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Sierra Schmuck and Mark Robinson were crowned LHS 2017 Homecoming queen and king at ceremonies Tuesday evening, Oct. 3, in the Luverne High School gymnasium.
Schmuck is the daughter of Cory Schmuck and JoDee Haubrich, both of Luverne.
Robinson is the son of Wayne and Ann Robinson, also of Luverne.
Class of 1967 royalty crown new king and queen
The Luverne High School 2017 Homecoming royalty shared the spotlight with the Class of 1967 queen and king, Diane (Mollberg) Gonnerman and David Lorenzen, who were asked to help out.
Last year’s homecoming king and queen, Dylan Thorson and Madison Crabtree, were unable to return to Luverne due to college commitments, so the student council suggested asking previous royalty for assistance.
“They suggested maybe there are people in the community who were king and queen who could help,” said Caroline Thorson, coronation committee member and high school Spanish teacher.
Inviting past royalty to participate in the event also seemed appropriate as Luverne celebrates 150 years.
“In light of Luverne celebrating their 150th anniversary, Luverne High School’s Homecoming queen and king from the Class of 1967 are here to present the crowns,” said Emma Verbrugge, who shared mistress-of-ceremonies duties with Jocilyn Oye.
Gonnerman and Lorenzen are longtime area residents and agreed to assist at this year’s coronation on one condition.
“I would do it if Dave would do it,” Gonnerman said.
The two executed their duties flawlessly with the help of the coronation committee.
“Their biggest fear was that they would crown the wrong student,” Thorson said.
The name of each of the eight candidates was clearly printed on athletic tape with a black marker and placed on the back of the candidate’s chair.
About the 1967 dignitaries
Since her crowning 50 years ago, Gonnerman has made Luverne home.
According to her biography read at Tuesday night’s coronation, Gonnerman married Terry, her high school sweetheart, 49 years ago. After receiving her nursing degree from the school of nursing in Sioux Falls, she spent 40 years working at the Luverne hospital and clinic. Gonnerman retired in 2014.
The couple has two children, Amy Overgaard and Mike Gonnerman and five grandchildren.
Lorenzen returned to his home school district after attending the University of Duluth and taught and coached in Biwabik and later Lakefield.
He currently manages the family farm near Hardwick. Lorenzen has three daughters and six grandchildren.
Also at the 2017 event
Other king and queen candidates were Gracie Bosch, Anika Gust, Rachel Oftedahl, Derek Fodness, Jaxon Nelson and Tyler Reisdorfer.
Harper DeWispelaere and Nicholas Hoogendoorn were the coronation pages. The class representatives were freshmen Lauren VerSteeg and Russell Aanenson, sophomores Claire Baustian and Gunnar Oldre, and juniors Julia Ferguson and Oscar Serreyn.
Introduced during the program were Luverne’s three foreign exchange students. Pradana Arviano is from Indonesia, Pernille Kjoerum from Norway, and Frederik Nielsen from Denmark. Isabella Donahue, Trey Roberts and Emilie Bartels were the respective escorts.
Program attendants were Daniel Tofteland and Madelyn Aleman.
The concert choir performed “Fly Away Home” prior to the crowning ceremony.