WHITEHOUSE – Rhonda (Schalow) Simpson hasn’t stepped foot in the Fallen Timbers Middle School cafeteria since seventh grade, but it’s always held a special place in her heart. After all, it’s where she met her future husband in 1978.
Matt Simpson was an eighth grader at the Anthony Wayne High School South Building (now the junior high), and was volunteering to serve lunches in the school, which held grades 5-7 at the time. As he was doling out food, he noticed Rhonda right away.
“He thought I was cute. He mentioned it to the twins, Matt and Mark Schweyer. I was friends with their sister Marcy. And she said one day, ‘See that guy over there? He thinks you’re really cute and he’d like to meet you.’ He was working right there at the end of the line,” Rhonda said, pointing to the serving area. “He was super cute. We exchanged phone numbers and met.”
While the two dated others off and on before he graduated in 1983 and she in 1984, they remained friends.
“Matt was always my fall guy and I was always his fall girl. One day in college we wizened up and got together,” she recalled. On October 18, 1986, Rhonda and Matt were married at Hope United Methodist Church in Whitehouse. They made their home in Sylvania, and now have three sons and seven grandchildren.
As Rhonda was looking for a way to celebrate their 40th, an idea hatched.
“I wanted to do something special for him. We’d been to the homecoming game and met Kevin [Herman], the superintendent. He said anytime we wanted to take a tour to let him know. So I thought I’d see about having lunch in the cafeteria for old times’ sake,” Rhonda said.
On Oct. 14, Rhonda asked Matt to dress nice, and took him on a drive. As they passed through Waterville, then Whitehouse, he was stumped as to where Rhonda was headed – until she pulled up in front of the middle school. A few years ago, Rhonda had matching bracelets made containing the GPS coordinates of the school – 41.5296° N latitude and 83.7795° W longitude – but this was their first time back.
Principal Matt Smith and Herman met the Simpsons at the door and escorted the couple to the cafeteria, where a table was set with AW candles, a tablecloth, napkins and photos of the two from high school. Matt was visibly surprised, and so was Rhonda.
“This is so nice. You went above and beyond,” she told Herman, who was happy to put together the luncheon for AW graduates.
Megan Menchaca, food services director, delivered cheeseburgers and a tray with grapes, cut vegetables, apple slices and condiments. Herman delivered a white cake with a blue “40” on top.
“Want to be super nostalgic and have milk?” Menchaca asked.
“I’d like to order a cocktail please,” joked Rhonda.
For Matt, being back in his alma mater sparked a lot of memories.
“This school meant so much to our lives. I played soccer and was very involved in that program. She was in band. The soccer team would be out back practicing and the band would be next door practicing,” he recalled.
His father, the late Roger Simpson, moved to Whitehouse in 1969 from England, and decided to bring his home country’s tradition of soccer to the Anthony Wayne area. At home, he taught Matt and his older brothers, Brian and Ken how to plan, then, in 1971, he formed the Whitehouse Rangers, and helped other schools form teams and hold soccer clinics.
“I grew up at the soccer fields. When they made it a varsity sport, it was awesome. My older brothers were not able to play on the varsity team,” said Matt, who played on the team throughout high school.
The last time he tried to play soccer, Matt pulled a hamstring, so now he limits himself to playing the sport in the back yard with grandkids.
Rhonda played the flute for the Marching Generals, under the direction of the late Robert Shoemaker.
“I still have all my sheet music from marching band. I will bust it out from time to time and play the fight song and my kids will roll their eyes,” she laughed.
Their first photo together shows Matt on a motorcycle next to Rhonda, who was wearing her Marching Generals uniform for the first time.
“I had the spats on backwards. When I got to the game, the seniors made fun of me,” she said.
Her parents forbade her from riding on a motorcycle, so when they went out, Matt would arrive to the Schalow family’s Yawberg Road home in his car, pick her up, and drive to his family’s South Finzel Road home to get his motorcycle.
“My parents didn’t even want me on his moped,” she said.
When she was attending Bowling Green State University and he the University of Toledo, he would often ride that motorcycle down I-75 to pick her up for dates. Instead of graduating from college, they got married and started a family. Matt is marking 40 years of employment with La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, serving as the sales and marketing director. Rhonda retired from La-Z-Boy and is now a “full time gramma.”
Because Ronald McDonald House is a charity of choice for La-Z-Boy, the family got involved with that organization, making it a tradition to serve breakfast every Christmas morning. Their son, Adam, now serves as the Toledo marketing coordinator for Ronald McDonald House.
“We both feel in our hearts that if you’re able to help you should,” Matt said of volunteering.
As the couple reminisced, they both agreed that school was a lot of fun. It’s a message that they share with their grandkids – along with stories of growing up in the Anthony Wayne area.
“It’s really special to be here,” Rhonda said.
