A man who had an encyclopedic memory about the history of Manitowoc Lincoln athletics has been memorialized outside of the weight room.
The family of Gerald “Jerry” Robins approached Gym Coach and Department Head Dana Bongle and fellow Gym Coach Mike Longmeyer to find a way they could memorialize him.
The duo put their heads together and thought that a custom sign above the weight room door would be perfect because, as Bongle explained, “It was a place that Jerry loved.”
The Robbins family worked with Metal Art in Manitowoc to create the sign, which reads “The Ship Yard Manty Performance Center” with an etching that says “Donated in Memory of Jerry Robbins.”
Jerry, who passed away in 2023, was a social studies teacher at Manitowoc Lincoln for 32 years.
He was a history fanatic who, according to his obituary, had a “vast knowledge of years of Lincoln’s sports history and all of its great athletes,” which he used as a member of the Manitowoc Lincoln Wall of Fame Committee.
Even after his retirement in 1992, he continued to make his presence felt at the school.
Bongle recalled hitting it off with Robins in 2000, when he first started teaching. Bongle told SeehaferNews.com, “When Jerry first started working out with me, he would be there 5 days a week. Slowly, over time, it was reduced to 3 days a week, but regardless of the days he came, he would always meet me in the parking lot.”
Bongle reminisced about his time with Jerry, recalling, “He loved to tell stories about his family, coaches he worked with, and Lincoln’s greatest athletes…Jerry always had hard candy in his pocket and would offer it to me daily. He also gave me the corn report. This report was based on the 5 mile walk he took every day. He would tell me when the farmers worked the fields, how the corn was progressing, and when it was being harvested. I sure miss those reports.”
Bongle also recalled Jerry’s incredible sense of humor, saying, “He would always scare my kids by removing his 4 upper teeth when they were young. He lost them playing center his junior year on the football team.”
The duo would work out every day, up until his passing on July 17th, 2023.
Bongle thanked the Robbins family for donating the sign and “all of the memories.”
