WECATON NEWS REPORT!!!

---Yeah, yeah, yeah! I already KNOW I wrote that I wasn't going to do another report, prior to this weekend's event. But the WC folder is bursting at the seams, and I have to get things "cleaned out" before I begin the report on the weekend fest, okay? Besides, all of you are by now aware that I lie a lot, when it comes to predictions of how much I'll be writing and when, right?

We had a lot of check-ins during this period from a lot of our alumni. By now, I'm assuming you all know that the term, "check-in," refers to psa's, jokes, political puns, and information-type forwardings, right? They include 1954's WILLIAM L. MCNABB, 1958's WILLIAM R. HOWARD. BRUCE E. CHENOWETH & ROBERT W. "SMITTY" SMITH, 1959'S GARY E. BARNES & CAROLYN E. "TOOTIE" PENCE (yes, can you believe it?), 1960's WILLIAM O. WALKER, his WC-honorary spouse KAREN MURPHY, STEVEN M. KOKOT, LARRY M. PENDLEY, LINDA L. SHANK, & GERALD A. FULLER, 1961's SALLY L. GILLETTE PAUL R. BEARDSLEY, & LARRY D. GILBERT, 1962's RICHARD C. CALL & BARBARA T. O'NEAL, and 1971's PAMEL K. SHIPLEY. So that's that!

The Walkers continue to work in Florida and are using their RV to great advantage. Karen reports that they recently spent time with 1961's RICHARD G. DENNY and his spouse, LIELA K. GEORGE. They see each other fairly regularly, as the Dennys have a place in Punta Gorda, Florida.

My first order of business will be to thank those who took the time to honor my 63rd birthday on March 16. I try to ignore those darned things, but it just doesn't wash, does it? There were a lot of postally-mailed cards, which I do so appreciate. I also got a few special wishes across the internet from 1961's, NANCY J. ERTEL, SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, and my dear and special pal, EULA FAYE BAILEY & MICHAEL S. WEST, 1960. Eula Faye, the tulip bulbs you sent me are in vibrant bloom and I think of you fondly, each time I look at them! There were also several calls from classmates such as DEVONA S. TAYLOR (we are the original "birthday twins," having been born on the exact same day), BARRY RUSSELLO (who always sings to me, no kidding), and lifelong friend SHIRLEY J. TUDOR. I am blessed to have so many thoughtful and wonderful school friends. Thank you, one and all!

We have a few changes with some of our alumni, who have already been mentioned, by the way. Our computer wizard, Nancy Ertel, has recently moved from her home in Bonner Springs, Kansas, and gone to nearby lovely Shawnee, Kansas, a city which I've previously visited, I might add. Also, our RV travelers, Jerry & Becky Fuller, have hit the road for the year, and will be criss-crossing the eastern half of the U.S., between here and Ohio, for the next several months. My good friend, PATRICIA LYNNETTE GARRETT, Class of 1961, has established one more household with husband Frank L. Hawvermale, out in Las Vegas, Nevada. They have a lovely new home there, just purchased in December, and they also still have their great place in Germantown, Ohio. After many attempts to reach Lynn, I finally got a message from Paul Beardsley, in which he told me how to reach her and where she was. Thanks, Paul. I do very much appreciate that! Also moving to a different locale was DARELL L. TOBIAS, Class of 1957. He has now relocated to North Carolina, and he also went up to Ohio to spend Easter and then return to his new home, with his mother. We're hoping to see him this weekend, as we did last year, but prospects to do not look good. If any of you need to reach any of the people mentioned here, who have moved, please let me know. I have all the updated info, in order to put you in touch.

By now, you've all seen the great photo of Rich Call's new toy. Isn't that just great? I wrote back and told him that he and Jean should drive that to the Frisch's Frolic on October 7. I hope they do. Also, I got a wonderful, new photo from Darell, of his gorgeous Harley-Davidson, which is totally customized. It is just beautiful! We've all got to keep those toys moving, so that they keep US moving, don't we?

So many of you expressed deep regrets about the death of 1957's BARBARA WEIDNER, as originally reported by her 1957 classmate, THERESA M. MOSES and spouse THOMAS D. ELLIOTT. Hers was such a well-known WC name. I feel diminished each time I hear of yet one more WC passing, as I'm sure we all do. At that time, I also heard from 1957's BERTHA JAN HOERNER. We sure do hope to see you this fall, Bertha, if not this weekend, okay? My dear Sociology teacher, JAMES C. JOHNSON, was kind enough to write and let me know of the death of my elementary teacher, WINSTON GRESS. I'm sure many of my fellow classmates remember Mr. Gress. Each time I get these reports, it only reinforces my resolve to get to every WC function, which I can possibly attend. We just never know. Thanks, Mr. J.!

Yet one more of our high school teachers checked in this time. It was none other than the indefatigable MURL E. HUFFMAN. As most of us are well aware, Mr. H. has been "keeping company" with MARJORIE BOGAN, widow of yet another WC teacher, DONALD C. BOGAN. Mr. H. and Mrs. B. had planned to attend WC Florida Spring Fest this weekend. However, Mrs. B. has been struck down by the flu bug, so they won't be coming to Florida until she is totally recovered. We all hope you're doing well or at least a lot better, Mrs. B. I know I can speak for us all, when I write that we wish you both the very best and will sorely miss you at the weekend function.

Things have been pretty lively at my house, what with all my houseguests, the most recent of whom was 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, who arrived from his home in Miamisburg in order to attend Spring Fest, visit with another 1958-er, RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, and also to visit his brother. Bruce spent a couple of days with us and is likely currently at Tom's house. I'll be seeing him again tonight, I'm sure. He and Tom are probably trying to get in a few rounds of golf. Tom had tried to put together an outing for this weekend, he wrote me, but didn't get as rousing a response as he'd have liked. So he skipped it for this year, but I'm sure he'll try again, come next year. Tom and his wife will be at Spring Fest, and perhaps some more of his family. Great!

Also confirming attendance for this year was 1959's JAMES L. LINDSEY. Jim wrote that he will be bringing along his wife, Teresa, and his daughter, Jamie. We'll be looking for all of you, Jim, and we're all thrilled that you'll be there this year. Jim lives in Brandon, Florida.

Bruce made some efforts of late, to contact 1960's THOMAS D. YOUNG, who just signed on recently to the Classmates.com website. So far, he reports, there has been no response. Tom, as many of us will recall, was the vice-president of our class, very popular in school, and also quite a golfer, way back then. We'll see if anyone hears from him.

There was contact from 1958's NICHOLAS P. WOLARY and I guess you now think I'm nuts, Nick. You see, folks, I was trying to ask Nick a question about something and I somehow managed to cross up Wright State University with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. What? You say there's no similarity? Well, that's what Nick said, too. He works there, at the base. So does DONNA GENE TUDOR, 1955, who wrote to thank me for her birthday card. Donna's birthday is in March, too!

We just HAVE to find a way to get our little gatherings more "a-MAYS-ed," I feel. Don't you agree? It is my understanding that we currently (on this date) have at least two of the Mays brothers, CARL R., 1955, and DOUGLAS M., 1964, visiting in nearby Apopka, Florida. I seem to recall that J. DAVID, 1960, visits that same area about this time of year, too. In addition to that, it just so happens that 1957's GARY D. MAYS and his spouse, homecoming queen/cheerleader, DONNA G. BOWIE, live right around the corner in DeLand, Florida. So we must all work on encouraging our "WC Royal Family" to join us at our functions.

These well-founded rumors came to me, by the way, from none other than 196O's GARY L. WARLAUMONT, with whom I had dinner on Wednesday evening, along with my spouse and Bruce. Let's all pull for Gary's mom to get better, by the way. He says she's mean as a snake and will be 87 on April 15. She wanted him to get back home (he's an only child) and so he may not be able to stay for Spring Fest. Gary's wife, Jill, wasn't up to par that evening, So Jill, we hope you're doing better by now, too!

Cousin JUDITH L. SAMUELS, 1961, is likely to join us this year. She has asked for all the dates and directions, so I'm holding out hopes. She has been doing a lot of night-spending and traveling, too. She and husband Bill have also recently purchased a 32' motorhome and are doing some cowboying around in it. So I've got a feeling we'll be seeing them.

PHILIP H. WOLFORD, 1960, if your ears were ringing during the past month, it was with good cause. You see, I read your wonderful gift subscription magazine when it arrives each time (it's called Reminisce), and it's just such a great magazine, I can't toss it after only a single reading. So I pack it up and send it to Mike & Sally West in Tennessee and they also enjoy it. Then, they take all of them to the sitting area of the local senior care center, where I'm sure they are thoroughly perused, once again. So your gift is going to great use, Phil!

Our Spring Fest hostess, 1960's JOANN K. STEMLEY, and I, have been keeping up pretty steady exchanges, discussing the event and the numbers of attendees and the options we may have for next year, in the event that she and Ron DO sell their condo at that very centrally- located area. We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, though, and proceed from there.

Several of you have asked me about the postal mailing list. There are 14 WC folks to whom I mail all of these bulletins, about 3-5 times per year, dependent upon the frequency and length of the bulletins. They are SHARON LYNN BORGER, AARON COUCH, DEVONA TAYLOR, RICHARD C. HENSLEY, CHARLES A. HIGH, JR., ROSS A. HODGSON, EDGAR L. KELLY, EMERSON D. LUCAS, JR., EVELYN J. HOLLINGER, NORMA LEE POPE, LARRY G. RING, WILLIAM M. ROHLER, and BEVERLY A. BOWMAN. If any of you need to reach any of them, please notify me and we'll go from there. I know these names do not appear on the e-mail list, as none of them HAVE e-mail. But if any of YOU are aware of an e-mail address for any of them, please DO let me know. I will very much appreciate it. We also have contact for CHARLES A. "BUDDY' LOWMAN III, who has access to bulletins through fellow alumni.

Of late, I have spoken with both ROBERT W. BRANE and GARY R. FRANK, both 1961. They, too, have given confirmation of their attendance at Spring Fest this year. I know our attendees will fluctuate and vary, each year, depending upon circumstances and health, but I always hope that, once a WC-er has attended one, they'll see how much fun it is, and always return.

To my utter heartbreak, it looks as though we may not have NANCY E. "COOKIE" BOWIE, after all, this year. She tells me that she took several trips earlier and is just so exhausted, she doesn't feel she can make another trip quite this soon. I can always hope for you to walk through that door at the last minute, though, Cookie! We will all TERRIBLY miss you!! You added such fun and warmth and humor to the gathering last year! So if you miss it this year, we'll forgive you, but that's IT! You don't get off the hook, EVER again, hear? It won't be the same without you. By the way, folks, Cookie will call me, when she DOES come to Florida. She and I will be having a little one-on-one visit, so I'm happy for that.

On another note, I got a query from THOMAS L. WOLF, JR., re the locale and date. Are you and your gracious spouse, Susan, going to surprise us, Tom? If you did, we would surely love it. I can only hope! From 1958's HARRIETTE E. DOGGETT came a long e-mail, which I was thrilled to receive. You haven't checked in for WAY too long, Harriette! The good news is, Harriette is doing well at her Vilonia, Arkansas, home. The bad news is, she is caring for ill family members who include her mother (age 82 and Alzheimer's disease). We're all pulling for you, Harriette! Stay in touch and let's hope all the problems will amiably resolve, so that you will once again be able to join us in October. It was just wonderful to see you in 2003. Everyone enjoyed your being there and we want you back again!

There isn't much good news right now for 1971's RODNEY R. GABBARD. He is plagued with severe back problems and will have to have a series of three surgeries. The first one will be on April 22, he reports. We all send good thoughts and best wishes, Rod, and we hope you're 100% up to par, very soon. Please do keep us posted, as you're able.

Our "fun pair" will also be at Spring Fest. You don't know who that is? Well, of course, it's 1961's PAULA ROSE WILSON and DONNA JEAN RICHARDS! Who else COULD it be, after all? Well, there are actually lots of them, but I know those two will actually be there, so we're all looking forward to seeing you both. How about you, SALLY LYNNE GILLETTE? You're going to have to get down here, that's all there is to it. By the way, folks, did you happen to get Sally's transmittal of what she called, "Awesome Photos?" Well, they really were, I can tell you that much for sure. We'd also like to see you, EDNA L. GRAY, and you, JANET L. CHANDLER, and you, LYNN GARRETT, and you, BARBARA O'NEAL!! That 1961- 1962 bunch is just too much fun!

SHIRLEY SUE MILLER, 1960, checked in during this bulletin period. Shirley gave me her vital info of her postal address and how many children (she reared 6 of them, by the way) and I have to tell you, Shirley, you have a "groupie" who thinks you're the most gorgeous creature on God's green earth. Write me an e-mail, will you? You are "worshipped from afar," believe me! We all hope you're doing well and that we will be seeing you in the fall.

On a disappointing note, I must report that a big favorite of all us WC folks, DELORES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY, will not be at Spring Fest this year. Dede wrote that her dad, 1933's A. EMERSON FAHRNEY, has come and gone, during March. Her 1958 brother, RICHARD A. FAHRNEY, is also unavailable. But they'll all hopefully be back with us next year. Dede's nephew is visiting during the Spring Fest Weekend, too. She has also decided to retire, effective April 29, she reports. She and 3 of her friends are planning to kick around the country in an RV for a while. Way to go, Dede! Have a great time and stay safe out there. Our 1950s world is forever gone now. Do keep us posted on where you are and how you're doing. We surely hope to see you in October!

If anyone can help me with this one, please do so. Every piece of e-mail I've sent to 1959's SANDRA RAE KINNEY, has been returned, ever since the untimely death of her 1958 spouse, DAVID LEE MICHAEL. Does anyone know if she has a new e-mail address or if she's just in a state where she doesn't wish to have any contact right now? I do hope she's okay.

Recently, I located GLADYS N. COUCH, through her brother, AARON. I had a 1957 photo of Gladys and her best high school pal, LINDA HALL. I wanted to be sure to return it to her, which I have done. She lives in Tampa, Florida, and her last name is now Walsingham. Has anyone out there yet managed to locate 1958's LENA GRACE DEBORD? I feel very certain that Harriette still wants to find her, so if you hear anything, please let me know.

Always liking to close on a pleasant note, I will tell all of you that I'm departing Florida about the 10th, I'd say. I'll be heading for Colorado to visit my older daughter and 3 grandsons who live in Colorado Springs. Since they all just despise it there, I'm hoping for their return, and they are taking steps in that direction. But for now, they're still there. I'll be there for the youngest boy's 8th birthday. On my departure from Colorado, I'm heading straight for the home of EULA FAYE BAILEY in Overland Park, Kansas, where we will kibitz and solve all the world's problems for a couple of days. If we get really lucky---and rumor has it, we will--- we will be fetching our good pal, Bruce, from the nearby Kansas City airport and he will spend some time with us, too. It's a respite, which I'm very giddily anticipating.

This evening, I'll be carousing with WC friends at the Orlando Ale House and tomorrow, we'll all be sharing a good time at the Windhover Condominium Clubhouse, which is practically across the street. My wish would be to see ALL of you there! In the meantime, I leave you 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 @ 10:00 AM