Winter 2007-08 Hello Class of 53: Based on my most recent information, plans for the Lincoln High 100th Birthday
Celebration are progressing nicely. We all appreciate the efforts of Bill Koons, Darrell Bangerter, Gail
Herzog, and Sharon Reams and others for their efforts in providing the Class of 1953 memory board
for display at the open house September 8. Guests
were welcomed, refreshments served, the Abraham
Lincoln statue rededicated and memory boards from
the various classes were on display. The celebration
continues until August 2008. Fall 2007 Hi Classmates: The first full day of summer in the Arkansas Ozarks has come and gone with high temps of 90 degrees. We notice in Seattle the high temps are about 70 degrees. You people in the Northwest appreciate and enjoy! I heard from several people, some from other classes, that the All Class Luncheon was an outstanding event. Over 487 in attendance! Our class was responsible for the event this year. Many thanks and congratulations to Bill Koons and his committee for an excellent job! Don Olson was a fantastic Master of Ceremonies! Darrell Bangerter took lots of photos and will report on this when his 'dead' PC is resurrected.
I had a great email from Judy Fosse Snider. She
is giving her brother a subscription to Totem II for his
birthday. How is that for a great idea!!?? Judy and
husband Neal have recently returned from a cruise
on the QE-2. They left from Southampton, England
and traveled up the coast of Norway, visiting the
fjords, waterfalls, and gorgeous scenery of Norway.
They sailed up above the Artic Circle visiting a number of cities. The QE-2 has been sold to Dubai and
after this year will be used as a hotel there, making
the Snider cruise a historic event.
I understand Sally Jo Eaton Kregger is looking
for property in Oregon with oldest son Steve. She
now resides in California - where it is TOO hot. Sally
was widowed after 52 years of marriage and raising
four children. She makes jewelry and she and her
son have a shop and do some antique shows.
Lila Heywood Hageselle and husband live in Seattle-same house for 45 years; have raised four children and have several grandchildren. Sally Jo Eaton
Kregger and Lila were best friends at Lincoln and all
through college.
Sad to report: Sharon Squibb Brown died June
23, 2007. Our deepest sympathy to her husband
Don, daughter Kathy, son Dan, and her twin brother,
Billy. Note: This notice appeared in the last issue of
Totem II with an incorrect photo. The notice and photo
were inserted after my column material had been
completed and released by me. My apologies for
this error. (Your Editor and our Publisher offer apologies too! Sometimes computers, and cyberspace.
are mysterious let alone a HUGE newspaper!! We
try to be perfect to no avail. Very Sorry!! Editor. Ginny
Munn)
Jean Adele Mathewson
Worthington died September
26, 2007. Our deepest sympathies to husband Forrest and son Steve.
I always.appreciate hearing
from classmates and appreciate receiving news you would
like to share with classmates
thru the Totem II column. Contact me anytime. See the back
of each issue of Totem II for my
name/snail mail/email addresses.
Have a great winter
and holiday season! [Written by Carolyn Ward Edwards.]
Loretta Ransom Hucks reports that she thought she could fly (maybe too many super hero movies) but instead, tripped over shoes and crashed into the wall and floor. She had several stitches on her face and crushed left shoulder. She has become the bionic woman; with a metal ball and shaft for her shoulder! Husband Randy had a 2 plus month hospital stay with gall bladder and triple by-pass surgery. We do hope Loretta and Randy are doing OK now.
Fred Wright has been busy. He was the keynote speaker at a conference in Belfast Northern Ireland. Fred has a psychology practice in New York City and is Professor of Psychology at the City University of New York. Fred reports that his new grandson, Luke, is amazing!
Had two reports of classmates' deaths:
LATE NEWS: Sharon Irene Squibb Brown 10/16/1935 - 6/23/2007 Known as "Shug" to many, passed away after a brief battle of lymphoma cancer on June 23, 2007 at the age of 71 with her loving family by her side. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Sharon graduated from Lincoln High School in 1953, and married her high school sweetheart, Don in 1955. During her 51 years of marriage she raised two children and enjoyed working 30+ years at the Lake City Elks Club. Sharon was known for her kind, caring, generous heart and strong Catholic faith. She lived for her family and loved the outdoors, her cats, and gardening. Sharon will be greatly missed and forever remembered with love by her husband, Don, her daughter, Kathy, son, Dan.
Spring 2007 Hello Classmates: Hope you all had happy Christmas Holidays and now we are looking forward to
spring!
Winter 2006
Hello Lincoln High Classmates - or perhaps I should say "Aloha". Husband, Lyn, and I just returned from a fabulous Hawaiian
Cruise vacation. We and 38 others from Mountain Home, Arkansas, flew nonstop from Daltas to Honolulu then spent 7 days on
the Pride of Hawaii - Norwegian Cruise Lines new ship. It was great to be so pampered - as one of my friends said, if you
wanted, the crew would even brush your teeth for you. We took in all the sights of four islands — including visits to Pearl
Harbor, the Battleship Arizona Memorial, the Battleship Missouri, Waikiki, Diamond Head, various volcano craters, and Luaus
and dancing. We were there during the earthquake but were not aware until watching CNN the next day. Some of my Mountain
Home friends suggested I may have set off the earthquake with my belly dancing. I know many of you cruise so how about an
email or note so I can report it for Totem II?
Fall 2006 Hello Classmates! Summer has arrived in the Arkansas Ozarks. It gets quite hot here. We don’t have the cool invigorating summers here like we enjoyed in Seattle. I received the interesting email Miles Yanick promised. What an interesting life Miles has had since leaving Lincoln! I especially enjoyed the bit in May 1957 when Miles, Jack McGinnis, Bill Koons, Jack Murphy, Jack Rogers and Bill Atwell shared a big house on Lake Washington. Miles started his architecture firm in 1969 and moved his office to Bainbndge Island in 1975. He still works full time. Miles and Molly Gordon Yanick have been happily married for 30 years. Our class has, in fact, produced several great architects - Miles, Gil Braida '54 and Bob Hanna to mention a few. You may know that Bob Hanna passed away in 2003. Bob had a very distinguished career. He lived in Pennsylvania at the time of his death. Thanks again Miles for the great email.
Spring 2006
Greetings Class of '53. Hope 2006 is going great for all! Everyone I have talked with sounds terrific. Thanks for the news.
I received a wonderful email from Bill Furbush.
Bill remarried June 10,2006. Congratulations Bill and
Debbie! They have built a new home at Heritage Ranch
Golf and Country Club in Fairview, TX near Dallas.
Bill and Debbie have organized a ballroom dance club
at Heritage Ranch with 104 members. Bill taught
dancing in college and teaches now for their club. I
asked Bill if they allowed Belly Dancing and he said
absolutely. In fact, they had some Belly Dancers at
their club. They got Bill into their routine and balanced
swords on him! That sounds wilder than the Senior
Assemblies where Fred Wright entertained us!
Information was received concerning Mary Fowler Trimble and her
new career as an author. Mary was Secretary of the Girl's Club at Lincoln. Her
interest in writing was a result of sailing the South
Pacific with husband Bruce. Bruce takes photos for Mary's articles.
Mary has had articles published in many magazines. She has authored
two novels, "Rosemount" and "McClellan's Bluff".
Mary is also active in Red Cross work. (Read more about Mary and Bruce on
Class of 53 website).
The All Class Lincoln High Luncheon is scheduled
for June 2, 2007 at the Elks Club in Lake City. Our
class is in charge this year. Bill Koons is chairman.
Speaking of Bill, I was looking through some photos
and saw one of Bill and Denny Clark in big saddle
shoes. Mercy Me!! They surely did look sharp.
Denny, if you saved those shoes you could wear them
when hosting at Mariners games!
Lincoln High School will be 100 years old this year.
The Alumni Association is planning a number of
events to commemorate the centennial. Lorna
Tampico Hamill '77 is Chairman of volunteers and
will need lots of help. Darrell Bangerter said they
were considering a T-Day event in 2008. Remember the T-Day
of our senior year? Don Brown was President Lincoln and Marilyn Spurr was Mrs. Lincoln. It was a great day.
Diane Linneman Bicknell reports that the
Bicknells had planned to celebrate their 50th wedding
anniversary by driving US Route 66, Chicago to Santa
Monica in their beautiful 66 Impala convertible.
However, they opted for an easier way; a Trafalgar
Bus trip. (Good decision! My husband and I love
Trafalgar!)
In addition to Bud and Diane Bicknell, several
other of our classmates are celebrating 50th anniversaries; Ron and Barb Plenge Hill, Dick and Elaine
Taylor Jones, Joy Olson and Forrest Mickelson,
and Hettie and Lloyd Kinner '52. The Kinner's and
Bicknell's were married at Zion Lutheran Church by
Gene Bensene's father.
I received a lovely email for Alvina Ellis. She
wanted to notify classmates that her husband, Robert J. (Jim) Ellis had passed away January 12,2005
after losing his battle with cancer. All of our deepest
sympathies to Alvina and family. Alvina says she
teased him about all the dances he attended and all
the different girls he dated. In all the photos taken the
girls were never the same. Jim was a handsome fellow and good dancer - so all the Lincoln ladies liked
to dance with him. Also, our deepest sympathy to
Barbara Nelson Cheek whose husband Lee Roy
Cheek passed away in 2006.
As for us here in the Ozarks, early March, it is 30
degrees at noon and sunny. I am busy with church
(Presbyterian Elder), American Legion Auxiliary, Retired Federal Employees, Telephone Pioneers, etc. I
was asked, with three days notice, to do a belly dance
program for our church sweetheart dinner at a local
restaurant. I agreed though it takes 3 days to apply
enough makeup to become FADIMA. My husband
"helped" - he likes to apply all the "glitter" from the
waist up. We had a good turnout - about 80 -people
in our group.
Speaking of fabulous vacations let me tell you about classmates Judy Fosse Snider and Claudia Benedict Wagner and
their husbands and their trip to Australia and New Zealand. The Sniders and Wagners were married the same weekend in December
1958. The husbands-to-be, Neal and Joe met on the train enroute to Seattle. They each knew that their fiancees (Judy and
Claudia) had made honeymoon plans for Harrison Hot Springs. Neal and Joe agreed the couples should get together for dinner
while on their honeymoon. At the dinner Judy and Claudia recognized each other as classmates of '53. The couples have kept
in touch over the years and the recent trip was a chance to catch up on news. Joe and Neal are both Lutheran ministers.
Thanks to Gail Thomas Herzog for a nice note. Gail has a nine-unit apartment complex in Everett, WA that she manages.
Five units are occupied by her family members. Great for visits and family reunions!
Darrell Bangerter recently returned from a truly once in a lifetime multi-country European adventure. The adventure was
made even more exciting - or challenging - by his inadvertently leaving credit cards at home.
Minutes from the LLAA executive committee meeting reported Bill Koons was named chairman of the 2007 Banquet which likely
will be held in June. The class of '53 is in charge. Bill will do a great job.
Dale Gregory sent me a copy of a Lincoln High School Totem that he bought at an estate sale. An interesting and fun stroll
down memory lane! My, my, how boys basketball uniforms have changed in 50 years!
On a sad note, Lawrence (Larry) David Grout passed away October 20, 2006. After graduating from Lincoln, Larry served in
the Navy then in the Naval and later Army Reserves. He had distinguished careers both in the military and with the Seattle
Police Department where he retired as a Sergeant after 25 years. He was called to active duty for Desert Storm and earned
several awards before retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 5.
Until next time; Please send me your news email, phone call, or US Mail.
Harlene Harvey Miller sent a nice note. Harlene attended Alexander Hamilton Intermediate prior to attending Lincoln.
Got a great note from Lawrence Vickers and wife Marlene Smith Vickers (Ballard '52). Both retired from Boeing in 1984. They have built a house at Ocean Shores, WA. They winter in Florida, California, and Hawaii. For their 50th anniversary in 2003 they took a great cruise through the Panama Canal and numerous other ports of call.
Loretta Ransom Hucks reports she is active in the Red Hat Society. She and husband Randy enjoy jazz festivals and dancing. They have 6 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Wow!
In an email from Jerry Reynolds he reported that he now lives in Montana and that his brother Jim '56 was looking forward to his upcoming 50th reunion.
John Georgeadis has moved back to Washington from Arizona.
I received a delightful card from Paul Martin '51 (aka Gene Buck). A great card! One to keep! These guys graduated before I got to meet them (my loss) as I arrived at Lincoln fall of 1951 for my junior year. Paul is curious about the current status of some of our classmates. If I can contact the classmates of interest and get their OK I will, of course, include the information in a future column. Paul always looks forward to receiving each Totem II Edition. To quote him, the Totem II is "the nation's finest paper of its kind!"
Since the last issue of Totem II, husband Lyn and I had a great trip to Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. Such beautiful and interesting countries! I even got to belly dance a little bit with the great live drum band in Tangier, Morocco at the historic Hotel El Minzah. Previous guests at the El Minzah have included King Juan Carlos of Spain, Winston
Churchill, Rita Hayworth and other notables. I really appreciate hearing from you with news for this column. Please contact me any one of three ways; email, phone, snail mail address (all on the back page of every Totem II). Include a note with your Alumni Association Dues/Membership renewal form. (These notes are sent to me).
I had a nice chat with Joe Murry who lives in Bremerton. I told him he sounded so young! He said he was! Joe is retired and he and Phyllis are doing fine.
Arline Shulmier Daniel lives just a block from Lincoln High. She said she didn’t get far from Lincoln. Arline is retired after working 17 years at a medical laboratory. I told her she sounded great and we agreed that Lincoln grads will just never get old. All our class members had and have such great and positive attitudes.
Our Totem II Editor Ginny Munn '56, passed along some news from Larry Bigham. Larry reported that after almost 20 years as a cab dispatcher in Seattle he was now retired and living in Loma, Montana - population about 80, not counting buffalo, horses and other animals. I found Loma on the map and it looks almost as remote and exciting as Mountain Home, Arkansas where I live! I tried to call Larry to learn more but have not heard from him at this writing.
I called Claudia Benedict Wagner who was not home but I visited with her husband Joe. They retired from the Chicago area where Joe taught at Northern Illinois University. They now live in Port Townsend. Their three adult children all live nearby in the Northwest.
I talked with Miles Yanick, of Bainbridge Island. He promises to send a newsy email; more from Miles next time.
Some sad news; Joyce Polasik Hoppe died 12/31/05. She had lived in Shoreline, WA.
Here in the Ozarks we WERE looking forward to springtime, having had mostly summer heat until this week. Then overnight the temperature went from 75 plus degrees to today's 14 degree HIGH with 6 inches of snow. My husband, Lyndel, and I are looking forward to touring Portugal, Spain, and Morocco next month. FADIMA (me) was invited to provide belly dancing and other entertainment for a SHRINER installation dinner here in Mountain Home. There were about 120 Shriners and spouses from all over the state - lots of fun. Please keep me posted on your news! Thanks much!