Class Gathering in Naples, Florida March 16 – 23, 2014

Nine of us got together for a week of memories and fun in Naples this past week:  Sue, Larry, and Laurie put the event together and hosted us; Will and Betsy buzzed down in Will’s Miata; Rachel, Mary P., and Karen H. flew in from their northern homes; and I drove down from Hollywood, MD.  And let’s not forget the spouses who put up with us for the week:  Paul, Rykken, and Patrick.

We hung around at Sue’s and Paul’s for much of our downtime to reminisce and watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico (I’ve yet to see the mythical flash of green) and freely invade their fridge and booze stocks.  Our excursions included:

• Lake Trafford and an airboat ride to look for alligators and birds;

• A trolley tour of Ave Maria, the catholic community being developed by the former owner of Dominoes Pizza;

• The Naples Botanical Gardens with this year’s wonderful Legos constructions;

• Corkscrew Swamp, and wonderful sanctuary for birds and swampy creatures;

• A pontoon boat cruise through early morning fog to bright and warm sunlight into Estero Bay;

• A bocce ball tournament at Larry’s & Rykken’s club.

And then there were the lunches and dinners…
To see all of my photos from the reunion, click here:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9tt3vcngvfadvwr/fkMc9LnvS1

And here's a link to Laurie's photos:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/szmgj7miamc87rq/N_x6FrQfdJ

Don’t forget upcoming events:

1. WOSA/FWS reunion in Baltimore July 11-14.  Go to the FWS website to register.
2. A class gathering at Vivia’s, on Lake Norman, North Carolina, in September.

Posted by Hank.

WOSA 2013; Maryville, TN

Sue, Vivia, Will, Ed and his wife Karen, Louisa and her husband Paul, and I showed our class spirit and colors at the super WOSA gathering in Maryville, TN this past weekend and had a great time.  But, we missed those of you who couldn’t make it.  As you know by now, because it was our 50th year since graduation, we were asked to do a 30 minute class presentation.  More about that below.
One of the highlights, at least for me, was catching up with Eva and Bob Forsgren who are the same wonderful people we knew so well as students.  Eva is the same witty, irreverent and “tell it as it is,, lovely lady, and Bob is still, well, Bob.
   
The weather during the reunion cooperated very well and we felt in sync with a monsoon weekend in Mussoorie. We saw a few spots of blue in the sky as we closed things up on Sunday night, but other than that it was heavy white clouds rolling through the mountains with rain coming and going.  The Sunday service’s offering, which totaled over $1,200, was tagged for the victims of Uttarakhand’s horrendous flooding and landslides this season.  (And Sue’s silent auction netted another $3,000+ for WOSA.)
For our class presentation, Sue had us decked out in class colors.  

We had a slide for each class member who sent pictures to me (and a few who I had pictures for) and talked briefly about what that classmate had done since Woodstock.  It seemed to go over fairly well, and thanks to Sue starting off with some laughing yoga, everyone was awake (9 PM after a good khana).  If you’re interested in seeing the slide show and all of the pictures you sent in to me, click here to go to the SkyDrive folder that contains them.  (You – or other prying eyes – cannot get to this folder without this link, and you will NOT need to open a SkyDrive account to follow this link.)  Each of you who sent pictures in has a separate folder identified by your name that contains them.  (Laurie's folder contains another that has a bunch of neat photos in it.) Also, when you open the WOSA 2013 folder the link takes you to, you’ll find two files named _Class Presentation.  The one with the .key appended to it is an Apple Keynote version, and you will need Keynote to view it.  The one with nothing appended is a Microsoft PowerPoint version and will run when you open it, whether or not you have PowerPoint installed on your computer.  Unfortunately, the slide show won’t be too exciting without our absolutely brilliant and witty, totally ad libbed narrative that went with it.
Next year’s reunion will be at Notre Dame University of Maryland, located very close to Baltimore’s Inner Harbour.  Block out July 11-14, 2014 for that event!
GNID!

An Itsy-Bitsy Chota GNID Reunion

Where just two or three are gathered, does that qualify to be called a GNID reunion?

On a cold, crisp, clear Sunday afternoon in January, three of us GNIDers gathered at Sue and Paul Hanifl’s near Chicago to gossip about all the rest of you who weren’t lucky enough to join us.

Just kidding. We really gathered to weep into our whine glasses about the suffering we experienced in our years at Woodstock.

Just kidding. We really gathered just because we could! Because we’re friends, we’re retired and can do what we want!

And, although we gathered at Sue’s because she had ankle replacement surgery in mid-December and is sitting captive in a wheelchair for a few weeks rather than traveling the world in a private plane, what we really talked about is how excited we are about our upcoming 50^th Reunion and our trip to India.

Who’s we? Karen Anderson Holden, who’s now an avid GNIDer and reunion attendee (even though she was at Woodstock in 1956 for less than the blink of an eye); and Sue, whom we all know as our beloved Class Secretary Extraordinaire; and me, Esther, now a happily homeless global nomad (I’m helping with care-taking for Sue for a few weeks; she's been a very good friend to me).

So the big question we have for you, dear classmate, is will you join us in India this fall? So far there are about 25 people seriously interested in attending. These include (in no particular order):

Bill and Marcia Tammeus
David and Gretchen Bonham
Karen (Eskildsen) and David Wilcock
Suzanne (Turner) and Paul Hanifl
Ted and Jackie Chitambar
Will and Gina Manton
Mary (Shannon) and Rich Murray
Joy (Rice) and John Grover
Larry Smith (and Rykken??)
Carol (McDearmid) Houghton (and Graham??)
Betsy Woodman
Esther Jantzen
Mary Pollock
Karen (Anderson) Holden 

Hank Lacy

The tour that’s being planned (you can choose what components of it you want to do) may well include a side trip to Darjeeling/Bhutan or Agra/Jaipur/Dharmsala prior to the trip to Woodstock. Then there would be the gathering in Mussoorie and Woodstock for several days. Finally there is the option to return to USA or go to South India (several places) and then possibly to Sri Lanka or back to other places in India.  

The dates are in the range of the last two weeks in October and first two of November, 2013. (We’re awaiting Woodstock calendar info before confirming dates.)

Larry Smith (our esteemed Class President) and Sue H, and Ted C (our esteemed, well, let’s call him our Supreme Communicator) are the masterminds behind the tour. Larry made a nice flow-chart to capture the ideas so far. If you want to input ideas or to put your name on the “probably-will-go” list or the “keep-me-informed,” please email Sue.

And as for our three-person + one spouse gathering in the cold of January, a good time was had by all. (Didn't our class party reports in the class minutes always end that way? :-))

Oh, almost forgot:  One more picture, this of Sue with her new ankle and in her cast in class colors!

Maine Reunion 2012

We're having a grand ole time here at the 2012 GNID reunion in Corea, Maine, at the house of Karen and David Wilcock. It's been raining like in the monsoons; when we go into stores or historic houses, there's more than a whiff of mildew. But we're all such great sports, it's no-never-mind. Yesterday we toured Woodlawn House (an antique-stocked superb sample of federalist architecture), then tasted beer and ice-cream in Bar Harbor, and ended up at Union Lobster Pot restaurant for choice lobster and other seafood. Today we went "ghooming" around the Schoodic peninsula, bought gifts at a real 5 & 10 store, had a fabulous lunch at the house that David and Gretchen Bonham are renting, and are now awaiting curry and rice dinner, an attempt to recover after disappointment that the Americans lost Ryder Cup. Karen and David are wonderful hosts--not to mention that Karen is becoming a wonderful weaver. The classmates that are here: Vivia, Sue, Larry, Betsy, Laurie, Karen W, Karen H, Bill T, David B, and Esther. We've been talking about the 2013 trip to India. Stay tuned, or email Sue to get on the list of potential travelers.

Another Naples (FL) Gathering

 

I was in Florida recently to visit Peace Corps and GNID friends in the area, and to scope out real estate for my probable move to that area in a few years.  Rykken and Larry were good enough to show me around the Naples area for pretty much most of one day; and Barb, Laurie, and Patrick on another.  And Sue and Paul were kind enough to host an evening at their super condo for the whole GNID gang.  Great fun.

When we were all together at Sue’s we were so distracted by the incredible sunset and Naples lights, and typical GNID conversation that we didn’t take any pictures.  But here’s a jiggered one for the record taken by Patrick on the edge of the Everglades.  Larry is off in the woods looking for a golf ball and Sue decided to take a swim.

Mini-Reunion in Naples, FL... Sunset Cruise!

Click here for Laurie's pictures of a gorgeous sunset cruise in Naples, FL with some of our classmates who hang out there, their spouses, and Jim and Nelda Miller.

Gathering in Black Mountain

We had three GNIDers together in Black Mountain, NC at the memorial service for Doug Pickett:  Louisa, Dave Whetstone, and myself.  The fellow on the left is my brother Doug.  Dave and Debbie hosted me for four nights and it was nice to have some extended time with Hickory, NC’s finest, and to catch up with Louisa.

Sedona Reunion–Part 1

Here’s a picture of the GNIDers attending the Sedona reunion with the exception of Marilee and her husband Dave, and Karen (Holden) and her friend John.  The absentees reportedly found better things to do than take jeeps up to the Sedona badlands – they were trying to track down the elusive Roadrunner.  I’m promised additional photos to post shortly.  Meanwhile I’m trying to hold my envy in check!

A Visit with Joy Rice Grover

Did you know that our GNID classmate Joy Rice Grover is an excellent artist? I spent part of an afternoon with her in Portland in mid-November. We ate, chatted, and made a visit to the Portland Art Museum because we’re both interested in art. The home Joy shares with her retired husband, John, displays a number of her paintings and, of course, lovely artifacts from India. The house is perched on the side of a mountain with an outstanding view of the river and city, but driving the switchback streets up to it reminded me of the narrow lanes of Mussoorie. Joy's daughter, Hillary, and her husband were visiting for a few days at the time I was there, so I got to meet them, too.

Here are a couple of photos in front of one of Joy's paintings—one of Joy with her adorable, articulate grandchildren, and one of Joy and me.

Esther