Sunday, August 28, 2011

Tempest in a Teapot Part II in More ways than One

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, we Hoosiers viewed the events in complete safety and sunshine. It was with great relief that the storm did not meet expectations as we thought about my East Coast classmates who were in the path of the storm.

It wasn't the only tempest in the picture however. Once again, the issue of privacy rears its head. Our thought was that many have over the years lost their yearbooks and would like to have a copy of their senior pictures with Facebook as the delivery vehicle. While no one has a problem with their pictures published permission on the Class reunion site, which have been on the Internet for over 5 years, suddenly it's an issue on Facebook. Seems that my posting high school pictures to classmates, which initially began amidst a great swelling of good feelings and fond memories has been tainted with suspicion and paranoia. Privacy is apparently defined differently in different quarters.

Again, I emphasize that this negativity will not affect the completion of my project which involves two activities, one, finding and contacting everyone in the class, and two, publishing a complete class directory, less the few who have opted not to participate.

It's just a shame that something that was meant to get people thinking about high school and the passage of time and attending the Reunion has become a bone of contention, another tempest in a small teapot, unlike Irene, the real Tempest in a much larger realm.

Despite these little harassments, we continue on. We heard from Patty Parkin Carr and suggested she give Carol Vanderway a call since they hadn't spoken for years. We haven't heard from Noreen West yet, but when we do, we'll see if we can't reconnect each of them with each other. Got a call out of the Blue from Earl Newman, out in  Los Banos, CA. I resisted the temptation to suck information from him since he spent half his career maintaining and repairing RVs. I also got a return call from Ed Dickenson another of our classmates in the ministry in the San Diego area.

I had a rollicking chat with Deborah Galesi who lives in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. She has become an accomplished and classically trained artist (not to mention free spirit) and she promised to share a sunset with us on her west facing lanai the next time we were on Maui, one of our favorite vacation spots.

But as though there were some cosmic balance in the world for all this happy news, we were saddened to run into death listings for Diane Finnegan (2008) and Ed Miller (2002).

So even as Irene takes a parting shot at New England, and we warn the recently retired George Dingfelder in Maine to batten down his hatches, we hope this most recent obstructionist privacy snit will blow over and everyone can get on with good times, good memories and reconnecting with classmates.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Delivery Status Notification (Failure)

It has been an interesting couple of days since we "Unofficially" announced the Wayne Valley 67 Class Directory. We've amassed a great deal of data, found or confirmed many classmates' whereabouts and are now starting to contact everyone either by Facebook, email or postcard or phone. Unfortunately, many of the emails we inherited from the 40th class reunion attendance directory bounced back. Even though it takes longer, cause I can't NOT talk once connected, I still prefer the phone.

Also experienced an interesting phenomenon immediately following the earthquakes of this past week. No emails went through to the East Coast and we had to resend them all. My sister, who lives in the DC area said that the widespread overloading of the internet and cell phone systems was a real revelation after all the vendors had assured the government that they would assure continuous operations after 9/11. NOT.

Talked to Doug Fowler up in Nashua NH. Had a fun talk with him. Also had a great conversation with Ken Coyle who has been a teacher and coach forever in Tempe AZ. I also got a chance to congratulate him for his induction into the WV Football Hall of Fame, which I've been meaning to do ever since Bob Sherger told me about it weeks ago, I'm embarrassed to say. Also had a chat with Carol Vanderway in South Jersey which I presume is battening down their hatches in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.

The number of folks who are on board with the directory is too great to list and I'm even getting some short bios. Now if we can get photos, we're golden, besides our years. I'm busy setting up the pages, Linda's on research, Larry Delucca's on Alto Sax, and Bob Wanek is in St. Petes percolating with ideas for the directory (making work for me, but as I said in 1970, "He labors not who loves his labor". Talked with Linda Schall Kosinski who mentioned folks she knew were in North Carolina. We compared notes on that one.

I've had a few people express privacy concerns in providing email addresses. I want to point out that all that will be visible unless someone actually wants to send you an email is the message "click to send email". I am using a little piece of code that prevents Spam robots from scouring the page to collect email addresses. They specifically look for a format, somebody@something.com. If they don't see that, they can't get anything. Believe me, you're already out there. Try Googling yourself, and if you're on Facebook, well, some of us talk about vacations we're on right now, what we're having for lunch and so it goes. As I've said before, I balance privacy with my desire to be reachable. And short of the witness protection program, (which Dale Weber tried to convince his NC neighbors he was a part of) if you want to be reached by old friends and possible new ones, like some of the suggestions for Facebook friends that Linda and I have made, well, you have to be reachable.

On the flip side of the equation, this directory will make it much easier to find folks that are still not located. Almost to a person, folks that were "lost" were unaware that they were, and almost to a person, they asked about someone, or someone has asked about them and it's just great being able to provide information so old friends can rekindle their friendships. Likewise, it will be easier for us to find folks if you hear of anything that may help to locate them.

We are also initiating a Veterans page Those Who Served, so we can acknowledge our Armed Services veterans, so if you are, let me know what branch of service you were in and your dates of service. We will have a page that lists classmates in State order so that regional get-togethers will be simplified, should the classmates in that area choose to do so. One of my favorites is recognition of classmates who are Class Mates, married to their high school sweethearts of which there are many couples in our class. We are also going to have a Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes page to keep track of changes in Contact Information which we will try to update at least on a monthly basis depending on how many there are. And mentioned last because I don't like to think of it, is a Memorial page, In Memoriam, so we can remember our gone but not forgotten classmates of whom there are a few more from initial indications with the Social Security Administration. We found Patricia Mancuso listed as having passed away in July of 2002, and Ed Miller in November of 2002.

These are ideas that have come from your classmates, so if you think of something, please feel free to let us know by email or phone: milton.yuan@gmail.com and 812-457-7772.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

A Good Weekend

We're now doing two things at once (with regard to WVHS  classmates that is. We're always multitasking with other stuff too - that's what grandparents do!)

First, we are having continuing success in locating both lost classmates and confirming contact information from the rest.

Second, we are continuing to get positive response from classmates we have directly contacted that they want to participate in the Class Directory. We get messages daily to be listed.

So who have we talked to this week? Doug Fowler is back in New England. George Dingfelder retired last week from L.L. Bean. He's still trying to figure out what he's supposed to do now. Nancy Conroy Infante is in Florida after leapfrogging a bunch.

The biggest discovery, after piecing together clues from her friends, was Barbara Williams Frederick who is in Sewell NJ. She was somewhat surprised to discover that I didn't end up as either a doctor, lawyer or indian chief and like all others NOT LOCATED, she was unaware that she was lost.

Barry Makepiece, from Fort Lauderdale, FL and I shared stories about little fisticuff bouts we both had with people now deceased back in high school. He also told me how his long friendship with William Gullone experienced a break a while back, until Bill made the effort to find Barry again. Barry reported the sad news to me that Walter Szpara had passed away quite a while ago (April  30, 2000 per SSDI) which also reminded me that Embers page 222 has about a dozen classmates who weren't available for class pictures. They will be listed in the Class Directory  however. Among them was John Chichin, Jr (dec. 1975).

Any clues provided by classmates are more reliable and helpful than random brute force searches, so if you heard of someone having moved, let us know. This will all become a lot easier once we launch the classmate search website, www.waynevalley67.com sometime next month. It will include a list of all of our classmates and whether we have found them or not, to start. That way everyone will know, and will be able to submit information that they may possess. Even rumors or "The last I heard, he was in ......." is better than not knowing at all. And best of all, someone lost may stumble upon the site and discover that they are among the lost and email us. Our phone coversations have turned up a lot of leads.  Does anyone have a lead on where Donna Rogers is? Marijo McDevitt Stas is inquiring. If you have a clue, let either me or Marijo know. The site will also have links to people search engines and other Wayne info sources.

Finally, for this installment anyway, Linda has been comparing the master classmate list and searching Facebook where she has found that more and more classmates are signing in. We will continue to get folks connected and aware that others have joined Facebook to increase the size of the WVHS community there.

More later. Geez. There are 70 David Pauls listings in New Jersey alone.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Questions and Answers; Not! And a Confirmation and a Suggestion

So Linda, my wife says, Milt, you've got to find out who is interested in being in the directory and what they want included. Why don't you ask them using a Facebook question. Not being familiar with the gizmo, I say, sure, why not. So I put together a basic question and added options. It went something like this:

Question: Do you want to be included in the Wayne Valley '67 Class Directory? What do you want included in your listing. It's your choice. Remember, distribution is to classmates only.


And then I added the following options:


Address
City
State
email
Facebook logo (to indicate that you're on Facebook
Short Bio

And folks, Diana Bonazza Koopman was the quickest on the draw to send back a response. That was great said I. This is going to be convenient and I'll have a single email acknowledgement for each classmate.

Then others started responding and instead of getting individual responses so I could tabulate them and make sure that their requirements were met in the directory, Lo and Behold, that's not the way it works. The Facebook question gadget works more like a poll, tabulating a cumulative answer and even though it posts a little profile pic next to the answers chosen, it is not clear if that is just that answer or an indicator that person responded. Not good enough for me. I do not want to include info that a classmate doesn't want included.

So we'll probably have to do this the non Facebook way, although Facebook email addresses (if I don't have regular ones) can still be utilized. I'll be sending an email with checkboxes that can be sent back to me. That way I'll have one form for every person responding and there will be less room for error. Besides which, there are still classmates who by whatever circumstance, are not online, and I'm enjoying my phone conversations too much not to pass up the opportunity to have another gab fest. I just have to remember to do the questionnaire with them.

So far, everyone has expressed great enthusiasm for the directory and the possibility of contacting others to whom their thoughts have strayed at one time or another.  Only two people, Joanne Taylerson and Ronda Roby, while happily telling me about what they've done these past years, expressed their desire to be listed only as alive and well, maintaining that they no longer have any real ties to the class. My response is that I respect their wishes, am so happy to be able to talk to them and learn that they are happy and well and on the topside of the dirt, and that the directory is electronic and can be changed instantly should they so choose to be listed more completely at sometime in the future.

So the lesson learned is this: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

I spoke to Louie Lotz a few days ago, and confirmed that yes, indeed, he was a pastor of many years. We had a lengthy discussion wondering how it is that our perception of time changes as our relative position on the thread of life progresses; and how our desire to look back seems to increase as time moves on. I told him that I believe that it is because there is more to look back upon then there is up ahead, not to say that what's up ahead isn't worth looking forward to! He talked about a personal past of which I was not aware, and I realized that everyone from our high school past had an inner life that high school friendships usually did not penetrate or that was carefully concealed. It is only in retrospect that we discover we have come to terms with those demons. I'm delighted to hear that Louis too, has found his (I was going to say Lotz in life) place in the world and is in a good place.

There are some professions that can truly be a calling. Nursing, law enforcement, the ministry, and educators. I am personally glad that there are still those called to fill those shoes. I am proud to say that there are many in our class who have filled those ranks, and I feel elated to hear that is the road they decided to travel and privileged to know them.

Hey, I know I'm a johnny-come-lately to the classmate business. I know I would have known sooner if I had been more involved in class affairs. But I guess that is precisely the point that I have been making. It is never too late.

And my thanks to those of you who have been following the blog, responding so enthusastically, and those who have provided information. Oh yeah, and this to that one anonymous sole (sic) who commented "who needs more of your crap": I reply, reading blogs is voluntary. Anonymity is the shield of cowards, made ever so much more convenient by the Internet. If you don't want to read it, don't.

Finally, I heard from Bob Wanek down in FL, who after reading the blog, made a few constructive suggestions. One, as you can see, I am embolding names, and I will also at Bob's suggestion provide a listing of who I have located or not. I'll probably do this on a website, without contact information, just for a running progress report. If anyone wants to use it, once it is up and running, to help fill in some blanks, the more the merrier. The structure can then be used later, with contact info (which I've got on a separate spreadsheet), to publish the directory.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Serve, Volley, and a Classmate has an Idea

I sent along the latest batch of information on classmate locations to the committee the other day. In return I received a detailed response to each classmate which went, "knew that, knew that, knew that, updated, knew that, etc., etc. or something like that. I was told that Taisa Apanasow was not on the website (page 163) nor Bob Guzallis (page 222). Then separately, I received an email chiding me on an error on my part about Marlene Zachok who was mistakenly put on my "lost" list (actually, she's still lost to me), the gist of which is that the committee is the "official" keeper of class contact information and that while they appreciated finding out about people who were unfound, they don't appreciate that I said they didn't know where people were, once again putting words in my mouth. As regular readers of this blog know, that s one thing that does not need to be done. I've got plenty of my own. I have never said they didn't know where people are; rather I just said that if you don't outreach to keep updated, you will end up knowing less than you think you do.

Additionally and sadly, I was informed that Marion Borowsky had passed away which they acknowledged because her brother had contacted them directly. That was a head scratcher. Perhaps I should have Chris Mauriello contact them directly, or John Chichin Sr. Talking to me is not sufficient.

What the committee doesn't understand is that while this all started as an offer to help locate lost classmates, we've been on very different paths. I always encourage people to go, but it was never just about getting the people I found to go to the Reunion which is the committee's main focus. Reunion weekend. Once every 10 years and now 5 years. Based on the unexpected and unexplainably negative reaction my efforts have engendered, my purpose has shifted from just locating the lost to creating the Class Directory and, as it always was, reconnecting people - that can happen any day, anytime, as long as the information is available. For, dare I say it, seniors like ourselves, the days are getting shorter; the past is getting longer and we had better do it if we're going to do it at all.

So that being said, I was delighted to receive a return call from Dave Chicoine, now in Colorado. He said he went to the 30th (didn't know from the website - his name is bare of attendance dots). We had one of my now typical lengthy retrospective phone calls which ended in his trying to convince me that picking up the clarinet and sax again would be a worthy retirement activity. And take time away from talking to more classmates? Of course, we traded contact information.

I am also half way through a chit chat with Doug Senchak who has looking upstream toward a retirement home upriver from New York City. Doug's history seems nearly as twisty as my own, and we seemed, unbeknownst to each other, to have shared a lot of experiences on different coasts.

Finally, Mark Pinchal, shared with me a project he has been working on for quite a while:



When I first lived in Florida (1983-1999) I was deeply involved in conducting services for the Apollo 1 astronauts, in fact I started the whole thing in February, 1985 after I saw the movie "The Right Stuff". I got permission to place a wreath at Launch Complex 34 where the fire had taken place (1/27/1967). Thought it would be a 1 time thing but when I heard from the security guard I was the first to do something like that I vowed to keep returning until a proper service was a fact of life. In 1990 I had a plaque placed at the site, the first to honor Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.  18 years of work, and the help and major input of like minded people, the service took on a life of its own. The people who joined made this possible and to them goes the lion's share of credit. I moved to Las Vegas in 1999 and after the 2003 service, I handed the service back to the families of the crew. Time and distance made it impractical for me to continue organizing and conducting it.


Having returned to Florida in March 2007, I have thought that there should be a day to honor all of America's Astronauts, past and present, in particular those who have the ultimate sacrifice. NASA does remember their fallen but this too negative. A day should be established to honor all who have risked their lives to expand our knowledge of the infinate universe in which we live. A Federal observance, like Flag Day. I've written a few letters to some senators and have heard nothing back. I have recommended 9 April as a possible date. It was on 9 April 1959 that America and the world first met the Mercury Astronauts. It would be nice to get it approved while some of them are still alive.

Now this is something especially close to people in Southern Indiana, since Gus Grissom was a native son, and highly honored in this region, so I mention it here as a way to help Mark publicize and lobby for this day. Far less significant events, IMHO, have been granted Federal recognition.


I've got to call Doug again, to finish where we left off. I've also sent some post cards to people whose addresses I think are correct but who have no phone numbers available to me. 






Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Personal Choices and A Little Help From My Friends

Had an interesting couple of days talking with far flung classmates who had a somewhat more circumspect attitude about high school, reunions, and classmates. The first was Geneth Piechota, who didn't remember me (not that everyone should). In a big class, in a big school, it was easy to keep your head down and plow through the days. There were days that I certainly did that. You saw the faces going by you, but only insofar as you wanted to make sure you didn't back smack dab into someone. Geneth wasn't sure she wanted to participate in anything based on a phone call from someone she didn't know. So I referred her to the class website and my blog to prove that I was innocuous and not diabolical. It's okay. Paranoia is a sign of the times. I suppose if I were more paranoid, I wouldn't have had to replace my debit card a couple of times in the last ten years (although I suspect out of town sales clerks more than anyone. It seems to happen when we get back from a vacation).

I also talked to Chris Ellicott. Now I know she wasn't missing, and based on what she told me, the reunion committee knew where she was, since she hadn't moved in quite a while and had just gotten her invite. I didn't have the benefit of knowing her contact info and had to find it myself. I just wanted to see how she was doing because I always liked her in school. We had classes together, and shared a lot of fun times. Remember, I'm not just finding folks; I'm not just asking for participation in the directory; I'm reconnecting at the same time (with Linda chomping at the bit while I chit-chat). As it happens, I am just delighted at the way things turned out for Chris. She also asked me about Paul Wagner. I wish I had more to tell her.

Last night I talked with Joanne Taylerson, who was among the not located. I think she wanted it that way. She was incredulous that I had gone through the trouble to find her, and at first, I think she was a little stand offish, but I shared a memory of her from the 20th reunion that surprised her that I would remember, and then we had a great conversation. That one memory had haunted me for 24 years and I always regretted that I hadn't been more supportive then. We first met in 9th grade at Anthony Wayne JHS. We ran against each other for Student Council President. I won, in a squeaker, by the way, beginning my glorious career in public oratory, the highlights of which includes doing a welcome at our graduation, a speech for which I do not have a single memory; delivering eulogies for people I never knew, and too many I did; and emceeing a high school reunion for a school I didn't attend.  Anyway Joanne said that her experience at the 20th was so negative (my memory snapshot was of her toward the end of that event) that she really didn't want to associate herself with high school, that she had achieved her personal peace and found her place in life and space and I respect that. She graciously declined my offer to put her contact info in the directory or even share her email address (not tech savvy and doesn't check it much) but did say that she'd welcome a visit the next time we're in that part of the country (which will happen next year) and I look forward to that, greatly.

Finally, I got an email from Karen Arnott Perkins offering help with confirming locations for local Wayne folks since she still lives in town. I promptly replied and probably overwhelmed her with an enthusiastic "YES!" and lots of questions, not the least of which was a location for Marlene Zachok who is still not located but appears to have been a bridesmaid at Karen's wedding.  In a round about way, Karen had already provided help, via Cathy Labazetta Statler, about Kathy Falato. So I am looking forward to the help with great anticipation. Chris Ellicott asked me about Jill Rapp too (listed as Leslie J. Rapp in Embers).

Even as this project gains momentum, I am not so vain or foolish as to think that people will flock from Facebook  to my Facebook page or from the internet to my email in general to offer their contact information for the directory based simply on a Facebook posting or Blog entry. This is a grand outreach project and personal contact, whether by phone or email, is the only real way to confirm the whereabouts of our class which has broadcast itself all over the country.  For those that haven't, now there's some local help. One thing remains certain: The only way to make sure everyone is included is to look for 'em.

I also need to call Sharon Halpin again. She was juggling two phone calls and my cell phone signal was breaking up and she couldn't hear me.




Sunday, August 7, 2011

A Personal Project Defined

Perhaps it is time to take stock and make things even clearer than I have made them in previous blogs, for the benefit of whomever chooses freely to read this little monologue of mine.

What is it exactly that Milton is trying to accomplish by contacting his high school classmates?

Milton believes, while there are enough of us to use it, that our class needs a complete directory that provides contact information for every classmate that chooses to participate in it, with their high school photo, a current photo, contact information of their choosing, and a short biography.

A secondary purpose is to memorialize our classmates who are gone, far too young.

This is a personal project, not sanctioned (as though such a project needs any such sanction) by the Reunion Committee. My sole task for them is a subset of the directory - finding people whose location is completely unknown to them.

Milton is doing this because over the years, he has often thought about his classmates, wondering where they got off too, wondering if they are as happy with their lives as he is, wondering what it is they finally ended up doing. And he went to the class website only to find out that the information that he knew was available, wasn't.  He knew he couldn't be alone. And based upon his contact with classmates in his search for those not located previously, he knows that he isn't.

Additionally, since he and his wife have done this for the Evansville FJ Reitz High School Class of 1967, he knows that such a directory has the power to revive a class and transform it into what it once was, a community of diverse personalities all tied together through a common purpose - to become distinct unique individual adults and to graduate from high school. We all came to Wayne Valley as children, and left as new adults, not yet complete, but malleable, ready to be finalized by time and experience.

So this is the official invitation to participate in a grand adventure of exploration and discovery. With no guide but a tattered copy of Embers rescued from the boiler room at school to replace my own copy, burned to embers in a housefire, and two outdated directories from the last two reunions, borrowed from a classmate, I invite my classmates to be listed in this directory so they can do as I am doing, reconnecting with old friends, and making new ones, ones perhaps that I should have made many years ago, but am 44 years late in doing. Well, better late than never. I have been lucky to reconnect several pairs of old friends, but a directory like this gives you all the ability to do the same thing.

I am not doing this for money. I am not doing this to sell information. This is my personal class project. I am not a 3rd party looking to make a killing. I am your classmate. I was your newspaper editor. I was your Student Council President (more mentioned as a reminder than any particular noteworthy achievement). The point is that I am one of you. I walked the same halls, listened (sometimes less than attentively) to the same teachers. I laughed at the same jokes, danced at the same dances, watched the same sporting events, took the same tests and got handed that same leatherette folder at the same ceremony as you did.

I will be distributing this directory as a PDF file that can be printed out if you so choose or viewed on your computer. It will be updated as people move. It is a dynamic document that will change as long as I can do it.

The directory will give you the ability to do the same thing I am enjoying so much as I am creating it: talking to old friends and remembering why we became friends in the first place; talking about common memories; sharing memories of classmates gone too young; forging new friendships that will continue as long as I do.

So if you see this, let our classmates know what Milton is doing, and drop him a line, either by email (milton.yuan@gmail.com) or on Facebook, or by comment to this blog, to join in this grand adventure. He will be contacting everyone that he can locate, hopefully with your help, alone if not. I am soliciting information, not self-serving praise; I am looking to create something for everyone in the class because class information is the property of everyone in the class. Join me.

As an afterthought, I don't usually talk about myself in the 3rd party. I'm not that weird......yet.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Check and Double Check

A correction is in order. It was kindly pointed out to me by Nancy Gaestel Jasinski that Maggie Erdman, while gone, had been so for many years; that Wayne Hills Auditorium had been dedicated to her memory and that Betty Singer had attended the ceremony. So first, I thanked Nancy, and then called Betty to get the details. Betty said that it had been a long time ago and wasn't sure about the date. I went back to the archives to double check my facts, something I usually rely on Linda to do, but didn't on this occasion because I was upset thinking that I had missed an opportunity by only a short while when in reality, the chance to see Maggie again was long gone. Ned Soleau had mentioned this to me a while ago but it had no impact at the time.  I think I'll call Doc and Dot Piaget while I still can........

Needless to say, when Gordon Albro messaged on FB and asked me if I knew anything about Bernice Alexander and Joe Brophy, I was a little more circumspect and after a double check with the DVA (Department of Veterans Affairs) on line database, we found his burial location in Totowa along with the death dates. Bernice's dates were registered with the Social Security Death Index. I called Gordon back, because bad news should always be delivered as close to personally as possible. An email or FB message just didn't seem right. Gordon also gave me his current contact info for the directory.

I'm waiting for confirmation of a story told to me that Louie Lotz is a pastor. I have emailed the church in Michigan that displays a photo of their pastor on their website that bears a striking resemblance to our Lou Lotz. Do you think this looks like Lou? If so, Lou isn't just a pastor. He's a lettered theologian and a widely known, prolific author.

I'm still calling folks to confirm locations by phone in the early evening and considering time zone changes. Despite Linda's best efforts, I have given up trying to keep it short. So far the best I've done is 30 minutes. There is always so much catching up to do. Talked to Doug Itjen last night and had to compliment him for raising a son who looks really sharp in a Wayne PD uniform. Chip off the old block, you could say.

By the way, if I do post something that flies in the face of what you know for fact, let me know right away. I'm not infallible by any means. My friends and Linda take considerable delight in pointing this out to me on every possible occasion. When wandering through the foggy past, it is easy to make missteps along the way. Collective memory has got to be better than my memory. I used to remember all my clients' phone numbers. Now I just remember the numbers and have no idea who they belong too. Isn't that why we all have smartphones now? Now I can't even call anyone without using the thing. When you don't need to remember, you don't. Eventually, we'll just Google everything and there it will be. That would make finding everyone easy. Unfortunately, we're not quite there yet.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

The Beat Goes On

We found Keith Schneider yesterday. That's the good news. I first met Keith when I came to Wayne at the beginning of 7th Grade at Anthony Wayne JHS. He lived in Minnisink, I lived in Mountain View. Bike distance down Parish, hang a right past the golf course, past the old dairy, past the airport, past Two Guys, over 46. Try that nowadays and take your life in your hands. Long summer days collecting junk on which  only 7th grade boys place any value. Expeditions into the city on the bus to visit Times Square junk stores before gentrification. Lots of pocket knives and such. Well, Keith is in Seattle, essentially doing the same thing. He's in the antique and antique toy business. Been there since 1969 or so. Still gets back to Wayne every now and again. He'll be there next May. He'll be in the big directory too. He didn't know he was lost either. He also said that he attended the 10th but it doesn't show on the website.

I also finally connected with Bob and Kathy (Reed) Sherger, who are still well connected with that magical championship football team. I got a lot of great information from them in the process of catching up and also confirmed that Mike Calderone had indeed passed away from cancer. Bob also said that he had attended all the reunions but the last one. That too is missing on the website.

It seems like there is a critical mass being achieved. The more people we locate, the more people we seem to be locating from information we are collecting in drips and drabs from the located. Every little bit is a clue; a step toward that telephone "Yup, that's me!"

That's the end of the good news part of this post.

If you'll recall, I speculated about asking teachers to attend the 45. So I got to thinking about the teachers that I had. That line of thought brought me to the bad news part. I have every reason to believe that Maggie Erdman passed away in March of this year. For those of you who did not have the good fortune to have her for either Theatre Arts or a sophomore Public Speaking semester, Maggie was more than just a teacher. She was combination All-School Production producer/director par excellence; social worker, guidance counselor and reader of souls. She had a presence and an incisive insight that at times could be almost frightening, but at the same time was whimsical and devastatingly engaging. A remarkable woman for a remarkable time in so many of our lives; most certainly in mine. Here's a photo of her at her best; looking over her reading glasses, waiting for enlightenment to dawn. Sometimes it was a long wait! (photo credit: Embers '64) She was the only teacher I came back to visit after graduation. It was at her urging that I went to Yale.  Well, not all things turn out the way we think they will when you're fresh out of high school.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

One Person Leads to Another

Well, the uniqueness for today is dual. Sue Stumpf-Hebert, is doing computer work in the Boston area and is one of those dual citizenship people who lives and works in one place, but recreates and will probably retire in another, i.e., Tucson. The same is true of Paul Borden, between Medford, NJ and the San Diego area. While this is great for them, it is certainly confusing to people looking for people unless you are able to figure out which one is the actual contact point! Anyway, it was great catching up, and Sue told me that she is regularly in touch with Sue Mustaleski Eck. You all may remember Rick Eck, from the class of 1966. I know I do. I'm sorry to report that Rick passed away this past February. Sue is on Facebook. I know it can be a bit awkward under these circumstances, but do friend her. Having experienced what she is going through, friends do often help. On Facebook, Sue is the Susan Eck from Tucson who is holding a grandchild.

It was a good day yesterday on the search front. We were able to contact Joan Lloyd as well in Weaverville, NC. Joan reminded me of times gone by spent idly in Pines Lake with mutual friends both before and after graduation, and my mind's eye transported me back to those days, for better or worse. Joan is actually much more aware of a lot of class goings on than I expected, and once again, I spent more time than I had previously alloted to reminisce. I don't know why I keep setting these arbitrary phone call limits on myself since I know that once we begin, the conversation will end when it ends, either quickly, if its a Quinn, as I've come to call contacts who are aggresively not interested or in a typical gab fest. Actually they've all been gab fests except for two calls out of dozens, and I owe Bob and Kathy Reed Sherger a call back after they returned my call. If you read this folks, my apologies, I'll call - honest, I will.

Quite frankly, Linda can locate people faster than I can contact them for verification. It's just so hard not to stage another gabfest.

It's also time for me to send another list of found and/or verified folks to the committee. If you visit the website, you'll see a lot of little red asterisks. When you see them, you'll know we've been at work. If you actually want to contact them however, you'll have to contact me to get contact info. When I hold my almost daily gab fests, I always ask about sharing contact info. I've yet to have someone naysay sharing. In fact, usually it is quite the opposite. And why wouldn't it be?

Who will we find tomorrow?

Monday, August 1, 2011

Every Day is a New One

This little quest of ours is certainly making sure that the days are distinctly unique. I know that every day is different, but sometimes the differences can become muted so that they start to blend into one another. Here in Indiana, we are in our 19th straight day of plus 90 degree heat. But the one thing that makes each of our days unique is that just about every day, I get to speak to a classmate. The other day it was Bill Gullone. Now Bill is not among the not located, but remember, that although his picture does not bear a NOT LOCATED label on the website, unless we confirm he is where he is, we can't be sure. Without the class database from the committee, I am just going down the list from the yearbook Besides a lot of the info from the 40 attendees is different now anyway. Linda finds 'em, I contact 'em and so it goes from there. If you went to the 40, the chances are better but not certain that you will be where it says you are. If you went to the 30, less likely, and so on. Even for the 40, it's by no means a foregone conclusion. I also don't know too many people who include contacting the reunion committee as part of your moving kit of address change notifications either. I'm just as guilty as most.

Anyway, Bill ended up being a cabinet maker and is about now 50 miles west of Corning, up north of the Pennsylvania border sitting in the middle of 100 acres. We talked for about 45 minutes during the time I was supposed to be contacting about a half dozen more Wayne Valley folks. Well, sometimes it just works out that way. There is a vacuum for class news. Everyone wants to know about someone and everyone knows something about someone. Facebook is a reasonably good place to have those encounters but not everyone is on FB and not everyone knows everyone from the class that is. We try to send every facebook classmate suggestions for the others, but sometimes for people who are new to the format, getting 60 or 70 friend requests is like moving into a new home and finding 60 or 70 representatives of the welcome wagon knocking on the door while you're trying to unpack.AAAArrrrgggghhhh. We did that to Ted Dobson and Scott Shepard. Oops. Since then, we've tried to take a less enthusiastic approach.

Dave Spae, who I remember from the Anthony Wayne Days of 7-6, I was in 7-3 and we both had Al Piaget and Dorothy Tunis for BLOCK, asked me for a list of everyone who had passed away. I told Dave that I wasn't sure we were done finding everyone but that I'd send him a list of what we had so far.  It's 55 so far. It was 54 when I sent the list to Dave. Then I had to write him back to let him know about Cliff Recanzone, who all indications point to having died in Daytona Beach back in December of this past year. If you exhaust all your normal sources of information and you don't find any record of anyone after a particular time period, it's time to head to the SSDI (Social Security Death Index). I hate it when that happens, and it disrupts my life every time we find someone else who has died. There but good fortune go............After chiding him, Dave changed his Facebook picture from the sad dog to one from a happier time. Even though I know what he looks like now, when I see him in my mind's eye, he's still wearing black jeans and a leather jacket. And he's still sitting in the back of the bus cutting up. and probably smoking, although no one smoked in the back of our school bus, did they?

Quite by accident, as part of our research, I saw photos of the induction of a younger version of Doug Itjen into the Wayne Police Department. He was the spitting image of our Doug who was in one of the photos.

Oh, and by the way, despite what my snit of righteous indignation caused me to blog the other day, after all this work, I would be a fool not to go to reunion to reap the rewards of the work and see you all in person.  I still hold to the rest of what I said though.


So who will make my day unique later today when I start working the phones again? I'll tell you tomorrow.