Thanks, Mrs. Gillhouse
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Editor,
Long before there was “Glee” on TV, there was Mrs. Cathy Gillhouse and the Ronan High School Show Choir, a Ronan tradition that has been influencing lives and bringing entertainment to the valley for over 30 years.
My family moved here when I started sixth grade. That spring, I was able to be a server at the show choir’s Cabaret. I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever. I looked up to those high school performers like they were rock stars. I knew that I wanted to be on that stage someday.
Three years later, I was up there singing and dancing. We learned many things from Mrs. Gillhouse. She taught us about music and performing, but more importantly, she modeled respect for diversity and showed us how to get along. Show choir was a place for everyone willing to work through the audition and rehearsal process. We had scholars, jocks, nerds, native and non-native, straight and gay alike from each of the high school classes. Few other school groups are that inclusive and work that well.
Show choir was not only about rehearsals and performances and teamwork, it was also about firsts for many of us: first time seeing the ocean, first Broadway play, first trip to Disneyland, first trip out of state, even a first trip out of the country (one year she took our whole group to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). Mrs. Gillhouse was willing to lead 35 high-schoolers around the state and nation on friendship tours, performing everywhere from the tiniest nursing homes to Dodger Stadium. She built a reputation that opened doors and gave us incredible opportunities.
I was out of state and unable to attend this year’s Cabaret. I cannot believe that it was Mrs. Gillhouse’s last Cabaret. She will be missed in the years to come, but she has left a legacy for the entire community. I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank Mrs. Gillhouse for her years of work and dedication to the Ronan schools. As she enters retirement, I hope she will remember that, “Life is a cabaret, old chum, only a cabaret, old chum, and I love a Cabaret.”
Joelfre Grant
Ronan
