Angel Joy

Thursday, September 2, 2021. Thank You - Moliners - For Welcoming Christina Ellenberger Jackson

 

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Thank You - Moliners - For Welcoming Christina Ellenberger Jackson

My wife Christina always enjoyed going to Moline reunions. Her high school was closed in South Bend. 

She was welcomed by everyone from MHS. Kris Streed was very helpful in regards to cancer treatments. Christina and Jorja Hepner Beert had a great time talking. Jorja wrote to me, "SO wish I could have  hugged  her   one more  time ! it  was   the first hug  she gave me  that  calmed me  and  gave  me  strength.   THAT day ( first day met her in person) will  stay with me  always .."

We were asked to dinner with Linda Nelson Pearson and her late husband Dave.

We had a personal tour of Perryville (LCMS' Holy Land) with Mayor Debbie Mitchell Gahan.

Ranger Bob says, "Live every day like it's your last day on earth."

When Larry Easter visited us in Phoenix, we did not realize it was the last time we would see him.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Distinguished Former Mayor of Perryville, Missouri - Debbie Mitchell Gahan -
Gave Us a Guided Tour of the LCMS Holy Land

Debbie Mitchell Gahah, MHS 66, served as
the mayor of Perryville, Missouri.

Christina Jackson Enjoyed Her Swedish Wedding Crown - Birthday, August 22

 

August 22, 2026 - 78th Birthday.
Christina wore the Swedish crown for her wedding.

Engagement photo.

Chris loved to tell the nurses - Erin Joy loved that middle initial. They both did!

Norma Boeckler wondered if I could find her splendid garden. 

Martin enjoyed the calendar photo - and bakeries. 

 

Legendary Locals - By David Coopman - "Coop" - 2019.

 

June 25, 2019

Legendary Locals - By David Coopman - "Coop"

 Legendary Locals of Moline, Illinois, by David Coopman

I cleaned up my bookshelf, sending many to friends, neighbors, and Waste Management, Inc. I kept Legendary Locals of Moline, because that is endlessly fascinating.

This is David Coopman's fourth book about the Quad-City Area, cities surrounded by farmland and flood waters. So many greats have come from this area that my wife responds to news about inventions and achievements this way, "I know, another Moliner."

Not always - but often. The computer was invented at a Rock Island roadhouse.

QC Online

"The research, going over old advertisements and meeting people who made the station what it was, is special," he says. "It never fails -- when I go to check a fact that I'm expecting to take 15 minutes, it always takes me three or four hours. It's been that much fun researching this book."

Lagomarcino's had to be in the book, but what about the Mayor of the Lutheran Holyland - Perryville, Missouri - Debbie Mitchell Gahan?

 

 Eyre is in the book for tennis, but added poetry to his resume. Publish or perish applies to tennis professors too.

Which class should have the most legendary honors, you dare ask? The Class the Stars Fell On - 1966.

Monday, March 28, 2016

David Coopman Publishing His Book on Legendary Locals of Moline.
Order Yours at This Link

Order Legendary Locals by David Coopman at this link.

David Benton Sears could be considered the father of Moline, Illinois. It was upon his land that Moline was platted in 1843. It was because of his brush dam on the Mississippi River between the Moline shore and Rock Island—known today as Arsenal Island—that significant industry began to develop. Grain and lumber mills were the first, but farm implement and related factories soon found prominence after John Deere moved his plow-making business here in 1848. 

David T. Coopman books on Amazon.

It would not be long before immigrants, particularly the Swedish, Belgian, and German, were drawn to Moline for the jobs and opportunities and added to the growing and prosperous population. Legendary Locals of Moline tells the known and not-so-well-known stories of many of the early and the more-recent individuals who have contributed to the fabric of the community, both locally and nationally. Historical and current photographs illustrate those who affected business and industry, culture, academia, public service, organizations and philanthropies, and sports and entertainment.

David Coopman has published many books of local history -
a great contribution to the Quad City area.

Same Church, Same Chem-Physics Class, Same 44th Anniversary Today,

Friday, November 22, 2013

Same Church, Same Chem-Physics Class, Same 44th Anniversary Today,

John and Diana were married 44 years ago today.

John and I went to Plymouth Congregational Church, pre-school,
ended up as lab partners in chem-physics class.
I am in that photo - my uncredited cameo.
John earned a PhD in math.

Now they have an abundance of red-headed grandchildren.

Chris and I took Team Jackson to see
Yakov Smirnoff in Branson, giving the comic
his own t-shirt and one for his mother.


Our team t-shirts, with Lady Liberty on them,
caught the attention of the Food Channel and increased our modest fame.
After the Smirnoff show, we went for ice cream -
and the rest is cinematic history.

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Rest in Peace - Pat Sundine Edwards - Almost 92.

 

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Rest in Peace - Pat Sundine Edwards - Almost 92.
Host of Pioneering TV Show Especially for You

Stephanie Sundine and her mother Pat Sundine Edwards

SARASOTA, Fla. — Pat Sundine Edwards died Feb. 6, 2014, at her home in Sarasota. She was 91.

Patricia Niemeyer was born Feb. 15, 1922, in San Francisco. She attended Max Reinhardt School of the Theater in Hollywood for one year, as well as San Francisco Junior College. She married John R. (Jack) Sundine in San Francisco in1946. Mr. Sundine was a captain in the Navy, and was later editor and co-owner of the Moline Dispatch. In Moline, they raised their three children, Stephanie, Krista and John. As Pat Sundine, she hosted her own television show, which broadcast at WOC in Davenport for 18 years, five days a week, as well as a radio talk show for 12 years. She interviewed many famous and interesting guests, and received honors and accolades.

She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and was very active in many civic and service organizations in the Quad-Cities. Awards included a Public Service Award from the State of Illinois for a television and radio series she initiated, “The Child Alone,” dealing with mentally ill children. She received special commendation from Iowa Gov. Harold Hughes for her work with the Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. She and Mr. Sundine were divorced in 1973, and she moved to Naples. In Naples, she was the first development director of Avow Hospice, as it is now known. She was a founding board member and volunteer for the Shelter for Abused Women, and also for Fresh Start for Women of Collier County. She was a member of Unity Church of Naples.

She married David Putnam in 1980, a marriage that ended a few years later. In 1988, she married Fredrick Edwards in Naples. She is survived by Mr. Edwards; her daughter, Stephanie Sundine (Victor DeRenzi); granddaughters, Francesca MacBeth (Peter), Kate Laver (Adam), Stephanie Franks (Jeremy); her stepson, Sterling Edwards (Diane); step-granddaughters, Lisa Edwards and Lauren Maudlen; and several great-grandchildren.

There will be no funeral, and Mrs. Edwards is donating her body to the University of South Florida. A celebration of her life will be scheduled in March in Naples. Contributions in her name may be made to Avow Hospice of Naples, to the Shelter for Abused Women of Collier County, Fla., or to Unity Church in Naples.

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http://molinememories.blogspot.com/search/label/Pat%20Sundine

Stephanie enjoys her grandson Finn.

Pat admires her great-grandson, Finn.

Francesca MacBeth, their son Finn and her husband Peter.
Sarasota opera - Johann Strauss - Der Fledermaus: "DeRenzi will conduct the piece for the first time, and his wife, Stephanie Sundine, takes on the stage direction. Darko Tresjnak staged the company’s 2003 production, followed by Michael Unger in 2006.

The production is also something of a family affair because DeRenzi and Sundine’s daughter, Francesca, who grew up around Sarasota Opera, is working as the stage manager."

Pat Sundine was a pioneer in television for women.

Stephanie Sundine became an opera star and director.

Source of this verbatim quotation:

"As a third-grader in Moline, Illinois, Stephanie Sundine knew that she wanted to sing. In her interview with OperaMom, Sundine recalled sitting in her classroom enraptured, listening to the beautiful soprano voice of her music teacher. "I remember being so happy whenever it was time for music class, since we did a lot of singing. That same teacher became my homeroom teacher in fifth grade, and everyday I would go into class and say, 'Mrs. Leland, are we going to have music today?' She was patient for a while, and then finally told me nicely to stop asking her!" The daughter of supportive and high public-profile parents (her father, a newspaper owner/editor and her mother, one of the first women in the U.S. to have her own TV talk show), Sundine sang her first solos with her church choir when she was still in eighth grade. "I most admired my voice teachers and music teachers, and appreciated their encouragement and hard work with me." Her first opera recording, La boheme with Victoria de los Angeles, was evidence of her admiration for full-throated soprano voices, which grew to include Tebaldi, Freni, and Nilsson, among others.

After graduating with her B.M. from the University of Illinois, Sundine remained in the Chicago area for four years, performing regularly as a freelance artist with small opera groups as a lyric mezzo. For two summers she was an apprentice with Chautauqua Opera, and attended opera workshops run by Boris Goldovsky, the famed conductor and impresario. "I did three national tours with Goldovsky Opera, singing small roles as well as performing various roles with small companies in New York City." It was at an audition for one of these companies, New York Lyric Opera, that she met her future husband, conductor Victor DeRenzi. "I had seen Victor conduct a couple of performances for them. At my audition, totally unbeknownst to me, he decided he wanted to marry me, and made sure the company hired me for Meg in the Falstaff he was conducting." Very soon after rehearsals for Falstaff began, they got together - the beginning of a relationship which would have a profound and positive impact on her career and her future. "When I met Victor, he felt that I had much more voice than I was using. He encouraged me to change my vocal technique and helped me to develop a much more professional sound." Through the guidance of DeRenzi and her voice teacher, Sundine made the transition from lyric mezzo to soprano. "Over the course of a few years I went from singing Cherubino to singing Isolde, with lots of roles in between!" she exclaimed."

More Stephanie Sundine information.

Stephanie's website.

***

GJ - The Sundines went to Garfield. Every so often we saw Pat Sundine in her TV makeup at the school. Mrs. Leland, one of our teachers, had an exceptional voice, so she led our Christmas programs. The teachers traded off certain classes, so we had Mrs. Leland for singing. I remember my mother saying in a hushed voice, "She was first soprano in the Augustana choir."

Augustana was known for its music program. Note the connection with the Moline Boys Choir and Dr. Fred Swanson.

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Captain Ernie has a great post on the TV show hosted by Stephanie's mother, Pat Sundine - Especially For You. I have copied a little from it:

However - on with the show. I simply adored being the on the air hostess of E for You! I had a completely fabulous time - George Sontag was a dear man (I called him "the chocolate bear") - why, I don't recall - I met and cherished many people, home grown and celebrities! - one of my most favorite segments was called "Fables of our Times" - I then had fascinating interviews with people about their lives, people who were then at my age now! The aim of the show was to entertain and inform - I guess we accomplished those goals - among the famous guests were; Pat Boone, Sebastian Cabot, singing quartet The Ames Brothers, Vincent Price, Duke Ellington, Clyde McCoy, orchestra leader Montavoni, actress Celeste Holm, famous orchestra leader Carmen Cavallero, film actor Joel McCrea, bandleader/singer Bob Crosby (Bing's brother), President Ronald Reagan (I filmed him when he was spokesman for General Electric), American society figure Perle Mesta, actress Sylvia Sidney, Lorne Green, Robert Young (several times - his doctor lived here), Mary Ann Mobley who was one of the Miss Americas and many others.

I had such a fine and rewarding time - I still dream about it!

I have been Mrs. Fredrick Jasper Edwards for 18 blissful years and I couldn't be happier - Jack Sundine is living in St. Petersburg, Florida - we see each other and talk often. My two daughters are a blessing to us - Krista Kruse lives in Moline and Stephanie Sundine lives in New York.

John Patrick Sundine, my son and their brother, died this past December due to complications from diabetes which he suffered from at the age of seven years.

I must mention Anita Sundin wrote commercials and when I was away, took my place on Especially for You. She was just awarded by the State of Iowa a prize for being the person in the whole state that for years has read books for the blind. Quite an honor and quite a gal!

Love, Patricia Sundine

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Moline Hall of Honor

Stephanie Sundine (Class of 1965) --Stephanie Sundine’s remarkable international career in opera and stage directing began with her early love for musical experiences in the Moline School District. Sundine graduated with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She began her professional opera career in Rochester, New York, and has since performed in principle roles across the globe. She retired from her vocal career in 1995. She continued her stage work as director in more than 30 productions across the United States. Sundine has also shared her talents through private studio coaching, guest teaching at Boston University and Catholic University, as a competition judge, and co-founder of Words for Music, a program providing translated subtitles for performances in other languages.

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Saturday, March 27, 2010 David Coopman's Book Coming Soon: May 10, 2010,

 

Saturday, March 27, 2010

David Coopman's Book Coming Soon:
May 10, 2010

Dave Coopman is the media historian of the Quad-Cities.

Captain Ernie

To discuss his book - Davenport's WOC AM-FM-TV

Book Description:
Beginning in 1922, Davenport's WOC has charted an impressive list of broadcasting firsts: the first licensed commercial radio station west of the Mississippi River; first station to establish logging, the practice of recording program schedules down to the minute and second; the use of time signals at the beginning of programs; first to build and use audio mixing controls that allowed multiple microphone usage; first to broadcast from a state legislature; and first to broadcast programming meant specifically for children. WOC-TV was the first television station in Iowa on the air when it began regular programming in 1949. This volume of images presents an overview to the history, facilities, programming, and technology of the WOC stations and provides a glimpse at the stations today, as new ownership carries on an outstanding tradition in Quad City broadcasting.

ISBN: 9780738577807

# of Pages: 128
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
On Sale Date: 05/10/2010

Author Bio: David T. Coopman is a former employee of the WOC stations, a former teacher, past president of the Rock Island County Historical Society, and a local history buff. He has authored two books on the history of local broadcasting and Rock Island County in the Images of America series.

Coopman's WQUA book.