WECATON NEWS REPORT!!!---07 November 2004

---It seemed that my final act, prior to pulling away from the curb for Ohio (once again), was going to be yet another bulletin. The e-mails had come at me so quickly and so furiously and at such a volume, after my return from alumni weekend, I was sure my machine would completely jam, if I left all of this on it and went away again, for such a long period. So there I was again! I couldn't help but think that you were you all growing, "tired of lookin' at me?" But if you were, help was on the way, in the form of my departure on October 21 for the old stompin' grounds. We did not return until just the late afternoon of November 5! If your ears were burning, it could well have been because many of us were talking about you, during my second (and very extended) visit during October and early November. On Ocotber 21, my husband and I departed Ormond Beach, "motor-bound" and heading right back to Dayton. So yes, we were gone for quite a spell.

But even before I left, I thought I was going to have to get another bulletin written. There were so many e-mails on my machine from alumni weekend, with which I hadn't done a thing. However, time got away from me and we had to leave, so I'm just now getting around to them all. I came home to---are you ready for this?---another 168 e- mails and it was overwhelming. But I've now plowed through them all, eliminated all the "spam" stuff and gotten the personal ones organized. Since the last bulletin, the following folks have checked in with the usual jokes, political puns, chain letters, recipes, etc.: CAROL A. MUMMA, CAROLYN E. "TOOTIE" PENCE, SALLY L. GILLETTE, ROBERT W. "SMITTY" SMITH, WILLIAM L. MCNABB, CAROLYN SUE MCCLOUD, SANDRA L. BARSALOU, L. EUGENE ZINK, PAMELA K. SHIPLEY, DAVID A. BLAIR, SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, STEVEN M. KOKOT, BARBARA T. O'NEAL, LARRY M. GILBERT, JACQUELINE N. LESHER, RICHARD C. CALL, JOANN K. STEMLEY, DALLAS K. MATHIS, and SUE E. SOWERS. I like to keep track of those because if I dont' receive personal e-mails from people, I at least know they are okay and aware of the buleltins when they send those. Remember, we want to, "Keep The Party Alive For 2005." Maintaining contact, in its many forms, is but one of the ways of doing that, and surely, it is also the most effective, right?

But there were lots of personal things, too. One of the greatest ones I received was from my 1960 classmate, MICHAEL S. WEST, who transmitted to me a positively glowing photo of 1958's VINCENT A. BRODBECK and his 1960 spouse, DOROTHY J. WILLMAN. Mike, I do hope you posted that photo of Vince and Dottie on the web. It's a real winner! It was taken, by the way, at the annual alumni dinner/dance of last month.

Mike is busily composing more photos, I suspect, with our photographer, 1971's RODNEY R. GABBARD, whom I suspect is going to become a regular attendee. Mike reports that you did a really bang-up job with the photography, Rod. We all appreciate that so very much and look forward to seeing your work.

Mike also reported that his mother and the mother of 1960's THOMAS L. WOLF, JR., are both at the same Miamisburg nursing home. I believe the name of it is Heartland. He said your mother, Tom, is sharp as a tack at the age of 92. So I guess we'll be seeing YOU at all the WC things for many years to come, what with the heritage you have. Mike suggests sending cards to Mrs. Wolf, just to convey some WC greetings. I think that's a great idea, Mike. In fact, you seem to come up with a LOT of great ideas! (Shades of the Frisch's Frolic, which has, in just 2 short occurrcences, now become a WC institution!) Anyway, here's Mrs. Wolf's address:
Christine Wolf Rm. 200, 450 Oak Ridge Blvd., Miamis- burg, Ohio 45342. Let's get busy with those cards. After all, Mrs. Wolf may well be a WC grad, too! Tom was kind enough to report that our former band director, HARRY C. HAGGERTY, is robust and healthy and that he works at a golf course. Amazing! Thanks for that news item, Tom. We hope to get Mr. H. to one of our functions, very soon.

Mike is also forging a bond with 1968's R. DARRELL CHRISTOPHER, of Louisville, on the grounds of their commonality as ham radio operators. We expect to see you next year, Darrell! Don't let me down or else I'll have Mike send you obscene messages over the ham radio, hear?

Also giving us an update were that "travelin' twosome," WILLIAM O. WALKER and his WC-honorary spouse, KAREN MURPHY. Yes, they're still roaming around the hurricane-damaged state of Florida and there wasn't a chance of them making alumni weekend. But they've both assured us that they were thinking of us all. We just HAVE to do something about the timing of the hurricane thing, in conjuction with alumni weekend, don't we? But the Walkers have assured me they will connect with me before they leave Florida, so I'm sure looking forward to that, at least. As 1958's WILLIAM R. HOWARD so very succinctly pointed out to me, we still cherish those who aren't in attendance, and we must continue to encourage them to be with us, mustn't we?

Inquiries are already coming in about our Second Annual WC Holiday Brunch. Yes, of course we're having it! Was there ever any doubt? Yes, it will be on the first Saturday in December (that's the 4th) at 11:30 a.m. at the Dixie Crossroads Restaurant in Titusville, the same as last year. No, we don't get a huge turnout for this, but I can tell you this much. Last year, there were about 14 of us and we had a circus, we really did!

Do I know yet, who will attend? No, I don't. But I do know that I will be there, I do know that 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWETH will be there, there is little doubt but that CURTIS A. KEMP will be there. I know for sure that 1960's GERALD A. FULLER will be there and I'd almost bet the farm that 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE and WILLIAM R. HOWARD will be there. I'm sure hoping we can once again roust out DELORES K. FAHRNEY, as well as ROBERTA A. RICE. Perhaps we can persuade PAULA R. WILSON to join us from Singer Island, too. How about it, Paula? We sure missed you both, DeDe and Roberta, at alumni weekend! As for Paula, she was in great form, as usual! Is there any chance we'll get you and Becky there, RICHARD E. KNEER? We sure hope so! How about you two snowbirds, ROBERT W. BRANE and GARY R. FRANK?

We want as many as possible, obviously. No matter how few or how many, though, it's sure to be a wonderful time. It always is. But if you don't make the holiday brunch, be sure to set aside April 3, 2005, for the Second Annual WC Florida Spring Fest. I presume that will likely be held at the clubhouse of the condo owned by JOANN K. STEMLEY, as it was last year. What a hoot! We had a great time, no doubt about it. So we've got two events on the griddle, folks. Remember, though, this spring event is set aside as the last Saturday/Sunday of March. But in 2005, it falls on Easter Sunday, so that's why we moved it back a week. That little tidbit was conveyed to me, early on, by IDA JANE TREON. Thanks, Ida!

DARELL L. TOBIAS, Class of 1957, and I, are in pretty regular contact now. Before leaving for my second Ohio trip, Darell told me to be sure I visit Ron's Pizza House in Miamisburg, while I was there. Well, I did as you asked, Darell. In fact, a whole slew of us went there and stayed for several hours! Later, I'll give details.

A contact came in from SANDRA R. KINNEY, Class of 1959, who wrote that her 1958 spouse, DAVID L. MICHAEL, was having some health problems and that was why they couldn't make it this year. Well, I heard that from your brother-in-law, Sandy, at the alumni gig. By the way, will you write me back with the e-mail address for him? He gave it to me and I've lost it. He wants to be on the bulletin list. Dave, we all wish you well and hope you have mended by now.

SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, Class of 1961, has now returned to her California home. She and I have had a couple of exchanges and have been able to determine that we would probably become great friends, if only we lived nearer to one another. Well, Sande, one of these days, you just might visit Florida, who knows? If you do, we'll get one step closer. I look forward to seeing you next year, if not before.

Right after my return from the alumni weekend, I was regaled with an e-mail from our fashion king and queen, T. BARRY RUSSELLO, class of 1960, and his 1959 spouse, BETSY R. MURPHY. They continue to hold the bar high, for us all, I'm happy to report. I was so taken with Barry's e-mail, I turned right around and went back up there. Ha! Having truly missed 1961's EDNA L. GRAY, I wrote to her, asking where she'd been. She wrote that she had something which was unavoidable and that on that very evening, she would be going to an event to which she referred as, "the annual bonfire," at the Brookville home of older sis (and my classmate) FLOSSIE J. GRAY. I'm sure you all had a great time, didn't you, Edna?

BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, Class of 1958, sent along some wonderful photos of the WC golf outing and I'm sure those will be posted by Mike West. Keep an eye peeled for them. As previously reported, everyone had a great time at that function. SALLY L. GILLETTE took the time to reflect that we all take so much for granted and cited health issues of a few of our fellow alumni. You're right, Sally, we do! She also let me know that DANNY L. WALTERS, Class of 1960, is doing just fine. I wondered about you, Danny, as I hadn't heard a word in so long and I was also getting returned e-mails, for a while there. So thanks, Sally, for keeping us updated.

But not all the banter was quite so serious. For instance, DONNA J. RICHARDS and I discussed fashions of the weekend of the alumni, trying to decide colors of suits and ties which had been worn and what looked the best on whom. We concluded that all of of us were grorgeous and handsome, with our RUSSELLO/MURPHY duo heading up the list, as usual. But it was back to serious topics when 1961's NANCY J. SWEEN wanted to make sure that her classmate, PAULA R. WILSON, was aware that many WC folks were so concerned about her, during the spate of August/September storms in Florida. So you must keep us better informed, Paula! "Inquiring minds want to know!" Let's all keep our collective fingers crossed for the son of 1971's PAMELA K. SHIPLEY, who had some health problems on the very weekend of our gig, which prevented her from joining us. We hope things are much better for him now, Pam, and that we'll be seeing you for sure, come next year. Please keep us informed.

That elusive 1959-er, who seems to have her very own personal fan club (of which I'm a member), CAROLYN E. "TOOTIE" PENCE, did take the time to drop me a line to let us all know that she'd been out of town on "the big weekend." Thanks for letting us know, Tootie, but in the future, you simply MUST plan better! We all much prefer that you spend that weekend with US, hear? Many folks asked about YOU, Tootie! We were terribly disappointed by your absence. One member of your fan club, NANCY E. "COOKIE" BOWIE, asked specifically about you and SHARON L. BORGER and also about you, MADELEINE D. CAMPBELL. So let's all plan to do MUCH better, come next year, hear?

Cookie also reported that on a recent morning, she was reading a Tacoma newspaper, regarding some of the motorcycle events, and that she found a quote in there from ME! Yep, that happens a lot. It's because I sit on the Bike Week Executive Board and also on the Bike Events Communication Committee, so I've often been interviewed, over the years. Cookie wrote that she still hasn't been to see JUDI BECKETT, but that she may be going in December or January. She said the air fares are now way too high. You're right about THAT, Cookie. I don't think I'll ever again see the $129 round-trip fare I got to Ohio last month. With oil prices being what they are (or at least what we're TOLD they are), that will be a long time coming, if ever.

A couple of e-mails have come in from the ever-popular JACK L. GODBY, Class of 1961. Jack reports that he has spent lots of fun time, going through his recently-received 1961 Piratan, which I happily sent to him, upon my return from alumni weekend. It is my understanding that many of us are now maintaining some contact with Jack and he wrote that he's terribly pleased that he was "found." Well, so are we, Jack, so are we! We look very much forward to you joining us, each and every year, and at every opportunity. Jack writes that he is also very much enjoying the bulletins. I humbly accept your praise, Jack, and I also hope that you and I will both be around for years to come, so that I can write and you can read.

From WILLIAM L. MCNABB, Class of 1954, came the statistics on his class, who had no less than 24 members in attendance for the commemoration of their 50th. You all looked wonderful, Bill! As we've already determined, though, we ALL looked great. But your class was really good-looking, I must say. If you ever find a source to tell us, let me know if we had yearbooks for the years of 1926-1931, inclusive. I'm still trying to determine that. In the way of things to be determined, I received a note from 1958's ROBERT W. "SMITTY" SMITH, who let me know that his wife's name is Crystal. Thanks, Smitty, I wasn't sure.

From the home of 1962's RICHARD C. CALL, came a few e-mails to let everyone know just what a wonderful time he and wife Jean, had at the alumni gathering. That is precisely what we want to hear, isn't it? Rich and Jean, we look forward to your joining us each and every time you can. We were all just thrilled that you were there. From 1958's SANDRA L. BARSALOU came a forwarded message from BARBARA THOMAS, in which Barb said she so appreciates and enjoys the bulletins. I thank both of you for that, and am thrilled that you enjoy the bulletins. That's the very kind of remarks which make me continue to write them.

From 1987's SHARLENE N. MERKER came several e-mails, some of which made reference to her 1960 mom, SHIRLEY J. TUDOR, and to her 1955 aunt, DONNA G. TUDOR (did you get that, Sharlene?) We went to visit Sharlene a couple of times on our second visit, as we did her mother, too. But we missed you, Donna, on the second go-round. We'll have to do better next time. Also during the second trip, I spoke with none other than WOODROW W. BOWMAN, a WC institution as the proprietor of Woody's Supermarket (sorely missed, I might add). I called the home of younger daughter, NANCY, and he just happened to be there. I had to speak loudly as he has hearing problems, but he told me he's doing well, that he's happy, and that he's enjoying life to the fullest. Woody will be 92 on January 6. I told him I hope he lives to be 120.

My dear friend, EULA FAYE BAILEY, and I have talked on the phone and gotten caught up on all the news. I did sorely miss seeing Eula Faye, as all of you know, and so when I go out west in February, it's highly likely that I will also swing through Overland Park, Kansas. You'd better brace up, Eula Faye. By the way, folks, Eula Faye has told me many times how much she has enjoyed the big card we all signed for her, over alumni weekend. She was thrilled with that and I thank each and every one of you who signed it.

We are very please to add to our bulletin list, the name of 1985's CYNTHEA V. POTEET. Cynthea runs a WC website, she writes, and she can also post our events. I am hoping we'll attract more of later-decades classes, as we add more of them to our list. Welcome aboard, Cynthea!

Cousin JUDITH L. SAMUELS and her spouse have been doing some traveling and she reports that they'll be going to New York City for a week, during December. I wasn't successful in getting her to come up to Ohio for alumni weekend, but I'll keep trying! Among those who asked about you, Judy, were EDNA GRAY, LYNN GARRETT, SHIRLEY TUDOR, and I can't remember the others, but there were several.

As is always the case, I spent a lot of time (or as much as I could muster) with 1961's PATRICIA LYNNETTE GARRETT. Not only do I immensely enjoy her company, but Lynn and Frank have a simply magical home, they really do. It is also in the quaint and wonderful little town of Germantown. One day, Lynn and I drove to the old Germantown Dam and went all over the place. I enjoyed it so much. We located the remains of the original driveway of that "adventurous place," Double Jacks, which has long since been demolished. But they can't wreck my memories.

If you haven't been to Lynn's house, I highly recommend a visit. You will be royally treated and you will see some of the most interesting items, ever, including a fully functional jukebox in the living room, a restaurant sign on the back door (indicating whether the house is "open" or "closed") a genuine, old-fashioned, wooden icebox, and many other things, too numerous to mention. Gil and I also had lunch with Lynn and Frank, and I must confess that I find Frank to be a completely kind and nice man, for whom I have also developed a fond affection. (You'd better watch me, Lynn!) The time I spent with Lynn and Frank was great! I look very much forward to seeing them again, when they visit Florida next month.

As has been brought to my attention by DONNA G. TUDOR, Class of 1955, their 50th grad anniversary is upcoming in 2005. Donna has lots of folks from her class, with whom she would veyr much like to reconnect. So let's all pull together and wrack our brains to see if we can possibly produce any contacts for Donna. She says she's going to call classmate CARL R. MAYS to see if she can enlist his help with this project, but that doesn't keep the rest of us from "pitching in" on the effort, in the event we should stumble onto a 1955 class member. So let's keep that in mind, shall we? I would personally highly recommend the locating skills of both 1959's GARY E. BARNES, as well as those of the aforementioned 1954's WILLIAM L. MCNABB. I feel they would both be invaluable with the skills they seem to have developed for doing that.

Speaking of Gary, he was also gracious enough to write and say how much he enjoys the bulletins. He also gave me an e-mail address for another of my classmates, 1960's WILLIAM E. HECKER. But could you do a bit of follow-up on that one, Gary? I seem to be getting back Bill's e-mail. It's probably my own mistake (which seems to happen a lot), as I'm trying to keep track of nearly 200 of them, so I often misplace a dot or a dash or a letter or ---you get the idea. So would you just confirm that for me and thanks in advance?

SHIRLEY ANN HILE and spouse Jack Richardson have just returned from a wonderful cruise to Key West and over to Cozumel. How did that go, Shirley? We all hope you had a great time! Shirley also reports that she just loved the Frisch's Frolic and thought it was great fun. I get lots of positive feedback on your brainchild event, Mike. Everyone seems to have such fun at the Frisch's Frolic. We're all pleased that you formulated that idea.

GAIL DAUBENDICK, where are you? We're all awaiting the latest report on your health. You haven't checked in, so that gives me cause for concern. Please write us a few lines and let us know how you're doing. After all, you can't reconnect with high school boyfriend, WILLIAM M. ROHLER, until you get all of that squared away, now can you? Naturally, we expect a full report on THAT, too! We ARE a nosey bunch, aren't we?

We've also had some good and newsy updates from 1957's BERTHA J. HOERNER. She reports that she's had a few health problems, but nothing to compare to those of other classmates about whom she's read in our bulletins. She writes that she is grateful for her good fortune. Well, we all missed you, Bertha! Make sure you get there to be with us, come 2005, okay? By the way, folks, let's keep Bertha's son-in-law in our good thoughts and prayers. He is serving in Iraq, as is my nephew (and son of my sister, JUDY A. RISNER, Class of 1956). We got to see my nephew on the second trip to Ohio, by the way, but he's now back in Iraq. As with all our military troops, let's pray for their safe return.

The glamorous JANET L. WALTERS will be hosting a sort of "pajama party" on November 13, she reports. Oh, how I wish I could be at THAT function! Janet, as it happens, is quite a lady of the world. This was a tidbit about her, which I did not know, until very recently. Trust me on this one, folks. If there are things you want to know about the many "mysteries of life," then Janet's your girl! I shall leave it at that. I'm sure going to be thinking of all of you, come this Saturday night, though!

From yet another of those great 1961 people, JOHN W. BYSTREK, comes this wonderful message: "Yours are the only e-mails I read, from top to bottom. It's great reading about everyone!" Well, thanks, John! I do so appreciate that, more than you will ever know. We are depending upon seeing you at all of next year's functions and please do not disappoint us. Welcome to the bulletin list!

What a stitch it was to get an e-mail from MARIAN K. HUSSEY Class of 1967 (I believe, or was it 1968?) in which she reminded of my teasing her 1960 spouse (and my fellow classmate and Miami Shores Kid), PHILLIP D. HOWARD, about the way he shined his shoes. Lord, I haven't thought about that in years, Marian! But Phil, you must have really thought about it, to have remembered it for all this time. Amazing! By the way, you two, we were expecting you at Frisch's, as well as the dinner/dance. We can't allow this to recur in 2005, hear?

Another 1960 classmate, MONTY ESTEP (whom I hear is quite a golfer), has conveyed to me that he found one other of our 1960 classmates, JUDY ANN SHOCKLEY. He says Judy wants to be on the list and now, she is! Let us hear a few lines from you, Judy, and how you're doing. Is your last name still Shockley, by the way? Thanks for that one, Monty. Judy, now that you've been "found," we'll sure be expecting to see you. Whenever I've thought of you, I've also thought of LINDA L. SHANK. Weren't the two of you pretty good friends in school?

On my second Ohio trip, I didn't have any commitments, such as alumni things, so I got to pick and choose my activities. On one of the evenings, (as I earlier wrote), a few of us spent some quality time at Ron's Pizza in Miamisburg. Aside from my husband and me, there was also BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, DONNA J. RICHARDS, SHIRLEY J. TUDOR, PATRICIA LYNNETTE GARRETT, BETSY R. MURPHY, T. BARRY RUSSELLO, GARY L. WARLAUMONT (and wife, Jill), and we also ran right into GARY E. BARNES, with wife Pat. They joined us for a short while, too. It was a delightful evening, but we sure did miss CHARLES V. CARTER, and wife Pam, whom we later visited, and we also missed RICHARD C. CALL and wife Jean, whom I tried unsuccessfully to find, as I had managed somehow to leave their card on my desk. I should have telephoned again, but the time got away from me. That won't happen, next time.

On another prime evening of that second visit, I found myself at an Applebee's with PATRICIA LYNNETTE GARRETT, EDNA L. GRAY, JACQUELINE N. LESHER, SALLY L. GILLETTE, JANET L. WALTERS, DONNA J. RICHARDS, BARBARA T. O'NEAL, and SANDRA JEAN CASEY. Let me tell you, folks, this proved to be an evening of utter hilarity! We laughed until we cried and we did not part company for a whopping 4 1/2 hours, can you even believe that? There was such a wonderful cross-section of varying personalities and dispositions and life stories, so that everything and everyone seemed to be perfectly "meshed," if you will, and we just couldn't get enough, it seemed. We even had humorous "eaves- droppers" at the adjacent table, with whom we had one laugh after another. Each person added just the right element to the mix. I hope we get to repeat this group, every time I come up there for a visit. It was terrific and I finally got to see you, Edna! My thanks to each of you for a great evening, which I shall never forget.

Another memorable event would occur when, on the way to a dinner engagement, we were summoned to the South Dayton Airport, where I would take an impromptu airplane ride with Gary L. Warlaumont at the controls, and passengers included me, Bruce, and 1971's PATTY J. WHEELBARGER. I couldn't get my husband to board and he awaited us on the ground. As I keep telling you, Gary, I can't believe you can fly an airplane now, when you couldn't pass 8th grade history. Fortunately, though, you had me for that (as did 7 other guys in that class, I might add.) We also shared many a meal with Bruce and Patty and we look very much forward to a visit from one or both, come next month, for the holiday brunch. It was simply a fun and wonderful trip---both times!!!

Also, I cruised around WC so many times, I can't begin to tell you. I happened upon the homes of WILLIAM R. HOWARD, DAVID A. BLAIR, CHARLES A. HIGH, JR., and J. DAVID MAYS, who is supposed to send me more e-mails, remember, Dave? But of course, I didn't stop, as I wasn't expected. Can anyone please find MARY DUNCAN, Class of 1962? I gave her my card and she was supposed to e-mail me with the address and phone number of brother, WILLIAM D. DUNCAN, which I was going to pass along to PHILIP H. WOLFORD, who has been searching for him. Where are you, Mary? If you see her, please remind her.

One day, as I sat in the great little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Happy Days, which is in Miamisburg. I was with my husband and Bruce. Who should walk in but 1960's LOIS ANN LITTURELL and 1961's BARBARA J. TURNINGTON?!?!. Well, Barb is now on the bulletin list and I believe it was you wanted to contact her, Donna Richards. Send me an e-mail and I'll give you all the skinny. Welcome aboard, Barb, and I do hope you'll print the bulletins and share them with Ann! I still remember what fun we had on alumni night, too.

On the upside, and in response to my just-received query from Mike West, my husband was very, very favorably impressed with all of my WC friends. He said he has never, in his life, seen high school friends, who have been so successful in maintaining such a degree of closeness and contact. I told him he just happens to be married to the right girl for that and that we all realize what a special bond we have. He now says that he will come with me to the alumni gatherings. He REALLY liked YOU, Donna Richards! I'm going to have to watch you two. Ha! Then again, he also mentioned how much he likes Lynn, Barry & Betsy, and just about every person he met. This is highly unusual for him. But as I've been telling him, all along, we're a quality bunch!

With that, I leave you all (finally) and I once again invoke our new battle cry, "Keep The Party Alive For 2005!" I urge every person who is reading this to be sure you put aside the following dates: December 4, 2004, for the WC Florida Holiday Brunch at the Dixie Crossroads in Titusville, Florida: April 3, 2005, for the WC Florida Spring Fest, hopefully at JoAnn's Orlando condo clubhouse (more later on that): the second weekend of October 2005 for our crown jewel event, the alumni dinner/dance, as well as the Frisch's Frolic, the golf outing, and many brunches on that Sunday. We are all forever, "West Carrollton Pirates." I leave you all with my usual wish for glowing health, great happiness, peaceful serenity, and boundless prosperity. Ciao!

---And there you have it! More at 11--- B

- posted by Mikey @ 7:29 PM