Walter Gnewikow
Walter (Wally) Gnewikow describes the impact and legacy of Steve Hole, a former Logan High teacher, athletic director, and the fieldhouse’s namesake. After Steve Hole’s unexpected death in 2022, the Northside of La Crosse and the Logan High School community came together for Hole’s memorial service at Logan. Wally believes the memorial service was important for healing after his death, as Hole was a pivotal member of the Northside community.
Transcript
Location: Steve Hole Fieldhouse in Logan High School, 1500 Ranger Drive, La Crosse
Walter (Wally) Gnewikow:
So, I am in the Steve Hole Fieldhouse right now. It’s the large fieldhouse at Logan High School. There are championship banners on the walls, and one of the most prominent plaques in our fieldhouse is actually a look at Steve Hole’s career.
When Steve retired after 40 plus years in public education, it was really an icon retiring. He was an educator for over 40 years. He was also a coach. He was an activities director. Those are job titles he held, but, you know, who Steve Hole was and why he is so important to the Northside of La Crosse, to Logan High School, to the school district of La Crosse, is because of the person that he was. He truly cared about public education. He cared about students. He cared about families. He cared about community members.
Steve’s death was a shock to me. It was just a pit and an emptiness. He was actually in my office about an hour and a half before he went home and then passed away at his home.
The family members called me up, and they said that because Logan had been so special to Steve and to the family, that they believed that Steve would want his memorial service right in what was then the Logan High School fieldhouse.
It was very hard, as you can imagine like many visitations are for the family, but they had — I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say–well over a thousand people continually stream through to give their condolences to the family. And then we had the entirety of the Logan High School gym filled for the actual funeral memorial service. And I think it helped start some healing, knowing that Steve would have loved that the memorial service actually took place at Logan High School. There were a tremendous amount of tears that day, along with smiles, remembering Steve, and I think it was very important to the family and to the people that cared about Steve.
My name’s Walter, most people call me Wally, Gnewikow. I currently am the principal at La Crosse Logan High School.
