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If you prefer to view/print the webpage as a Word document - click here April 1st, 2011 - Hi all. Once again the class newsletter comes your way, completely free of cost and without obligation. A few more things left over from the reunion, lots of news from classmates, and as is increasingly the case, some health concerns to report. As always, if this newsletter stimulates you to send an update and/or picture, don't hesitate; I'll have a "Page 2" soon, and will include anything that comes in. SPECIAL NOTE: I AM NO LONGER INCLUDING EMAIL ADDRESSES OR PHONE NUMBERS FOR CLASSMATES AS A SECURITY MEASURE. IT APPEARS THAT "MINERS" MAY HAVE BEEN USING THE INFORMATION IMPROPERLY. IF YOU NEED SOMEONE'S EMAIL OR PHONE NUMBER, LET ME KNOW AND I WILL FORWARD THE REQUEST TO THEM, UNLESS THEY HAVE ALREADY TOLD ME IT WAS OK TO POST THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO POST ANYTHING HERE THAT MIGHT CAUSE PROBLEMS OR SECURITY ISSUES. IT'S A SAD COMMENTARY TO EVEN HAVE TO ADDRESS THIS, BUT IT SEEMS TO BE NECESSARY. LET'S START WITH THE "FINAL" COUNT ON THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND DRIVE WE WERE ABLE TO PRESENT THE CHECK AT THE ANNUAL ROTARY CLUB DINNER IN CHAPPAQUA ON JANUARY 29TH.
THAT CHECK IS FOR $8000 WHICH INCLUDES SIX GRAND FROM THE CLASS, AND TWO FROM ROTARY. SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE ALSO RECEIVED AN ANONYMOUS GIFT OF $2000 FROM AN "ADMIRER" OF THE CLASS, MAKING IT A GRAND TOTAL OF TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. WHAT A GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT. THERE TO PRESENT THE CHECK, LINDA THOMAS HARRISON, DAVE WILLIAMS, PHYLLIS BIGGS APPOLLONIO, GAY MAYER, BILL HOLMES, AND PETER DAVIDSON. AND FINALLY ON THE REUNION, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY NOT HAVE SEEN THE VIDEO PRODUCED BY LINDA KALLNER, HERE'S A LINK TO IT. NICE STUFF TO WATCH. http://www.ncctv.org/index.php?option=com_jvideo&view=watch&id=101
AND HERE IS ONE LAST THING REGARDING THE REUNION. IF YOU WANTED TO GET THE MEMORY BOOK BUT FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER WEREN'T ABLE TO, NOW YOU CAN HAVE THE PDF VERSION FOR FREE. JUST CLICK RIGHT HERE.
NOTES FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY (AND ABROAD)
Ann Hill Connelly's husband Charlie passed away on February 4th, following a stroke. Charlie was well-known to many of us, and helped out with reunion planning last summer. He was interred with full military honors at Ft. Logan military cemetary. Here's an excerpt from the eulogy presented by their son, Shaun.
Kirk Tuttle, who was with us until 10th grade when he went off to private school, died in February from hepatitis and complications. Kirk was a fun guy and one heck of a drummer/musician. You may recall that his second wife died about a year ago. His first wife, Penny organized a wonderful service and reception in Seattle which I was able to attend. There were a lot of wonderful musicians there and the afternoon included great music and wonderful memories. I was able to meet Kirk's daughter Robin and she enjoyed hearing about what he was like as a kid. Penny sent these pictures. The woman with Kirk is his sister Marcia, Greeley Class of '57.
That's George Flink and his wife Teresa. As you might guess, they are really into old-time music, playing in several festivals each year. You can actually find George's information page at Banjohangout.org and there is a lot of interesting stuff there. (You have to sign up as a member to access his member page, but it's easy and free. They were sorry not to make the reunion but report "If you get up to Maine or Arizona (we're in Stetson for 6 months of the year) and Tucson 6 months in a cohousing community called Stone Curves, look me up." If you want his email or phone number, let me know, and I will pass the request along to him. In any case, it's been very nice reconnecting with George.
Here's the latest from Doug Weiss - What happened to life in the slow lane... My real estate agent hobby, due to lack of buyers, has suddenly become active employment as buyers seem to have all decided to buy at once. I am not, by the way, complaining, other than wondering where all that free time went. Although we've cruised quite a bit, Marianne and I are trying our first transatlantic cruise to Southhampton and then we'll spend 10 days in the UK. We timed the trip just in case we received a royal invite, but alas, it has not yet arrived. I am having a bit of trouble finding excursions for the seven days we'll be at sea...they don't even offer deep sea fishing. Oh well....I'll probably just go stir crazy. We're trying to decide where to go in the Fall, but where can you go safely these days....Tsunamis, earthquakes, civil unrest. I think we're just going to wait for a last minute deal that we can't resist....perhaps a low cost tour of Tripoli :) Finally, I finally was persuaded to buy a Weber smoker. So far I have smoked a pork shoulder, baby back ribs and a turkey. I recommend it highly, even to someone who can't boil water. You just can't go wrong with this thing...follow the directions and the food comes out perfectly moist and smoky. I'm loving it. Ed note: Doug also was on one of the celebrated "Cruises from Hell" last year. I haven't asked him if it's OK to publish about it, so for now, let's just say it made National Lampoon's Vacation movies look like walks in the park.
Well, here's an item I am sad to report. Those of you at the reunion no doubt remember the wonderful job Ken Nye did as emcee and reading his poetry. Turns out Ken was in some distress with health issues at the reunion, although he certainly pressed on in fine fashion and his discomfort was not apparent to those present. As you know, Ken and Ann have had a lot of health challenges these past few years, to include Ken's Parkinsons Disease and Ann's heart issues. It hasn't gotten any better as Ken reports in his latest message -- Not good news from
the Nyes. In late December I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of
the blood and bone
Bob Burch wasn't able to attend the reunion, but sent us this update on his life since Greeley. Great reading and an interesting life. Thanks Bob! After graduating from Lehigh University with a degree in Engineering (no, I'm not licensed to drive a train) I went to work for Ingersoll-Rand in their international division. Following a short time in the States, I spent the next eleven years living and working overseas, including stints in Venezuela, India, Puerto Rico and Brazil. Along the way I managed to become fluent in Spanish and (Brazilian) Portuguese (many thanks to Mr. Sullivan and his grounding in Latin for making it easier to learn Romance languages). I returned to the US in 1975, ran the Latin American division for the next seven years and, with the help of I-R, picked up an MBA. Lee Morris (Greeley ’63) and I were married in 1966 and amicably divorced in 1981. We had a lot of great experiences moving all around the globe. My wife, Jane, and I were married in 1983 and settled down in the little town of Haworth, New Jersey. I left I-R in 1983, spent several years working with Gay Mayer at MEM, then found my real calling; a turnaround management firm in New York where I spent the next fifteen years fixing financially troubled companies, some domestic but many multinationals that required a lot more international travel. The downside was constantly living out of a suitcase (company doctors have to make house calls) but completing the turnarounds more than outweighed that. My last gig was CEO of a client company, hired by the private equity group that had done their LBO, to finish the turnaround I'd started and sell it. Once that was completed in 2005 I decided I'd had enough of spending my life on airplanes and in hotels and retired. I still serve on the Boards of two of the private equity firms who were once clients. During the time overseas I found that football wasn't a viable exercise alternative so started to play tennis, originally in India then every place since then, and actually became a reasonably good club level player. I still play a couple of time a week with a group here in Tucson. That plus regular hiking in the mountains keep me physically active. Jane and I live in Tucson most of the year and when it becomes too hot – read May to September – we have a summer home in Flagstaff where the 7000 foot altitude and pine forests are a welcome respite. We travel when the spirit moves us, but as we both spent many years travelling around the world back when international travel was fun, we find that today's experience is less and less desirable. If anyone ever gets out to the Desert Southwest, give us a call; for a relatively small city, Tucson has a lot of good restaurants and dinner would be fun. ( Ed note: Contact me for Bob's email and phone number.) Bob Burch
And, Markey Ellis did the same thing, and here it is!
Greetings to Classmates! Wish I could have joined you this weekend. We have only one "50th" and who wants to think ahead to a 60th yet? But - ever think about moving a reunion a bit to the west? Here's my pitch to those of you who shoulder all the work of organizing reunions - and you are remarkable in your energies and willingness to undertake the effort - why not contemplate doing one someplace like Hawaii or Arizona or Mexico, say in some winter month when it might sound tempting enough to the easterners to travel to a non-Chappaqua destination? I'm guessing most classmates are retired now and free to go wherever the consensus might suggest a next one be held, and maybe even enjoy moving on from the old homestead turf. Chappaqua feels very changed to me whenever I've been back there in the last twenty years, and part of me likes remembering it more the way it was in its sleepier 'village' incarnation, with its historical roots quite in evidence still then, in a way which seems almost obliterated now. I do come east once or twice a year to see family in New York and Boston. My sister Gaynor, Class of "61, lives in New York City and we are currently remodeling a cottage we own together in Saugerties, NY, so I had come out in late July and August for that project and wasn't sure I could make another trip this soon mostly because of other commitments here. Ex-students of Mssrs Hagedorn and Rennhack may or may not have 'kept up' their French. Mine had grown very rusty , and I have reason to freshen it up, so I've been taking French conversation classes at City College and naturally the midterm exam fell into this past week. Then some tax issues arose and the IRS's response deadline also came this past week and I had to rummage back in my records to present the proofs they wanted. (No sweat.) Great friends who live in Mexico City were coming this week, and a cousin who got married in North Carolina last week-end and whose wedding I did not attend, was spending her honeymoon out here and hoped to get together, and so it goes. I looked at the possibility of a late Friday last-minute jaunt there and back and found nothing that would have left me intact physically or financially, so I gave up pondering the sort of mad dash I would have done without a second thought, say twenty-five years ago. Sometimes the answer to a question of time and energy these days simply is "I can't do it!" Over to the subject of teacher news - My mother, who taught at Bell School, stayed in regular touch with Sylvia Kurson and I had visited her in Maine late one summer a couple of years before she died in the mid 1990's. Alice Barry had passed away quite a bit earlier, and Sylvia was living on her own in Damariscotta and was very much of a "character" -- impish humor, alert, and quite up-to-date about the world in general. Her great passion was working wooden jigsaw puzzles. The unheated glass porch on her house held floor-to-ceiling stacks of boxed puzzles filling much of it (something like three or four hundred of them if I remember rightly). She was easy and fun to be with, chatting openly about her life and observations about people, curious about mine too, and all the while expecting you to search out delinquent pieces of whichever puzzle was underway on a table between you. I don't know if any of the Maine-dwelling classmates were in touch with her, but she had a quality in her which stayed very modern despite the passing years. In her early years of retirement, she wrote a small volume of nostalgic autobiographical tales describing her childhood life on Mount Desert Island, titled "My World on An Island". I have a couple of copies of it, and if there are class-mates who would be interested in having a copy circulated for an insight into that time and place, I would be happy to send one out to anybody who would like to read it. I still also have vivid memories of her as a teacher, her prolonged silent stare-downs at us or rising from her chair and pacing, because we were failing to probe ourselves successfully for adequate answers to some question she had posed, and her finally helping us to the finish line, and even confessing her specific frustration with the narrowness of life experience we could bring to a reading of "Madame Bovary" or " A Portrait of A Lady" as eighteen year-olds in her A.P. class. She wanted so badly for us to "get it" as we say today, and what more could you ask from a teacher than that level of engagement? I felt lucky to have spent two years as her student, and was amused to detect so much of the writing technique she worked so hard to instill in us when I read her book of stories. I was very sad when I heard she had died. My own life has morphed away from the years of active pursuits that filled up the time that those of you who raised families devoted to family care. California was for me truly the pot-of-gold for a year-round circuit of outdoor pastimes, hiking, skiing, swimming, running, paddling, sailing, and so on, and especially for the nearly thirty years I had a twenty-four foot open water rowing shell in which I spent treasured hours each week out on the waters of San Francisco Bay. Some serious illness has weakened me physically and left me battling to keep even as many pounds on my frame as when we were skinny high schoolers. So one by one my sports have retired to the realm of 'just memories'. I sold my boat last year, a wrenching separation I still feel acutely every time I'm close to the boathouse and wish I were going 'out there' for the sublime hour, two or sometimes three that had been a big part of my life , three or four times a week. I've loved my nearly forty years of living in California, and do contemplate moving on to someplace else, spending at least part of each year perhaps in Hawaii, maybe some weeks in New York State and so on. Friends here are slowly dispersing to other places and spending a lot of time away on travels, and without the anchors of work, or family and with absent friends, it becomes easier to think about dislodging myself from my adopted home ground here. In any event I look forward to playing out this next " third period " of our lives (hockey talk for any non-hockey fans), which is, to move to another metaphor, definitely a time for scooping up all the remaining loose marbles that will give a sense of completeness to our passage through this world. Travelers to San Francisco give me a heads-up if you would like a local tour guide on a visit here. One of my joys is taking people around a city I love. (Contact me for email/phone) My best wishes to all of you. Sorry to be missing-in-action back there with you. Markey Ellis
Lorraine Price Muth
reports on her humanitarian trip to Haiti.
(Lorraine is not in either of the pictures, because she was behind the lens.)
As you probably recall, Beth Porter says that she is doing pretty well, although still on a "mountain of meds" all related to type 2 diabetes and congestive heart failure concerns. ( I erroneously reported earlier that the meds were part of her ongoing recovery from the unprovoked attack by a deranged neighbor a few years ago. Sorry for the confusion.) Never one to let misfortune derail her, Beth is involved in a new web-based enterprise. Here is her report on that --
The below is to introduce a newly
launched web project I'm involved with
which offers an opportunity for previously unpublished short stories to
snuggle up on these virtual shelves.
I'm hoping some of the Class of
'60 may have such a short story
they'd like to have included. All the
info is either in the press release or on the website itself. Of course
if anyone wanted to sign up as a member, that would be great, too!
And I'd really love to start a trans-Atlantic viral campaign for the
site. So if there are some Tweeters out there, Tweet away! Or Like it on
FaceBook.
There really is nothing quite like it,
and I hope you all enjoy browsing around.
All
the best
Beth
Essentially, this is a web resource to download short stories and also to publish anything you may have written. You can check it all out at http://www.storycellaronline.com/
 Rob Barns has all sorts of nice things to report. (The picture is of the garden railroad he references in his note.) Returned safe and sound after the great reunion. Then in November I was in Jacksonville, FL. to help out our daughter as she was having surgery. Home again on December 14 and then Lisa and I were back to spent Christmas in Jacksonville. December 26th found John (son-in-law) and me in the Dolphins stadium in Miami watching them lose to the Detroit Lions. I am a huge Dolphins fan! Back home by way of Atlanta (to visit Lisa's brother and his wife) on January 3rd. Since then life has been fairly routine. My garden railroad continues to progress slowly but surely. I suppose the biggest news is that Lisa and I bought a used Gammill quilting machine. For those not familiar with quilting, Gammill is considered to be the Cadillac of quilting machines. Anyway, I now have the capability to quilt whatever Lisa pieces together. All I need to do now is find the time. On another note, if anybody would like one or more of the holding crosses which I brought to the reunion, just send me an e-mail. There is no cost for the crosses. (Ed. note - I have one of these crosses, and like it a lot!) Lisa and I send our best to all.
I'm still pastoring a Latino church but I'm out of commission with some illness they can't figure out. It is related to the CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) I have been diagnosed with. I'm getting all kinds of blood tests, a CT scan, and will probably be referred to the hospital in Chapel Hill. So everybody please think kind thoughts about me! As you know, Nick's faith has seen him through a number of challenges, and he continues to find strength there. I'll not only think kind thoughts, but also include Nick in my prayers. His work in the Latino church has been most impressive and we hope he will be able to sustain it even in this trying time.
Here is the latest from Mary Glynn Early:
Hi. Sorry we could not
attend. It looked like a lot of fun and a great reunion. John
and I wish the class of '60 a most Blessed,, Healthy and Continued
New Year. John is working on the restoration of a 59 Chriscraft
wooden boat. We are naming it the "Mary E" because his Mom, my Mom,
and myself are all Mary E's!! Plus the Blessed Mother is also a
Mary E. Talk about covering all bases!!..Hope to be around for the
60th! Will attend that, even with wheelchair if necessary!! The
family does well. David, 2nd son, hopes to make partner by age 40
at a well known top 5 brokerage firm, 1st and 3rd son doing well as
independent consultants in the computer industry. One writes
programs, the other sells them. 7 grandchildren, age 11 to 2
progressing well.
We are very boring!! Heading to FL for
January - March, Planting garden March - Sept., and Having
family up from May thru Sept. During the summer we sleep anywhere
from 15 - 20 each weekend. However, the weekend can go from Fri to
Sun, or Thurs to Tues. It makes life a challenge, and we love it.
Wishing you and yours all the best, and God Bless the class of '60
and all their families.
One day in June, while
I was minding my own business, to my delight and surprise, this email showed up
from Bev Windsor Murphy, who was with us
My name is Beverly
(Windsor) Murphy & I spent my Jr. year as a member
of your class. Don't remember too many classmates
but I was good friends with Jackie Gates. Do you
have any info on her? We lost touch in the early to
mid 60’s.
(Ed. note -- we have
never had any contact information for Jackie,
although several people would like to contact her.
If anyone happens to know her info, please let us
know.)
I just stumbled on this web site to night & have
really enjoyed going thru it. I just found my
recording of Bayou Flute about a month ago. I was
surprised that I still had it.
My address is: 10 Dana Drive, Waldwick, NJ 07463.
E-mail: . (Ed.
note - contact me if you want her email.)
I have reached out to Anne Hill. I remember
that Anne & (I think) Mary Glynn were the 1st
people I met at Greeley. Lois & I were good friends
(she was also new Jr year, I think) & then we met up
again at Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in
NYC. We both graduated from there in 1962. We
didn't keep in touch after I moved back to Ridgewood
NJ for my Sr. year. Both of these moves were due to
job transfers of my Dad.
On another note: Pat (Rodier) Quast ’59 (sister of
Ed in class of '60) lives in Waldwick, also. Our
paths used to cross frequently but not lately. We
were friendly at Greeley & the 1st time I
saw here in Waldwick I recognized her immediately
(in 1981). We had many mutual friends here in town.
Would love to hear back from you & from any other
classmates who might recall me.
Beverly Windsor Murphy '60
  Peter, Phyllis, Linda, and I visited Bonnie Camph Balassone at her nursing home in January. She remains the same indomitable gal she has always been. Despite her health problems and pain from arthritis, she is as feisty as ever, still a lot of fun, and a well-known figure in the home. In fact she is the patient association president, and, I suspect, a thorn in the side of the administrators. It was a true pleasure seeing her.
Judi Chatfield Schwerin continues her travels and studies. Here's her input as of late March Hi Dave - the afterglow of the reunion still glimmers.... One great continuing outcome is being more in touch with a number of my classmates, and it will be more meaningful to read everyone's news. A quiet snowy...seemingly endless winter in Sharon. Lots of cancellations of events keeping me home. In January I was elected to The Century Association in NYC - a venerable arts club that is a time capsule of a past era. February took me back to Vietnam for two weeks- mostly the northern portion this time, with a few days in Hong Kong to break up the long air flight. Just four women, with local guides to enjoy art galleries, spectacular scenery,beautiful food, and of course a bit of shopping for silks, and lacquer. We had lessons in cooking, vegetable farming ,and casting round fishing nets.
SB10001424052748704005404576176842134942326.html-KEYWORDS=chappaqua
And finally, Dick Prezzanno, Class of '61 writes that his class will have their 50th next October 14th. Here's the link to their planning website. We wish them the best, and if their 50th is as good as ours was, we know they will be having a great time!
OK - that's it for now. If I missed something you sent in, by all means tell me and I'll fix it. If you want to add inputs, same thing -- I'll be making a "Page 2" to this newsletter just for such a thing. If I got something wrong, let me know.
As always, your faithful editor remains -
Dave Williams 14801 110th Ave E Puyallup, WA 98374 253-905-2751
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Another
piece of sad news -
I
returned today (March 3rd) from a trip to Haiti. I was there for two weeks
with a group of eight from the Mennonite Church. We removed rubble from two
home sites. The work was the hardest manual labor I think I've ever done
because we passed buckets of rubble one after another for 5 hours, working
with a team of Haitians. The trip was a real learning experience and too
much to tell about but I feel very grateful for my life and have a lot of
things I need to think about. 
Old
guitar-playing buddy Nick Bowen has a mixed bag to report. He told us
a year or so ago that he had been diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic
Leukemia, but that it was in remission and he was not in danger at the time.
But here is his latest communication, received March 26th.
for one year during high school, but as you can see, has good memories of
several people.
Here's
a link to a pretty interesting article about what's
going on with the Readers' Digest property and the
development there. It just keeps getting more
and more convoluted. Thanks to Jim Granger for
sending the heads-up. The article is as of
March 3rd, so reasonably current.