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Do it with Class

7/14/2023

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The forecast for Wednesday morning was strong storms, high winds, hail, and possible tornadoes. I decided it might be prudent to wait to head north. Finally left about 12:30 and ran into no weather issues. I did start having a problem with the windshield seal. Always something. But I arrived safely and got set up, just in time to meet several classmates for supper. We went to the Wharf in Sheffield, a great bar and grill. I had an excellent chicken sandwich and the best sweet potato fries I have ever had. They returned me to the campground in time for one of Beed's Lake's wonderful sunsets.

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Yesterday, I started the day with a walk over to the old beach and bath house--a unique CCC structure. It was already warm and humid and the weatherman was promising more storms.

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Then it was time to get ready for our "reunion". We haven't had one since 2015, and normally we start planning months ahead. This year, I planned to come up to Hampton  during fair week because a couple of good friends, Connie from Indiana and Pam from New Mexico, would also be here. About a week and a half ago, Pam suggested we send out an email inviting anyone around to meet for lunch yesterday at the Rustic Brew, a local coffee shop and lunch spot. The problem is that none of us have an updated email list, but I gave it a whirl. A few responded and early in the week Pam arrived in town and stopped in at the Rustic Brew to make arrangements. She told the owner that we expected five, possibly up to ten. The owner said we could use the back room and she would set it up.

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However, as the meeting time neared, more and more people showed up. They had to bring out two more tables. We ended up with fourteen class members and twenty people total. Connie had brought a pile of old photos and clippings that were passed around and giggled at with a lot of "OMGs!" The Brew staff was amazing, adapting quickly to each new influx of people and serving excellent food. We visited for a couple of hours and then attempted a group photo.

Now this is a class that organized and and raised $10,000 for a two week trip to the east coast after we graduated, 63 years ago. We shoveled walks, held bake sales and paper drives, and in general tried every fund raiser we could think of. We helped with the itinerary, chose our chaperones, and wrote a code of conduct. You would think lining fourteen people up for a photo wouldn't be be too great a challenge. You would be wrong. Should everyone turn sideways and face one way or toward the center? Should some sit down in front? Where's Dennis? No rabbit ears, now. Suck in your stomachs! Anyway, we got it done and, promising to keep in touch, went our merry ways. A great time!


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Rerun on Reunions

7/11/2023

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This weekend I will journey north to Hampton and Beed's Lake. The Franklin County Fair is going on and several of our rapidly dwindling class are gathering for an informal reunion. Here in town, West Liberty graduates will be congregating for the All-School Reunion. So I am reprinting a blog I wrote when my class had our last reunion--55 in 2015. We should have had our 60th in 2020 but you know what happened there. I still feel the same.

What's in a Reunion??7/19/2015

We are down to one event left at our 55th class reunion--brunch at the Country Club this morning. Some will have already left, necessitated by travel distances and other commitments. The last two nights we had excellent dinners and Friday night ended with the Sky Lantern launch in honor of our 23 departed classmates--a fitting and sobering tribute.

But it occurs to me that class reunions are one of those things that people either anticipate and love, or never go to and couldn't care less. I can't speak for the second group, but I think the appeal to the first group goes beyond reminiscing about silly antics, crucial football games and favorite (or least favorite) teachers.

These are the people with whom we shared that unbounded optimism touted in commencement speeches. We knew it all. We didn't have it all but we planned to. We were the first post-war, post-Depression generation. America was at the height of power and prosperity loomed. Although high school had its trials and heartbreaks, we were sure as adults we would have full control of our lives and avoid the mistakes of previous generations.


We knew each other before, as the saying goes, "life happened while we were making other plans." Before college expenses, job issues and losses, and Vietnam intervened. Before we found out that children are actually little humans and no amount of earnest parenting could prevent bumps in their lives--some minor and some life-threatening or ending. Before we knew what real romance and real loss were.

So now, on the downhill side of life, spending time together brings back a little of that 'top of the world' feeling. And by the 55th, it isn't competitive. No one really cares what you've done, just who you were 55 years ago and who you are now.



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From High Tea to Roll Out the Barrel

7/9/2023

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The Midwest Glampers are nothing if not inventive and adventurous. Saturday morning was spent dealing with the May flies, breakfast, and telling lies. After lunch, Ann and Betty hosted a high tea. Hats were encouraged and several busied themselves creating fanciful chapeaus  out of paper plates, bowls and found flowers.

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A quick change of clothes and then we were off to nearby Potosi to the 170 year old brewery and brewery museum, which donates all profits to charity. The occasion was an afternoon of music with singer-guitarist Bryan Popp in their beer garden. It was a beautiful day but warm, and when we arrived all of the umbrella tables were taken. So we perched along a stone wall and enjoyed the music, gradually melting. Before long, a woman approached me and said they had a small table at the back and were leaving--would we like it? I may have been looking a little peaked, being the oldest in the group. We grabbed the table and soon another opened up so everyone had seats. A fun afternoon.

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After a quick visit to beautiful gardens across the street, we returned to the campground. Ginge and I feasted on our leftovers and missed out on some board games and bubble blowing. Activities that were scrapped due to the May flies included kayaking and croquet. We toasted Butch with root beer floats. After a beautiful sunset, some of us retired while others enjoyed a campfire. I can't tell you much about the campfire. This morning the May flies had pretty much departed and we tolerated the trains every half hour or so. All in all, a great weekend!

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Glampers and Cheeseheads

7/7/2023

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This weekend was a Glampers trip to a campground we haven't tried before, Grant River Recreation Area near Potosi, Wisconsin. The sites are nice and level with a fair amount of trees. Our group is all together in one loop.

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 There are two visitors we didn't expect. A railroad track runs along the east side and there are freight trains about every 15 or 20 minutes. And Thursday night, there was a hatch of may flies. By yesterday afternoon, many of the campers closest to the river were covered. The good news is they won't be around long. As someone said, they have 24-48 hours to hatch, mate, breed, party, and die.

Yesterday morning, we loaded into two vehicles and went in search of a cemetery near Cassville where Sandy's great-grandparents and several other relatives are buried. On the way, we passed a couple of huge solar fields.
Afterwards, into Cassville for lunch at the Town Pump restaurant. Good food and ambience. They were out of several things and we had to tolerate a loud guy on a business call. He shouldn't have needed a phone, based on the decibels of his voice. But it was a good time anyway.
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We had planned a progressive supper with an interesting twist. Everyone was to plan a food item in honor of a loved one. We began at Lydia's for saltines with butter and radishes in memory of her grandmother. Sandy also had saltines with butter, but with nutmeg added, as her dad had loved. Jackie fixed tacos in the way her parents made them when they lived in Arizona after World War II. They always added canned peas as filler when money was tight, so we had them that way. Sisters Betty and Ann provided the main course, ribs, sauerkraut, and cheese in memory of their grandparents and Ginge brought Doug's favorite, deviled eggs. Wendy had strawberry shortcake because her dad had always raised strawberries. Be cause we getting pretty full, we decided to forgo my offering of root beer floats--Butch's favorite--until tonight, and went to Shelly's for after dinner drinks. She talked about her grandmother, from whom she learned a lot about gardening and she had made elderberry syrup which she used to make drinks with rum, soda and lime. By that time, we were ready for bed.
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    Some random thoughts about writing, camping, and eating.

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