AT LAST, a fun Kirkwood History story to share -

 

 

Since I did not do any Women's History posts on my FBook page this March, I offer this as a wonderful bit of Kirkwood Women's History!  Recently while trying as always to get my office organized I was putting away my copy of Images of America - Kirkwood , one of a great series of books about all sorts of cities, areas, companies, etc.  There I found this photo of a magazine cover and if you read the caption many of you will know why it caught my eye:  "Kirkwood was the home of the Village Press, a literary magazine founded in 1935 by Ann Rice Ludlow and Dorothy D. H. Suits...." ending with "The Village Press is taking its place in the line of march as a new kind of little magazine for women." Of course I had to assume the DDH Suits must be an ancestress of our own Darcie Suits!  I sent her the page and here is her wonderful response:

"That is my beloved grandmother, Dorothy Dandridge Halyburton Suits.  She had 6 sons, all born in Kirkwood, and 3 grandsons before she got me....I never knew she was involved in anything in the community.  She was a librarian by training and forever curious about the world.  I never saw her without a big glorious smile on her face."

Darcie's parents and my mom were active in Kirkwood Theatre Guild back in the day, and I'm sure they would all love it that in our generation we are keeping alive these tentacles of friendships that linger as we age.  AND I had to thank Darcie profusely for providing me with something FUN, as I've said lately, my blog has become a veritable obituary roster rather than sharing of fun things in our lives.

Take good care everyone, and enjoy YOUR family stories!!!  Remember what my family member John Quincy Adams said, at the time of the Amisted trial, "We are who we were."  So true!

One of our Viet Nam Veterans left us and is now at rest at Jefferson Barracks

 Thank you to Leslie Bright Wainwright for the news that our classmate Orville EuGENE Muir died on December 4, 2023.  One can go to this link (https://www.evansfh.com/obituaries/Orville-Eugene-Muir?obId=30060925)  to see a wonderful tribute to him.  There are photos and loving messages from friends and family.  Two comments that touched me were "My life would not be the same if I had not met and loved this man. A man who gave more then he got, who loved unconditionally and always had a shoulder when needed. My heart breaks. Forever in my heart and soul." and another "He was one of a kind with a wicked sense of humor and always good for a hug and a compliment."  We were friends on Facebook, but I don't get out there often, and when I just looked there is no obvious notice of his death.  But he was FB friends with Steve Huber, Russ Jaeger, John DeRuiter and Tom Justison, so perhaps some of them realized he had passed away.  There are many posts and photos on his FB page if someone wants to reminisce about him.  Here is Tom Justison's comment to me, with his permission:  " We grew up together at Pitman elementary. He was a great guy. Lots of fun memories over those school years"  

I did not know Gene at KHS, but it appears he was another of our classmates who make our KHS65 members look like the outstanding people we know so many were.  My guess, he is resting in peace and finding much love.Good grief, I just went to the 1965 Pioneer link on my blog ~ open it, scroll down to the right alpha letter and click on the name group where MUIR falls, Gene looks in his military photo just like he did in high school!!!

Another Classmate Leaves Us Too Soon - Jerry Hoffman

Thanks to a person who received our recent reunion mailing, we have learned of the death of classmate Jerry Hoffman.  Here is his obituary which tells the story of an extremely talented man, I'm sorry he wasn't part of our class reunion "group" over the years, our loss it appears:

Gerald Hoffmann Obituary

Gerald (Jerry) W. Hoffmann, age 75, of New Haven, MO passed away from complications of advanced melanoma on June 28, 2023. Jerry was the son of the late James M. Hoffmann and Grace D. (Scott), born November 27, 1947 in Hale Center, TX.  He grew up in Kirkwood, MO, graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1965 and met his first wife, Karen Robbins, of St Louis, MO whom he married in 1969. Jerry showed an early interest in art and design which led him to the University of Kansas School of the Arts where he graduated in 1970. 

Jerry's career path included jobs that formed the basis for his future accomplishments. He became a skilled designer in a variety of materials, most especially in iron and wood. After working as a graphic artist, he became a farrier where he learned the art of forming metal for shoeing. Combining these skills, Jerry launched into his largest body of work in the early '80s as a craftsman and educator of award-winning ornamental and architectural blacksmithing. From August 1990 to April 2010, he created and published the Blacksmiths Journal, a monthly publication of instructional and design material for blacksmiths (blacksmithsjournal.com) which continues to be available in collections, books and projects. 

In 2007 Jerry began his passionate pursuit as an accomplished, self-taught and sought-after master craftsman of high quality ukuleles under the name Boat Paddle Ukulele Company, later changing the name to Hoffmann Lutherie to include the building of other stringed instruments. Many of his fine instruments were sold from Hawaii Music Supply in Haleiwa, HI. Jerry's work was featured in all forms of media. These included a special feature in The Ukulele Review (theukulelereview.com/2017/05/15/Hoffmann-ukulele/) and as part of the "Arts America" segment about New Haven, MO airing on PBS Channel 9 St. Louis, in 2014.  His business was sold in 2019.

In 1995, Jerry married Janelle Gilbert from Indiana, settling in Washington, MO. In 2000, he designed and built his first house and then a second in New Haven, MO, where he and Janelle resided together until his passing.

Jerry modeled an unparalleled commitment and passion to his work and personal interests. Many were in awe of his creativity and ingenuity in all things "built by Jerry."  During his lifetime he designed unique tools and designs in the art of blacksmithing and developed innovative features for his ukuleles. Although he lost most of his hearing in later years, he found ways to communicate and show love in often whimsical and endearing ways. He will be missed beyond measure, but his life's work and legacy will live on.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Janelle Gilbert Hoffmann of New Haven, MO; his two children Dustin Hoffmann of Columbia, MO and Molly Hill (Victor Hill) of Fenton, MO; his brother James M. Hoffmann Jr. (Liesbeth Berger) of Kirkwood, MO; and his sister Jean Still (Steve Still) of Marceline, MO.

Interment will be private.  Remembrances can be left on the tribute wall, and memorial contributions to plant a tree in Jerry's name may be made through the posting at https://www.miller.wolfefuneralhomes.net/listingswebsite. 

 

Pam Wendt Sander passed away, see the information below

Thank you to Nancy Wright Lewis for letting us know that another of our wonderful Kirkwood women left us some time ago.  Here is the obituary ~

Sander, Pamela Nancy (nee Wendt), age 75 of Marco Island, Florida and Manchester, Missouri passed away June 19, 2023. Beloved wife of Roy Sander for 49 years, mother of Chris Short (Lisa), Scott Sander and Todd Sander, dear sister-in-law, aunt, great aunt and friend. Pam taught language arts in the St. Louis, Missouri, Mehlville School District. She was fond of boating on the Green Flash, spending time in her orchid garden, having a book in her hand and her toes in the sand on her beloved Marco Island.

Services: Private family memorial services will be held at a later date.

  Doesn't she look so lovely, she has been missed by her many Kirkwood friends I'm sure- RIP Pam.

TWO MORE OF OUR KHS65 GIRLS HAVE LEFT US, MUCH TOO SOON

It is once again my sad duty to tell you of the death of two of our classmates.  Marilyn Haakman Wurth-Perry has died recently and here is her obituary:

Marilyn Haakman-wurth Perry

Marilyn Haakman Perry   November 30, 1946 – February 1, 2025

Marilyn Perry, a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on February 1st after a courageous battle with lung cancer.

Born on November 30, 1946, Marilyn grew up with a deep love for family, laughter, and the simple joys of life. She carried that love into everything she did, touching the lives of all who knew her with her kindness, wisdom, and grace. Marilyn was born in St. Louis, but eventually followed her dream to move to Florida to be by the sandy beaches and the warmer weather. There, she was able to explore new places, embrace the welcoming community, and create lasting relationships with those she met before moving back to the midwest.  Marilyn’s greatest joy was her family, always offering unconditional love, wisdom, and support. She was a devoted mother to her two sons, Scott (Elizabeth) Wurth and Eric (Debbie) Wurth, whom she adored with all her heart. Her love extended to her grandchildren (Chase, Gavin, Hayden) and great grandchild (Camden), who brought her endless joy. She was truly blessed to share a bond like no other with her dear sister, Nancy (Ron) Seeker, who was not just family, but her best friend and caretaker in her final days. She also leaves behind two nephews, Matt (Suzi) and Mark (Robin), and many dear friends from St. Louis to Florida, who will forever hold her memory close.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday February 28th from 3-5 pm at St. Louis Cremation (320 Jungermann Rd, St Peters, MO), where those who loved her will gather to honor her spirit, share memories, and find comfort in the bond she created among them.

Marilyn’s strength, love, and laughter will never be forgotten. Though our hearts are heavy, we take comfort in knowing that she is now at peace. She will be deeply missed but forever cherished in our hearts.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to LUNGevity, the nation’s largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit, in her honor.

Right after learning about Marilyn's death I learned that Lynn Blackwell Bullerdick died on February 1.  Lynn has always lived here in St. Louis County but had not been in close contact with some of us in recent years.  I was hoping to contact her soon regarding our upcoming 60th Reunion, happening the last weekend in September at Orlando's Event Center in Maryland Heights, with a Friday night no-host get-together somewhere likely in Kirkwood, and a picnic at Kirkwood Park on Sunday, our regular routine!  

Here is Lynn's obituary (who was a cousin of our classmate Bill Hindman which some of you may not remember): https://www.stlfuneral.com/obituaries/lynn-bullerdick/#!/Obituary

Visitation is Feb 15 10:30 - 12:30 at Chapel Hill Mortuary 10301 Big Bend Road, Kirkwood - with graveside service at Oak Hill Cemetery there at 12:30.  As Leslie Bright Wainwright just said, she was a lot of fun, easy to get in trouble with...to which I have to agree as I did that too, more than once!

 This sad news delivery service is getting to me, we all need good news!  Send me some and I'll post it!

Proud U S Army Viet Nam era Veteran and degreed nurse Linda Lou Stevens has died

 It is with sadness that I report the death of Linda Stevens, RN.  Linda had been in poor health for some time, having suffered a couple of strokes I believe, the most recent that I knew of was in the spring.  At KHS Linda and I did not know one another particularly, perhaps had gym together, but had become pals through our reunion activities and of course through the proliferation of internet tools.  She knew I was involved in several lineage societies through my genealogy work and asked to join one of them.  She was SO proud of her very thorough work on her family tree, and of course of her career as an Army nurse.  Many years ago she discovered she had lost her KHS class ring and was desolate.  Through my contacts both on-line and through our reunion activities, I found a classmate who wanted to dispose of hers, it was a great match-up!!!  Linda was so appreciative, she never forgot and thanked me often; it was an easy thing to do for someone who was so thoughtful and so wanting that ring!  Below, with appreciation to our classmate Lois Lindley, is her obituary:

https://www.osfuneralhomes.com/obituary/linda-stevens

Show Your Sympathy
to the Family

Cemetery Service
Thursday, Nov 21, 2024
10:00 AM

Linda Lou Stevens

January 28, 1947 - November 10, 2024

Share this obituary

Linda Lou Stevens was born on January 28, 1947 to Betty Gault Stevens and Edward Roy Stevens, and died on November 10, 2024 at the age of 77 years. She was the oldest of 3 kids, having 2 brothers Edward and David.

She graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1965 and attended Deaconess School of Nursing, graduating in 1969. Later in life, she received her BSN from Phoenix University. As a young nurse, Linda joined the Army working in New York with wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam. She was very proud of her military service and after she left the Army she became a Reserve Police Officer. She continued her nursing career after the Army, specializing in cardiac care. She is survived by her wife Lydia McVeigh and her brother Edward Stevens. She was preceded in death by her mother, father, brother David and wife Billie Walker. 

Linda was a devoted lover of animals, having had many pets throughout her life, including a duck, a pot-bellied pig, turtles, birds and several dogs and cats. She was a strong advocate of animal and child welfare causes. Linda was an avid collector of autographed photos of actors, sports figures and people of note including the Queen of England. She researched and published a genealogy of her family back to Robert the Bruce King of Scotland.  To honor her New England roots, she was a member of Three Flags Colony, National Society of New England Women [and I believe also of the Daughters of the American Revolution, lvr].

Funeral procession leaving from the Ortmann Funeral Home, 9222 Lackland Rd., Overland, Thursday, November 21 at 9:15 a.m. to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery for 10:00 a.m. Cemetery service with Military Honors.  

SERVICES

Cemetery Service

Thursday, November 21, 2024
10:00 AM

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
2900 Sheridan Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63125

Get Directions on Google Maps

Mina Hohlen has died awhile ago. Another KHS65 girl gone too soon.

 While I did not know Mina at KHS, reading her obituary makes me wish I had.  What an interesting life she led!  Here is her obituary I found after news of her death reached us courtesy of a neighbor who was kind enough to contact our Reunion Committee upon receiving the post card mailing announcing our recent picnic. 

 https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/arlington-va/mina-hohlen-10630947?fbclid=IwY2xjawF2xX1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRvCIiOzESapJ0fyTsi1uRnrU5KHJ-9Yq_t9QGOqn8oaK2rDE6wdVElcNQ_aem_ootpkpgowSEMxtgxDqXvJg

May she be resting in peace.

Lynn Jerner Jones, another of our sweet girls leaving us before she should ~ October 2, 2024

 Some of us will remember the department stores in town (Famous Barr & Stix in particular) had a teenage Fashion Board group which was recruited to be ombudsmen to the community of young folks aka teenagers for the stores.  One had to audition for the Fashion Board, and I'm pretty sure my memory is correct that Lynn was one...I'm sure I have something in our KHS65 archives which would prove my memory correct.  In more recent years I learned she had joined our local chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy so I called and chatted with her.  Unfortunately I never did succeed in encouraging her to attend a meeting, but she did have some health/dietary challenges that made 'lunch out with the girls' not so doable.  At any rate, we had lovely chats.  She and Fairfax lived in Glendale for many years but unfortunately she never did attend any of our KHS65 reunion activities...  now it is too late to woo her into joining us for our 2025 upcoming 60th reunion.  We will though remember all of those who have gone before us so she will not be forgotten.

Here is the link to her obituary :  https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/stltoday/name/lynn-jones-obituary?id=56469151

KHS 63 & 65 ATHLETES INDUCTED INTO ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2024 CHECK OUT MORE HERE

 This link will take you to the recent article in Webster Kirkwood Times about our athletic stars!  The photo is all of the inductees who attended whom we could get herded onto the riser.  I proof-read the text twice for various publications and people, but they still didn't get it right. Jim Olson and J L (Joe) Charleville (KHS63) should have ** because they are unfortunately no longer living.  Joal was there with us to honor her brother Joe.

Here is the link to the recent article:

https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/2024-athletic-hall-of-fame-inductees/article_ae8acaba-7693-11ef-be1a-5b5e2a7f191e.html

Front row l to r:  Gary Schmidt on end, Rod Bruckdorfer w/ cane, Doug McDougal KHS63 (62 team honoree), and our own Bob Leonard.  

Second row between Doug & Bob is Phil Mills (KHS66).  Note in text, Rod was honored for both teams, he was on the winning team our sophomore and senior years!  The inductees marched in single file onto the football field Friday night to be introduced individually.  AND the PIONEERS beat Pattonville 50 - 20!  Gorgeous evening to be out and what a great game!

I was thrilled to be invited to all of the festivities by virtue of my 12 year old nomination of the team of 1964/65 for the Hall of Fame - it was about time they were honored.  And as a side note, Jim Olson was already honored as an individual in the Athletic Hall of Fame and Gary Schmidt previously in the Alumni Hall of Fame for his stellar career as a lawyer and jurist.  See my other FB posts and the Kirkwood High School website Hall of Fame listing for ALL members of the HOF since its inception.

What a whirlwind weekend it was ~ good fellowship, gorgeous weather and even great food!  Dinner at PJs in Kirkwood Saturday night was fun and tasty too!  Lee & Karen Walters, Dianne Eddins Cook & hubby Frank, Karen Lowe Adams and members of Gary Schmidt's family PLUS a drop in surprise appearance by Steve Woodard added to the festivities of our dinner.

Our appreciation goes to all the staff of Kirkwood High School who were SO accommodating to us all, especially those who needed a bit of extra help; warmly welcoming and watching out for us at all the events, we felt very special!

Please scroll down for my earlier posts about our weekend....more photos coming!

KHS65 ATHLETES HONORED IN 2024 ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME FESTIVITIES & INDUCTION CEREMONY

WHAT A WEEKEND WE HAVE HAD IN KIRKWOOD, I'M WAXING RATHER NOSTALGIC TODAY SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.

 A couple of months ago Dr. Seth Harrell left me a phone message telling me he is the principal of KHS and "I have some great news for you".  I immediately tried calling but reached voicemail so had to wait til Monday to finally reach him. When I identified myself he said "Your team is going to be inducted into the KHS Athletic Hall of Fame in September."  I had to think about that for a second and probably said something stupid like "Which team?" the reply being the 1964 Cross Country team.  Well, dummy me I thought he meant the cross country team of the class of 1964 so I told him I was the wrong person to talk to so I'd get him to the right person!!!  Well, somehow or other I got the picture that it was OUR '65 boys so I called the person at the alumni affairs office to whom I was directed and spoke to Amy Bullmer and when I quizzed her about why I got the call from Dr. Harrell she said, "Well Leslie YOU nominated the team! I have the nomination sheet in front of me."  Well folks when she said that I had immediate recall, luckily my mind is not quite as bad as I sometimes accuse it of being.  It was 2012 when I did that!!!!  For awhile back then I watched the KHS public places wondering when the team would be honored and after some time I guess I just totally forgot!  At any rate, I've spent some wonderful few late summer weeks working with the great gals at KHS on the program, finding and contacting the inductees, making new friends and visiting with those KHS65/66 members who were all so surprised and honored to be recognized for their amazing talents way back in our youth. 

Fast forward to this past Friday we had a reception for the inductees and families and invited friends, then went up to the amazing MODERN football field and watched the Pioneers trounce Pattonville 50 to 20.  I was so busy talking and taking pix I had to google the score just now, last I saw it was only 6 points for Pattonville  - I guess I wasn't a good football fan the last half of the game.  There was something amazing that happened to me personally that night so admittedly I was side-tracked a bit, but that story has to wait for another time.  And we were interrupted by having to get our herd of cats down to the football field to be introduced and honored, along with all the other inductees of the night, during the half-time show.  They all entered the field, single file in order and were introduced individually, it was a GREAT few minutes.  That ceremony was followed by a rousing performance by the fabulous KHS Marching Band, another special treat.

Yesterday began with a reception for the inductees, family, friends and the public, then the induction ceremony in the Keating Theatre.  The inductees were seated on the stage and Doug Vaughn of CBS local channel 4, a KHS74 alum himself and frequent emcee for all things KHS, introduced Dr. Harrell, Corey Nesslage, Athletic Director and Dr. David Ulrich, School Superintendent who each presented short greetings.  Doug then introduced the 12 individual athletes who spoke, 2 being deceased but others spoke for them; next were the teams, the long-awaited opportunity for our guys to shine once again!  Representing the 1962 team & chosen to be the spokesperson was Kent Overbey, their coach.  We spent great time with him at both receptions, what fun he is at age 86!  Our own Joal Charleville Russell's brother Joe was one of the posthumous awardees as were Mike Hensgen, Charlie Harris & Rick Haefele.   Dan Dykstra, Steve Jones, Tom Goodwin and Ken Mulherin (a neighbor of ours in Sugar Creek Ranch) were other team-mates not in attendance but with us WERE Doug McDougall and our OWN ROD BRUCKDORFER!  Yes, Rod was on the winning team in our sophomore year as well as our senior year! More about that in a moment.  Joal was given the award for her late brother.  I forgot to ask Rod if he received 2 but I bet he did because I think they had the year on them. As I am typing a long-lost memory popped into my head- happens to me a lot.  I was dating Jack Maris our sophomore year and we went somewhere on a double-date and I haven't thought of it in eons but as I typed the name I realized it was Charlie Harris and whomever his date was!  I had to check the '63 PIONEER to be sure my memory was correct!  Funny how our brains can just toss us a long-lost memory at the oddest times!  In my next life I'm going to study the mechanics of how the heck our brains do that!!!

Finally it was OUR turn to honor our inductees - the 1964-65 Cross Country Team. Those with us last night were Rod Bruckdorfer & wonderful wife Lenora from NC, Phil Mills (KHS66), Bill Pape, who drove from upstate NY, Mike Bosworth, Bob Leonard driving from San Antonio and Judge Gary Schmidt who rode the train in from Jefferson City (Alumni Hall of Fame 2010 individually for his stellar legal career).  Also on the team were Jim Olson who was the individual State Champion that year, and is already in the Athletic Hall of Fame (2009) individually and who is no longer living, Bill Barrow and John Rogers also deceased.  I throw out the places and means of transport here to give me the entree to reminding everyone that Bill Pape RODE HIS BICYCLE here from New Jersey for one of our class reunions!  I'll never forget that factoid, Bill is an amazing guy, a long-time lawyer and municipal judge.  

I have been privileged to be a friend of Gary Schmidt's for many years; he has been of great help to me during some dark times, and I'm so proud of his record as a jurist, athlete, father and friend to many.  He sent me his talk (teams were allowed 5 minutes with one spokesperson) to look over which I did, tweaked it a bit and then made sure I kept a copy so I can share it here.  We should ALL be so proud of ALL of our KHS athletes, but these guys were and still are superior people and super friends. 

"In 1964 Kirkwood’s  cross-country team finished second in the nation.  Arch-rival Riverview Gardens finished fourth in the nation, but never came close to Kirkwood.  In the National Championship Kirkwood could have had better luck with weather or injuries, but that's not what happened and Kirkwood finished with the silver medal by two seconds.

In many ways our slowest runner was our MVP.  In practice and at a meet Kirkwood runners never quit.  Every athlete applied constant pressure to the teammate in front of him.  And that upward pressure went to the top of the lineup.  Kirkwood was deep and every member of the team made a significant contribution.

Rod Bruckdorfer was the team captain for a group of very strong-willed individuals.  Herding cats would have been far easier.   To this day, no one can explain how that dead fish found its way to Jim Olson’s locker.  Several teammates awoke to find dozens of “real estate for sale” signs in their front yard.  One athlete discovered his car had been listed for sale.   No one knows how these things happened, they just HAPPENED.

But when it came time to work, the team concentrated and worked hard.  The hard work paid off with great results.

Coach Lyon was an excellent coach who had succeeded the very much beloved and also excellent Coach Overbey.  Several years later Kirkwood won a National Championship under Coach Lyon.

Jim Olson was the individual State Champion, and second in the nation.   But this was a great bunch of guys, each with their own great story.   I want to share with you one of those stories from Bill Pape.

 "I was running on Longview near my family home for a Boy Scout merit badge during the summer before 10th grade.  

A car pulled up beside me and some tough guys rolled down the window and directed me to show up at Kirkwood Park to run that Saturday.

I asked Coach Overbey about this and he admitted he sent soon-to-be-seniors on the team to go look for recruits.

They saved my life because I was a shy kid going nowhere fast.  Suddenly, I had friends, a coach, and a life."

At that time high schools did not have women’s sports.  Becky  Emrich,  Mary Domrese, and Chris Hofstetter, as well as the cheerleaders made up for this lack by providing incredible  support for the team. [Mary was in the audience and Gary pointed her out and she waved then joined us later at dinner.]

Before the State Meet, the Cheerleaders delivered boxes of Special K to the home of each teammate.  Although the cereal is gone, sixty years later I still have the box, it meant so much to me (and I suspect the others).

At the State meet Chris, Mary, and Becky rallied what seemed to be hundreds of great young ladies who ran all over the course ahead of the runners imploring them to go faster, faster, always faster.  Words cannot express the effect this had on a sixteen year old.  It was magnificent inspiration.

We would like to thank Leslie Richards and Lisa Wade for the work they did putting us together with this event.   We thank them and we thank the committee for the honor of our induction.  I think the team would agree, going to Kirkwood and being on this team was like winning the lottery. 

We have six surviving inductees with us today.   Unfortunately Jim Olson, Bill Barrow and John Rogers have passed away.

With us tonight are, in no particular order save Bill Pape who threatened me,  Bill Pape, Bob Leonard, Mike Bosworth,  Phil Mills, Captain Rod Bruckdorfer and me, “the Tiger”, Gary Schmidt."

 On the walls at the school were large posters with pix of some of the inductees, including the 'official' photo of the full 1964 Boys Cross Country Team.  I'll post it and some other pix when I have a chance, today is a gorgeous cool day and hubby Jack and I have a LOT of neglected yard work to tend to so I'm off to grab a rake and some pruning shears.  Come to our 2025 60th reunion to see the poster, and lots more KHS65 memorabilia....keep your eye out here for Reunion date and news in coming months and hopefully I'll get lots more pix posted 'ere too long.  THANK YOU TO ALL who participated this weekend, including Lee and Karen Walters who joined us for dinner last night, as well as Karen Lowe Adams who did also and Steve Woodard who happened to look to his left as he was parking his car to have dinner at PJs and recognized my license plate, I glanced over and saw his face and knew immediately who he was so he joined us for few minutes too!  Dianne Eddins Cook & hubby Frank also had dinner with us, always so much fun to be with them, Dianne the consummate cheerleader who never stops caring about our KHS65 friends. 

Signing off - as I watch a hummingbird flitting around in the tree by my office window, on its way to my feeder no doubt.  It will soon be the end of watching those amazing little birds as I work, they head south by the end of this month.   Thanks for reading and happy September, my favorite month!