CLASSMATES        °

John Staedke (+daughter), Uganda health

Bob Brunk, auctioneer


Debbie Drew, geneaologist

Sherry Rogers by Margie

Linnea Asplind, designer

Hardy Wieting, China Hand

Doug Walter, olive farmer

Dexter Griffith, comedian

Teun Schoolwerth, pitcher

Linda Woodruff, politician

Wendy John, ouch!

Helen Moran, tennis star

Mary Lou Grant, artist of the month

Esther Houlder, daughter of Norway

Joanna Paulsen, poet entrepreneur

Robert Anzak, TX builder

Dennis Duda, company he worked for

Jerry Molitor, radiologist

Jim Undem's Norwegian genealogy

James Lewis, company he owns

James Lewis, his program at Miami of Ohio

Becky's bourbon company

Steve Elrick, actor

Don Moeller, witness

°      55TH REUNION       °

Chairman's Perspective.
All of our reunions have been fun and memorable from start to finish, but this one had a beginning unlike any other.  The morning the seventy five of us were to convene was the day of the big Chicago airport shut down.  As I listened to the news reports, I really thought that the reunion was doomed.  To complicate the situation, I was home in Nashville with a newly diagnosed heart issue severe enough to prohibit travel.  I soon found out, though, how resilient my Reunion Committee and my classmates are . . . and how much I had overestimated my importance.  They not only "carried on" without me but had a good time doing it.
In the end, many travelers were late, but only a few (John Staedke, Mary Hanson and Debbie Drew) were never able to make it.  I myself convinced my doctor at the last minute that I could travel, so I arrived in time for Saturday's dinner.  I wish that I could include all the harrowing travel stories because they made for fun conversation.  My heart problem also was a frequent topic.  I learned that several classmates have experienced similar problems and are still alive to tell about them, so I guess that I will survive too.  Thank you all for your kind expressions of concern.
Many thank you's are due.  the first, of course, go to my Committee Members:  Cliff Argue, our coordinator; Sandie and Frank Rose, our treasurers; Marybert Buethe Zelesnik, our hospitality chair; and Pat Galligan Witt, our "lost classmates" investigator and co-masters of ceremony.
In addition, many volunteered to help even though they were not on the committee.  Friday's scheduled helpers at registration were Nancy Fricke Johnson, Sherry Rogers Williamson and Diane Meinert Curran.   Helen Moran Lemal and Carole Stone Baumann also stepped in to fill the void caused by flight cancellations.  At the entrance to registration was a poster designed especially for the event by Linnea Asplind Riley.  Needless to say, it was terrific.(Linnea, I'm going to have it framed for hanging.)  A smaller version was used for the cover of the reunion program.  For the Friday   evening get together, Bill Maletich put a lot of preparation into his karaoke sing along program.  I heard that Roger Griffith was good at persuading classmates to get up on stage.
I also missed the Smile Mile and boathouse brunch, but they went on as scheduled under a beautiful autumn sky. John Pond and Gary Mutz took over as organizers for John Staedke who was stuck in OK and who had taken over for me since I was still en route to Glen Ellyn.  Janet Kelley Halvorsen found a whistle in her back pack to replace the one that I was supposed to furnish to get the walk started.  The boathouse catered brunch was supplemented by a special type of blue cheese aged in caves near Ruth Kolberg Newton's and her husband's farm in Burnside, IL.  It has become a tradition that Ruth bring it to our reunions. 
Saturday evening's dinner at Glen Oak entailed a lot of planning and coordination by many classmates.  Nancy Rutledge Jackson used her design skills and Marybert's kitchen to put together the centerpieces.  Inserted into the bouquets were pennants with conversation starters typed on them. Nancy's centerpieces were attractive, clever, and served a purpose. Next to each table's centerpiece was a box of chocolates supplied by Jim Lewis...but more about Jim's contributions later.
Thank you to Nancy Fricke Johnson who give the invocation prior to dinner.  After dinner Neal Whitecotton and Pat Galligan teamed up to handle the masters of ceremony duties. Although I had asked Neal to serve as emcee long before the program had been finalized, my choice proved to be good not only because of Neal's wit and charm, but also because of his Glenbard choir background.  After Jim Lewis's initial contact with Glenbard Principal Peter Monaghan about the possibility of some sort of school update, Neal coordinated a "State of Glenbard" video by Principal Monaghan followed by a live performance by the Glenbard Madrigal Singers.  We were glad to see and hear that Glenbard is thriving and that its principal is so dedicated.  The Choral group of about 15 wowed our socks off!  Their music was superb and their composure and demeanor were professional and delightful.  To me, they were the highlight of the reunion.  They were a good introduction to Jim Lewis's presentation about The Pep Foundation, a partnership for educational progress in the Glenbard area school districts.  Jim reminded us that the school communities are much more diverse than in our day.  The senior class at Glenbard West has an enrollment of 600 students.  And we thought our class was large!
There is one more thank you that I want to express.  In fact I've wanted to say thank you to her publicly several times throughout the planning process, but she insisted on remaining invisible.  Carol Krom Becker has not only shared her experience in planning reunions, but has been a super supporter of my efforts.  It was also Carol who was our webmaster.  She taught herself the trade during her stints as reunion chair and shared her skills for the 55th.  She came through for us when nobody else volunteered.  I apologize, Carol, for this public thank you, and I hope that you will forgive me before the 60th.
I left the reunion with a couple of thoughts:  l.  There are a lot of nice people in our class whom I wished I had known in high school.  2. With each reunion, the class bonds get closer and closer.  And . . . 3.  the 60th is far in the future, but nevertheless, I'm going to start looking forward to it now.