Class Notes

Because I only received two e-mails for this edition, I would like to make sure that I have all the e-mail addresses that are not on my list. So, if you have not been receiving any requests for information in your email (from me) and do have one, please send it to me. I also would like any letters that you would care to send; even a phone call would be nice. Most of what I have came from Christmas cards or emails sent after the deadline in December of 2015. My mailing address is: 1481 Balboa Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. My phone number is (805) 543-0366.

From Polly Stoddard Heim‘s Christmas card there was news of Ken’s death in November of 2015 after a short illness. Their house was sold in McCall, so she has been doing some sorting as well as learning computer skills to manage financial tasks.

A short note from Barbara Trites Peterson saying didn’t we all have fun at the reunion and wishing that more of you could have made it.  And yes, we did talk about you all and good times.

Anne Dunaway Criswell wrote that she was sorry to have missed our 60th, but Floyd’s reunion was the same weekend in Kentucky. Her roommate, Frances Smith Schoeninger, did some detective work, found her, and contacted her—proof that my class notes do work and are read.

Long Christmas note from Dottie Booth Sanders. Dottie has enjoyed spending time with her sister, Boofie, and talking daily on the telephone. They spent a weekend in Georgia with their cousins at their lakefront cottage. Dottie got to visit Boofie in Nashville to see her nieces perform and direct theater there. Her husband, Dewey, has been blessed to do three more marathons (77 total). Their children and grandchildren are doing well. Both boys are active in soccer, one on the NKY all-star team while the other is on the JV team. Both boys now start traveling all over college showcases with their academy teams. Lastly, the Sanderses traveled to Florida, the Panama Canal via a cruise, Northern Michigan, West Texas, Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. She said it was a great year.

Joan Kleinknecht wrote to say thanks for the news of the reunion and wondered if we could fit in UMW today. Well, yes we could, as the changes and new buildings are wonderful. The people that couldn’t fit in would be our old housemothers, they are somewhere spinning I’m sure. Joan, thank you for your kind words on retirement.

From Anne Lou Rohrbach Culwell, recounting 2015: A few more aches and pains, but still up and moving and working. She had a family increase this year, two granddaughters married in April and October plus the oldest great-granddaughter has two wonderful little boys. She also had a very unusual summer with a lot of rain, green foliage, and no tornados. (This was last summer and I hate to think what this year has been like.)

Anne Lou says she is getting to be a homebody and a trip to Dallas is now a big trip. She has five friends that she goes out with every Friday night for dinner and then to one of the houses for dessert and coffee. Her stepson passed away last August who was an only child and started their tribe of four children, 17 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and three more due in 2016!

Charlotte Fisher Klapproth writes, “Vacation? What’s that?” (This was from November of 2015.) She and Chris have been nowhere because it was too hot in Delaware. They can no longer handle the heat and humidity of summer anymore. They stayed home and listened to the news of zillions of people who came to the beach for vacation. By the middle of June she was ready for them to leave their money and go home. Now they are in the “shoulder” season and they enjoy the restaurants with no crowds and no waiting lines. Last Thanksgiving they went to Baltimore as helpers for their daughter’s recovery from her second hip surgery and “dog care” for the two dogs.

Patricia “Patty” Seibert Siegel writes from Oceanside, California, that she and Mike are retired and doing whatever they want every day. She says it’s fun to have the free time to do anything and go any place in the summer. It was the racetrack at Del Mar and museums in the winter. She has a dream that she would love to see all old friends together—LA-area friends, school friends, and back east friends. Maybe someday? Patty and Mike have three girls, two in the Oceanside area and one in Torrance, and, if I counted correctly, they have five grandchildren. In June of this year Patty and Mike were invited to join other San Diego alumni for a get together to say goodbye to President Hurley as he toured the area on his farewell visit. They went on a harbor cruise with other alumni and friends and listened to President Hurley tell about his years at UMW.

I had a quick phone conversation with Carole Kolton Bryson. I told her some stories about last year’s reunion. Her news was that she had a great-grandbaby born this year in Nashville.

Ok, before I get started on Sally Hanger Moravitz‘s news I want to apologize to her husband, Fran, for inadvertently leaving his name off of my report of people who attended our 60th reunion! We are all too familiar with misplacing various items in our houses like keys, cell phones, and the like, but this is the first time I have misplaced someone’s husband. Gee, it’s fun getting older isn’t it? So from Sally’s holiday letter, this is her news: The two of them took a Viking cruise on the Rhine which was a wonderful trip and they loved the cities they visited and the countryside. They were able to attend a mass at Strasbourg Cathedral, which was magnificent. They especially enjoyed Cologne, as it is a historical city with the floors of a Roman house uncovered for viewing from the street next to a contemporary art museum. Both of them went to Fredericksburg for their granddaughter’s graduation from UMW and then they BOTH came back for the 60th reunion.

Sally then went to her Fairfax High School reunion held at Stump Run Farm in West Virginia. The cabin was built in the 1700s. Lord Fairfax owned the land before the Stump’s bought it in 1749. Sally attended a Sacred Dance Festival in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a side trip to Chautauqua. She is still volunteering at the Insect Zoo and doing low impact Jazzercise. More news from the last e-mail: She and Fran were scheduled for a western Caribbean cruise out of Baltimore last February. She said they were carded because the excursions (snorkeling) were closed to anyone over 80! Turned out it didn’t matter since the weather was so rough that no one got to go!

I would like to tell you that I have done all sorts of exploring. However, the only exploring has been in the garage discovering all sorts of treasures that I didn’t know I wanted or even had. It seems that I have spent a large part of my life collecting and now the last part of my life seems to be selling, gifting, or donating. I really, really miss The Dance Shop and the customers. I watched many children grow up and have children of their own and was starting on the next generation. I also know more about the people who inhabit this city than I really wanted to know. But I live in a beautiful part of our country between ocean and mountains and can still enjoy life, rusty joints and all.