SHS Organ

The Barton Theatre Organ in the SHS auditorium is a source of great musical fun to the community. I believe the organ once sat downtown in the Orpheum theatre. Early in the 1990s, it moved to SHS and was restored. (Locals, please comment if I'm wrong.)

Today it's used for school programs and public concerts, the latter often featuring Mark Gifford, an expert on church and silent film music. You may catch Mark on July 3-4 in Pittsfield and Springfield, and again on Dec 6 and 26 for carol concerts in Springfield.

Our Video channel has a brief film of Mark performing at SHS. For the memory-challenged, check out Music.

Father's Day

Tom Brosch '58 had an early Dad's Day present this year. His wife, Bev Francisco Brosch '60 invited her Chi O pledge sisters from the U of I ('64) for a weekend in Gatlinburg and the Smokies. 

Festivities included dinners, wine tastings, riverside lunch in Sevierville, a mountain drive, two hikes, and a picnic.

Tom served as host and designated driver. Here he tipples with the Springfield contingent, left to right: Louisa Pedigo Snyder, Marlene Barlick Burton, Tom, Bev, and Sue Lanich Jackson.

If you have photos of recent events, please send them in.

Taco Salad

Jo Ankeny Lindamood and Bonnie Bruce Baker recently met for lunch in sunny Phoenix. Bonnie was visiting her mother, and Jo has become a resident of Arizona. A welcome relief, she says, after many winters in Ohio. Addresses are in our class directory. (If you have recent photos, please send them in.)

John Harrison

John Harrison '58 died on June 11, 2009, in a home hospice after his diagnosis last fall with lung cancer.

In Springfield, John attended Butler grade school, where he showed an early talent for art and writing. At SHS he edited the Capitoline and wrote for the Senator Speaks. He was a member of Jr. Choir, Wranglers, and played varsity tennis all four years.

He attended Carleton College, earning a B.A. in European History in 1962. During his Army service, he was a Russian interpreter and later taught Islamic art in Turkey. In 1966-72 he worked on MA and PhD degrees at UCLA in the fields of Russian history, Islamic politics, and Islamic art.

In later years we lost track of John, though he remained close with Stephen and Joann Grove Dilts, who knew him at Carlton and named one of their sons for him.

Before his final illness, John worked for many years in the travel section of AAA and volunteered almost daily at an animal shelter, The Lange Foundation. John was 69 and is survived by his older sister, Diane.

Memorial donations may be made in John’s name to: The Lange Foundation, 2106 S. Sepulveda Blvd. West Los Angeles, CA 90025, 310-473-5585. Thanks to Stephen Dilts and Judy Vicars Van Hagen for the information.

D-Day

A brief tribute to D-Day and the greatest generation.

This picture is the favorite of their children.

Nelson & Mary Howarth, in California, in late 1943.

He is about to ship out for combat duty in the Pacific.

She will go home to care for three kids, all under seven.

Since they married during the Depression,

This time together was their only honeymoon.

Their generation made so many sacrifices

So that we and others would live and prosper.

On this day of tribute, we salute them.