Singing Six

Bob Hails, Janet Beardsley Johnson, John Brownback, 

Bob Wicks, Judy Vicars Van Hagen, Carolyn Quinlan 

A sextet made up of Singing 7 and Senators.

Reunion head counts:

24 Golfers at Panther Creek  

37 for lunch at Panther Creek

165 for reception at Motor Boat Club

160 for dinner at Illini Country Club

71 for brunch at Panther Creek

That's excellent participation in all the events.

Thanks to Carolyn and Judy for picture and counts.

Last F-16

 

Shannon Kirshner,  State Journal Register

     The last of the F-16 fighter jets assigned to the 183rd Fighter Wing at Capitol Airport left the runway today. This marks the end of the unit's mission, which dates back to the 1940s in Springfield.

    In recent years, the unit focused on engine repair and controlling air operations in the Midwest. Now all the fighters are reassigned to other parts of the USA.

    The story in the SJR gives full details and provides a film of the last fighter's departure. Also see comments below the SJR story for some gripes by today's citizen residents.

    Thanks to Judi Dunkel Headrick for providing the story tip. 

Bob Owens

 

Bob at the 50th Reunion

     I'm sorry to report that Bob Owens died on Saturday, September 13 in the St. Louis airport. He attended the reunion and then spent time visiting family. A friend, Jim Sexton, drove Bob to the airport. A few minutes later, Bob collapsed inside the terminal. He was taken to a hospital but efforts to revive him failed.

     In his reunion biography Bob reported that he attended Cathedral Grade School and his favorite memories of SHS were the early morning gatherings in the auditorium. He was retired from a career with the Barnes Group, which manufactures components for a variety of industries.

     Bob is survived by his wife, Carolyn Ann, along with three children and one grandchild. An obituary appears in the SJR for Sep 28, 2008. You may sign the guest book and send messages to Bob's family.

Picture by Judy Van Hagen 

Reunion Decor

Our fantastic Reunion committee worked hard to get the weekend right, from scheduling events at different venues to decorating the tables and providing souvenirs. (Click on pictures to enlarge.)

The primary color scheme (of course) was red and black. Somehow, they managed to locate black table cloths and napkins.

 

Here's a closer view of a table at Illini CC, all set for feasting.

 

And a final touch was 50s confetti, in appropriate shapes.

 

Pictures by 

Diane Gurgens Urbanckas

Judy Vicars Van Hagen 

Gettin' Their Groove On

Illini CC, Saturday Sep 6, 2008

Tunes by Evans Brittin and the Music Makers

Moves by Distinguished 58s

 Sam Gore, Ruth Lance Gore, Bill Irwin

 Jo Ankeny Lindamood, Bonnie Bruce Baker

Bill Irwin, Unidentified, Tavie Bunn Casper

Janet Bailey Kerner, Joyce Means Pardue

Sandra Murphy McCool, Suzie Lee Boyd

Tavie Bunn Casper, Pete Casper

 Pictures by Judy Vicars Van Hagen

Lawrence Alumni

Alumni of Lawrence Grade School

Nancy Fromm, Don Arenz, Nancy Oldham 

Bob Hails, Jerry Pavlock, Pat Stein

John Yarbrough, Judy Lewis

 

Andy Holman, Don Arenz, Pat Stein

Bob Hails, Nancy Fromm, Nancy Oldham, Jerry Pavlock 

Pictures by Sid Arenz 

Reunion Golf Results

 

Larry Jabush, Bob Wicks, Tom Brosch, John Dunn

SHS 50th Reunion Golf Results
Panther Creek Country Club
September  5, 2008

Super Shots

• Longest Putt: (Hole 9) Chuck Harmon
• Longest Drive: (Hole 4) Steve Kwedar
• Closest to the Pin: (Hole 5) Jim Herron
• Closet to the Pin: (Hole 11) Pete Casper
• Longest Putt: (Hole 18) Bob Wicks
• Longest Drive: (Hole 15) Don Eickhoff

Skins Game Winners

• Roger Hocking
• Pete Casper  (2 skins)
• Scott Wike
• Jerry Pavlock   
• Chuck Harmon
• Don Eichkoff

Picture from Tom Brosch

Stats from C. E. Welch

Reunion Pictures 4

 

Group shot at Illini CC, Sep 7 2008

A preview of the official group shot, by Miriam Kennedy 

  

Closer shot, by Sid Arenz 

(Click on the pictures for larger views) 

Reunion Pictures 3

 

Carolyn Baldwin Quinlan, Sandra Murphy McCool, Judy Vicars Van Hagen 

at Panther Creek Brunch

Picture courtesy of Carolyn Quinlan

Reunion Pictures 2

 

Alan Kennedy, Miriam Kennedy

  

Suzanne Lee Boyd 

Pictures courtesy of Suzi Boyd

Reunion Pictures 1

Here are early pictures of the Reunion, courtesy of Dick Hart. In this scene, we're greeted at the front entrance to the dining room of Illini CC by Leslie Heineke Sandlin, Ann Tobin Hart, Champ Davis, and Jan Curry Davis.

In this shot, Keith Schnepp appears to be addressing some of the '58 men. I'm not able to recognize all the faces, so perhaps someone who does will send in a helpful comment.

Update: please read the comment by Judy Vicars VanHagen. She explains the picture and lists all the names. 

50s Party

 

Susan Farley, New York Times

For those of us unable to be in Springfield this weekend, here's a story in the NYT about "the world's biggest 50s party," held each Labor Day weekend in Parsippinany, NJ.

Check out the slide show of autos and fashions from those days. We won't call them vintage, right? But some of those folks do look a little grizzled!