WECATON NEWS REPORT - 10 NOV 2006:

Okay, it's time to rock and roll! Do I have time for this or not? Well, it's of no consequence because I'm going to MAKE time. In the morning, my house goes on the market, officially. I'm also on a press deadline for 3-4 other publications and periodicals, am also returning to work for the newspaper on October 18, am madly packing my life away in boxes (anticipating a move), will show my house during the coming 10 days, and praying a lot! So here we are again. In life, it's generally been my observation that when people say don't have time to do something, what they really mean is, "That's something I don't want to do." I find that if someone really wants to do something, they will find the time. I want to do this report, so I'm going to find the time!

Before getting to the alumni weekend portions of the report (which may wind up being a part two or even a part three), I'm going to go through my file, listing the senders of forwarded materials, usual. They include teacher MURL E. HUFFMAN and teacher DAVID E. COLLINS ; 1954's WILLIAM L. MCNABB;1955's DONNA G. TUDOR,NORMAN E. JACKSON,FREDA P. FLETCHER, CAROLE JUNE TEWELL; 1957's DARELL L. TOBIAS,THERESA M. MOSES, THOS. D. ELLIOTT, ERCELL P. PHILLIPS; 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, ROBERT. W. "SMITTY" SMITH, WM. R.HOWARD, JAMES E. KECKLER,LINDA L. BECKETT,BRUCE K.COPSEY; 1959's GARY E. BARNES, BETSY R. MURPHY, JAMES L. LINDSAY;1960 's FRED L. DOOLEY, J. DAVID MAYS, THOMAS L. WOLF, JR., RICHARD S. HOLT, EULA FAYE BAILEY, DAVID G. OTT, LINDA JANE SNELL, LONNIE M. THACKER, C. SUE MCCLOUD, DAVID A BLAIR, STEVEN M. KOKOT, JUDITH L. SAMUELS, DAVID A. BLAIR, DELORES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY, JUDITH A. SLIFE, 1961's LARRY D. GILBERT, CHRIS L. CLEARY, RICHARD E. KNEER, SALLY L. GILLETTE, NANCY J. ERTEL, SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, CAROL A. MUMMA, JANET L. WALTERS, SANDRA L.BROCK, PAUL R. BEARDSLEY, MARIVIN COLLINS, BARB-ARA J. TURNINGTON, JACQUELYN N. LESHER, JOHN L. MONTGOMERY, SHARON KAYE WENDEL -KEN, P. LYNNETTE GARRETT, DALLAS K. MATHIS; 1962 's JUDY L. JAMES, BARBARA T. O'NEAL, RICHARD C. CALL; 1970's THOMAS A. DORSEY; 1971's PAMELA K. SHIPLEY, and 1979's SHARLENE N. MERKER. Please forgive me and remind me, if you think you were in this group and I omitted you. I also heard from Martha E. Craig, who is the widow of 1960's RONALD P. CRAIG. She report-ed that she speaks to Ron's WC best buddy, 1960's CHARLES A. HIGH, JR., about once each week. It was 6 years on September 18 when Ron died.

Since returning from alumni weekend, I've been just swamped with "catch-up" things, and trying to sell my house has not been the least among them. As we are all aware, it's a truly lousy market right now, so it will be no walk in the park to get mine sold. I'm not in a rush, but do like one particular property in Oneida, Tennessee, and don't want it to get away. Perhaps I'll be lucky, who knows? I actually did get an offer on it on Halloween night, from a couple who were walking through my neighborhood, trick-or-treating with their daughter. They toured the house and loved it. But I'm unsure as to whether or not they really have any cash with which to buy. On the upside, they did call back to ask a lot of questions and say they're really and truly interested. So we'll see.

During this past bulletin period, I've spent lots of time with cousin, JUDITH L. SAMUELS. She and spouse, Bill, had quite a garage sale at the end of September and were kind enough to let me share their space, in order to get rid of some of my own items. I was very pleased with that and made about $450, altogether. I also got rid of a lot of stuff which I would never used again, in my entire life, probably. So that worked out very well.

Another party with whom I had a lot of contact during the early part of this bulletin period, was fellow Miami Shores Kid, 1955's FREDA P. FLETCHER. We seem to go in spurts, Freda and I. We'll have days of extensive exchanges and then go for a week or two without any news. But things were resumed during the past week and Freda brought me up to date on her life and happenings. She's doing well.

Then, of course, there is also classmate, MICHAEL S. WEST, and we seem to be in constant contact, with a steady stream of exchanges. Mike, I can't wait until I can get geographically nearer and we'll be visiting a lot more often, then. I wish I'd thought of this, years ago, to be quite frank. Mike has been filling me in on the wonders of life in Tennessee, as well as providing me with a wealth of information in every category. He and Sally are both, "veteran Ridgerunners." now that they have lived there for about 11 years. I'm hanging on every word, of course, as I want to know all I can, prior to going up there to live.

Many thanks to 1958's WILLIAM R. HOWARD for the mementos from Woody's Market, which he sent to me in the mail. I've added them to my collection of WC memorabilia. I appreciate that, Bill.

Another alumnus who maintains great contact is 1961 's NANCY J. ERTEL. We may not be able to get you out of Kansas, Nancy, but you sure earn the award for keeping us posted. I hope you DO plan to be there in 2011, though, for your 50th. Surely, you will leave Kansas for that one, won't you? By the way, Nancy would like to know what happened to 1964's DAVID ROSENBERGER, who was classmates with her younger brother. We await your answers! Nancy has also delivered a, "new recruit," in the person of 1961's NANCY ANN HALL. So welcome aboard to yet another Nancy. Be sure to write us, New Nancy, and tell us all about your life!

Speaking of new recruits, you'd all better sit down and brace yourselves for this one. After years of cajoling and nagging and begging and pleading, guess who's finally online with us? It's none other than SHIRLEY JAY TUDOR, Class of 1960. Now, I grant you, she's not checking her e-mail twice a day yet, as many of us tend to do, but hey, she's there. I might also add that she has the snazziest of PC set-ups with a state-of-the-art desk and when you walk in that room, it would appear that she is a technological genius with whom to reckon! So welcome aboard, Shirley, and I'm just thrilled to have an e-mail address for YOU!

There's even more news from the Tudor girls, though. On October 21, Shirley flew to Massachusetts for the wedding of her nephew, Benny, son of Shirley's late sister, DEANA C. TUDOR, Class of 1957. She was accompanied by her son, WILLIAM MERKER, who I think is the Class of 1981.

Also checking in with Tudor news is 1955's DONNA G. TUDOR, who has all sorts of big announcements. But before we get to that, I want to tell all of you of the sad news that Donna's husband of over 50 years, Rod Johnson, passed away on October 5. I know we all extend sincerest condolences to Donna upon this very sad occasion. She is doing well, she writes, and remains in her home in Xenia. Effective December 31, Donna will be retiring from her longtime position with WPAFB. Congratulations, Donna, and enjoy your retirement!

Also check in with news on the job front was none other than W. THOMAS GODBY, Class of 1964. As many of you know, Tom and I share a mutual love of Harley-Davidsons. It seems Tom has received a big promotion in his position with Bill Heard Chevrolet and has taken a transfer to Las Vegas, Nevada. He writes that he and Cynthia plan to keep their home in Florida, at least for the time being. Tom wanted to be sure he would continue to be included in the bulletin list. Not to worry, Tom, you can count on it, and good luck in your new place and with your new position.

We have lost ("track of" - ed) 1989's CARIN LEANN CAMPBELL, as her e-mail keeps being returned. Does anyone have a new address for her? Many of you will recall Carin as the daughter of the late BARBARA LEE HECKER of the 1961 class. Speaking of lost people, where are you, 1957's BERTHA JAN HOERNER? Why am I getting returned e-mail from your server? Please do update me, if you get this. On a similar note, there is someone among you who wrote me with a brand-new e-mail address for the long-lost MILTON R. WOLFE of 1960. Please regale me with that information one more time. I've searched high and low and I fear I've inadvertently deleted it. I apologize for the error, but I do wish to get Milton back on board. Thank you.

Also lost in the cyberhighway shuffle is Class of 1958 's KEITH E. ANDERSON (or is he 1959?), but in any case, everything I send to him gets returned, telling me he's on vacation. It's been that way for months, so if anyone knows how to do so, please try to find out what's happening there. I'm getting returns from 1958's SARAH MARIE "JACKIE" MASON, too. I'm assuming this will all resolve, over time.

It seems that 1961's SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH is a former Tennessee resident and she told me a bit about living there. She liked it. I think I will, too, and thanks for the nice card, Sande.

Also keeping me well-posted on her activities was 1963's SHIRLEY ANN RANKIN. Shirley is another Tennessee resident who's happy with where she is living. I may wind up not that far from you, Shirley! She and I have been also doing a lot of exchanges about the state of Tennessee. Another cordial message of welcome to my new state also came from a recent Tennessee transplant, NICHOLAS P. WOLARY, 1958, as he and his wife Marilyn moved to the city of Sevierville. I hope to see you soon, Nick! Your good wishes were echoed by 1961's JUDY M. FRANTZ, and by 1962's SUE LAYNE SPEELMAN. From 1959 class member, DIANA SUE RAY, came an e-mail in which she told me I'll love Tennessee. She has lived in Morrisotwn for the past 30 years. How great it is to get all these messages of encouragement.

In other Tennessee news, I've firmly decided to use as my insurance agent when I move, a fellow WCHS-er and Miami Shores Kid, 1958's DONALD I. MCCOY. As it happens, Don is the proprietor of Insurance Store of Ohio in Middletown and is licensed to insure in several states. I'll take a Miami Shores Kid any old time, as opposed to Allstate, State Farm, or any big companies. They happen to be a part of the reason I feel, "run out of Florida." In fact, Don and I had a long, windy conversation on November 4, regarding WC, Miami Shores, and a little business, too. He's still in hopes he will hook up with RICHARD L. SCHINDLER and P. LYNNETTE GARRETT, among many other of the WC alumni, and he assured me that he will be at our alumni weekend in 2007.

Speaking of Lynn, we haven't talked as much as we normally do. That's my fault, I'm afraid. I've just been so overwhelmed with all of this, I don't know which end is up, I guess. But I do hope to change that, soon. She reported that 1961's COLIN KELLEY suffered a heart attack on September 10. We all hope you're doing okay, Colin!

It's also been longer than normal since I have spoken with my pal, 1960's EULA FAYE BAILEY, although we very seldom allow more than about two weeks to pass until one of us calls the other. We'll catch up!

Several blips appeared from Class of 1959's JAMES L. LINDSEY. I know a couple of you had asked me about Jim and where he's been. He's alive and well and still living in Brandon, Florida. Jim wants to make contact with WALLACE W. ROBBINS. So if you're reading this, Wallace, be sure to contact Jim. He says the number he has for you is no longer working. I'm wondering about you, too. Hang in there, Jim, and we'll try to get some info on him for you. He wasn't at alumni weekend (Wallace, I mean) although he'd told me he would be. So if any of you have any further scoop, do let me know.

Almost inadvertently, I heard from 1959's SANDRA RAE KINNEY. She mis-sent an e-mail to me, which had been intended for someone else. But that's okay, as I now know she's out there. How are you doing, Sandy? We'd love to hear from you! Sandy's brother -in-law, 1956's DENNIS A. M ICHAEL, reported that he and his wife have installed new living quarters on their land, having opted to demolish their existing home and install a 1650-sq.-ft. manufactured home. So we hope you love your new place, Dennis!

Ever the wonderful correspondent, I always hear lots of words of praIse from 1959's GARY E. BARNES, who always gives me way too much credit for way too many things. Thanks you so much, Gary. Your kind words are always so appreciated.

The word on the street is that our teacher, MURL E. HUFFMAN, was spotted hanging around in the city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, quite recently. It is said that he was dining and "holding court," as only he can do, with a few WC people, and that he was in the company of his charming companion, Marge Bogan. He's GREAT about maintaining contact, by the way, and giving me fodder for the bulletins. I don't believe he will mind my telling you all that he will be 88 on Decmeber 19! Isn't that remarkable and wonderful?

There was a quick note from 1960's MADELEINE D. CAMPBELL, who wanted to make contact with 1960 classmate, THOMAS L. WOLF, JR., and wife Susan. I'm always happy to know about it when we're all trying to make contact with each other. That's great!

What an exciting day it was when I received the e-mail in which I learned that 1964's KARL R. BURRUS had just become the grandfather of triplet boys! Can you even imagine how excited Karl and his wife are? It's got to be the thrill of a lifetime. Congratulations to you and your family, Karl. What fun you're going to have! I believe our computer guru expert,1960's MICHAEL S. WEST, posted those photos on his website for all of us to see.

By the way, folks, the America Online pest has come calling again! IF you are an AOL subscriber, you just MUST put me on your list of approved senders. This is becoming a major and time-consuming problem and the inconvenience is falling directly to my right- hand assistant with these bulletins, Mike West. Each time I send to an AOL user, it's returned. Then I have to have Mike forward it to each of you. PUT ME ON YOUR APPROVED SENDERS' LIST NOW!!! As the list continues to grow, it's going to be impossible for Mike and I to continue to do this. AOL is one service provider who takes it upon themselves to screen all of their subscribers' e-mail, whether or not you ask them to do so. The problem can be alleviated immediately, if you just put me on your approved senders list. So please do it, and thank you.

Many thanks to 1955's NORMAN E. JACKSON for sending me the photos he took of me, at the alumni gig. I appreciate that, Norm, and I hope you and Nancy are both doing well. We'll have more on that, a little later.

We've had a couple of changes on e-mail addresses. Among those are 1960's EULA FAYE BAILEY and 1958's RICHARD LEE JOHNSON. Many thanks to these two folks for keeping me informed. It's pretty tough to keep you all on the list if you change that address and don't notify me.

Delightfully, I also heard from 1958's HARRIETTE E. DOGGETT, during this latest period of time. As you may recall, Harriette's mother died recently and she came back to Ohio for her funeral. While there, she and her husband spent time with her former brother-in-law, 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, who was once married to my dear friend and fellow 1960 grad, the late W. SUSAN DOGGETT, Harriette's sister. She reported that they had a wonderful time. But her husband, Danny, is currently ill and Harriette is caring for him, of course. Please convey our best wishes to him, Harriette. We all hope he's doing well by now.

Sadly, we've had a report from 1971's RODNEY R. GABBARD that his health problems continue to get worse. He also reported that the people he tried to help, several months ago, lost their home, after all. I know we're all sorry to hear of your health problems, Rod, and we wish you the best. We're also sorry to hear of the misfortune of your friends.I do so wish it could have all worked out differently.

That brand-new married couple, 1960's CHARLES A. "BUD" LOWMAN III and 1961's SALLY LYNNE GILLETTE, are doing well and going great guns. I know we all wish them both the very best and many years of happiness. Come to think of it, I haven't heard from you two in a while. Just exactly how are you spending all your time? Hmmmmm! Sally wrote that they intend to do some house-hunting. How is that coming along?

Well, I've danced around the unpleasantness as long as I can, I suppose. Yes, we had some losses this time. Don't we, always? MARY JO CONDON sent a report of her moather's passing, 1935's PAULINE E. GRESSBACH. Many thanks for that, Mary Jo. By the way, she found an original 1916 WeCaTon and she is sending it to me. I'm SO thrilled!

Sue Speelman, by the way, also reported that brother GEORGE SAMUEL SPEELMAN, JR., 1959, was laid to rest on July 7, 2006, by his parents and grand- parents. I believe Sam died last December.

We also lost 1961's MARTHA LOUISE NOGGLE on September 22. Thanks to her classmate, CAROL A. MUMMA, for submitting this. We also lost 1957's LLOYD E. HAMMOND recently. A 1954 grad, JO ANNE MCCLURE, expressed regrets for his loss.The original news about Lloyd came to me from 1957 's THERESA M. MOSES, who told me she'd been informed by LOIS KOKOT. So thanks to everyone for that joint effort, in getting the word out to us all.

It embarrasses me to confess that I got no less than two e-mail from 1958's K. JUNE CRUTCHFIELD, in which she had to remind ME to submit my check for the alumni gig! Thanks, June. June is married to her classmate, JAMES E. RICHARDSON, and they both toil mightily to bring this together every year, as do all the alumni officers. So thanks to all of you!

To my utter amazement, I recently learned that 1960 classmate, THOMAS L. WOLF, JR., and wife Susan, have lived for 37 years right next door to people I've known since I was just 4 years old. What a truly small world it is!

As she always does, 1961's EDNA L. GRAY sent in a great travel report on her latest travel adventure with spouse, Richard M. Ryan. They visited Dick's sister, who lives in Colorado, and they took the time to, "stop and smell the roses," as they ambled back across to Ohio. In this case, however, it was more cattle than roses, so draw your own conclusions. I love reading about your endless travels, Edna! Keep 'em comin'! By the way, I can report that Edna and I are in total agreement about the appearance of the state of New Mexico, overall. (It's just plain FUGLY!) But to each his own.

Another great travelogue writer is none other than the spouse of 1960's GERALD A. FULLER, Becky, who is now an honorary WC-er, as most of you may recall.
Jerry and Becky are out there roaming across the U.S. in their RV and having a great time doing it. I can not think of any WC function they ever miss, no matter where it's held! What a great example they set for us all! You two sure do set the bar high. Keep up the good work.

Coming back to our WC circle after a long, 36-year absence is none other than 1960's THOMAS D. YOUNG, as you all now know. Tom was our class vice-president, an outstanding golfer, and one of the most popular members of our class. I'm thrilled to tell you that I now hear from him on a regular basis and I am just elated to also tell you that his wife, Sandi, who is my dear and close friend of 38 years (even though we had been out of contact for some of those) is also in regular contact now. She always served to keep me very grounded and entertained. I'm happy to report that she still does! We'll have more later on them and what they've been doing.

Also added to our list is 1956's ANITA RAE MASON, and she looks positively smashing! I guess it must run in the family because her younger sister, SARAH M. "JACKIE" MASON, also looks wonderful. In our youth, both of them and me and my sister lived right across a field from each other. They, too, are Miami Shores Kids. We spent a ton of time together. Being able to be in contact with them again has been great for me. I've always wondered where they were and how they are. Now, I know!

A warm and wonderful message came in from 1956's J. DEANNA CHRISTIE, telling me how much she likes the bulletins and thanking me for writing them. Well, thank YOU, Deanna, for reading them. I'm very, very flattered by your compliments.

After a long absence from the WC fold, we now have 1960's DAVID G. OTT and also his 1962 spouse, SANDRA A. MINIX. The Otts live in Florida and are making efforts now to come back into the WC circle and enjoy the company of all the great folks with whom we were all privileged to enjoy school. Speak- ing of people named Ott, I'm continually receiving rejection messages from Dave's brother, DOUGLAS OTT, Class of 1964, I believe it is. However, Dave assures me that Doug is getting my transmittals. How about sending me a direct e-mail, Doug, so that we can see if we can figure out the mystery here? Am I on your approved senders' list, by the way?

The search was on for 1954's JOHN MCCOY! His classmate, WILLIAM L. MCNABB, wanted to find him. Sharp-eyed Bill read the name of John's brother in the bulletin, DONALD I. MCCOY, and we were able to connect Don and Bill. I believe Don gave Bill the e- mail address for John and hopefully they'll soon make contact. Another classmate found! That's what it's all about, isn't it?

Now don't panic about this one, folks! Our classmate of 1960, WILLIAM O. WALKER, was experiencing a heart problem in mid-September.However, I'm happy to report that Bill is up and runnin' and doing great. I thank his spouse, WC-honorary alumnus, Karen, for letting us all know about this. The Walkers remain in their RV, traveling those highways and byways and working here and there. They're great about updates (or should I say Karen is?) Anyway, we're all thrilled you're okay, Bill!

DONNA J. RICHARDS, Class of 1961, and I continue to effectively solve all the world's problems, in just a few exchanges of carefully-worded e-mails. We just don't understand why the world leaders seem to have all these traumas and crises! We'll keep at it.

Okay, folks, that pretty well wraps it up for this edition. I have people coming to view my house, I have two offers on it (and don't have a clue if either of them has two nickels to rub together. You know how that goes.) I'm in the early stages of prepping my Thanksgiving dinner items and, as usual, have about 18 irons in the fire, at once. My next bulletin is going to bring us up to date on alumni weekend, and you're going to have to give me a bit of time on that one, I think. We'll see how it goes. I leave all of you with my fondest wish for glowing health, great happiness, peaceful serenity, spiritual harmony, and boundless prosperity. Ciao!

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



- posted by Mikey @ 11:01 PM