Reminder that the next
monthly, 4th Monday GHS ’70 Luncheon is at noon April 22 at Auburn’s Peking Buffet (@Grandstaff&SR8,
260.925.2746). Put this on your calendar now, and while you’re at it, fill out
the year’s remaining 4th
Monday (not always the last Monday!)
dates.
The March 25th luncheon was nice as usual.
Turnout was damped by some inches of overnight snow, what a cold March, but we did
have a “new” first-timer, Ken Rhodes,
whom you see talking here with brother Mike
on the left and Jim Burns on the
right.
Reflections
of the March GHS ’70 Class Luncheon at the Peking Buffet
If this looks a little strange, some of the discussion
(not at all limited to these three)
was a little more philosophical than usual.
Unseen but very much present are Bob Bishop, Vicky Markley Bishop (sister in
law to Bob), Dan and Cindy Hathaway Myers, Lauren Fike, Randy Brumbaugh, Steve
Tullis, and myself. A relatively
small gathering (11 instead of last month’s 18), but most stayed quite a while.
I did take a few other photos but
unfortunately they did not turn out so well, so when You come, why don’t you take some photos as well?
About our Names
There was some interesting conversation
about names. Ken is really Kenny, not Ken, and will show his birth certificate to prove it. Jim is really James, and is known to many by that name alone. Mike is really Michael, AKA Dusty and sometimes Vinny or Vincento
(middle name Vincent). Bob Bishop is
really Robert, though one friend
insists he is a Bob Robert. And Lauren Fike received a letter
addressing him as Ms Fike, due to
the name’s recent popularity among women. I advised Laruen to enclose a photo when necessary.
Our names are often more complicated
than some may imagine, including the parents who named us!
On May 28, 1952, my nineteen and twenty year old
parents named me Stephen Allan Rowe.
But what did they then know of me today,
sixty years later? I didn’t even know myself
at eighteen or twenty-one …
So begins a short but photo-laden and
evocative reflection I wrote last October, though I did not mention it at the
luncheon. If you are a reflective type, then you might be interested in that
blog post: just click on What Does Your Name Signify?
People
It was good to see Kenny Rhodes (his first time), and also Vicki Markley Bishop (her second time, and apologies, Vicki, for having
botched your photo) – hope you both continue to come. In addition to these 2, I count
roughly 10 who almost always come, 7 who come quite often, and 9 who come once in a
while. That makes about 28 different
people you might expect to see, depending on the month, and the list is sure to keep growing for some time.
Finally, before leaving March25
entirely, I should probably point out that Kenny
Rhodes looks a little odd in the photographic composition above. It’s just
that he sat directly across from me, and when I juxtaposed photos of him
talking with Michael and James …
… Well you can see what happened ... And
there was so much background clutter … I just felt that the quality of everyone’s interaction (not just these
3) was better revealed as presented above.
Final
Round of New High School Photos
The January through March newsletters
featured 15 photos and 1,755 words (thank you Microsoft Word for the word count
feature) related to the new high school. Given that one picture is worth a
thousand words, I figure that makes 16,755 words of information already
communicated on this project. Still, a few more words must be said …
First, note Gery Barry’s place on the Distinguished
Alumni Hall of Honor between Hudson Freeze (GHS ’64) and Mark Michael (GHS
’73). I can’t make out the words in this photo, but Gery was a good friend and
I am proud of him, along with Dan Yarde
(whose induction into the Athletic Wall
of Fame was covered last month).
Honestly, I have to say I am proud
of the class as a whole. Throughout the nine 4th Monday luncheons to
date, it has been so gratifying to observe the maturity we have all come to,
and the good will and even grace with which we treat each other. What a truly
wonderful group of people …
And You: If
you are near and unoccupied but have not yet found your way to our monthly
gathering, please come soon; or if you are still working or afar, I hope your
day will come before too long.
Here
you see Garrett’s 3-D printer, used in the pre-engineering curriculum.
It eats CAD (computer assisted design)
data, and spits out 3-dimensional plastic prototypes.
Technology of this sort will be of
evermore significance in the years to come, and it is remarkable that Garrett is
not only up to speed, but ahead of the curve regionally in this regard.
The teacher standing here is George
Wilmore, Mary Krocker (GHS ’71) Wilmore’s husband.
Even the urinals glisten at GHS these days!
So different from my memories …
I especially remember the graffiti in
the stalls …
Which brings us to …
Lessons
the Teacher Never Taught You
Circa 1966, thinking 8th
grade but maybe later, reading a graffiti physics lesson etched into the old
paint of a school bathroom stall:
Heat of the Meat X Mass of the Ass = Angle of the Dangle
 |
Detail
from “Nymphs and Satyr,” 1873
By Adolpho-William Bouguerreau
Analysis by
unknown GHS student, circa 1966 |
I’ve often wondered what GHS genius
imagined this astonishing equation? Or if not a genius, then at least someone possessed of far more esoteric
knowledge than I at the time …
Someone we can never know with
certainty, as surely more than one lesser mind would happily steal the credit!
I loved math and science at
the time ... is that why I thought it was so funny and remembered it so well?
Something else I'll never
know - how many others appreciated it as much as I did?
I doubt that Lessons the Teacher Never Taught You will become a regular feature,
but if this lesson doesn’t occasion too
much indignation, there might be an encore.
July 3rd/4th Garrett
Heritage Days Walk/Run +Plus Getting Closer!
July 3:
Parade/Pet Parade (July
3) @ 6:00 pm
Spike and the
Bulldogs @ 8:00 pm
July 4:
Pancake Breakfast
(Jul 4) @ 7:00-11:00 am
2 mile walk or 5k
(3.1 mile) run @ 9:00
Cathy Ann Dance
Studio @ 9:00
Turning Pointe
Dance Academy @ 10:00
Sidewalk Chalk Art
@ 9:00–3:00
Old car Cruise-Inn
Patricia Krus
School of Dance @ 11:00
Chicken BBQ @
11:30 – 2:00
Talent Show @ 1:00
Pie and Cookie
Baking Auction @ 3:00
Pageant @
5:00-8:30
Fireworks @ 10:00
For even more,
click the link above.
For
those now living outside the Garrett Zone,
Spike’s band, always a big draw, is probably THE region’s favorite 50’s / 60’s
cover band, and presently includes Garrett’s own Bob Zmysloni (GHS '69) and Wayne Neukom
(GHS '69 – WAY better now than your memories of their high school band days!
The
Pancake Breakfast cost is a donation, the
old car Cruise-In is free, and the pre-registration walk/run
cost has been just $5 for many years (which includes a free Garrett July 4th
walk/run t-shirt), thanks to the Garrett
State Bank’s sponsorship - so it’s relatively easy to bring children and
grandchildren to walk and/or run with you, should you and they be inclined. To download the pre-registration mail-in form,click on this link.
I’ve
always seen a number of friends there from various classes, and had a great
time.
In
the meantime, it is within our power to
make 2013 the best-by-far turnout yet:
·
Commit now to
share that morning with friends and community. Put it on your calendar today.
·
Declare your
interest to friends (whatever their class or age) personally, through email, on
Facebook, etc; and if you really want
to impress someone, text their phone (though personally, I am a bona-fide
Geezer, and can’t understand why anyone would prefer text to voice).
Spread
the word about these multiple events - lots to take in whether or not you walk
or run, lots of people you may see.
The
Garrett Schools Alumni Days include a Golf
Outing and a morning Walk Around the
Town on Friday (July 19); and on Saturday, Tours of and a Noon Luncheon
at the new High School, and the nine to midnight All-Classes Open House at the American
Legion (always jam-packed and now
smoke-free). Not to mention the many class reunions going on everywhere Friday
and Saturday.
For
more information, click on the link above, and/or send an email to GarrettAlumni@yahoo.com to receive that committee’s eight page
newsletter once it is completed.
Reach out!
Participate! Share! Be Friendly! Be Happy!
Another
GHS ’70 Profile/Perspective:
Doris Jarnigan Sleek
So many memories flood my mind as I
think about growing up in Garrett and what to share with my classmates. Many of you have known me forever, to others
I am totally unfamiliar. With that being said, let me share just a little about
myself. I spent most of my life in Garrett and was raised by my Grandparents,
so I was brought up on the ‘old’ values and have never regretted it. I was more
reserved, certainly naïve to movement of the late sixties and early
seventies. I loved going to the Gala
theatre and watching the double features, roller skating, dancing, going to the
school plays and summers at the pool. I
loved being with people where I could just be me and not feel that I had to try
to ‘fit’ in or prove myself.
I left school the end of my sophomore
year to marry the ‘love of my life’, Gary Jarnagin, who was a senior, May 25th
1968. We welcomed our first son in April
1969 and completed our family with our second son in March 1973. We will celebrate our 45th wedding
anniversary in May.
Life has taken us many of places due to
the automotive industry and my husband’s trade as a Manufacturing Engineer,
moving us from Auburn in 1999 to Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, and back to our
present home in Indianapolis, IN (my degree is in Business Management and I ‘ve
worked the last 14 year in the mortgage industry). I have had the opportunity to go on
missionary trips to Mexico, and spend two blissful weeks in Sydney Australia.
But, my heart and memories still lie in Garrett. How I love going ‘home’ and hearing the trains
roll through and even though the downtown area has changed, I know the library
is still there and a former classmate of my husband’s is one of the librarians
(Linda Ashenfelter Snodderly). I
remember all the stores that were in town and can still see Theresa Koehl
working in the Boston Store. Do you remember riding your bicycles behind the fogger? Imagine what they would say today! There is
always the DeKalb County Free Fall Fair, oh the memories of the Saturday
parades and the school bands. Remember the majorettes and how the bands from
Ohio would attend? The parade would take
hours to see and was so exciting to see!
Oh, and the Friday night walks through the cattle barns with my
Grandfather and later with Grandpa, my husband and sons.
Yes, I am nostalgic and hold my memories
close to my heart. We can’t go back and
experience the days-gone-by in any other way.
Many of you are in those memories as classmates and friends who have
touched my life. Many I just met at the
40th class reunion, and you also I call my friends.
Though time , past and distance may have came between many
of us, if you see me and I don’t recognize you, give me a shout…….I probably
don’t recognize you with the passage of time or old age is playing tricks with
the vision! In all seriousness, I feel
truly blessed to be a part of this small town and to have share with all of you
in the Class of 70!
Thank you Doris for sharing
your life, memories, and photos ... And what a beautiful bride!
Next Month’s GHS ’70 Profile/Perspective … Guess
Who?
Throughout these newsletters, the theme
has been “We all grew up together in the
Sixties … And now that we have arrived in our 60s, it is indeed time we got to
know each other better!”
In order to make this a reality, we must
be willing to Reach Out, Participate, and Share!
The cute little girl in
the left window is Doris Sleek,
whose profile/perspective you read above … Can you guess whose profile/perspective will appear next month?
We all grew up together in the Sixties …
And now that we
have arrived in our 60s …
It is indeed time we got to know each other better!
In Memoriam (alphabetical order, not
sure of dates)
 |
| Calvary Cemetery |
Angie Muzzillo
Ben Hatton
Bob Pickleseimer
Chuck Bergner
Dolan Boyd
Ed Schlotterback
John Yarian
 |
| Christian Union Cemetery |
Patricia Snook
Peggy Chisholm
Randy Haffner
Rick Hyde
Sue Kirkpatrick
Calvary
Cemetery and Christian
Union Cemetery are the two Garrett cemeteries I know best. (Are there
others?) Certainly not all Garrett natives are buried here, but still, driving
by I always reflect, if just for a moment, on the many generations that made
Garrett what is was and is. And when I do take time to stroll through them, I
am always moved: so many Garrett names, so much we shared, whether or not we
ever met, just having lived in the same place.
Rest
in Peace
You
are Remembered
$5.98 with tax for the buffet if you
have water …
An ice cream toast …
I discovered a soup bowl works
better than the smaller desert bowl.
That’s just about all for now, except
please help spread the word: share this
email and help get other classmates “signed up.” Anyone wanting to be added
directly to the distribution need only email or call me [voice, not text – my
phone options are set to not receive text, even though the text may seem
to go through] at 630.251.6931, and I will add them. And please share your newsletter with classmates not using email –
perhaps print off a hard copy to pass along to a friend?
If you want to share class news, photos, etc, just send it electronically (or call or write).
The idea is to make these bulletins interesting whether or not you want to or
are able to attend the luncheons. You all out there know a lot more about what
is going on than me, myself, and I, so be assured that your input will be
welcome!
Especially let me know if you would like to write your GHS ’70 Profile. If you are
Cyber-challenged, even if you don’t use a computer, I can help you get it done -
just email me, or send a letter to PO Box 670, Fremont, IN 46737, or give me a
call at 630.251.6931.
Reach
Out! Participate! Share!
To
date 63 classmates have attended one or more luncheons, and/or receive direct
email distribution of the newsletter. In alphabetical order:
Alice Runion Jones, Arni Placencia , Barbara
Tustison Smith , Bill Fetter , Bob Bishop , Brian Custer , Bob Woodward , Carolyn
Myers Kowal , Cindy Hathaway Myers , Cindy Nodine DeWitt , Clyde Handshoe , Dan
Myers , Dan Yarde , Dave Ashenfelter , Dave Kobiella , Delana Runion Kantzer , Don
Campbell , Doris Sleek Jarnigan , Doug Smith , Gary Fike , Gery Barry , Greg
Weller , Hal Hippensteel , Jack Clark , Jama Payton Campbell , Jeanne Hockaday
McNeal , Jim Burns , John Jinnings , Karen Freeze Stoltz , Karl Kearns , Kathy
Creager VanAllen , Kenny Rhodes, Lauren Fike , Lisa Englehard Murphy , Lucy
Curtis Cumston , Marisa Kennedy , Mary Yoder Weeks , Mike Barcus , Mike Rhodes
, Nancy McKee Ireland , Pat Casey , Paula Johnston Fike , Paulette Swank
Kobiella , Penny Evans Wolf , Phil Wheeler , Randy Brumbaugh , Randy Thomas , Rick
Elder , Ron Gall , Sandy Wilmot Wise , Sarah Haynes Sweitzer , Sharon Heitz , Stephen
Rowe , Steve Treesh , Steve Tullis , Sue Rhetts Miller , Teresa Koehl Thorne , Tom
Refner , Tony Janueski , Trudy Watson Boyd , Vicki Markley Bishop , Vicki
Miller Hodge , Wayne Smith
The frame and background are derived
from art hanging in the Peking Buffet’s back room where we gather.
(watch
for the period between Rowe and OriGraphics)
Pancake Breakfast
(Jul 4) @ 7:00-11:00 am
