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Fairfield holds Second Annual ‘Walk for Nohema’
FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield High School Student Council organized the Second Annual “Walk for Nohema” Saturday at Chautauqua Park in Fairfield.
Participants walked the loop trail in the park to honor Nohema Graber, a Fairfield High School Spanish teacher who was killed in November 2021. A bench has been installed in the park to honor Graber, and on Saturday, flowers and a stuffed animal were placed on the bench to remember her. During the walk, a group of people recited the rosary at Graber’s memorial. Graber was known as a devout Catholic, and a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Fairfield.
Graber was also known for her daily walks through Chautauqua Park after school, which is why the Student Council chose to hold the event there. The Student Council sold T-shirts and hosted a silent auction to raise money for the occasion, which it will put toward a scholarship in Graber’s name.
A special committee of 10 students within the Student Council was formed specifically to plan this event. One of its members, Maggie Rayburn, said the community has shown a strong interest in this event, and it was not difficult to find donors for the silent auction. Saturday’s walk featured 21 baskets that attendees could bid on.
Walmart donated juice and water, while Casey’s donated doughnuts.
Rayburn said last year’s Walk for Nohema was in late April, and the weather was perfect, so the Student Council thought it would be good to do that again. Unfortunately, the weather was not as nice this time, with a high of just 44. Nevertheless, she and the other members of the council felt they had a good turnout.
Student Council member Briana Steele said that, though she only had Graber for one term, she left a positive impression on her.
“Mrs. Graber was always very happy,” Steele said.
FHS senior Sara Kretz said the tragedy of Graber’s murder was felt among the whole student body and all teachers in the district. She said it pushed everyone to their emotional limit.
“Teaching is one of the hardest things you can do, and it makes me appreciate our teachers a thousand times more than I did already,” Kretz said. “I think they are under-appreciated, and they had to go through this, too.”
FHS senior Macy Rayburn said the tragedy brought the school together.
“We had to rely on each other, and no matter what grade you were in, we bonded,” Macy said.
FHS senior Makenzie Kraemer said the whole community supported each other during that difficult time last school year.
Two Fairfield High School students, Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Goodale, were charged with Graber’s murder. After maintaining their innocence for 1.5 years, the two teens admitted to the murder on April 18 of this year, just before Miller’s trial was supposed to begin in Council Bluffs the following week.
The members of the FHS Student Council said that the two teens’ guilty pleas bring some closure to this dark episode.
“For the senior class, as we leave here in less than a month, we have closure and we feel better,” Macy Rayburn said.
Kraemer added, “As much as we want to put it in the past, it gives us a sense of calmness that it’s over with and we can remember her [Graber] in peace.”
Kretz said, “Everyone tries to sweep it under the rug as much as possible. But knowing that [Miller and Goodale] are aware of what they did and how much hurt they caused the entire town … it makes us feel better.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
