Northwest Cedar Rapids neighborhood is focus of unique reunion

CEDAR RAPIDS — Barb Hinrichs-Huggins was back in her old stomping grounds in Cedar Rapids on Saturday.

She and her husband Mike Huggins, returned to her childhood home — one of the original houses in the 22nd Street neighborhood on the city's northwest side. Her parents bought the home using her father's Government Issue — or GI — money from his service in World War II.

'Oh, it's just as I remember it from when I was little and there's even the original tree,' said Hinrichs-Huggins, pointing out a few changes — an added porch and extra garage stall — along the way.

She sighed.

'It's just amazing.'

Hinrichs-Huggins is one of many now-older kids from the neighborhood who returned Saturday to take a trip down memory lane.

'It's pretty unique to have a neighborhood reunion, not like a high school reunion,' Sandy Hearther-Siepman said.

Hearther-Siepman was one of the organizers of the reunion, which had been in the works for about a year. Members of the old gang found each other using the internet and other connections they had with relatives.

Some of those who grew up in the neighborhood have kept in touch throughout the years while for others it was the first time they had been in contact in more than five decades.

'It's been almost like reintroducing ourselves to each other,' Hearther-Siepman said. 'I've enjoyed hearing about everyone's families and how they're doing.'

The group of more than 20 people who returned to Cedar Rapids for Saturday's event came from all over Iowa and across the United States — New Mexico, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

'It just tells you what a good neighborhood it was of young families growing up in the '50s and '60s,' Bev Sass-Nowak commented on the number of people who returned. Sass-Nowak also played a big part in organizing the event.

The reunion included stops at some of the neighborhood homes, a walk through Cleveland Elementary School, 2200 First Ave. NW, where some of the kids went to grade school, a tour of Cedar Rapids by local historian Mark Stoffer Hunter, a look inside the Paramount Theatre and a visit to the NewBo area.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, when the neighborhood was established, it was a new subdivision full of new homes and young families, those in attendance said.

'I just remember all the fun we had in those houses and how everyone was so close and watched out for each other,' Hearther-Siepman said. 'The houses and yards seem smaller but the street is still just so familiar.'

Many in the group reminisced about playing outside together. They played a range of games from ball to hide and go seek.

Some of the parents of the former children of the neighborhood attended the reunion as well.

'It's great to see how these kids have grown up,' Camilla Jelinek, who still lives in her home in the neighborhood.

Others reminisced on the uniqueness of the neighborhood and the connectedness of the families.

'Everybody came from good families and everybody looked out for everybody in the neighborhood,' Sass-Nowak said.

Many were deeply moved by the nostalgia.

'It just brought back some really good memories we had from growing up on 22nd Street and how close all of the families were,' Hearther-Siepman said. 'I just really remember all the good times we had as kids growing up together.'

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