The *WeCaTon* - West Carrollton (Ohio) H.S. Alumni News (unofficial)
Friday, September 24, 2004
GOLF - GOLF - GOLF!!! --- THE Official Golf Outing Late Breaking News
---from Gary Barnes, re the golf outing for our impending alumni weekend. Be sure to contact him if you wish to be a participant.
---And there you have it! More at 11--- B
-------Original Message-------
From: Gary Barnes
Date: 09/23/04 21:02:07
To: Bonnie Risner Miller
Subject: Re: WECATON NEWS REPORT!!!---
Bonnie,
Jim Keckler class of 1958 left for their winter home last Saturday. He lives in Venice Fla.
By the way, we have about 10 playing in our golf outing on the 8th. It is at the Mound golf course in Miamisburg. First T-time is 9am. Players are to be there by 8:30 am. If anyone is interested have them e-mail me or call at: 937-859-4559 so I can add them to our
T-times.
Glad to hear Jack Godby will be coming to Alumni.
Gary
We Have a Photographer!!! -- Welcome and Thanks to Rod Gabbard '71
As you who read this BLOG know, we want to make the posts as interesting as possible by including more than plain text. Now, we have a photographer for the 2004 festivities. Ron Gabbard '71, who will at the very least be covering the Frisch's Frolic. Here is his picture. SMILE!!! (thanks Ron) Be sure to wear that hat so that we can all recognize you!
*** Your humble editor, Mikey
WECATON NEWS REPORT!!! --- 24 September 2004
---Yes, yes, I know that I already said the last bulletin would be the final one, prior to my flying up there. But surely by this time, you all KNEW I was lying, right? It just seems as though e-mails and phone calls and news keep piling up and then something happens which REALLY excites me and I can't stand it, so I have to write another bulletin, so that I can share it with all of you. Isn't that what it's all about?
Well, you can all blame the creation of THIS bulletin on our classmate, JACK L. GODBY, Class of 1961. That's right, it's all his fault. Get this! Not even one hour ago, my phone rang and Jack was on the other end. This was the first sentence he spoke: "Bonnie, guess what? I'm going to come to the dinner/dance!" I was SO excited and the first person to come into my mind was you, DONNA J. RICHARDS!! If not for you, I might never have taken that next step and actually located Jack, because for years, we had all heard he was deceased. But because of you, I actually DID take that extra step, Donna, and now you see what has happened? It's wonderful, just wonderful!
DALLAS K. MATHIS, Class of 1961, was so excited that I'd found Jack, he was just beside himself. We also had several lengthy exchanges about dear Miami Shores. I hope you're coming to alumni weekend, Dallas.
Jack, I know you're reading this because you're on our bulletin list now, so please bear with me, while I "use" you for just a few paragraphs, okay? Hey, what are old friends FOR, if we can't "use" them now and then, right? I happen to know that there are a few of you who are just "mulling it over" about whether or not you're going to be spending alumni weekend with us, instead of going ahead and making that commitment.
Well, give this some thought. As you all know, I just "found" Jack last week! Jack lives alone in New York City, has had 3 strokes, uses a walker, and speaks beautifully, but with great effort. He also does physical therapy and travel is a HUGE effort for him. Yet, he was SO thrilled to know that so many of us want to see him and he was SO thrilled by all your e-mails, that he IS going to be there! So SHAME ON YOU, if you're reading this and you're even HALFWAY considering NOT being there!! SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!!! That goes DOUBLE, if you live in the state of Ohio, and TRIPLE if you live in Montgomery County or any of its neighboring counties and QUADRUPLE if you live in WC or Moraine City or Miami Shores. Cudos to you, Jack! You're truly inspirational and I can't wait to see you. K. JUNE CRUTCHFIELD, Class of 1958, PLEASE include Jack in the reservation plans. It's now September 23 and I know you may not get his reservation money in time. I'll proudly stand good for it, by the way.
Lest we should forget, let's also also take a cue from none other than RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, Class of 1958, who didn't even attend WCHS during his last two years. He went to Miamisburg. But his roots and friends and his fond memories are with WC, and NOT with Miamisburg. Tom NEVER misses a WC function, and indeed, he comes all the way from his Tampa, Florida, home to be there. My hat is off to BOTH Jack and Tom. So if you're one of those folks who's "thinking it over," just make the commitment and be there, hear? You'll really regret it, if you don't. June needs your reservations by September 26. Get them in the mail TODAY! Get over to her house TODAY! Call her TODAY! GET IT DONE!!
Now, let's see, who has checked in with jokes and public service stuff, etc.? Well, there's ROBERT W. "SMITTY" SMITH, SANDRA L. BARSALOU, WILLIAM R. HOWARD, SUE E. SOWERS, and BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, all Class of 1958. There's MICHAEL S. WEST (without whom we would not have a "Frisch's Frolic" on Friday, October 8), LINDA J. SNELL, STEVEN M. KOKOT, CAROLYN SUE MCCLOUD, and GERALD A. FULLER, all Class of 1960, and SALLY L. GILLETTE, PATRICIA LYNNETTE GARRETT, "APOTHECARY JOHN" E. MONTGOMERY, and JUDITH L. SAMUELS, all Class of 1961, JUDY LYNN JAMES and BARBARA T. O'NEAL, Class of 1962. Mike West wants us to have a photographer for the Frisch's Frolic and the alumni bash. Any takers out there? He would love for the party to have a digital camera, in order to simplify posting the pix to the internet. Let him know, please. Thanks.
Recent phone calls, aside from that great one from Jack of this afternoon, also include SHIRLEY J. TUDOR, Class of 1960, DARELL L. TOBIAS, Class of 1957, and also Bruce. Bruce and I are trying to figure out where you are, NINA F. KNISLEY, Class of 1960. Get in touch with one of us! Our gathering is a scant 16 days away! Darell said he's fine, after our recent spate of horrid weather and I did wonder about him, as you all may recall. But we talked for a spell and everything seems to be fine. Can everyone please e-mail Darell, as he changed carriers and lost his e-mail ( Ttobyone@wmconnect.com ) list? I also had a recent, very lengthy chat with CURTIS A. KEMP, and he's SO excited about alumni weekend, he can hardly stand it. He and Maria will be coming up in the their RV. He says he can scarcely wait to see AARON COUCH and EDDIE KELLY! Well, they can't wait to see you, either, Curtis! Shirley and I have also made some visiting plans for my soon- to-be trip.
Okay, so just listen to THIS one! Now, most of you know that I have formed a wonderful friendship over these past two years, with Lynn Garrett. I think you are very special, Lynn, and I just LOVE to spend time with you! Well, Lynn, and her husband, Frank, of whom I am also very fond, have offered me their Yukon to drive while I'm there. I already had made some car rental arrangements, but hadn't picked it up or paid it yet and Lynn & Frank were so persuasive, that I've accepted their gracious offer---shades of you, Bruce, when I had your 929 last year---so now, I will be getting to see Lynn as soon as I step off the plane on the 6th AND she will be accompanied by you, Donna Richards! So this trip is just getting better and better and better! As we were talking, Lynn also inquired about you, Sandy Barsalou, as related to the recent storms.
By the way, folks, speaking of storms, we've got yet one more, and this one is called Hurricane Jeanne. At this writing, she will hit West Palm Beach on Sunday and come up through the center of the state. We'll get some heavy rain and high winds off of her, that's probably for sure, if it follows the currently-anticipated track. As a result of Hurricane Frances, we have a whole, brand-new roof (September 11, 12, and 13) and a whole brand-new heat & a/c system (September 22) and quite a few more items which will be forthcoming from the damage. So I hope Jeanne isn't strong enough to destroy any of our new things. Once again, wish us luck. We're VERY, VERY "hurricane-prepared," although I do hope we never actually get one here. So far, so good. Just those side- storms are plenty enough for me.
WILLIAM O. WALKER, Class of 1960, and honorary WC spouse, KAREN MURPHY, are currently all over Florida, doing claims adjusting for Allstate. They're dodging the storms as they go, and it's almost like playing hopscotch, THIS year! But we're still hoping they take a break and join us in a couple of weeks. Bill Howard, I trust you have sent in your reservation form? We expect to see you there, too! Mike West and Bill were having problems with finding their forms. But where there's a will, there's a way and they were able to download them from the internet.
( www.wchsalumni.org/reservation2004.pdf )
Just hit the print button, fill it out, send your check, and it's done. If you're mailing in your form this late, though, call June and let her know to include you in the count, please! June confirmed that she received my reservation---finally! (By the way, that "finally," meant that I finally remembered to send it to her.)
SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, class of 1961, is flying in from California. She will also be visiting her sister, who lives in Moraine City, while there. How about that notice about the marching band? Wasn't that a hoot? It came from someone called, "Willow Bill," and I don't know who that is, but it had a 55 after his name, so I wondered if he was a member of that class.
As we all know, I make my share of mistakes, when it comes to getting everyone's class year exactly correct. I might have type-o's in some instances, and in others, it's just that I don't know, nor have I researched it. But I've told you all to let me know, when I do this. Thankfully, you have complied with that request. So I'm "atoning for my sins" in the last bulletin by announcing that 1979 is the correct class year for MARK WARLAUMONT. Mother SALLY GILLETTE let me know, and thanks, Sally. She also took a trip to Michigan on September 10. Did you go to visit your Class of 1954 sister, CAROLYN, Sally? A couple of other welcome corrections came from GARY E. BARNES, Class of 1959. For starters, DAVE SMITH is a member of the Class of 1958, as is RICHARD L. SCHINDLER. Yes, I even screwed up on "TOOTIE" PENCE, but believe me, hers WAS a type-o! I know she is 1959. So that's all the goofs for the last one. I hope I do better, this time.
We also added a couple more folks to our list, aside from Jack Godby, by the way. Gary (Barnes) delivered to us, JOHN W. BYSTREK, Class of 1961, who wrote to tell me that his son is getting married in a lavish ceremony, very soon. Congratulations, John, and welcome to our bulletin list. We sure do hope to see you on alumni weekend. I'm happy to announce the addition of BRENDA TAYLOR, Class of 1965, and younger sister of 1960's DEVONA S. TAYLOR. Anyway, she uses the nickname of Bree and is planning to join us on alumni weekend from her Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, home. Bree and I had a lot of fun exchanges about, "the good, ol' days," when we used to go over to De's house for our slumber parties. We also discovered that we share a love of riding motorcycles, and she wanted to know about RICHARD C. CALL, Class of 1962, next door to whom she once lived. She was quite fond of Rich's mother and wanted to know about her. We also have RICHARD E. KNEER, Class of 1961, who had extensive damage to his Florida home, from the recent storms. But more importantly, Dick has survived a recent heart surgery and I know we all wish him the very best. Dick and his wife, Becky, were a truly delightful part of our WC Florida Spring Fest, this past March. We sure hope to see you both in a couple weeks.
Help, Folks! I'm getting e-mails returned from the follow- ing classmates: there's REED & BAILEY HAWKINS, CHARLES V. CARTER, and JUDITH ANN STALDER . If anyone knows how to reach the Hawkins brothers, please do so, and tell them to call CHARLES A. HIGH, JR., (233 -3193) at his Huber Heights home off Fishburg Road and make sure he gets to the alumni gig and make sure THEY get there, too! Charles Carter will be there, so no problem there. JOANN K. STEMLEY, I'm personally assigning you to the mission of getting Judy and Jerry there. I know you're in touch. Please ask Judy about her e-mail. I also have a new e-mail address for 1960's PHILLIP D. HOWARD and his 1967 spouse, MARIAN K. HUSSEY. It's ( mkphwoody2@yahoo.com ), so note your e-mail address list accordiingly. Also among the\ose who are "curiously absent" of late, is none other than you, GARY L. WARLAUMONT. I've got myself a sneaking hunch that you're planning to blow us all off, once again this year, in favor of a golf outing, just as you did last year. Are you? If so, you'd better 'fess up right now. You've been mysteriously silent and I'm really quite suspicious. ROBERT DARRELL CHRISTOPHER, Class of 1968, is "mulling over" the idea of attending. C'mon, Darrell, stop the mulling and just be there! If you've got further questions, back up and read my opening paragraphs about Jack Godby and Tom Fee! That should put you on an even keel!
JERRY FULLER, as always, will be there. Happily, I am able to report that wife Becky says their Panama City Beach home, by some miracle, escaped serious damage from the storms. JAMES E. KECKLER, Class of 1962 (?) was taking a trip to Florida right after we had Hurricane Frances. How did that go, Jim? Will you be with us on alumni weekend?
DONNA J. TUDOR, Class of 1955, wrote a few e-mails to reminisce about her two majorette sisters, Shirley and DEANA C. TUDOR, and also her cheerleader and home -coming queen sister, DORIS D. TUDOR. Only Shirley and Donna remain now, and both will be present at our alumni weekend, I'm happy to report. SHIRLEY ANN HILE, Class of 1957, wrote of how much she misses Woody's Supermarket. Well, that covers ALL of us, I guess, doesn't it? I still can scarcely believe it's not open any longer, can you?
NANCY E. "COOKIE" BOWIE, Class of 1960, wrote an e-mail, asking about the severity of the storms. Before I even had much of a chance to reply, another one came by and now, there's yet another one. I hope you and JUDI BECKETT have a wonderful visit, Cookie, but I sure do wish you'd both come and join us! ROBERTA A. RICE, 1960, also checked in to tell us about her storm on the "left coast," and said she was out of power for about 6 hours. Are you coming up to Ohio next month, Roberta?
Of course, there are always the wonderful exchanges with NANCY J. ERTEL, Class of 1961, and listen here, Nancy, since Jack is going to come, won't you PLEASE give it JUST a little thought? He'd be SO happy to see you, as we all would! DONNA J. RICHARDS reports that she has a new job and is also going back to visit Virginia Beach. But we'll all be seeing her soon, especially me! I can scarcely wait!
Here's a great announcement. From LINDA L. MCAFEE of 1957 came an e-mail today, in which she announced her engagement and impending marriage. We're all just thrilled for you, Linda. Please let us know when will be the happy day. We all hope to see you and your intended in a couple of weeks.
In the way of great announcements, here's yet one more. My sister, 1956's JUDY ANN RISNER, told me that her son will be returning on leave from Iraq about the 10th or 11th of October. That coincides with the time during which I'll be there. So if that materializes, I'll get to see him. But before I conclude this, I want to know where you are, BOYD H. JENKINS, and where you are, BERTHA J. HOERNER? I haven' t heard from either of YOU in a VERY long time! I hope to see you both next month. I'm also wondering about you, GARY L. SIZER. I wrote you an e-mail and you didn't respond. Will I see you soon?
So with that, I leave you all once again, with my usual wish for glowing health, great happiness, peaceful serentiy, and boundless prosperity. Ciao!
---And there you have it! More at 11--- B
Monday, September 20, 2004
WECATON NEWS REPORT!!! -- 20 September 2004:
Yet Another WC Alumn, the Report of Whose Demise Has Been Greatly Exaggerated:
Jack Godby was located by me, just yesterday. We just finished a 30-minute conversation and I'm thrilled to write to all of you that the numerous reports of Jack's death, over the years, have been greatly exaggerated. My sincerest thanks to DONNA J. RICHARDS, Jack's classmate, for having given me that extra "push" it sometimes takes to get us moving on doing these things.
Ironically, I had never actually done much searching for him, due to the fact that I thought he was deceased. But over the past year or so, Donna and I have had several exchanges on the topic of Jack. We both had liked him in school and thought he was fun and interesting. Just yesterday, we had yet another exchange and something just "clicked," so I checked in the most obvious place (the 2001 alumni directory), and there he was! Well, I wrote an e-mail AND I called him. I got no response, so I called again this morning. Right around 3 p.m., the phone rang and it was Jack, returning my call.
Although I'm terribly happy to report that Jack is still alive, not ALL of the news is good. We had a great and newsy conversation, yes, but it was very slow going. You see, Jack has suffered three separate strokes---one on his right side, one on his left side, and one at the brain stem, he told me. He says that getting around is laborious, as he must use a walker. His speech is quite slurred and one must listen terribly carefully. A couple of times, I did have to ask him to repeat a sentence or two, in order to fully understand. But he was patient and tolerant and we got through it just fine.
Jack has lived in NYC for the past 22 years. He had an extensive acting career in off-Broadway stage plays and said he always thought he'd go on to do other things, but never did. Before his life in NYC, he was a resident of Chicago for many, many years where he also appeared in stage plays and the theater.
Jack never married, has no biological children, and he lives alone in his apartment. He did serve as a mentor for a child who needed financial support and guidance for a number of years and he says they remain close. The child is about 25 now. He says he thinks of the child as an adoptee, although nothing was ever actually legal. He does physical therapy at his apartment and doesn't go out terribly often.
He was quite stunned to hear from me, after all these years, as I'm sure we can all imagine. For some reason, I seem to have that effect on all these people I manage to somehow find. Still, he was thrilled to know that he had not been forgotten by all his old schoolmates. We talked of his drum major uniform with the big plume and all his years in the band and how much he enjoyed it all. I urged him to come to our alumni gathering and told him that no one had forgotten him, as he had thought. It was easy to tell that he was quite thrilled to hear that.
He says travel is exceedingly difficult for him, what with the walker, and the inability to carry a suitcase, due to his halting pace with the walker. Nevertheless, I told him we would all be thrilled to see him, should he decide to get on a plane and come join us, and that we'd all join forces and help to look after him.
Jack made specific mention of three names and they were all females---NANCY J. ERTELL, SHIRLEY J. TUDOR, and you, Donna! He would very much like to hear from all of you. He seemed particularly interested in hearing from you, Nancy! So what do you say, gang? Let's all overwhelm Jack with good wishes and the joy of finding him, after all these years! He told me would just love to hear from anyone and everyone with whom he ever shared a hallway at WC. Here are the vitals:
JACK L. GODBY
26 2nd Av. Unit 7R
New York, N.Y. 10003
212 674-0920
( jgod42@aol.com )
Let's let Jack know that he has not been forgotten. Even though travel is difficult for him, I suspect that he'd make the effort, if enough interest were shown. I got the distinct impression that travel funds are not a problem. This was great news to me! His call has made my day. I'll see you all very soon, now.
---And there you have it! More at 11--- B
Friday, September 17, 2004
Alumni Activities During 2004 Reunion Time !!! 17 September 2004
Now, here's something for all of us to consider! I just received this e-mail and wanted to forward it on to all of you. Naturally, my first thoughts when I read this e-mail, were of NANCY J. ERTEL, L. EUGENE ZINK, SHIRLEY J. TUDOR, BEVERLY J. HAAS and the late JACK GODBY. Is anyone planning to participate in this? Actually, is there anyone who can still even WALK, much less march the football field? Ha! Just kidding, but I'll bet this would be fun, if you were involved in these activities.
---And there you have it! More at 11--- B
-------Original Message-------
From: WillowBill55@aol.com
Date: 09/17/04 05:28:49
Subject: Alumni Band
Here is the information concerning the Alumni Band Reunion to be held at the Homecoming game this year:
West Carrollton Alumni Band, Carrolltones, drill team, field commanders, or majorettes are welcome to participate. The High School band director Clay Bates along with his assistant Bill Dixon have graciously offered their assistance with instruments (where possible), music, and time to assist us. There will be a "practice" (I use that term loosely) from 7:00-9:00 PM Wednesday 10/6/04 at the High School band room. We will have a flatbed truck to ride on in the parade on Thursday 10/7/04 (time to be announced) at the Middle School (old JR. High). The alumni band will hang out and perform with the High School band at the game on Friday 10/8/04 at the high School sport stadium. Past participations have been a great deal of fun with lots of great memories.
Also, Mr Dixon is looking for any band alumni who would like to participate in the half-time show on Friday 10/22/04. It will be a combination of 8th grade, high school, and alumni band members performing some light rock selections.
I would like to have as many people participate as possible. Please pass this information on to any alumni members as you can. There is an article running in the Miamisburg/West Carrollton News for 2 weeks, but word of mouth helps spread the word. For more information or if you would like to participate please contact me at (937) 865-0818 or e-mail me at willowbill55@aol.com. I'm looking forward to seeing you.
Bill Wanzer '73
Thursday, September 09, 2004
WECATON NEWS REPORT !!! -- 09 September 2004
We're between hurricanes, it's gray and overcast, I've got about a million e-mails from WC-ers, so why not? Since you have all read my report on Hurricane Frances, I guess I can tell you to hit the "instant replay" button, in the event that Hurricane Ivan comes calling. The projected track for him is now changed in such a way as to make it slightly better for my part of Florida, but it looks as though, either way, I'll be getting something from it. I'm ready, but this one's a really "bad guy" who has already killed 16 people and leveled 90% of the homes in Jamaica. I hope he turns out to sea, but that doesn't seem likely. Anyway, let's see what's going on with all of US, okay?
First of all, let's re-cap the plans for our weekend. On Friday, October 8, everyone who wishes (and we hope that's going to be many) will convene at 6 p.m., at the Moraine City Frisch's to attend what has come to be called the Frisch's Frolic. This will be the second year and it proved wildly popular, last year. It was the brainchild of 1960's MICHAEL S. WEST, who will be with us. Acting as our local liaison for this function is 1958's WILLIAM R. HOWARD. On the following night, October 9, we shall all convene at the Holiday Inn located by the Dayton Mall in Miamisburg, again at 6 p.m., in the big ballroom, to attend our crown jewel event, the annual alumni dinner/dance. I'm going to tell you to get those reservations sent quickly, while I scold mySELF for not yet having even sent my OWN! We've been sort of busy down my way, though, what with nailing window boards, putting on new roofs, and picking up debris. Be sure to include me in the count, June! I'll definitely be there, even if I have to hand-carry the money, after my plane lands.
For this news period, checking in with forwards, jokes, psa's, political humor, etc., we have 1971's PAMELA K. SHIPLEY, 1960's CAROLYN SUE MCCLOUD, 1961's JOHN L. MONTGOMERY along with his 1962 spouse, JUDY LYNN JAMES, 1960's GERALD A. FULLER, a set of spellbinding hurricane photos, courtesy of 1960's DELORES K. FAHRNEY, 1958's ROBERT W. SMITH and SUE E. SOWERS, 1961's PATRICIA LYNNETTE GARRETT, a newsy phone call on the 21st of August from 1957's DARELL L. TOBIAS, during which he told me of the devastation and damage of Hurricane Charley in his area. Where are you now, Darell? Are you okay? Hurricane Frances was worse, I know. Also checking in were 1961's SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, who has booked her flight and confirmed her attendance, 1960's HARRIET Z. RICE, GARY L. WARLAUMONT, RICHARD S. HOLT, and IDA JANE TREON. We've also heard from 1961's SALLY L. GILLETTE, 1958's SANDRA L. BARSALOU, and 1961's CAROL A. MUMMA. Checking in by telephone were 1960's CHARLES V. CARTER and DEVONA S. TAYLOR, both of whom have confirmed attendance. Dee will have spouse, EUGENE COUCH, in tow. We also anticipate and hope for brotherAARON COUCH, once again.
Roaming Florida is 1960's WILLIAM O. WALKER and WC-honorary spouse, KAREN MURPHY, who are processing insurance claims from their RV, as fast as they can. The latest message had them fleeing the wrath of Frances, but I suspect they may be back by now. Of course, they may have to leave again, in order to get away from Ivan!
Courtesy of 1958's WILLIAM R. HOWARD, we welcome to our list none other than RICHARD L. SCHINDLER. I'm so sorry, Dick, but I don't know your class year. I'd look it up, but I'm pressed for time, due to the ever-looming possibility of power outages. Are you also 1958? In any case, it's nice to have a Schindler on the list. It's right up there with Wolf, Wolfe, Treon, Throckmorton, McNabb, Mays, Shade, and all those other wonderful, historic WC families. I hope you will enjoy the bulletins.
Speaking of Wolf, I had a check-in from my 1960 class- mate, THOMAS L. WOLF, JR., whose son lives in South Carolina. How did your son do with his area during the storms, Tom? Did he have any damage or incidents?
Many thanks to SO many of you for your good wishes at the time of the already-passed storms. Originally, I had intentions of listing every one of you, but time prevents me from doing that. If I do, I won't EVER finish this one. You know who you are, and it actually did include most of you. Amazing! But I'm not really that surprised. After all, you're all WC-ers!
Mike West and I had quite a lively exchange about elderly parents and the challenges which are entailed in caring for them, during a period of life when WE suddenly are the parents. It brings back many memories. How is your mother doing, Mike?
The "mysterious" THOMAS MELZONI, JR., who is from 1970, I do believe, even checked in with a bit of humor on the "Melzoni mystery." We hope to see you in 4 weeks, Tom. Don't let us down!
We got a delightful and newsy e-mail from 1957's THERESA MARIE MOSES, whose spouse is TOM ELLIOTT and I think he's 1957, too. They are into the model train thing and belong to a chapter of Garden Railroad Club. Apparently, from the sound of it, they have a huge train running around their back yard, through a stream and a hill and the whole nine yards. It all sounds like great fun. I trust we will see you both next month? She also reports that 1957's DAVE SMITH and spouse have reserved for the alumni gig.
But as luck would have it, not all of Theresa's news was of a positive nature, unfortunately. I know I vividly recall 1957's BURMA JEAN PINKERTON. Sadly, she passed away on August 27. She was buried on August 30. Her last name, upon her death, was Shawver, and she lived in Dayton. She was survived by 5 children, her spouse, and 9 grandchildren. She was 65 years old. She died of a heart attack.
On a little better note, though, Theresa wrote that another of her classmates, ERCELL P. PHILLIPS' wife, Betty, was having a hip replacement, just about a week ago, and that she's doing fine. How's that coming along, Ercell? How about a report?
On August 18, SALLY GILLETTE flew down to Florida to meet first grandson, MISHA ISAAC WARLAUMONT, son of MARK WARLAUMONT (1977). Need I tell you that she reports he is absolutely a stunning, little guy?
L. EUGENE ZINK, (1960), was expecting some storms from Frances, at his Alabama home. How did that go, Gene? Did you all do okay? That storm covered almost the whole eastern half of the U.S.!
JANET L. WALTERS. Class of 1961, expressed some concern for all of us down here in Florida, as so many of you did, and she also made mention of PAULA WILSON. Thanks, DONNA J. RICHARDS! We have found out through her, that Paula is fine. Her place sustained a bit of damage, but nothing major, apparently.
On August 29, I believe it was, I drove up to Orange Park again to have a smashingly fun visit with Lynn Garrett, who was visiting again. We spent the entire afternoon rehashing all things WC and especially all; things Miami Shores. Lynn treated me to a rainy lunch, which we opted to make drier, by going inside. Thanks, Lynn. As always, we had a great time and she filled me in on the big 1961/1962 gathering at the home of CAROLE J. LEWIS, in Kentucky. I guess it was quite a gig! On the piror Thursday, my cousin, JUDITH L. SAMUELS, also drove up to see her, so it was a double-header.
NANCY J. ERTEL, 1961, sent me good wishes, but we still can't pry her out of Kansas. When I go west, I pass right through her Bonner Springs town. I guess I'll just have to stop there, next time, if I'm ever going to get to see her. Nancy's home was hit by lightning on August 27 and she was still awaiting power in two of her rooms.
Sandy Barsalou wrote that one hurricane was plenty, but that two was just too much. Wow, what do we do NOW, Sandy? It's going to be THREE! I'll bet you're going to move from Florida, aren't you?
RODNEY R. GABBARD, 1971, also checked in and we hope to see him next month, too!! I even got blips from ROBERTA A. RICE, 1960, and CAROLYN E. "TOOTIE" PENCE, 1958. We want to see ALL of you, hear? It seems that PAMELA K. SHIPLEY shares my love of storms. So do a few others. I guess if I'm crazy, I've got a lot of company! MADELEINE D. CAMPBELL, 1960, sent a few lines and cagily avoided saying whether or not she will be with us next month. So what's up?
PHILIP H. WOLFORD, 1960, checked in to say that he will not be with us. He has had a golfing award named in his honor, for the first year, ever, so he feels he must be there. I do hope this will be at a different time, come next year, Phil. Thanks, by the way, for the great magazine. Phil once again gifted me with a subscription renewal to Reminisce. I really like this magazine.
SHIRLEY ANN HILE (1957?) checked in to say that some friends were checking on damages on a house in Fort Myers. Shirley, are Judy and Jerry Dean people from WC? Shirley also remitted the bad news about Burma.
K. JUNE CRUTCHFIELD and spouse, JAMES E. RICHARDSON, 1958, continue to work hard on our alumni gig. I hope we have some neat, little surprises this year. One never knows. I also a long call from 1960's CHARLES A. HIGH, JR. He swears he will be with us this year and is very much looking forward to seeing the HAWKINS brothers. PAUL R. BEARDSLEY, 1961, promises to be with us this year, too. LARRY D. GILBERT, 1961, hasn't confirmed attendance yet. How about it, Larry? NANCY E. "COOKIE" BOWIE, 1960, expressed concern for brother-in-law, GARY D. MAYS, and sister, DONNA BOWIE, who live in DeLand, Florida. She was planning to call them. By the way, I am given to understand that the patriarch of the Mays clan, Oscar, has just turned 100 years old. Isn't that remarkable? On a much less pleasant note, I've also learned that KENNETH F. MAYS, 1952, has been diagnosed with cancer. Let's all pull for the best for Kenny.
WILLIAM L. MCNABB, 1954, continues to work diligently on the 50th for his class. He expressed concern for water damage to my considerable collection of yearbooks. But they were well-protected. Does anyone know where 1954's PRUDIE THOMPSON is? If so, please get with Bill. Her invitation was returned.
MARGIE LOU MILTON, 1958, are you there? I had the wrong e-mail address for you. Folks, please remember this. If a long period of time passes, and you haven't gotten a bulletin, then something is wrong. Contact me!GARY L. SIZER, 1959, we want to see you this year at the alumni gig, hear?
Apparently, 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWTH, has renewed his interest in golf. He reports that he played at Jamaica Run, just recently. DeDe Fahrney continues to try to get some definitive info on whether or not we had yearbooks for the years ranging from 1926-1931. If anyone can find out, it's DeDe!
CURTIS A. KEMP and I have spoken off and on. He'll be with us next month. I'm sure hoping to see you, too, EDNA L. GRAY. Is there any chance you can get FLOSSIE to join us? JO ANN K. STEMLEY, I'd better be seeing you next month! DONNA J. TUDOR, 1955, has already sent in her reservation. How about you, SHIRLEY? GARY E. BARNES, 1959, will be with us this year, too.
We've also found HAROLD PHILLIPS for EDGAR L. KELLY. Harold will be joining us, too, Welcome aboard, Harold, and thank you, Ercell. We hope to see KAREN L. THROCKMORTON, 1969, also. JUDY M. FRANTZ, you'd better get the days off you will need, in order to be with us.
Of course, I always have to save a bit of the best for last and I am thrilled to report that the gracious, charming, lovely EULA FAYE BAILEY, has now confirmed attendance. So that means we can actually move forward with this function. I wasn't too sure we could have it, if she wasn't there.
So with that, I guess I'll get back to my hurricane preparations. Once again, keep your fingers crossed for all who are in the path of Hurricane Ivan. I leave you all with my usual wish for glowing health, great happiness, peaceful serenity, and boundless prosperity, Ciao!
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
---And Now, the Inevitable Aftermath ... On 07 September, 2004, Bonnie Writes:
Tuesday, September 07, 2004 4:13 PM, The aftermath and oh, what an adventure!!! Well, here I am again, folks, just as I'd promised you. I feel as though I'm getting ready to launch (no pun intended) into a "Gilligan's Island"-type of tale here and I just can't wait to tell you all the gory details. Before I begin, though, I want to make perfectly clear that nothing I write in here is intended in such a way as to make light of this storm. I take them quite seriously. It's just that I have "that little affectation," of which I already advised all of you, wherein I view even serious storms just a bit differently than would those folks who have that, "shaking fear" of them, so to speak. So please don't misconstrue anything I write based on the idea that I think this is all fun and games. I don't!
First of all, we weren't quite finished picking up the debris of Hurricane Charley, whose side effects blew over us on Friday the 13th. Charley was quite a cad, tearing down a load of trees and even uprooting a few. He also did lots of structural damage, believe me. But we were lucky, all things considered, with the parts we got of Charley.
But Hurricane Frances was so close on his heels and she trumped him handily, believe me! Frances, to put it very mildly, was a real bitch! On Friday, everyone in every subdivision in Florida was outside. We were all boarding windows, putting away all potential flying missiles, tying down lawn furniture, protecting vehicles (Harley-Davidsons were priority one, of course), and laying in all extra supplies, as needed.
We wrapped up everything and then entered the now-windowless house to watch the never-ending coverage of the most massive storm to hit the United States shores in the entire history of weather records. Believe me when I tell you, it was truly the adventure of a lifetime! Friday night passed fairly uneventfully, as we listened to the winds gaining velocity with each passing hour. With my penchant for storms, I simply HAD to sneak onto my porch now and then, to get a quick peek. My husband kept cautioning me, each time, but knowing it was a futile effort. After going-on-30-years now, he's well-aware of my strange little quirk for storms.
Finally, I went to bed at midnight, very reluctantly, as I just knew I was going to miss something if I did. But I sure did get quickly current on the following day when I awoke to the howling wind. Boy, did I ever rush to the that front porch to get my "fix." I wasn't disappointed and I have to say that I was grateful that we were receiving only what was considered as, "side effects." The eye of the storm had covered West Palm Beach north through Vero Beach, when it made landfall. But the rainbands were beyond anyone's wildest dreams. We watched throughout the day on Saturday, wondering when we'd lose power and keeping our fingers crossed.
Now, mind you, folks, please understand "the inner me." In school, I was an unbelievable "tomboy" type, who was the "buddy" to all the guys. I rode motorcycles, shot pool and was way more into that stuff than I was ever into the "girl thing." Yes, I still have a spirit of adventure and I was sort of a "wild child" in my 20s and early 30s, but for the past 15-or-so years, I've lived a fairly docile life, unless one considers all those solo trips to the Sturgis Motor- cycle Rally. So a storm of this magnitude was truly a "happening."
The day passed and the winds increased and we finally lost all electrical power at 1 p.m. on Sunday. We got our generator into service as quickly as possible and just "hunkered down." But I was inexorably drawn to this storm and I just couldn't remain indoors. Thank God, my house is situated so that the porch is dead center and the front of the house is due south. The wind was incredible and blowing out of the east. Remember the scene from, "The Wizard of Oz," wherein the house is being carried through the tornado and the people are looking through the window, watching it pass? Well, that was similar to how it was to sit on my south-facing porch and watch that hard east wind fly past. My porch suddenly became the perfect projection screen upon which to watch this history making event, in relative safety. ---And watch it, I did!! I was so mesmerized and fascinated by it, I could have done nothing else!
It got worse and worse and worse. The gusts were now hurling things through the air---large branches, small toys, overlooked tools, a chair or two. Up, up, and away! I'd never been privileged to witness anything of this magnitude in my entire life. As I watched, completely hypnotized, I couldn't help but wonder about some of life's deepest mysteries. Mind you, I'm not much a, "Bible- thumper" type, although I actually WAS staunchly reared in the Lutheran faith, to which I still adhere. But I couldn't help but wonder how anyone could observe such majesty and panorama and omniscience and then actually question the existence of God.
It was daylight as we watched the worst of the storm's path in our area. As darkness slowly fell, it continued unabated, trees bent straight over sideways, limbs flying through the air, and now and then, an unidentifiable object due to the darkness and the extreme speed with which it would pass my visual field. My adrenaline was pumping!
Suddenly, I heard a loud, grinding sound, which seemed to be much closer than I would have wanted it to be. My zeal for this awesome storm was unpleasantly interrupted by its sheer reality. That loud, grinding sound was none other than my roof tiles being removed and propelled through the air in pairs and quadruples and sheets. Well, I had to interrupt my front-row seat, of course, and repair to the inside to survey the damage. A leak had broken through the ceiling in (of all places) my master bathroom shower stall, can you believe it!?!? In spite of myself, I had to laugh.
The winds continued to howl, the rains came in sheets, and my husband and I took turns moving things from the leaks which were developing, as we rapidly placed a series of buckets in strategic areas. But it was getting worse, literally by the raindrop. We soon had to break down our entire bed and move it to the living room, as we furiously vacuumed water with the Shop Vac. We weren't staying even, but we were holding it off pretty well.
My neighbor is a roofer. He'd done the last two roofs on our house. I didn't know what to do. But the pursuit of trying to find out, was right up my alley. Since he wasn't answering his phone, I put on a rain slicker and outside I went, my husband screaming at the top of his lungs, "Are you nuts? Get back in here!" But I persevered, feeling the adrenaline starting pumping again. The rain beat against my face and soaked my feet. Brush hit me in the face and arms and I kept walking. It was spectacular! I leaned into the wind, as it tried to hold me off. At one point, I clung to a tree trunk to avoid the wind force. It was SO exciting, I can't beGIN to tell you. He's only 5 houses away, and it was a real challenge.
Finally, I made it, and his mother, who is 86, said to me, "My God, Bonnie! What on EARTH are you doing, walking down here in this?" I explained the dilemma, the roofer gave me the solution, and back into the night I went with a repeat performance of the journey there. It was WAY too exciting and I began to realize how ho-hum my life is, as I once again picked my way through the over- whelming rain and wind. I was thrown against the driveway light, just before I entered my house. As I up- righted myself, I proudly smiled, was soaked to the bone, bruised from the brush and debris, and feeling terribly victorious. (I know, I know, don't say it. I've already confessed to being JUST a tad crazy, remember?)
When I entered the house, I yelled to my spouse, "Get the drill. Drill a hole in the center of the shower stall ceiling. It will release the water, take the weight off the ceiling, and provide a drain for the oncoming water." We did that and it worked, mostly. We still had overflow and we still had to vacuum, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. My roofer came the very next morning, repairing the leak immediately. The storm had subsided, and yes, I had mixed emotions about that.
But good, ol' Frances let me down easily. You see, she continued to howl on a more elementary basis, for all of Monday morning, dropping copious amounts of rain, as she drew a bead on Tampa, then picked up more speed in the Gulf of Mexico and hit the Florida Panhandle with a vengeance, just yesterday.
It is now Tuesday. The power was off for exactly one day and 21 hours. It came back at 10 a.m. We're thrilled. I felt like people must feel, when they reach the peak of Mt. Rushmore or the peak of Cookie's Mt. Rainier, out there in Washington. Damage was extensive, due to the water.
But we always had usable water, flushable toilets, and working phones.
Right now, I'm going to interject a little "telecommuncation lesson." As many of you are aware, I'm retired from Bell telephone. In today's U.S.A., there are literally millions of people who think when the power goes off, they have no phone. Nothing could be further from the truth! Routine guidelines for land lines tell you to ALWAYS keep one corded telephone plugged in for each land line number. Now, I want to be sure you know what a corded telephone IS. That means, you canNOT walk from room to room with this phone. You must stay within the walking range of the cord which reaches from the mouthpiece to the phone base. It's like the ones we had in the Dark Ages of the 1950s, only they look a bit more modern now. The trouble is, no one BUYS them anymore! People don't realize that you MUST have one of these plugged into a jack for each landline number you have. It serves to ground the line. As a wonderful and coincidental side effect, though, it will also provide you with continuous working telephone service, in the event of a power outage. So if you happen to be one of those misinformed telephone subscribers, who has no corded phone in the your house, go get one NOW, hear? Besides, if you have only cordless phones, you're getting a lot more call interference by NOT having your line grounded. Okay, enough on that!
My list of damages include a roof, soffit damage (very slight), an aluminum gutter, a microwave which was blipped by the power outage, 2 ruined ceilings, one strip of hallway carpeting (which will be replaced with hardwood flooing), 3 terribly expensive Persian wool rugs, one ceiling fan, one door frame, one roof turban.
It will all total probably about $20,000, I'd guess. There are other odds and ends, too.
My insurance agent telephoned this morning and advised me to have at it, get everything repaired to my liking, save all receipts, and they will reimburse me in full, minus my $500 deductible. They're paying $8,000 up front, no questions asked, for my new roof. We've been with them since 1987 and never turned in one claim.
We now await the possible arrival of Hurricane Ivan, whose path is currently unknown. Wherever he goes, I'm ready. I wouldn't leave Florida for anything! Do you hear that pounding? That's my roofer, who's putting on our brand new roof in time to meet any challenge which may come from Ivan. Let's see, I guess there will be a "J" storm after that, then a "K" storm, and then---oh well, you get the idea.
It is now just over 4 weeks until I board my flight to come and see all of you, once again. I can scarcely wait. But I must confess, I feel a bit foolish now, about my former, "fear of flying." Ha! We spent this morning cleaning our yard, gutters, and debris, replacing the deck furniture to its former glory, and reveling in the joy of electricity. My best to all of you. I will see you soon. If anyone has heard from Darell L. Tobias of Sanford (very hard-hit, I hear) or from Paula Wilson of Singer Island (and this time, I'm NOT mistaken about the island, and that was also very hard-hit), please let me know. Ciao!
Bonnie
Sunday, September 05, 2004
On 05 September, 2004, Regarding Her Encounter with Frances, Bonnie Writes:
Hi Gang! -- To have a true and bona fide hurricane bearing down on one's home, is something I can scarcely imagine. It must be terrifying, beyond my wildest dreams. I write this because, here I am in the middle of what will be OUR effects of Hurricane Frances, even as I type. I'm about 3 feet from the boarded window and the wind is howling. The rain is blowing sideways in moderate sheets and tree debris is everywhere. Now, I know most of you will find this a little strange, but the truth is, I'm one of those weird ducks (no pun intended) who has always been an ardent fan of thunderstorms. Therefore, I went out this morning and sat on my porch, watching this incredible phenomenon. My husband kept telling me to come back inside, but I was totally mesmerized. These things (even just the gigantic sidestorms, which is what WE are getting) can be very scary, very ominous, very foreboding. But strangely, when I look at them, I view them as powerful, awesome, and omniscient, a majestic and natural miracle of Mother Nature. I'm sort of slack-jawed, as I observe it all.
On the plus side, we happen to be be (obviously) in a small pocket whose power is holding steadily. My "Fort Knox home" is holding up equally well. So far, I haven't lost so much as a roof tile. My deck furniture is securely tied to my wrought iron railings. I want to get this sent, just as a precaution, in case the power does go. So that's all I can write right now. We get a "blip" every now and then. Worry not, my friends! I'm going to ride this out and be just fine. I'll see all of you in five weeks.
Right now, I'm off to get the ladder and go outside to clear my gutter, which is filled with leaves. Yes, I'll get wet. Yes, the wind will blow me around a bit. ---and finally, yes, I'll enjoy it. Well, maybe that's NOT "finally." Maybe the TRUE "finally" is that I'm just a little, tiny bit crazy, huh? Ha! For now, you can answer me back. I have no idea how long that will last. Maybe we'll get lucky this time and our power will hold! For those of you who are spending a boring Sunday, I can only say, "Wish you were here!!" Godspeed!
-- Bonnie
