Merry Christmas to All

Being in the retail business at Christmas is dumb, everyone else has to be taken care of first, so here I am again, sending my Christmas greetings at the last minute. Thank you all so very much for your wonderful words, kind sympathy, donations in Paul's name and support of me during this difficult year. I wish for each of you the Merriest of Christmases and for us all, a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. We all need a better 2012! Please remember our classmates who are not well at this time in your prayers, and a special holiday thank you to all our Veterans. May all our departed classmates be well-remembered by us all.

Beach Boys Readying to Celebrate their 50th

Recently listening to TV as I work at my desk I have learned of two upcoming 50th anniversaries, and it continues to blow my mind that these things happened so long ago. I just don't seem to get how we can be old enough to remember things that happened FIFTY years ago.

The Arch will begin receiving some new surroundings. A lid will be built over the I 70 depressed lanes so that one can walk uninterrupted from the Old Courthouse to the Arch grounds. This project, funded by MoDOT and a grant, probably some federal funds too, is promised to be finished by the 50th anniversary, which all of us know only too well will occur in 2015.

The Beach Boys are celebrating their 50th anniversary with a tour, CDs, a movie and lots of fun appearances. That's another mind-boggler to me. Although I must say Brian Wilson has not fared so well as many of the men in our class!!!! However, his sound is still great. They'll have a tour in April. Ninth grade was a good time for us as a group I think, I'd love to hear some of YOUR 50 year old memories - would you want to be 14 again? I'm not sure I really really know that answer for myself. Of course, YES jumps right out, but maybe not, it's a crazy and often stupid world out there 50 years later!

Pam Wiebe Mann passes away

A quick note as I must leave momentarily, but I just learned Pam died today, 12/21/11, after a fast but furious battle with lung cancer. Her memorial service will be Friday, 11:00 at the Wesley Chapel at the Church of the Resurrection, 135th and Roe in Kansas City with a reception to follow. Will post more as soon as I can. May she rest in peace and love. Thanks to Lou Gossett Wanamaker for sending this information. [later] Unless your heart is made of stone, the following message written by Pam just 5 days ago will touch you deeply:

Dear Family & Friends-

I hope that this email finds all of you well and that you are enjoying the time before the holidays. A number of you have reached out to me and my family and I apologize if I have not been able to respond to you but know that your kindness and love has been appreciated. It’s been awhile since I last updated you on my health so I would like to take this opportunity to do so.

My awesome doctors & nurses have helped me beat the pneumonia and whatever other infections were troubling me. Unfortunately, the tumor in my lung is growing at a very rapid pace and my body is too weak to start chemotherapy or any other cancer treatment. With the help of my children, we have made the difficult decision to come home and work with a wonderful hospice organization that will help us manage this process. Although the prognosis is dire, I am uplifted by my faith, my family and my friends.

Please feel free to contact Tracie or Eric (contact information below) if you would like additional information. I am having difficulty speaking so the best way to contact me is through email or my children; I may not be able to respond but I will make sure to read your message. I know that God is with me in this journey and there are great things in store. Until we meet again, I love you all. -Pam

Tracie Mann: 913-544-3038, traciebmann@gmail.com

Eric Mann: 913-515-7783, eric@mdmgt.com

Thanks to Janet Porte Fatall, Ric Porte & Peggy Kramer for making sure I had this information so I could share it with our classmates. Another of our friends gone way too soon. So long dear friend. Go to www.khs65.com, 2010 album page 9 and 10 to see several photos of Pam and pals at our 45th reunion.

Here is Pam's Obituary from the Kansas City Star

Sharon & Leslie Take Kentucky

Yesterday Sharon Purdy Gilliam and I had a great brunch in Midway, KY, very close to her home town of Versailles, at Holly Hill Inn, a National Trust recognized home now serving as a great restaurant. You can learn more about them at www.hollyhillinn.com. The food was incredible; Sharon had pork, I had fried green tomatoes Benedict with the poached eggs atop the FGTs and bacon in between with the Hollandaise on the side. For dessert we had chocolate bread pudding with a killer bourbon sauce. After all, we WERE in Bourbon country...what a wonderful part of the country Kentucky is! Sharon looks like a million as you can see and we had a good time chatting. After brunch we drove around the quaint town of Midway, a railroad town with loads of Victorian architecture, cute shops and zillions of yummy looking restaurants. A great reuse of the older buildings in the town. The weather was spectacular, not as much fall color as one could dream of, but I did find a bit more color in western KY and eastern IN on my way home. I'd been in Lexington for a Board Meeting - great food (and to-die-for Bourbon Slushes) there too! The highlight of the weekend was receiving my Commission as a Kentucky Colonel! You may now call me The Honorable Leslie Vander Meulen Canavan - jeez, what a mouthful!!! I think Leslie will do just fine, but it's a great organization and I'm thrilled to be a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, commissioned by Governor Beshear. Thanks for a great day Sharon, I'll be back and we can attack some other towns! I'd been hankering for fried green tomatoes, so this was just what I needed!

BRAND SPANKING NEW, 2011 MODEL, BABY GRAND-DAUGHTER

I love Bill Watt's email title! One can tell he's a proud grandpa, no doubt about it! Thanks for sharing Bill! She is a beautiful Tierney Elizabeth Landgren born 10/5/11 and weighing in at 6 lb 9 oz. I also love it that at the end of his email he closed with GO CARDINALS, we folks really do now how to keep our priorities in order don't we! Bill Watts is a cousin of Kathy Watts, a darling girl who started with us at Robinson then moved. He will always have a special place in my heart for bringing some grade school pix to me, both from his own archives and from Kathy. Because we moved in second grade from Wichita to Kirkwood (altho I was born here, we'd been gone 3 years) I was not in the 2nd grade photo at Robinson and had never seen it! Last summer, 2010, Bill walked into PJs with an envelope for me, which included the elusive 2nd grade photo. Made my week! Be sure to go to the website, www.khs65.com to see a lot of grade school photos.

Thanks again for sharing Bill and CONGRATS on your gorgeous new baby grand-daughter, and congrats to her mommy and daddy too!

GIL SYLVESTER NEEDS US

From Bob Leonard in Texas comes word that Gil Sylvester, a good KHS65 supporter and reunion attendee, needs our prayers. Thank you so much Bob for keeping us posted on Gil's situation, we appreciate all our members who so generously share. And note Gil has taken his KHS spirit all the way to Oregon!

"Our friend, Gil Sylvester, needs our prayers. Gil has cancer of the tongue, an especially aggressive form of throat cancer. He was recently operated on to remove the cancer but it is unclear as to whether they got it all. [see below for update] He had throat cancer a few years ago with radiation. My understanding is that, for some reason, he cannot receive radiation in the same location twice and chemo is not an option. His days are up and down although he remains a "glass half full" kind of guy and, like us, continues to follow the Cards' run for the pennant. His wife, Sylvia, is a strong woman. This bout with cancer is relatively recent, having just been discovered in August.

Gil lives in Bend, Oregon. I think you'll appreciate the attached photo from a recent camping trip."

I hope some of you that know Gil might send him some greetings to help cheer him and let him know we're rooting for him. gilsylvester@hotmail.com is Gil's email and I have his current home address in Bend, OR if anyone wants to send a note. Please email me if so. Today's prognosis is different, it appears the docs feel they got the cancer and will proceed with a month of radiation and chemo, hoping that the more aggressive treatment may serve well to delay or preclude a recurrence. In any case Gil needs our prayers, good vibes, and all other manner of helpful, hopeful thoughts we can send his way.

Condolences

Our condolences to Steve Murphy on the recent passing of his sister Janet, here is her obituary from the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Janet M. Heyer

| Visit Guest Book

Heyer, Janet M. (nee Murphy), age 56, passed away Wed., Oct. 5, 2011. Beloved wife and best friend of Michael W. (Mike) for 34 years, loving mother of Jenny (Dallas) Medenwald and Megan (Adam Baird) Heyer; dear grandmother of Jackson; dear sister of Sam (Geralyn) and Steve (Pam) Murphy and Linda (Bill) Marshall; dear niece, aunt, cousin and friend. Janet was an active life-long member of Grace Episcopal Church. Services: Visitation Friday, Oct. 7, 5-9 pm and memorial service Sat., Oct. 8, 1:00 pm , both at Grace Episcopal Church, 514 E. Argonne. Memorials preferred to Grace Episcopal Legacy Fund. www.boppchapel.com

KIRKWOOD ESTATE SALE OCTOBER 8 & 9

LEFTOVERS FROM THE SALE CAN BE VIEWED PRIVATELY BY APPOINTMENT. GIVE ME A CALL OR SEND AN EMAIL.

ANTIQUE LIMOGES CHINA SET
ANTIQUE OAK TABLE, LEAVES AND 6 CHAIRS
WOMENS' NECK SCARVES, DECORATIVE SILKS AND YUMMY WARM HATS AND SCARVES FOR WINTER
SEWING MACHINE IN CABINET
OLD FREEZER PROBABLY GREAT FOR VENISON, FISH, ETC., IN BASEMENT, LOOKS OLD AND A BIT CRUMMY BUT IT FREEZES
KITCHEN MISCELLANEOUS
BLANKETS, THROWS
ANTIQUE SOLID WOOD INLAID ROCKING CHAIR, GORGEOUS!!!




ESTATE SALE GOING ON YET TOMORROW, 9 AM TO 4 OR SO, HALF PRICE ON MOST ITEMS. One of this morning's first visitors was from KHS74, a cousin of Rich Rychlewski and Bobbie Jo Leach. We had a nice chat. Very first visitor was khs66...a nice day in Kirkwood! This is the sort of weather for which we natives wait, in January and August we dream of days like today, this whole week is to be fabulous!

IN MY BUSINESS I HAVE AN ELDERLY FRIEND WHOSE SON IS CLEANING OUT HIS MOTHER'S HOME. THE HOUSE IS AT 1049 NORTH TAYLOR, THE FIRST HOUSE ON THE RIGHT going south, JUST SOUTH OF MANCHESTER. THE SALE IS THIS COMING WEEKEND, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY OCTOBER 8 AND 9 FROM 9AM BOTH DAYS. More details are coming, and there should be an ad in the paper this weekend. Parking on the commercial building lot on the south side of the lot, which adjoins the house, will keep the street from being so crowded. Please obey street parking signs, and no blocking of driveways! I know I shouldn't have to say that, but one might be surprised....

It's a small house with a LOT of stuff. The owner was a school teacher and collector. There is a lot of large size women's clothing, most of it very nice, well known labels, think Eddie Bauer, St. John's Bay, Preston & York (Dillards), zillions of warm soft fluffy neck scarves many w/ hats to match, lots of gloves, Eddie Bauer fleece vests for winter, and lots more. There is a nice wood and wood-look tall bookcase, dark wood, nice condition and some office and teacher supply type things. There is so much household stuff it's hard to describe. Much of it is new or very gently used. A crock-pot, pots/pans, blankets, throws, storage cabinets, an old freezer that looks less than great but works. Did I say a lot of clothing for a larger woman? Much of it like new. Vera Bradley purses, gloves, and so much more! A few lamps, a nice antique floor lamp.

There is also a very good wheelchair ($200) and a few other medical items - knee & ankle braces, etc., not much but a few things of this nature for elder care and sports injuries.

There is a huge amount of kitchen miscellaneous! A great way to furnish a new home, a young couple's first house, a country cabin or a camping outfit. Other household things like iron, ironing-board, etc. Also we have lamps, a bit of silver plate hollow-ware, two china cabinets, an electric clothes dryer, and a LOT of great Christmas decorations, ornaments, etc. Very nice quality, plus other holiday items. Lots of bath towels, a Singer sewing machine in cabinet with drawers, sewing notions, storage cabinets and more. There are some crystal glasses, and a few antique ceramic items. There is also a microwave, bought new in 2008, used about 2 months then stored away, works just fine and looks very nice, instruction book included.

The best part is a gorgeous round, 4' diameter, oak table with leaf & six chairs. It's from the family, 100 years old or so. One of the chairs needs repair, but we know of a firm here in town who would be able to fix it I'm sure. There is also a gorgeous set of Limoges Old Paris china, place settings for 12 and in gorgeous condition, 4 veg bowls, 2 platters, gravy boat, gold ceramic salt & pepper 2 sets, and compared to retail, our price is a steal, come see!

BOB CASSILLY, Vianney68, FOUND DEAD TODAY AT 61

9/29/11 Go here to read the latest from the St. Louis Post Dispatch about Bob. There are a number of articles, and note there is a public service on SATURDAY 10/1 at The Sheldon.

Sculptor and City Museum founder and leader Bob Cassilly was found dead in a bulldozer today at the site of his new "Cementland" in North St. Louis. The 'dozer had rolled down a hill sideways and he was not wearing a seatbelt; it's being called an accident on the TV news. Bob was a well-loved St. Louis figure of our generation. Born in 1949, he grew up in Kirkwood and graduated in 1968 from Vianney. Watch the St. Louis Post, Facebook, and The Beacon newspaper for more news. I'm sure he'll be featured in Riverfront Times and Webster-Kirkwood Times also. There is a Facebook page to remember him, it is here. If you're interested watch tonight's news around our area, and the Internet. His sculpture is also found in Dallas, Brooklyn, NY, Virginia and San Diego to name some other places. Here we see the turtles along highway 40 as we head eastward and of course the City Museum is his main site. Cementland has been under construction for 10 years up on Riverview Blvd. Bob was trained as a sculptor, and graduated from Fontbonne. St. Louis will be less without him.

LYN SCHWEIZER HUFFMAN

Over the years several of us in KHS65 have had close relationships with members of KHS64. Our classmate Sally Schweizer's sister Lyn, a proud member of KHS64 is one of those. While Sal has lived out of our area for many years, Lyn has been here in town and has remained close to her many KHS64 dear dear friends, some of whom, like Linda Girard Day, are our KHS65 mates. Linda has been helping Lyn all along, but especially in the past couple of weeks. Lyn's husband called Linda and Jim to say that last night at about 11:15 Lyn died peacefully in her sleep at home. There will be a memorial service, I'd expect the announcement will be in the Post soon. Lyn is also survived by their two sons Mickey and Dylan. Lyn fought cancer for 12 years, often bouncing back to the absolute amazement of her many friends and family. She had a great spirit, an inspiration to us all. May she rest in peace and love. HERE is her obituary from the St. Louis Post.

KHS65 member Bill Bowden

A gentleman named John Civis, whom I do not know, has been kind enough to send me the 2007 obituary for our classmate Bill Bowden. I did not know Bill at KHS, but after reading his obituary I am sorry I did not. He certainly packed a lot of worthwhile good works into his all too short life. Another of our classmates gone way too soon. May he rest in peace. And thank you so much John for telling us about Bill's death.

THREE FAMOUS P's CHECK IN WITH KHS65

What a very fun message I just received from Bill Pottgen, currently of Phoenix, AZ where he presides over golf, real estate and his family:

"Sharon Purdy stopped in Phoenix overnight with her husband Sam on the way to visit their son in Hawaii. Francey took Sharon, Sam, Cindy and I on a fabulous tour of the Phoenix Art Museum where she is a docent. Then on to dinner at a famous local Mexican joint. Great time and fun visit! I've attached a photo of the three amigos that always sat in a row one behind the other in classes seated alphabetically."

Notice 46 years later they are STILL in alphabetical order, old habits.......

Peggy Entenman Kramer's Family

Peggy's brother Bill's wife Annette has been suffering from cancer for quite some time and today has passed away. Bill and Annette have a daughter Elizabeth who survives. The visitation will be at Armbruster Friday and the funeral Saturday at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. I imagine details will be in the Post, if not tomorrow, then Friday. Might check Peggy's Facebook page tomorrow, Annette didn't pass away until 5:30 this evening, so I imagine arrangements will be tended to tomorrow. Peggy said they are all hurting but glad Annette's suffering is over. Annette fought a courageous fight to the very end. May she rest in peace and love. Peggy I am sure I speak for everyone in saying we send you and Billy our condolences and love.
Here is Annette's obit from the Post, you can go to www.stltoday.com to leave condolences.

| Visit Guest Book

Entenman, Annette Venardos on September 7, 2011. Beloved wife of 32 years of William Entenman; dear mother of Elizabeth Ann Entenman of Dallas, TX; daughter of the late John and Ann Venardos; loving sister of Estella (Randy) Ruzicka, Christine (Christopher) Paradowski, Dean (Melissa) Venardos; dear cousin, aunt, sister-in-law, godmother. Services: Visitation Friday, Sept. 9, 4-8 AMBRUSTER DONNELLY Mortuary, 6633 Clayton Rd. (Clayton) Trisagion service 7 p.m., Funeral Service 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, St. Nicholas 4967 Forest Park 63108. Donation to Missouri Baptist Cancer Infusion Center, 3015 N. Ballad Rd. 63131

Fifty Years ago

How did we get old enough to remember things that happened 50 years ago? I went to look for my pix from 1990 25th Silver Anniversary but I didn't put them in my 1990 scrapbook! I KNOW I have a bunch of photos, must have put them somewhere "special"...I'm sure they will turn up. In the meantime I found a notebook of things I took from older scrapbooks sometime back. My eye fell on a 1961 St. Louis Police Circus program. Did you go to the Police Circus? I remember going with my dad. The cover ad is Parente's, Recommended by Duncan Hines and touting a Large Parking Lot!, 6600 Chippewa. Ruggeri's is there too - remember how good their toasted ravioli was? And here is a 1961 Cardinals schedule: Loge boxes were $3; lower deck boxes $3; Field boxes, $2.50 and reserved seats $2 with 50 cents less in each category for children under 12. 50 years ago tonight we played Cincinnati at home in a night game. Here are ads for Jefferson Bank, Concord Bowl, Costello Kunze Ford (Tommy Costello is a long time pal of Paul's), Arena Bowl -72 lanes, Johnny Londoff Chevrolet (does that make you want to sing his jingle and not be able to get it off your mind?). Southwest Bank which is no more, Rizzo's, Milnot and Dan Hamm Drayage Co. which lists its phone # and teletype number.

25th Reunion Silver Anniversary Photos

In going through Paul's scrapbooks in his study tonight, I found a few pix of the Friday evening hotel hospitality room set-up the night before our Silver Anniversary Reunion party. Not only is Paul gone, but so are two of the folks in the pictures. Check them out at the website, khs65.com they are in the 2011 album. Chuck Cross was such a great supporter of KHS65, and loved working on the reunions so much. His life was way too short, a great loss to those who were privileged to know him. One of these days I'll look to see what other photos I have of that reunion, I know I have some.
I decided to post this one here. Paul was notorious for taking pix of female rear ends, here he caught Joanne Cross helping stock the eats at the bar in the hotel hospitality suite. I can't believe I am knowingly posting a photo of me with curlers and a scarf! It looks like I just took a swig of that Coke or ate a cracker, dumb look on my face and dumb picture, but it brought a smile to my face all these years later. Can we believe it is nearly another 25 years since that magic night in 1990???

September 1 - watch Great Day St. Louis

Tomorrow, Thursday, September 1, 2011, KMOV, our local CBS affiliate, will be doing a segment on Great Day Kirkwood...KMOV CBS (channel 4 on many providers) 10:00AM.

Who knew?

Here is a great article on the history of Lindbergh Boulevard. If you're interested in Kirkwood history, you'll love this. It's a well-known story, well, among those of us who read those history books about Kirkwood anyway, but I thought perhaps a refresher might be of interest to some. I can't imagine that Kirkwoodians would have long allowed Kirkwood Road, aka Lindbergh Blvd, to remain named Webster- anything over the years! Heck, I can't even bring myself to call the WK Times that, I nearly always call it the Kirkwood Webster Times! Enjoy!

REDEDICATION OF E L LYONS MEMORIAL STADIUM

I've received an invitation from the Kirkwood School District Board of Education and the Kirkwood School District Foundation for the rededication of the E L Lyons Memorial Stadium at KHS David Holley Assembly Hall (Varsity Gym). Friday August 26 at 6pm - refreshments served, no reservations needed. Hope to see some of you there!

MISS BUTTS PASSES AWAY

Thank you to Peggy Kramer and Larry Allin from whom I have learned of the death of Miss Butts, English teacher at KHS for over 30 years. You might go here to read her obituary from the Webster Kirkwood Times, aka the Kirkwood Webster Times if you are reading something I wrote! If you scroll down the page you will also see the obituary for the mother of our KHS65 classmate Donna Metzinger Johanpeter. The address I have for Donna is in Warrenton, but no email or phone for her. We send our condolences to Donna and her family.

CHUCK BERRY HONORED AGAIN

The legend of Chuck Berry will live on forever in University City, near Blueberry Hill, the famous rock 'n roll shrine here in our town. On July 29th, in 100 or so degree heat, an 8 foot bronze statue of Chuck was unveiled with Chuck there to welcome the crowds and humbly thank everyone for the honor. That night he threw out the first ball at the Cardinals game. St. Louis has loads of great statues, now there is another which is certainly an honor to our generation and the music we love. When you out-of-towners are here, be sure to drop by there to see the St. Louis Walk of Fame, you'll recognize loads of the names, and now you can check out the latest honor for another of our own. Check out the statue and story here

As an aside, you'll note the photo credit under the picture of the statue is to Katherine Bish. When we first lived in Hampton Park, on Clayton Road, the doorbell rang one day and I answered to find a darling young gal with a camera in hand. She was a recent college grad, her husband had taken a job here in town, they were from Illinois I believe, and she was trying to build a portfolio to get into the photog biz. Having a number of photographers in my family, I was inclined to let her in to photo our house. She had been driving around looking for things to photograph and just wanted to take pix of a big house, which she did. We have corresponded since, and I have watched her then-fledgling career with interest. I see her layouts frequently in the local magazines and newspapers. Obviously she was a go-getter, which is what impressed me when she rang the bell making that 'cold call' so bravely.

PAUL RUSSELL CANAVAN 9-23-49 - 7-14-2011

(l to r Dave Beardsley, Eileen Beardsley, standing Bob O'Neill, me and Paul)

I'm pretty sure that this picture taken at Bob O'Neill's 65th birthday party in February, 2011 is the last photo of me and Paul together, and I also believe the last picture of Paul.
Paul was born at Josephine Heitkamp Memorial Hospital, on South Grand and lived all his life before college in South St. Louis City, in a big old home on Lafayette Avenue. He was a 1968 graduate of Southwest High School and attended Wade Elementary School. It always amazes me the times one of us would connect up with someone in his class or a close one and would remember him from wrestling or something; just like we KHS65s find one another in situations we don't expect. After a couple of other scholastic adventures (NW MO State @ Maryville for one), Paul graduated with a BS in Biz Admin from the University of Houston, and did his stint in the Army and National Guard. Paul is survived by a son who adored him, Michael, a professional free-lance photographer living in downtown Chicago with his fiancee, Colleen, a darling girl of Irish heritage...imagine that! Paul's mother Jerry lives in a nursing home in Jefferson County and has now outlived both of her children, not what God normally has in mind for us. She is a real trooper, a stoic German lady who is also a Sappington. Paul was VERY excited to learn only a few years ago that he was a Sappington, a direct descendant of John & Jemima Sappington who came to MO from KY with Dan'l Boone and settled most of south St. Louis County. I plan to spread his ashes on John & Jemima's graves in the Sappington Cemetery in Crestwood on his birthday in September. I think he would like that more than any other idea we ever discussed. Paul had not been in good health of late, and there are a number of sudden fatal heart-attack deaths in the males in his family tree, and an uncle who died very young also. He had bought groceries, in this awful heat, come home, put them all away just as I liked, and sat down, probably to rest, and had the attack in our breakfast room. He was gone only part of an hour before I got home from an errand, and the paramedics told me that I probably couldn't have saved him even if I'd been here at home. Paul and I met as employees at Barnes Hospital in 1967 and were friends, then we and our spouses were a four-some as good pals, and our children were friends, then we were friends again, then we became lovers and partners. We were married in December, 1996 in Edinburgh, Scotland after having been "engaged" for 7 years or so - our accountant said we had to get married! We then didn't actually live together full-time until we bought a home together in 1998. It was odd the first time I brushed my teeth in the same bathroom with him after all those years!

The paramedic squad which answered my 911 call is with Metro West here in West County and some knew Gary Stobbe when he was a Manchester city fireman before the communities here in west county joined together as Metro West. Gary lived in the house right behind mine when Lou & I were divorced and I moved to Manchester with my children. AND the policewoman who came, and was SO nice to us, was the daughter in law of a jeweler here in West County who went to high school with my ex, and from whom I bought our wedding rings when Paul & I got married. It was like old home week here as the paramedics and then the attendants from Bopp took care of Paul. The representative from Bopp walked in the front door and said, "Aren't you part of the Cavic/Lombardi family?" My son smiled when everyone was gone and said, "Mom, Rachel and I cannot believe it, but you REALLY DO know everyone in St. Louis". We were able to have a smile together at a sad moment.

Should anyone wish to make a memorial donation in Paul's name, I am associated with a wonderful place for children from dysfunctional homes in New England. Donations might be sent to Ms. Gail Thomas, Treasurer General, NSNEW, 379 Chester Road, Candia, NH 03034-2609; please be sure to specify that the donation is in memory of Paul and is to go to Kurn Hattin Homes. Should you wish to learn about this wonderful place for children, which I have supported for many years, please go to www.kurnhattin.org, you'll fall in love.

Thank you to everyone who has called, sent cards, emailed and sent me greetings on Facebook; your friendship is always important to me, but at this time has been especially meaningful to me. May we all have our friends and families when we need them the most as I have had you all.

I just wanted to let you all know that Leslie's husband, Paul, passed away suddenly today. I will post more information as soon as I get it.

NIPHER GETTING A FACELIFT

Interestingly there has been money left over (an oxymoron in my life) from last fall's bond issue which will allow improvements at Nipher to include new track & field space and improvements in roadways around the school. Check out the details here. If you haven't been home in awhile you'd hardly recognize the front as a large addition was set in front of the North and South buildings. The campus is lovely, and oh so many memories flood my brain when I drive by. Do you remember your locker combination? Mine was in the North Building, 29 6 14, rlr. Pat Vallar was my locker partner...wonder if she remembers the combination! 12/26/1 - just reviewing my blog and realize this statement is an error, I don't think we had locker partners at Nipher, the locker next to mine was occupied by Susan Trail, I think perhaps Pat Vallar and I shared our KHS locker. And no, I do not know that combination! I shared a locker in a more convenient spot (among the boys of KHS64) with my beau thru some of KHS, Jim Jackson, so I didn't really burn the combination to my own into my brain like at Nipher!

W W II VETERAN & KHS65 FATHER REMINISCES

Sharon and Karen Lowe are becoming an unusual pair of KHS65 classmates, lucky enough to still have both of their parents alive and healthy. In our youth, surrounded by all of us GIRLS, Col. Lowe took a bit of a shine to my brother, if I may use that term, because he was a BOY and was around the neighborhood. In more recent times, Kert (KHS69) and I returned to visit our childhood home in Sugar Creek Ranch, just around the curve from the Lowes & visited the senior Lowes. Kert earned his Masters Degree in Military History in his adult years and is very interested in World War II history. He uses his talent as film editor and videographer for fun outside of his normal working days and was privileged to be able to interview Col. Lowe regarding his wartime adventures. In today's world of technology, with Col. Lowe's permission, I am pleased to share some of Kert's interviews. I hope many of you will check them out, the history is wonderful. As Kert says, "It's fascinating to realize everyone has a unique view of the past." It's fun for us to compare our varying memories of our childhood! Thanks Kert for making these available on-line and to Col. and Mrs. Lowe for being such great parents! In my own memoirs will be memories of the afternoons playing dress-up in their basement ~ I loved playing Princess Summerfallwinterspring! If you will go here you will first see Kert's interview with Col. Lowe about his near death experience the night Glenn Miller died. This story has been misconstrued for years, but here you will learn what really happened. Once you watch this about 12 minute video, click on the others in the strip to the right and you'll hear much more of Kert and Farrell's conversation, it's all fascinating. There is a total of 10 segments, all identifiable by the photo of Col. Lowe (one is called 'A close call in London' and has a b & w photo, but it's part of the interview); you might have to scroll past some other posts (which are also interesting) to find all 10 of them. I loved the story of his meeting Major Eisenhower! It's amazing to see a Veteran with the clarity of mind and ability to recollect so vividly his wartime experiences. AFTER you read Col. Lowe's story, you might go to the Wikipedia entry about Glenn Miller which is very informative about his career, and has a section on his disappearance. ENJOY! PS, I hope you will go to OLDER POSTS and review other Veterans' stories and information as we celebrate our nation's birthday, something we wouldn't be doing without ALL our veterans from ALL wars!

FUNNY & QUICK

When I worked at Barnes Hospital during and after college, I was in charge of reservations at Maternity Hospital for awhile, among other duties. I just went thru a box containing some "memorabilia" and out fell a piece of notebook paper, written in ink..."Could you hold the information for the birth certificate until the baby is born because I willy [sic] don't no [sic] who the father is. It could be my husband."

KIRKWOOD MUSICIAN MEL BAY RECEIVES RECOGNITION

Our own famous Mel Bay, musician and world-renown music publisher, is to receive a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame on June 30th. For Mr. Bay's story and the details about the Star go here, and congratulations to the members of the Bay family for this wonderful honor. I'm sure MANY of us in KHS65 have some connection in our past to Mel Bay's Music store in Kirkwood. I remember the trips there with my mom to purchase my piano books when I was taking lessons from Mrs. Lane, my 4th grade teacher at Robinson. And somewhere in the recesses of my mind I seem to have a memory of a venture there for one of my kids....piano books for Alexis or a violin rental for Matt??? Fuzzy memories....

KHS69 BROTHER -COOL VIDEOS - VETERAN MUST SEE

I hope you will all check out some GREAT youtube videos made by my cooool brother Kert, KHS69. He is SO talented. Kert went back to college not so long ago to earn his Masters in Military History, a subject which has long interested him. He combines that interest with his professional career as a videographer and film editor in Burbank, CA where he has a studio and does great editing! 2 of these videos which I hope all our class VETERANS will watch are of a Memorial Day ceremony in Los Angeles. Not your average Memorial Day celebration. There are I think 80,000 veterans buried there, and the ceremony is emceed by a well-known actor with flag placements by young Scouts. The Medal of Honor ceremony is moving and I must say Kert's photography and editing are spectacular. He has intertwined stills with the movie footage. After you see the videos at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbUA1FjC7aE&feature=uploademail
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlEUaKPHuQo&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlEUaKPHuQo&feature=uploademail then go to the panel on the right and view the others uploaded by KAVISKI1, his youtube ID. They are interviews with a WWII veteran, highlighted by stills which illustrate what Joe the veteran is talking about. The quality of the videos is great, and the subject one we should all be thinking about and sharing with the youth of today. Actually, after you get through with those videos, click on the upper left part of the screen and just click KAVISKI1 link, then go to the bottom of his list of videos and click Part One of his Normandy visit in 1994 for the anniversary of D DAY. It's another great video, in two parts. Kert & his lovely wife Barbara went for the ceremonies, beautiful footage and narration. Thanks for sharing Kert, I love you. Another KHS alum doing good!

CLASSMATE YVONNE RINGIS CHECKS IN

Thank you to Yvonne, aka Vonnie now, for checking in. You have hit the nail on the head, about the time we all began turning 60, folks have come out of the woodwork, all using that same word, reconnecting! A lot of it going on these days. I am delighted to post your update and hopefully some of your KHS friends will see it and want to reconnect with you! Our condolences on the passing of your mom, indeed a sad thing we all have either worked through or are going to soon.

Hi Leslie,

I thought it was about time I wrote something about myself. I’ve been retired from teaching for about two years now. My husband and I have lived on a tree farm east of Salem, OR, since 1973. We raised our two girls here and now work producing lots of veggies and flowers in our big gardens. Last year we bought a winter home in Oro Valley, AZ, in order to escape the dreary winters here. It seems a perfect combination. I find plenty to do with volunteering as a master gardener and literacy and Spanish teacher, keeping up with friends and family, hiking, playing the piano and trying my hand at painting.

I was in Kirkwood this spring to pay a last visit to my mom before she passed away in March. It was sad to say good-bye, but she lived a good, long life and was looking forward to moving on. My dad died in 2005, so now I have only my two brothers and their families left in the St. Louis area. Our two daughters, one son-in-law and two precious grandkids all live in the Seattle area, so we take trips up there regularly to visit them.

I’ve connected with a few KHS friends on Facebook but otherwise don’t have much contact with anyone from that far back. Many from KHS knew me as Yvonne Ringis. Everyone now calls me by my family nickname. As I get older, it seems more important to reconnect and remember those simpler days! Glad you’ve taken it on yourself to keep up a blog.

Thanks, Vonnie Ringis Lincoln

SO I'M NOT REALLY A BEER DRINKER

I've NEVER been a beer drinker. Oh, it's not that I don't like beer, there are many I do like, but I only like them really cold and I drink beer, and most other liquids, too slowly so by the time my beer is half gone, it's warm and the rest goes to waste; consequently I rarely touch the stuff. I LOVE to cook with it, my beer batter bread and beer batter deep fried onion rings are killer and my barbeque beer soaked ribs are always a huge summer hit! The other day I was at Schnuck's and wandered by a case of cold wines and beers. As I longingly looked at several bottles of champagne trying to decide which one I wanted, I spied a beer label on a large bottle, a full pint, and the label's design called out to me. But as I read along, the name Charleville shouted at me! I have known for a long time that Joal and family are in the winery biz in Ste. Genevieve, but I didn't realize they are now brewing specialty beers. I looked at two different labels, and couldn't resist the Half Wit Wheat! I took it home, got it really cold in my freezer for a bit, popped the cap and found it delicious. Hubby walked into the kitchen and nearly fainted when he saw me taking a long swig! I think he feared I was having a mid-life crisis. But he loved the taste too. I have to admit I had to put it back in the fridge twice before I finished the pint, but I didn't share it with Paul! It was great by itself and also with a steak fresh off the grill! I think beer is probably very good for us too; Paul's grandmother lived to 104 and she was a big beer drinker. I think it was all those B vitamins that kept her healthy until she died, annoyed that she didn't die earlier because she was bored - no friends left, no one to talk to her about anything she wanted to discuss and p'od that she couldn't go to the local pub for a brew!

I love giving our KHS65 mates a plug here and there, so I highly recommend the Charleville Vineyard Brewery of Ste. Genevieve. On the label it says, "Charleville's Half Wit Wheat is brewed in our little brewery in the woods. We hope that you will enjoy this refreshing wheat ale and will come to visit us soon." What a great outing that would be! If you can't get there, try some from Schnucks! Joal, add a comment to tell us all where else it's available for sale. I'm going to try soaking off the label, but if it doesn't work, I'm going to be asking Joal for a fresh label! Bottoms up!
Check out the winery's website at http://www.charlevillevineyard.com/ and on Facebook Charleville Winery and Microbrewery

SOMETHING tells me I've left out a part of this story that matters. I ran into Jim Bilhorn not too terribly long ago and I believe he and Barb, his wife who is also a former neighbor of ours in Sugar Creek Ranch, as well as a KHS alum, have joined Joal and crewe in the winery venture. Recently someone pointed out to me that his address & Joal's are on the same street. That reminded me that I had forgotten!!! Sorry Jim and Barb! Truthfully, I don't know for sure what the relationship is, maybe it doesn't matter, but I think it is very nifty that these KHS65 members are still connected after all this time! Perhaps for our 50th Reunion we should find a venue which will allow us to bring in our own beer and wine, from youknowwhere!

KIRKWOOD SAFE - AIRPORT DEVASTATED

For those of you who live afar, you've probably seen or will soon see on TV the devastation in Bridgeton, Ferguson, Maryland Heights, Berkeley and the airport and surrounding areas. We are in Chesterfield, straight west out Clayton Road, and were in a thin slice of thunderstorms with hail, lightening, etc. between this devastating tornado to our north and another bad storm system south of us. Kirkwood, Glendale, Ballwin, that corridor was also safe. The damage to our beloved airport terminal is extensive. I heard that half of the large windows are broken - later, I just learned that all windows on concourse 3 are blown out; the main part of the main terminal has windows blown out, but that 50 percentage overall. They are having trouble getting everything covered. It has already rained for about an hour this morning, more storms predicted for later today, but I've heard varying predictions of severity of those storms. This is the worst St. Louis tornado since the one in 1967. The airport is closed, interstates 70 and 270 were closed last night. People in the airport were stranded there, some went to hotels, some families were able to get in to collect their passengers, but many couldn't get in or out. The amazing thing is that SO FAR there have been no reports of serious injuries or deaths. Police are still going door to door in north county checking to be sure no one is trapped in a house or building. The TV coverage is just amazing. The fear last night was that the storm would go to the stadium as 40,000 people were there for the Reds Cards game, which we won 4 - 2 by the way, after a rain delay. I heard no one last night say that they were thinking the tornado could hit the airport... oh cripe, it's raining again!

One young man on his way to South Dakota to spend Easter with his dad is a KHS student and was interviewed last night. He had been on one of the 3 planes which was stuck on the tarmack, unable to get to a jetway, too much debris on the runways...those people finally got off the planes and into the terminal. One of those planes was blown into another. One plane this morning has a huge piece of sheet metal stuck in its tail, like someone had slit a balsawood model and inserted an extra piece perpendicular to the tail; that plane also has nose damage, the only one of the 5 planes on the ground that was actually damaged, some had some scrapes but nothing serious...

Having spent much of my life flying in and out of Lambert, going there to fly with my dad, a hobbyist pilot, and being at the airport the day it opened, it's difficult to see the coverage of the airport so damaged. On TV now is showing the workers pushing out the remnants of broken glass from the frames, it's heart breaking. They say now MAYBE airport can open on Monday. Just heard that flights were diverted to KC, and now those passengers are being bused here from KC.

We are SO fortunate to be where we are, but oh so many have had their lives uprooted like the huge trees in their yards. Several churches are without rooves, many homes are totally ruined, large and small homes, businesses...it's awful... Stay tuned to your national news programs, we're getting a lot of international coverage. One person had a 4AM text message from relatives in Turkey hearing about our disaster on their TV!
I have a hard time even saying Happy Easter! But hope you are enjoying a lovely spring and Easter weekend wherever you are!

Later, 750 homes at least in one community, 1150 some in another; some will be condemned, others repaired. The airport will accept a few flights inbound tonight, they are thinking they'll have some in and out tomorrow but there is still no electricity and fuel pumps have not yet been tested. They may truck in fuel for the planes; there has been a report of a possible fuel tank problem... they have released realtime surveillance footage in the terminal from last night which is amazing! The damage from this storm has been rated as F4, which is the second worst rating. Only .7% of tornados rate this high in damage...

MONDAY, statistics after the investigators reported: What is being called the Good Friday tornado was one long-track tornado 22 miles long, .4mile wide. The most severe, in Bridgeton and airport area, was damage level EF4, on a scale from EF1, lowest, to EF5. Only 7/10 of one percent of all tornadoes are EF4 and EF5. EF4 is partially defined as bearing 166 to 200 mph winds. St. Louis now has the honor of being the city with the most damaging tornadoes of any city in the US. Places like TX, OK and Kansas have tornadoes too, but frequently theirs happen in areas with large open spaces, farms, ranches, etc. where the damage may be widespread, but population is low density, not many structures, etc.

We had a rainy dreary Easter Day, sun is shining today, but storms have been predicted for today and/or tonight, more tomorrow. ugh...... Hope everyone had a nice Easter day!

Monday night, more statistics: There were 4 separate tornadoes from west of the airport to Highland, IL which had an EF2 damage rating. Waterloo, Il was an EF1 hit. Lambert is 90% functional at this time, with Concourse C closed indefinitely. At the worst, 46,000 customers were without power in St. Louis County, the number now being down to 3566. There were 1041 homes in Maryland Heights damaged with an additional 69 condemned which I believe will be leveled as opposed to being rebuilt, not positive about that. And I still have heard of no deaths. Amazing!

DAVE HOLLEY RETIRES - A KHS LOSS!

Dave Holley Retirement Celebration PLEASE JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE THE RETIREMENT OF OUR FAVORITE KIRKWOOD PIONEER DR. DAVE HOLLEY AND HIS “31” YEAR CAREER AS A TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, COACH, MENTOR AND CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN SUNDAY, MAY 22, 2011 KIRKWOOD HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY GYM 801 WEST ESSEX KIRKWOOD, MO 63122 Reception at 2:00 PM (Refreshments will be served.) Program at 3:30 PM $15 PER PIONEER FAN Kirkwood Students are Free TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT: WWW.DAVE-HOLLEY.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL: Bob Dickson, KHS '66 at 314.965.0747
Please visit our website at www.KHSALUMNI.ORG.

Would you like to forward this email to a friend? Click here.

MORE DEATHS IN OUR COMMUNITY

I decided to look through the Kirkwood Webster Times Obituaries since I haven't done so in awhile and find that recently I've missed several. Our condolences to the families of these people who I know will be very much missed.

Yvonne Ringis Lincoln's mother Naomi passed away March 31st
Judy Matthew Gibson's mother Dorothy passed away March 11th

Recently I was working on elementary photos on the picture gallery, www.khs65.com, and noticed Mrs. Duchek was a teacher at one of the schools. I see she passed away 3/2/2011 at age 90. You can go here to read her obituary.

Carol Stalzer's father must have known mine, Ron Masters', maybe Peggy Belt's and some others of us whose fathers were at McDonnell Aircraft, especially those in the space program. I do not remember my dad ever mentioning him, but that doesn't mean much. Here is Theodore Stalzer's obituary:
Died: Monday, February 28, 2011

Theodore R. Stalzer, a longtime resident of Kirkwood, died Monday, Feb. 28, 2011.

Mr. Stalzer served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was an electrical engineer for McDonnell Aircraft Co. and a guidance and control engineer for the NASA Mercury and Gemini Manned Spacecraft Program. He was also a semi-professional operatic tenor who performed at numerous area churches, including First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood and St. Louis Grand Opera Guild.

Mr. Stalzer was the husband of the late Geraldine Stalzer (nee Crump) for 65 years; father of Carol (Ron) Koch and Larry (Sandra) Stalzer; grandfather of Katherine (Matthew) Williams; brother-in-law and uncle.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 5, 10 a.m., at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester Road in Kirkwood. Interment Valhalla Cemetery. Visitation is Friday, March 4, 4 to 8 p.m., at Bopp Chapel. Memorials are preferred to the St. Louis Symphony. Online guest book at www.boppchapel.com.

Cathy Whitmire lost her mother some time ago, but I do not believe I reported it. I recall someone asking me how to contact Cathy at the time, but don't think I realized Mrs. Whitmire had so recently passed away. Go here to read about this lovely lady.

Larry and Sheila Barnett lost their aunt last year, here is the obituary:
Died: Friday, December 10, 2010

Mary C. "Chris" Hamlin (nee Dougherty), a longtime resident of Kirkwood, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2010.

Mrs. Hamlin was the wife of the late Harry Hamlin; aunt of Larry Barnett, Sheila Haverman, Jack Barnett and Kelly Barnett; aunt, great-aunt, great-great-aunt and friend.

Funeral services were held Dec. 14 at Bopp Chapel in Kirkwood. Interment Oak Hill Cemetery, Kirkwood. Memorials may be made to Shriner's Hospital for Children.

Here is an interesting lady of whom I was not aware, the last surviving grand-child of Francis Nipher, for whom Nipher Jr. High was named. Go here to read about Jean Pollard Gould.

Gosh, I'm going to have to keep up with the obituaries on a more timely basis. Here is another interesting one from late last year, the wife of Mr. Beltz of Nipher administration fame. Go here to read about Mrs. Beltz.

And we must not omit Irene Spencer, wife of the founder of one of our favorite eateries all our lives. Yes, it's still there and yes, the food's still great! Go here to see the information on Irene.

If you look thru the older posts you will find information on Mrs. Brooks, and her obituary, but I'm thinking not this particular obituary. Go here to see a nice photo of her and a shorter obit.

That's it for now, may all of these people who have touched our lives in some way rest in peace and love.

LYNN CRADY MATHIS 1947-2011

Thank you to Pat Hoag and Larry Allin for notifying me of Lynn Crady's death while I was out of town and out of contact. Here is the obituary from Kirkwood-Webster Times:

Died: Saturday, April 09, 2011

Carol Lynn Mathis (nee Crady) of Clayton, formerly of Kirkwood, died Saturday, April 9, 2011.

Ms. Mathis was a 1965 Kirkwood High School graduate and a 1969 Bradley University graduate. She retired from the Missouri Division of Family Services.

Ms. Mathis was the daughter of Lera Crady and the late Curtis Crady; companion of Charles Darden for 32 years; sister of Perry Crady; aunt, great-aunt, sister-in-law and friend.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 16, 2 p.m., at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester Road in Kirkwood. Interment private. Memorials may be made to BJC Hospice or the American Lung Association.

Lynn lived very close to my shop in Clayton and I called her a couple of times when we were working on reunions, but unfortunately I was never able to engage her in our activities. She has been on our mail and email lists for many years. I have known for awhile that she was not well, but not the nature of her illness. If any of you attended her Memorial Service, I'd love to post any comments you might care to make. Another of our classmates gone way too soon.

FOREST PARK HIGHLANDS

Many classmates with whom I've come in contact have mentioned the Highlands over the years. I didn't go there much in my long-lost youth, but I know many of you did. Thanks to Roxanne Guels Rassi for sending me this GREAT WEBSITE to explore. It's all about the history of the Highlands and has many photos, likely one of the best historic websites relating to our young years in Kirkwood that I've seen. Sit back, relax and reminisce! And THANKS to Roxie from way out there in Arizona!!!

KHS65 YEARBOOK PIX - YOU ASKED FOR IT & HERE IT IS

In the past the KHS65 1965 Pioneer yearbook photos were on the old www.khs65.com website. Before that website was taken down we were able to capture the senior photos, but I didn't realize they are still available. In fact, she says sheepishly, I had forgotten we ever had them to begin with! When we began reconnecting with some previously not connected KHS65 members thru Facebook, I was asked what happened to the Yearbook pix, and I drew a blank, nicer phrase than "had a senior moment". Today I discovered the pictures by accident when looking for something else I really really need and can't find. SO please GO HERE to find the links to each page of Senior pictures. The name listed is the first name on the page, so you can figure out where people are as the pix are listed alphabetically. This link is now posted on the right-hand side column, so no matter how far down in the blog this post is pushed, the link to the senior pictures in THE PIONEER will be easy to click and view.

Kathy Krieger Daily

If you knew Kathy you will be interested in going HERE to read about her widower's experiences. Thanks to Jane McClaren for posting this on Facebook! Kathy and her two children were killed in a freak car accident in which a boulder crashed down on their car, killing them instantly and leaving her husband a widower. The book described on the link above is the touching story of her husband's life after that devastating freak accident and how he has carried on. Jane McClaren and Kathy were best friends and Jane has never let the memories go. It was a popular Facebook entry today, many classmates thanking Jane for letting us know.

WAYNE JOPLIN DIES MARCH 30, 2011 RIP

Thank you to Pat Harger Bax for forwarding the obituary of our classmate Wayne Joplin who passed away last week after a long bout with lung cancer. Please go here to read the article.

SNIPPET FROM A DECEASED CLASSMATE

I believe I sent around a message in 2008 when our classmate Linda Barclay Doyle was killed by a wreckless driver in her hometown in Oklahoma. I did not know Linda well at KHS but I did know her. Many years later I knew her mom Marge who joined the St. Louis group of the National Society of New England Women. We in that group knew her from the Mayflower Society. Linda had been a Mayflower member, as was her sister Madelyn, but they were never in town for a meeting that I know of. Through Marge I kept up with Linda and Madelyn but never saw either of them after high school I don't believe. Marge was a great gal who was funny, adorable as she aged, as was her husband, and an accomplished crafty artist. They spent time in Florida and she loved making things with and collecting seashells and other natural materials. After Marge died, I wrote a letter to Madelyn which she shared with Linda.

Today as I was cleaning out an old file, I found an undated letter from Linda to me after she read the letter I sent to Madelyn. Some of us have been discussing our mothers' passing on Facebook lately, and my parents' birthdays would have been in the past couple of weeks, so parents are on my mind. I decided I would share the letter I received from Linda so that any of you who remember her might have a bit of insight into this very nice family who shared our Kirkwood upbringing. You'll probably recognize bits of their habits from your own childhood.

"Hello Leslie!
The letter you wrote to Madelyn was heart-warming for me to read and realize how much my mother's life touched you too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and memories.

Our holidays, like yours, are full of wonderful memories and all sorts of items made by Mother. [I still have little table favors Margie made for our Mayflower meetings for many years.] Everyone who enters my home during the holidays shares her many treasures. From the decorations we had throughout our childhood to decorate the many Christmas trees, to Easter placecards, to the massive Thanksgiving items to the seashells. I miss her so much but plan to divert all the attention to my father who is also coping with the loss of his wife. I purchased a home for him here in Oklahoma City, went and moved him and his beloved cat (the entire universe to my mother-quite a cat!), and have him unpacked and doing quite well. I have 24 hour care for him, just in case, but he is pretty active for 89! He of course has his own health issues but we plan to make the most of time we have together. All is well~ Sincerely, Linda"

Marge died 3 July 2005 and her husband, Linda's dad Leroy, died 13 Jul 2006 ; Linda died in November of 2008. So sad to lose our classmates so early.

I almost forgot, there is a funny story, really not so funny, a good "small world" story. When I was at UMSL & Washington University I worked at Barnes Hospital in the admitting department. My first assignment was admitting officer for Maternity and McMillan hospitals. In those days the famed Dr. Masters and Mrs. Johnson, the sex therapists, had their offices in Maternity Hospital so I was acquainted with them and their staff. One such person was a Mrs. Carole Lane. One night years later when my kids were little and everyone was hungry at 5:30 and mothers are always harried, my phone rang. It was a wall-mount phone, on which I could talk while standing at the sink peeling potatoes, & staving off crying kids hanging onto my legs. I answered and a lady said, "Mrs. Cavic, you don't know me but I want to join the Missouri Mayflower Society and I was told to call you, I am Carole Lane...." I nearly dropped the phone and began laughing. I said, "Well Carole, you DO know me, I am Leslie Vander Meulen and we've known one another for years!" Of course the conversation was lively; she joined the Mayflower Society and New England Women, and was a fun member for years, along with her SISTER, Marge Barclay! It was already a small world even before email, websites and Facebook! I have other such stories but this one is at least pertinent to this post, so I won't bore you with more!

FORMER KIRKWOOD MAYOR MARGE SCHRAMM DIES

Many of you who have't lived here for awhile may not know this name or Marge's reputation, but those of us hangers-on do. She did a great job for Kirkwood and was a good role model for females to boot. You can see her obituary here.

WHO HUNG OUT AT PARKMOOR? OR DIDN'T?

From the Kirkwood Area Facebook page comes this great photo....oh sooo many memories here. Not just of boyz, but galpals too! If you want to share, please do! Even the memories of the parking lot are great, remember cruising? Lookin' to see who was there, or showing off a new car? Or showing off a new boytoy? Or looking for a new boytoy? Did we really do that??? Whodda ever thunk of the term boytoy in our day? Do we even have to ask if the boyz trolled Parkmoor looking for girlz? Enjoy!

DEATHS IN OUR COMMUNITY

I have been out of town for a bit, not checking the obituaries but have received word of the death of the mother of classmate Larry Allin of Kirkwood, the father of Mike Trueblood of Springfield, MO and the husband of Diane Bofinger Pfaus also of Kirkwood. Our heartfelt condolences to these classmates in their time of sadness.

Here is the obituary for Larry's mother, Catherine L. Allin, from the Webster Kirkwood Times:
Catherine L. Allin, 89, of Kirkwood, formerly of Henderson, Ky., died Thursday, March 3, 2011, at SSM St. Claire Health Center in Fenton.
Mrs. Allin was a member of Kirkwood Baptist Church. During World War II, she worked as a welder at the Evansville Shipyard in Evansville, Ind.
Mrs. Allin was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin Allin, in 1998, and parents Mack and Molly Newman. Survivors include her children, Larry Keith Allin and Linda D. (Dennis) Clary, and two grandchildren, Sara E. Allin and Zachary M. Allin.
Graveside services and interment were held March 5 at Roselawn Memorial Gardens in Henderson. Memorials to St. Anthony's Hospice, 2410 S. Green Street, Henderson, Ky. 42420-4621.

Dick Pfaus was known to many of us since he accompanied Diane to some of our KHS65 functions over the past years. Also from Webster Kirkwood Times comes his obituary:

Richard Myles "Dick" Pfaus of Kirkwood died Saturday, March 5, 2011.

Mr. Pfaus was the husband of Diane Pfaus (nee Bofinger) for 25 years; father of Christopher (Jenn) Pfaus and Elizabeth (Georges) Habalian; grandfather of two; brother of Thomas Pfaus, Cathy (David) Blankenburg and Garry (Deena) Pfaus; son of Frances Pruner and stepson of Mary K. Pfaus. He was preceded in death by his father, Miles Pfaus. He was a stepbrother, uncle, brother-in-law and friend.

Funeral services will be held Friday, March 11, 11 a.m., at Church of St. Michael and St. George, 6345 Wydown, 63105. Interment, Valhalla. Memorials to the Humane Society of Missouri or the American Cancer Society. Arrangements by Bopp Chapel.

And from the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the obituary just running now, even though Dr. Trueblood died last month:

Trueblood, Alva Cooper Jr., M.D.Ace, Bud 92, of Kirkwood died Thursday, February 17, 2011, at St. John's Hospital. He was born March 15, 1918, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Alva Cooper and Leona Wahlert Trueblood. Dr. Trueblood graduated from Washington University (B.A. 1940) and Washington University School of Medicine (M.D. 1943). He married Jean McLeod on September 1, 1942. Dr. Trueblood served with the U.S. Navy from November 1944 - November 1945, earning a Bronze Star for meritorious service as a medical officer in the Philippine Islands. Upon returning from World War II, he completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University and practiced obstetrics and gynecology in St. Louis County from 1949 until his retirement in 1983. He provided free care at the Grace Hill Settlement House and served on the Missouri State Maternal Mortality Review Committee. Outside of his professional life, he enjoyed gardening, woodworking, canoeing, traveling, and spending time with family and friends, including his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers. Dr. Trueblood was predeceased by his parents; his sister, Mary Catherine Evans (David); and his nephew, David Evans. He is survived by his wife; daughter Patricia Post (John) of Nashville, Tenn.; son Michael Trueblood, M.D. (Mary) of Cape Girardeau; nieces Suzanne Evans Morris of Faber, Va. and Catherine Evans Geiger of Reno, Nev. and grandchildren Gavin Post of Asheville, N.C.; Gaines Post (Fiona) of New South Wales, Australia; Andrew Trueblood, M.D. (Amy) of Cape Girardeau; and Emily Gardner (Erin) of Kirkwood; and greatgrandchildren Abigail, Catherine, and Margaret Gardner, and John Trueblood. The family is grateful to the staff at McKnight Place, where Dr. Trueblood spent the last year of his life, and to the Visiting Angels of Webster Groves, who provided in-home services before Dr. and Mrs. Trueblood moved to McKnight Place. Services: Memorial Service and interment were held Saturday, February 19, 2011, at Valhalla Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo. Condolences may be sent to Mrs. A.C. Trueblood, Jr., at McKnight Place Extended Care, Two McKnight Place, St. Louis, MO 63124. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers, Inc., 2524 Hadley, St. Louis, MO 63106 (314) 898-1700 www.gracehill.org/donate/ or to the charity of your choice.

KIRKWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT FOUNDATION INVITATION

As promised, I wanted to share the information about the upcoming Benefit for the Kirkwood Students sponsored by the KSDF. Thursday April 7th at The Magic House in Kirkwood will be the date and place of the evening of Music, Art and Auctions. Sounds like a great evening, especially with the KHS Jazz Band providing music! $50 per person, call 314 213 6124 for sponsorship opportunities and further information. Reservations and payment may be made on-line at http://www.kirkwoodfoundation.org/ by Monday, March 28th.

NEW ON FACEBOOK

I just stumbled on a new Facebook page you'll all love, Kirkwood Area. Check it out. There are some great pix of our old haunts and interesting comments. A fabulous photo of the interior of Green Parrot Inn - I see the table area we used to prefer and can nearly taste the fried chicken. Odd that I ordered that there, because my mom, from the south, made the world's best fried chicken. I have her recipe but can't duplicate the taste exactly, I think it must be the shortening! Anway, enjoy this find!

ONE WHOLE BLOCK MISSING

This has been a big KHS week for me. One day I spoke on the phone to 4 different KHS65 men. And had a Facebook message from another. There are days like that aren't there? Something specific must draw others to us on a particular wavelength! Jim Herb says HI; he & Jim Olson had lunch together and called to report in. Jim Day is working hard and having a good time. He & Linda recently ran into Lary Lazier; Linda is Lary's State Farm insurance agent... Gary Schmidt is helping his mom this weekend, before she moves up to Michigan to live with his sister after the recent death of their father and the impending sale of the parents' home in Kirkwood.

Yesterday I drove into Kirkwood to fetch Steve Huber's mom, Nancy, to go to a luncheon & meeting with me. We both belong to several hereditary societies and see one another frequently. On the way home I took Manchester Road west from Geyer. I always look around when I hit Des Peres because we lived in Harwood Hills for several years from mid-11th grade & I like to see how the area is doing. As I passed thru the light at Bopp Road I saw on my left a tall construction fence and could hardly keep my eyes on the road! The whole block from Bopp to Lindeman on the south side of Manchester is GONE! I don't know how deep, there were houses behind that area of commercial buildings (Biederman's Furniture at one time, later a bookstore, and many other stores), so maybe some of them were leveled also! I immediately called my best Kirkwood-go-to-information source Peggy Entenman Kramer, who tells me Dierbergs grocery is going in there!!! Not so amazing, Dierbergs is still expanding BUT if you recall, just west of Bopp on the north side of Manchester is Schnucks!!! [NOT, please see the comments below, I completely forgot about the new Schnucks super store at Ballas! What was I looking at when I drove by it Saturday? My phone probably, I think I called Peggy right away as I was so amazed!] So what's that going to do to the grocery biz in Des Peres?????? Some of you marketing types might understand this better than I do... The point of my telling you all this is that I was just amazed that the whole area is GONE! I had JUST been talking to Nancy on the way to our luncheon about how things are changing in Kirkwood; streets with teardown houses replacing those we remember, streets being changed, etc., but that when I am in Kirkwood I always know exactly where I am and how to get where I'm going even amidst change. If you haven't been back to Kirkwood in awhile, better start planning to attend our 50th Reunion, it'll be here before we know it. Maybe you should come sooner before too much of our memory is bulldozed under! And if you live here in St. Louis County, better just make a run thru Kirkwood soon!

NIFTY NEW SITE

I have had a membership to classmates.com for years, and it has been of value in helping spread the KHS65 word and reconnect with classmates. However in more recent years I've had better luck with other things and haven't used Classmates so much. One problem is that you never know if the person actually saw the message you sent them. Maybe they signed up and then lost interest and never went back to retrieve messages! Anyway, this morning I received an email stating that Classmates.com is now associated with MEMORY LANE. This is a new site to me, but I must say, it's a great resource. There are back issues of LIFE, Look and other national magazines, from the 1940s to 1990s for Life; Yearbooks (more than classmates.com used to have), videos, sports highlights, all sorts of great nostalgic and fun things. Since I am a member of classmates.com, when I log on they know it is me. I do not know what happens if a non-member logs on. I ASSUME it's a sales job of course, but there may be some good previews of what you'll get if you join. I tried going directly to MemoryLane.com but it just automatically points to http://www.classmates.com/. They do have yearbooks for KHS for years 59, 60, 62, 67 & 68. They also have Webster for 64 & 65 (having dated one fellow from each class, I was amazed that they didn't look a single bit like what I remembered, 'dated' is the operative word here, not torrid love affairs for sure! After all, they lived in WG!!!!) And Lindbergh 1965 and some other years are there too. Viewing the yearbook pages is a bit cumbersome, but better than nothing! Roam around a bit if you can. In the past I have contacted every KHS65 person on classmates.com and most have responded back, but there are a few holdouts. I figure I can always send them a message thru there if I really want to tell them something; I did this for our 45th Reunion news.
I'm not here to recommend one's buying a classmates.com membership, but if you already have one, by all means check it out now, and if you can get a preview, at least check it out. Might be very useful. The Life magazines are of use to me in another project, but I can't seem to print the pages from this site like I can others. Well, you can purchase a copy! Enjoy~!

Kirkwood High School activities for your Calendar

I learned last week at the School District Foundation that Dave Holley is retiring as KHS Principal after this school year. There will be a party for him May 22, at 2:00 pm in the Gym. I THINK this is a public affair, but not 100% positive. Keep your eye on Webster Kirkwood Times or here on the blog, I'll try to stay in the know!~ Also, there is a fund-raiser on April 7th at the Magic House - again watch the news and the blog for further information. The fund-raiser will have silent auctions which are lots of fun. I believe this is the School District Foundation annual fund-raising gala. More when I know something, but if you have information, I'd love to have it, send an email or comment here.

WOMEN IN THE MILITARY

Just found this post about Wilma Vaught on my personal Facebook page. I had a wonderful opportunity about 3 years ago, sitting with Wilma for an evening at a function in Washington, DC. She is as charming as she is interesting. She told me about the Women's Memorial at Arlington with great pride in what has been accomplished there. I hope you'll go here to read today's NPR article about her. There are some good links there to information about women in the military. THANKS to all our veterans, but especially to our women whose situation was, and still is, a bit different than that of the fellows.

KHS65 MEN CHEER KU TO VICTORY TODAY

FINAL: Markieff Morris scores career-high 26 in KU's 89-63 win over Colorado
Markieff Morris scored a career-high 26 points and added 15 rebounds, leading the Kansas men's basketball team to an 89-63 victory over Colorado on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.After not having a rebound in KU's game Monday against Kansas State, Markieff made 8 of 10 shots and 9 of 12 free throws while tying his career-high for rebounds. The effervescent personalities of Mssrs. Holley, Greene, Ferree and Olson no doubt spurred KU on to victory this afternoon. Bet those boys had a FUN day today! - Our KHS65 classmates who also graced the KU Campus, or still go there for sports events, have great taste in teams! See below for more KU BBall info.

Brady Morningstar contributed 16 first-half points on 6-for-8 shooting. He also made 4 of 5 three-pointers.

Morningstar attempted just one shot in the second half, missing a three. He finished with five assists, no turnovers and two steals in 36 minutes.

Marcus Morris (16), Tyrel Reed (13) and Tyshawn Taylor (10) also added double figure scoring.

With Texas' 70-67 loss to Nebraska on Saturday, KU pulls to within a game of the Big 12 lead.

KU (25-2) will play host to Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Monday.

BOB O'NEILL CELEBRATES ANOTHER BIRTHDAY

What a fun evening 2/5 sharing with Bob's family and friends as they surprised him with a great 65th birthday party at the Kirkwood American Legion Post 156 Steamboat Room. His sister drove in from New Jersey to surprise him~ he was also surprised by a slip on the ice and a broken arm! (It's all your fault Georgann, you started all these broken bones! My ribs are nearly well thankfully! Hope you are also repaired!) A special treat for the KHS65 crowd at last night's party was seeing Art Stout. He's aging of course, but getting around well. Back when Bob and CJ were married, many of Bob's pals were either off at college or off at war, so Art graciously served as one of Bob's groomsmen, pretty cool huh? Pat Moisio was there, aglow with Peter's latest news ~ a speaking engagment for the spring, and doing very well in his own apartment. Check out our other posts for information on her brother Peter who is a Down Syndrome success story!

Rox (Guels) and Jay Rassi are taking to the road. They leave next week for a few months in their new digs in Mesa, AZ. They will then return to a new home in Illinois northeast of here, closer to their children. We'll miss them right here in St. Louis County, but she promised to stay in touch electronically AND we're welcome to get in touch when in Arizona. Her email address & cell phone # are remaining the same. SO glad we got to see you guys last night Rox, and thanks again on the photorescue!

Darlene & Ken McBride joined the fun last night too as did Dave and Eileen Beardsley who are having another grandson in June! The guys seemed to be enjoying visiting with Art Stout. I enjoyed one of the three birthday cakes, two of which had edible pix of the birthday boy...one special picture from his childhood, the other a later portrait. Photos of him were spread around the dining room, and the festive streamers and balloons in red, white and blue set a nice patriotic ambiance for the evening. GREAT food too!!! If ya gotta have birthdays, doing it this way is a good thing! Thanks for including us CJ, and take care of that guy's arm!!!

Check out the website, http://www.khs65.com/; in addition to 13 pix from last night's party, I've finished posting all the elementary school pix I had in my "to do" stack. There are many missing names though, so I hope everyone will take a look and email names to me. The comment utility on the website is still down, haven't had time to delve into what sort of solution I can find to the spam problem on that site. All the pix from last night are posted in the top album, and many more in the Elementary School Pix album. You can SEE earlier comments, you just can't ADD comments! So please email me your identifications of our classmates.