WE*CA*TON NEWS REPORT !!! --
How long has it been? I've actually lost track of time. I have my two grandsons here (8 1/2, 13 1/2) and they are really putting me through my paces. I've discovered I'm WAY too old for this, but can't find any way to avoid it, at this point. So I'm just trying to roll with the punches.

Has anyone been able to get an e-mail update on 1960's MILTON R. WOLFE or JUDY ANN SHOCKLEY? I've also still lost 1964's BRENDA ASHLEY TAYLOR. I think we're now okay with 1958's JAMES E. KECKLER and with 1962's RICHARD C. CALL. But we need to track down new info on those first three. If you can help, please let me know. I'm no longer getting returns on 1961's GARY R. FRANK nor ROBERT W. BRANE, either, so those must have rectified themselves.

Checking in during this period with the usual array of forwarded materials were 1954's WILLIAM L. MCNABB; 1958'S LINDA L. BECKETT, WILLIAM R. HOWARD, BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, SANDRA L. BARSALOU, RONALD D. "TOM" FEE. ROBERT W. "SMITTY" SMITH; 1959's GARY E. BARNES; 1960's MICHAEL S. WEST, LINDA L. SHANK, JUDITH A. STALDER, STEVEN M. KOKOT; 1961's PAUL R. BEARDSLEY, SANDRA L. BROCK, SALLY LYNNE GILLETTE, JOHN LEE MONTGOMERY; 1962's JUDY LYNN JAMES, RICHARD C. CALL, BARBARA T. O'NEAL; 1971's PAMELA K. SHIPLEY. So we know that all of those people are, "up and runnin'!"

In view of that, I guess I might as well get the bad news out of the way early. You're all probably already aware of another loss for our 1955-ers. As reported by DONNA GENE TUDOR, we have lost DUANE LEE SNYDER, who was apparently a teacher at two of the area high schools. He was living in Centerville and passed away this past weekend. Donna did not give a specific date nor cause of death. I'm sure many of you are already aware of that information, though. I believe this makes our third one for June. So far, May was the most horrid month we had, with six reported deaths. Thanks for the report, Donna. We need to stay abreast of such news items, that's for sure.

To my best knowledge, 1959's RICHARD C. HENSLEY remains ill and hospitalized. I've had no recent updates on his condition, but am relatively sure that his fellow classmate, GARY E. BARNES, would let us know, if there were any significant change. Gary has recently reconnected with old pal, 1963's RONALD E. LINK. He said they rehashed old times and had a good telephone visit. Great! That's what we ALL need to be doing, as the opportunities arise.

During the past month or so, that opportunity knocked for me, more than once. I had a long and windy chat with 1960's EDGAR L. "EDDIE" KELLY, from his new home in Nampa, Idaho. I love talking to Eddie. We always have great chats. I also talked with my cherished friend, BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, as well as my wonderful and trusted friend, EULA FAYE BAILEY, also of 1960.

Eula Faye is likely in Ohio right now, visiting her mother and maybe even having supper with Bruce. Eddie is still recovering from the rigors of moving, but he's doing well. He spoke of old pals, AARON COUCH, RICH CALL, and WILLIAM M. "BILL" ROHLER. He said he wants to see them all again.

Just last week, I had a visit from GERALD A. FULLER, one of my oldest and dearest friends in the world. He and wife Becky were on the way to Orlando for a reunion with Jerry's military football team and they worked me into their schedule. Becky described herself and my husband, Gil, as being, "West Carrollton-challenged." Ha! What a kick I got out of that one. But I suppose it's true. My driveway sports a red and black bell and just below it is hanging a red and black banner, which depicts a pirate. Okay, okay, I know! Anyway, the Fullers are safely back in their, "Old Kentucky Home," now, and report they had a wonderful time in Orlando.

TOM FEE got a year older last month! How about that? Let's be thrilled with our birthdays, folks, no matter HOW many they are! Just think of the alternative, and we've had quite enough of THAT!

PAM SHIPLEY and I had a couple of fun exchanges on the e-mail, with our reminiscences of several of WC's teachers. They included DAVID COLLINS, PHILLIP HUBBARD, GERTRUDE WERNER, and MARTHA H. DEAN. The repartee on the male teachers was very upbeat and complimentary. I don't think I'll delve into the exchange on Miss Dean or Mrs. Werner, though. Enough said! In an interesting side note, the son of Mr. Hubbard used to work for 1958's Bill Howard. Small world! We'll talk more later, Pam!

Guess what? We've got 1955's FREDA FLETCHER on our list now!! Welcome aboard, Freda! We didn't know each other well in school. But Freda and I both went to the same church for many years and I vividly recalled her from church. Freda and I had numerous exchanges, as we revisited a lot of old memories, classmates, places we both knew, etc. So I look very much forward to seeing you again, Freda, come October. My sister (1956's JUDY ANN RISNER) also is anxiously awaiting seeing Freda. So don't disappoint us, Freda! Like a couple of others, Freda also subscribes to the Class of 1954, even though her actual year of graduation was 1955. She says she just had one or two credits to go, and that's why she wasn't in the 1954 class. That's okay, Freda. You can belong to two classes or three classes or whatever you want, just so long as you attend the annual gig, okay?

From 1960's THOMAS L. WOLFE, JR., came a report that it may be a bit, until the sacred building is razed which housed Woody's Supermarket. Tom says they're working on grant money. He reminded me that many an alumni gathering had been held at the now-defunct Imperial House Motel, too. He says Interstate Ford is going to move to that location. I guess the only thing which is constant, IS change, isn't it? Both Bill Howard and Gary Barnes assure me that they'll be there to get me "a piece of the action," once the razing begins on the Woody's building. Not to worry, guys, Bruce Chenoweth has assured me he'll find a way to bail you out, should the worst occur. Now, you know that's comforting, right?

So let's check in on our, "traveling alumni," shall we? We have already covered the Fullers, of course, but we have a lot of "roam-arounders" out there, and they are going to visit some really nifty places. Among those are 1960's STEVEN M. KOKOT, and his 1962 spouse, BARBARA T. O'NEAL. The Kokots, they report, have just recently returned from a really nifty vacation trip, out west. They went to Wisconsin Dells, Mall of America, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Now, that's what I call a real vacation. Of course, I'm somewhat predisposed to that Wyoming/South Dakota area, I must admit. As an old motorcycle tramp, I've attended the Sturgis Rally & Races on 20 consecutive years (1982 through 2001) and know those two states like the back of my hand. I, too, love that part of the country!

Then there's cousin JUDITH LYNN SAMUELS, who is also doing lots of mini-trips in her RV, with spouse, Bill Van Cleef. Judy and I have concluded that it takes one full-time job these days, just to pay for groceries, fuel, health care, property taxes, and homeowners insurance. I'll bet NO one can disagree with THAT! Judy also sent in a comment on the new hometown of Eddie Kelly, say- ing she's actually been to Nampa, Idaho, on a big-rig run, to make a delivery. Many of you may not know this, but Judy holds a trucker's license and drove the big rigs for about 3 years. How about that?

Does anybody out there remember 1954's JO ANNE McCLURE? Well, let's extend a big welcome to her, as she is also on our bulletin list now. Jo Anne is a realtor in Florida and if you need her services, please contact her at ( www.elistingservice.com/users/joanne/0007 )
She'll appreciate it. Jo Anne was also once a flight attendant for TWA and she has a son who lives very near to me (about 25 miles) in DeLeon Springs. We all hope to see you in October, Jo Anne. Once you attend one of the annual alumni gatherings, you'll never miss again!

From 1973's JEAN ANN MILLER came a sincere query about the illness of Rich Hensley. She called him a "dear" and wanted to know where she could send a card to her former teacher. I referred her to Gary Barnes, who successfully answered her question, I do believe. I'm sure Rich would have have been thrilled to get your card, Jean. How nice of you!

Then came a fun little exchange with 1963's DOUGLAS OTT, as I verified his name and class year, for inclusion on our list. This is something I always do, as you all know. Doug said he has no middle name. Wow, I wondered! Now, how did he get away with that one, during a time when we all got saddled with those pesky middle names? Just lucky, I guess.

Lest we should all forget, my "land baron" friend, 1961's PATRICIAL LYNNETTE GARRETT, is off and running again, too. On June 25, she hit the trail for her new home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lynn reports she'll be spending about a month there. One of her sons lives out there, too. Prior to leaving, though, Lynn reported the death of the son of Janet Lail. I remember her, do you? Her older brother was Billy Lail. The son was 46 and died on or about June 6, reported Lynn. The Lails were also Miami Shores Kids. Lynn left Frank behind, where he's working. I keep telling you NOT to do that, Lynn!! You know I have this big crush on Frank and if you keep leaving him home alone, sooner or later, I'm going to be up there while you're gone, and then, who knows WHAT may happen? But Lynn wrote that she had to take a break, after a garage sale with discouraging results. I'd never thought of it, but she wrote that e-Bay is ruining all the good, old garage sales. I guess you're right, Lynn!

Well, folks, I continually tell Lynn about my big crush on Frank. She's totally undisturbed about it, though, and even told me to come on up and take him out for supper, while she's gone. Once again, I got to thinking about what I always say to myself. It goes like this: "All my life, women have trusted me implicitly with their spouses, roommates, significant others, boyfriends, etc. Now that I'm 63 years old, it's REALLY starting to tick me off!" So there!

Also out there roaming around right now, are 1960's JUDITH A. STALDER, and spouse Jerry De Angulo. She reported that they left on June 24 and will not be returning until July 10. Judy did not say where they were going, but hey, maybe they have no particular place in mind. Sometimes, those are the best kinds of vacations to take!

Then, of course, there are those, "wandering Walkers," 1960's WILLIAM O. WALKER, and his WC-honorary spouse, KAREN MURPHY. They've packed up their former abode in Dickinson, Texas, and headed further into the Wild, Wild West. They're cruising around New Mexico and Colorado doing some off-road jeeping, attending an RV rally here and there, and visiting with old friends. We sure do hope to catch you THIS October, Bill and Karen!

From 1954's VICTOR C. NOEL came a couple of quick notes, too, in which he confirmed that he is successfully receiving our bulletins now, and also that he is happy to be on the list. Well, we're happy to have you, Vic, so be sure you join us all in October!

From 1987's SHARLENE N. MERKER, came a note of nostalgia about playing Barbie Dolls with a little girl names Lisa Thacker. Sharlene wanted to know if she might be the daughter of 1960 class president LONNIE M. THACKER. I fear I might have said yes, without much thought. However, upon reflection, I do believe Lonnie had only sons. But I'll bet it's one of his relatives.

So here we are, right on top of my least favorite holiday of all time---4th of July!! Many of you, I know, will easily remember my aversion to that one. I have the utmost respect for what it signifies, don't get me wrong. But I just hate the never-ending loud noise, all the smoke, the debris, and the danger. It's just, "not my cup of tea," in short. But all of you who DO enjoy it, please be safe and careful.

As I sit here, about to conclude this WC bulletin, I'm thinking of my "charter members" of this unexpect- edly-popular, accidental publication, which launched itself about 4 years ago. It was 3 members of the 1961 crew. They are NANCY J. ERTEL, EDNA L. GRAY, and JUDITH L. SAMUELS. Geez, who knew?

With that little tidbit, I shall encourage all of you to please be SURE to send in your news. There are an awfully lot of you, from whom I haven't heard a word, in a very long time. Please remember, without your input, there can be no WC bulletins! So I leave you all with my usual wish for glowing health, great happiness, peaceful serenity, and boundless prosperity. Ciao!
- posted by Mikey @ 2:06 PM