I've written about Tom Brobst before and his organization of the class of 1984. Every so often he sends out an e-mailer about happenings of the class, Catty, etc. I'll cut and paste it into the first post...it's long and the format may not come out right.
I'm sure Tom will send you the email if you contact him at tbrobst(at)yahoo.com and will add you to his mailing list if you want. Here are some pics he included.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Class of 1984 e-mailer
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Catasauqua Class of 1984 Mailer
Issue 27, Winter 2006-2007
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Subject: #27 Class of '84, Mid-Winter Blues
Date: Jan. 9, 2007
Hi Folks,
I hope everyone had a good holiday season. My holiday travel plans to Boulder, CO were hampered by the storm but we managed to bypass Denver International Airport by taking detours to Minneapolis and Kansas City and driving in. Glad to be home.
The last mailer in the fall was punctuated with finding a lot of old classmates who left the school district. I haven't done much follow-up recently but have included much of the finished and unfinished work here on long, lost classmates in this issue.
As usual, I'm sharing more photos and have included a new "Retro Corner" section where I flexed some editorial muscle because I felt like writing. I'm also being a bit retrospective on this past year. If you have news/photos for this, please send it in before Spring.
I hope you enjoy this one and feel free to comment. My apologies if any fact-checking is out of whack. I did my best in the short time I have for this. I was all over the map.
Tom B.
The issue includes the following sections:
What's New
Deadliest Fire in Allentown since 1974 Kills Five: Former Catasauqua Woman and Daughter are Victims
Tim Returns for Holiday Leave, Does Stint on O'Reilly Factor
Catasauqua IronWorks Developer Walks
Happenings in 2006
In Search Of...
Added to Mailer
What Ever Happened To?
Deborah A.(Rothermel) Hirsch
Dwayne R. Clewell
Star_S. (Davis) Herrera
Donna M. (Ender) Houser
Gerilee D. (Weaver) Morris
Retro Corner
Send a Mouse to College Program
Deeper Thoughts about Jack Handey
Fallout Shelter Generation
Fall/Winter Event Recap
Deaths
Photo Archive Status
Emailing Classmates
Attachments
What's New
Deadliest Fire in Allentown since 1974 Kills Five: Former Catasauqua Woman and Daughter are Victims
On Friday, Dec. 29, a fire ripped through a row home at 6241/2 Park St. in the Stevens Park neighborhood of Allentown, killing five people and injuring eight.
Barbara (Lynn) Houx, 52, formerly of Catasauqua and her daughter Casundra L. Miller, 28 were victims. The pair and three more of their friends, Shawn Sandt, 22; Randy Keding, 27; and Allen Lindenmuth, 48, who shared the home were all killed by smoke inhalation, apparently while sleeping, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said. The house had no working smoke detectors.
The fire was Allentown's deadliest blaze since 1974, the year arson claimed nine lives at the Caboose bar.
NOTE: Barbara Houx was the older sister of Tim Lynn. Tim graduated a couple years ahead of us and worked part-time at the Catasauqua Boys & Girls Club in the mid to late 80s.
See full story at,
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5firedec30,0,3420521.story
Tim Debelak Returns for Holiday Leave, Does Stint on O'Reilly Factor
As promised, I've to continue coverage of Tim's time in Iraq. This holiday season, our former classmate in Iraq, Tim Debelak, was granted a leave to come return to his Bangor, ME home to visit loved ones. He will return to active duty after a brief visit to the states. Tim was assigned to a tour of duty for a year in August 2006 and hopes to return upon that anniversary date.
On Wed, 03 Jan 2007, Tim sent me this brief update on himself, which included meeting two rather high profile personalities:
"..I am in transit back to the the USA currently in Kuwait (I have been awake for a day and a half already)... I met Bill O'Reilly when he all of a sudden showed up in my office. I was [on] the show later two times. I got a book signed for my father. I happen to work out of the AL FAW Palace, all the stars want to see it when they are there. It also is where all the big generals work so everyone comes through there. Bill O'Reilly was cool, I chatted with him for quite a while. I am not a big fan of his show but I really believe he came over just to meet the troops. He was not all done up or untouchable, very down to earth and humble. I met Oliver North almost the same way. He was in the building and I just so happened to be lucky and get a second with him."
NOTE: The enormous, decadent Al Faw Palace in Baghdad was built by Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Gulf War. The palace's name honors the Iraqi soldiers who liberated the Al Faw Peninsula from Iran in 1988 at the end of the Iraq-Iran war that lasted for most of the 1980's.The palace has an all-marble interior and is every bit as ornate as one might imagine the most beautiful palaces in the world to be. It is now used as a command post for coalition forces in Iraq.
See an attached photo of Tim with Ollie North and Bill O'Reilly. If you wish to email Tim, please send him a message at, Timothy.Debelak@iraq.centcom.mil. He is very good about replying to email. Moreover, it's nice for him to hear from old friends.
Catasauqua IronWorks Developer Walks
The land developer Kane-Core, Inc. located in Skippack, Montgomery County, PA pulled their plans to develop the 14.95 acre parcel along Front & Pine Streets in Catasauqua near the Lehigh River waterfront for the planned IronWorks project.
News of certainty of the change in plans was reported recently in the Morning Call. The article hinted that there was another local company bidding on the development and that Kane-Core was interested in selling their designs for IronWorks, which included 550 condominiums/apartments and 100,000 sq ft of commercial space for businesses. News of Kane-Core's intent to sell their plans broke this past November.
In the recent Morning Call article, several local officials commented on the news including fellow classmate and present school superintendent Bob Spengler, who was disappointed to learn that there may be a delay or loss in local revenue due to the official withdrawal of Kane-Core's plans to proceed with the project. Mayor Barbara Schlegel expressed her optimism that the project may be renewed by another company that is based closer to town.
Town officials are hoping the project counters the current and growing future costs the borough has accrued in recent years. Back taxes owed on airport property and the new high school are two of the more higher profile expenses that have cut deep into the borough's budget.
The proposed site for IronWorks had been land formerly occupied the Fuller Company, which was originally the Crane Iron Works built by the famous ironmaker David Thomas. Thomas is credited with perfecting the hot blast furnace and introducing the wide use of anthracite coal to fuel the furnaces for the smelting process. The land is now owned by F.L. Smidth who had signed exclusive rights to ownership of the property to Kane-Core contingent on events that would ensure the approval of development plans and other factors.
Borough manager Gene Goldfeder was quoted by Kirk Jackson of the Morning Call in November saying that, ''All Kane-Core has done so far is come up with a conceptual plan of what they want to do.'' Goldfeder went on to say that, ''We like that plan generally. We're not married to that plan.'' The company first pitched their plan to the Borough Council in June 2005.
The land to be used for The IronWorks project had been cleared by the DEP to reclaim the brownfields through a Land Recycling Program. There is a description of the land on LoopNet, a site that lists properties currently on the market,
http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/ProfileSE.aspx?LID=14777916&linkcode=10850&sourcecode=1lww2t006a00001
Article by Morning Call's Kirk Jackson from November on this issue:
http://www.topix.net/content/trb/1061155288180663228820845816541261560443
Happenings in 2006
The following are things off the top of my head that occurred this year. They are in no particular order.
At least three of our classmates either became first-time mothers this year, will very soon, or are expecting additional children. To them, I give you my special congratulations and wish you the best of luck in the new year. My wife had our son Alex at 40 and it was truly a blessing for us. Tiring as hell, but a blessing.
At least two classmates I know of are now grandparents as of this past calendar year. Hard to fathom for me, but must feel great.
We lost one classmate to cancer. She will be remembered well by many of us.
Many of us made the effort to get together this year for social events and thankfully so for the majority of us. I liken the mini reunions to travelling back to a simpler time. It trims about 20 years off of you; at least until you wake up the next morning.
A number of people have lost loved ones, or their loved ones have fallen ill. A lot of us have already lost a parent or both parents. My thoughts go out to those of us who are going through these times and hope that we all make an effort to reach out to them, even just for emotional support. I also hope they reach out to their friends for help.
One of us went to war in Iraq.
About a dozen or so old ex-classmates who left Catty were found.
At least a half dozen of those old classmates want to come to our next reunion.
Many of us did a lot of travelling this past year.
At least one of us got engaged.
Our old middle school is no longer operating and our high school is now a middle school.
A new high school was opened this past school year and it rests in Allen Twp, in Northampton's school district.
Northampton won the Turkey Day game in convincing fashion and has been getting the better of this rivalry of late.
Catty's football coach, a Class of '82 member, resigned this year after staff reductions cut key assistants.
Some of us changed jobs, lost jobs, or found new ones. Most of us will have to find second careers or resurrect old ones due to the times we live in.
A few of us moved to new houses locally or packed up and moved to another location across the country.
An ex-principal of the high school and the ex-principal of the elementary school died this year.
A few of us started our own businesses.
Some of us donated a lot more photos, old and new, to the class photo archive.
One of our old classmates became a doctor.
We've had an particularly mild winter this year. No snow accumulation up until this writing on Jan. 9.
Many of us struck up old friendships or have made new ones of ex-comrades.
Some of our parents left their Catasauqua homes or are contemplating it as taxes rose dramatically in the borough. Most of our parents left long ago. Mine did in 2005 after living there 38 years in the same home.
In Search Of...
If you have recent contact information for any of the following 32 people, please send it in. This info should be updated on the contact sheet, which is critical for organizing any major event. Besides a phone number, it would be nice to obtain an email address if one is available. Ultimately, you want to get everyone on an email alias or a blog.
Jennifer Livengood Walker
Bob Moody
Gale Hess Inez
Scott Reichenbach
Karen Long Nardone
Judy Slotcavage Keller
Matthew C. Pave
Clayson Keller
Tad Nidlund
Cheryl Moore Ritter
Robin Dewalt Brown
Mark Jones
Richard Meyers
Denise Stein Klavin
Betsy Blinkhorne
Greg Romig
Calvin Arey
Donald Trimmer
Judy Nemeth
Claire Slutter
Joe Sukana
Mike Sukana
Wayne Nagle
Lou Mertz
Jane Ludwig
Christine Cessna
Mike Kratzer
Tracey Cox Thatcher
Gail Williams Kelly
Betty Jo Wiesner
Kim Vassa Schaffer
Robin Lehr
NOTE: I think I've mailed each person on this list at least once. For most, I have what seems to be valid addresses but have either gotten no reply or query letters were returned to me as undeliverable. Some, I believe, just have not responded yet or aren't interested.
Added to Mailer
There are about 100 people now on this mailer. I've added or updated the following people since the last issue in October 2006:
Gail Weber David, 10/6/06
Scott Hauser, (new email address) 10/10/06
Michele McGlade Teresko, (new email address) 10/10/06
Linda Ford Braun, (new email address) 10/17/06
NOTE: Many thanks to Annette Heimsoth Frederick for contact information to contact Gail.
What Ever Happened To?
In this issue, we discover what ever happened to Debbie Rothermel Hirsch and Star Davis.
DEBORAH A. (ROTHERMEL) HIRSCH. Debbie Rothermel was in many of my grade school classes before transferring to a school in Millersburg, PA part way through the school year during fourth grade. I never forgot her name, probably because I had first met her in Kindergarten. She was a very personable person as I recall, always smiling.
Debbie's father was a pastor and her family lived at 517 Third Street while living in our school district. Debbie still lives down in Millersburg and told me that she worked in graphic design. She remembered Scott Reichenbach, Amy Capwell, Charlotte Carlson, and a few others who lived in the Third Street area. Debbie had only run into Scott over the years at a battle of the bands tournament during high school I believe she recounted. She's been on the mailer since October.
DWAYNE R. CLEWELL. Dwayne had apparently joined the USAF at some point, I believe, as we found him at two addresses near bases in TX and CO. He now lives in Colorado Springs, CO. He has not replied to our latest query but we are certain that he resides there.
Dwayne lived at 2 School Street in Catty. He left Catty schools in 1979 to start 8th grade in the Northampton school district. I cannot tell where he graduated because he does not appear in the NHS yearbooks, so he may have quit school or moved to yet another school district. I don't hold much hope that Dwayne will contact us if he has not until now, so I wanted to include this information I have on him. If you know Dwayne or would like to contact him, I will send you the address I have for him and a phone number. He might reply to an old friend. I may attempt a phone call in the future.
STAR S. (DAVIS) HERRERA. Star was difficult to forget, not just because of her unique first name but she was also with us for a good period of time, at least until 8th grade. I found Star living today in the Milwaukee, WI area where I believe she was born. So, at some point her family moved out back to their roots. While in Catty, Star lived at 705 Faith Drive, which is now is owned by Dale A. Rothrock. Star attended St. Mary's RCC while in Catty. Star was rather surprised that I found her and was very receptive to being on our mailer.
DONNA M. (ENDER) HOUSER. Donna lives with her husband Richard in a development near the LV Airport in Schoenersville, near the home she had lived in while attending Catty schools. She lives quietly on the outskirts of Catty in the boundaries of the school district and is very close friends with Colleen Allen Jones. I have not yet added Donna to the mailer as I have not been able to contact her as of yet.
GERILEE D. (WEAVER) MORRIS. Her full name was Gerilee Denise Weaver and she lived in the old stone home on N. Tenth Street in Catty where Wood Street merges with it at the end of St. John's.
At the end of August, I located Gerilee Weaver who we were mistakenly referring to as, "Geraldine" for a while. She lives in the Sacramento, CA area; however, Gerilee has still not been reached. I sent her a query letter to an address in Folsum but got no reply. I have recently found her at another address in nearby Orangevale and will resend another letter to her in hopes she will reply.
Gerilee left Catty with her family during 7th grade in about 1978 for the greater Los Angeles, CA area. Her father is Don and mother Marilyn. She has two older brothers, Don and Jeffrey, younger sister Charissa. Her family attended the Mormon Church in Whitehall on Van Buren Drive while living in Catty. I was informed by classmates that some of the friends/acquaintances that she had in Catty included Debbie Linton, Colleen Allen, Nina Couturiaux, and Jose Nogales.
Retro Corner
I'm bringing back this feature again. These retro items could feature a personality, an event, a TV show, a program we participated in, an art movement, gadgets, consumer goods or really anything in the world that influenced us.
Send a Mouse to College Program
Back in 1972, many of us participated in the "Send a Mouse to College" program, as evidenced by some of us proudly wearing the round, red pins with the elated cartoon mouse adorned with a cap and gown. The pitch was that we could send one lab mouse for cancer research per every 50 cents we raised. You got the button if you sent one mouse I think.
As with any fundraiser, some student donors would go door to door to be the top sales dog. I recall only being able to scrape up the required amount for the pin and losing the damn thing shortly thereafter. I think my parents could have used their own fundraiser to send one of their eight kids to college at the time, so I wasn't going to drum up much for a rodent's "education."
So, we were really scrambling for a cure back in the "Send a Mouse" days. What puzzles me is that we sent all of these mice to their deaths 35 years ago and we still don't seem to have made all that much progress in a cure for cancer in general. There also isn't much scrambling going on in the public sector as far as I can tell. At the risk of sounding political, the lack of a cancer cure after all of this time and effort seems a lot like the incongruity between the recent hikes at the gas pumps and the fact that we just took over a country that owns one of the largest portions of the world's oil supply. Seriously, it took a fraction of this time to figure out how to build an atomic bomb to destroy mankind. It doesn't add up.
Are we really that completely powerless against the war against germs and viruses that many experts now seem to believe are the cancer culprits? Well, it was the only thing that could stop the Martian invasion in, "The War of the Worlds," right? I'm not so sure about that as a root cause. Some people would also have you believe that isolating the exact cause of cancer is the real problem. Can't be. We must know by now. I think it's the chemicals that companies dump into the environment myself. The money they generate makes them untouchable. In short, I think corporate greed is the root cause of cancer and those who wield the power gamble that evolution can catch up before the cat is out of the bag. Call me a pessimist, but history repeats itself. Remember lead poisoning? How ironic for the Romans to make their victory toasts of their latest conquests from leaden vessels. Wow, that was a bummer of a digression. Must be all of the family and friends I see nailed by this every year is really getting to me. If you read these ramblings, I hope that this ridiculous mouse badge now looks as futile to you as it does to me.
What is most interesting about "Send a Mouse" is to ponder what it would be like to sell this campaign to the throngs of overly sensitive parents nowadays. Imagine today's suburban, neophyte, yuppie Mom armed with the latest liberal theories on childrearing telling their first grader that a little bit of money will buy a mouse that will be injected with a painful tumor that will cause them to die a hideously slow and painful death. That's a tough sell. Heaven forbid telling your kid a little, white lie (that the mouse was really going on a cool vacation). I love animals, don't get me wrong. I rationalize that these mice have been reincarnated into the highest life form in the food chain on the planet, trial lawyers. It's much easier that way not to feel sorry for them.
Deeper Thoughts about Jack Handey
Does anyone recall the "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey" blurbs that would appear on Saturday Night Live as fillers between skits? These ran in the early 90s but Handey's writing and comedic stylings permeated the show from about 1975 onward, as he worked for SNL producer Lorne Michael as a writer off and on at the apparent urging of Handey's comedian pal and fellow Texan Steve Martin.
"Deep Thoughts" would be presented as short inspirational prose messages in a somewhat spiritual package accompanied with a natural backdrop (e.g., a sunset beachscape or a peaceful mountain stream) but would unravel very quickly into absurdity, a contrast between order and mayhem of thoughts. On the surface, these would lampoon the ubiquitous inspirational message movement appearing in greeting cards, plaques, and posters that was in high gear at that time. I loved these things I guess because the absurdity and moronic irony of the musings of Handey derailed any seriousness I had in my brain at that time of night.
Here are some samples of Deep Thoughts and Handey quotes:
I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.
If they ever come up with a swashbuckling School, I think one of the courses should be Laughing, Then Jumping Off Something.
When you're riding in a time machine way far into the future, don't stick your elbow out the window, or it'll turn into a fossil.
It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
At first I thought, if I were Superman, a perfect secret identity would be "Clark Kent, Dentist," because you could save money on tooth X-rays. But then I thought, if a patient said, "How's my back tooth?" and you just looked at it with your X-ray vision and said, "Oh it's okay," then the patient would probably say, "Aren't you going to take an X-ray, stupid?" and you'd say, "Aw fuck you, get outta here," and then he probably wouldn't even pay his bill.
One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said. "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.
A good way to threaten somebody is to light a stick of dynamite. Then you call the guy and hold the burning fuse up to the phone. "Hear that?" you say. "That's dynamite, baby."
Why do people in ship mutinies always ask for "better treatment"? I'd ask for a pinball machine, because with all that rocking back and forth you'd probably be able to get a lot of free games.
Fear can sometimes be a useful emotion. For instance, let's say you're an astronaught on the moon and you fear that your partner has been turned into Dracula. The next time he goes out for the moon pieces, wham!, you just slam the door behind him and blast off. He might call you on the radio and say he's not Dracula, but you just say, "Think again, bat man."
Too bad you can't buy a voodoo globe so that you could make the earth spin real fast and freak everybody out.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Handey
http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandy.com/
http://www.some-guy.com/quotes/handey.html
Fallout Shelter Generation
Fallout Shelters. Remember those things? We often forget that our generation grew up in the thick of the Cold War with the Soviet Union which began after WWII and ended in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan. That covers pretty much all of our young lives.
Do you think this affected us? I know it affected me. I think the period of highest alert ran from the Cuban Missile Crisis days in 1962 until December 1979 when the Soviets initially invaded Afghanistan. In protest of Afghanistan, we would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow. That is hard to fathom for me.
As part of the Civil Defense program, I can recall in Kindergarten and on into early grade school at Sheckler Elementary having fallout shelter evacuation drills and doing some "duck and cover" drills in the event of a nuclear attack. These drills, however, were not practiced often enough to stick out in our minds and were discontinued before we really could grasp the true meaning of what we were doing. I'm sure fire drills replaced these memories for most. I'm hopeful that administrators also recognized that making us too bluntly aware of this possibility was damaging to our psyches.
I think if you recall the yellow and black fallout shelter sign with the three-triangle array design, it may come rushing back to you a bit. It's really creepy to think back on what was in the background of living in the Cold War. I can only conjure up a memory of two trips to the basement at the old Fourth Street School in North Catty in 1971-72, and watching the 1951 Duck and Cover film at Sheckler at some point. This film was so matter of fact in terms of being purely instructional devices.
I believe fallout shelter drills were virtually gone from schools by 1974, probably because of the futility of nuclear war in general and the fact that we were far ahead in the race of the Cold War by that time, economically and militarily. However, the Civil Defense mechanisms were in full swing at that time. The media was more than an adequate fill-in to keep us on alert and fearful.
Hollywood perpetuated our Red Scare fears and kept us uneasy about the threat of attack. In 1964, director Stanley Kubrick's movie, Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb came out. This was the quintessential Red Scare film but these films had first surfaced as early as 1948. Many films followed, but there was a sharp drop-off in the 1970s as anti-war films in response to the unpopular Vietnam War picked up. In the Carter/Reagan years after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, Cold War propaganda would ramp up again in films of the day. I think the films I remember most were,
From Russia with Love (1963)
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)
The Day After (1983) (TV)
Red Dawn (1984)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
I'm not sure about anyone else who lived through these years, but these films degraded your sense of security. They would result in bad dreams or even thoughts of futility for many. The nuclear specter was really was like having a cloak of insanity draped over the world for about 40 years.
For me, I was very consciously aware of the propaganda for and against the Cold War. It was everywhere, even in my sacred "escape" music. The following are some very pertinent lines in the lyrics of a Dead Kennedys song called "When Ya Get Drafted" from their 1980 "Fresh Fruit from Rotting Vegetables" LP:
Are you believing the morning papers?
War is coming back in style
There's generals here, advisors there
And Russians nibbling everywhere
The chessboard's filling up with red
We make more profits when we blow off their heads
Economy is looking bad
Let's start another war when ya get drafted...
You always thought your Selective Service card would eventually land you in some Cold War conflict. The propaganda and arms buildup prepared us mentally for war. I think many of us joined the military or considered it at some point in our lives largely because of this preparation.
Years after the Cold War while rummaging through an attic closet at my parents' home, I remember finding a rather good pencil and color marker sketch my older brother Jimmy (b. 1955), a very good artist, had drawn on 8.5 x 11" stock as a teen. The picture was of two mushroom clouds rising up on opposite sides of the Earth in tandem. It was a very frightening image and indicative of his being a child at some of the high-water marks of the Red Scare. To me, the mushroom cloud was like the tornado in the Wizard of Oz, all powerful, life changing, and even mesmerising in some sense. When we woke up in 1989, we were all back in Kansas again.
Links to Civil Defense sites:
http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/shelsupp.html
http://www.senioryears.com/bunker.html
http://www.legeros.com/essays/cd/
Fall/Winter Event Recap
Unfortunately, there were no cattle call opportunities this fall or winter for any of us to get together informally. However, the nights out that we did hold in the spring and summer brought a lot of folks together and I think many of us who didn't know each other well in high school became friends and some old friendships were rekindled. That's pretty much all you can ask for with our busy lives.
There were a few private parties held that featured some bonding, including a Halloween party at Vince's in Catty and a few others.
The only event I was able to attend in this time period is noted below:
-- Wednesday, November 22, The Blue Fox Hotel 5834 N. Coplay Rd. Lisa Scheirer Fisher held a surprise 40th birthday party for her husband and fellow ex-classmate Kelly Fisher. Dr. Jekyl, a local classic rock cover band, played its last night with Ed Yost as their bassist. Ed left Dr. Jekyl to join another band call Slim 2 None.
Some people I recall there in attendance from our class and from Catty were Kelly Fisher, Lisa Scheirer Fisher, Mark Fisher, Jimmy Fisher, Flip Fisher, Dawn Edwards Fisher, Keven Hitch, Al Zuzic, Rita Clemens Kurisco-Link, Vince Smith, Chris Smith, Julie Tognoli MacHose, George Prebula, Debbie Szupper Andreoli, Keith Hodge, Sue Balado Hodge, Tim Sheckler, Eric Faust, Rusty Frisch, Duane Hoch and Brian Weber. My apologies if I left anyone out.
NOTE: I don't plan to actively organize any future informal outings. I hope to finish up picture collection in the next year or so. If you have an event and need email addresses for an invitation announcement, please inform me and I'll pass them along. A day out at Knoebell's Amusement Park is one event I will actively try to patch together with a core group of people who currently do so. If you're interested, let me know.
Deaths
The following is a list of loved ones or acquaintenances who passed away in 2006 and have not been previously published in the mailer. Listees included can be class members, relatives of class members, staff, or familiar fellow Catasauquans. My apologies if I may have missed anyone or the late timing of these notices due to the suspension of the mailer, misinformation, or human error.
-- DR. ROBERT MORRISON. The following notice of our former high school principal's death was published in the Morning Call on 11/7/2006.
"Dr. Robert Morrison
Dr. Robert A. Morrison of Darby, Pa., formerly of Whitehall, Pa., died Friday, November 3, 2006 at the age of 84. Dr. Morrison was principal of Catasauqua High School from 1973-1992. He received his Ph.D from Fordham University in New York. He is survived by his brother, Richard J. Morrison. He was preceded in death by his sister, Teresa Lindinger and his brothers, Rev. Francis X. Morrison, Joseph P. Morrison and Paul R. Morrison. Survivors: In addition to his brother, he is survived by his adopted sister, Edith Santone and many nieces and nephews. Services: Family and friends are invited to attend Dr. Morrisons viewing Wednesday, November 8, 2006 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. from the Chapel of St. Francis Country House, 1412 Lansdowne Ave., Darby, Pa. 19023 and to participate in his Concelebrated Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Interment in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Arrangements by Dean/Geitner/Givinish of Fox Chase, 215-745-1006. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Francis Country House at the above address."
-- GERALD E. SCHOENEBERGER, SR.. Gerald E. Schoeneberger, Sr., father of classmate Bernadette Schoeneberger Briner, passed away on Nov. 16 after a long battle with cancer. You might also be familiar with the departed's son, Gerald Jr., better known as "Punky." The following notice Mr. Schoeneberger's death was published in the Morning Call on 11/18/2006.
"Gerald E. Schoeneberger Sr.
Gerald E. 'Jug Head' Schoeneberger Sr., 63, of North Catasauqua, passed away Thursday, November 16, 2006, in his home. He was the husband of Joan D. (Transue) Schoeneberger. Born in Whitehall, he was a son of Catherine D. (Keller) Schoeneberger of Whitehall and the late Edward Schoeneberger, and a stepson of the late Alvin Schoeneberger. Gerald was a welder for Interstate Steel Co., Whitehouse, N.J. Survivors: Wife; mother; son, Gerald E. Jr. of Northampton; daughters, Donna Tedesco of Catasauqua, Bernadette, wife of Charles Briner of Topton, Tammy, wife of Chris Anthony of West Lawn, Rebecca Transue of West Lawn; brother, Rodney and wife Janet of Whitehall; sisters, Norma Eckert, Jeanette, wife of Jeffrey Fletcher, and Bonnie, wife of Joseph Eck, all of Catasauqua; six grandchildren, a great-grandson. Services: 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 21, ODonnell Funeral Home, 1064 Fifth St., North Catasauqua. Call 6-8 p.m. Monday and 10-11 a.m. Tuesday in the funeral home. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the family, c/o the funeral home, PA 18032."
-- MARY ELIZABETH PAVE. Mary Pave was the mother of fellow classmate Matt Pave. The following obituary was published in the Morning Call today, Jan. 9, 2007.
"Mary Elizabeth Pave
Mary Elizabeth Liz Pave, age 62, died on January 6, 2007 peacefully in her home with her family by her side in North Catasauqua after a lengthy illness. She was the wife of 41 years to Gary Pave.Liz was born on August 22, 1944 in Palmerton, Pa. to the late Charles and Mary (Kupar) Wisocky. She graduated from Central Catholic High School and attended St. Agnes Nursing School. Liz made the career choice of raising her children. She loved reading and going to the beach. She was a member of St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church, Allentown. Survivors: Liz is survived by her husband, Gary of North Catasauqua; their sons, Matthew of Miami, Fla., Mark and his wife, Debra, of Oreland, Pa., Adam and his wife, Kimie, of Honolulu, Hawaii; two grandsons, Nicholas and Andrew of Oreland, Pa.; a sister, Helena Gosser of Wyndmoor, Pa.; two brothers, Robert and Charles Wisocky of Palmerton. She is further survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Services: A viewing will be held Wednesday morning from 9-9:45 a.m. in St. John the Baptist Slovak Catholic Church, 924 N. Front St., Allentown. A Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 10 a.m. Interment to follow in St. Vladimirs Cemetery, Palmerton. Online condolences at: www.kohutfuneralhome.com. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, memorial funds have been established in her name for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 1 Reed St., Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19147 or to St. John the Baptist Slovak Church. We would like to thank all the staff at Lehigh Valley Hospice for their help and support."
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-- THOMAS V. TASSIE. I believe that "Tommy" Tassie was the great uncle of fellow St. Mary's Catholic School classmate Traci Tassie Scanlan of Vero Beach, FL. Instead of attending Catty pubic schools, Traci attended all parochial schools and graduated from Allentown Central Catholic HS. Her younger siblings Cindy and Butch attended CHS. The following was published in the Morning Call onNov 18, 2006 on page B.11.
"Thomas V. Tassie
Thomas V. Tassie, 87, of North Catasauqua, died November 16, 2006 in Bethlehem. He was the husband of Rose M. (Tarafas) Tassie and the couple celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in June of 2006. Born in Whitehall, he was a son of the late Julio and Angela (Rossi) Tassi. Thomas was a member of St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Church, North Catasauqua. He served in the Army during World War II. Thomas and his wife were the owners and operators of T. Tassie Coal and Fuel Co., North Catasauqua, for many years before retiring. Survivors: With his wife are daughters, Monica, wife of Joseph Fignar, of New Tripoli, Rosann, wife of William Paukovits, of Walnutport; sisters, Rose, wife of Pat Sinatore, of Northampton, Christina Kilareski of Whitehall; grandchildren, Kira, Billy, Michael and Joseph. He was preceded in death by his son, Peter, in 2003. Services: will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 21, 2006 in St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Church, 1001 Second Street, North Catasauqua, 18032. Call from 7-8:30 p.m. Monday, November 20 and 9:30-10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the John H. Brubaker Funeral Home, 234 Walnut St., Catasauqua, 18032."
-- MINNIE I. KOENIG. Minnie Koenig (pronounced KAY-NICK), our former principal at Sheckler Elementary from first through third grades, died this past July. I only have an abstract from the obituary, published in the Morning Call on July 17, 2006 on p. B.4 in the Local section.
"Minnie I. Koenig
Minnie I. Koenig, 96 years, of Luther Crest, 800 Hausman Road, Allentown, formerly of North 15th Street, Allentown, died Sunday, July 16, 2006 in the Luther Crest Health Center. Born in South Whitehall Township on May 30, 1910, Minnie was the daughter of the late William A. and Minnie (Wessner) Koenig. She was a teacher and elementary school supervisor in the Catasauqua Area School District and the former Hoffman School House in Washington Township for a combined total of 40 years before retiring in 1975..."
-- WILLIAM E. PIFF. Mr. Piff was the father of fellow classmate Christine L. Piff. I only have an abstract from the obituary, published in the Morning Call on Feb 27, 2006 on p. B.6 in the Local section.
"William E. Piff
William E. Piff, 62, of Catasauqua, died Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006, in Sacred Heart Hospital, Allentown. He was the husband of Lillian L. (Meckes) Piff for 41 years. Born in Allentown, he was a son of the late Frank and Kathryn (Liekel) Piff. Self-employed, William owned and operated W.E.P. Trucking and Produce. He was a Lutheran."
-- GEOFFREY MARK O'DONNELL, SR.. Deceased was the father of Sabrina Ann O'Donnell Finkbeiner, Class of '85. I only have an abstract from the obituary, published in the Morning Call on Jun 15, 2006 on p. B.8 in the Local section.
"Geoffrey Mark O'Donnell Sr.
Geoffrey Mark O'Donnell Sr. 59, of Davidson, NC died Tuesday, June 13, 2006 in Lake Norman Regional Medical Center. He was born on March 29, 1947 in Allentown to Irene Gloria O'Donnell and the late James Daniel O'Donnell Sr. Mr. O'Donnell spent eight years on the Council Borough of North Catasauqua and four years as president of the Borough Council. He owned Mothers Apron, Inc. in N..."
-- STEVEN R. MERTZ. Steven Mertz was the brother of former classmate Lou Mertz. The following obituary was published in the Morning Call today, Jan. 9, 2007.
"Steven R. Mertz
Steven R. Mertz, 42, of Easton, died Friday, January 5, 2007 in Easton Hospital. Born, March 28, 1964 in Bethlehem, he was the son of Mary Jane (Tibbs) Compton of East Stroudsburg and the late Steven Miller and stepson of Wayne Compton. He is survived by his wife, Wendy (Bowers) Mertz. They had been together for 16 years and wed on January 23, 1998. Steven worked as an insulator for the past 19 years, employed by American Aluminum Insulation Co., Nazareth. He was a member of the Tammany Democratic Association. Survivors: He will be lovingly remembered by mother, Mary Jane and stepfather, Wayne; wife, Wendy; sons, Steven R. Jr. and Jonathan M. of Easton; brothers, Stewart Miller of Easton, Louis Mertz of Allentown and Daniel Miller of Easton; stepsister, CandyLynn Heater in Florida; stepbrother, Wayne Compton Jr. of Easton; nieces, nephews. Services: All arrangements are being handled by Connell Funeral Home Inc., 245 E. Broad St., Bethlehem, Pa. 18018 where viewing hours will be held on Wednesday January 10 from 7-9 p.m. and on Thursday, January 11 from 10-11 a.m. A funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. on Thursday and will be held in the funeral home. Burial will be in Union Cemetery, Hellertown. Please make online condolences at: www.connellfuneral.com. Contributions: May be made to Wendy Mertz and sent in c/o Connell Funeral Home. Contributions will be used to set up an education fund for Steven, Jr. and Jonathan."
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-- BARBARA J. HOUX. Barbara was the older sister of Timothy Lynn, who I believe was in the Class of '82. The following obituary was published in the Morning Call on 12/31/2006 following the terrible fire that killed five in Allentown.
"Barbara J. Houx
Barbara J. Houx, 51, of Allentown, died with her daughter, Casundra Miller, on December 29, 2006 in their residence. Born in Allentown, she was the daughter of the late Thomas F. and Lucy I. (Bleiler) Lynn of Catasauqua. Barbara was a member of Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church, Catasauqua. Survivors: Surviving with her mother are daughters, Catrina Near and Crystal Peltz; brothers, Michael and Timothy Lynn; 12 grandchildren. Services: joint services with her daughter, Casundra, will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, January 2, 2007 in Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church, Fourth and Pine streets, Catasauqua, 18032. Call from 2-4 p.m. in the church. Arrangements, John H. Brubaker Funeral Home, 234 Walnut St., Catasauqua. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the family, payable to the funeral home, 18032."
-- CASUNDRA L. MILLER. Casundra was the daughter of Barbara Houx and the niece of Timothy Lynn. The following obituary was published in the Morning Call on 12/31/2006 following the terrible fire that killed five in Allentown.
"Casundra L. Miller
Casundra L. Cassie Miller, 28, of Allentown, died with her mother, Barbara J. Houx on December 29, 2006 in their residence. Born in Allentown, she was the daughter of David Miller and the late Barbara J. (Lynn) Houx. Casundra was a member of Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church, Catasauqua. She was the mother of four children. Survivors: Surviving with her four children are sisters, Catrina Near and Crystal Peltz; maternal grandmother, Lucy I. (Bleiler) Lynn. Services: joint services with her mother, Barbara, will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, January 2, 2007 in Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church, Fourth and Pine streets, Catasauqua, 18032. Call from 2-4 p.m. in the church. Arrangements, John H. Brubaker Funeral Home, 234 Walnut St., Catasauqua. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the family, c/o the funeral home, 18032."
-- RANDY S. KEDING. Randy was the boyfriend of Casundra Miller, daughter of Barbara Houx. The following obituary was published in the Morning Call on 1/1/2006 following the terrible fire that killed five in Allentown.
"Randy S. Keding
Randy S. Keding, 27, passed away Dec. 29 along with his fiance, Casundra Cassie Miller and their unborn child. Born in Allentown, he was the son of Rudy Keding of Allentown and Lee Doyle of Nazareth. He was a 1997 graduate of William Allen High School. Randy was a parking attendant for Mid City Parking for the past nine years. Randy enjoyed playing with R.C. cars, collecting rocks, and going to see different bands. He also had a great love of guitars. He loved to play with friends and especially loved to jam with his dad. Randy had a very giving heart and was well liked by everyone who knew him. Survivors: Mother; father; paternal grandmother, Elsie Keding of Emmaus; stepfather, James Doyle; stepbrother, Russell Doyle in South Korea; niece, Adrian Richner of Lansford. Services: Friday 11 a.m. in Weber Funeral Home, 502 Ridge Ave., Allentown. Please call Thursday from 6-8 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. till time of service. (www.weberfuneralhomes.com). Contributions: In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to the funeral home to help defray funeral expenses."
Photo Archive Status
I have only done some minor work on this front since October but plan to get back on it in the spring with a focus on collecting missing group photos. This was largely due to some computer problems I had the slowed me up that should be corrected soon. I backed up the archive on two hard drives in addition to the original. Several classmates have copies of it.
Plans for a photo archive committee meeting were dashed because I could not get commitment to a scheduled meeting date from one person who pledged to help spearhead this effort with me. I did have a venue secured for a meeting. I will attempt to get this together this year again. I'm tired and need help to finish this up.
Missing Class Photos
Out of 42 early class photos, I just need six more early class photos:
Catty public schools:
K -- Have 5, probably need 1 more
1 -- Have 5, probably need 1 more (Rm 112, teacher unknown)
2 -- Have 4, probably need 2 more
3 -- Have 6, probably need 0 more
4 -- Have 5, probably need 1 more (Ms. Hagenbuch)
5 -- Have 5, probably need 1 more (need Lincoln, Mr. Freeman?)
6 -- Have 5, need 1 more, (sect. 6-6)
Catholic School
I have 1st grade through 5th grades at St. Mary's, thanks to Debbie and Al. Linda may be able to supply additional photos on up to 8th grade.
Emailing Classmates
To protect people's privacy, I don't include the recipient list on mailers. There are about 95 people on this mailer now. If you wish to email any person on the mailer, email me a request at tbrobst@yahoo.com.
In most cases, I will inform any party you desire to contact by email and include your email in the body of the request. They can reply to you if they wish. In cases where the person is temporarily unreachable by email, I may attempt to contact them by phone or by snail mail. If you want to make a general announcement to the class, please send it to me and I'll forward it or publish it in the mailer.
Attachments
Photo 1: Composite slide photo of Tim with famous people in Iraq near or at the Al Faw Palace in Baghdad.
File name: TDebelak_Iraq_NorthOReilly.jpg
Description: Collage with two photos of classmate Tim Debelak with famous personalities. One photo is with former general Oliver North and the other with famous political "O'Reilly Factor" Fox news TV show host, Bill O'Reilly.
Photo 2: Grade 1: Mrs. Ruth Roberts, Rm 111 Catasauqua Sheckler Elementary School 1972-73; Contributor: Diane and Kelly Fisher
File name: sheckler_mrs_r_roberts_1972-1973.jpg
Description: Here is the key for this photo: Row 3, back (L-R) - X, John Behum, Vincent Smith, Edward Rockel, John Fritz, Tammy Schlacter, Richard Spess, Kimberly Vassa. Row 2 (L-R) - Craig Kovalchick, Yvonne Pramik, Mark Snell, X, Kenneth Goetz, X, AnneMarie Snyder, Bernadette Schoeneberger, Teacher Mrs. Roberts (standing). Row 1, front, seated (L-R) - Kelly Fisher, LeeAnn Englert, Christopher Houtz, Gail Weber, Donald Schaefer, Nina Couturiaux, Charles Hauser.
NOTES: There was another Mrs. Roberts there who taught at Sheckler, Mrs. Marlee Roberts. X's indicate unknown individuals.
Photo 3: The Girls of Spring 1983.
File name: nina_dana_lisa_karen_leeanne_kris_march1983.jpg
Description: HS photo of several girls from the Class of '84 in their junior year. Top (L-R) Karen Long, Lisa Dascani, Dana Hucaluk, Nina Couturiaux. Bottom (L-R) Lee Ann Englert, Kristine Lovgren. Photo was donated by Debbie Szupper Andreoli. I sent this photo to several of the subjects in the past. I think this is a good, rather upbeat photos of those days so I included it here to share with everyone.
Photo 4: "Four Sides Of Tom" is a four-photo panel composition of my hectic Christmas in Boulder. (Yes, I'm indulging myself here but I haven't been very forthcoming at all with photos of myself in the past 26 mailers.)
File name: Tom_boulder_12-26-06_quad.jpg
Description: I got carried away with a new laptop iMac program called PhotoBooth which as some really cool effects like "thermal image" and "pencil" to mention a few. Pictures were all taken on 12/26/06 in brother-in-law's Boulder home or at the Mac Store in nearby mall. The camera sits on the top of the computer screen and you simply click it as you look into the camera's eye and simultaneously view your image in real time. My son Alex is featured with me in one frame. This is not a commercial for Apple computers, but this tool is really easy and fun to use.
wow. Tom is putting some serious effort into that. when are you going to do that for us Dave?
I thought the BLOG handled this quite nicely. Why reinvent the wheel? If people want to share stuff, they do. If they want to keep it private, we expose them anyway.
Top pic (left to right)
Lee Ann Englert, Karen Long, Lisa Dascani, Kathy Lovgren, Dana Hucaluk, and Nina Couturiaux
steve its not kathy lovgren, its Kris.....
Lew, I see your bro-in-law Don is on this list! and Todd Long's sister....i will try to remember the others that i see during school functions or baseball season, Betsy, Gail W. Kelly, and Vassa's brother...and Robin Dewalts mom & brothers...great job
who was the girl that past away from the class?
Wow this was a great update. I had to read the entire posting. Such a trip down memory lane....thanks for sharing Dave.
mj...deb linton is the classmate who passed...........i want to know who the classmates are who became grandparents!!??..
mare, where have you been hiding?
That was an interesting read. He really put alot of time into that. Does anyone know which principals died? When you are out of the area you miss these things.
thanks Kristen after I read it I did remember hearing that....way too young.
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