(NEW)
What
the Class of '57 Is Doing Now
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The
reunion showed us how good it is to renew high school friendships, to
find out about old friends, and to learn a bit about what our
classmates are doing now.
The Smitty's luncheons show how comfortable these friendships can be,
and that it is fun it to remain in contact with classmates and hear
their stories. And something else we've discovered is that there are
a lot of interesting things that we still don't know about each
other. So, to further this camaraderie, we are looking for stories of
your trips, of family activities, or about hobbies
Below
are several interesting classmate stories of trips, a write-up of a
new business venture, hobbies and retirement activities. These are
only some examples of what we can include. To kick this off I
solicited a story from BJ Bolton who kindly agreed to provide a
report on her recent vacation trip. Being the Guinea pig, so to
speak, I want to especially thank BJ for her willingness to help. (BJ
might say that “solicited” is not the right term for our
request -- “arm twisting” would be more like it.)
We
hope others will consider sharing stories of hobbies or vacations or
every day life
in
our retirement years. Material may be as short as a paragraph, or as
long as several pages. None of us are likely to invent the next
Internet or anything really spectacular. And none of us are likely to
win a Hemingway award for creative writing. That is not what we are
looking for. Rather, there are a lot of interesting things that folks
are doing and we want to hear about those in your words (you don't
have to be a writer or even write in complete sentences – we
are happy to offer editorial assistance). So please think of a
recent
activity that was interesting or fun, write it up, and send it along.
If you don't want to write, but know someone who has a good story to
tell, send me a note – I'll do the arm twisting – bob.
Contact
us
(Ignore
the spam blocker. I will see it.)
If
you enjoy these stories, send the author a note. E mail me at the
link in the paragraph below or BJ if you need an address.
Click
on the titles below to go to the stories:
Iris
Phillips Salvation Army Lassie
Tom
Preston - Sailor and Snow Bird
Iris
Phillips Bolstad -- Designer, seamstress, banner constructor and
float decorator and Turn-of-the-Century "Salvation Army Lassie"
Editor's
note – Pat Quinn Bryant, who is our star contributor to this
site, forwarded a series of photos of the recent 2009 Apple Blossom
Parade. Included were photos of the Salvation Army float, and a photo
of Iris dressed as an early 1900's British “Lassie”.
Guessing that there was more to this than the photos conveyed, I
wrote to Iris for more information. What I learned is that Iris
hatched the idea for the Salvation Army's parade entry -- the float,
the costumes, the banners and most everything else. She designed the
float and uniforms, made several of them, along with the terrific
banners, and supervised every aspect of getting the show on the road.
As a result largely of Iris's efforts, the S.A's entry was awarded
the prize for "Most Original Special Unit". Following is
Iris's write up of that project.
I
became involved with the Wenatchee Valley Corp of the Salvation Army
when I invited by Ruth Ballard to help with decorations for their
100th Year Banquet Celebration in 2008. She then invited me to join
the board. The board members were so much fun to work with that I
decided that would be a great place to serve the Wenatchee Community.
They have been wanting to enter the Apple Blossom Grand Parade but
had no one to head it up. So, what a team they made. It was a very
nice experience - great fun! I started in Feb and worked solid making
banners, costumes, and float decorations: apple blossoms, hearts,
leaves, the 8 foot cross, lettering, etc. I traveled to Seattle to
get supplies from the costume and display store. I made a miniature
mock-up of the design for the March meeting and they accepted it
right away.
The
theme of the parade was "90 years of volunteers". Our theme
was "The Salvation Army, 101 Years Serving Wenatchee Apple
Valley" Each one of the words was made into a banner. I was
dressed as a turn of the century Salvation Army Lassie with the red
cape and bonnet that was worn by the British ladies. Bob Lovendahl
loaned his golf cart, Delvin Schorzman and Jim Sullivan built the
frame for me to decorate. It made such a neat mini float. We had 22
people marching in the unit carrying flags and banners. The banners
were made of lamẻ,
satin, velvet, and 90 yards of sequins. The float letters were made
of velvet and glued onto a satin background. The cross was made of
tinsel scrolls mounted on a welded steel frame. The red jackets were
purchased at Wenatchee Mills Brothers, the red hats came from the
Leavenworth Hat shop. All that red and white just popped with a
flamboyant display of color.
The
Salvation Army uses a lot of red in there banners and symbols so I
picked that color to coordinate with the main banner. It also goes
along with that wonderful red delicious apple that Wenatchee is so
famous for. We tried to tie in the pink apple blossoms, the red
apple, and the heart of giving, sharing, caring as a volunteer
organization to fulfill the Parade theme of "90 Years of
Volunteer
My
son Ted carried the apple banner. So, he got a taste of the community
spirit that Wenatchee has had for the last 90 years. He just moved to
Chelan to manage the Lake Shores Resort. We are so please to have him
and his family close. They have been in Florida.
########
My
Wig Business and other Activities -
Iola
(Long) Simmons 8/28/08
Editors
Introduction – If you've been reading the stories on this web
page you've learned that I get leads on interesting classmates from
others. A name that has been mentioned by several classmates is Iola
Long Simmons. I was told that Iola is a go-getter and has been into
the wig making business and quite a number of other interesting
endeavors. So I wrote to Iola and have found that that she is indeed
a remarkable woman who keeps busy! I'm happy that Iola shared a bit
about some of the interesting, and in some cases, rather amusing
ventures that she has pursued -- another of the many diverse and
interesting activitis of our classmates that are fun to learn about.
First,
I need to clarify that I did not "make" wigs. I started my
little business after finding that cancer victims had nowhere to go
in Wenatchee that had a supply of wigs to try on and look at. So I
took the plunge, invested in a quantity of wigs and became
Wenatchee's only wig retailer of any size. I fitted wigs and toupees,
removed bulk, cut, advised and did what I could. It was a fun
business that helped people and turned out to be needed and rewarding
– particularly so with cancer patients and alopecia victims
with serious hair loss problems. The attached photo of two “falls”
shows an example of what I did. In this case, I sold and then
re-curled these when they gradually straightened out like they do.
The owner wanted one tighter and one looser curl. This was
fascinating to me as it was complicated and dicey being they were
synthetic fiber, not real hair. When we sold the house, I closed the
business and most of my inventory went to the Wellness Place. I later
found out they were buying at retail prices with donated monies and
giving wigs to cancer patients. I really freaked out. I made calls
and got them wholesale prices for charities from a very economical
company and now when they order I go help them.
As
you might guess, there were some interesting stories associated with
the wig business. An early experience involved a stocky, very
“lumberjack” kind of guy who came in looking for a couple
of long wigs which I assumed were for his wife. He picked out one
blond and one dark, both snazzy looking long wigs. When I mentioned
something about his wife, he said they were actually for him and then
he began asking about makeup. I asked him how far he wanted to go
with this….was he going to shape his eyebrows. He asked what I
meant and I said pull the excess hairs out to make them feminine. His
eyes bugged out of his head and he said he wouldn’t go that
far. He said his girlfriend would help him with the makeup. (Sigh of
relief) I guess you just can’t automatically assume these guys
don’t have girlfriends. The wigs were supposed to come in one
afternoon, but that day it snowed and they didn’t get in until
after dark and this guy was going to stop by around 8 PM and pick
them up. In that I was alone that night I felt a little panicky. I
called my friend Joy
Juchmes
and
asked her if she’d call me around nine and see if everything
was alright. She gets her best “Mom” voice on and says,
“WHY!!!” I told her. She said, “NOOOOooo I’m
not gonna call you !!!!! I’m comin’ over!” Thank
you Joy from the bottom of my heart. The guy came completely dressed
as a sexy woman sans hair and I put his wig on him, fixed it and he
left for a party in Spokane…. Oh, yeah, he had to come back to
the door because……he forgot his purse…. I just
couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. We girls do that
sometimes…. forget purses.
Another
also involved a cross dresser, a CPA from the coast, who called one
Saturday morning and said someone had snatched his wig from his head.
This had occurred as he, while dressed as a woman, and his girlfriend
who later became his wife, walked in Leavenworth the night before. He
wanted a blond wig. I learned more than I ever cared to about
cross-dressing. He was a handsome young man but he wasn't a very good
looking woman. I didn't tell him that, either one! Later, I found out
that my husband had stood at the top of the stairs and listened for
my voice while this transaction was occurring. He said that as long
as he could hear me talking he knew I was okay. If things got quiet
he had his hero shirt on. (Are
we beginning to learn a bit of life that most of us don't usually
think much about?? bob)
Finally,
one more from the wig business – To illustrate that the wig
business isn't limited to women or cross dressing, I did business
with an elderly gentleman in his 80s who wore embroidered cowboy
shirts and black jeans and drove a spiffy small convertible. He
didn’t want to ever have an appointment for his toupee
care-taking on a Tuesday because that’s the day the senior
center had their dance in the afternoon. He would drive in from a
smaller town with his lady friend for those dances and didn't want to
have to stop by and let her in on our toupee secret. (Too
bad you're no longer in business, Iola. I could definitely use your
services – on the QT of course -- Bob)
Moving
beyond wigs, things to do just find me and I have pursued a number of
ventures – too many to describe here. However, I will share a
few. When we sold our house in E Wenatchee to move to a retirement
complex I had to laugh at the flyer our agent made; the pictures were
so out of perspective they looked cartoon-like. I explained to her
what I meant and she asked if I’d like to partner up with her
and be her assistant. Oh Yeah! My first job was photographing a house
in Chelan that then sold in 3-5 days for around $270,000. I learned
to do virtual tours and upload data to the MLS. It turned out the
unexpected fees for use of the MLS and the unexpected agency fees
made the whole thing less attractive, but it was fun for a year. It
felt good to know I can pass the Real Estate course and exam for
licensing so it wasn’t in vain. I did NOT, however, want to be
an agent at this junction in life.
Another
more recent activity -- I love learning the computer and it has
become a channel out when I’m housebound. One particular
interest I've developed is participation in a discussion group –
a group of diverse folks who have started our own “thread”,
(i.e., a separate discussion about a common interest. ) The
particular “thread” is an off-shoot of a fan page for a
particular musician. There are many threads and I didn’t feel
comfortable with any of them. But it turned out that there was
someone else who felt that way and that person posted the question
‘Are there any other grandmothers who like this music that we
listened to when we were young?’ So I joined in and now, on
this one web page along with many different forums, there is one
little thread of discussion by 44 grandmothers that was formed in
only 37 days. It’s the busiest, most posted to thread on the
whole webpage. We are located all over the US with one from UK and
one from Halifax, Nova Scotia. We are forming friendships and support
for one another. Interestingly enough, our musician’s own
grandmother is in our group. I made our logo which will also be on
every card we make. I also made the first card which will be
delivered by his own grandmother at his concert on Sept. 10th.
And, I’m the go-to person for shirts made with our logo on
them. Lots of busy work for this thread.
Those
projects have been the "window" God leaves open when he
shuts the door. This may sound silly or trivial to many, but I'm
caregiver to my ill husband and that always has its ups and downs and
stresses. I've found having something of my own to enjoy gives me
balance to do it all better and stay strong.
And
did I mention cake decorating? Yep, I gave that a try also as you can
see in the accompanying photo. This is a photo of one of my cakes.
And
finally, I will share one other thing that I have found that has been
helpful to me and others like me with fibromyalgia or other chronic
pain. Making yourself get enough exercise is a problem when it hurts.
A commonly used devise that is designed to assist in relaxing muscles
that are in spasm is called a TENS UNIT. For those who are unfamiliar
with this, it is a gizmo that sends an irregular electrical impulse
to muscles in spasm and they often get confused and release. But I've
discovered something that works better for me. Specifically, I've
"re-found" my love for music and it's helping a lot. I've
found that music in one's ears makes one concentrate on just the
music and you don't recognize, or it masks pain messages to your
brain until the pain is a much bigger message. What that does is let
one work longer, walk longer, do more before pain becomes too
discouraging. My doctor is so impressed with that whole idea and the
results of what I call my "TENS UNIT For The Brain and Pain"
that he now is getting an MP3 player too. If that helps one person it
will be worth all the lifted eyebrows I can feel going up.
Although,
I have had a variety of vocations, like many I am also enjoying
watching my children, grand and great grandchildren grow and develop
lives of their own. What is more interesting than people, she quips?
###
From
Sailing on Puget Sound to Wintering in Mexico, Tom Preston is staying
active!
– Tom
Preston (6/08)
Editor's
Intro -- From time to time over the past several years I have
exchanged e mails with our old Columbia friend and classmate, Tom
Preston, in which he has mentioned his various hobbies including
sailing on Puget Sound, restoring a tugboat, and wintering in
Mazatlan, Mexico. I asked Tom if he would be willing to describe and
share a bit of his experiences with us. After the usual amount of
prodding and arm twisting, Tom agreed and sent along the following
information. I think you will agree with me that this glimpse of
Tom's active and unique retirement life is another a great example of
the interesting lives of the Class of '57 -- and another one that
makes me feel very lazy. -- Bob.
I
lived in Wenatchee for most of my life, having worked for the PUD for
34 years where I was a Senior Power Systems Operator. I retired in
May 1997, but continued there on contract for another year. However,
my wife Diane and I pursued other hobbies and interests during
vacation time and weekends on the coast and also in Mexico, a
location which we love and which has become our second home.
Diane
and I have enjoyed sailing for many years. The first boat was a
Catalina 25. Next we owned an F-27 trailerable trimaran for some ten
years, primarily sailing and racing on the Puget Sound (see photo).
After selling the trimaran a few years ago, however, we more or less
accidentally became power boat owners. I say “accidentally”
because we went to the Seattle Boat Show just to look at Boats. As
luck, or maybe fate would have it, we ducked into a boat just to get
out of the rain and the rest is history. The particular boat we
selected to get out of the rain in was a Nordic 26 Tug (see photo on
Candid Camera) which we decided to purchase. We spent about four
years cruising in the Tug and also restoring it to original
condition. I am currently finishing the refurbishing of another F-25C
trimaran and also own a WR-17 (WindRider).
It
seems that we can't get enough of the sailing thing. A week ago (June
08) we were out in the Windrider and I noted a dark cloud forming
behind us. I kept a close watch behind and after about a half hour, I
calmly said to Diane, lets take the sails down and motor in, since
the breezes were a bit light and it's getting late. By this time I
could see the storm on its way. Just as we dropped the main the sh--
hit the fan. We were hit by 45 to 50 knots of wind and wave heights
went from 6 inches to over 3 feet in a matter of seconds. We rode the
breeze home under bare poles (i.e., sails down and no need for the
motor) and did a bit of a spectacular docking maneuver with the wind
dead astern. We cant wait to get the F-25 in the water -- 20 to 25Kts
in a trimiran is a rush.
As
for Mexico, we first visited Mazatlan in 1978 and we were attracted
to it. We had looked at houses, condos, etc., for retirement off and
on over a period of years, but not until 1998 after I actually
retired did we start looking with the serious intent to buy. We had
realized by then that prices were only going up each year and if we
wanted to buy we shouldn't put it off. We liked Mazatlan better than
other cities in Mexico as it is a real working city, not one that is
built for tourism like Cabo San Lucas or Acapulco. As such, Mazatlan
at that time was a very economical place to live. It has turned out
that the building boom has reached Mazatlan in the past three years
and, while beach front is still relatively reasonable, it is becoming
pretty expensive.
We
like the atmosphere in Mazatlan -– the people are friendly and
very family oriented, and the climate is great. Although many in the
area have two or three jobs and, it would seem get little sleep, the
priorities are clearly family first, and work second, We have good
entertainment available at the restored Opera House which hosts live
shows. Cost for the best seating averages about $15 USD. Fishing is
good in front of our condo, and fresh fish delivery is available
every day at our front door. We spend four or five months there each
year and enjoy it a lot.
I
think I would say that Mazatlan is primarily a great place for
relaxation. It has great beaches and good fishing, as well as some
interesting historical sites and monuments. Also, around the last
week of February each year, it is home to one of the world's greatest
parties – Carnival which is an unforgettable experience.
We
have enjoyed having several visitors from Wenatchee and would welcome
seeing other classmates. Just be sure to touch base with us ahead of
time and we would be happy to have you drop by and to show you some
of the sights. Bob Winslow and Donna visited us on their way home.
(See photo on Candid Camera) They RV to a tiny village south of
Mazatlan. Also, Roger Bennet (WHS '56) and his wife have visited
several times.
Our
most recent activities have involved a complete remodel of of our
condo which we finished 2006. We stripped the place to bare walls and
started from scratch with new plumbling, wiring, flooring, windows,
cabinetry and baths, as well as the addition of one bath and a
laundry room and refinishing the doors. We subsequently sold it and
are now waiting for completion of a new condo unit which we are
purchasing that is about one and 1/2 blocks north of old one. You can
check out a model of our new unit at www.solariatower.com (turn
speakers on, click on “English”).
###
The
House That Jackie Built - Jackie (Rose) Monsey 3/29/08
Editor's
Introduction – In my continuing search for classmate stories,
one name that kept popping up was Jackie Rose. The sort of comments I
heard were that she and her architect husband, Ray Monsey, have built
a gorgeous house on the Wenatchee River in Leavenworth and that they
did a lot of work on it themselves, that they are into family
genealogy, that they are a delightful couple, and that Jackie is an
amazing and interesting person. So, I wrote to Jackie in hopes of
persuading her to write a story for us. With some initial reluctance,
she warmed to the task. Following is Jackie's house building story.
I'm sure you will enjoy reading this, as I did, and will agree with
me that the class of '57 does indeed have many untold, interesting
stories of which this is a great one. Jackie is indeed an amazing and
interesting lady. To say that they “did a lot of work on the
house themselves” is quite an understatement! We appreciate her
sharing this with us. - Bob
It
has been said everyone should plant a tree, build a house and write a
book during their lifetime. Well we have planted lots of trees and
built a house. Building the house was a lot more work than planting
trees. Maybe some day there is hope for writing a book.
This
is the story of how Ray and I built a house after our kids were gone.
I won’t go into all the building details, you can buy a “how
to” book for that, we had lots of them. I will just try to give
you some of the humorous (hopefully they are) stories. Through the
years we were always remodeling and adding on to the houses we lived
in. Could building a whole house be that much harder? Well, yes
actually and take much, much longer. The estimate was for about a
10-year project. Such optimism!
We
were not quite as naive as you are thinking, or at least half of us
weren’t. My husband is an Architect so he had quite a bit of
knowledge of how things go together. But he is not a builder, so
there were lots of tricks of the trade we needed to learn. I on the
other hand did not have any knowledge at all of the mechanics of
building and I knew it. The only thing I knew how to construct was in
the sewing department. I found they are somewhat similar. You plan,
buy your material, measure, cut, put together, and then rip out the
mistakes. My job was to be helper, gofer, and painter.
Our
plan was a two-part project, first a garage/apartment, that we could
also live in while doing the main house. We started this in 1985,
hired a builder we knew who would let us work with him to frame the
garage/apt. This was our hands on apprenticeship. I could tell the
first couple of days that we had misjudged his personality. He was
very aggressive and obnoxious and felt he needed to show his
superiority by pointing out how little we knew about building. I was
afraid Ray would eventually lose his temper with him, so that night I
told Ray we had to be patient, ignore his rude remarks and just learn
how to do the framing which is all we had planned to use him for.
Well guess who ended up getting mad, not Ray, but me. He started
calling me “missy”, “put your back into it missy,
use some muscle missy, it’s just mind over matter missy”,
what’s wrong missy, are you afraid of heights,” (well
that was a yes). At the end of every day I was fuming, I managed to
hold my tongue although I really complained to Ray at night, who only
chuckled, and reminded me of my lecture. Then came the day the
builder
had
a load of rock about a inch in size dumped that needed to be shoveled
where we were going to pour a slab. Hard shoveling, which I am not
good at anyway. Ray was at work that day, so it was just the
builder
and
me, who did not help me at all. I got my usual “missy
harassment “ about how slow I was, didn’t pick up enough
rocks in one shovel full. At about 5:00 p.m. I started to put down my
shovel to go start dinner. His usual quitting time was 5:00. When he
said, “where are you going missy”? I told him, thru
clenched teeth. His reply was “no you're not, you have to
finish this tonight, I have the concrete truck coming first thing in
the morning”. Who
hired
whom,
I thought.
I wanted to say YOU'RE
FIRED. I
Still had the shovel in my hand, and my other instinct was to hit him
on the head, I think he knew it; I don’t know what kept me from
doing it. Good sense I guess, and the thought we didn’t want to
pay for a concrete truck sitting around while I shoveled the next
morning. So I turned around and started shoveling with so much anger
it gave me super human strength, and I shoveled better than I ever
have in my life. Guess
it is mind over matter. I
did get back at him though, refused to speak to him, surely that
taught him a lesson. In truth we did learn a lot from him.
Once
it was framed we took over, and finished most of the inside during
the winter. Did the outside shingling the following summer. Learned a
lot on this first smaller project. Not to do the insulation in the
main house by ourselves, we can hire it done, for the same price it
cost us to buy the insulation. And that taping sheetrock is not our
talent. It was passable although not really good enough for the main
house. We had to have the texture heavier to cover up our taping.
You
know what they say “Life is what happens to you while you are
making other plans”. Things came up, we were tired and we were
comfy in the little apartment so rested a bit. The second phase was
put on hold.
In
1989 we broke ground on the main house. We hired another local
builder (who is very nice by the way, I speak to him) to do the
footing and the foundation, as it had a lot of stepping up and down
the lot with a lot of rocks to go around. We took it from there.
I
remember that day well, a Memorial Day weekend, raining, mud
everywhere. The first job was to backfill around the footings.
Shoveling again and a panic set in. I looked at the huge hole in the
ground. Because of a large crawl space, we had walls to build, just
to get to the first floor. I kept thinking what are we doing, what
makes us think we can do this!! This summer was to be our biggest
push, because we had to have it framed up and the roof on before
winter. What if we didn’t finish before snow, all kind of “what
if’s” hit me. Ray calmed me down and assured me we could
do it and I somehow believed him.
Ray
did all the figuring how to build it, the measuring and cutting, I
helped hold the wood as we put the frames together, then did the
nailing. The neighbors across the river said they could always tell
who was hammering. When Ray hammered it was a loud Whop, whop! Mine
was much more musical, ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, ting, I
don’t know which they preferred, maybe neither. Because Ray’s
part was more than mine, I found my self-standing around while he was
figuring things out. So I kept myself busy putting extra nails in to
make sure everything stayed together. That was not a real bad thing,
unless a mistake was made and we had to rip it apart, which then
became twice the work. We went through 10- 50 # boxes of nails.
Partly because I kept bending them, it is a learning curve you know;
think I got better about the time we were done. The builder who had
helped us with the footing walked through later to see how we were
doing, and said,” you know if this house ever falls down it
will be from the weight of the nails.”
But
it was amazing, step by step, little by little, things started to
take shape. Walls went up with window holes, door holes. Not saying
we didn’t make mistakes we did, one wall in the kitchen we had
to redo twice. Think that was because our kids were visiting and we
were showing off how good we had become at this. Never try to
impress. Think they went home shaking their heads, wondering what
this house would look like and are
mom and dad losing it?
We
only had one major argument, over the placing of a “huge beam”,
that I was sure we could not handle by ourselves. I wanted to find
people to help us. Ray was sure he knew how to do it. I could see it
crashing down and not only hurting us, but all the work we had done.
Ray finally ordered me out of the house (can
you
imagine that).
Of
course, I refused to go with the firm exclamation I needed to stay so
I could call 911. Well it went the way he planned, but I still claim
it was luck, and could have fallen on him, the house or us.
Our
neighbors visited often, and seem to always appear about the time we
needed a little help tipping up a wall. That was very helpful, but I
never could figure out how they knew when we were tipping up the
walls. Did they hid behind the trees watching us? Friends also would
arrive at times to help; some were more help than others. There was
the couple that was planning to build themselves, and wanted to see
how we were doing it. They bought all the newest tools, even his and
her nail guns. They had so many disagreements we were afraid they
were going to shoot each other with their nail guns. Or the guy who
was so hyper and quick, did not have any building experience and did
not look at the plans. I hated to say “not that way”. So
I would say, ”yah,
but,
maybe we should do it this way”. I guess I said that one time
too many. Because he exploded one hot afternoon, saying, “ yah
but, yah but, yah but, you sound like a GD frog! Seems like I always
said that too much. The things you can learn about yourself. We have
a window, framed on the wrong side of the wall, but we left it that
way, because I didn’t want to say,” Yah,
but
it’s
suppose to be on the other side.” It really was one of those
things, that didn’t matter too much. I now have a carved wood
plaque that says YAH BUT. It was close, too close but the roof was on
the house and the windows in by the first snowfall.
We
put 600 miles on our car looking for gray river rock for our
fireplace. When you are driving along you see river rock everywhere.
But try to find a spot where you can park close to the rock, so you
don’t have to carry it a long ways or up banks, or isn’t
private property. I have heard since it is against the law and there
is a fine for picking up rocks now. Hope it wasn’t then. When
we would get home and unload our rocks, Ray would look at them and
say, “these are not lively enough”. I found myself
thinking this is going to be a long hunt, to find lively rocks. Of
course he meant the color, we were looking for a particular blue
gray.
For
anyone who likes statistics we painted, and put on 15, 000 shingles
with 30,000 nails for our outside siding. How do we know that? I have
no idea how or why Ray figured that out.
We
moved in to the main house April 1993. Two years ahead of our 10 yr
estimate. It wasn’t done though, but we could live in it, no
trim, lots of doors not on, lots of cabinets, shelves not in, it was
a livable shell. We slowed down after we moved in. Somehow once you
are living in the house there is not the pressure to work on it. And
we were very
tired.
Once
again slowly, step-by-step we got things finished, not sure when we
could have said it was DONE.
Well
we couldn’t have, we still have a couple of things to do,
although they are very small things.
####
Quilting
and Museum Docent – Only a few of Carol Cammack Burger's
Retirement Activities
Editor's
note – I described previously that Carol is one of those very
active folks who, speaking for myself at least, sure can make another
feel like a couch potato. This past winter she sent along pictures
and a brief story of her quilting activities which we previously
posted below. Recently she sent another e mail and shared photos of
her volunteer work as a museum docent. With Carol's permission I have
added parts of her note and her photos below. I think you will find
her new activities equally interesting.
Spring
– 2008 Carol first reports that “skiing has been
unbelievable this year. Yesterday we had the best powder day in about
14 years. It was just so much fun but, of course, we were exhausted
when we got home. Regarding the quilt, I took a quilting class in
Aurora, Oregon where Frank and I live during the warmer seasons. To
make the large Bargello quilt I needed to gather about 35 different
fabrics and then arrange them in a sequence to my satisfaction.
(Bargello is a specific quilt style defined by a clever construction
technique that gives them a characteristic appearance.) The pieces
are then cut out and sewn together in large quarters. After that, the
whole quilt is sewn into one piece. There are over 3200 pieces in
this work. I was then asked to exhibit the work in the Old Aurora
Museum Quilt Show in October.
“The
other quilt (shown on the bed) is a reproduction of a quilt my
Grandmother (Florence Cammack) made with the Stemilt Hill Ladies
Club. My grandmother's quilt was probably made of flour sack fabric
and I'm guessing it was made in the late 1930s. This quilt also was
on exhibit at the Old Aurora Museum Quilt Show in October 07.”
(New
6/22/08)
While
in Aurora these past 2 months I've been doing my usual volunteer work
at our Aurora Museum. We host 4th graders on field trips and spend
the day with them demonstrating what life was like here in the
Willamette Valley in the 1850's - 1880's. I have the pioneer cabin; a
one room original home to a pioneer family of parents, grandpa and 5
kids. I make bread with the kids and at the end of the day they take
their loaf of bread home with them. We talk about what their role
would have been as children in the family, etc.
If
I seem to be rather amply proportioned in my pioneer dress it is
because I am wearing my ski underwear under the dress. It was so
darned cold in that cabin I was freezing. We have had an unusually
cold Spring here in the Portland area and it just does not warm up,
even now. The fruit farms over in the Hood River area are really
hurting in that their fruit crops are pretty much frozen out.
I
am so looking forward to being back in Colorado for our hiking/biking
season. Aug. 1st, my daughter, Noelle, and I are hiking from Aspen to
Crested Butte and back again. We will go through the Holy Cross
Wilderness and it should be a carpet of wildflowers at that time of
year. You're all invited to join us - it should be absolutely
spectacular!!
####
Dick
Rice's Antique Car Restorations – Dick
and Rosemary Rice (2/9/08)
Bob
Ajax noticed in the bio that I put on the web site at reunion time
that I am involved in the "Wenatchee Valley Antique Auto Club”
and
he asked if I might write up something about my car restoration
hobby. In fact, car restoration has been a hobby of mine for a long
time and I have enjoyed it greatly. In addition to the enjoyment of
restoring vintage cars, I have enjoyed the association with others
who share this interest. I am currently vice president of the club
and past President. Other class members of the club are Gene
Cliff, Carlton Olson, Leonard Ward
and
Arden
Racus.
So I am happy to provide a write up, which was prepared with a lot of
help from Rosemary, describing my projects. I hope that others will
find this of interest. If you would like to see what this involves,
give me a call and stop by.
I
guess my interest in old cars and restorations began in 1958 when I
bought my second Model-A -- a 1930 Ford coupe. It is hard to believe,
but I found a receipt not long ago showing that I paid $90 plus $3
tax for the car. I sold it in 1959 for $150 which I used to buy
Rosemary’s engagement ring. How times have changed -- in 1986,
for our 27th wedding anniversary, Rosemary found a 1929 model-A for
me that needed restoration, for $4500. Quite a price change! We still
have that car today.
In
1988 we found, sitting in a field, a “1955” Chevrolet
that I bought it for $1100. I did a ground up restoration on that
car. We did it all original, taking about 3 years to complete, as I
still worked full time, and farmed our Cherry Orchard. Rosemary took
pictures of each step.
In
1989 we purchased the 1931 Model-A Deluxe Roadster that is pictured
above. This car had already been restored by Gary Jacobsen, a local
restorer. We enjoyed that car, taking in many Apple Blossom Parade’s
and county Fairs, hauling many dignitaries, and cruising. We sold
that one in 2003 when we moved to our new home, as I was up to nine
vehicles and didn’t have enough garage space.
Also
in 1989, I started looking for a 1948-1951 Chevrolet Panel. At that
time Rosemary owned Rosemary’s Cakes and Catering and I wanted
to create an advertisement vehicle for her. I found three Chev panel
vehicles in Washington -- a 1950 model in Kittitas, a 1950 in
Linwood, and a burnt orange 1948 model here in Wenatchee. The Linwood
car was all rusty, but the chrome parts had been rechromed and were
in perfect shape. Taking some parts from the three, I began
restoration. I started with the frame of the 50, a Pontiac Lemans
front clip, a Buick Skylark rear clip, an L2-350 Chevrolet Engine, a
350 turbo transmission, and used the 1948 body. I did all the
mechanical, electrical, and welding, and hired out the body work,
painting and upholstery. The paint color is called lite lavender
pearl, but is more like shocking pink. The interior is a wine and
gray color. It took about 5 year to build, because of a couple of
heart-attacks. Rosemary took pictures at different stages of
restoration. This year I finally decided if we want to drive this
Panel it has to have air-conditioning, so that has been the project
of late. There is always some thing to work on when you own old
vehicles -- batteries or washing, polishing, etc.
In
1993 we bought a restored 1968 XL Ford Convertible and enjoyed
driving it until we sold it in 2005. We took in many Parade’s
and car shows, and home coming events with this car.
Now
I am working on a 1950 Oldsmobile, 2 door Coupe. This
is
for Dennis Slack, who owned this car when he was 16 years old. Dennis
is now 61. The car sat for 17 years, so everything was frozen up. It
now runs like a watch, but still needs new wiring, brake work,
upholstery, and paint.
So,
as you can see, this is a hobby I've enjoyed a lot. I hope you found
this write up of interest. Give me a call and stop by some day and
I'll show you first hand what is involved. I'm afraid I must add,
however -- no, I don't plan to take on a restoration for anyone else
again; perhaps another one for me, but that's it.
####
BJ
and Dewayne's Trip to Visit Korean War Buddies, and their Southern
Roots
– BJ
Herron 12/07
BJ
(Bolton) Herron
We
started out on a long car trip six days after the WHS 50th
Reunion.
Not being of sound mind or body, we nevertheless headed East on I-90.
I think maybe I was ready to put some distance between myself, my
computer and that WaWa editing program – I know Dewayne was
ready. We accomplished that, spending the first night in Drummond,
Montana, the “Bull Shipping Capital of the World”…the
post card said so! In addition to that display of cowboy humor,
Drummond is an interesting and real Western Town. On an earlier trip,
Dewayne encountered a real live cattle drive right thru the middle of
town. Granted, it isn't a large town, but can you imagine a herd of
cattle coming down main street? As they sat down in the cafe to
order, in comes in the 'cowpokes'. Cowboys and cowgirls right out of
a Zane Grey novel. One of them must have been the grandmother of the
bunch. She was white haired and just as bowlegged as can be, spurs
jingling, chaps slapping as she walked in and ordered her coffee and
breakfast. The unmistakable fragrance of the old west wafted around
them.
We
followed I-90 a long way. The amazing rock formations of the
Continental Divide always intrigue me. We visited cousins in
Hartford, Michigan, and then drove through the Amish community down
to our initial destination -- Van Wert, Ohio. Yes, in the Amish
country they really do drive those little horse-drawn buggies on the
highway, a scary thought. The photo is a pretty good illustration of
the contrast between the Amish life style and modern life on the
road. We noticed that the Amish hang out their wash on a line that is
fastened high under the eve of a barn or to a telephone pole. I
wonder if it was wash day or if they do that most days? After seeing
this, I may be a little less frustrated waiting a day or tow for
repair the next time my dryer breaks down.
A
highlight of the trip was the 50th reunion with Dewayne’s Army
Buddies from the 44th MASH Surgical Unit. This was their first
reunion since they left Korea 50 years ago. It was a great reunion
attended by six members of the unit from as far away as Washington,
California, Ohio, Michigan and Connecticut.
I
looked, but no Hawkeye. However, we did have our own Radar look-alike
in the group. “Our Radar” performed the duties of Postman
in Korea. He said the first day they gave him a sidearm and told him
he was to drive to Seoul alone it worried him a lot. He was afraid of
shooting himself, he was so nervous about the trip. He didn’t
know what kind of help he would have with the mail “out there”.
Another of the fellows from the MASH unit looked so much like Jamie
Farr -- Klinger. (third from right in the photo.) In fact, they had
all the MASH characters in one way or another. All of the guys said
it seemed the series was taken straight from their unit. They even
had their own Major Hot Lips Houlihan, but they didn't get into too
much detail about her with two wives present.<grin> Dewayne was
the radio operator. He has some interesting stories to tell, too.
There were clearly some jokers in the unit. They stayed up late
talking and laughing about all the hi-jinx that went on. There were
lots of photos showing “our Radar” suspended upside down
-- they liked to toss him around as he was just the right size. They
talked and laughed about how their uniforms would never fit again.
They were interviewed by several members of the local press and made
the front page of the local newspapers (with pictures!). The Mayor of
Van Wert and his wife came by to deliver their appreciation to the
Vets. Most of all, they just enjoyed seeing each other again. They
quietly but unanimously elected not to talk about this current war.
They left with great hopes of getting even more of the fellows
together next time.
We
then traveled on to Branson, Missouri for Dewayne’s 53rd
high
school class reunion. His graduating class was so small they invited
the adjoining classes. There were 16 classmates and 7 spouses there.
Everyone wanted to visit and the motel graciously gave us the use of
the coffee room from 8 am till 11 pm. We enjoyed several of the
shows. Branson offers a wide choice of first class entertainment and
is a great place for a get-together.
Branson
is the place to be if you like
Country
Western Music and Comedy, Music from the 50’s, showmen like
Shoji Tabuchi, Jim Stafford, Andy Williams, Mickey Gillley, Yakov
Smirnoff, new shows like Acrobats from China, and the Twelve Irish
Tenors, Impersonators, Magic Shows, “Duck Rides” on the
lake, the Branson Belle Dinner and Showboat, Wax Museum, Car Museum,
Toy Museum. I also have to mention Silver Dollar City, it is an all
day event! To say nothing of all the good food there.
From
there on it was cousins-all-the-way. In Dewayne’s home town,
Franklin, Arkansas, we had a “Cousin’s Day”, where
15 of us got together and everyone brought their favorite dishes. I
know your mouth will water when I tell you we had a real Southern
Dinner -- Chicken and Dressing, BBQ ribs, Baked Beans, Ham, Turnip
Greens, Crowder Peas, Hominy Casserole,
(for the uninitiated, those are real southern “vittles”)
Mashed Potatoes, Peach Cobbler, Apple Cake, Berry Cobbler, Corn Bread
and Homemade Rolls (that always win blue ribbons at the County Fair).
Local people wait to see if Dewayne's cousin is going to enter her
rolls. They know they don’t have a chance if she enters. (The
web site editor tells me I haven't tasted real barbecue if I haven't
been to North Carolina, but the ribs were pretty darn good!)
We
finally ran short of Dewayne’s cousins and started on mine with
a swing through Mississippi and Alabama. The Mississippi delta
country is amazing. It is as flat as a table top – about as
different from Wenatchee as it could possibly be. We saw rice
growing, soy beans being harvested, and cotton in huge ‘modules’
(equivalent to 10-12 bales about 45 feet long) still out in the
fields. We even saw cat fish farms.
In
Alabama, we had my version of Cousins’ Days on Graham Lane
where everyone is related! I know about all those jokes about the
South, but in defense of my Gene Pool, Graham is a very short lane --
three brothers and a sister live there. We next worked our way east
to Birmingham, Alabama, a town long known for heavy industry and
smoke stacks, but which is now a modern and thriving Southern city.
In fact, they have just refurbished “The Vulcan” who
stands tall and proud over the city. There we visited with my 97 year
old Auntie. After Birmingham, we headed north through the TVA lake
area of Kentucky to Paducah. We kept looking for the Blue Grass, and
we didn’t see any of the fabled “Thoroughbreds”,
(because we were in the “Boot Heel”).
It
was a good trip back to the part of the country where my roots are
planted – to a part of my life I will never forget. We had
great visits with our families and good friends. For the next couple
of years, we will have to stay home (at least some of the time) so
maybe they can return our visit. We traveled 6,419 miles. No
accidents, but some near misses, like the time that super charged
black Corvette came out of the far left lane, across 4 more lanes and
onto the off ramp, during evening rush hour in Kansas City, Missouri.
If the Good Lord forgives me, I’ll not be back in that place!
####
My
European Tour – Romance of the Rhine and Mosel
--
Pat Quinn Bryant 1/08
The
following is my story about a great tour of the Rhine Valley that I
took in May 2006, through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France
and Switzerland, mostly by boat with side tours at a number towns
where the boat stopped. This was a sixteen day boat trip, plus a four
day tour of the Bruges, Belgium area. I enjoyed the tour very much
and highly recommend it. For seniors such as myself, this particular
tour was relaxing and allowed one to do as much or as little as is
comfortable, with no concern about schedules, lodging, or directions,
while providing a great opportunity to see many beautiful and
historic areas of Europe.
I
booked the tour through Grand Circle Travel. It was a package deal
that included my flight from Seattle to Atlanta, and direct from
there to Brussels. Company representatives met us at the airport with
identifying signs and directed us where to go to get our luggage, and
then to the hotel. Everything about it felt very safe and
comfortable. The boat trip covered a total of over 800 miles with 22
locks.
I
saw way more picturesque and interesting sights than I could possibly
describe, and I learned of far more history of this part of Europe
than I could have imagined. Following are some of my personal
impressions. The GCT web site (http://www.gct.com) has a lot more
detail and history of the many towns and places that we visited.
I
arrived in Brugge, Belgium on May 7th and met my roommate, Jackie
from California. I had not known her and we had not communicated
previously. However, it worked out beautifully. She was a early riser
and I am a late one. I snore, but Jackie is hard of hearing and had
hearing aides which she removed at night so my snoring did not bother
her. Jackie and I have become friends and may go on another trip
together – perhaps to Alaska this fall.
In
Brugge, we met our charming 34-year old tour guide, Tony, who was
with twenty six of us for the whole trip. Tony took us on a tour of
the medieval city of Brugge. We spent two days exploring all the
sites. The third day we took a train to the big city of Brussels and
had a tour. Brussels was founded in 580, and in the 11th century the
city was surrounded by walls. I liked the city very much and we got
to have a covered boat canal ride there. We saw a windmill. The trees
lining the canal were beautiful. We saw the Castle of Counts where
the above photo was taken.
On
the next day we arrived in Antwerp, a city of 500,000 population and
the largest sea harbor in Europe, where we boarded our ship, the
Ravel, and got settled. The ship was good size – 366 feet long
and 38 feet wide. It was very nice. Our room and attached bathroom
were very spacious. The two big windows gave us a wonderful view of
all the barges, swans, ferries and land going by. We were on the
lower of two levels and there was a big deck on top that was nice.
The ship carried 110 passengers and a wonderful crew. Everyone
associated with the cruise spoke English and the boats announcements
were in English so there were no language problems. After boarding we
had lunch, and that afternoon toured Antwerp, where we also got to
spend all the next day. Antwerp is picturesque with gilded houses
with steep gables, and gold figures; and is the diamond center of the
world. Seven out of every ten diamonds in the world come through
Antwerp.
The
first evening we had a welcome aboard drink and met the Captain and
crew in the lounge, followed by a wonderful dinner in the ship's
non-smoking dining room which offered single, open seating, with live
music by the “The Stardust Duo”. The captain was from
Poland and was about my age. But there was a younger mate who was
very handsome and gave me lots of information on the rivers and boats
going by. It turned out that they had recently fired the boat's chef
so we got the cruise line's top chef. There was so much beautiful and
delicious food and great entertainment by our crew and others. My
favorite food was the green cold apple soup which I managed to get
three times. On mother's day they gave each mother a red long stem
rose.
The
second evening the boat cruised to Heusden, Netherlands. The next
morning we took a bus to the Delta Works and took a tour of a museum
and went out on a lock. The Delta Works is a huge project consisting
of a number of dams, locks and dikes that were built between 1950 and
1997 in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of
land from the sea and to shorten the Dutch coastline. I later learned
from Julie Blonk that her uncle had worked on the project. I
mentioned to the guide that it was too bad the engineers who built
this are not helping New Orleans. He said they did send people to
advise them. All the time and engineering that went into the locks
was really awesome.
About
930 windmills now dot the landscape in the Netherlands out of an
original 10,000. Close to 300 still function mostly for tourist, but
some grind cereals or perform other work. In the mid 18th century the
small village of Kinderdijk which we visited had 19 sturdy windmills
which were used to pump water out of the low land into the sea. They
are no longer used for pumping, having been replaced by diesel
powered pumps. However, since 1997 the Kinderdijk windmills have been
a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Originally each windmill was operated
by a family who lived in the bottom of the windmill. I wondered what
that must have sounded like when trying to sleep. I went up in one of
these windmills that was built in 1738. I really loved the windmills.
Part of our trip money went toward the up keep of these 19 windmills.
Traveling
next into Germany, we visited Dusseldorf where we saw grapes that had
been planted over 2000 years ago. Dusseldorf was destroyed in WWII,
but is now the center of the fashion industry in Germany. Further up
the river, near the intersection of the Mosel and Rhine rivers, a
friend and I took a cab to the Fortress above the Rhine River. What a
view from there; there were three museums and so much history. They
have found evidence of people there 10,000 years BC.
We
traveled next to the small country of Luxembourg where the Battle of
the Bulge was fought in World War II. This was one of the most
important and bloodiest battles that U.S. forces experienced in the
war; the 19,000 American dead were unsurpassed by those of any other
engagement. Several Wenatchee residents fought in that battle. In
Nijmegen we had a home-hosted dinner. The people from the Netherlands
are so grateful to US soldiers. The museum there is fantastic. We saw
the fields where the men who parachuted had landed. The cemetery is
awesome. General Patton and thousands of others are buried there,
including three nurses, with marble head stones engraved with only
the name, date of death, and home State The marble was from France.
The US cemetery is kept up by our government, in contrast to the
German cemetery which was in sad shape and not kept up well. I
enjoyed talking to people in Luxembourg. They speak their own
language, but also speak German. I took a small tape recorder and
asked a lady there if I could record her speaking her language and
the several other languages that the crew spoke, for my grandkids to
hear.
After
Luxembourg we toured the town of Boppard and then cruised the most
beautiful part of the river. There is this big rock that the sailors
say has siren - women creatures that call ships into the rock. One of
the tour guides dressed as a “siren” for the occasion as
you can see in the attached photo. We had fun with that.
Continuing
on the river, we stopped at Speyer, France, a lovely town founded in
50 AD, where we toured in a covered wagon pulled by the Austrian
Horses and enjoyed singing and tasting different wines along the
vineyards. Next was Baden Baden, where we tasted mineral water that
is supposed to have restorative powers. I keep waiting for it to take
affect and to become young again. And then on to Strasburg where I
saw the most beautiful church I have ever seen, did some sight seeing
via canals, and toured the Black Forest where the famous cuckoo
clocks are made. After France, we went to Basil, Switzerland and the
next day, on to Paris, France to catch plane for New York and onto
Seattle.
As
I said at the beginning this was a great tour that I can highly
recommend. I enjoyed widening my circle of life –meeting new
people and learning history.
####