The 1966ers Mini-Reunion in 2014 - Thanks to All Who Organized Activities for Us

Linda Nelson Pearson visited with Susan and Steve Quick at Lago's.

We tried to get to know Ronald McDonald,
but he was rather stiff.

Sassy Sue refused to sit alone with Ronald McDonald,
so she grinned and made nice instead.

Crafts and Coolidge Flutists Reunion

Friday and Saturday Activities for MHS 66 - June 7 and 8, 2014

At the Crane and Pelican in LeClaire, Iowa. 

Sherry Perrine Brummet, True Dee Giacomelli Sorgen, Barbara Christine DeSmet, Ruth Durham Harrison, Jorja Hepner Beert, Kym Dennhardt Whatley, Ruth Stewart, Chris Jackson, Linda Nelson Pearson, Darlene Gabriel Katherman, Barb Dodd Hawotte, Jayne Johnson McDermott. Not pictured - Greg Jackson and Sassy Sue.

First Post - Lago's Get-Together, Class of 1966

Guy Johnson, MHS 68, came to Lago's to have lunch with the 66ers. Guy went to Garfield and Coolidge. We both enjoyed comic books and read tons of them. Guy was a lot of fun at lunch. He has been around the area forever and is retired, but working on refurbishing WWII planes.

We will have some more photos when I return to Arkansas. Lago's was a sardine can as a busload arrived just as we came in looking for seats. Some MHS66ers were: Kym Dennhardt, Linda Nelson, Ruth Durham, Ruth Chelstrom, Steve Quick, Glenda Berg, Billie Seasland and her sister, and your humble scribe, Greg Jackson.

 The Moline High Class of 1966 organized a special mini-reunion since most of us were turning 66 this year. Besides that, we were born in 1948 (with some exceptions) and this is our 48th year after graduating.

If you happen to be younger and reading this, then I will repeat what I often heard from my parents. You will not believe how fast time flies as the years add up.

At the 45th reunion - Lagomarcino's was a required stop.

I last saw Guy in high school in 1966. We lived about one block apart, went to the same grade school (Garfield), the same junior high (Coolidge), and graduated two years apart. He had my mother for a teacher, which was true of well over 1,000 students.

We had some laughs about how she handled students by inflicting brief moments of pain. One source was her rock ring. Another was the knuckle rap. A third was the neck pinch. In a crisis, she could drag a student kicking and struggling into the principal's office. I watched that once, thinking,"You can't win this one, kid."

Many friendships span the decades, and we care about each other's needs.

The school chose my mother to teach under-performing junior high students. She agreed only if she could use physical punishment. The principal quailed, insisting on signed parental permission slips. The parents were glad to sign, and my mother turned a bunch of undisciplined kids into very good students.

One student just wrote on Facebook - "Your mother was the meanest teacher I ever had."

On the next line, he wrote, "Also the best."

Guy is now restoring WWII aircraft with other volunteers. He has also gone around town and photographed our schools and identified what has changed over the years. That means a lot as time goes by. I remember the "new" part of Garfield, another school being closed. We marched up on the stage and sang Christmas songs, and put on various skits for our parents and teachers.

Coolidge was the junior high where we started to grow into adults. We took shop - print, metal, and woodworking. The system has turned it into an alternative school, so that has all changed, too.

I usually walked to Garfield, and Guy met me on the way. We had great discussions that led to a mutual swapping and reading of comic books.

A few people have browbeaten me for not keeping all those comic books, which are now collectibles. But, how does one explain boxes and boxes of comic books to adults. "What are those?" -

"Oh, Superman comics, and Batman, and Justice League, and Flash, and Classics Illustrated, and some random military ones. Why?"

The comics encouraged imagination and an interest in science. By reading all the Classics Illustrated I had the background for about 100 of the best known works of literature. I bought and collected those works, sold some, and gave many away to students. Next semester, I am teaching World Literature.

The Moline school system gave us a great start. No area of education or the fine arts was neglected, and they had great sports teams as well. I was in the band, so I got to see a lot more sports than I cared to watch. But marching and concert band created a large group of friends - several of them at Lago's today.

Barb Garst Day at Moline High

Being in band meant we played for Barb Garst Day, honoring our English teacher. My head appears over the shoulder of the principal. The sax player is Jim - from the Medd family, pioneers in the Dairy Queen business and inventors of the DQ Blizzard. Jim became a pilot for TWA after serving in the military. Behind him is Carl Zobrist, who became a well known lawyer and also served in the military.

I was going on 18 in that picture. Our granddaughter turned 18 and just graduated from her high school.

Moline 1966 Gathering for Their 66th Birthdays. Or - The 1948ers Mark Their 48th Year after Graduation

The Moline High School Class of 1966 is having a celebration marking 66th birthdays. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7, at Mulligans, 310 W. 1st Ave., Coal Valley. Front, from left, are Tom Holuba, James Kron and Mike Waters. Back, from left, are True Dee Giacomelli Sorgen, Delma Winter Reakes, Barb Warfield DeSmet, Jayne, Johnson McDermott, Shirley Brown Waters and Julie Thorngren Hanger. For information, call James Kron at 309-797-9658. 

Reunion Activities - June of 2014 - For MHS66 - The Class the Stars Fell On

John Baker Bridge - Photographed by Mary Parsons Caisley

• 
  
• JUNE 4TH - Lunch at Lago's at noon. Ten or more attended, plus two spouses.
• JUNE 5TH  - Ladies Lunch at Crane & Pelican in LeClaire, 1 PM. You must RSVP Kym/Jorja.
• JUNE 6TH - Weather permitting, crafts at Riverside Park.
• JUNE 7TH - Reunion gathering. MULLIGIAN'S, Coal Valley, 5PM.

Kym Dennhardt Whatley, Jorja Hepner Beert, and Linda Nelson Pearson
organized some extra activities.

MHS 66 Mini-Reunion, Saturday, June 7th at Mulligan's in Coal Valley.

Mulligan's interior.

Mulligan's  Valley Pub, 310 West 1st Avenue, Coal Valley, Illinois on Saturday,  June 7th from 5:00 P.M. until the cows come home. 

There will be plenty of food and  drinks plus a 50/50 drawing.

Lawrence Eyre is coaching tennis at Grinnell College in Iowa.

Kym Dennhardt Whatley Just Got Her 1966 Reunion Book

Kym Dennhardt Whatley

"Moline High School 1966 is a wonderful trip down memory lane. If you graduated with us, this is a "must have".

Kym Dennhardt Whatley

Kym's reunion nails:
The Class the Stars Fell On.

Order at this link.

Two Discounts From Lulu for Ordering the 1966 Reunion Book

This is the link for ordering the MHS 66 Reunion Book - full color inside.

Lulu offers discounts throughout the year.

Currently, if you put LULUBOOK305 in the window at the bottom, when the order is almost complete, you will get a 25% discount, through January 31st.

If you put SECONDHALF in that window, the second book is 50% off, through January 15th.

Lulu is print-on-demand, so the order is printed and sent directly to your home - or to anyone you select.

Even More Corrections Made To the Reunion Book

Notice the uncredited cameo.
Perhaps the oversight motivated the offended student to pursue liberal arts instead of science.
America could have had zip-loc bags and Google years earlier.
For want of a nail, a shoe was lost...

Here is the absolute latest version of the MHS 1966 Reunion Book. It is a free PDF download. John Robeson got me involved in Dropbox, which made the sharing much easier. Let me know if you want the free software, which is great for backing up files and sending large ones.

I have also changed the link on the left.

Corrections will be made every so often, so do not hesitate to send an email or FB message. I change the title page to reflect the date of the newest edition. This one is New Year's Eve, 2011.

I am looking into an e-book version right now.

---

Current Lulu discount:

Reflections on the Moline High School Graduates of 1966: The Class the Stars Fell On

I finished our 1966 reunion book, so that got me thinking about being born in Moline and growing up there. Since I had no comparison, I took everything for granted. For instance, G. Lavern Flambo organized all kinds of entertainment that brought world famous performers to the Quad Cities. I tell college students about watching Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, and Louis Bellson perform. They say, "You did? In Moline?" Benny Goodman played at Wharton, so I walked over and had my program signed. Wasn't every small town like that? I saw Flambo at Melo Cream all the time. How much does a kid know?

I was a bit embarrassed that my father's business was downtown. Later I came to appreciate the charm of old downtown areas, which get better with age, if the citizens and corporations keep them up. Flambo had his hole-in-the-wall WQUA station almost next door to the doughnut shop. In the background is the spire of First Lutheran Church, the mother church of the Swedish Augustana Lutheran Synod.

Lago's and Whitey's are two examples of local businesses seldom equaled anywhere else. Classmates long to come back to both places, and other eateries they remember with fondness.

Going over the John Deere, Coolidge, and MHS yearbooks reminded me of how organized we were, how often we volunteered to help in various ways. Of course, many adults and parents made that possible. The money earned from manufacturing helped a great deal too, as everyone has learned too late.

The Moline Dispatch seemed to cover every cat-hanging in town, so we took that for granted too. This photo of Jackie Ozanne was one of many about our chem-physics class. Three of those students earned PhDs later - in rocket science, math, and theology. The last category was appropriate because the two teachers prayed the whole time that I would graduate.

I see pictures like this and remember the stories, pranks, and classes. The warm memories overlap because many classmates were my mother's favorite students in class at Garfield, so I knew even more from all classes from her observations about them. People contact me and say, "Your mother saved my life," or "She was my favorite teacher." George Small told me, "I became an engineer because your mother had us build a working model of the Panama Canal." But I tell my grandchildren, "Dairy Queen came from the Medd family, and the Medd brothers invented the Blizzard machine."

Each group photograph seems to include someone who died too young. Many are no longer in contact with the reunion committee or the rest of us. That is another kind of loss. Do the missing or silent ones have children, grandchildren, and photos of where they live?

At the 40th reunion, Bruce Johnson said during a talk, "Yes, the Class the Stars Fell On," a reference to a famous West Point class of future generals. One classmate said at the 45th reunion, "I love that designation, because there are so many achievers in one class."

I will have to name them all a little later, but here are a few who come to mind, in no particular order:

• A rocket scientist.
• The best high school tennis coach in the US.
• A nationally known fiction and business writer.
• A performer on Broadway.
• An Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame recipient.
• Three university professors.
• A minister and singer with a world-wide ministry.
• Five PhDs.
• Three from the same neighborhood who went to Yale graduate school.
• Two psychologists.
• A cardiologist.
• Two veterinary physicians.
• Several nurses.
• Several lawyers.
• Public school teachers.
• At least one engineer.
• A Viet Nam war hero who earned the Medal of Honor.
• Many who served our military forces with distinction, one rising to the rank of full colonel.
• Parents who stayed together, raised their children, and now enjoy the delights of grandchildren.

Final Version of the MHS Reunion Book:Free Download and Purchasing Information

Free Final PDF Version of the MHS 1966 Reunion Book.

Everyone can download this free PDF and save it to the hard drive. Share it too. If you see a caption to improve or a name misspelled, let me know at gregjackson1948@qwest.net.

The full-color print version can be ordered here. The cost is $27.95 because the interior has to be all color or all black and white. I decided to make it color because many historic photos and all current photos are color.

Click here to order the printed version. There is often a sale on printed books, 20% or more off. Click on the main lulu.com address to find the discount - which is always a big headline. The book is printed and sent to your home, office, or dessert island.

The book happened because Kym Dennhardt Whatley insisted.

The Reunion Book Is Done. Order a Printed Copy or Check Over the Free Download To Help Correct Errors

Ripped from the Pages of the 

1966 Reunion Book

These true stories--and more--can be found in the Moline High 1966 Reunion Book.

This is the free download link. John Robeson got me interested in Dropbox, which allows free downloads, without the need to install the software. But the free software is great for sharing large files.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5009355/print_mhs66_adv_2011.docx

Please help with captions and mistakes. Send corrections to gregjackson1948@qwest.net or my main email address, which some of you know. It is the cox.net address.

This is where you can order the printed version, which I will continue to improve because of print-on-demand software.

 http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/martinchemnitzpress

The cost went up to $27.95 because the size doubled and it was far better with a full color interior. The book has 80 pages in it.

If there are photos from the reunion that you want added, send them to me with the caption. I can do that. I will make all the major changes and print a Christmas edition (see the title page).

Judy Marsh Ramsay gets the first copy because of all her work on the website. The website and Facebook were essential in putting together the biographies.

Kym and Josephine Schaeffer Johnson

Thank Kym Dennhardt Whatley for the project, because she kept insisting on a book, something we can keep. The website and book together will help a lot of people keep in touch and get to know each other again.

The reunion committee made the event happen.
 Reunion committee members include, in front from left, Bill Serandos, Dave Coopman and Jim Kron; middle row, Karen Sommers, Judy (Marsh) Ramsay, Delma (Winter) Reakes and Barb (Warfield) DeSmet; and back row, Jayne (Johnson) McDermott, True Dee (Giacomelli) Sorgen and Darlene (Gabriel) Katherman.

More Pre-Reunion Dinner Photos

Tom Gramkow was at Casey's.

Sassy Sue looked up and down the Mississippi River
for the Moline river-walkers.

Chris Jackson dressed for dinner,
waiting for the group to gather and go to party central.

Greg Jackson, ditto, at the Comfort Inn.

Hot Fudge Sundaes and Green Rivers at Lagomarcino's, Moline High 1966 Reunion

Back row: Cynthia Christopherson, Alan Hoffman, Debbie Mitchell Gahan and her twin in the mirror.
Foreground, starting on the left: Beverly Epplin Wagner's back, Kathy Colburg, Pam Nystrom Sims, Barb Dodd Hawotte, 
and Kris Streed Crawford.

Linda Nelson Pearson and Chris Jackson's hands.

Beverly Epplin Wagner (l.) and Kym Dennhardt Whatley

We had a great time at Lagomarcino's - my first time inside. Fortunately there were no initiation rites to endure. This was a great idea, and I hope we have many more small group gatherings at the next one.

I am voting for a 65th birthday party in two years.