Honors and Memories

Like the title states, this blog is all about memories so it seems appropriate that this episode deals with memories not just of high school but of junior high school as well. I thought that this was going to be the final event of what turned out to be the culmination of a big project (the WVHS class directory), a big get together (in relative terms) and a little get together (the AWJHS reunion with the Piagets) which resounded with the sheer impact that it had on the attendees. Here's a link to the page: http://www.waynevalley67.net/html/awjhstalentshow.html

But like the late night pitchmen so love to say "But that isn't ALL!......." The Memorial Day events were followed up by Linda's Reitz reunion of nearly 200 attendees (120 classmates out of 300 surviving) a couple of weeks ago and the multi-event schedule that entailed (I emceed again but farmed out the photography this time) and then somehow I got roped into the photography for a classmate's spouse's reunion for another Evansville high school  a week later. Needless to say, I am glad we are not of the age where reunions need to take place annually (although the Reitz people endorsed the notion to do them every 2.5 years). I need a vacation to recover from all this reuniting.

This hiatus gives me a little time to think about what transpired this summer, what it really means to me and what I will do in the future regarding this group of classmates, some shared and some adopted. So I was sitting in the screened in portion of our back deck (my last refuge from swarms of little mosquitoes with big beaks who suddenly realized all at once that their favorite neighborhood food supply, i.e. me, was about to take to the indoors) when I hear the little dingy on my phone that sounds a lot like a Facebook notification.

Dave Spae's last journey, in honor of his service.

Sure enough, it was a post from Ruth Fox Spae's wall. Last week, she had posted a photo of what I had begun to think was Dave's memorial headstone but it was his urn which you can see being held by the marine on the left of the car. The ding was notice that Dave was finally being interred in Arlington National Cemetery with his USMC brothers after a long long wait since February. It was a really moving photo which I include here. And then Ruth really blew me away with her new profile picture: a close up of the marine who was holding Dave's flag held by the marine on the right. That is the photo that begins this installment.  Visit Ruth Fox Spae's wall and let her know that Dave is remembered, even if you didn't know him personally. He was one of us and served his country when it wasn't a real popular thing to do. God speed and farewell, big guy.

Anthony Wayne Reunited, Revisited

Amid the whirlwind of activity surrounding the Reitz Class of 1967 45th Reunion preparations, including preparing or coordinating the name tags, banners, decorations, entertainment, food, printed programs and the reunion program, the Friday night football game and pregame get together at a local restaurant, the Saturday morning school tour, the golf outing and the reunion itself, (I guess we're saying we've been a little busy), I took a trip to the mail box and found a manila envelope in the mail from Cathyann Court in Wayne. Like a kid sneaking a gift out from under the tree the day before Xmas, I tore open the envelope and found the DVD that the Piagets had promised.

Yes, it was the video record of the 50th reunion of the Anthony Wayne 7-3/8-4 classes which took place in Wayne the day before the Wayne Valley celebration. Throwing it into the DVD drive of my laptop, there it was, a professionally prepared record of our truly joyous reunion. Included for good measure was the Anthony Wayne Junior High School Talent Club Program for "Comedy Tonight" with many familiar names represented, not just folks from our class, but all school. A copy of this program will be posted on the www.waynevalley67.net website in the very near future.

It only took a moment before I was transported back to that day when a group of young teenagers wearing less than young flesh reunited with my two most beloved teachers.  I also winced at my inability to express my gratitude to these two people for shaking me by the shoulders and waking my humanity, my individuality, my first faltering steps toward adulthood. Unexplainably, I also had difficulty as well in recounting my fifty years of adventure (and more than a little misadventure) through multiple careers, families and through it all, I always believed that those years in Anthony Wayne were the spark, the beginning of the beginning. It was frustrating for someone who has made his way in the world largely on his ability to speak extemporaneously. At least I wasn't alone. It's all there on the DVD for the record as each of us tried to thank these two teachers in our own way for the gift that they instilled in each of us.

Sometime next year, we're going to do this again. Maybe I'll figure out how to express my gratitude to these two remarkable people by then.

Website Additions

Cathy Labazetta Stalter and
Bobbye Cooke Gluesenkamp

Thanks to the hoarding instincts of two classmates, Cathy Labazetta Stalter and Bobbye Cooke Gluesenkamp, there are some really remarkable new additions to the Wayne Valley Class Directory website (www.waynevalley67.net)

In addition to photos from the 45th, of which this is one, Cathy called me about a month ago and said she had a whole collection of stuff cluttering up her home and she was sure that, in time, it would all just go into the trash heap of history, so she was going to package it all up and send it out to me.

Sure enough, several weeks later, an amazing time capsule shows up. True to her word (just  like the magnificent banner she and her production staff produced for the reunion) she had enclosed programs from several all school plays and productions, GAA programs and a news article from the local Wayne rag, and Junior and Senior Prom directories. Even a GAA banner. Even blue spirit duplicator copies of the GAA Blue Team routines! I'm busy posting this material to the website, and sharing reunion photos from Bobbye as well. Busy, busy, busy, scanning and posting.

We're hot and heavy into Linda's class reunion now. The venue is set. We're really putting on the dog. No more $12 per person for us. We're up to $20 now, with a cash bar (we went dry  last time) for a real sit down 2 meat choice meal. So we've got block stadium seating for a football game with a cross town rival, class t shirts, a golf outing for the duffers among the class, a school tour preceding the event. There will be plenty of group photography (including the veterans photo I forgot last time) and the photos will be available free for download. We're even planning a special surprise which shall remain a secret until the great unveiling on September 8. Reservations are pouring in on the buzz from our "44th" and the building of their class website. It's getting busy. But after the business ends, and Milton sits out on the deck (not for too long because the temp is 98 at 7pm around here lately), his gears are still turning. Linda says the gears are spinning but the clutch needs adjusting.

All of these events of recent past and current events has engendered another series of high school flashbacks. I don't know whether it is the proximity of the recent reunion, increasing age, the cumulative effect of preservatives and whatever all else I ingested in the past or just the new stream of communications with old classmates (what other kind is there anymore?), but I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and not just of the past. I've been thinking about the future as well.

I was thinking about how a lot can happen in 5 years. I keep on thinking about Dave Spae and how sometimes things happen even in 3 or 4 months. Every time the weather changes, I get another reminder of my mortality. I am also reminded about Tony Gravagne's comment about how the class of 66 seems to have evaporated. I know those folks are out there. Rich Santoro and Tony are evidence enough that they are.

Maybe we should do something in between 5 year reunions. Nothing formal, nothing fancy. Just a get together. Maybe we should include the 1966 folks too. Maybe Delucca can put together a band......Just thinking out loud......and wondering if other people are thinking out loud too......

Regrets

Despite the 45th Wayne Valley Class Reunion having been such a happy occasion, with so many good memories , I still have regrets, the kind of regrets that come with age if not some wisdom and a lot of hindsight.

I'm sorry that I was too rigid and opinionated and influenced by prevailing opinions at the time and I didn't give some of my classmates more of my attention. I have subsequently learned the error of my ways and made some new friends.

I regret not paying more attention while at the reunion. I missed talking to a number of people that I would have liked to catch up with, including Bob Bayerl. I had intended to send him greetings from Bob Wanek a fellow IBSLATer. I also missed Doug Itjen. I was standing right next to him but had my back turned while talking with another group of classmates. Damn! I only realized this after looking at a slightly fuzzy photo and memory prodded by Chuck LaCouture on Facebook. After working to locate so many, I was really looking forward to seeing them again after so, so long.

I also regret not staying till the end of the Piaget/7-3/8-4 Anthony Wayne pre-reunion and so will have to Photoshop myself into the group picture at the end.

I also regret not having gone to more reunions, although I know that circumstances would have prevented that from occurring even if I had more determination to go.

Perhaps it is just the ticking of the clock on the wall that is making me think like this. I know in talking with people who were there, the echoes of the emotional impact are still reverberating in our hearts and minds. I wish there were an easier way to convey to everyone in the class about what kind of experiences we had this past weekend to convince them to come to the next one.

I'm normally a pretty cynical person, not given to flights of emotional rapture or interpersonal drama. I was moved, and it's hard to express in a meaningful way to someone who was unable to attend. I want to (metaphysically,at least) grab folks by the shoulders and shake them hard with a single message. Time is fleeting and short. You've only to view the Memorial page on the class directory website. Only yesterday did I hear of another of us having passed. Go to the next one. Whatever it takes. It may be the last chance you have to see or speak to someone who was important to you and that's not just me cleverly playing with words. It is the unvarnished truth.

I'm already getting help from the class to identify people in the photos Linda and I have been posting. I will add them to the captions when the mountains of Colorado are not distracting me from my class responsibilities!

Reunion Weekend 2012 Part Deux

Staying with my parents for the long weekend, I discovered that unlike my copy of Embers 67 which burned up in the house fire, I had acquired a copy of Embers 66 lo those many years ago. Leafing through, I discovered a whole bunch of pictures of us. I will scan and post during the month of June after our return from Colorado. I will also be posting a hopefully large photo gallery from pictures taken by you all. By all means, send them in to me at milton.yuan@gmail.com. I can't say it will be as fast as Linda on FB who left a pictorial breadcrumb trail from NJ to Indiana. I also noticed that between 66 and 67, there really was a large turnover in the teaching staff and how many teachers were actually involved in the all school productions in many different capacities.

Judy Marra Wyatt, Yours Truly, Dan Wyatt, Mary Traynor Trella,
Bob Shepherd, Rich Santoro, Bobbye Cooke Gluesenkamp, Dianna Schmitt Hess

I remember all school productions as one of my earliest memories of Wayne Valley (Just Wayne High, back then). I may have mentioned before that I was exported as a woodwind player from Anthony Wayne as a ninth grade freshman (if we had a 5-3-4 school setup), lugging my instruments across the street trying to find the entrance to the school like the country mouse visiting the big city. Little did I know that it would be an annual ritual that I and many in our class would gladly endure for just a few performances every year. I recently watched a production of Peter Pan put on by the Evansville Schools and it really made me appreciate how high the production values we achieved. The interplay between Escott, Kerr and Erdman and later Ringle and Kuzmich, the seemingly endless hours (for me) in the pit orchestra, the dedication of IBSLAT and the behind the scenes people in costume and makeup and stage direction. What a time.  It all came back to me as I pulled into Rich Santoro's driveway and I joined the group already in progress. The point was really that a diverse group could pull together to create something bigger than ourselves. By the way, does anyone have any idea where Ron Kerr is?

Thinking about all of this, Embers 66, and a passing comment by Tony Gravagne (WV66) also a reed player in the pit, that the class of 66 really has vanished although many are still in contact with our class. Maybe they should be invited to our next one. Same with all the '68 people who have been contacting us by email and FB. Just something to think about..........

More in a bit, in the third installment of Reunion Weekend 2012......

Lessons Learned

Nothing like several gatherings of school mates to send us back to school, literally and figuratively. I'm sure many of you drove to either Anthony Wayne/Sienna Village or Schuyler Colfax and of course Wayne Valley, only to be shocked at their growth, repurposing, condition. (Bill Kimak once told me that there are over 200 security cameras in the school now, and a resident cop)

I also noticed that all the shrubs and trees in Wayne  are now overgrown, having been planted without a thought to how they would fit into the landscape after 40 or 50 years of growth.

I guess we are part of the landscape as well. No one ever planned for us to turn out the way we did either. 45 or so years of growth, changes, some judicious or random pruning, but we grew, we survived and now we're back to where it all started.

Reunion Sunday was a busy one for me. First on the agenda was the Anthony Wayne 7-3/8-4 mini Reunion with our block teachers, Al "Doc" Piaget and Dorothy "Darth" Tunis Piaget, who both went on to distinguished educational careers. You may recall that Doc was suspended from teaching for standing up for his beliefs. Darth failed to gain tenure. They were the round pegs in the square holes of Wayne public education in the 60's. It was Wayne's very own Scopes Monkey Trial. There was even an episode of the Defenders TV drama (starring E.G. Marshall and a very young pre Partridge Ken Reed) dedicated to the situation.

It is truly interesting that these round pegs' educational methods are now widely accepted as productive and effective, especially for those classified as "at risk" at both ends of the educational spectrum. They brought humor, compassion, intense personal interest, incisive insight, the ability to motivate, Socratic inquiry, self examination. These two amazing teachers didn't belong in the Wayne system as it existed. They were martyred because they were too good for it. But we were lucky to have had each of them for 2 periods every school day before their subversive methods were discovered and they taught us to learn, to question both ourselves and the world around us, to look for the core questions that needed to be answered by each of us. Strangely enough, we all, each in our own way, ended up as round pegs too, never quite satisfied by what was, always looking for what was around the next corner, over the next hill.

Describing this get together as a "Mr. Chips" moment for those who attended would be a trivialization of what it meant for us. This was a special group with special teachers all in the same time and place. And we sat there with them, in close approximation to our old seating arrangement, and we all remembered what these wonderful people did for us. They helped lead the way for us to become adults in a difficult world. We'll be doing this again.........

Next time, the second installment of Reunion weekend 2012............

Lazy is as Lazy does

After a gentle chiding by Franny Minervini-Zick, to which I tried to excuse myself saying that I was busy getting ready for the trek East and the later Colorado vacation, I finally had to admit to myself that I was just being lazy and distracted. Mostly just lazy. Hey, isn't that what retired folks get to do? NOT! Truth be told, the 5 days a week I am supposed to be at rest have been filled to the brim with grandparent stuff, gardening stuff (the early spring/summer weather gave everything a jumpstart like you wouldn't believe!) and the perpetual cleaning of the garage (aka Fred Sanford's annex)

It's not as though there isn't anything going on class-wise either. In addition to the actual Reunion, there is also an Anthony Wayne 7-3/8-4 block class get together, and another get together with some old all-school production folks. Then there is the visit to the parents part of the whole thing. House disruption becomes more a factor in visits and more so as the years go on. I know how that is already. Imagine adding another 20 years on it. The routine is set and house guests, even if family,  just throw everything into a dither. I'm very lucky that my folks, still in the same house, are still living independently and are in relatively good health.

I've also been talking with Wayne Valley folks too, via email and FB. Nancy Sliker Gillingham is nursing a meniscus tear but is going to fight through it to come. Jeannie O'Connell Hintz is on the mend from a surgery and will not be able to attend. Giff Jimmerson will be going to the Paris Inn dinner but not the big reunion. I'm also glad to hear that there will be many at the Reunion who have previously not gone to one.

As Mr. Galbierczyk was fond of saying, "Alea iacta est". The die is cast. See you all in a couple of weeks. I'll still be the Chinese guy with the camera.