Ringing out the Old Year!

Hope everyone has a very fun and SAFE New Year's Eve. In today's paper comes the sad news of the death of Chris Childress Maurer's sister, Carolyn who was a KHS71 member. Our condolences to Chris and their whole family. Also, someone recently asked me about the circumstances of Linda Barclay's death, so here is the obituary for her, not a recent death, but I didn't realize I still had the link to the obituary.

May we remember our deceased friends and family with love and peace and move forward to a better New Year.

KHS PAVING THE WAY Support the PIONEERS

In the mail a few days ago appeared a mailing from Kirkwood School District Foundation. I know some of you are on this mailing list, but I imagine not everyone is. KSDF is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1989 to raise funds for educational programs and major projects in the Kirkwood School District. I was involved in the forming of KSDF and later served a term on the Board; it was actually an outcropping of trying to form an Alumni Association. They have embarked on a new project to help improve the outdoor physical education and sports facilities at KHS. We all know how important sports are to KHS but also to the students as individuals, I don't need to expound on that subject to OUR group! Installation of a synthetic playing surface on Lyons Field and replacing the 8 lane track along with ADA compliance updates are the beginnings of the new KSDF initiatives. Naturally donations are being solicited. Here is a fun way to help which I thought you might like to hear about:

Paving the Way, BUY A BRICK. One can order a personalized brick to recognize a special student, graduate, family, teacher or business. Each brick becomes a part of the KHS campus. You can visit http://www.kirkwoodfoundation.org/ to buy your brick. I hope many of you will consider this as a way to help KHS and maybe honor someone in your circle! Remember, in our lives we don't have to go all the way to that 6th ring to find someone! PLEASE SEE WWW.KHS65.COM FOR CAMPUS PIX TAKEN DURING OUR REUNION WEEKEND; HERE ARE PIX OF THE BRICKS AS WELL AS UP TO THE MINUTE PHOTOS OF THE NEW TRACK & FOOTBALL FIELD AS OF THIS SUMMER. The 45th reunion pix are all in the 2010 album.

KIRKWOOD'S WINNING TEAM Academics & Athletics

JIM DAY CHECKS IN WITH KHS65

WOW, with Classmates.com, the KHS alumni commercial sites and good old Facebook, communicating is getting easier & easier. But nothing beats the good old MA BELL way. It was so good to hear Jim Day's voice yesterday. I was amazed at a few things he told me. We had a good chat about that favorite subject of mine, connections and classmates, you know, the old 6 degress of separation which in many of our lives in Kirkwood is only 1 or 2! Jim recently ran in to Mary Jane Fuchs, looking great as always. The amazing part is that her son is coaching his grandson in hockey... of course they are hockey superstars!!! I didn't realize (how the heck did I miss THIS?) that his #3 son, Adam, is the hockey coach at KHS! Three of Jim and Linda's boys went through the KHS hockey program, going to 3 state championships! Adam was coach at Vianney for 3 years until he was stolen by KHS. Jim said it so well, after all his boys benefitted from their KHS experiences, now Adam can give back. What a special way to think of it! Jim and Linda had 4 boys go through KHS and now, this will blow your minds, they have TEN grandkids in the Kirkwood schools. I think this must be some sort of record - sure deserves an award! And there's more, they have a farm in Owensville and within 1 mile of them are 14 Kirkwood families, three of which are from Craig Woods. AMAZING. This is but one of the best benefits of staying for a lifetime in one place - our life long friendships and relationships!

And speaking of communicating, I've given in and friended all of those who have kindly asked me to be their friends on Facebook, but I will be honest, I really don't have time to 'work' Facebook. It's way too 'in your face' for me. I keep hearing from people I don't know, finding pix of me that I hate, and so on and so on... so I hope you will follow us here at our own private KHS version of social networking! Send news and pix, send whatever you want. If you don't want it published, don't worry, I will honor your wish! Come reconnect big time IN THE FLESH at our summer reunioin! Jim and Linda will be there! THANKX for the call Jim!

KHS at Carnegie Hall - How we can help

The KHS Orchestra is playing at Carnegie Hall in March; see previous post on this subject. You can go here to read about the concert next week, 12/22, to raise the final $3,000 to cover their expenses. Felicia Foland, Bassoonist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is a great musician, a member of KHS77 and an all 'round great gal, is going to participate. The tickets are only $20 each and you can order them online and pick them up at the concert at the Keating Center at KHS. A great holiday treat and a chance to help KHS! Hope to see some of you there!

And while we're at it, here is a great article about the history of the Turkey Day Game that I think many of you will enjoy! Go here to check it out.

Hope your Christmas holidays are great!

MORE INFORMATION - KATHI WICK

I've had a very nice letter from Tim Lapping and want to share it with you all who knew Kathi Wick, our classmate and Tim's first wife and mother of son, TJ. "Leslie, The memorial was very sweet. It was here on our property as per Kathi's request along with our old friend and neighbor Rudy Horst and his wife Zet performing the ministerial duties. (Rudy & Zet married Ginny and me in 1992.) Rudy gave everyone a chance to speak and our granddaughter Cloe read the enclosed poem. It was beautiful! He sang Amazing Grace and we all walked back to the set up area behind the house. Beer, wine, food and more stories of Kathi. Her altar was loaded with past photographs. Many memories for me. I was touched! Her sister Chris, a nephew and niece, and cousin and aunt were here and really added a lot to the memorial. There were forty or fifty people here mostly from Ford. People I hadn't seen in so many years. A wonderful send-off!" Here is the obituary Tim sent along.
If anyone wishes to contact Tim directly, please let me know and I will give you his address, he is stickin' to his guns, no email! BE SURE TO OPEN THE POEM LINK AS THERE IS A PICTURE OF KATHI THERE TOO AND GO TO OLDER POSTS FOR AN EARLIER POST ABOUT KATHI.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

I'm having a nostalgic day after the death day before yesterday of an inlaw, way too young, leaving young grandchildren who adored him. Been looking for weeks at my Brownie autograph book given to me by my Grandmother Vander Meulen for Christmas, 1956. I unearthed it recently when cleaning out some 'stuff' and just have to share. One thing I noticed is that several of my grade school pals didn't end up staying in school with us. I don't remember our 'crowd' back in those days being so mobile! And speaking of mobile, off subject for a second, I had a great chat today with Jane Via who lives in San Diego. She has been declared cancer free and is back to lawyering and conducting religious services to her flock every Sunday. She is trying to cut back on activities, a true Kirkwood girl...remember, they don't teach NO in the Kirkwood Schools, so we have to LEARN how to say NO to too many volunteer jobs!

Back to autographs, most of which are dated for extra fun. Sadly, all the adults who signed whom I know what happened to are gone, with the exception of the Lowe twins' parents (who signed my book too) who are still in their home on Horseshoe Drive and doing well.
Christmas, 1956
Sharon Lowe
Karen Lowe - Sue (I think she was having an identity crisis, we used to claim different names from time to time!)
12/27/56
Allison Rose (A Sugar Creek Ranch neighbor who moved away, I remember they used to vacation in Florida, she sent post cards!)
12/28/56 Vicki Warburton - anyone remember her? I really do NOT!
1/3/57 (although I wrote 56 - see, it starts young, those habit things)
Lydia Flanagan
Mattie Hall
Joyce Moller
Jeannette Klein
A HUGE signature in red pencil Jack P T - his personality was already formed...it's the largest signature in the book!
Jamie Linton
1/9/57
Lynn Blackwell
Anne Karin Smith + Nina Smith, her little sister - they lived right down Geyer Road from Lynn and had a wonderful older all brick two story home, which even then I coveted! I thought the Smith's house was just really the tops, except Lynn's, my real favorite! The Smiths moved pretty early on as I remember. Anne had very light blonde hair, very fair complected.
Harriette H[owell] who lived in Greenbriar. Once at Camp Cedarledge we gave her a green Coke bottle full of creekwater & tadpoles...she was thirsty and drank! Was she ever mortified when she found out!!!
Linda Girard & Sandra Klefler - two who have stayed all these years
Sandy Melton - another who left
Janet Wineman & Mary Clifton, two more who didn't go on with us (Janet's address is found on a slip of paper in the book in her handwriting - Miss Janet Wineman, C/o Alexander, 508 Elm St., Braintree, 84, MA)
Joyce Ker
Susan Hayes
Susan Fuchs
2/9/57
[the late] Linda Marshall - another neighbor on Horseshoe Drive, next door to the Lowes
3/16/57
Linda English, next door neighbor of Linda Marshall
4/24/57
Susie Hayes
6/13/57
Sandra Lynn Schneider & her step-dad Bill Diebel
3/19/58
Gail Sutton, whose family went to my church and they moved away
Peggy Jackson, seems she had dark auburn hair, I barely remember her do you?
Claudia Margedant
Jody Morelock, who lived in Craig Woods and moved away; her name was mentioned recently I think on our website maybe? I think she's in a class pic there, and word is that she was a girlfriend of Mike Caldwell onceuponatime!
Ronnie Persons
The late Wayne Stine
Bobby Vogt
Becky Smith, another who moved elsewhere
Larry Gibbons
6/3/58
Kathy Watts, what a doll she was, cute, dark short, bouncy hair. She moved too..
And here's Peggy Jackson again
3/17/59
And here is Sharon Lowe again who says "From your BEST friend", and here's her poem -
"Roses are red, violets are blue, the holes in your head I can see right through!" This is only ONE of this type of poem - they are all so funny, and amazingly at this early age, a LOT are about boyz n girlz stuff! We girls sure got boy crazy early! Hmmm seems I remember that a bit!

Butch Goodrich, another of our pals who moved before KHS, signed several times, all on undated pages. This one is of interest, Butch Goodrich & Linda Wagner.

Here's another crack up - undated, "Scott Heuer & Harriette (I hope)" - he was referring to Harriette Howell. Funny, in later life Scott lived just a few houses down from the Howell's house on Big Bend in Greenbriar.

Another from Butch, "To a real nice girl sometimes"
And another undated, Mrs. Ruth Kreinkamp, our school nurse. Her son Steve who graduated 4 or 5 years ahead of us, owns a large antiques mall on Interstate 70 at Kingdom City. A few years ago I stopped in on my way home from Columbia and had my car, with KHS65 license plate, parked right by the front door. A couple of minutes after I started looking down the aisles, over the loudspeaker came "Would the owner of the car with KHS65 MO license plates please come to the front desk?" I figured I dropped something or???? Anyway, it was Steve wanting to know who was in his store from Kirkwood. He was very surprised I remembered his mom from Robinson School!! hmm, a bit further on is Mrs. K's signature again, dated 3/26/59 - I must have been in the nurse's office trying to get out of GYM.....

Another undated, Paul Halwe on whom I had a huge crush! There are other entries, the crush was mutual!
3/26/59
"The boy who traded reports with you, Roger Little" wonder what that was all about????

Sue Kraft signed with a funny poem
and 2/6/59 Linda English with such foresight:
"Roses are red, violets are blue, your face looks like leather, straight from a shoe"

Gee, we were creative little kids weren't we???

Out of order on the last page, 11/30/57:
To Leslie,
"Now I lay me down to sleep, the old Ford car parked in the street If it should start before I wake, I pray the Lord slam on the brake. From Nancy Pease." I do not remember her or her name at all. Funny though, I had some good friends with that surname in later life. Neither of them had children, but they had some cousins who lived in Kirkwood.... hmmm....