ON 26 JULY 2010, BONNIE WRITES:

---Okay, it's time to begin another. The e-mails are piling up rapidly, and I've got my newspaper column completed. My writing gene is working overtime today, so I decided I'd better get going on the next edition. As I begin, it's Monday, July 5, and everyone is on a long, holiday weekend. I dedicate this edition to the irreplaceable, late WM. L. MCNABB, 1954.

We'll kick off with forwarders, as always, and yes, I confess, I'm still on my old PC (and yes, I'm still hearing you, Nick)! Our forwarders are 1954's V.
JOANNA JACKSON, FREDA P. FLETCHER; 1956's ROSETTA PRUET
T; 1957's DARELL L. TOBIAS, WM. R. HOWARD, RONALD T. "TOM" F
EE, ERCELL P. PHILLIPS, BETTY LEE CARROLL, RALPH H. WARNER
, LAWRENCE J. RENAS, JR.; 1958's WM. R. HOWARD, RONALD D. "TOM" FEE,BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, DONALD I. MCCOY; 1959's GAR
Y E. BARNES;1960's LARRY M. PENDLEY, STEVEN M. KOKOT, LINDA L. SHANK, RICHARD S. HOLT, C. SUE MCCLOUD, GERALD A. FULLE
R, JUDITH A. SLIFE, EULA FAYE T AULBEE, DELORES K. "DEDE" FA
HRNEY; 1961's SALLY L. GILLETTE, JANET L. WALTERS,NANCY A. H
ALL, SANDRA S. MAYO, GARY R. FRANK, CONNIE K. STREETE, SHA
RON KAYE WENDELKEN, CAROL J. MUMMA, LARRY D. GILBERT; 19
62's RICHARD C. CALL, SHIRLEY A. SEXTON; BARBARA T. O'NEAL; 1963's LEE JEAN JORDAN, GAYLE E. LESHER; 1969's JACQUELINE J.CLARK, ROBT. E. THARPE; JOHN Q. KEMP; 1971's PAMELA K. SHI PLEY, JOY I. WOLFORD, THOS. A. DORSEY;1988'S JAS. A. MCGUIRE.

(Footnote for 1958's NICHOLAS P. WOLARY: Nick, you'll be pleased to know that I've finally completed the, "moving-in," to my new PC. Since I've begun this bulletin, I've sent all the text, addresses, notes, etc., over to the new one. So this is my very first bulletin which will be sent from the new one. Let's all keep our collective fingers tightly crossed!)

We still have our, "e-mail lost list," and I'm so far having no luck getting updates on these alumni. Again, if anyone has a current e-mail on these, do let me know. Now that I've completed the test mailings (which all of you received, the list is longer than ever, so help me, please! They are 1954's JO ANNE MC CLURE (reason Host Not Responding); 1957's SARAH M. "JACKIE" MASON (reason Not Accepting Mail, so this one is probably okay); 1958's DONALD G. HISEY and his 1962 wife, CAROL J. GILPIN (reason Not A Valid User and it's the same one I've used, all along): 1959
's BETTY C. SCHRADER (reason extended inactivity on this account), BILLY K. CARMACK and his 1961 spouse, CONNIE M. MARCUM; 1960
's CHARLOTTE LEE HUEY (reason is Invalid Mailbox, but it's the same as
I've used, all along); 1964's TERRY L. WILSON;1969's ROBT. A. BUCK
LEY (reason Recipient Address Reject-ed, User Unknown). There are also many from the 1954 class and a few from 1955. So perhaps their class president, JERRY R. GRAHAM (1954) can encourage contact, so we can include them in our news. So on the ones for which there may be a solution or some sort of help, let me know. If they are not in that group, then we'll just wait until we hear from them. (My font has just changed, all by itself, I think. Yes, I still hear you, Nick.)

So we'll back up to my earliest e-mail from the last bulletin. It's from our alumni secretary and that's 1970's GARY E. JOHNSON. Yes, I sent him my list of contacts, but it seems he's such an optimist, he feels he can tutor technologically-challenged me, into a transmittal through the cyber-highway. Well, we'll see about that. I sure do appreciate the vote of confidence, Gary! (Footnote: Indeed, he did talk me through it, and he got the list, via the Internet. Amazing, just amazing!)

We've added another 1970 reader, TERRY L. NEUBERG! I suspect you may have come to us through Gary. Is that right or not, Terry? In any case, we're thrilled to have you on board and we hope you'll enjoy all the bulletins and attend all the events in October. We are also adding a classmate of mine, BRENDA J. LUCAS, who came to us through her 19 68 brother, ROGER D. LUCAS. There is also 1954's NANCY S. DUFF EE, who's a recruit of classmate FREDA P. FLETCHER. Welcome to you both, and thanks to Roger and Freda.

As it happens, I guess 1963's GERALDINA SELLARS and I also have something in common. It seems Geri also rides motorcycles and she wrote me she's going to be jealous at my acquisition of a Harley-David
-son. Well, I recommend you get one, too, Geri! That way, when I wheel down that way for Bike Week, you can come with me. How about that idea?

There was another interesting exchange with 1963's LEE JEAN JORDAN. We shared a few of the same memories, regarding 1956's ANN C. WEIDLE. Who among us (of that era) does not recall the sight of Ann, head majorette, as she marched down the football field in front of the WC marching band? She was so beautiful and even regal, and the envy of nearly all girls in the lower classes. We all wanted to look like her, be like her, have her beautiful olive skin, and her electrifying smile. Lee Jean wrote the same thing.

For me, I had thought for all these years, that it was Ann's mother who
owned the then-very-prestigious Ada's Hat & Dress Shop. I was so surprised to learn it was Lee Jean's very own grandmother, Ada Poff. Oh, I knew it was Ada Poff, all right. I simply thought Ada Poff was Ann's mother. Ann's mother was, indeed, Mrs. Poff's best friend. I was quite surprised to learn of all this. Thanks, Lee Jean. Ann, if you're reading
this, I saw a photo of you from 2006, and you're still just as gorgeous. Amazing!

Special thanks goes to you, 1961's GARY R. FRANK, for complying with my request about the forwards, which helped me to clear the big problem with my PC downloads. I've had no problems since that time, and I sure did truly appreciate your help with that. Thanks also to 1961's CAROL J. MUMMA, who offered words of encouragement about my new status as a widow. I appreciate that, and yes, I get your full meaning. Now, that brings me to 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE. Tom wrote to tell me he feels I should give motorcycle-riding instructions to my prospective male companions. Well, I did teach the course for 9 years, but I don't think I'd want to be responsible for trying to teach men of my age group how to ride motorcycles for the very first time. Hmmm, I'd have to think hard on that one!

A wonderful health update came from 1967's MARIAN KAY HUSSEY
about PHILLIP D. HOWARD, her 1960 spouse. Just over 2 years ago, Phil had a dual-organ transplant and Kay reports he's doing great and getting around so well and really enjoying life. That's terrific for you both, Kay, and you know we all wish you well. There will be a bit more on Phil a little further in the bulletin, by the way.

Continuing a banter of exchanges about a few commonalities we share is myself and 1960's JUDITH A. SLIFE. It seems Judy also enjoys the motorcycle-riding. Who knew? She also likes writing. Were we maybe separated at birth? We also shared a few crushes on the WC teachers.
.Everyone knows who mine was, of course, but Judy referred to hers as being MR. EPSTEIN. I've got no recollection of him, at all!

Guess who else checked in with a few words for us? It was none other than 1959's CAROLYN J. "TOOTIE" PENCE. She commented on her high school days as being some of her fondest memories of her life and what a great bunch of kids we had at WC. Who would disagree with that? Of course, Tootie was the original one-namer, pre-dating even Cher. We had several of those one-namers at WC, in fact, who included Cookie, Boots, DeDe, Bubbles, and Smitty. I daresay we all know who all those people were, right?

Guess what? We've found 1960's RONNIE R. WHEELER! He's on our list now, so welcome back, Ron! He was found as a result of efforts by his half-sister, Winifred L. House. As best I can recall, I believe Ron was once on our list of lost class members, but no more. We hope to see you in October, Ron, as it's our 50th!

Nancy A. Hall, 1961, promises to drop in for a visit when she gets into the Appalachian area. I wonder, Nancy, if you'll beat your classmate, RICHARD E. KNEER and wife Becky, in a visit to my place. The Kneers are in nearby North Carolina and by the time I finish this, they may have already knocked on my door. We'll see.

Class president, JERRY R. GRAHAM, 1954, and I have been exchang
-ing several e-mails in an attempt to get more people into the WC news
loop. Jerry is quite the wellspring of information, I'm happy to write. So
thanks for all your help, Jerry, and I can say exactly the same for STEVEN F. SHADE, 1965. He's right there, every time I've got a question or need some trivia info. We have quite an influx of new people from 1954, and a few from 1955. This is due to the tragic death of 1954
's WM. L. MCNABB, who I understand was responsible for distributing the bulletins among his class and, now that he's not here to do it, we've added them to the regular list of readers. So welcome to all of you, too.

Wm. D. Van Cleef, spouse of 1961's JUDITH L. SAMUELS, completed his surgery and is at home recovering satisfactorily. He didn't lose a limb, as might have been a possibility, and I know we're all happy about that. He and Judy host a never-ending stream of visitor, houseguests, neighbors, and such. She cooks for them, serves them drinks, make all the snack trays and such, and I have no idea how she does it all!

What a warm, funny situation is this next little story. We've all become so much more closely connected in recent years, as we all know. So if a long time passes with no communication, you can be sure one of us is going to notice it. Such was the case with 1958's DONALD I. MCCOY, after a long period of silence. Soon, his old pal, WM. R. HOWARD, wrote to me to say he was quite concerned with Don's silence. He wanted to know if I'd heard from Don. I told him I hadn't, so Bill, using all his skills as the private investigator, set out to find the status of Don. He wrote that if Don was ok, then he was just, "in heat."

Well, I must say, Bill knows Don quite well. As it happened, it was only days until I got an e-mail from Don, in which he confirmed he's been very busy with business, music, home obligations, and yes, he's found himself a new companion. Well, we're glad you're not sick again, Don, and don't stay quiet for so long, in the future, or else we'll sic Bill onto the trail again. Yep, you were right, Bill! Good work, but we finally heard from him, didn't we?

Continuing a running banter are 1963's FRANCES L. PEFFLY and I. She
is still doing her real estate efforts to get to Tennessee and, at last report, was putting in an offer in the immediate area. Hurry up, Fran! We've got lots of estate sales to attend, antique shops to visit, and fancy lunches to have. (Footnote: Apparently, one of Fran's offers was accepted, in Greene County, right next door to me. She said she did not get a reject, which is usually the case, when they aren't accepted, and one is told, right away. I'll check further and give you all the update, as available).

On July 20, who should walk across the back porch of my house but 1961's P. LYNNETTE GARRETT and husband, Frank L. Hawvermale! Of course, I was delighted to see them. We spent the afternoon gabbing and getting up to date on all the latest. They were returning to their home in Ohio, after a visit to Florida, where they spent some time on Amelia Island, which is in Fernand Ina Beach, and they also visited Lynn's brother, who's in a Florida nursing home. They spent the night, leaving around 11 on the following morning. They promised they would return soon. I hope so.

It is now July 24, Saturday. As I sat down, it was with warm recall of my delightful afternoon with 1961's RICHARD E. KNEER, wife Becky, and 3 of their grandchildren, Jenna, Madyson, and Jayde. The Kneer clan drove up to see me from their digs in Bryson City, North Carolina, which is about 144 miles from my house. They arrived around 12:45 p.m., I took them on the ten-cent tour of my place (which takes a little while, believe me), we sat down for a nice visit, and then proceeded to the brand-new Olive Garden Restaurant, where we continued our visit over lunch. (Thank you, Dick and Becky.) That was such a nice gesture.

The girls are all gorgeous, by the way (including you, Becky) and Dick is in great shape, he tells me, following a hip replacement, some time back. He told me he and Becky have put their place up for sale (in Florida) and if it should sell, they won't be buying again, in Florida. That's a very, very wise decision, and one which I fully understand. Around 3:30, they headed
back south again, saying they wanted to go through Gatlinburg on their re-
turn trip, and show the girls a few of the high spots. We had a great visit. I thank you both for coming to see me.

Okay, let's back up a couple of weeks and cover the e-mails from that time
. From 1960's DAVID A. BLAIR came an e-mail about available rentals in Florida. He and Marlene are planning to spend January through March in that state. Dave wants to know if anyone among us is aware of units which are clean and reasonable. I'm sure there must be some, Dave, but take a bushel basket of money with you for living expenses, down there, I know that for sure.

From 1960's RICHARD S. HOLT came a great report about the Marion's Pizza gathering. Thanks for this one, Richard. Aside from Richard, there was THOS. L. WOLF, JR., ROSS A. HODGSON, KEITH H. CLENDENON
, WM. E. "BUDDY" STOVER, and PHILLIP D. HOWARD. What a great group! I'll bet you guys had a circus. The next one will be on August 10, and I understand CHAS. A. "BUDDY" LOWMAN III has committed to be in attendance. You're being held to that, Bud, so be there! Attention, WM. E. "BILL" HECKER! Are you reading this? Your presence has been specifi- cally requested by Keith, so be there! In fact, why on earth are not all you 1960 guys going to this? You'd have a circus! Keep them informed as to dates and times, Richard, and don't give up. Good going! These next few sentences are for you, Tom Wolf. Phil wrote me a special e-mail, in which he expounded on how much he enjoyed talking with you, specifically. He hadn't seen you, in many years, he wrote, and truly had a wonderful time visiting with you. How nice!

Thanks, Fran, for your mention of me in your book, "Painless Cooking," and the beauty of Tennessee. I refer, of course, to 1963's FRANCES L. PEFFLY, who's been a regular visitor to my home in Tennessee, as I've previously mentioned. I'm expecting Fran again, in fact, next month, as it appears she's succeeded in her property purchase here. Oh, boy! We'll soon be neighbors.

It is with sadness I must report the passing of 1961's JANET M. HISEY, on July 9. She was the spouse of JAKE L. PEFFLY, Fran's brother, and had put up a painful battle with pancreatic cancer. Jake and Janet had been married for many, many years and had 7 children. Our condolences go out to both the Peffly and Hisey families. She was also the younger sister of 1959's (I think) DONALD G. HISEY.

We have found 1972's PHYLLIS A. DAVIDSON, who said she hasn't been getting any bulletins for a while. Apparently, they'd been blocked. I'll try to send you some of the back ones, Phyllis. I think I still have them on my other PC. I'm going to see. However, please don't fail to check the blog which is maintained by 1960's MICHAEL S. WEST ( www.wchs.blogspot.com ) He has been quite zealous about postings and you should find them all there.

From our WC alumni secretary, 1970's GARY E. JOHNSON, comes a re-quest for, "the marker year classes," (1945, 1950, 1955, etc.) to please make contact with the association, in order to get your schedule of events and/or activities into the bulletin. Please contact them soon, as they will begin the reservations forms mailings on August 18. (I sure hope I'm going to be get this distributed before that!) Contact Gary at ( wc_alumni@yahoo.com ) or contact 1970's DEBRE D. "DEBBIE" SPENCER ( dh937xo@yahoo.com ) (Her surname is now Hoobler.) Thanks, Gary.

Several of you have sent requests for events for alumni weekend. Boy, am I ever flattered! But the fact is, I'm really nobody in the grand scheme of our events. I'm merely a messenger, and not even official, at that. I make
Lots of mistakes, here and there, and sometimes don't even know what day it is. I'm profoundly grateful for each and every single one of you, who seem to want to read my ramblings, for whatever reason. Also, please remember, the only truly official event of alumni weekend, is our alumni dinner/dance, so if you can make only one thing, be sure it's that, and especially this one if you're a 1960 class member, okay? To 1960's MICHAEL S. WEST and to 1962's MARY ANN DUNCAN and her spouse RUSSELL L. "RUSTY" ELLIOTT, I've sent all the info I know. I want to re-emphasize, I'm no one in this structure, just a writing-crazed, proficient (?)
typist. But thank you all again, for being so kind as to elevate me to such lofty heights.

Recently, I sent a few rather---hmmm, let me see---amusing, shall we say, photos to several of you, whom I thought might enjoy them. Did you, ever!
I got particularly-amusing replies from 1960's GARY L. WARLAUMONT and DEVONA S. TAYLOR. I trust I'll be seeing both of you in October?

From 1957's DARELL L. TOBIAS came the news that he's retired from the company for which I had the other e-mail address, so are congratulations in order, Darell? Have you totally retired, or is it just from that company?

Okay, did I have another royal screw-up? (Well, yes, that was sort of a pun which is intended, as you will read.) It has just come to my attention that I might've been guilty, recently, of writing that 1959's homecoming queen was COE S. WOLFE. Now, we all know it was SHIRLEY R. PARKS, and I know that, too. If I did that, I can't begin to explain why, except I'm old and addle-brained, and yes, I know that Coe was the attendant, not the queen. So let's resolve that one, with this edition, shall we? "I've struck again!" I thank all of you for tolerating me, with my endless goofs. My apologies to both Shirley and Coe.

What a great story from 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE! My mention in a bulletin of Joy Grooms, brought forth his tale of unrequited love. Tom wrote of his transfer to Miamisburg High School and seeing Joy for the very first time. He wrote he knew his life would never be complete until she was his girlfriend. Well, his high school life was never complete, as she never did become his girlfriend, and went on to marry a member of the prominent WC family, the KOKENGEs. I see Joy's name on a few of the forwards I get, so I suspect she'll read this. Anyway, Tom worshipped her from afar, throughout high school, and did, "dream the impossible dream." He says we all have such stories, and I'm sure he's right. I know I do and you all know who it was. (Hint, hint! Sociology teacher JAS. C. JOHNSON, are you reading this?)

It's difficult to find more enthusiasm than that expressed by 1970's ROBYN L. SHEPHERD. She wrote the most infectious and bubbly e-mail ever, as regards the joys of reconnecting with old friends. She wrote of meeting with RODNEY R. GABBARD and having coffee and catching up on all the years. She was ecstatic! Also, are you there, Rod? Robyn wrote of your having surgery on July 2. Did that happen? If so, how did that go? Are you all right? Are you better? Are you the same? Please send us a brief report, at your earliest convenience. Robyn, I'm thrilled to read about your enthusiasm and so hope you'll be at the functions in October. Thanks very much for writing and being a part of our bulletins.

Come October, I'll have been doing these bulletins for 10 solid years. Can you even believe that? I sure can't. It's been the single-most wonderful and rewarding accident of my life. In all that time, however, I've never yet had a single topic which has hung on as long as that of the two-holer. It was just a big joke, emanating from exchanges between myself and 1954 classmate, FREDA P. FLETCHER. Yet, the subject won't die. I get all sorts of cartoons, jokes, photos, and such. Some good ones have come from 1956's ROSETTA PRUETT and from 1958's WM. R. HOWARD and from 1963's GERALDINA SELLARS.

Recently, I received a wordy and interesting diatribe on the topic from 1962's RUSSELL L. "RUSTY" ELLIOTT, in which he expounded on how he's been waiting on a correct explanation for why there are/were two-holers. His e-mail actually made some sense. He says the boys were supposed to use only the one hole (obvious reasons) and that's the reason one was more elongated in design (I've got no recall of that, but at my age, at the time, I wouldn't have noticed.) He says this way, there would be no dribbling on the second seat, which would be used only by females and when men had to sit. (We won't elaborate on that part any further, now shall we?) That's a pretty good explanation, Rusty, and I think even I can buy into that one. Rusty also said with the three boys, there were times when the ideal situation just really couldn't work. (Poor Mrs. Elliott!) Yes, I do remember the big bags of odor-killing (supposedly) lime powder. So that's the latest on the two-holer, folks, and who knows how many more of the two-holer stories are forthcoming?

People with whom I've directly spoken since the last bulletin, include 1960 's SHIRLEY JAY TUDOR, EULA FAYE BAILEY, CHAS. A. HIGH, JR.; 1961 's P. LYNNETTE GARRETT, RICHARD E. KNEER; and 1963's FRANCES L. PEFFLEY. I know there will be more of you, as the year goes quickly away from us.

Today, though, I got a very interesting call from 1959's Dr. L. BERNARD ROSE, D.D.S. I had just exited the church and found a voice mail from Bernie on my phone. I returned his call immediately. As we all recall, he and classmate, JOLENE S. COMBS, were married many years ago. He's under the impression that many of us think Jolene is deceased. He wants to be sure we all know she isn't. Jolene has extensive health challenges, yes, but she's still with us. I assured him I would include information on her, so we'd all know she's still among us. Bernie cares for her at home and is dedicated to her welfare and to her fond memory among their former class -mates, too.

Bernie spoke glowingly of Jolene and it was a wonderful conversation. He has been able, he said, to keep her home and care for her, in spite of her number of health challenges. Jolene was essentially pronounced a death sentence on June 13, 1994, said Bernie. It's now more than 16 years and
she's hanging in there. He wants her determination to serve as hope and inspiration for others, he says.

She's been at one or two of the WC functions in the past 5 years. Bernie spoke of her many wonderful accomplishments. He was especially proud of how she'd raised their two daughters, both of whom are educators. The elder girl is making quite a name for herself and has written books, appeared on very noted TV shows, and is becoming quite prominent. Bernie credits Jolene and her child-rearing skills for all their successes, saying he was working most of that time, very long hours. But I know we all remember Jolene as the vibrant, bright, successful girl, whom she was. We all wish the best for Bernie and Jolene, that's for sure. Thanks so much for calling, Bernie! We all fondly remember you and Jolene, and anytime it's possible, we would all love to see both of you at all the WC functions.

From 1958's WM. R. HOWARD came an e-mail regarding the possible passing of someone named BOB ROBERTS. I don't know him, and don't know the class year. Does anyone know anymore about this? Perhaps you, 1965s' STEVEN F. SHADE? If anyone has more concrete info, do let me know. Bill says 1958's W. BAILEY HAWKINS is sure of it. If you are, Bailey, please send me further details, such as a full name, class year, and anything else you may have. Thanks.

We've come to the close (finally) of what must be about 130th-140th issue of the WNR. I haven't kept count and who knew it would ever become what it has, anyway? Once again, I thank you, one and all. You're all cherished by me, believe me. Please mark your calendars for October 7, 8, 9, and 10. That's especially true for October 9 and especially, especially, very especially true for our 1960 class. No excuses are accepted for this year, hear? Well, death, I suppose, but you'll have to deliver a certified copy of the death certificate, in person. I suppose that makes the point.

Please continue to send all your news tidbits. Forwards are fine and they get you on the forwarding list, so everyone knows you're alive and we've got a contact. But please be sure to send items such as babies and cars and vacations and visitors and all that stuff. I want to include your name in the next bulletin, okay? "Enquiring minds want to know!"

For now, I leave each of you with my usual best wishes for glowing health, personal safety, great happiness, peaceful serenity, spiritual harmony, and boundless prosperity. Ciao!
- posted by Mikey @ 10:58 AM