WE*CA*TON NEWS REPORT!! 10 SEP 2009:

Bonnie Writes:
---We're at it again, folks! Allow me to repeat myself (as you always do because you're all so tolerant with my feeble brain), and tell you I'm be -ginning this edition on August 30, have no idea if it will be completed before our weekend, and no idea if my shaky, old PC will even be up to the task. But here we go, anyway!

Of course, we begin, as always, with forwarders
: 1949's ROBT. E. HOFFMAN; 1954's FREDA P. FLETCHER; 1957's BETTY L. CARROLL, RALPH H. WARNER, THOS. D. ELLIOTT, THERESA M. MOSES; 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, WM. R. HOWARD, BRUCE E. CHENOWETH; 1960's STEVEN M. KOKOT, CHAS. A. "BUD" LOWMAN III, C. SUE MCCLOUD, DELORES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY, RICHARD S. HOLT, EULA FAYE BAILEY; 196 1's MARVIN A. COLLINS, NANCY A. HALL, SANDRA S. MAYO, CONNIE K. STREETE, JANET L. WALTERS, SALLY L. GILLETTE; 1962's BARBARA T. O'NEAL; 1964's RICKEY A. BUSCH; 1969's JACQUELINE J. CLARK.

Let's get the losses covered before we continue the other text. This time, they include someone who's a WC icon, and that's none other than the longtime owner of the Knot Hole Restaurant, Mr. BERNARD H. KOKENGE, who was 91 years old. He had the Knot Hole for 28 years, but Mr. Kokenge did LOTS more in WC than just that restaurant, as reflected in his obituary. So if you haven't yet read it, please do. Our condolences go to all the family and friends. We also thank 1954's WM. L. MCNABB for submitting this one, and also thank 1960's DELORES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY.

Unfortunately, there are others, of course. We've also lost 1953's MONA LOU MORTON, who was 75 and died on August 25. Almost all of us remember the Morton family and had one of them in our own class or just a year away. We extend condolences to them, also.

RAMONA M. SHELL, Class of 1949 died, on August 25. The memorial was held on August 29, in her chosen hometown, Martinsville, Va. I believe this is the same Shell family who once owned Shell's Cafe in, "downtown WC," wasn't it? We send condolences to Ramona's family and friends, also. Both of these were submitted by 1965's STEVEN F. SHADE, so thanks to you, Steve.

LINDA LEE CUPP, Class of 1974, died August 29. She was but 53 years old, so this is terribly sad, due to the few years she got to live. We offer condolences to Linda's family and friends and we thank both Steve and Bill for this one.

Okay, I need a little help on 1956's CAROL A. PFISTER and spouse, RONALD LEE "PETE" BECKETT. I vividly recall Carol sending me an updated e-mail address, which I changed in my list. Somehow, though, I got a reject on the last bulletin (so can someone send that to them, for me, please?) and the reject was printed on their OLD e-mail address. So please send me their new e-mail, will you? I suspect you, RALPH D. WILSON, probably have it, but I will sure take it from anyone who has it, and thanks.

Assuming 1964's BARRY P. BARNES is akin to 1959's GARY E. BARNES, I asked Gary to check into the mystery of Barry's e-mail and his standing on our readers list. To my amazement, Gary wrote back to tell me they are NOT related, but he knows him and will be seeing him and he will ask a few questions for me, to make sure Barry's getting the bulletins. Thanks, Gary.

We all breathlessly await any update on the new (possibly?) e-mail address of that ever-popular, glamorous 1961 homecoming queen and cheer -leader, CHRIS L. CLEARY, who has written to tell me her new surname will be Raines, with her upcoming nuptials on October 17. She will be with us on our special weekend, I'm happy to be able to write!

However, I can no longer say the same for her classmate, 1961's RICHARD L. DOLL, who has written to tell me there is some sort of football game which is in conflict with that weekend. I'm getting a message which indicates it would be even costly for him to forego this game to come to the festivities. However, he has assured me he will be there, without fail, for the 50th.

Also, thanks to so many who stepped up to the plate to send the address of 1961's NANCY L. HOHNHORST and her 1959 spouse, H. JAY CARROLL, JR. Nancy's card was promptly placed in the mail. Jay, himself, sent it to me, as a matter of fact, but the very first one who sent it was 1961's JANET L. WALTERS, with a very newsy e-mail, too, which we'll later recap. Also sending it was 1961's SANDRA S. MAYO. Thanks to all.

Such gracious notes of thanks and praise came from 1960's EDGAR L. "EDDIE" KELLY, 1961
's JACK L. GODBY, CAROLE J. LEWIS, P. LYNNETTE GARRET, JANET L. WALTERS, and also saying many nice things about all the bulletins were 1959's H. JAY CARROLL, JR. and 1963's LEE JEAN HELLER. I assure you all, I treasure each and every such remark and I thank you SO much!

As is obvious from my forwarders, we've now restored to the reader list, 1961's MARVIN A. COLLINS. I don't know exactly what occurred when we lost him, but I was getting rejects. So I checked the address on his e-mail and it's the same one I have. So he's back. Aaaaahhh, the mysteries of the internet, who knows?

We also have an update on the e-mail address of 1988'sMELISSA K. "MISSY" BARNES and her 1985 spouse, ROBT. E. ZIMMER. This info came from Missy's father, who is 1959's GARY E. BARNES, so if you're not up to date on this, do let me know. Thanks, Gary.

With this edition, we're officially adding 1955's CATHERINE ELAINE BARKER. She came to us through longtime friend and Florida neighbor (Brooksville), 1954's FREDA P. FLETCHER, a reader of many years. I looked in the 1955 book and instantly remembered Elaine. So welcome to the list, Elaine, and we sure hope you'll enjoy reading all the news! Elaine sent a great e-mail to Freda, which she shared with me, and which will later become a part of this bulletin. It is truly a goody!

What a fun mish-mash of confusion I had with 1962's RICHARD G. DENNY! Dick has been a pretty good recruiter, over the years, when it comes to sending me new readers. As most of you recall, he's long been wed to his classmate, LIELA K. GEORGE. Well, he sent me names to add to the readers list. They were 1963's TIM- OTHY A. LUCAS and the aforementioned name of BARRY P. BARNES. I recalled both of those names as having quite the familiar ring, but gave it no more thought. As I added them, I did discover both were ON the list! I wrote back a puzzled e-mail to Dick, in which he said he had been carrying them around in his golf bag for an eternity, and had just now remembered to send them to me. All bases are covered, Dick, so not to worry. They're on the list again, and Gary is checking on Barry, as mentioned. That's all we want, right? Thanks, again!

In a first-hand report from her spouse, 1959's H. JAY CARROLL, JR., I've learned that 1961's NANCY L. HOHNHORST is doing well after her return to California and the heart stents are doing their job very nicely. We're all thrilled to hear of that, Jay and Nancy. We're all pulling for you, as you well know. Take it easy and get lots of rest, Nancy! Thanks, Jay, for the report.

As reported by 1961's SANDRA S. MAYO, she, SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, CAROLE J. LEWIS, and Nancy were all returning from the annual gathering at Carole's Kentucky home, at the time Nancy's health scare occurred. Sande writes that it was terrifying and they just made it to Sycamore Hospital, in time. I'm sure it WAS a horrifying experience for all, and we're all sure thrilled it turned out so well.

Apparently, I'm missing out on something with this Facebook website. In the last bulletin (or was it the one before that?), I got a prompt on the Facebook website from 1964's TERRY L. WILSON, asking everyone to view his notalgic photos on there. Now, I have one from 1961's SHARON KAYE WENDELKEN, inviting all of us to visit her on Facebook, too! Didn't I get an invite to visit you on Facebook, too, quite awhile back, 1961's NANCY J. ERTEL? Hmmmm, I'd better get up to date, eh?

So far, in this bulletin, I'm not hearing too much about travel, but when I sent the last bulletin, I got an Auto-Reply from 1963's LEE JEAN JOR- DAN. I'm none too sure how that works, being as technologically-challenged as I am. So I'm unsure if those people who use that service are going to eventually get the bulletins or not.

But I would soon learn the whereabouts of the ever-gallivanting Lee Jean, for I got an e-mail from her, the very next day! She was in Boston, Massachusetts, at Harvard University, no less! She was serving as the Director for the week's Continuing Medical Education Conference. On the previous night, she reported, she had met Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and security was very tight, due to the impending funeral service for the late Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, and anticipation of the attendance of all living presidents. The procession, reported Lee Jean, was to come within a half-block of them, on the very next day. Surely enough, it did. What an exciting time to be in Boston!

As you all know, I find it so rewarding to be in the humble position of sometimes being able to reconnect old WC pals. What fun! When I got the wonderful e-mail from my old pal, 1960's EDGAR L. "EDDIE" KELLY, he told me of the time, right after high school, when he and 1960
's DOUGLAS A. RENAS, joined the military to- gether on the, "buddy system." Ed had read of Doug in the last edition and the fact that Doug's now in Arizona again, so he was reminded of it.

So I wrote to Doug's brother, LAWRENCE J. RENAS, JR., 1957, and he very promptly got back to me with a current phone number and address in Tucson for Doug. Larry had also sent identical info to Eddie, whose e-mail I had happily provided. So I have high hopes of the two of them getting connected, or at least being able to talk on the phone and get up to date on each others' lives. Wouldn't THAT be fun? Ed, if that happens, please give us a report, okay? Thanks for your help, Larry.

Ed also requested info on 1960's CHAS. A. HIGH, JR., commenting that it sounded as if he really has a full plate, lately. You're sure right about that one, Ed. Ed was planning on send- ing Charlie a card of encouragement and support. I sent him one, too.

But on a not-as-cheerful note, I learned that Ed and Marilyn will not be with us in October this year. It's quite a trip from Idaho, that's for sure. But Ed has faithfully promised he will be with us all for our 50th, come 2010, so that's great news and I can't imagine having it withOUT you and Marilyn, Ed! I do hope AARON COUCH will be there, anyway, with his lovely companion, Linda.

Are we ready for another great story? I hope so, as this one is a real doozie (doozy?)! It came to us via 1954's FREDA P. FLETCHER, in a sort of proxy way, as it was written by our very newest reader, 1955's CATHERINE ELAINE BARKER. As I had already mentioned, Elaine lives in Brooksville, Florida, and I'll give you a little bio on Elaine, to bring you all up to date.

Her husband is a retired dentist, they live on a farm with 3 Aussie dogs, 18 head of cattle, and 48 acres of ground. They've just returned from a riveboat trip through Germany and Austria. She writes they love to travel, are enjoying life, and both in good health.

She also wrote about you, 1960 class president LONNIE M. THACKER (spouse of classmate LINDA J. SNELL), and said she lived next door to you, and the two of you have also maintained contact over the years since school, as your mothers were best friends. How nice! So how about the great story? Okay, here it is.

Elaine lived in St. Petersburg for 48 years and, some years back, teacher MURL E. HUFFMAN
was in the area---he's EVERYwhere, isn't he?---and stopped to visit Elaine. She and her spouse
took the Huffmans (wife Charlotte was still alive, then) to a nice, waterfront eatery with a beautiful view of the boats going past the place.

While awaiting a seat, a small boat sped past the window and two young girls aboard, pulled down their bathing suit bottoms and mooned all the restaurant patrons. Elaine wrote, "Imagine how I felt, standing there and looking at that, with Mr. Huffman by my side!" Yes, we can all just imagine that one, Elaine!

As expected, Elaine wrote that Mr. H. laughed hysterically at the incident. When she reminded him of it, years later, she said they laughed once again, and viewed it as quite an adventure. Yes, that's a great story, Elaine, and thanks to both you AND Freda for sharing it.

Also joining us as a brand-new reader is 1962's SHIRLEY ARLENE SEXTON. Shirley came to us as a result of the efforts of her classmate, JACQUELYN S. HAINES, whose spouse is 1959's W. BAILEY HAWKINS. Shirley writes that she now lives in Oklahoma. We sure hope you'll be traveling to Ohio for the happenings on alumni weekend, Shirley! A quick check of the 1962 yearbook indicates you were pretty active and involved while in school, Shirley, so come on back and be active again. I'm sure everyone would love to see you again, and welcome to the readers list. We hope you'll enjoy the WC news bulletins.

Also being added to our list, I'm thrilled to report , are not one but TWO, members of the Class of 1945! They are NORMA JEAN BROWN and DONALD R. THROCKMORTON, and I'm willing to wager they've been married about 60-plus years! Also, can there possibly BE a more WC- oriented surname, than that of Throckmorton? I think not. So it's a thrill to add them to our list. I thank another Throckmorton for this connection, 1969's KAREN L. THROCKMORTON, who is their daughter.

Just in case anyone is less than impressed with the addition of this household, which I serioulsy doubt, let me expound just a bit on the lengthy Throckmorton legacy. First of all, both of these people were in the National Honor Society, my trusty 1945 Piratan tells me. Don was inclined toward sports, as well as singing and music, very unusual for a male student. He apparently excelled at all of them, too! Then there's Jean, whose interests were also in those areas, so it's no mystery how THESE two wound up together. Jean, however, has her own legacy to offer. She happens to be the daughter of a former teacher of many of us, H. RESSLER BROWN. If you see her senior photo, the resemblance is quite evident. I'm thrilled with ALL new readers, but these two are a special treat, as I'm sure we can all agree.

Jean even asked how much it costs to have a subscription to my bulletins. Wow! Did THAT ever pull my chain! You made my day with that one, Jean, and I thank you SO much. No, I don't charge a penny. Writing these bulletins is truly a joy and I get FAR more from doing it, than do all of you, by reading it. Jean tells me there are lots of Throckmortons everywhere and she's go- ing to see if they, too, wish to be on the readers list. So welcome aboard, Don and Jean, and I sure hope you enjoy all the news. Thank you for sending them our way, Karen!

Although I thought I had overlooked the name of 1961's JANET L. WALTERS, in the list of those who attended the annual gathering at the home of CAROLE J. LEWIS, Janet wrote to assure me I didn't. In fact (knock on wood), as I write this sentence, I've received NO corrections on that last one. But as we all know, I'm sure not going to get to the end of this, with a perfect score. Ha!

Janet wrote some more details on that annual soiree, though, and I want to include them. She said your house, Carole, is in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and I don't know how close that is to Cumberland, but I've always thought it was near to there. Janet also wrote it's the 8th year you have all done this, and each year, she thinks it can't get any better, but it always does. That's SO great, it really is. Janet wrote that she and Carole, along with SANDRA J. CASEY, were accompanied by a daughter, this year. Sandy, as most of us know, has long been married to her 1961 classmate, THOS. W. WELLER.

Janet wrote of her eldest daughter in Colorado, by whom she has a grandson, and she is also very pleased with her manicure shop and the state of life, in general. That's great, Janet, but I especially enjoyed your remarks about the very closely-knit relationship all of you have with each other, in your 1961 class. I've long admired that class for their dedication to each other. Keep up the good work and thanks for a great report!

From SANDRA S. MAYO came word that she's now returned to her Florida home after a month in Ohio, during which she also attended the gig at Carole's, of course. Sande also indicated it's possible she may not be with us in October, as she's been invited to California for the month of October. Well, I'm assuming that invitation has come from Sande's lifelong best pal, SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH. But Sande, how about going there AFTER the WC weekend, so we can all get to see you? Give it some thought. I will also miss seeing you, too, Sandy H.!

One person I will NOT miss seeing is 1961's P. LYNNETTE GARRETT. Lynn and I always try to set aside a quality hour or two of time, when we can visit one-on-one. I usually go to her home in Germantown,a town which I love, and I also love her beautiful and interestingly-outfitted home there and feel very comfortable when I visit her and husband Frank. So that's definitely in my itinerary.

Like everyone at WC, Lynn made wonderful and flattering comments about beloved VINCENT A. BRODBECK, 1958, and how kind and gentle he is and what a wonderful person he is. How, after all, could ANYone say anything else about Vince? He IS all those things. Lynn also said she met Vince's new lady friend and they are a perfect match. In her words, "She's a delight?" Well, if she got Vince, she's just bound to be a delight, now isn't she? As I've previously written, we all wish Vince only the best.

While I'm there in Ohio, I'll also be connecting with SHIRLEY J. TUDOR, 1960. We manage to get in an hour or two of time, usually. I'll also get to the home of THOS. D. YOUNG and we'll get in a little quality time, too. His wife, Sandi, and I are extremely close, as most of you know, so I always look forward to visits with them. They'll leave on vacation the day of our dinner/dance, so won't be with us this year. But I do believe we will see them at Frisch's on the previous eve. So we'll take what we can get, right?

The e-mails filled with news are flying at me at a rapid rate, I'm happy to write. I'm finding it very difficult to stay current, and that's a feeling I'm so enjoying! But before I go further, I want to take this opportunity to extend special thanks to my old friend, GERALD A. FULLER, 1960, and his WC-honorary spouse, Rebecca A. They've sent a very generous contribution to what I've come to call, "my alumni fund," which is something I use to maintain ink cartridges, computer and office-type supplies, mailings, etc. The Fullers have done this very regularly. This time, their inspiration was my complaints about my PC, so of course, there they were again, Johnny-on-the-spot. I told them this was unnecessary, but telling that to Jerry, especially, would be like talking to my dishwasher, once his decision is made, I know that for sure. There was also a generous contribution which came from 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, another longtime, extremely- close pal. I appreciate you both so much and I want to be sure you know your contributions will be used only for WC alumni and related efforts. Again, though, I'd stress that it wasn't necessary for you to do this and I certainly never intended to convey that we are ready for the poorhouse, just yet! But I know your intentions are only the very best.

Cousin JUDITH L. SAMUELS and I are still on a daily e-mail exchange, but you can believe me when I tell you that things weren't just the same, daily exchange, this time. Just about 3 days ago, Judy was in a nearby supermarket line at the pharmacy, and while she was standing in that line, she wound up being a witness to the pharmacy's robbery! How scary is THAT? I've heard of putting excitement in one's life, but that is a little more excitement than she wanted, of course. No one was hurt, but that's not always the case, now is it?

Okay, it's time for true confessions. I had not originally planned to print this, but I've changed my mind. After all, what secrets do I keep from all of YOU, anyway? Next month begins my 10th year of writing the bulletins. I've so loved and enjoyed every moment. I've done a lot of study in the fields of grammar, journalism, and such. So I always want everything to be correct when I write these. Of late, I've lost a tad of confidence and have begun to wonder if I'm way too old and drifty to do a really good job on these. That's the last thing I want. So I secretly consulted with 1961's vivacious and fetching (and TERRIBLY bright) English teacher, CHRIS L. CLEARY, to ask if she would let me know if I made any really bad errors, from a grammatical standpoint, as I write these bulletins. God knows I make enough of other types of mistakes, so I don't need that, too. Well, Chris wrote back to tell me she thinks the bulletins are great and that I don't need HER to tell me how to write. That was so kind of you, Chris, and I feel much better about it all now. So I'm going to push onward and keep doing what I'm doing. I appreciated your vote of confidence SO much. Thank you.

It is Labor Day, as I write. On this day, I drove past the local golf course, where I took 1960's GARY L. WARLAUMONT, when he was here, last October. It was raining and overcast. As I casually glanced across the broad expanse of grass (is that the part they call greens?), I saw at least 5-6 golf carts out there, and a minimum of 10 golfers, playing in the rain. I was amazed by that, so much so that I picked up my cell phone, called Gary, and described this scene to him. I also asked him if HE plays in the rain, too. He replied that he does not, to my surprise. For his holiday entertainment, it seems he and Jill had taken a trip to the gambling boat. Hmmmm, so did you win any money?

Thanks to the joint efforts of 1961's SANDRA S. MAYO and R. MICHAEL FORSYTH, we've had a breakthrough on the locating of 1955's JACK L. KNIGHT, at the request of 1963's SHIRLEY A. RANKIN, his former neighbor. Boy, I'm telling you, do we have a network going or what? It's just wonderful! We've got to polish off a few of the rough edges on this one, but I'm sure we're going to get through to him soon. So thanks to Sande and Mike! I'll keep you posted.

All right, get this one! I'm simply blown away by this news. On September 8, I received e-mail from 1961's P. LYNNETTE GARRETT. In the text, she wrote that she was watching the WC council meeting on TV and someone in that council meeting actually mentioned MY name and told people to contact me if they wanted to stay up on WC alumni news. At first, I was so sure she was, "putting me on," but as I read it all the way through, I realized this actually did take place. I simply cannot BELIEVE that! How very amazing! By the way, that date (Sept. 8) was also Lynn and Frank's 24 anniversary, so we all send congratulations to both of you!

With his never-ending love of vintage cars, my old pal, 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, has had another wonderful experience with his 1903 Oldsmobile. Bruce describes the Olds as, "the star of the recently-hold Kettering Holiday at Home Invitational car Show." I'm sure it was, too, and I'll bet we can all log onto the WC blog faithfully maintained by 1960s MICHAEL S. WEST, and get a good look at the car. Go to ( www.wchs.blogspot.com ) You can also get current on any missed bulletins at that website. Thanks, Mike.

As many of us are well-aware, Bruce is in the process of restoring a copy of his high school days Oldsmobile and he diligently hopes to get it done in time for our weekend. Boy, oh boy, did I ride a lot of miles in THAT car! I also can't wait to see it, Bruce!

Okay, I often lie about this, when I say it's going to be the last bulletin until our weekend, but you all know that, already, don't you? Anyway, there is a good chance this MAY be the last one, but who knows? In any case, we want to include the entire schedule of events, just in case. We want everyone to be there, who possibly can.

First, there will be an informal gathering at Ron's Pizza in Miamisburg on Thursday evening (6-7-ish?), October 8. I'm pretty sure this event was sort of, "commandeered," from the 1961 class, who more or less created it, several years ago. It has grown, ever since, and come to be sort of a kickoff event to the weekend.

On Friday, October 9, the WC Golf Tourney will take place at the Mound Golf Course. Players should arrive by 8, with tee-off by 8:30. (Lord, help me with this golf lingo! I know nothing of it, and I do mean nothing.) The event was founded by 1959's GARY E. BARNES, who admirably and efficiently attends to every detail. It, too, has become quite a hit.

Also on Friday will be the Frisch's Frolic. It will begin about 5-ish (?), 6-ish (?), 7-ish (?)---you get the idea---and typically runs until about 10-11, I'd guess. This event is just wildly popular, beyond anything I'd ever have imagined and it was founded by 1960's MICHAEL S. WEST, but I don't quite remember the exact year. Mike, wasn't it about 2002? Anyway, it usually draws about a hundred people, in and out, all evening, and is utterly delightful and fun, fun, fun! As I've written each year, don't forget the waitresses!!! As you leave, throw a $5-bill at someone and do thank them for their service, even if you didn't HAVE any service, will you? (Don't worry about your share, THOS. L. WOLF, JR. I'm going to personally spring for that, okay?) Tom and I have a little running joke on that one, folks. I'll have the extra funds this year, Tom, as I've won a Big Boy from 1958's WM. R. HOWARD, due to the old telephone exchange trivia!

Then comes Saturday, and we'll all really have to take our B-12/B-15 shots for THIS day! I'm scarcely able to believe it, but yet ANOTHER event, has been added to the already-busy day, Yes, it has. As reported by 1965's LINDA S. JOHNSON, the WC branch of the Jacob Eby Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star will hold the monthly breakfast on that Saturday morning, in-stead of the usual third Saturday. It will begin at 7 a.m. and go until 10 a.m. Linda believes the chapter has purposely done this to enhance the attendance from our alumni weekend visitors. Yes, all "civilians," are invited to attend. It will be at the Masonic Center on Central Av., between Chase Bank and Tracy Law offices. To reserve a table, call 937 212-1979. There's a hearty and extensive menu and the prices are terribly reasonable, at $6 for adults and $3 for children.

Linda went on to comment on how amazed she is (as am I) about how our weekend has grown and expanded, all from the one event. She also offered me gracious thanks from her and long-time companion, 1960's ROSS A. HODGSON, for my writing of the bulletins. Thank you both, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Okay, the second event of that Saturday will be the Second Annual Miami Shores Memories Picnic. Naturally, this will be in Miami Shores and at Wendell Wax Memorial Park. This one was the brainchild of RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, who has been ably assisted by his 1958 pals, WM. R. HOWARD and DONALD I. MCCOY, as well as 1957's BETTY L. CARROLL, who has the inside track on all things happening in the little burg of Moraine City. So you can come on over, after the Eastern Star breakfast, and then stuff yourself with lunch at the MS park. This was a spectacular event last year, drawing over 125 people, can you believe it? Tom came up with a real winner on this one and I think it will continue. Everyone brings a covered dish of their choice or a bag of chips or a case of Coke or a huge package of napkins, hot dogs, buns, or whatever. Just like a family reunion, it all worked out, just as it should have. This one is SUPER-casual and prepare to have a great time and see lots of old pals. ALL are welcome
, just as they were when we lived there and went to school. We who lived there, after all, KNEW what a fun and special place WE had!

Now for the evening meal, on that same day, we have the alumni dinner/dance. This will begin at 6 p.m. and let me tell you, if you can attend only ONE event, this is the one to choose. I say that, due to the fact that this is the original event, from which all others have come to life. It's the crown jewel of all our events. It's the ONLY one which is official and it's also the only one which offers support to our scholarship fund. So please do NOT fail to be at this one. Get those forms in the mail right away, or go to this website ( www.wchsalumni.org ) if you didn't get one, hit events, and download. It's at the Holiday Inn ballroom of the location on Rt. 725, between Rt. 741 and I-75. Our spot-lighted class this year will be that of 1959. I'm diligently hoping for a great showing for them. But over the years and for whatever reason, sadly, very few of that class seem to ever attend any of the events. We have ALWAYS had GARY E. BARNES and BETSY R. MURPHY (longtime spouse of T. BARRY RUSSELLO, 1960). In recent years, we've all seen their homecoming queen/cheerleader and longtime spouse of 1957's NEIL H. SIZER, and of course, that's SHIRLEY R. PARKS. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for the 1959 class to be well-represented for this very special year.

The next day will be Sunday, October 11, and on that day, we'll be all over the place in select groups, having farewell breakfasts, brunches, and lunches, before we all depart for home. We seem to favor Frisch's, Bob Evans, and Perkins for this last visit together, but we'll probably be all over the place, so no matter where you go, you will likely see a group of us, as happens so very often on that day.

We've had a couple of special news items for this edition, and I want to take time to enter both into this bulletin. One is from 1956's RALPH D. WILSON, the classmate of my late sister, JUDY ANN RISNER. Ralph is diligently urging all his classmates to PLEASE attend the dinner/dance this year. As he so correctly writes, yes, it's two more years until the 55th, but as time, money, and health offer no guarantees at this stage of life, he'd like to see his class getting as many together as possible, each and every year, from now on. Ralph goes on to give great credit to my sister and to her lifelong best friend, ANITA RAE MASON, for the great work they did on the 50th year for their class. Thank you so much for that, Ralph. So for all you 1956-ers out there, please take Ralph's worthy message to heart, and do be there. As he has written, "At least, it gives us our own table to sit and visit for a couple of quality hours." Ralph is a very faithful attendee, who travels from Tennessee, as do I. But for years, I came up from Florida to be at our events. I'm ever-amazed by those who live in Ohio and do NOT attend, and am utterly and simply FLOORED by the number who do live inside that county, and nearby ones, and still do not ever attend the functions. So please, let's try to improve on that. My younger daughter has changed her entire work schedule (in Florida no less) planned ahead for her son's homework, and arranged supervision for her 16- year-old daughter, so that she can come to stay with my ill husband, in order for me to be able to attend. She is driving all the way, too. The usual person who does this, has extensive health problems and couldn't do it this year. So if I can do that much to be there, surely all of you who are now reading this, can put forth a bit more effort, too, can't you? That was a great, e-mail message, Ralph, and thanks for taking the time to do it. I hope you get a wonderful and positive response. Are all of you 1956 people on my list, by the way?

From WC alumni treasurer, 1970's GARY E. JOHNSON, came a transmittal about alumni pins, and I did forward a copy to each of you at Gary's request. Let's support this effort, please, and buy all the pins we can buy. Also, we have now added Gary to our reader list, so we do welcome you aboard the old Pirate ship, Gary. By the way, did you know that three of our four primary officers of the alumni committee are in the Class of 1970? That surely bodes well for their class, so let's extend a hearty thanks to the very many who do SO much work to put this all together for us, each and every year. In today's lapel pin mailing, I did get a reject on JACK L. KNIGHT, but I will continue trying to get a correct contact on him. I also sent it to our very elusive treasurer of 1960, THOM B. THOMPSON. As I wrote to him, "We all hope to see you one day, Thom," and we do!

So guess what, folks? It's now September 10 and that means we are just exactly 4 weeks to the day from the kick-off event of our big alumni weekend! Wow, did THIS year ever fly past, eh?
So here I go again, trying to send on my shaky, old PC. I still haven't tended to this. I just don't seem to be able to find a window of time. But hey, I love living dangerously, anyway. This one is nearly 10 pages long, and if I lose it all, I will surely hang myself from the highrise deck! So I'm in hopes you all get this. Here we go again. I will see you soon, "Lord willin', and the creek don't rise," as the saying goes. As always, I'll leave each of you with my fondest wish for you to have all of life's greatest blessings, including glowing health, great happiness, peaceful serenity, spiritual harmony, and boundless prosperity. Ciao!

- posted by Mikey @ 12:01 PM