Nicholas J. Howard Rhea

Baker City, Oregon

A direct descendant of Magdalene Von Schlegel (near relative to two famous German poets, the Von Schlegel brothers, one known international ), Nick numbers two of her sons, Michael and Daniel of the American war for Independence, among his 5 great grandfathers. Daniel was later a writer and a poet. And in every generation since Daniel there have been poets many now living including Nick. Nick lived in southern California with his family for some of his early years. But they returned to Baker County, living on a ranch in Keeting, for his first through fourth grades. Nick remembers things from a very early age, a time near Springfield, a small rural Keeting school for first grade, writing a poem for school, "The Flight of the Snowman", and in the third grade, the move to Dexter near Eugene. He moved to Oregon near the end of fourth grade. He attended Pleasant Hill school throughout fifth, sixth and seventh grades. There he discovered football and also continued to write poetry, not for school but poems to keep. After a few months in Washington State Nick returned to Baker school for his eighth grade year and the Bulldogs of Baker welcome him on the football field. In the spring he discovered a new love, baseball!

BHS MOTTO
The pride and power that we hold
exists in the heart of the purple and gold.

STILL WAITING FOR YOU

When I think of you, my mind wanders recklessly
Thoughts flow through my head like ripples on the sea;
A rainbow of dreams shine down upon my soul,
And transforms a diamond which was once a lump of coal.
My love is bitter sweet, and tastes of good and bad,
But I wouldn't trade it for all the other chances I've had.
I've reached in the bag of love, pulled out the lucky charm;
It shelters me from the rain and shields me from all harm.
The more I think about it, the luckier I feel
For having something so unique yet sadly, so unreal.
I wonder why I have this love of which we can't express,
And still I have no answer for the questions I have stressed.
How can I feel so close to you, yet be so far apart.
This question I raise every day weighs heavy on my heart.
And though we are not an item now, I know down deep inside,
That we will meet again someday, together side by side.