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HERD IN THE HALLS II

Well, the preliminary version brought lots of response from more folks, so here is the "final" version of the web-based newsletter.  I will be sending out a "hard copy" sometime in the next week or so, but it will be greatly condensed and paraphrased, due to space limitations.  for the Internet version, since space is no consideration, I took the coward's way out and in most cases just pasted in the entirety of classmate's letters/messages.  So, here 'tis.....

January, 2003 -

Greetings to all, and a Happy New Year too!  We have news from several classmates, and, sadly, the passing of a classmate and a former Greeley teacher to report.  So, without further ado....

Well, this is a death I certainly never expected to report this year.  Doug Hoeft was an original Greeleyite, one of our leaders during our school days, and an active and energetic guy.  I have heard already from many classmates lamenting his untimely passing and all remember him for his warmth, sense of humor, leadership, and drive.  His obituary from the Elgin paper is quoted here for you. Rest In Peace, Doug.

State Rep. Douglas Hoeft was known for his jokes, but when the former school administrator talked about education, fellow legislators sat and listened, colleagues said.

Rep. Hoeft, 60, a Republican from Elgin, died Tuesday, Dec. 17, in the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where he had been rehabilitating after complications from surgery to remove blockage from an artery.

"He was one of the strongest voices for education in the Illinois House," Gov. George Ryan said in a statement.

The moderate conservative had served in the Statehouse since 1993 and had been an advocate for charter schools and reforming the Illinois State Board of Education.

As a member of the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, he led a fact-finding mission to analyze school funding and sponsored a resolution to make the state education superintendent an elected position. He also supported waivers from some state mandates to promote innovation and coordinated a task force to improve gifted education.

Before becoming a legislator, he was a teacher and Kane County regional school superintendent. He created and ran a truancy and dropout prevention program still used in Kane County, where the attendance rate is 95 percent, said Clem Mejia, the current regional superintendent.

"He truly believed education was the way for people to enjoy the fruits and benefits of our society," Mejia said.

Although rarely without a joke, Rep. Hoeft did get frustrated with legislative and administrative bureaucracy. He ran for the House in part to bring "real-life experience" to legislators, Mejia said.

"He would say, `Don't they understand that that's not how it works?'" Mejia said. "He certainly became an advocate and a voice for the educator who is on the front lines everyday."

Rep. Hoeft also was active on behalf of Elgin, local leaders said. He worked to find funds to revitalize the downtown and riverfront and helped secure a site for a Public Action to Deliver Shelter facility assisting the homeless.

"He always said, `How can I help?' You'd give him a list, he'd come back and have it done. It was just remarkable," said Elgin Mayor Ed Schock.

"He was not interested in power, he was not interested in perks," said his wife and college sweetheart, Elizabeth. "He was interested in helping people of all kinds, shapes and sizes."

The day before he died, Rep. Hoeft told his wife he wanted to return to Springfield to fight for improved conditions for the disabled and the nurses who impressed him with their care over the last month. And he kept up the joking, even as his doctors ran tests.

Other survivors include a son, Brian; a daughter, Amy Saylor; his father, William; two brothers, William and Bruce; and a sister, Nancy Eales.

We also lost one of our former teachers in May.  Ed Russo, who many of us remember teaching PE died on May 32rd at the age of 81.  He was a veteran of WWII, serving with the Army Air Forces in England and France.  He taught in Chappaqua from 1946 until 1956, when he became a principal in Yorktown Heights.  He was a very active, athletic guy all his life.  He is survived by his wife Katrine, and daughters Ann and Kathy.  RIP.

Well, that's not a very cheerful start.  For a change of pace, here's your 

NOTES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

Wherein, several classmates check in with news, and a couple of "new" entrances grace the pages; specifically, Paul Piazza of the class of '59, and Bob Ackerman, who was with us from 4th through 9th grade.

Let's start with Bob -  A couple of nights ago, I checked my email and there it was - a message from Bob Ackerman -- one of the pleasant surprises that show up from time to time.  He writes --

Here is the latest from Ken and Ann (Schmidt) Nye --

Ann and I are living a wonderfully idyllic life, both
healthy (comparatively speaking), with our children and grandchildren very
close (across the road), my mother five minutes away in an assisted living
apartment (she says " just for the winter" - the next hurdle to get over).
My Parkinson's is progressing slowly.  I can still keyboard most of the
time (but am experimenting with a voice recognition program), to my
amazement can still play basketball (I can't cut meat on my plate with a
knife and fork but can still shoot baskets.  It's great!  And a
wonderment.)  I am still a full-time professor of educational leadership at
the University of Southern Maine, loving what I do.  Ann is doing fine.
She hasn't had a defibrillator "incident" for over two years now.  She looks
great and spends a lot of her free time with our granddaughters across the
street.  She is a half-time reading teacher, home by 12:30 every day and
loves it.  We occasionally pinch ourselves to confirm that we really are as
lucky as we think we are.

We are tentatively planning a gathering this summer of classmates who live
in Maine.  Tommy Stephens, Peter Kennedy, Tony Kilburn, George Flink, Doug
Gibson are all residents of Maine.  I'll bet I missed somebody.  Asher
Selner comes up in the summer to York (I think) and Harold and Bonnie
Himmelman just bought a summer place in Kennebunkport.  So we hope to round
everyone up at some point for a lobster dinner at our house.  We'll see.

Lydia (Lockridge) Morrongiello sent in the following:

In reading Dave Lyons message, it seemed like deja-vu. (ed. note: See Dave's update, below)  I was quite taken back since Pancreatic cancer has crossed our doorstep, too. On March 6, 2002, which happened to be my husband Charlie's birthday, he was sent for a multitude of medical tests because he had suddenly turned jaundice.  The results came back with the most dreaded pronouncement... "Pancreatic Cancer".  We were fortunate to have medical connections through two of our former students who were significantly involved with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital. Charlie was able to undergo the complete Whipple procedure in the hands of Dr. Murray Brennan, Chief of Surgery.  Charlie survived the surgery and was released after 8 days.  He seemed to do well the first few days at home, but then was suddenly set back by a massive infection which sent him by ambulance back to Sloan-Kettering.  At that point I thought that he had lost his battle.  But he recovered and has progressed through radiation and chemotherapy.  He has made remarkable recovery and the results of numerous tests are promising.  So my heart goes out to Dave and his wife, Joanne.  We wish for you the same miraculous results.

Although the medical crisis has been an ominous obsession for most of the year, there were a few pleasurable reunions with friends from HGHS Class of '60:  In January 2002, Cathie Smith and Reid Reynolds came to Aspen for a few downhill runs; in August, Reid returned to Aspen for a brief visit from Denver and Sandy (Donham) Gardner came to Aspen from her home "downvalley".  We all spent a few fun hours together. In August I visited Cathie Smith in her new digs in Chicago.

New this year is an expansion of my work with Rodgers church organs.  In June, I went into contract to work on my first pipe organ restoration which was a 100+ year old pipe organ with 19 ranks of pipes at St. Mary's Church in Long Island City.  After the pipes and the wind chests were restored, I interfaced a digital 3 manual console with an additional 72 ranks of digital ranks!  Quite a sound!!!  Subsequent to this installation, I was called on to do the digital upgrade to the Rodgers organ at Carnegie Hall and the one at Julliard.  Hopefully this interfacing of pipe organs with digital consoles will become my trademark.  It is an amazing combination of technology.  Of course, I am still playing piano, organ and harpsichord whenever the opportunity arises.  Performing for a dedication service/concert is also part of the responsibilities with this job.

It's great to hear from everyone no matter how brief the message.  Hopefully we can have another reunion in the near future.  ALL THE BEST TO EVERYONE FOR 2003!

Ann Bliss sent me a copy of her Christmas letter with permission to use whatever parts I deemed useful.  Well, the whole darn thing is interesting and fun to read, so I "deemed" it ALL useful.  Here it is: 

If I'd known I was gonna live this long. I'd have taken better care of myself. *

GREETINGS:

Okay, so this year I turned 60.  “Just a number” one wise friend of mine told me, and I take advantage of every senior discount when I get the chance.   So, how come they don’t card you at these places?

Happy to see 2002 go, and looking forward to 2003.  We’re healthy and happy here, and counting our blessings.  

Nina is now 16 (going on 28 or so) and an accomplished student, stylish, poised and beautiful.  She appears to have outgrown her adolescent testing period, or maybe she’s just become adept at “handling” us.  Whatever, she’s fun to be around, has a unique perspective on life, and dead-on observations about people.  This last year she made the volleyball team at her high school, and is in the process of considering some intriguing options for the next couple of years.  She’s happy she made the cut for Kai Luum (see below).  For Nina, there are no limits! 

My second grandchild – Jordan Elizabeth Mygatt – the newest family addition -- was born April 16^th, and she’s cute as can be.  Brian and Jen are happy and proud parents.  Among her many feats, she swims like a little fish every week at a heated pool while Brian leads her through her exercises.    Brian works at Executive Aircraft Management, a business he and Chris own that fractionalizes ownership of corporate jets, and gives him the chance to have Jordan with him at work.  He’s a pilot (along with Chris), has a small plane, so now we have two in our family following in their grandmother Bliss’ footsteps, or rather updrafts.   Jennifer works at a health provider, McKesson, manages the house, and keeps up with their busy, busy social life, as well as keeping after Brian and Jordan. 

Chris, Marcee and Lindsey are busy and happy:  Chris relishes the challenge of corporate America as the regional vice president of residential sales at Caldwell Banker, and Marcee keeps a sharp eye on the Denver Montessori School where she is actively involved as a volunteer and Lindsey is a kindergartner.  They manage to keep up an intense social calendar, take weekends in Winter Park and travel to exotic places.  I’ve been able to spend lots of time (but of course never enough) with Lindsey, and we get to see each other more than I thought we would since they moved to Denver.

We took a few trips this year:  Paris for my birthday, Santa Fe for the Opera and then again for a friend’s 50^th birthday party, Montana to visit an old college friend, Las Vegas for fun, New York City with the Ken & Carol Pavliches for museums (“Oh, no.  I’m getting art brain again”), a Broadway show and a sobering look at Ground Zero.  Now off to Mexico for a week of sun and beach at the tent camp on the beach (“camping with maid service”) at Kai Luum south of Cancun.  Wait, it gets better: No electricity, dining family style, communal bathrooms, and no kids under 16 – one of our favorite places to stay in Mexico.   I can hardly wait.

Greg’s mortgage company thriving  – one of the few surefire successes in our bewildering economy.  It seems as though everyone in the world decided this year (not once but several times) to refinance.  He finally hired  a terrific assistant to help him.  I work part time helping her out doing office work.  Ironic because when I practiced law, neither my paralegal nor my secretary would allow me to touch any of the documents (fold, collate, copy, etc.) since it inevitably guaranteed a huge mess that would take twice as long to straighten out.  Something karmic going on there.  I love the structure of working, an office to go to, and I’m even getting good at my job.  

With the two of us as support, Greg’s just about keeping on top of the work, and only occasionally needs to work nights and weekends.  This makes vacation even more appealing.  Getting out of town is one of the hardest things to do, but so worth it.  It’s the only way to get away from the phones, although with modern telecommunications it’s nearly impossible. 

We know how lucky we are, and we value our friends and family now more than ever.  We are blessed, and we know it.  Each of you has a special place in our hearts, and we wish you all the best for the holidays and the happiest of new years!

The Pete and Fran Davidson Christmas letter also proved too interesting to condense, so here it is: 

GREETINGS FROM THE DAVIDSONS 2002 

So just when you feel life is lightening up, responsibilities seem fewer, and travel is finally an option, here come people with shoulder launchers shooting at planes or driving them into buildings, putting bombs in their shoes & anthrax in the mail…and oh yes, the stock market is spiraling downward, consumer confidence is getting choppy, and it turns out we should have been vaccinating for small pox all along. Somehow it makes all your personal good stuff seem all that much better…doesn’t it?  

We’ve spent a second year watching Satchel grow from a sweet baby into the cutest little boy with a mind of his own, a love for books, the chickens & the barn, growing his own corn in the garden (the picking and eating part being his favorite), and especially his mommy and daddy.  We have started helping Sarah & Nic plan their wedding and continue to enjoy having them close by in Katonah.  Of course, they announced their intention to honeymoon in Kenya on Thanksgiving and the terrorists struck there the next day! Another special announcement thrilled us a couple of months ago … Nancy & Pete let us know grandchild #2 will arrive next May.  

It was great to see lots of old friends and family this year on short trips to Florida, California, and Nantucket…where we shared a quiet little peninsula with Bain & Kathleen in two cute cottages called The Boat House and The Lobster Shack…which they are in the off season.  Our landlord’s father was right up Peter’s alley…he built sailboats from materials he got at the dump!  They were beautiful and sailed well. Fran had her 40^th(is it possible?) high school reunion and Peter snuck another motorcycle into the barn.   

Work is winding down in Albany and real estate is still amazingly good in Westchester.  Alice is really enjoying being a great Baba and still perking along at 91! 

Keep the cards, letters, emails, and phone calls coming, we love hearing all the news and it helps all your kids from being frozen in time when last we saw them. May life be kind to all of us in 2003.  

All our love and best wishes,     

Here's a picture of Kirby Oak, taken January 1st, 2002, and sent along by Carole Munro. (Well, actually it was her hubby Dave who sent it.)  Taken at Siesta Key Beach,  Florida.

He looks pretty good for someone who is 60!

Carlos Ballantyne writes: I've moved to Mammoth Lakes CA from Laguna Beach where I had been for the past 12 years. Happily, I have not taken a bath inside in over two months bathing instead every day in one of the natural hot springs here. The weather is like being back in NY - cold and snow - but at 8100' altitude. It's nice and quiet and when I leave on micro
holidays I go to Reno for shopping and the Wild Oats Market.

Tentative plans to go to Asia in Jan - Mar '03 - maybe Viet Nam and  India but the trips I plan and talk about are the ones that don't happen and the ones where I leave on 5 days notice are the ones I stay for 6 months.

One of Carlos'  recent photos

“The best wood does not grow in rich soil.” Chinese saying

Beth Porter continues her literary efforts and is on chapter 9 of her novel, which she describes as a HUGE family saga.  She is in the market for a US agent and/or publisher, so if anyone has any leads there, you can email Beth at admin@womenstuff.org.  She also reports that her dad continues to undergo kidney dialysis, but remains in good spirits, largely due to the wonderful support of his wife Joan and their two children.

Here's the latest from Gay Mayer --Only news from here is that our granddaughter who was born at 1.5 pounds a year ago is now 14 pounds - and has learned how to "chase" the dog around the
house while crawling. And, we are looking forward to a big trip to China next April - 3 weeks to poke around and do some hiking and art history.

Lois (Schrader) Wolcheck watched son John get married in August.  He was the last of her three children to "take the leap."  Grandson Colt, 8, was the ring bearer.  Lois' mom passed away in September from cancer.  That's both parents in about a year, as her dad died in July of 2001.  She will be welcoming a new grandchild next April, when daughter Amy and her husband will be adopting a little girl.

Liz (Lewis) Usborne and Joan (Kather) Henry recently had a nice visit at Joan's home in Sequim, WA.  Liz continues her three-year battle with breast cancer.  Here's a great picture of Liz and Joan.  (I'm guessing it was taken on one of the nature trails in the Olympic Rainforest, which is definitely worth a visit if you get to the Olympic Peninsula.)

And then Joan sent me a message with the following additional news:

Kit (Thomas) Weiss continues to provide lots of interesting news:

The Thomas family reunion gathered 63 of the available 65 to a week of sun and surf on Cape Cod this summer. Sonia, Tricia, Kit and Gail made it, but Morgan was unable to come from Israel.

My historical fiction book, Susannah, is going slowly.  I have traveled to England and Holland several times doing research but the very idea that I might blow off an historic fact and therefore send the "story" down the drain, keeps me from completion. 

The story follows the life of one of the Mayflower pilgrims from childhood through the Spring of 1621.  Susannah White was married and had a five year old son when they came from Leiden, Holland to Plymouth.  She was pregnant and had the first baby born here - in Provincetown harbor.  Half of the Pilgrim and Puritan people died that first winter and William, her husband, was one of them.  By May of 1621, there were only five women left and so she was asked to remarry John Winslow. 

I liked her and could relate to her ability to cope with a life of the unknown.   Since she is my Great (8X's) grandmother, I decided to write her story. 

What I need is that old deadline crashing down on me to finish it.   So if there is a publisher out there that wants to see this piece of history and give me a deadline, send him on!!

Best wishes for the coming year.  Kit

Tom Stevens has quite a bit of good news to report.  Youngest son Coner will be heading off to college next fall, and besides being a great student, planning to major in engineering, he is being recruited by several schools for football and track.  Tom expects to sell his house in Bangor then and live six months a year at their farm in Maine and the other six in Florida.  Tom stays in pretty regular touch with Peter Davidson, Jack Corbino, Peter Kilburn, Peter Corbino, and Carlos Ballantyne.

Peter Kilburn has quite a bit to report as well.  "Both of our children are married. Christopher, our son is an attorney married to Patricia also an attorney, and they live in Tucson. They have no children as yet. Courtney, our daughter is married to Will also an attorney- we are overrun with lawyers- and they live in Huntington, WV with their three adorable, intelligent boys- William III is almost four and the twins Christopher and Nicholas are two. WOW! And Courtney is General Manager of a firm with 450 employees- we don't know how she does it. Natalie Walsh, my wife HGHS '63, and I have been in Charlottesville, VA - our final resting place- for almost four years. We came here to retire and Natalie is tutoring and I have a great assignment at UVA. I work with our Medical School alums around the country which gives us some nice travel opportunities. So much for retirement!

We were in France last spring with Steve and Sue Walsh for a few weeks.  We spent a long weekend last July with Steve and Sue in Sunapee, NH at Swede and Jayne Murphy's beautiful summer home. It was in celebration of  our 60th birthdays.  A great celebration weekend - golf, gifts, reflecting on our incredibly happy and lucky lives and memories of our friendships going back fifty years. These old friendships are the best.

My brother Tony lives on the Maine seacoast with his wife Jan, an accomplished watercolorist. Our sister Sally has lived in Stuart, FL for a number of years with her husband Jack. We all are reasonably healthy. Lastly, my new email at home is- rpeter@adelphia.net "  

Locke Bogart writes (by actual letter - not email!) that he is getting "set in his ways."  (I know that feeling, Locke.)  He has been single since last Christmas and has learned that he is rather comfortable with the idea.  He is doing a lot of "puttering" and refinishing furniture as well as rebuilding old clocks.  He continues working with a business partner on selling irradiated food.  And here is a final quote from his letter, that I found very encouraging.  "In closing, my life has become one of relative contentment with reality - both internal and external - a condition that is very comforting."  Nice thoughts.

And last but by no means least here is all the news from Lynn Norton.  

Dear Friends,

I have now finished a complete year of retirement and it still agrees with me. I did get a little bored and with the ongoing stock market mess, I decided to get a part-time job. I am working at the front desk at the Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City. The pay is only slightly above minimum wage, but the hours are flexible for any travel I want to do and they also provide health insurance. I actually enjoy it and have a great ocean view from the front desk. During the summer I ended up working full-time, but am now only working about 20 hours a week which is fine with me.

I had some great travel trips again this year. The trip through the Panama Canal was interesting along with the time we spent in the San Blas Islands. A week in St Martin was nice, but I wouldn’t make a return trip there. Had a wonderful trip up the Rogue River in a hydroplane boat--what a blast. We traveled from recreational to scenic to wilderness sections- done before the big fires happened. Also made a return trip to the Olympic Peninsula and especially enjoyed Lake Quinault Lodge (a highlight in the book Ya Ya Sisterhood).

My niece and her family visited the week of July 4th and we had a great visit. One of the highlights was the local July 4th Parade. I was asked to be a judge of the entrants. I did not realize how powerful the role was until we had a "stage" mother plead with us to judge her kids who had arrived for the parade an hour past the judging (but just in time for the start of the parade). Fortunately, the organizers stepped in and settled it (they could be in the parade but were ineligible for awards). Judging included such categories as best animal (a rooster won that) most patriotic, original, etc. Bribes were offered, but not accepted. The real reward was as a judge I was offered an "opportunity" to ride in the parade on the back of a convertible. So, my grand niece (6yrs) and I rode of the back of the convertible, throwing candy to the masses and doing the royal wave. Mind you- this is a small community so the parade participants outnumber the watching crowd. Anyway, it became the highlight of the visit for my grand niece.

Thanksgiving and Xmas will be here this year then in Feb. it’s my dream trip to the Galapagos Islands. Have a Happy Holiday.

The following items are all things that came in just after the last newsletter was published, and I had them on the "In the Meantime" page.  If you have been checking that page, then these are already well-known to you.  If not, here's your chance to catch up.

Dave Lyons and wife Joanne have had quite a year:

I retired on April 1, 2002 from Corning, Inc. after 33 years...most recently VP of Environmental Engineering.  My wife Joanne (Joanne Fay, class of 1961) was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February of 2001. So we have been flying back and forth to New York City on Corporate Angel (which happens to be a Corning, Inc. shuttle to Newark ) . We take a van to NYC and then Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center for a clinical trial ...chemo. The tumor was inoperable. She has been doing amazing well for a very tough cancer...40% shrinkage. When the plane was not flying during the World Trade restrictions on plane traffic into Newark, we drove five and half hours into the City. In fact she was in getting treatment that day of the disaster in NYC and I was in Germany. We are trying to spend more time this summer at our summer home in Cape Cod (Wellfleet) and driving into NYC for treatment. Our son, Sean, was married on June 22nd in Virginia. Our daughter Sue and her husband were transferred back in March from Japan after three years there...now they are in Cincinnati. Kent , our youngest, is an engineer in Atlanta

And here is a picture from that wedding

That's Dave and Joanne on your right.  Dave adds this footnote:

and then, in November, he added the footnote in red--

 Jane Torborg Holmes (my stepsister and Horace Greeley class of 1961) )was at our son Sean's wedding in Leesburg, Virginia. Also Bruce and Jan Thompson (Joanne's sister and both class of 1959) and David Thompson, Bruce's brother (class of 1961). And of course,  Dick and Janice Adams Lyons (class of 1957 and class of 1963).  I just realized that there were two other Horace Greeley High School grads at my son , Sean's wedding. Tom Crowley (class of 1966)  and his wife Lynda Brooks Crowley (class of 1967) also attended. . That makes 10 grads including Joanne and I. Small world...

Bill (Bud) Ebert just sent this news, and I think you will all enjoy it!

So many things have happened since our Greeley days that it would be impossible and very boring  to put them to paper.  I will instead concentrate on the present.
Roseann, my wife, and I retired from business almost five years ago.  It was a great life but it was clear to both of us that it was time to pack it in and move onto our next life stage.  So, after living most of our lives in the New York area we decided to make a gigantic move.  We crossed our beautiful country and stopped for good in Sedona, Arizona.  It is a very special place and we are very happy here.  Sometimes we wish we were nearer our kids who are still in various places on the East Coast but other than that we miss nothing about our old life.  In fact, Roseann says I never want to leave Sedona and I think she may be right about that.  If you've ever been here, you'd be sure to understand why I feel this way.
Three years ago we started to put in motion and on paper our dream house.  We finished it 18 months ago and are loving every minute of living in it.  It has several guest rooms so we're always open to anyone who's wandering brings them to the West.  We've had so many visitors since the house was finished that we're thinking of turning it into a B&B to supplement our retirement income.
We fill our days with many things most of which are volunteer activities for such groups as the Humane Society, the Forest Service and Keep Sedona Beautiful.  I have discovered that I am a great cook and had my life been somewhat different in its twists and turns I think I would have been a chef.  I spend lots of time practicing on friends.  They don't seem to mind as it's a great excuse for eating and drinking too much.  I have also discovered that I love to garden and am actually good at planning gardenscapes.  I have recently designed and helped build two gardens for neighbors.  It's nice to walk around the neighborhood and watch your creations grow and mature.
Roseann and I have both taken up painting.  She's very good but has found that it takes work and lots of time.  We build her a little studio in our house to make it easier to just stop what you're doing and paint for a while.  However, she's involved in so many things that it has been difficult for her to find enough time.  Her current passions are working with a women's group that raises money to help women further their education and thus their chances in life and a group that is trying to educate women about local government while influencing the long term development our city.  Sedona has many people with fantastic background who look to share their knowledge.  I am constantly in awe of the vast treasure trove of knowledge and talent that resides here.
It's wonderful to have the time and resources to do all these things.  We feel very blessed. We are also very happy that our close family is all well and are themselves happy.  I son, Jody, is getting married next year and we will return to the East coast for the big event.  Our girls are in North Carolina and Delaware.  Well, Roseann's yelling at me to get off the computer so I must go.  Roseann and I send you our best and hope that one day we will see some of my old Greeley friends.  By the way, I'll be celebrating my 60th this Saturday! (Ed. note - that's Sat

Violet (Curcio) Petroni checks in with an update on what has been going on in her life:  

Still living in Briarcliff - try to spend some time at our home in Montauk, particularly during the summer

Currently the Director of the Wellness Center at Marymount College of Fordham University in Tarrytown

Husband, Joseph, retired from medical practice 3 years ago and is now a permanent substitute for the Briarcliff Middle and High Schools

Daughter, Lauren 34, is a paralegal, married and living in Redmond, Washington

Son, Larry 32, works for the State Department, getting married in Bogotá, Columbia on August 3rd, is currently living in Rome, Italy

Daughter, Lisa 30, assistant producer for BBDO Advertising in NYC, single and living in Manhattan

Here is the latest from Reid Reynolds (whose picture can be seen down the page a bit with Izzy Miraco.)

A personal update:  Aside from trying to still ski like someone half my age, my hands are full with a job which has been consuming around 50 hours a week as I try to minimize the fallout of mandatory budget cuts on the long term care programs I manage for Colorado Medicaid.  Meanwhile, my daughter, Lily, has completed a somewhat traumatic freshman year of high school which we are both trying to recover from, and  23 year old nephew, Eric,  has taken up part time residence while trying to decide between a career in high finance and becoming a trout bum.  The piano has been painfully silent for a couple of months but I have joined my second choral group and actually cut a CD that the producer hopes will be a commercial success.  (Mass in D by a somewhat obscure 19th Century composer, Otto Nikoli.)  And last weekend, new girlfriend Donna and I scaled 14,000'+ Mt. Yale.

                                                  

The amazing thing is that I can identify Chappaqua roots for virtually everything that I care about today.  Quite a place, quite a time. 

As always, your faithful editor remains:

Dave Williams

14801 110th Ave E

Puyallup, WA 98374

253-841-7095