern Wisconsin. He was 22.
A 2011 graduate, he left a legacy with the school that even I was aware of. When I first arrived at Lewistown as a student of WIU taking practicum observation, I noticed a Peoria Journal-Star article that had been engraved and placed on a plaque. It was about Darth Winkler leading the Lewistown team to the state semi finals in football in the fall of 2010.
And here's the thing about Lewistown. They never make the Peoria Journal Star. Having been in and out of the area for two years now, I know how rare it is that Lewistown gets any kind of by-lines in the prep-sports of the Journal-Star page. Even when it's the beginning of the season, and they're doing profiles about all of the large schools and small schools and their star players in Peoria and greater Peoria (Metamora, Canton, Morton, Washington, Pekin, etc), Lewistown somehow routinely gets completely left out. It's disheartening.
So to see that Lewistown not only got a story but a COVER story at the Peoria Journal Star, that tells me it was a dynamic athlete.
Any time I subbed for Mr. Winkler, I always saw pictures of Darth playing for Beloit College and his teams with Lewistown High School between 2007 and 2010.
According to the by-line about him in yesterday's Peoria Journal-Star (he made it into the paper again), he had been offensive lineman and defensive linebacker. He was the 2010 Journal-Star Small-School Football Player of the Year. He also earned all-state honors from the Illinois Football Coaches Association in 2010, when Lewistown had a 12-1 record, meaning they played in every game except the state championship.
And based on the conversations I've had with teachers, he was well-liked. Mrs. Lafary remarked that she had him in a class of seven in and English class a few years ago. She remarked that he added a lot of personality to the class.
I found out from Mr. Pierce on my way out of the building Wednesday night. The school had been on lock-down for part of the afternoon. I just knew that this would send shockwaves through the school and the Lewistown community as a whole. I was thinking about it during the whole drive back from Lewistown to Knoxville. Lewistown is close-knit. What happens to one teacher's kid affects all teachers. And he had come back to help the Lewistown team with weightlifting during their summer camps.
Mrs. Swickard talked about how her classroom used to be next to Mr. Winkler's. She remarked that if only the students could overhear how he talked to his kids, they would have a completely different opinion of him. Yes, Mr. Winkler can be bombastic and gruff. I saw this side of him too, particularly with his youngest son.
So there it is. I don't even want to imagine what Mr. Winkler is going through right about now. His son, a star-football player who had gotten a decent job as an assistant coach for Hayward High School's football team up in northern Wisconsin.
The mood was very somber at the high school on Thursday. Teachers were leaking tears in the hallway as I arrived at school. I learned that news spread rapidly not only through Lewistown but through the whole area. Peoria's WEEK anchor had already posted about it on his private Facebook page and reposted to the Facebook page by 5 pm on Wednesday. I only found out myself at four. How quick does the newscycle go?! Can't they wait to drop names until they are absolutely certain that family members have been notified? Heck, first cousins, aunts and uncles could be learning of their cousin or nephew's demise by way of Twitter, Facebook or Instagram! Because some newsreporter or member of the sports community posted something!
I know that I am straying away from making an appreciation of Darth Winkler to making a diatribe against social media. And ironically, I am communicating this message by way of social media, Livejournal, the very ink that Rooney Mara warns Jesse Eisenberg about in the movie The Social Network.
That being said, once everyone is notified, social media can be a wonderful means for offering memorials and elegies. I have not been on facebook for a couple of days, other than just to check messages. So I haven't even seen the outpouring of support on line. Now that friends and loved ones have been informed, I do look forward to seeing facebook, twitter, instagram and the like be utilized for the productive purpose of memorial.
Rest in peace, Darth. This is a reminder of how precious something as simple as having lunch with your dad in the classroom during a school day can be.
Darth Winkler was found Wednesday morning in northern Wisconsin. He was 22.
A 2011 graduate, he left a legacy with the school that even I was aware of. When I first arrived at Lewistown as a student of WIU taking practicum observation, I noticed a Peoria Journal-Star article that had been engraved and placed on a plaque. It was about Darth Winkler leading the Lewistown team to the state semi finals in football in the fall of 2010.
And here's the thing about Lewistown. They never make the Peoria Journal Star. Having been in and out of the area for two years now, I know how rare it is that Lewistown gets any kind of by-lines in the prep-sports of the Journal-Star page. Even when it's the beginning of the season, and they're doing profiles about all of the large schools and small schools and their star players in Peoria and greater Peoria (Metamora, Canton, Morton, Washington, Pekin, etc), Lewistown somehow routinely gets completely left out. It's disheartening.
So to see that Lewistown not only got a story but a COVER story at the Peoria Journal Star, that tells me it was a dynamic athlete.
Any time I subbed for Mr. Winkler, I always saw pictures of Darth playing for Beloit College and his teams with Lewistown High School between 2007 and 2010.
According to the by-line about him in yesterday's Peoria Journal-Star (he made it into the paper again), he had been offensive lineman and defensive linebacker. He was the 2010 Journal-Star Small-School Football Player of the Year. He also earned all-state honors from the Illinois Football Coaches Association in 2010, when Lewistown had a 12-1 record, meaning they played in every game except the state championship.
And based on the conversations I've had with teachers, he was well-liked. Mrs. Lafary remarked that she had him in a class of seven in and English class a few years ago. She remarked that he added a lot of personality to the class.
I found out from Mr. Pierce on my way out of the building Wednesday night. The school had been on lock-down for part of the afternoon. I just knew that this would send shockwaves through the school and the Lewistown community as a whole. I was thinking about it during the whole drive back from Lewistown to Knoxville. Lewistown is close-knit. What happens to one teacher's kid affects all teachers. And he had come back to help the Lewistown team with weightlifting during their summer camps.
Mrs. Swickard talked about how her classroom used to be next to Mr. Winkler's. She remarked that if only the students could overhear how he talked to his kids, they would have a completely different opinion of him. Yes, Mr. Winkler can be bombastic and gruff. I saw this side of him too, particularly with his youngest son.
So there it is. I don't even want to imagine what Mr. Winkler is going through right about now. His son, a star-football player who had gotten a decent job as an assistant coach for Hayward High School's football team up in northern Wisconsin.
The mood was very somber at the high school on Thursday. Teachers were leaking tears in the hallway as I arrived at school. I learned that news spread rapidly not only through Lewistown but through the whole area. Peoria's WEEK anchor had already posted about it on his private Facebook page and reposted to the Facebook page by 5 pm on Wednesday. I only found out myself at four. How quick does the newscycle go?! Can't they wait to drop names until they are absolutely certain that family members have been notified? Heck, first cousins, aunts and uncles could be learning of their cousin or nephew's demise by way of Twitter, Facebook or Instagram! Because some newsreporter or member of the sports community posted something!
I know that I am straying away from making an appreciation of Darth Winkler to making a diatribe against social media. And ironically, I am communicating this message by way of social media, Livejournal, the very ink that Rooney Mara warns Jesse Eisenberg about in the movie The Social Network.
That being said, once everyone is notified, social media can be a wonderful means for offering memorials and elegies. I have not been on facebook for a couple of days, other than just to check messages. So I haven't even seen the outpouring of support on line. Now that friends and loved ones have been informed, I do look forward to seeing facebook, twitter, instagram and the like be utilized for the productive purpose of memorial.
Rest in peace, Darth. This is a reminder of how precious something as simple as having lunch with your dad in the classroom during a school day can be.