WECATON NEWS REPORT - 28 AUG 2009:

Bonnie Writes:

You're all doing SO great, when it comes to participation! You're sending such great e-mail and lots of news to contribute to our bulletins. I want to thank you all so much for that. We begin this one on August 15, and who knows when it will be read, or even IF? I'm still on very shaky ground with this PC, and still don't have all of my addresses copied! But let's take a chance and start with forward people, okay? They are 1954's FREDA P. FLETCHER;1955's NORMAN E. JACKSON; 1956's REBECCA J. POLING; RALPH D. WILSON; 1957's BETTY LEE CARROLL, RALPH H. WARNER, ERCELL P. PHILLIPS; 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, RICHARD L. JOHNSON, RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, WM. R. HOWARD;1960 's LARRY M. PENDLEY, RICHARD S. HOLT, widow of RONALD P. CRAIG, Martha E., EDGAR L. "EDDIE" KELLY, DELORES K."DEDE" FAHRNEY, STEVEN M. KOKOT, JO ANN KAY STEMLEY; 1961's P. LYNNETTE GARRETT, NANCY J. ERTEL, DALLAS K. MATHIS, NANCY A. HALL;1962's BARBARA T. O'NEAL; 1963's FRANCES L. PEFFLY, HARRIET M. BURKE, SHIRLEY A. RANKIN;1964's TERRY L. WILSON; 1965's STEVEN F. SHADE;1969's ROBT. L. THARPE, JACQUELINE J. CLARK, JOHN Q. KEMP; 1971's PAMELA K SHIPLEY and JOY I. WOLFORD.

A welcome and pleasant surprise arrived in the form of a lengthy and fun e-mail from 1961 class president, JOHN W. OBERLIES, JR. John and I were great pals throughout high school, lived so near to one another, and spent a lot of non-WC school time together, in his old neighborhood behind Inidan River Fruit Market. We had a big crew of buddies over there, who included not only John and me, but others; 1960's GARY L. WARLAUMONT, CHAS. V. CARTER, BOYD H. JENKINS, 1959's G. SAMUEL SPEELMAN, JR.,JAS. E. ROSE, and many others. It was a great time in all our lives. It's always great to hear from you, John!

He wrote at length of a couple encounters with former teacher, MURL E. HUFFMAN. At about the end of July, John received a surprise phone call, he said. His wife answered and told him the caller wouldn't say who he was. So when he answered, it was, of course. Mr. H. (Yes, I know
, I know, you want me to address you as, "M-m-m-m-murl," but I'm still having a great deal of difficulty with that, so forgive me.)

He was in Lebanon, Indiana, it seemed, for the purpose of visiting his 88-year-old baby sister! So he wanted to call John and say hello. John wrote that his voice was sharp and clear and he sounds about 40. Well, we all know that, John! He said it was a delightful surprise and a great conversation, which he immensely enjoyed.

John then went on to describe another incident with Mr. H., about 20-25 years ago, as he was pulled over in a rest stop on I-71, headed back to Indianapolis. He said he (John) saw him on the walkway and kept wondering who he was, as he looked so familiar. He said he just knew that he knew the man. Just as he was about to give it up and drive away, Mr. H. walked by the car and John simply had to know who he was. So he pulled over and spoke with him and, of course, determined why he looked so familiar. They had a great chat that time, too, reported John.

In travels of a more local nature, NORMAN E. JACKSON, 1955, has reported that he visited the Darke County Fair recently. I'm still waiting to hear those motorcycles pulling into my drive, when you get a little further away from home, Norm, so don't forget!

For everyone's information, we have returned 1958's HARRIETTE E. DOGGETT to our list of readers, thanks to the efforts of her classmate and former brother-in-law, BRUCE E. CHENO-WETH, who telephoned her and relayed the info to me. As most of you will recall, Harriette's sis(and one of my dearest friends in school), 1960's W. SUSAN DOGGETT, was his first wife, so we were both thrilled to find her, some years back, only to discover that Susan had died. So it was a bittersweet kind of discovery. Anyway, thanks, Bruce, and welcome back, Harriette! Naturally, I did send her all the bulletins she had missed and if anyone wishes to e-mail her, just let me know.

We also have an update on the CARMACKs; i.e., 1959's BILLY K. and 1961's CONNIE M.
MARCUM, who apparently changed addresses a while back, but it somehow escaped me. She wrote that she'd sent me an update, but I never did receive it. Adding to the mystery was the fact that I received no rejects on the old address when I sent bulletins. But at least we've got it now. It was sent by 1959's GARY E. BARNES, who saw the Carmacks recently.

However, we now have a new one who is on our lost list. It's 1961's JOHN W. BYSTREK. But I have high hopes for recovering this one. He's 1961 and that class is really tight and they stay up with each other and see each other and are really wonderful about maintaining class contact
. So help me, if you can! The only message it gave is that his mailbox is full. So I'm betting the address may still be good. Do any of you know if a service will resend, when and if that problem clears? I don't know.

For those of you who may have been unaware of this (I wasn't), 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE had been having computer and e-mail woes, but is now back online successfully, and using the same e-mail address, as always. Thanks, Tom, for letting us know.

This may a fun one, folks. From 1964's TERRY L. WILSON came an e-mail in which he says he has posted, "some cool, old, photos," on his facebook page, from a 1963 Beatnik party. He
would like us to have a look at his Facebook page, view the photos, and see if we know who they are. So have a look at it, and get back to me. Thanks, Terry!

We have news on deaths, of course. Let's face it, we're just at that age. To my utter shock and surprise, I learned of the death of music teacher ROSS R. ROBBINS. I had no idea he was even still alive, but he was, until August 13. He was 93 years old. I'm sure there are hundreds of us who remember being a part of his glee club and other musical efforts of which he would've been a part, when we were in school. The news first reached me, via 1965's LINDA S. ZIMMER. Her mother had been in a rest home with him, until her own death about 3 years ago. According to Linda, her mom said Mr. R. was still singing solos at the church services, in a crystal-clear, wonderful voice. Isn't that amazing? This was also sent to us by 1965's STEVEN F. SHADE, of course. Thank you both, Linda and Steve.

WARREN E. CANTRELL, class of 1946, died on August 9. The Cantrell name is well-known to all the 1930s-and-forward, WC people, of course. I didn't know Mr. Cantrell, but I'm sure many on our list, did know him. Condolences go to his family and friends. Again, Steve sent this one, too, so thanks, Steve.

RONALD KEITH BRADFORD, class of 1971, died on August 12. He was retired from the WC Board of Education, as well as being a former student. Mr. Bradford was very young, at only 56. I know we all send our sympathy to all his family and friends, too. This one first came to me from 1969's JACQUELINE J. CLARK, with a quick follow-up from Steve, also. So thanks to Jackie and Steve on this one.

On August 27, 1958's WM. R. HOWARD lost his mother, Lilliane. I know we're all sorry to hear of your loss, Bill, and we send sincerest condolences upon this sad occasion. Thank you for letting us know.

That concludes the losses of whom I'm aware. I have a few health issues to report, though, and among those are 1952'S RONALD L. BROWN, whose spouse is 1956's ANN C. WEIDLE. In her e-mail, Ann writes, Ron's health continues to decline, and they have to stay in one place for a longer period when they travel, now. However, they do attend sporting events of their grandson in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Ann announced they will be leaving for their daughter's home on Aug. 18 and returning on Sept. 9. She writes they'll see a few of their grandson's baseball games, during the visit. We all wish you both a safe and wonderful trip, Ann and Ron!

Ann also reported some news on her younger brother, THOS. L. WEIDLE, 1961. I'm sorry to report that Tommy had to have double-bypass heart surgery in June, and Ann writes he's still in the recovery stages. However, she does say he is doing wonderfully. She has recently spoken with him and says he's going to be responding to your e-mail, JACK L. GODBY, as soon as he
is more rested and back to normal. If you are reading this, Tommy, we all wish you well and a full and speedy recovery! Thanks for the update, Ann, and please keep us posted.

In other health news, let's all pull for the health of 1958's JAS. E. RICHARDSON, spouse of his
1958 classmate, K. JUNE CRUTCHFIELD. On Aug. 17, Jim had surgery to remove one, entire
kidney, which had a mass on it, which the doctor felt is malignant. How scary is THAT? We're all in your corner, Jim, and wishing you well. For me, it's hard to hear of this. As kids, Jim and I and a few other Miami Shores Kids, would walk miles during the summers together, all over MS and into Moraine City, too. We always found our way back home and managed never to get into much trouble. Jim was always the tallest guy in the bunch, of course. Thanks to Jim's life
-long pal and classmate, WM. R. HOWARD, for this news. By the time we all read this, we're hoping you're well on the road to recovery, Jim!

From 1956's RALPH D. WILSON came an up- date on the ever-deteriorating health of 1957's CHAS. T. "CHUCK" CROY. As many of us can recall, Chuck was president of his class, very bright, handsome, and scholarly. So this is very sad. As recounted by his wife, Mary, speech volume comes and goes and he's pretty much relegated to a wheelchair, now. Since Chuck is but 70, I don't know exactly what illness caused this. Can you refresh my memory on this, Ralph, just in case someone would ask about it? Using the text in Mary's e-mail, it would seem he's got some memory problems, so is this a case of Alzheimer's Disease, perhaps? Thanks for the update, Ralph, and please convey all our best wishes to the Croys.

On about August 25, I talked at length with my lifelong friend, CHAS. A. HIGH, JR. Things are not going well for Charlie, I'm very sorry to write. Back in June, he went to a doctor for treatment which involved something similar to the use of a tanning bed. The bottom line is, they burnt him from head to toe, practically. He's got severe neuropathy, is unable to sleep, can't lie down without extreme pain, and yet, still makes efforts to care for his ailing, wheelchair-bound, stroke-ridden wife. He has an attorney, of course, and will eventually reap significant, financial reward. However, he told me he'd give up every dollar of it, just to be able to feel good again and be healthy. On top of that, his daughter (who has two young kids) is having problems which may be breast cancer. They're not yet sure. So let's all pull for Charlie and hope things get better. Charlie has no e-mail, but speaks fondly of so many of you. If you'd like to send him a card of encouragement or a personal note, please address it 5189 Fishburg Road, Huber Heights, Ohio 45424-4345. He'd sure appreciate it, I know. He's really had a bad time of it, in recent years.

The 1950s (and other decades, too?) paddling stories continue. Apparently, we had a few who were pretty severely punished, by the teachers of that day. According to 1960's MICHAEL S. WEST, he had a few recollections of the fabled GERALD W. CRIBLEY, himself. Mike wrote he witnessed Mr. C. in a particulary violent incident with LOWELL HARSHMAN, whom he bodily hoisted from a drafting table and threw at least 5 feet' across the room. (Shades of the blow he dealt to KEITH H. CLENDENON!) If there's any defense for this behavior, I don't know what it is and Mike wrote he didn't know exaclty what had precipitated the incident, either. I guess Mr. C. was quite physically strong, as all the WC guys seem to be writing. Memories of Mr. C., suffice to say, are not exactly what we'd call, "warm and fuzzy." Lowell, are you out there? I'm wondering what your version is? I'll bet Mike's is pretty well right on the money, though.

Good advice came to me about the problems of my PC, from 1957's LAWRENCE J. RENAS, JR., 1960's MICHAEL S. WEST, and 1965's STEVEN F. SHADE. Larry says junk the thing and buy a new one. That's still under my range of consideration. I don't yet know. I may be too cheap for that one, as I told Larry. Mike says I can program gmail to come to my IncrediMail account. Oh, if only I knew how to do that, Mike!Steve says I should have them clone all info on my old hard drive to the new one, so I don't have to do any re-entering. I had heard of that one, Steve, and will surely tell them to do that! In any case, thanks to all, and I'll keep you posted, for sure! (However, I'm still thinking I'm too cheap to buy a new one, although that's what I'd like to do, really.)

Larry has also reported that his brother, 1960's DOUGLAS A. RENAS, has now returned to his chosen area of Tucson, Arizona. Doug stayed with Larry for a while, apparently using what I've heard are his considerable talents as a finish carpenter, to do some work on Larry's home. I guess Doug is just a western type of guy. I told Larry I hope Doug will be joining us, come next year, for our class' 50th anniversary. We really need to begin the search right now, for those of us who are missing, by the way. Lonnie, are you there and reading this? (1960's class president is LONNIE M. THACKER.)

This is for you, MICHAEL S. WEST, 1960. I do so hope you've posted all the bulletins to your blogspot. You see, I've inadvertently deleted all of them from my PC. So if you haven't, I can't make reference to them, which I normally do, of course. This just happened today (August 16), and I just discovered my blunder. For those of you who may be relatively-new readers, if you want to get current on things, please go to this site: ( www.wchs.blogspot.com ) Mike keeps all the news on there and all the bulletins. I see I'm going to be using it, myself, once again.

No doubt, a number of you will recall a teacher of 1962-1972, named DAVIDA, COOPER. I got a recent e-mail from Mr. Cooper, who was put in contact, via 1965's STEVEN F. SHADE. He wanted to convey good wishes and heartiest congratulations to 1961's CHRIS L. CLEARY, for her impending nuptials on October 17. So I do hope he reached you, Chris! To my surprise, I discovered he's already on our list of readers!

Reporting in from the close of his recent 5,300-mile trip on his Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic (my dream motorcycle, and I've had 3 of them and am lusting after another), was 1960's WM. M. ROHLER (who called me this afternoon). He and Gloria returned home, safely and soundly, on Sunday, (Aug. 23) he told me. Wow, I'm still green with envy!

That envy of Bill's trip has just about done it for me, folks. I've got the itchiest of feet and dying to hit that road again. In fact, I have tentative plans with 1960's KEITH H. CLENDENON, in which we'll both hit the road together, on the big dressers, and just ride off into the sunset. So I just may be writing to you from a laptop on the roadside, one day. Ha! Don't I wish? But says my friend, 1963's FRANCES A. PEFFLY, "We can always dream, can't we?" That's perfectly true, of course.

It has come to my attention that, on or about the 8th of August, something called a, "cruise-thru," was held at the old Angelo's Drive-In. I haven't yet heard an official name for the place, but I do hear people referring to it as 4200, which is its postal street address. Anyway, this news came to me from 1956's ANITA RAE MASON. She was there, along with apparently quite a number of other, WC folks. She reported the event as being a smashing success and crawling with people, and also said the food is simply great with very reasonable prices. Everyone who has a 1950s car turned up and parked in the lot, she said, and everyone visited with everyone, I hear.

If I'm not mistaken, my brother-in-law was there and said he saw and talked with you, BRUCE E. CHENOWETH. I know you have a whole fleet of the older vehicles, of course. I'm sure any of them would look great in the parking lot of the former Angelo's. For those of you who may be unaware, the restaurant is now owned by the son of 1959's BETTY C. BURDETTE and her spouse, RALPH E. "BUTCH" HARVILLE and the son of 1962's RICHARD G. DENNY and his spouse, 1962's LIELA K. GEORGE. I must be sure to go there, when I get to Ohio!

Okay, I've made my decision on what to do, as regards my computer. You're not going to be happy with me, 1957's LAWRENCE J. RENAS, JR.! I'm definitely too cheap to buy the new one, I've determined. The least expensive, new one I can find, right now, will be about $450. I don't want to spend that. So I'm going to my guru on the corner, who will install a new hard drive for me, clone my old hard drive (as recommended by 1965's STEVEN F. SHADE), and even put on the new Windows operating system, if I wish, for a charge of $70 for the new hard drive and $80 labor, plus tax. I'll be sitting at a total of $164.50 and, according to this guy, it WILL be a new computer, after that. The only problem is, I have to be without it for roughly 3-5 business days. But I hope I'll live. I guess I can use my husband's PC, while it's gone. My computer guru, by the way, has been in business, at this same location, since 1981! I had never even HEARD of computers, then! So I guess he has to know what he's doing. Since no one's giving away new PCs, just yet, that's what I'm doing (as soon as I get all these e-mail addresses copied, of course)!

From the gorgeous 1961 homecoming queen, CHRIS L. COLLINS, (giddy bride-to-be, whom she is!), came a note in which she expounded upon the wonderful qualities of her groom-to-be and how very happy she is. Well, we're all very happy for you, too, Chris! Believe me, this guy better be all you say, or else he'll have the whole school after him. Ha!

There has been a little traveling going on with us, as always. At the top of the list are 1960's DAVID G. OTT and his 1963 spouse, SANDRA K. MINIX. Just listen to THIS itinerary! In May, Dave and Sandy went to Georgia for the high school grad ceremony of her niece. While she attended that, Dave did his annual, 5-day hike of the Appalachian Trail.

In June, they headed for upstate New York to visit two grandchildren and one great-grandchild and also went into Canada (Ontario) where they spent a couple of nights and viewed the great tourist attraction, Niagara Falls. (By now, I'M getting weary, just READING all this, never mind actually doing it.

In August, it was yet another trip to Georgia and North Carolina to visit family and friends and to escape Florida's excruciating, August heat (and you're right, Dave, I sure DO know about that). I take it you're both back home resting by now, or are you?

Dave opined that they'd also enjoyed the notes on ZELC, the church to which so many of us had belonged. They were also married by Pastor Chas. E. Mullen and all children were baptized there. I guess that covers a lot of us! Thanks for the great report, Dave and Sandy!

Let's see, we already reported on the trip made by the BROWNs (1952's RONALD L. and 1956 's ANN C. WEIDLE), so we'll move right along to that spectacular, Eurpoean vacation which was taken by 1956's REBECCA J. POLING. It was, indeed, spectacular!

Becci reports she recovered from her surgery just in time for a 5-week trip to Europe. Wow! She and husband Jim, spent 9 days in Belgium with their daughter, then took in a 12-day Baltic cruise. They attended a performance of the ballet, "Swan Lake," in St. Petersburg, Russia, and also took in some sightseeing in the area. Next came Copenhagen, Denmark, followed by Venice, Italy, and this was followed by a cruise through the Greek Islands. (Do these people know how to take a vacation, or what?)

Then they walked the wall in Debrovnik, Croatia, swam in the Aegean Sea, then hopped on over to Paris, France, for a few days before heading back home. But that wasn't the end! Once she was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, she attended the American Idol concert with her sisters (but she didn't say which ones) and finally returned to her California home. Her husband will soon be und
-ergoing shoulder replacement surgery, so we all wish you and him well on that, Becci, and thanks SO much for the great report. Lucky you! On the negative side, though, Becci informs me she's going to be babysitting from Oct. 11-17! I was bummed out! I told you, Becci, we just can- NOT have a Miami Shores Memories Picnic at which there are no Poling girls!!

Are we ready for another trip? This one isn't as far away as Becci's, but nearly as long. I've just had a long chat with my pal, 1963's FRANCES L. PEFFLY, as I regularly do. She has informed me she will be going to her home in Ecuador for just about the entire month of September, as she will be working on her new, cooking website venture there, and other business interests. She has assured me, though, that she will be with us on alumni weekend, haven't you, Fran?

Fran doesn't get to stay home much, though, I guess. Quite recently, she returned from a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, raving about the great restaurants there. That's true, Fran. Being in the cooking website business, I'm sure you'd surely rave about that aspect of any of the areas and places you go!

In other travel news, I had a lengthy call from 1962 alumnus, RICHARD C. CALL. He and wife, Jean, were in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for the wedding of their 22-year-old granddaughter. He and I have been keeping in better touch in the recent years, and I'm so happy about that. We were great pals in school. I'm in hopes he and Jean will be visiting me in Tennessee, one of these days, sometime soon.

Speaking of that, it appears that my old pal and riding buddy, 1955's NORMAN E. JACKSON, just may be visiting me soon, in the company of his son, Chris. The two of them are headed for a motorcycle trip to the Tennessee mountains and, as always, I'm green with envy. They plan to ride that one road with which I'm also familiar. It's in the Smoky Mountains and nicknamed as, "the dragon" (Highway 129) for its 318 twists and turns in only 11 miles, all of it across the mountains. It's a spectacular ride, and yes, I've done it. It's a motorcyclist's dream, in fact. He says they'll stop by for a visit. You two ride very carefully, Norm! I remember a time when you weren't quite so conservative about that.

Norm has been quite ill, he told me, and says he is now pretty much back to normal and looking forward to the motorcycle trip with his son. We are all happy to hear you're well, Norm, and do take care of yourself. Happy ridiing!

There's more visiting, though, and not ALL of it was good, unfortunately. A recent e-mail came from 1963's GAYLE E. LESHER, in which she wrote of extensive water damage to their home in Florida. It seems they experienced a major, indoor flood, back in June, from a broken nut at the base of a toilet. We're all so sorry to hear of that misfortune, Gayle, and hope you've been able to get things properly restored. She wrote that they'd lost a lot of furniture, carpeting, and wall board, which had to be replaced as high as 4'. Wow, that was a bad one, wasn't it, Gayle?
She was pleased (amazingly) by the coverage of her insuror and by the clean-up efforts, so that was wonderful. Such is not always the case, in sunny Florida, I can tell you that from many years of experience.

Gayle had hoped to connect with fellow alumni during her trip, who included 1960's DAVID G. OTT, his 1963 spouse, SANDRA K. MINIX, and other close pal, 1963'S FRANCES L. PEFFLY. I'm almost afraid to ask if you succeeded in that effort, Gayle, as I'm aware of the extensive travel of all 3 of them, but I do hope so.

Of course, we can't overlook the ever-traveling FULLERs (1960's GERALD A. and his WC- honorary spouse, Rebecca A.), who gives us all great updates and travel reports. Becky's Aug. 15 report tells of their wintering in Panama City Beach, Florida, as usual. But this year, they re-mained in their Emerald Point condo, she wrote. They'd had it rented for about 4 years, due to cross-country RV-ing, but have now sold the RV, and are staying put a little more. They even got to attend an annual Christmas party at the home of friends in Savannah, Georgia, and will return to Florida in November. In the meantime, they will remain in the Louisville area, and Becky is spending more time with all her family, most of whom live there.

She reported that Jerry is feeling great, in good health, and doing well. I was thrilled to hear that. He's also staying very busy, doing remodeling work on their home, and he's done most of it all by himself. She says it looks great. We look forward to seeing you both in October! Thanks for the great update, Becky!

Just a couple of nights ago (it's now Aug. 22), I had a lengthy chat with lifelong friend, SHIRLEY J. TUDOR,1960. For some reason, we talked endlessly about the mischievous things we had done as children. I don't know why, as that's not normally what we discuss, but we did. There were Halloween pranks, bus trips to downtown Dayton, sleepovers, Suicide Hill sled races, and so much more, of course. The best part of such talks, I suppose, is the determining of WHY we did what we did, at the time. As it happens, she was able to recall FAR more of that part, than I was. In fact, she recalled a few details which I did not. In any case, it was fun to rehash those long-ago days, which really still seem as though they happened only yesterday. Most of these adventures occurred inside my beloved Miami Shores, before I moved across the river. It's just amazing, how quickly that many years passed!

From 1963's SHIRLEY A. RANKIN came e-mail in which she inquired as to the whereabouts of 1955's JACK L. KNIGHT. I did not have info I was able to confirm as current. But I finally did find a listing for him in an alumni directory of long ago, which I sent to her. If anyone has any-thing current, please let me know. Shirley, did you have any luck with that?

Shirley also wanted to know about someone named Janice Samuels. Shirley, is she WC? I have never before heard the name. Shirley had thought Janice might be the sister of JUDITH L. SAMUELS, but of course, she isn't. Give me a bit more info on her, Shirley, and I'll see what I can do. Also, if any of you know this person and where she is, let me know. Thanks.

Judy and I, by the way, continue our daily banter with all things domestic---cooking, recipes, the art of laundry, floor-mopping, dusting, garage sales, husbands, pets, car repairs, lunches and suppers, grocery prices, etc. It's all very boring, I'm sure, to everyone except us! We do it all by e-mail, as neither of us can spend that much time on the phone.

"Love is in the air!" Hmmmm, I've been getting several reports about our beloved alumnus of 1958, VINCENT A, BRODBECK, having a new lady friend. Is that right, Vince? If it is, I'm VERY happy for YOU, and very jealous of HER! I'm so sure I speak for all of us, when I write that we all wish you every happiness which life has to offer, and many more years of glowing health for you to enjoy it, too!! If this wonderful rumor is true, I am thrilled for you! One of your WC pals, whose identity I shall protect, wrote to tell me you and your lady friend were seen at the WC 4th of July picnic. As described to me, she was, "holding onto you like a box of Esther Price Candy!" I'd say that's quite a testimonial.

While I chose not to reveal the source for that remark, I'm nevertheless able to tell you I did get an e-mail from 1969's JACQUELINE J. CLARK, who told me she saw Vince and talked with him at that oh-so-popular WC hangout, the MB McD's (try to figure out THAT one?) and that he did, indeed, tell her he's involved with someone. In any case, I know we're all happy for Vince!

Well, we've hooked up 1987's SHARLENE N. MERKER and 1963's LEE JEAN JORDAN so that we can see if anything will come of this web -site to post our favorite WC memories. I've got a hunch these are two pretty creative minds we are merging and we shall await the results. I'm sure, if they're able to formulate a plan, it will be a good one! Keep us posted, you two!

In other WC mysteries, we still don't have an okay to report the results, from that mystery alumnus, who's making the cross-country move from one end to the other. If you're reading, do please let me know if it's okay to report. I'm very conscious of boundaries, as I write these things, and that's why I ask.

Yet another mystery? Yep, you bet! This one involves you, 1959's GARY E. BARNES. Did you know you still have devastating effects on these WC women? Watch out, Pat! One of them has written to tell me she had a huge crush on you in high school, Gary. She said, when she sees you at WC events, even to this very day, her heart, "goes pitty-pat." That's quite a testimonial, Gary, and of course, I cannot tell you who it is, as I'm sworn to secrecy.

Another party heard from, as regards church; i.e., Lutheran Church, that is. Gee, was ANYone a member of any other religion except Lutheran when we 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s folks were in school? It sure doesn't seem like we were. ANN C. WEIDLE, 1956, reports that she and spouse, RONALD L. BROWN, 1952, were members of Grace Luthern in WC. While I was in school, I didn't know the place was crawling with all these Lutherans, did you? In other ZELC news, 1961's NANCY ANN HALL (my recently-designated, spiritual adviser, as some of you may recall) has been keeping me current on recent policies and changes within the basic framework of the church. We've had a few in-depth discussions about all this. We've also exchanged our viewpoints, have bandied about a few of the old names, and extensively talked of Pastor Mullen and how he influenced us and affected our lives. It's fun to discuss this with those who go all the way back to the beginning!

Let's do a couple of updates on earlier topics, okay? First of all, the former WC math teacher, DAVID A. COOPER, reports that he succeeded reaching his old pal and fellow teacher, 1961's CHRIS L. CLEARY, surely one the most popular and beloved of the many sweethearts of THAT class! He says they had a great exchange and he wished her well in her upcoming nuptials (as do we all). Great, David! I'm glad the two of you got connected.

Okay, does anybody out there recall 1955's JERRY W. ESTEPP? I do recall the name, of course. Help me! Better yet,l let's help the afore mentioned DAVID A. COOPER to find him and reconnect. It seems they were college pals and caddies together, and pretty good friends. But then, they lost touch. David would like to make contact and re-establish their friendship. Let's all pitch in and try to find him, okay?

Okay, it's now August 24 and let's do a follow- up on the August 17 surgery of 1958's JAS. E. RICHARDSON. From his lifelong pal, RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, 1958, came an e-mail in which he said he spoke with Jim and he's doing well. I know we're all thrilled to hear that. Tom wanted Jim's address, too, and I happily provided it. We are all out here, Jim, and all pulling for a speedy and 100% recovery. We know you've got the best of nursing in your spouse, 1958's K. JUNE RICHARDSON. June, is he a lousy patient? Ha!

Let me interject a little, personal note to all of you, in this next paragraph. I've said this in my previous bulletins, I'm sure, but not lately. It's a sentiment which bears repeating. For my entire life, I've been totally obsessed with two things---motorcycles and journalism! I love writing, I love words, I love grammar, I love spelling, etc., etc.! For a person such as me, there is nothing more exciting than the thought that what I'm writing, is something people want to read! What a thrill! So I once again offer humblest thanks to each and every single one of you for such devotion to the ramblings which I'm possessed to write, for whatever reason. Every time I take too long to get the next bulletin finished, and one of you writes me to see if I'm okay because it's been so long, I'm thrilled clear down to my toenails. I have gotten FAR more out of doing this, than any of you have gotten, from reading all of it, believe me. So again, thank you, one and all! I will begin my 10th year of doing these bulletins, come October. I hope for 10 more, at least!

Okay, back to business! We welcome aboard 1970's CHERYL R. COLLINSWORTH. Yes, she is the niece of the late SHARON A. of 1954 (or is it 1955)? Anyway, a quick check of the 1970 yearbook confirms that she inherited a few of the beauty genes from Aunt Sharon, that's for sure. We do hope you will enjoy the bulletins, Cheryl, and we SURE hope you'll be attending all the WC events. We all have a great weekend of fun together, every October! When Cheryl wrote to me, she expressed her desire to be on the readers list, saying how much she enjoys reading all the names from the past, then added the sentence, "The stories are priceless!" Yes, I guess they are, Cheryl. We're all enjoying them very much.

Speaking of stories, and getting back to that recent, favorite topic---paddling---we got one more from 1960's RICHARD LEE "DICKIE" PHILLIPS, one of the many great characters from my own class. This was a positively great one, too. Dick recalled a class, taught by one of the female teachers (whose name he doesn't recall, I'm sorry to say). As the class progress- ed, there was some mischief by none other than WALLACE W. ROBBINS, imagine that! Dick wrote that the teacher took him to the hallway, paddle in hand.

Now, as we all know, Wally is (and always has been) quite the charmer with the ladies. His art must have begun early on, too! Soon, the door opened and he walked through, smiling, with the teacher close behind. There had been no noise to indicate paddling, and of course, his smile was the dead giveaway that he had not been paddled. However, his mischief continued (not surprisingly), and soon the teacher looked at him and said quite sternly, "Wallace, if you don't straighten up, I'm going to paddle you, boil or no boil!" Of course, the students erupted in peals of laughter.

Dick wrote that he didn't know which one of them was more embarrassed, Wally or the lady teacher. How I wish I knew what lady teacher that was! Does anyone else recall this story or at least remember who the teacher was? This has sort of a REBECCA A. MARSH ring to ti, don't you think? Anyway, that was a great story, Dick, and thanks for sending it to us. Now, let's wait and see if we get an answer as to whom it was. Perhaps Wally will remember.

We're moving right along with this bulletin, which is now closing in on 10 pages, and we've got a bit more news to include! For instance, I've just received a report from 1957's THERESA M. MOSES and spouse, THOS. D. ELLIOTT, who have reported on their class' annual gathering on August 8. Theresa reported they had 25 attendees this year and had a great time. I'm sure they did! That's terrific, after 52 years!

In addition to Tom and Theresa, in attendance, there were also CHAS. L. "CHUCK" BOND, BARBARA J. CARR, MARY A. COLLINS, CHAS. L. DECHANT (fiancee Barbara Nichols)
, ELMOR D. EVANS (spouse Beverly, also sis-ter-in-law Hilda Evans), BETTY J. HAMILTON (spouse Bill), ARTHUR L. KITSON (spouse Joyce), ERCELL P. PHILLIPS (spouse Betty), JUDY LEE KREITZER, LAWRENCE J. RENAS, JR., NEIL H. SIZER and 1959 WC spouse, SHIRLEY R. PARKS (as well as granddaughter Samantha), and also in attendance were 1958's
JAS. E. RICHARDSON and spouse K. JUNE CRUTCHFIELD, as well as legendary educator, MURL E. HUFFMAN.

Several of them traveled some distance, too. In fact, Larry (Renas) lives in Locustville, W. Va., while Elmor (Evans) lives in Idaho and Chas. (deChant) lives in Florida. As I wrote, that was a pretty impressive turnout, after 52 years. We thank you for that report, Tom and Theresa.

That other, great, annual, WC social took place, too; i.e., the annual gathering of the girls of 1961 at the Cumberland cabin of CAROLE J. LEWIS. Yes, I got a report on that function from their own P. LYNNETTE GARRETT. Aside from Lynn, the attendees included, 1962's (I think she's been made an honorary member of 1961, though) BARBARA T. O'NEAL, DONNA J. RICHARDS, SANDRA S. HOLLINGSWORTH, SANDRA S. MAYO, CAROLE J. LEWIS (of course), NANCY L. HOHNHORST, SALLY L. GILLETTE, JANET L. WALTERS, SANDRA J. CASEY, and I do believe that was it. But if I didn't get your name in here, and you were there for this, PLEASE let me know right away, so I can enter a correction.

Among those who were very sorely missed, according to Lynn's message were CHRIS L. CLEARY, LILY K. "KITTY" BURDETTE, and EDNA L. GRAY. I know there were many others
, too, who usually attend, but weren't there this year, for whatever reason, such as JACQUE-LINE N. LESHER, PAULA R. WILSON, and many others, too numerous to mention. But Lynn had news on a few people, such as Edna and her sisters, FLOSSIE J., 1960, BRENDA (of 1963?). They're all off on a trip to Branson, Missouri, very soon. We all hope you all have a circus, as we know you will, of course!

Lynn also reported that her son had made a trip to Florida to visit with his uncle (Lynn's brother) and that he was doing well. Lynn's father died in February, so her mother is now in an assisted living facility. Apparently, both are doing well.

Lynn had several other pieces of news, too. As it happens, Nancy (Hohnhorst) became ill while in Ohio and had to get back to California and have stents done on her heart. She sent a follow
-up (Lynn) stating Nancy is now doing fine. If anyone has her postal mailing address, I'd like to have it. I would like to send her a card, please. Thanks for letting me know about that, Lynn. Of course, we all wish Nancy a speedy and 100% recovery and we sure do hope to see you and your 1959 spouse (H. JAY CARROLL, JR.) in October. I'm holding out little hope of that, though, due to her having just been here, and also being ill. But we sure will be thinking about both of you, Nancy and Junior!

Okay, I've gotten one query after another from all of you about how I'M doing. As so many of you have reminded me, as much as I write about all of YOU, I never write much about myself. That's true, of course, and I just hadn't given it a lot of thought, I suppose. Overall, things are all right with me, everything considered. My husband remains ill and in constant pain with that darned neuropathy, for which there is no cure and very little effective medication. My time is filled with his care and the care of this monstrous house we acquired in Tennessee. Since so many of you have been here, you know what I mean.

The oldest grandson is here with us and has been doing a lot of work inside and outside the house, which helps a great deal. I do love the climate here, and the cost of living is barely more than half of what it was in Florida! How great is that?

When I finish this one, I'm once again going to try and reach several of my classmates, who include THOS. D. YOUNG, BEVERLY A. BOWMAN, and EULA FAYE BAILEY. I'm overdue with you, Eula Faye, having tough time getting in touch with Beverly, and keep missing Tom and Sandi!

So here I am, at the close of yet another bulletin and wondering where all the time has gone, as I always do. We're now a scant 6 weeks from our big weekend. I know the forms were mailed so if you didn't get one (I haven't, yet), go to the website ( www.wchsalumni.org ), click on events and download your form and get it sent back as quickly as possible!

Will this bulletin get through to all of you? Well, I don't know, as I'm still teetering on the brink of a computer crash. Ha! This particular one is 13 pages long, so if I lose it, I'm going to commit hari-kari (or however you spell it). As I once again leave you all, it is with my wish for each of you to have glowing health, great happiness, peaceful serenity, spiritual harmony, and boundless prosperity. Ciao!


- posted by Mikey @ 12:12 PM