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.

SMALL WORLD FUN IN KIRKWOOD

Well, somewhere I recently mentioned Miss Agnes Gundlach, our Robinson Elementary music teacher. I'll be darned if I can remember now where I mentioned her, but Dave London, our newest KHS65 member, was actually reading what I write and sent some memories of Miss Gundlach. If you remember her this will delight you. As I recall she was very tiny, very old, with very gray hair. Frail comes to mind also. I don't even know how I remembered her, perhaps in going through the scrapbook 'stuff' I am still unpacking...at any rate here are Dave's memories, for which we thank him. Also courtesy of Dave you'll find several grade school pix, St. Clements & Des Peres School, newly posted (along w/ lots of new Pitman & Robinson shots) on the website at http://www.khs65.com/. "The Miss Agnes Gundlach that was the music teacher at your grade school lived three doors from me on Vinetta Drive. I used to cut her lawn." And then he shared further, "Yes Miss Gundlach's yard was the "plum" of the neighborhood. It was passed on. When one age group got too old to cut lawns (usually coincided with driving age) the incumbent would have to find his replacement and teach him exactly how to cut her yard. She had a double lot with lots of gardens and the trimming took three times as long as the mowing. But she paid very well; $3.00 with a $.50 tip and fresh made lemonade. Charlie Hoeh (KHS62) passed it on to me and I passed it on to Larry Mica (KHS68)". And as Dave says, it's so fun to reminisce, but difficult to believe so much time has passed! THANKS again Dave ... let me know if you think of anything else to share!

Deaths in our community of KHS65 friends

Please keep the following families in your thoughts, these obituaries and Guest Books where you can send your condolences are from http://www.stltoday.com/:

Sunder, Edward W., Jr. born: February 24, 1919, passed away January 30, 2011. Edward Sunder was born and raised in Webster Groves, Missouri. He graduated from Webster High School and went on to spend one year at Washington University before being drafted into the United States Army in 1941. Ed spent his first 2 years in the infantry, where he trained men for overseas duty. He then was accepted into the Army Air Corps where he served his country in active combat duty as a B24 bomber pilot. Stationed in England, Ed flew over 30 missions for the 8th Air Force, 854th squadron, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1946 Edward moved his family to Kirkwood where he lived until 2008, when he moved full time to Naples, Florida. Ed spent 40 years in the insurance industry. He is a past president and chairman of W. H. Markham & Co. as well as CEO of Frank B. Hall of Missouri. He was an active member of his community. He served as president of the YMCA of St. Louis Operations Board, served the City of Kirkwood in several capacities, was a member of the Veiled Prophet and served as president of the Insurance Brokerage Industry Group NACSA. Ed was an avid golfer. He loved to write poems, sing, play the piano and be with his family. He will be dearly missed. He was the beloved husband for 49 years of Jean Brocksmith Sunder (1920-1992). He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Pearl M. Sunder; children: Sandra Sunder Lusk (Rodney), Paula Sunder Ross (Charles), Edward W. Sunder III (Kathy), step-son William P. Rector (Susan) and 10 grand- children and 10 great-grand- children. Services: Visitation Sat., Feb. 5, 3 pm until time of Memorial Service 4 pm at BOPP CHAPEL, 10610 Manchester Rd., Kirkwood. Interment private. In lieu of flowers donations to your favorite charity preferred. (http://www.boppchapel.com/)

And to our friends Nelson and Leslie, our condolences on the passing of Nelson's mother:

Wainwright, Mary Colette (nee Wehner) October 27, 1918 - January 29, 2011. Wife of the late Nelson Wainwright. Daughter of the late Josef and Emma (Jacob) Wehner. Sister of the late Joseph (Margaret) Wehner, the late Marcella (Bill) Hilse, the late Angela (Roy) Neumann, and the late Norbert (Elvena). Mother of A. Don (Mary), C. Royal (David Robbins), and W. Nelson (Leslie). Grandmother of 5, great-grandmother of 5, aunt, great-aunt, sister-in-law, and friend. Colette skated professionally with the Ice Follies and was a top-ranked amateur golfer with 9 holes-inone. The family wishes to thank the staffs at Cedar Creek Assisted Living and Hospice of Citrus County for the wonderful care that they gave Colette. Memorial donations to Evans Scholarship Program, University of Missouri Columbia, 923 Maryland Avenue, Columbia, Missouri 65201; Hospice of Citrus County, Inc., PO Box 641270, Beverly Hills, Florida 34464; or a charity of your choice. Services: A graveside service will be held 2:30pm on Saturday February 26, 2011 at Fountains Memorial Park, Homosassa, FL. The family will receive friends from 12pm until 2pm at Wilder Funeral Home, Homosassa Springs, FL. Condolences may be offered at www.wilderfuneral.com.