Tht 45th Reunion Is History.....but

Oh, what a night

Late December (July) back in 63 (2011)

What a very special time for me

As I remember, what a night!

The party may be over, but the emails keep coming in. Here are a few comments from your classmates who could attend and those that missed it.

Mike and I had so much fun. We're sorry that we had to leave early, but Mike had to usher at the early service at our church. I hope for the 50th we'll have more classmates come in from out of town. Linda Pilliard Bickle

The event was a total success, and I enjoyed the evening very much. I wanted to thank you, in particular, for being such a superb contact person and information "reporter" for the entire group. I know you and other members of your fine committee have dedicated a lot of time and effort to making it a night to remember. . . in particular, it is hard to believe you made $20 go so far for so many. For real! $20 for an entire night of open bar and some very tasty food, as well as great music and a nice venue (the dance floor was the biggest I've seen and very smooth for dancing) -- amazing!! I will look forward to the 50th anniversary. Winnie (Wagner) Stufflebam

Please let the whole committee know that my husband Jim and I thought the reunion was great. After 40 years of marriage, even though we only see one couple regularly, he actually knows some of my classmates. Everything was great; venue, food, music; wish I had gotten there on time and stayed til the end. It was great; thanks so much for organizing it. And let me know if anyone wants to come to the gulf (AL); we have some great condos and would love to show you around. Carla Henke

And a two emails from classmates that could not attend:

Dear Dennis and Friends from '66,

A big hello from Texas to all of you! I'm with you in spirit tonight even though I can't be there in person. My husband and I live in a suburb of Houston and have been here over 35 years. We have two grown children, and I wish all of us could be there with you for me to 'show you off' to them and 'show them off' to you. God has blessed us. My parents moved here eventually, and my husband's family still lives in Granite City, Illinois. I wish the reunion timing had matched up with one of our opportunities to come up and visit them. Maybe next time!

I've enjoyed looking at so many of the pictures you have posted. Thanks for that. I wish I could have sat there with you in the photos, and especially in the pictures of the Dewey School group. So many dear faces. It doesn't matter how many years have passed - isn't it wonderful that we can look at the pictures and even though the faces are a little bit older, we can still see the young, fresh, real core persons who are still there!! That's the truth, and it's a joy.

Hug each other for me, remember me. I remember you all with great pleasure and thankfulness for everything we shared. Let me hear from any of you. I'd love it.

Best wishes for a tremendous reunion, and lots of love,

Danette Key Lawson
SW June '66

HI SUE @ ANDY SOUNDS LIKE EVERY ONE HAD A GREAT TIME. SORRY I COULDN'T BE THERE. IT WAS MY SON' AND MY DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAYS. BOTH BORN ON JULY 30TH FIVE YEARS APART. SORRY I MISSED IT. HAPPY TO SEE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME....YOUR FRIEND WHO HAD YOUR BACK FOR 4 YEARS ...HOWARD '' HOWIE '' MALLOTT.

Finally: here is a link where we will be posting up any and all photo's that were sent into the committee. And I am pretty sure that you can post them up directly since this is a group photo gallery. But if you can't just send them to any committee member and they will forward to me.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/photoPicker/albums.jsp

And if you want to see that classic reunion video produced over 25 years ago, you can see it on line at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45NR1HOBctM

More to come: August 13, 2011

Directions to the Southwest 45th Reunion

Even if you have a GPS its always good to have a map, you just never know when a solar flare will render your directional finder useless.

The Concord Farmers Club is located at 10140 Concord School Road, St. Louis, MO 63128.  If you need help here is their phone number : 314-843-7769.

Oh, and Sue says if you want to come help, just come on down (or up or over) and bring your stuff to pinup, tape up that you want your fellow classmates to see.

Your June 1966 Prom King and Queen!

Finally, a photo to post to the Class Reunion Blog!

I loved Mike Ansted like a brother, but how in the world did he beat out Dan Kelly, Joe Gresnick, Lou Galloway (who looked great at the 4oth reunion), and Tommy "I gotta dance" Kupferer, for the King of the June 1966 Prom? But I am proud out you.....you Shad you!

Now on the other hand, the Prom Queen must have been a real squeaker of a competition between Sue Latimer and I can't STOP dancing Trudy Prenavo and cute as a button (that's what her father called her) Patricia Bowolak.
Our congratulation to the class of June 1966 for pulling together such a good looking, athletic and congenial group to rain....I mean reign over THE BIG NIGHT.
For those of us graduating in January I just don't know what happened to my color picture of our Senior Prom court. Perhaps it's because I was overlooked for the honor. But I'm not bitter, I'm just grateful that I found someone to go with me to the senior prom!
But I hope to see more people at the 45 th that might have passed/missed/forgot to come to a previous reunion. I;m looking forward to seeing Larry Visos, Brenda Dunlap, Janet Waymire, Mike Willis, Gary Tash, and Melinda Soroka.....all from Dewey School in Dog Town.

Also looking forward to seeing some of my good friends like Sue, Joyce, Bev, Frank, Rob, Jeff, Gayle and Schmidt.
Unfortunately I know for sure that Tommy Gunn Kupfere and David Too Tall Dembeck will not be able to attend this year. If you have their email send them a sorry we mill you missive. Or better yet wrap up some food on the 3oth and send it to them via UPS. Only kidding, I am sure they have good reasons for not attending. I am just happy that they still know how to type (but not tweet) and send emails.
PS: a note from Linda (Karpinski) Compton that she is really looking forward to seeing some old friends. Don't worry, you won't find any young ones there Linda, but plenty of old ones! And a lot can change in the 25 years since your last visit.....be brave, very very brave. And don't wear your glasses or contacts, people will look much better!
That's it.
Dennis in DC

The 45th Reunion Menu

It's sort of sad, but I find myself getting more excited about food than..............never mind. For those of you who missed the memo, we are serving some pretty good food (catered by Lukasek Catering Service )and a variety of drinks to wash it down with.

Top Round of Beef (with a carving station no less)
Chicken Marsala
Green Beans Almondine
Rosemary Garlic Potatoes
Pasta con Broccoli
Italian Tossed Salad & Caesar Salad
Hard Rolls with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"
Coffee (reg/decaf)

AND an unlimited open bar that will offer:
Mixed drinks
Can soda
Draft beer (Bud & Bid Light-ok, it was a St. Louis beer when we started planning)
Wine (my best guess is white and red)

The schedule of events of the evening:
6:00 – 6:30 pm Registration
6:30 pm DJ will start playing music
7:00 pm Greetings/announcements
7:30 – 8:30 pm Dinner (light background music)
8:30 – 11:30 pm Dancing
11:30 – 12:00 Take down decorations/clean up

Stay tuned for list of graduates we have not heard from but should be here!

It's Getting Close To "That Time"

OK, forget about sending in the photo of yourself. As of now we have 0, nada, ZILCH interest in sharing any personal photo's from those fabulous high school days of 1966. But....you could send in a photo of someone else or just photoshop your head onto a hot body and then tell people that you're really, really sorry that you won't be able to make the reunion, and make them eat their heart out with curiosity.

What to wear? Assuming that the weather Will be hot, sticky and maybe raining (what is it with all of this moisture?) I will be wearing something light and cool. Maybe shorts with flip flops if it get into the 100's. Only kidding, I know how everyone in ST. Louis loves to dress up. I will be looking for my multicolor madras pants with two polo shirts (very East Coast, don't you know?)

Anyway, your reunion committee has been hard at work making sure that this gathering is a good, if not better than our last one. Who can forget Mr. Gladstone doing the gator on the dance floor? (you missed that????). Since my memory is fading this time I will bring my camera to capture those magic moments of seeing old friends. .

The only bad news is that I have been told that serveral of our wives will not be attending this reunion. In my case my wife has plans to rotate the tires of our two cars and then watching missed episodes of Glee on Hulu! My guess is that our respective spouses are thinking....."if you can get into trouble at your age, good luck, have fun and don't call me to bail you out of jail until noon on MONDAY!"

Seriously, I will miss the opportunity to meet your respective spouses, but then now we can have more fun talking freely about the really important things in life.....like what options are you going to take in Medicare, the virtues of holding off taking social security, and my favorite, 10 reasons why I have decided not to retire next year.

We're looking forward to seeing all of you. And if you have any special requests for the reunion, get em in sooner than later. And if you haven't sent your money in yet......you will have to beg Sue Day and Joyce Shimamoto on bended knee to take your money late (they are pretty much push overs though, so I wouldn't worry too much).

Take care!

Dennis Hayashi

Send those photo's in NOW

Don't make us guess who you are. Email your then and now photo's (or just the "then" or "now") and we will post them and share them with the world, or just the class of January 1966.

You can email your photo's to this blog or attach them to me at dhman48@hotmail.com, or to any of the Southwest commitee members ...... wait, I can't publish all of their names, they would hate me and spammers would start sending them viagra emails. So, if you want to correspond to the committee: Joyce, Rich and Bev, Buddy, Diane, Gayle, carol, Rob, Mike , Brenda, Patty, Paula or Sue.....just drop me an email.

Cost of the Reunion is $20.00 to cover food and music (open bar, because we know how some of you drink!) and the dress is casual.

Location is 10140 Concord School Road, St. Louis, MO 63128 (Google Earth or Map Quest the location)

Send us anything you want to post or share. But we won't share naked pictures (too much information).

Look forward to hearing from anyone out there graduating from Southwest High School!!!!!

Photo Postings At Long Last

Was It Worth The Wait?

Here at long last are the official photos of the fabulous 40th Southwest High School Class reunion. You can view and even download photos by going to Webshots which I hope is linked below. I will test this, as I know many of you will to see if it works. If it doesn't then I guess I will have to open up my Webshots account to you all. Its at www.webshots.com.

Yea it works, it works, just click the photo's below and you will be wisked away to all of the photo's, well, not all of then I did some editing.

Unfortnately I could not post up all of the names in each photo. I tried, but too many of you have changed (and I haven't ?) and my memory is sooooo bad. I also did not want to make any errors in pointing out people.

So, you know who you are, and you know who your close friends are…. just enjoy. Next time I’ll try to come up with a better naming convention so that other people like me can figure out who everyone is. I’m told that the inability to recognize people, names, places, dates, gets worse as we get older.

Hey but look at this way, at our next reunion we’re all going to meet lots of new and very interesting people!

If you have more photo’s that you have taken and want to share over the our Southwest Blog, send Brenda or me an email and we will post up for everyone. I have a few more that I will post, but suffice to say getting all of these up took me much longer than I had expected. Sorry for that. But this site will allow you to download photo's for free. I don't know if they will be high enough resolution, but I will tackle that in my next blog session.

If you do have photo's post them up on Webshots and send me the link so we can share your photo's. If you have high speed internet it will help you a lot. If you have dial up........it couid take you a while.

Thanks again everyone for a great time. I am now just getting over the let down of the reunion. Its sort of like climbing a mountain or going into space and then coming back to earth. Ok that’s a real exaggeration but I still wish I had more time to spend with all of you.

Anyway enjoy the memories and we will post more photo’s as we get them.

Now, lets see if this works!!!!!!!

Dennis



by dhman48



by dhman48

What Happened to Mike Hoffman?

Here is a note sent from John Filippello.


I just wanted to thank you for the tremendous amount of

work you did in creating a database of the 1966 graduates.

I spent this evening looking at what you had done, and taking

a walk down memory lane. I was very sad to see that Mike

Hoffman, who was a good friend of mine in high school and in

college, had died. Do you know anything about what happened

to him? In the fall of 1967 Mike and I double-dated to a party

held in the Stadium Club at Busch Stadium. The group performing

that night was the Ike and Tina Turner review. They were under

contract to perform until mid-night. When they took their break

at 11:00 p.m. everyone left except the four of us. The review did

that last hour just for us.

John Filippello

Can anyone help John find out more about what happened to

Mike Hoffman?

Brenda

Photos Hopefully Coming Soon

I know you all have been patiently waiting for your photos.
I have been hounding the photographer, especially since he
told me they were being mailed three weeks ago! Hang in
there, hopefully they will arive any day now.

Brenda

WOW, WAS THAT EVER FUN!

Our reunion was truly a fabulous and memorable event!

We certainly did renew old friendships, make some new

ones and danced the night away! Our committee received

many positive comments during the evening and continues

to receive wonderful e-mails about our unforgettable night.

We know that everyone seemed to have a spectacular time.

Our only regret was that the evening went way too fast, and

time just didn't allow us to talk to everyone!

Thanks to all of you who were able to join us, because just you

being there made that night so special. Many of you came from

miles away and thanks for that extra effort just getting here,

especially knowing that the power might be out where you were

planning to stay.

Thanks to Jay Mason and Brian Richardson for organizing the

golf outing.

Thanks also to Carla Tanner Close, Bob Ciampoli, Dennis Hayashi,

Carla Henke Mattson, Bev and Rich Schaefer, and Travel Corner

for donating our fabulous attendance prizes.

A great video had been planned for the evening produced by

Dennis Hayashi but because of technical difficulties that video

could not be viewed. The video included a look back of high

school memories plus a pictorial listing of those classmates who

have passed on. See the following post to view that list.

We hope the photograph orders will be ready soon. When we

hear that they are ready to be mailed we will post on the blog.

Links will soon be posted to view photographs from our amazing

evening.

Don't forget to "save the date" for our next event planned for

Saturday, July 24, 2010. We will attempt to organize a reunion

for all who graduated from Southwest during the 60's. We intend

to contact other committees from that decade to plan this next

reunion. We are open to any suggestions in order to make this

another great event. Please continue to visit this blog for updates.

If you haven't received a contact list and would like one, please

e-mail Sue Lynch Day and she will forward you one.

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us.

Best regards from your reunion committee,

Brenda, Dennis, Sue, Joyce, Rich, Bev, Nancy,

Tina, Henry, Charlie, Paula, Gayle, Bob, & Carol

Photo Links

Here are the links to some pictures at the Boathouse and Ted Drewes on Friday night, at The Christy on the 22nd, and at a Bob Cuban concert on Sunday. You should be able to click on all links to view the slide shows! Thanks to Nancy and Bob Kuhl for sharing your photos!!
If you have photos you would like to share just e-mail Dennis or myself the link.
brenszyd@charter.net
dhayashi@mediaop.com

Thanks,
Brenda


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=12qb6qi9.vbbjzql&Uy=kptwc8&Ux=0


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=12qb6qi9.cmm459p&Uy=zh0thi&Ux=0


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=12qb6qi9.qpz05kd&Uy=cuq8l6&Ux=0


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=12qb6qi9.gk5bsbx&Uy=-hdq4uf&Ux=0


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=12qb6qi9.dro5eg5&Uy=-yps17b&Ux=0


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=12qb6qi9.gqpetlx&Uy=-5bphcj&Ux=0


http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=12qb6qi9.kj1ocpx&Uy=yj7fwu&Ux=0


http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mrkuhl@swbell.net/album?.dir=/b550scd&.src=ph&.tok=phEsnQFBhxOCyOKj

In Memory of

The following classmates have passed away but we
continue to remember:

January Class
Linda Brueckmann
Donna Hampton
Lynda Lawrence
Steve Lohse
Vernon Lurkins
Bill Knichel
Tom Simcock
June Class
Dan Albrizzi
Mike Baylard
Gary Brown
Dan Blackwell
Hank Griffith
Artie Green
Carol Grouse
Mike Hoffman
John Koppe
Al McQueary
John Montogomery
Don Orlando
Jim Reid
Mike Schnyder
George Schroll
Dennis Skerik
Linda Souders
Jeff Wilfong
Richard Wortmann

If you know of others not mentioned above, please let us know.

Brenda

Do You Remember?

The most common question asked on Saturday night, July 22, 2006 was ..."Do You Remember? ....when we did whatever, who else we did it with, and maybe queried ourselves as to why we did what we did back in Southwest High.

Unlike earlier reunions, it wasn't really important to know where you worked, what kind of car you drove, or if you had a summer home with five grandchildren.

For me, I was too jealous to ask my fellow classmates if they were retired. In my case, I have a long working career ahead of me since my kids are still in college. But aside from that personal hangup, I was glad to see people that I had not seen in 40 years.

Yes, most of us could not really identify each other without cheating and looking at our name tags that had our high school senior picture. On the other hand there are people like Charlie Scott, RicSchaferer, Rob Ciampoli, Jeff McLellan, Dave Dembeck, Dan Kelly, Bev Kerr, Henry Plag, Charlie Heineman, Lou Galloway, Frank Zilm, just to name a few, who really look the same. In those cases we would point to the person and say.....Hey I know you your're...and we'd look at their name tags just to be sure.

Of course, the real problem with having 200 people in a large room, with music playing and conversations raging, is there were too many distractions and people to read all the name badges. Thank goodness people did take the initiative to grab people that they wanted to talk with. I was fairly lucky and managed to find people like Darlene Ketten, Dave Fannon, Stefan Kozak, Bob Rogger, Joe Rombolo, Dave Shaw, Cheryl and John Heddell, and a host of Dog Town childhood friends like Kenny Weissflug, Jane Ax, Jim Economon, Phyllis Rice, Beverly Graham, Gary Tash and Doug Nuelle.

But I missed talking with Don Frank, Alan Purvis, Willard Watts, Jim West, Judy Daman, Kathy Graf, Craig Hirsh, Mike Luther, Fred Stevenson and a lot of other people. I actually made a list this time of people I wanted to talk to, but even this wasn't enough. But I have a feeling that there were a lot of other people who felt the same way, a little overwhelmed.

People started to arrive as early as 6:30 and the banquet hall was literally throwing us out of the place at 12:30 am. There just wasn't enough time.

After the reunion, the next few days were a let down. I liken it to the feeling of just climbing Mt Everest. Maybe thatÂ’s an exaggeration. Never the less, judging from the emails the committee received and phone calls many of us had with old found classmates, the event was exhausting yet very satisfying. Perhaps it was a simple validation that our days at Southwest High, good and bad, made a lasting impression on all of us.

We will be keeping the Blog open, and posting photoÂ’s as we get them. So please stay tuned. If you want to get instant notification of new postings click the RSS box on the blog and it should automatically post to your email computer account. If you donÂ’t know what RSS is or means, it stands for Really Simple Syndication and it allow people to track Blogs or syndicated columns as they are written.

Stay cool St. Louis, and while there was a power outage that darkened over 300,000 homes and businesses, the Christy was lit up like a Christmas tree with lots of smiles, hugs, and dancing feet on Saturday night, July 22, 2006


Dennis Hayashi

All Systems Are GO--at THE CHRISTY

Hey Everybody,

Yes, St. Louis has been hit hard by the storms last evening
and many areas are currently without power! I stopped by
The Christy this morning, though, and all is well. Luckily,
that area has been totally spared any power loss! So, all
planned activities should be running on time!
My main concern right now is how am I going to blow dry
and curl my hair if my power at home doesn't return soon?

Brenda

Special Limo Service Offer!

News Flash!

Why drink and drive? That's the question that Roy Becker asked himself and he decided not to. He also thought that rather than ride alone in a spacious limo, he would offer to share the ride for $20.00 a head, with the first 10 people that needed or wanted a ride to The Christy.

That's right, for a total of $20.00 you can enjoy a roundtrip, air condioned ride in luxury to the Southwest High School Reunion, without the worry of the drive home. Round trip transportation with good friends and free drinks provided by Roy! Ladies, how can you beat a deal like this, and male classmates, why would you want to let Roy be alone in the limo with all of our female classmates attending the reunion alone!!!

Roy will have the limo pick up anyone in the city area. The limo will leave the Soulard area at 6:00 to begin picking up anyone who needs a ride.

The limo will also return passengers home after the reunion.

Keep in mind that a taxi will likely cost at least $40.00; a rental car $60.00; and a DUI about $200, so the donation of $20.00, including liquid refreshments in the Limo, is a terrific deal.

Roy asks that anyone interested to give him a call at 314-503-0383.

If Brenda and I did not have to help set up a few things at the reunion, we would both be in that limo with Roy.

Thanks Roy!

Dennis Hayashi

Greetings from Bob Kuhl !

This just in from Bob Kuhl. Pay attention now, Bob's only in town for the Reunion and flying in on Friday......be sure to get his email address at the reunion as well as his cell phone!


From Bob:

The clock is counting down and the excitement is building.

It looks as though a lot of work and effort has been put forth to provide a great time for all. I can't wait to hook up with old friends and classmates to relive the past and fast forward to the present. I especially want to hear the laugh of Ron Miano again.

I hope the committee will provide e mail address lists so we can stay in touch.

Unfortunately I am flying in late Friday and leave again early on Sunday and will miss a lot of these gatherings. I PROMISE to be here for a least a week for our 45th...Life has been great with no complaints. I retired in 2000, went back to work for a while,retired again,and just recently took on a part time job until November as an instructor for ATT and will travel a bit.

We make it back to St.Louis yearly and try to hit Drewes and White Castle at least once yearly. Hope to see everyone and be able to recognize you. See ya'll soon!

Remember you send it in and we'll post your message!

Greetings from Linda Jackson (Donnelly) and Carla Henke Mattson

That's right, there is still time to attend the Reunion, if you suddenly found some extra time, extra money, completed your move or had your grand child early, come on down (or up)to St.Louis. Just call Joyce 3 at 14-843-6946 or Brenda at 314-846-3345 or 314-359-9611

In the meantime, here are two emails that I just received from Carla Henke Mattson (who can now attend) and Linda Jackson (Donnelly) who unfortunately cannot attend)

From Carla:

After the early birth of our granddaughter, Sophia Grace Mattson, who was due July 22 (don't these kids plan anything for us), we are able to attend the SW reunion.

Although, my legal address is Orange Beach, AL, we travel from Lenexa, KS, (where my husband still works) and I'm able to do my work wherever. So you never know where I will be. (Editors Note: BE SURE TO ASK CARLA WHAT SHE DOES THAT SHE CAN DO ANYWHERE?) But I do look forward to seeing all of my SW friends.

My husband, Jim, and I just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary and have 2 married children, 3 grandchildren, ages 3, 1 and now newborn, which belong to our oldest son, Brett and his wife Heather. (EDITORS NOTE: BE SURE TO BRING PICTURES OF YOUR FAMILY!) They live in Lenexa, KS. Son # 2, Clint and wife Kate live in Gulf Shores, AL, youngest Tiffany is unmarried, starting her master's and is a first grade teacher and lives in KC, MO. We feel very blessed with our lives and look forward to seeing everyone. Carla Henke Mattson
Please post on blog site as I'm not smart enough. It's okay to give out my e mail. (Chmattson@aol.com)

From Linda Jackson (Donnelly)

Hi Dennis,

I read your article last week about Dewey School, just wanted to let you know I am a an active member of RED HAT group from Dogtown. No one I went to grade school or high school is in the group, thank goodness!! ( I will not be sending a picture of me in the hat). (EDITORS NOTE; THERE IS AN ENTIRE WEBSITE DEDICATED TO DOG TOWN AT WWW. And why won't Linda send a picture in the RED HAT )

After reading about Dewey I just sat there and had great memories of years gone by. I have driven by the school a number of times over the years and it still looks the same.

I really never left the area, just moved 25 miles south after getting married. (39 years this year) Three grown boys, no grandchildren. In fact my youngest son was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks while he was playing on Jr. College team Patti West's Wallace) husband and son were coaching.

If anyone ever hears from Linda Dunn please let me know how I can contact her.

Just thought I would let you know how good it was to hear about Dewey School. Sorry I can't make it to the reunion, may the next one.

Linda Jackson (Donnelly) July 2006

Thank you Carla and Linda for your letters and for sharing them on the Blog to those who cannot attend. I've decided to build my own BINGO card of all the people who are attending the Reunion to see, or help me track, who I have not caught up with at the reunion. The last few reunions I felt like I did not do a very good job of seeing everyone. Maybe this time I will take a digital camera just to make sure I get everyone........but then we will have professional photographer attending.

Keep those emails coming.

Dennis

It's Not Too Late

If any of you out there have suddenly decided that you might
like to join us on the 22nd, then it's not too late! The Christy
has now told us that we can add names up until the day before!
If you can join us please call Joyce or Brenda ASAP!!
Joyce 314-843-6946 Brenda 314-846-3345 or 314-359-9611

Don't forget to bring any memorabilia you might have and please
put your name on it!

WE WANT YOU!

Brenda

brenszyd@charter.net

Activities for week-end of July 21, 2006

Greetings Southwest Grads,

Our 40th week-end celebration is now just 10 days away! We have close to 200 who will be attending our reunion on Saturday, July 22 at The Christy Banquet Center. The Christy is located 2 miles west of Interstate 270 and is behind McDonald's in the same plaza as the Antique Mall. We will begin registration around 6:45. The bar will open at 7:00 and the dinner buffet will begin promptly at 7:45. Group pictures will be taken right after dinner and dancing around 9:00! We have extended our evening at the Christy until midnight. We also have some great attendance prizes which have been donated by some of our alumni!
Can't wait to see you all!!

We do have some activities you might wish to participate in.

1. Friday, July 21 6:00 pm The Boathouse Beergarden in
Forest Park (Live music 7-11)

2. Meet at Ted Drewes 9:00 pm

3. Saturday, July 22 11:00 am Golf Outing at the Players Club

4. Saturday, July 22 10-7 Festival of Nations at
Tower Grove Park This is an outdoor multi-ethnic celebration
featuring traditional dance and music, ethnic food, cultural and
educational exhibits, folk art demos, and international market.

5. Saturday, July 22 7-12 Southwest 40th Reunion The Christy
13242 Tesson Ferry Rd.

6. Sunday, July 23 10-6 Festival of Nations at Tower Grove Park

7. Sunday, July 23 1-5 Sugar Creek Winery in Defiance, Mo.
Live music. You may bring a cooler, but no alcoholic beverages
are allowed. They want you to buy their wine! For those of you
not familiar with Sugar Creek go west on Hwy 40 to Hwy 94.
After exiting on 94 go left toward Defiance which is about 12 miles.
After leaving Definace begin looking for the Sugar Creek sign and
drive up the hill to their parking lot.

Keep in mind these are just suggestions for a full and enjoyable
week-end! For those of you who are unable to attend any of our
events we wish you the best of health and happiness!
You will be missed!!

Brenda Nelson Szydlowski

Special Thanks For Those Donating Door Prizes

Not only is the 40th Southwest High School Reunion Golf Classic shaping up, thanks to the diligence of Jay Mason (I hope this outing doesn't cost you your club membership!), but so are donations for surprise door prizes.

I would tell you what the prizes are, but then, it wouldn't be a surprise. Next week I might share the names of some of the people who have made donations so stay tuned. I can tell you that it's not the value of the give-away, but the thought behind it.

So, if you want to donate things like a basket of home made cookies, wine from your cellar, a few days at a vacation cottage, a case of micro beer from your local city, stamps from your new foreign country, or a new kitten, jump right in with your offering.

But please, no old SW letter sweaters or jackets, and no old class rings.

Don't forget to bring photo's (old and new) to be posted on a board at the reunion. Many of us would really like to see your kids, and in some cases, your grandchildren. BUT REMEMBER TO PUT A CUT LINE WITH THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE......we may not recognize you, so give those of us with bad eyes and even worse memories a helping hand with names and dates!

Joyce and Sue have made the final dinner selections, and it sounds pretty good, something for everyone and it doesn't sound like you will leave hungry. We will post photo's of the event since there is strong interest in keeping this Blog going.

If you want me to post up any message, question or suggestion email me at dhman48@hotmail.com I promise to answer all mail. You can also send me email through this blog.

Finally, please do correspond to any or all of the reunion committee members. They have done a great job, and I can't say that enough. It is a thankless job, well, maybe not totally since I know that the few conference calls I have been able to participate in sounded like a lot of fun.

Stay tuned for updates.

Lost But Never Forgotten Classmates

Everyone has one high school friend that they really would like to see.

For me it's people like Larry Visos. We used to lie on our backs in his back yard watching clouds go by on 100 degree days in 100 percent humidity drinking orange soda. I haven't seen him in over 40 years. I tried to track him this reunion, but I only got as far as Washington DC. He is, or was a US postal inspector, but that's as far as I got.

Tom Jarvis, Mr. Madras, is another guy I would really like to see again too. He was always there with a quick smile and had pretty good sense of humor. After our 20th reunion there were rumors of Tom was in San Francisco, running the famous trolley. Tom are you still around and kicking?

But the most mysterious guy for me is Scott Geiger. President of the January class, co-captain of our football team and my freshman college roommate at Mizzou. Scott has been MI from our reunions for 40 years, no Christmas cards, no phone calls, no photos....up until now.

I do know that after graduation Scott went into the Marine Corps and maybe that was a turning point. Over the years I have met people and made new friends who prefer to live their lives in the present and want to leave the past alone. No looking back.


I get that. And I respect his decision to not participate with things like reunions. But all the same, I would like to see and talk with him. If I pissed him off (I could have in college) it's understandable I guess, but that still leaves 140 other classmates that I know didn't piss him off..............

So, you can imagine how happy when I got the following email from Debbie and Scott! For all of you who wanted to know what Scott and Debbiepulsationsne) are doing read on.

Hello, Dennis,

I think that I am pretty lucky. I still have all my body parts and hair -- not a bad deal as old as we are getting. The back and legs do not have the get up and go but all in all -- still going.

I work for a gas appliance distributor -- heating and A/C, gas logs, commercial heaters... Debbie is a kindergarten teacher -- Teacher of Year four or five times including this year. She has been for 30 years except for 11 years when she stayed home with the children. She was what she was put on earth to do.

We have two children. A daughter who is 30 years old and living in St. Petersburg, Florida. She got married on a cruise last year. A good time was had by all the family and friends. She is expecting our first grandchild any time now. Our son is 25 years old and living in Charleston, South Carolina. He works for a golf course/resort developer and loves life - good job, lots of friends and the beach.

At this point in time, I do not even know how to spell retirement! We hope to start a company involved with a new personal water craft -- new products are a slow painful process.

Actually, life could not be better. We live on a lake with 1 1/2 acres. We have made it into what we call our park -- spend most of our timpiddlingng around the yard and glad we still can. Every evening we take the dog for a boat ride in our little johnboat with a 10 H.P. motor. We do not pass too many boats, but who wants to. We have been very fortunate and are very grateful.

We still love to dance. Beach music/shagging is everywhere. But here beach music means Motown and 60's and 70's. Shagging is our dancing from the 60's. All the small towns around Charlotte bring in bands for Alive After Five and various street festivals. We eat too much and dance the night away.

We still help out at the high school booster club during football games. We are Mr. & Mrs. French Fries King and Queen!!! The kids go through about 400 lbs. of french fries per game. Concerts in the Park, exercise, friends who have become family after 30+ years fill our lives with laughter and memories of the kids growing up.

I hope everyone is doing well and that you all have a GREAT time at the get-together. We will be thinking about all of you. Attached is a picture taken during one of our visits to Charleston this year.

Tell everyone hi for us,

Scott and Debbie

For the record, I am really glad to hear from Scott and Debbie. I may never hear from them again after publishing this, but I have to tell you that it's sort of comforting to know that if you get pushy enough you can get a response from even the most reclusive of our classmates. I won't publish their email address since that would be an invasion of their privacy.

To that end, we do have email addresses of our classmates that responded to the reunion mailing. It 's not up to me, but I think those addresses can be available through the Southwest Reunion Committee. If in the meantime you see a name on the blog that you want to get in touch with, drop us an email and we will share it with you.

I know what you're saying "What if an x-wife or x-husband, a pregnant 16 year old, a process server, or worse yet a bill collector asks for your email address?

OK, Maybe it's not a good idea to share email addresses, so, if you do get an email that you don't want to respond to you can always say that it got caught in your spam guard, or your kids deleted it or your cat hit the delete button just as you were going to respond amd you will never hear from them again.

Keep those comments and emails coming. It makes writing this blog worthwhile.

Dennis Hayashi

The Attendance list as of July 17, 2006

Even though the cut off date for attending the Southwest High School 40th Class Reunion was June 1, you may be able to beg Joyce and Sue for a spot. Things are shaping up nicely and yes, many of us are getting pumped up, stoked, psyched, or jazzed about seeing old classmates.

I’ve had a chance to see Jeff McClellan and Doug Nuelle in just the past three months, all as part of the reunion communications. Yes we all change, and yet there are parts of our personalities that just don’t change at all. If I close my eyes I hear the same voice with the same inflection, the same “attitude”, the same sense of humor and it rekindles memories of great friendships.

A crossing guard at Dewey school once told me that when you get older you’re really lucky if you have one or two good friends. I’ve been extraordinarily lucky in that I have been able to keep in touch with quite a few grade school and high school friends, but I’d like to see about growing that list in about four weeks from now.

So, for those of you who would like to know who is coming and committed the money to confirm their place here’s the list. If you see someone whose name is missing or you don’t see your name that just means I’m working from an old list… which is possible.

But don’t fret, there is still some time, I think….

January

Arbeiter Davis, Paula & Jack
Arnold, Gary & Carolyn Milcic Arnold
Bippen Schoeneberg, Linda
Ciampoli, Robert & Carol Wall
Daman Finck, Judy & Bob
Dembeck, David & Sarah
Fannon, David & Sarah
Flores, Dennis & Darlene
Forst, Terry
Garavaglia, Wayne
Graf Lohmann, Kathy
Hayashi, Dennis & Lisa
Hirsh, Craig & Jean
Hrin, McGivney, Joan & Jim
Ketten, Darlene
Kozak, Stefan & Natalia
Luchan, Karen
Luther, Michael
Lynch Day, Sue & Andy
McLellan, Jeffrey & Judith
Miller Heddell, Cheryl & John
Nuelle, Douglas & Tonya
Parker, Dan & Kelly
Plag, Henry & Lahna Carlson-Plag
Raney, Douglas & Carol
Scherzer Shimamoto, Joyce & David
Schmidt, Robert & Malinda Moses Schmidt
Scott, Charles & Denny
Shaw, David & Rose
Skaggs McBride, Janet
Skaggs Greer, Joyce & Tommy
Stevenson, Fred & Pam
Tanner Close, Carla & Glen
West Wallis, Pat & Gale
Zilm, Frank & Peggy
Zotos Fakonas, Christine

June

Adams, Davis, Diana & Jack
Ax Harf, Jane & Marie Harf
Becker, Roy
Bloom, Lackland
Boneau Droege, Sherry & James
Bololak, Pat
Borcherding, Gary & Ginny
Brunkhorst, Stephen & Maggie
Boyd, Vivian
Bubash, David
Calloni, Ben
Chapleau, Brian & Linda
Chouquette Woolf, Gayle & Jim
Colvis, Steven & Connie
Cortivo Klein, Judy
Damore Washam, Rita
DeVeydt, Richard & Karen
Diesing Cooper, Linda & Barb Cooper
Drier, JoAnn
Economon, James
Edinger, Don
Fannon Kraiberg, Linda
Fazio, Mike & Cathy
Fleming Rigdon, Sandra
Folluo Goldak, Suzanne
Frank, Don & Diane
Galloway, Lou
Gorsuch, Childers, Pat
Gottl, Ron
Graham Winans, Beverly & Robert Hansee
Greenway Courtney, Judie
Harper, Charles & Linda
Heberer Niehoff, Janice & Gregory
Heineman, Charles & Margaret
Henke Mattson, Carla & Jim
Jackson, Linda
Jacobson Muschany, Nancy & Roy
Jacques Merle, Anne
Kamp, Chester & Joie
Kelley, Dan & Paige
Knapp Weinhold, Carol
Kuhl, Robert & Carol
Laidlow Miller, Linda & Sandy Laidlow Erxleben
Linberg, Nicholas & Pam
Mason, Jay & Chris
McDonagh Hunt, Geri
Miano, Ron & Cyndi
Miller, Frank
Mueller, Marlin & Janet
Nagel Wallace, Linda
Nelson Szydlowski, Brenda
Nichols Albertsmeier, Sandy
Parisotto Disabato, Karen
Pilliard Bickel, Linda & Michael
Prenavo Bowles, Trudy & Steve
Purvis, Alan & Barb
Rice Townsend, Phyllis
Richardson, Brian & Tracy Seamles
Roberts Palazzolo, Nancy & Joan Roberts Degregorio
Rogger, Bob
Rosenberg Sooter, Marty & Paul
Roy Pedretti, Sharon
Rumbolo, Joe
Schaefer, Richard & Bev Kerr Schaefer
Schawacher, Richard & Mary
Schoebeck Cole, Carol & Bill
Schoenberg, Otto & Patti
Schriefer, Jim & Rosemary
Sehl Williams, Marlene
Snider Voth, Linda
Spitler Daley, Barbara
Stratton Hill, Julie & David
Tamme, Michael & Kathleen
Tartucchio, Elvio
Tash, Gary & Sharon
Tobey, Susan
Voyard Boyd, Vivian
Wagner Stufflebam, Winifred
Watts, Willard & Vicky
Weissflug, Ken & Debbie
West, Jim
Weyand Brazell, Gloria
Wilburn Crabaugh Tricia & Bill
Williams, Jim & Melody
Winkler, Henry & Patricia

Teachers

Sid Tucker & Mary Jo
Kathleen Kinderfather


One of the things I promised myself that I was going to do is to make a list of friends I must see like all the gang from Dog Town. In fact, I want to get a group shot of all of the Dog Town guys and gals for the Dog Town Web site.

Then there's the members of the traveling Safari band, Dave Shaw, Bob Rogger and where is Ted Markland when you need him?

Members of the old football, basketball, and track, and my old chemestry lab partners and home room buddies.

You know who you are and yes bring your digital camera's. There may even be a professional photograher for decent group shots that we can purchase photo's from!

Greetings from Evelyn Fuqua

Dear Friends,

Sorry I will not be able to attend the reunion.

Would love to see and talk to some of you and see what you have been doing for the past 40 years. Attached is a picture of my husband and I that was taken last week while we were on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a combination vacation/mission trip.

We visited the Houme Rock Primary School while in Freeport and led a special program for the children. We delivered school supplies to them from our local Rotary Club and my husband who is a minister spoke to the children. Since the Bahamas is a Christian nation, as declared in their constitution, the message of Jesus Christ is welcomed.

Our group led the children in some enthusiastic songs and gave each child a gift. As always it was interesting to see what is going on in another culture. It also helps one realize how blessed we are here in the U.S.

Would love to hear from some of you.

Evelyn Fuqua Andrews
brotherpat@bellsouth.net

Thank you Evelyn for keeping in touch.

I hope the reunion blog helps you reconnect with some of your old high school friends. So much time has passed, yet it really only seems like yesterday that we were worried about what we were going to do with the rest of our lives. Well, we are about half way through our lives and by all appearances, you’ve done a great job.

Let us know if any of us can help you with your missionary work. God bless you and your husband Father Pat, and God bless America.

To find out who provided email addresses be sure to contact the committee. There will be a list published of all those who responded to our invitation, even if they could not attend.

Keep those letters, photo’s coming and we will post them.

Dennis Hayashi
dennis@mediaop.com

Dance Off In The Making

Tom, dancing feet, Kupferer had decided to throw down the gauntlet.

Deeply offended at seeing his name in the “missing in action” column of the Class of 1966 lost classmate list he answered with a provocative email.

Missing in Action? I beg your pardon. I am on a secret training mission in preparation for the big night. I was able to smuggle out a video (see below) of the rigorous training regimen that I pursue on a daily basis.

I am looking forward to a night of unbridled passion and a dance marathon. (but I would accept bridled passion too. In fact I might enjoy that more. But I digress)

I am currently at level one training or what, at your age, is better known as "once in a row." That, of course, is with the dance training. I have not yet reached the pinochle of my sexual training but, of course, it is difficult when one so often trains alone. But that is another story.......... Keep up the good work and enjoy the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg%20

PS Tell Buddy Scott I now weigh as much as he does and I'm looking for him.

Tom Kupferer

The outcome of watching this?

Tom has insuated that the June 66 class has better rhythm than the January 66 class.
Not wanting to let this challenge go unanswered, the January class voted to put Rob Ciampoli on the floor as our champion.

To sign up for sponsorships of Tom or Rob email them with your financial support at: tomkupfer@aol.com and robc@daycroft.org

Keep those cards, letters and emails coming.

Dennis Hayashi

Greetings from Melinda Soroka

Dear Class of '66:

I am glad to hear of plans for our 40th reunion. Rich and I have lived overseas for 22 of the past 24 years - in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and now Taiwan. After seven years in Taipei, we are returning to the US for retirement in the Hilton Head, SC area this month. We took up golf about 10 years ago and look forward to playing more now. I only wish I had learned sooner.

I caught up with Southwest classmates at the 20th reunion. At that time we were posted in Singapore. While in Singapore, I set-up a print communications company and handled publications and marketing media for clients such as Asian Home Gourmet, APEC, American Chamber of Commerce, etc. I missed the 30th reunion due to our move to Australia. In Australia, Rich was Army attache at our US embassy and I was the embassy's community liaison officer.

We moved to Taipei in 1999. Here, I was founding editor of a magazine for the expatriate community and was English language consultant to the Taipei mayor's protocol office. It was the mayor's goal to establish a bilingual environment within the city to make the city more international. I also had time for some volunteer work and golf.

During recent years, I have kept up with Brenda Nelson Szydlowski, met up with David Conner and his wife, Selina, in Singapore, met Virginia Jung Koenig at a dinner in Hong Kong, and met Frank Zilm on his way through Hong Kong to a computer modeling meeting in China. Once we are back in the US and unpacked we will decide if we can come to St Louis. It would be fun to catch up with old friends.

Many thanks to the reunion committees for organizing these events.

Best regards,
Melinda Soroka Welker

YOU CAN POST A MESSAGE TOO!

OK, What's your excuse for not posting with us? All you have to do is compose a note and send it to our blog, or just click comment on any blog and add a message. If you want to send a photo send it to dhman48@hotmail.com and I will post it (reasonably soon after) to the Southwest blog. Hey, it's starting to get warm here in Chicago, so that must mean it's getting hot in St. Louis.

See you all in July!!!!!!
Dennis Hayashi