Seems like I can only add four at a time
Of course you recognise Mr. Hillenberg; I think Jeanie B and Ruth Ann are near the window and it looks like the Three Amigos - Ronnie G, Terry D and Gale R are back by the wall.
The second photo on top has many infamous characters including the Rocky the Magnificent, Two Dogs and Jeanie B.
Each 6th grade class had their own cheerleaders but I can't get the pictures bigger without mega distortion.

Attic Artifacts

Recognise anyone?
I can't wait to see what I find next week!

A Feel Good Program Alert

On Sunday evening is the season premier of Extreme Makeover. If you get a chance, please tune in. It is the first time they have come to the islands and the farthest they have ever travelled.
It was a task that was beyond imagination.
This time they have helped an organization that has helped over 9,000 families in 10 years.
The amount of help they received from the local people was amazing in itself. The numbers were mind boggling. People gave up their vacations to make this dream come true.
For the week they were here, it made the nightly local news so we could see the progress and what went on behind the scenes, a nice change from what we normally would see at dinner time.

It is a real feel good moment at it's best.

What'd You Say?

Excitin' times, eh?
October in Edinburgh is just around the corner. Let Echo know you're comin' and see what she needs ya to bring. Since we've heard nuttin' from V.I., I'm lookin' for a late-night bonfire buddy to share lies with. Interested?

I'll be makin' reservations for 7 starting 1November at the Navy Lodge Inn on Monday. There's still time to change your mind and come along...
Travelocity is offering some pretty decent fall prices on Hawaii packages ... one of the deals was round-trip flight and hotel for $557!
If you're on the fence, poke around and make yourself a deal, but if you want to stay with the rest of us at the Navy Lodge, you'll need to contact me ASAP.

And now... It's FRIDAY! The floor is open to everyone, to share everything. Got any news?
Let's hear it!

Patty Gibson: 1947-1965

Patty Gibson

This is not meant to be a downer but a tribute to the memory of Patty Gibson, my friend, who was a kind hearted soul and never had a mean thing to say about anyone. For some reason I have been thinking of Patty for the past month, then when I saw her pictured in Mr. Dietzer’s class, I wanted to write a tribute to her.

Patty and I became friends in high school. I’m not exactly sure what brought about our first meeting and friendship, although I think our love of horses had something to do with it. I don’t recall us ever having any classes together. She was in band, I was not. I believe she was taking college prep classes and I did not, so if not for horses we may have never become friends and that would have been my loss.

I was friends with Patty’s neighbor Mike S. who also had a horse. Mike and I rode together a lot and since he lived close to Patty, it was only a matter of time before Patty and I became fast friends.

Patty was an only child and her parents, although nice enough, were very strict. Patty was allowed to have small parties (girls only) and sleepovers, but I don’t recall her ever spending the night at my house. She may have spent the night, I just don’t remember. Her mother let her have Halloween parties, girls only of course. We had fun and her mother did the party up right, making it real spooky in the basement and we all pretended to be scared and screamed and laughed at each other.

Before our Junior Prom we had a small shop set up in Patty’s basement, where a lot of us would stop by to work on the decorations for the prom. I remember making a LOT of paper machete star fish!

One incident I’ll never forget: when we were in 10th or 11th grade Patty’s cat had kittens and Patty was told by her father to get rid of them. Her father gave her some ether and told her she would have to euthanize the kittens. Her parents wouldn’t do it, they made Patty do it. I remember she cried and cried for several days. As you can imagine, it was a very traumatic experience for a young girl, or anyone for that matter, to have to put down their own pets. She buried the kittens in the field behind her house. I felt sorry for her and thought her parents were mean.

After Patty got her driver’s license, she was over at my house a lot, mostly visiting with my mom! My whole family loved Patty and the feeling was mutual. I think Patty craved the whole family atmosphere. There were 5 kids in my family and sometimes our cousins would be there, too, and we lived on a farm with lots of animals. Patty enjoyed herself at my house.
Patty was born with a hole in her heart. Her parents were told that Patty’s heart could not be repaired at such a young age and so it was decided they would operate after she graduated high school. So in November 1965 she went in for exploratory surgery. What they found was massive damage to the heart and it was irreparable, so they closed her back up. I’m not sure what they were going to do next, but they waited too long. I talked to her, by phone, the day after her surgery and she told me that she had begged her boyfriend to get her out of the hospital because she had a premonition she wasn’t going to make it out alive. She also wanted me to help her get out of the hospital; I remember the desperation in her voice. I felt helpless but tried to convince her she would be alright. I believe it was the next day or day after that I got the phone call at work from my grandmother, who was also close to Patty. I was devastated and had to leave work early.

At the funeral home, Patty’s mother asked us not to attend the funeral because it was going to be a small funeral, family only. I flat out told her I was coming to the funeral! I believe my mother, my father, and myself were the only non-family members at Patty’s funeral. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

This kind, gentle, positive and fun loving young lady deserved so much more. I’m very thankful she lived her short life to its fullest and I’m very thankful that I had the pleasure of knowing her.

Please – I welcome your comments and memories of Patty Gibson. She had lots of friends who loved and admired her and there is so much I have forgotten over the years and would love to hear more.

alumni update

CG alumni association (CGAA) will have a float at the CGHS football homecoming game 9/28. Attendees to game should arrive by 6 p.m. as
seating fills fast. Float will have riding alumni who have attended every
banquet since they graduated over 60 years ago. Any guesses who??

alumni will also have a car show open to any CGHS grad with classic car, any
model or era welcome. Sorry, no prizes this year but happy to report no entry fee either. Donations accepted to help alumni events welcomed.

Polo's, "T" and sweatshirts also available 28th for purchase

next alumni meeting 10/9 in building behind med check just east of SV rd and SR 135. Small building facing west.

FYI: approx 40 pictures of past sports alumni on north wall of our beloved gym. I have removed approx 30 photos and stored them in archive secured room. Photo's remaining will be removed by maintenance at CGHS due to their large size and height above the floor. Reason for removal is 4 plus photos have major mold and water damage. info to follow asking for copies as i work to get at least a start on photo ID's. I know one was of Richards, Coffey, Tow when they played BB and went very far into state championship.

I have been told by CGHS teacher a proposed room for historical photos etc will be added when CGHS is renovated. Room will be designed so students etc. can walk around and view photo's quotes etc.

thanks for listening and go TROJANS. don't forget alumni web site http://www.centergrovealumni.org/
hatchet

UPDATE by GB-
Thanks Hatchet for the alumni link. I've added it to our favorites list.

OCTOBER MINI UPDATE

As I posted before the invitations have gone out for the
mini. I have received back three invitations for the
following. If any of you have a current address please
let me know.

Becky (Terrell) Caldwell, Dale & Beverly Hollandbeck
and Cynthia Adams. It was really great to have
Cynthia with us last year. I think Linda B. brought
her. Would like to see her again this year.

So far here is a list of the confirmed. I will keep you
updated as I hear (hopefully) from more.

Greybeard & Sara Jean
Top Cat & Sharon
DJinIndy - Coleslaw - fancy bowl
Two Dogs & Cinders -Oriental Cole Slaw- fancy bowl
included
Bob White & Mrs. Bird - Bean Salad
Hawkeye & Hotlips
Carol & Tracy
Ferdyflyer
Joker
Mary R.

Sure hope to hear from more. Any help is appreciated
on follow up. If I have missed any confirmed let me
know.

Thanks
Echo

One Year Later

Ok, fast forward one year. This is Mr. D’s Class of 1966.

My memories of his class were very similar to those of GB. It seemed to me that he spent more time teaching about life and how to get along in it, than what was in his lesson plan. I remember that he was going to night school (at Butler I believe) working on his Bachelor’s in 58-59 so he probably did only have two years of college in 57-58. With little formal training, at that time, and probably little guidance from the school, I imagine that he was pretty much shooting from the hip every day.

He did have a thing for grammar though. In our class, he had a box for everyone to use to drop a note and “Narc” on each other when anyone spoke improperly. At the end of each week he would read the notes in front of the class. It was like Weight Watchers. You learned or died of embarrassment.

I think that some of his unorthodox teaching methods came from being in the National Guard at the time. This was particularly true with his use of exercise for discipline and negative reinforcement. It had a real “Boot Camp” feel about it.

I think what is really interesting is our different perspectives of the same experience. Some saw him as mean and incompetent while others of us felt challenged and liked his approach to teaching.

Fifth Grade, Mr. Dietzer's Class

If you are pictured here, I'd be interested in your thoughts.
In conversation with Vicki last year around the bonfire at Echo's, many of my perceptions were verified. Fifth grade in Mr. Dietzer's class was an "interesting" experience.
We learned many things, but most of it was not out of a textbook.
We received military, almost sadistic discipline at times- For talking out of turn, I sat on a tall metal trashcan with a stack of encyclopedias on my lap for an hour... excruciating!
Vicki recalled Mr. Dietzer sending two boys out to run laps around the track, one at each end of an extension ladder, heads between the rungs.
Respect for our elders- The entire class rose to it's feet alongside our desks when an adult, (even a near-adult student) entered the classroom.
Competitive play as a teaching experience... It sure seemed the whole class was outside a lot, weather permitting, playing games.
Anyone know, did Mr. Dietzer have a college degree?
Most of this class ended up in Mr. L's class for sixth grade. Mr. L., do you think we learned what we should have in fifth grade?


This class started the year in the old concrete block-painted white FFA building, then moved mid-year to the new classrooms built East of the existing grade school.

So VK's... anything to share about your fifth grade experiences?

Our 60's, The Korean version

I had written earlier about what turning 60 in Japanese meant and tonight I saw a program about the same, only in Korean. I hope you enjoy it.

The did a segment on each decade.

They said we have to prepare to live to 100 now. We have to be a Natural Person with wide acquittances. We have to prevent depression, because our 60's are when we lose so much of value to us.
We have to prevent isolation and live energentically.
If we lie down, it is over.
We need to do 30 minutes a day of muscle training so we may walk stronger.
We need to get lots of sun. To walk around alot, this is called Mandangbal or wide feet. This is good.

From what I can tell from reading the blog and hearing from classmates, I think we are on the right tract for 100. I think we have wide acquittances, indeed.

Things I Learned This Week

Lesson #1
Web Worms
Did you know that web worms will not kill at tree? Even if every tree within a hundred mile radius looks like it's wearing a psycho-hairnet of them?
Yep, that's what the Extension Agent said. Apparently it's been raining web worms this year because she said there are more of them because of the rain.

AND she told me that if you open up the web, the birds will eat all of those little green guys. If the web is too thick to open, you have to use something called “BT” OR just cut the branch out -- liquid bug killer just drips off the web.

Isn't that interesting? I knew you would think so.

Lesson #2
Old Photos
I've found a ton of photos, some all the way back to the 6th grade. Those good ol' black and whites seemed to have survived very well. There are at least a ton of color photos that have faded and turned yellow; another ton or two that are photos of unrecognizable objects ,,, a tree? a mountain?? the Grand Canyon?? Who knows.

So the plan WAS to cull out the ones I plan to take to the nursing home and toss the rest. Then take the keepers, scan them and make a CD.

Now comes the tricky part of the lesson. What to do with the slides? I have quite a few but Mother has a blue zillion boxes of slides she wants me to organize and put on CD. I checked a couple of commercial places that to that and they want about 50 cents a piece if you have up to 5000! I'm pretty sure that makes it 2,500 buckeroos.

Anyone know how to do this without spending an arm and a leg?

Who?

Sister of Magda and ZsaZsa, it's my favorite of the bunch... Eva.

You guys are just too good!
Congrats Bo! Number two for you, right?

















Think Blonde. Foreign Born. A contemporary of the guy in the picture to the right.

Second image... same gal.
An actress with siblings that also ended up in Show Business.
(And Joker, barring a very busy night for me tonight, I'll bet we "get'r'done!)

Go To "The Barn" and Chat!

Just noticed a new feature at Ron VanLandingham's Whiteland Barn website-
A chat room!

When you click on the site, it automatically signs you in under an "anonymous" name. You can easily delete the anonymous name and type in, for instance, "Greybeard" or any other name you choose.

Just for fun, after you have surfed around VK for a while, click the Whiteland Barn link and see if anyone is lurking there.
It might be me!

OCTOBER MINI

JUST A QUICK UPDATE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE
INVITATIONS HAVE GONE OUT.

SOOOOOOOO!!!!! ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME ON GETTING
RSVP'S WILL BE APPRECIATED. IF YOU TALK TO ANYONE
BE SURE AND CONFIRM THAT THEY RECEIVED THEIR
INVITATION. ALSO, PLEASE ASK THEM TO RSVP.

LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING ALL OF YOU ON THE 20TH.

ECHO & SHIFTY

HISTORY DOES REPEAT ITSELF

Ran across this and thought that it was really interesting.

HISTORY
Have a history teacher explain this if they can..

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost their children while living in the
White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday

Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were know by their three names
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford".
Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford".

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a
warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

AND HERE'S THE KICKER .....

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

IRISH FEST AT INDY

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Blue skies, temperatures in the mid seventies, downtown Indianapolis at Military Park and we are Irish for this day. We eat a wonderful breakfast of eggs, soda bread, potato cakes, sausage and bacon. There are lots of men in kilts, lots of singing, bagpipes, guitars, flutes, fiddles and the wonderful hand drums. Music seems to be everywhere and everyone seems to be having a great time including us. The songs are mostly pub songs with rousing choruses that we join in on. There is lots of stuff to buy proclaiming Irish heritage from flags, blankets, and jewelry to clothing. All kinds of wonderful things to eat and drink are available, most connected somehow to Ireland.

The highlight of the day is the wonderful dancing. The dance represents a time of repression by the British. The British frowned on Irish dancing, so many dances required dancers to hold their arms at their sides and dance in place so they could disguise what they were doing. We see all ages of girls and boys do the soft and hard shoe dancing. The music is wonderful and the girls look great in their beautiful sequined and satin dresses. The fast feet and beautiful smiles make this a great experience for us. To top it off, in the advanced dancers, we see Carleigh, 16 years old. She is a 1965 CGHS grads daughter. TPO, or Pat, the guy who wore all green always at CGHS on St. Patrick’ Day is very involved with Irish dancing and travels all over for his daughter to compete. We see Pat and Mrs. Pat and they are busy helping to make all this run smoothly.

Carleigh performs with the Richens/Timm Academy of Irish Dance. Nestled in the trees of Military Park this event happens once every year. It is always in September and I recommend it if you are ever here at this time. Mrs. Hawk

This Is A Test. No Need To Panic...

A-HA!
AHA, Aha, aha !!
This is just frickin' neat!

Ya know, lotsa stuff has been discovered by some ignorant goofball making a mistake and then making the best of it, right?
Well, meet "Goofball Greybeard"!

Saturday night at Beef and Boards I got out my trusty Fuji to take the photos you see a couple posts below. When I pushed the shutter button, it didn't work as it normally does. When you click on the arrow below, listen closely and you can tell why!

Brunch At Bella Vista

(Bella Vista- Pretty View?)
In these pictures you'll get a feel for the weather we had all weekend long. Brunch at Bella Vista could not have been nicer, with the slight exception, as Joker noted, of the fact that a "sweat bee swatter" would have been handy!
The restaurant is located adjacent to the marina, so we had first-class seating for traffic moving on the water. All but Cinders ordered the breakfast buffet, which was good. Cinders ordered a specialty salad, which looked better than what I had on my plate! We've heard the restaurant, which as the name implies serves Italian most of the time, is a good place for pasta. I hope we'll get a chance to return soon and report to you on TD's favorite... "Spaghetti Bolognese".






That's my Sara Jean...
Joker in the background.







How delightful to see Joker for the first time in so many years! Again... as is so often the case with classmates, it took all of maybe three minutes to settle in socially and be PERFECTLY comfortable.
Joker, we look forward to further catching up in October.











TD's daughter Shani (Shay-nee) stopped by to share the beautiful day with us.









TwoDogs in a discussion with Joker. I bet they were talking about horses...
DJ, you shoulda been here!















Cinders...
Making a point?







I'll take more days like this any day, folks.
Good food. Good company.
Good weather. Great view.
It just doesn't get much better.

LET'S START THE WEEK WITH A SMILE

SUBJECT "LIFE".
1. Now that food has replaced sex in my life,
I can't even get into my own pants.
2. Marriage changes passion. Suddenly you're
in bed with a relative.
3. I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with
"GUESS" on it. so I said "Implants?"
SHE HIT ME !!!!
4. How come we choose from just two people to
run for president and over fifty for
MISS AMERICA.
5. I signed up for an exercise class and was
told loose-fitting clothing. If I HAD any
loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have
signed up in the first place!!!!
6. When I was young we used to go "skinny
dipping" now I just "chunky dunk".
7. Don't argue with an idiot: people watching
may not be able to tell the difference.
8. Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up
our life we could imply press
'Ctrl Alt Delete'
and start all over again.
9. Why is it that our children can't read a
Bible in school, but they can in prison?
10. Wouldn't you know it ......
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but
FAT cells live forever.
11. Why to I have to swear on the "Bible" in
court when the Ten Commandments cannot
be displayed outside?
12. Bumper sticker of the year:
"If you can read this, thank a teacher -
and since it's in English, thank a soldier".

AND REMEMBER - Life is like a roll of toilet
paper. The closer it gets to the end, the
faster it goes.

ECHO

Caught Red-Handed At The Whorehouse!

Vandy's Kids are all abuzz! The rumor's goin' round that some of our classmates were actually caught in a Bawdyhouse the other night! Now they can't deny it...
"Reverend Melvin P. Thorpe" forwarded these photos to me as irrefutable evidence!

TD seems a little upset at being caught "Corpus Delecti"... is that the right term PT? Cinders, as usual, seems to be having a better time than her old man!

Hawkeye and Mrs. H.

Why didn't anyone tell me Bo was seeing Clint Eastwood? Ha! Max, thanks for coming.
We all hope you're feeling better by the time you see these photos!

Mark G. and lovely Robin. Mark, ya gotta come to Edinburgh so we can visit more!

Mr. and Mrs. BobWhiteDan.

Folks, these are your hostess and host for next months shindig...
Indy Echo and the lovely (and talented!) Shifty.

Our tablemates/cohorts in crime, JT and DJ.

Greybeard and Sara Jean. Honest folks, I had not been drinking... much!

"The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas"

A Review, By Greybeard-

This story is about a whorehouse!
A whorehouse!

My sensibilities were stretched almost beyond the breaking point!

Well really, I didn't know quite to expect about this play.
Some of the promotional material has one of the primary characters,
Madam Mona saying, "There's nothing really dirty goin' on." So when we were treated to characters simulating sexual intercourse at the sides of the stage, I was mildly surprised....
A whorehouse, mind you!
I had not seen a lot of critical approbation, so I walked in expecting reasonable... not GREAT entertainment. And that is kinda what we got.

The storyline is/was predictable. I suspect much of the talent was local... therefore some of the players were excellent... some were satisfactory. Some were limited by the material given to them by the writers.

But I agree with TwoDogs comment this morning: "It was a little bawdier than I imagined it would be." I'm a prude at heart, and some of the cursing, although probably necessary for the storyline, made me uncomfortable. What made me even more uncomfortable, in these days of Muslim beheadings of innocents, was a line uttered by the Texas Governor character, intended to show irony:
"If only the Jews and Arabs would treat one another like Christians!"
If we are talking about truly bein' Christlike Governor, my only comment is, INDEED.

The food was plentiful, varied, and tasty.
But the highlight of the evening for me was 15 other audience members.
I wish I had looked at my watch so I could accurately report times for ya...
We stood in the foyer talking so long, I began to be uncomfortable about keeping the workers from locking up and goin' home, so I suggested our group step outside to continue our conversations there. Once outside, we spent another... half hour? Forty-five minutes discussing classmates long forgotten, or the time the BoMar kids took up grave robbing as a hobby.
(C'mon Bo... more on that, please!)

I was delighted to meet Mr. BMG and Mrs. Mark G. for the first time. I really think our classmates have done a wonderful job finding 1st class spouses to add to our mix! Delightful.

All in all, a great night, folks. Sara Jean and I sat with DJ and JT, so we smiled most of the evening. DJ and I came to an agreement... Angels have beautiful landing gear!

I'm sorry if you missed this mini. If you did, once again you missed a good time shared with good company. Now, mark your calendars:
20 October, Edinburgh Indiana.
We will have a great time. You don't want to miss it.
More information forthcoming.
Watch this space!

Saturday Open Forum

GB's on a road trip but if he were home, he might post an open forum note.
Got something to share? Take this opportunity.

While you are doing that, I'm going to continue my quest to organize the garage. It's been a mess since we moved in and that’s over 10 years ago! I can't take it anymore!! I've been working on it for the last week and things are much better. Now I have to clear out the attic junk,,, and then the junk in the shed (gawd it just never ends!).

My real goal: if one of us (or both) kick the bucket earlier than planned, whoever has to deal with our stuff will find it all neat and labeled. The junk store will appreciate that ;))) (anyone want to make bets on my success??)

OK the forum is yours!

Eastbound!

Bags are packed. We have a couple errands to run. That's fine, 'cause I don't want to drive five hours, just to end up in my home town during rush hour. The plan is to be on the road about 2 P.M. our time... (is that 3 P.M. Indiana time now? Stupid time changes!) Anyway, we'll be "Back in Indiana" by early evening tonight... first time back since Echo's reunion in October.

We hope to add a couple names to our list of classmates we've seen for the first time since 1965 this trip. More on that when the dust has settled.
We're playin' it by ear. When we've had our second cuppa tomorrow morning, we may just decide to strike out and see if we can get face to face with "the classmate to be named at a later date." Ooooh!

Stay tuned.

I Forgot

Thank God for the internet. All too often I'll forget something and all I have to do is start a search, use the right words here and there, and Voila!... there's my answer.

But this time it didn't work that way.
For some time I had been puzzling over the Drive-In's name. And I'm not talking Drive-In movie now, I'm talkin' Drive-In restaurant.
Just for fun, this post will be one I'll update after someone comes up with the correct answer, and I'll tell you "The rest of the story".

The Drive-In was East of Indianapolis on U.S. Highway 40.
I remember it was far enough out of town that I didn't go often, but it was unique in a couple ways:
They served a Pork Tenderloin sandwich the size of the hubcap off a Buick Electra 225, and-
there was a movie screen on the East side of the lot, where you could watch a movie while you ate your order.

Ever been there? Can ya remember the name of the place?

Update comin' up when we have a correct answer!

Al Green's!
TD is right... (and may be the only other soul awake at this hour!)
You may have noticed "The Whiteland Barn" is now one of our "favorite links". I dropped in on them the other night to check see if anyone else I knew had signed their guest book... done that yet? While pokin' around on the site I noticed they have a blurb about Al Green's there. That made me wonder if it was still in existence. A quick Dogpile search found this link, where it indicates what happened to the place. Go take a look... it's an odd site, comparing Al Green's to "The Parthenon" and other buildings. Is this a student's study for a college course?
No matter what, it's an interesting place to waste time, if you have it to waste.
What do you think of it?

alumni news

Center Grove Alumni Association (CGAA) is moving forward thanks to efforts of many current and past members.

alumni banquet April 26, 2008 Committee formed early to plan a fun event, catered meal, entertainment, photo display of years past and present. Goal set of 400 graduates and friends to attend. Date moved to provide opportunity of soon to be graduates know CGAA is alive and make them welcome sharing memories and friends. New date is also not interfer with graduation parties.

CGAA selling polo and sweatshirts for $20.00 and SS "T" shirts for $15.00.
Real Trojan head with Center Grove and ALumni white lettering on red shirt.
designed by Dan Francis , CGHS 65'. Postage of $3.00 will be added to purchase price.

www.centergrovealumni.org
site developed by John Spurr 68', includes Vandy Photo's, alumni info and space for sharing events such as class gatherings.

CGAA making presence known at football games, booth set up selling shirts and passing out pens with name and web site listed.

help always needed, both physical and monetary, THANKS for consideration.
monthly meetings usually 2nd tuesday of the month. check web site for details.


keep the faith hatchet

Where were you that day?

Change of Face

When GB mentioned putting Vandy's photo in the Blog header, I started poking around inside the template (things are always easier when I haven't a clue what I'm doing)

Anyway, I found a template that lets us add a photo, plus it sort of has CG colors,,,, so I tried it. (The Blog program says we can go back to the old format if we want to.) Also, this template will let us add other things that I'm going to let GB and other smart people figure out.

If there is something you would like to add/change/delete please say so; it might not be possible but your opinion is welcome.

The Royal "We"

"I think we should mow the grass down by the pond."

While she's doin' kitchen chores, Sara Jean likes to look down at the Ducks feeding in the pond, and tall grass at the pond's edge keeps her from seeing their little bottoms bobbing as they feed on the duckweed beneath the surface.

So it's an understandable statement, really a rhetorical comment... a thought just coming off the top of her head, right?

Uhh... nope.

The problem in the statement is the realities of the "Greybeard" world, and the way the word "WE" is used here. I own a big ol' "Zero-turn radius" mower, and an ancient 21-inch push mower. Sara Jean can't/won't operate the "lunar lander"- like big mower, and although she regularly uses the push mower, fear of snakes near the water's edge makes that a "no-mow" zone for her.

So the statement, "We need to mow the grass down by the pond", really means-
"Get off your butt and go mow the grass by the pond!"

When the email came last week from someone who will remain un-named, my vast experience with wife-speak helped me translate it right away...

"We need to add a picture of Vandy to our blog heading."
Ha!
I wrote back, "What a wonderful idea! Go ahead and do that!"
And the person to whom I responded, not knowing "Greybeard-speak", didn't catch the humor in my answer.

I'd LOVE to have a photo of Vandy in the heading of "Vandy's Kids"! The problem is, I don't have the know-how to do it.
At "Pitchpull", there is place in the profile where it asks if you want a display picture, and I presently have a photo of me in the helicopter displayed. The template for "Vandy's Kids" is totally different, and doesn't give you that option. (There wasn't even a place for the Blogroll you see in the left margin, but I jury-rigged one I stole from my own blog and made it work here.)
I've looked through the html language both at Pitchpull and Vandy's Kids, and I just don't see a place where I can get the job done. It's gonna take someone with more computer knowledge than is contained in this gray headed skull to accomplish it.

But I do have a scanner, and I DO know how to use it. So I searched through our yearbook and found what I consider to be one of the definitive photos... see if you agree:


(It'll enlarge if you click it.)
Can't ya just hear him?

"Peeeeeeeple.... Do I have to be a policeman?

Now it's my turn to use wife-speak:
I would LOVE to have this pic, or something similar, permanently displayed in the heading of the blog.

I think "we" need to do that, don't you?!

For your viewing pleasure.....

I don’t know of anyone, especially women, who haven’t seen the movie “The Notebook”. Ladies, if you have not seen this movie, you must watch it. It is a truly heartfelt love story. My daughter has been telling me to watch it since it came out 3 yrs ago. I finally watched the movie about 6 months ago – three times in one weekend. I had never heard of Ryan Gosling, but I fell in love with this young man immediately. I also went through a LOT of kleenex.

Part of the movie was filmed in Mt. Pleasant, SC. at the Boone Hall Plantation. My daughter lives close by in Charleston and visited Boone Hall this summer. Here are some pictures that were taken - that’s her in the picture:

The picture on the left is the entrance to Boone Hall Plantation. The picture on the right is the lake where all the swans were when the young couple in the movie went for a rowboat ride. (In the movie, most of the swans were digitally enhanced.)

This picture on the left is called the Charleston Battery in Charleston, SC.

On the right is a Live Oak tree with Spanish moss.

These pictures were taken by my daughter, this summer.

For our Mysterious Classmate??

It seems in our midst one of our fellow classmates has a secret she has been keeping for many years.
It seems long ago and far away, she went to a faraway land where no one would know her and she was free to roam the shores.
She was set free and let loose in a most pleasant way. (See story about swimsuit). Or facts similar thereof.
It seems she would like to relive those days of yesteryear again.
I have been told by a reliable scource that she left many broken hearts and no wave was left unrode. She wore a flower behind her ear and...oh wait, that is another story for later, sorry.
I know it is impossible to do anything again. Once it is done, it's done, but you can do something similar.
If you have read her story, it is more than enjoyable.
I think she missed her calling and should have been a writer. She is more than entertaining and a hoot besides.

So without further ado, something to get her started, I present to you:Sitting in Paradise Body Shop Wicked Wahine Cologne Mist

Celebrity Siblings

There are 6 sets of celebrity/show biz siblings (2 per set) I have found, all born in 1940 or before:
3 sets of sisters, 1 set of brothers, and 2 sets with brother/sister.
(I’ll give ya credit(?) if you think of some that I missed)

1. All 12 of these celebrities are still alive except for 2, and those 2 are not related.
2. Of these 6 sets, 3 sets were born in the U.S.; 3 sets were not.
3. These are all well known celebs (at least to our age group)
4. All 3 sets of sisters were NOT born in the U.S. and 1 of the sisters in these 3 sets was
married 9 times.
5. 1 set of brother/sister had a very famous father; the other 10 celebs did not.
Can you guess the 6 sets of siblings - THEY HAVE ALL BEEN GUESSED
ANSWERS:
Olivia de Havilland & Joan Fontain born in Tokyo, Japan
Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor born in Budapest, Hungary
James Arness & Peter Graves born in Minneapolis, MN
Jayne & Audrey Meadows born in Wuchang, China
Shirley MacLaine & Warren Beatty born in Richmond, VA
Jane & Peter Fonda born in NYC

Something to pass the time.

Guessing them is the game.

These 3 should be easy to name.

Everything Old Is Young Again

Passing the "Old Navy" store the other day, I was glad I had my camera at hand.
Can you believe it?
Guys, if you have any of your old shirts, you're right in style again!
Next week:
Madras Shirts, buy two, get one free!

Just Another Pretty Face...

Recognize her?

Don't cheat!

46 DAYS AND COUNTING

Okay, everyone, can you believe it???

ONLY 46 MORE DAYS UNTIL THE OCTOBER MINI.

I am going to be sending out invitations in
the next week or so. IF you haven't marked
your calendars now is the time. Graybeard
seems to think that this mini is going to
be the biggest one yet. SURE HOPE HE IS
RIGHT !!!

For those of you who have attended before
I know you are looking forward to coming
again. IF you see or talk to (anyone) who
hasn't made it in the past please be sure
to tell them it is a time they don't want
to miss.

Saw Mary R. at the funeral and she said that
she IS GOING TO BE HERE. HOORAY !!!

I ran across a class mate that we haven't seen
in years and who hasn't attended any of our
regular five year reunions. JUDY KIRK.
Would you belive that she is a neighbor of
mine? She lives in Edinburgh and has for
many years. She works at the Edinburgh
Police Department and has for about 13 years.

David Lutz who is the Johnson County Corner
and also an Edinburgh Policeman is one of my
clients. I went by the police station to see
him. When I went up to the window this woman
said "hey, I know you, we went to school
together". I had no idea who she was. When
she told me she was Judy I couldn't believe it.
She said to tell everyone hello, AND SAID SHE
WOULD LOVE TO COME TO THE MINI. Also wants me
to have Graybeard or Tabby get in touch with
her so she can get on VK. So I have found (MY)
never before attended classmate. HOW ABOUT YOU??

So far here is who has stated that they are for
sure coming.
Greaybeard & Sara Jean
Hawkeye and Hotlips
Bob White and Mrs. Bob White
Two Dogs and Cinders
DJInIndy
Mary R.
Ferdy
Carol & Tracy
Topcat & Sharon

Come on guys add your name to this list.
Once we have the list pretty well down then
we can sign up for what you want to pitch in
for the dinner. Remember, this is important-
We don't want 20 bowls of potato salad.

I will send out directions again with the
invitations. Hopefully this year I will know
my left turns from my right turns. But never
fear there will be signs in case I screw up
again.

As I said there will be the bonfire so be sure
to add lawn chairs to your list of things to
bring. Shifty added to the fire pit over the
week end while working on this honey do list.
THAT'S (THE ONLY THING) HE DIDN'T COMPLAIN
ABOUT ON THE LIST.) Mumble, Mumble, Groan,
Groan.

My email address(s) are:
magadspec@earthlink.net - got it (fixed) so
shouldn't have any problems this year getting
your e-mails. Also kl_harris@yahoo.com. I'm
pretty sure you have my phone numbers. If not
e-mail me and I will send them to you if you
want to give me a call.

Flygirl, haven't heard from you lately so I am
looking forward to your RSVP (early). Don't
know if the old ticker can take another surprise
knock at the door. If you can come a day or two
early I will hold off on the kitchen floor.
HAHAHA

Echo & Shifty

The House of Blue Lights

I wrote this post at "Pitchpull" almost two years ago.
If ya haven't read it you ought to take the time, 'cause I bet it'll bring back memories. There are a couple links in that post that have interesting information about the bridge.

Pokin' around on the 'net to find stuff about the haunted bridge led me to a couple other interesting sites-

With all the notoriety about The House of Blue Lights while we were growing up, I'm surprised Hawkeye and I never launched an up-close CGHS probe of the place! I think the night we drove by to take a look at the house we were a little spooked by stories we had heard. We did see what we thought was a detached head peeking out from the front window of the house. That alone would not normally have stopped us from leaving the car for a close recon, so I can only imagine we had more important things to do that evening, and put it off for a later date. (No way we'd have been frightened, so that had to be the case!)

Here's another site with haunted/paranormal locations in Indiana.
And this is a site with detailed information about many haunted Hoosier places. It's interesting to note how many of the stories have similar themes...
babies crying, or people moaning/calling out in the night.

Ever been to any of these places? C'mon, share your stories.
Halloween is just around the corner!

Drag Racing

When I first met my husband in 1967 he was driving a (’66 or ’67) Chevy Chevelle SS 396. Meant nothing to me, at the time, except it was a nice new red shiny fast car. Some of the first dates we went on were to drag strips, where he raced his Chevelle. I had never been to a drag strip and this was exciting and different, especially since he won almost every time he raced. That Chevelle was hard to beat in its class. We went to several different drag strips over the years, with Muncie and Indpls Raceway Park being our favorites. Muncie was always at night and we’d get home in the wee hours of the morning. He raced that Chevelle for a couple of years and him and his buddy invested in a trailer to haul it around. To say that those 2 men lived and breathed cars is an understatement. We drove all the way to Chicago once and went to where “THE" Carroll Shelby, himself, had his business located and my husband had the nerve to ask if Mr. Shelby was there – he wasn’t. We spent almost every weekend at a drag strip for many years. It got monotonous at times, but mostly it was a lot of fun. We even flew to Gainesville, FL one year to watch the Spring Nationals in the early 70’s.

Then we invested in a 1969 or 1970 Mustang Mach 1, went straight to the dealer and ordered it special. I have no idea how big the engine was or any other details, that was my husband’s field of expertise. All I know is it was yellow with a wide black strip on each side and it was fast. Now that car could run! It was unbeatable in its class and we took it all over the Midwest. I don’t think we ever lost a race with that mustang. When we weren’t racing that mustang, I was driving it as my “regular” car. I even drove it to work and the grocery!!! I had never driven a car so powerful….keeping in mind I went from driving a corvair to this Mach 1 Mustang! Everyday when I got home, I would back the mustang into our garage, ever so slowly. Just touching the gas and letting the clutch slip a little would jump the car several feet. I ripped off the frame around the garage door – twice! I went through the drywall in the garage into the kitchen – once! I was kind of glad when we sold the mustang, although I sure did get a lot of attention when I drove it (big smile). We sold that car to another interested drag racer, and then bought a Camaro Z-28 the first year they came out. That car was a dog! Drove it to FL once, then sold it.

note: the pictures here are only similar to the cars I owned.

The reason I’m giving you this little excerpt from my life is because I now live close to Avon about 5 miles south of Indpls. Raceway Park – now called O’Reilly Raceway Park – and this is a BIG weekend for them. This is the NHRA Drag Racing Championship event of the year, held right here in Clermont, IN. For 2 days now, I have been listening to those cars, with 2 more days to go. Yes, I can hear them from my house and the weather has been perfect, so I’ve had my windows open. I really wish I were there. Hearing those big engines make me long for the good ole days, and a fast car!

Yesterday I received the following letter written to the community by Bill Vandermeer that was read by Gene Rund at Vandy's funeral. He said I could post it on the blog.
Hawkeye



Preamble

This speech was written by an engineer. English teachers, including Diana: please be gentle.


Amble

The Vandermeer family is appreciative, humbled and in awe of the response from the community to the passing of my father: the countless best wishes; the school allowing us to use their property for the visitation; this church allowing us to have this service; and the list goes on.

The response of the community during life was also phenomenal: the naming of the physical education center; the countless friends who took him shopping, to the bank, to the doctor, to games etc; played cards with him; looked after him when he was sick; made sure he was eating when he did not feel like eating (he could be a bear in those circumstances); and the list goes on.

I would like to name names, but the list is too long and I would surely omit many, either inadvertently or in ignorance.

To the family, he is a brother, father, grandfather, uncle, cousin or whatever. We see him in that light with good points and a couple not so good points. The role, if you’ll allow me to be presumptuous, of a community icon is somewhat beyond our collective vision.

I feel that the success he had was due in large part to strong values which were the underpinnings of this community. A triumvirate of strengths is necessary for a school to be successful: good teachers; good parents and good students.

The students were, of course, outstanding.

We had the best teachers: Sloop, Tumey, Clements, Clements, et. al.

And we had great parents. One of my dad’s favorite stories concerns a boy we will call Joe. Joe was high spirited and would occasionally get into trouble. One time Joe went beyond his normal transgressions. In addition to the normal punishment, which isn’t so normal today, my dad informed Joe’s father. Joe’s father assured my father that henceforth, Joe would not be a problem. For several days following the incident, Joe ignored my father. Finally my father cornered Joe and asked him why the cold shoulder. After all Joe had been in trouble before, but the two remained friends afterwards. Joe’s response: “You didn’t have to tell my father!” That says it all: You didn’t have to tell my father.

Of late my father has said on numerous occasions that he had the best job in the world: good teachers, good parents and good students.

The Vandermeer family thanks the Center Grove community for the outpouring of love and compassion both during my father’s life and after his passing.


Bill Vandermeer
26-August-2007

Something to Cheer About

I saw on the late news last night and also in this mornings paper that our Football Team beat Carmel inDOUBLE OVERTIME last night! The score was 32-31; we ran in a two-point conversion to win the game. Carmel was ranked No. 1 in Class 5A; Center Grove was ranked No. 10.

I do believe that Mr. V may have had a hand in that! They are singing "Onward Trojans" in heaven!

Guess who, again?

Bo is correct!

It's RICHARD CRENNA.

Who is the guy on the right?

He was a well known film and TV star.

Born in CA. to Italian immigrants in the 1920's.

1st hint:

married for 47 years, had 3 kids,

died of heart failure due to cancer at the age of 76.

Guess who?

This famous celebrity was not born in the U.S.

She was in many movies, but

was very famous for one particular movie.

Yes, you've all heard of her.
Vivian Leigh is correct!

One More Bump in the Road

Wow, I hate to do this, 'cause Heaven knows we could use a good laugh about now, but I have one more piece of uncomfortable business to share.
After posting the memorial and getting it semi-straightened out,
I got a note from Up/Down with a list of his classmates that are gone, asking me to post them.
I'm sorry to say there are some VERY familiar names on that class of '66 list now... real friends with whom I shared some great times.
I'm sure you'll have the same reaction.
Go and look.
But don't grieve. We've done enough of that this week.
It's time to celebrate their memory.
It's time once again to celebrate life.
God Bless them. God Bless us all.

Photos from Vandy's Service

Thanks to Hawkeye and HL for the photos of Vandy's service Class of '65 flowers

Viewing in the Hall of Excellence

Bill's daughter, sons and daughter-in-law in front of the Vandermeer Gymnasium

Bill and Hawkeye with friends

YES, VANDY'S FUNERAL WAS PERFECT

Yes, Vandy's funeral was perfect. Gene Rund gave a wonderful message at the church. You hung on every word. At the end, he read an open letter to the community from Bill Vandermeer. It was so well written and special. We have asked for a copy to post on the Vandy Blog. The Hall of Excellence at Center Grove looked really cool for the showing. I have some pictures and I think Bob is sending them to PT. Maybe she will post them on the Blog. Vandy had only one school kid pall bearer, Bob Davidson, and the rest were teachers and probably community leaders or something. Bob was so humbled to be asked to be a pall bearer.

There were several Class of 65 kids at the showning and funeral. Mary Ellen R came in from Illinois. She told her friend she was going to Indiana to her high school principal's funeral. Her friend said why in the world would you do this? Mary said he was a special principal. Her friend said she didn't even remember her high school principal's name.

The flowers from the Class of 65 were the biggest arrangement there. They were very pretty and tasteful, and as every arrangement but one there, red and white. There were many flowers, several other classes sent flowers, but only one went on to the cemetary....The Class of 65.

Vandy had set aside money for a lunch after the funeral. Everyone at the Church for the funeral was invited to the lunch. About 75 of us went. An executive type guy, about 30 years old, Ben, spoke at the dinner. His family lived across the street from Vandy and Margaret in Carefree. He told about asking Vandy to be his Grandfather when he was 6 years old. Vandy said he would. Vandy went to 1st grade Grandparents Day with Ben. He was such a hit, he was asked back two weeks later as Ben's "show and tell".

Ben went on to tell about getting off of the bus from school and going directly to Vandy's house where the two of them played a daily game of "Fish". This friendship of young and old kept going on. Ben was visably shaken at times, but kept his voice even. He talked about splitting wood and building fireplace fires for Vandy. He said the last time he and Vandy talked was May of 2006. It was then that Vandy made him promise to say nice words about him after he was gone. Ben's voice cracked as he said he now had kept his last promise to his friend.

Ben is married and lives in Pinehurst, Pineville, or something, South or North Carolina. He has several tax service businesses and a car dealership there. Ben was also my student helper one period of the day when I was Center Grove Registrar. He did a great job delivering the US Mail and inter-office mail for me. He drew a picture of a rose for me. I still have it. I had him sign it at the time and told him I would keep it for when he became famous. I told him I thought he was now famous! He shook his head and smiled at me with tears. We both know that being Vandys friend makes anyone famous!

The Journal has a story today written by a former Center Grove student, Norman Knight. He is a teacher at Clark-Pleasant Middle School and he writes a weekly column for the Daily Journal. He is, by his own definition, a former student radical and the column is about his participating in a sit down strike at Center Grove. Vandy did not handle the sit down strike with an iron fist, but he called the four ringleaders into his office and talked to them about the issues that led to the confrontation. No one was kicked out of school.The many stories just keep coming out......a live well lived......a man well loved....HL

Vandy Stories

A cousin sent this Journal article and I thought you might enjoy it too.
**************************************************
Trojan leader Vandermeer influenced future teacher
By NORMAN KNIGHT

KnightAug. 29, 2007
Dear Neil, I don't know if the news made it to you way out there in Idaho, but I thought you should know that our old high school principal, Mr. Vandermeer, died last week. I've just come from the visitation at Center Grove High School. It was in a wing of the school that wasn't there when we were students back in the '60s called the Hall of Excellence. Can you think of a more appropriately named place for Vandy?

You know, Neil, the older I get, the more I can see just how much my past has affected who I am. Back then, I would never have picked our principal as a big influence on me, but there you go.
Remember when we started Youth for Change? It was our homegrown version of a 1960s radical organization, sort of a cornfield Students for a Democratic Society. We were young and passionate about politics, and we wanted so much to be like the radical people whose books we read and whose protests we watched on the nightly news. We were idealistic kids.I'm not saying what we believed was less valid because we were young.

It was a good thing that we wanted to do something to change a world we thought the adults had really messed up. (We could use a little more of that these days, if you ask me.) It's just that, as a teacher with the perspective of some years, I know that young people tend to believe they have all the answers. I also know that it's hard for them to see that older people have at least a little bit of knowledge and wisdom.

I think Mr. Vandermeer had that perspective.I also believe we were itching to be part of the rebellion that was happening all over the world at the time. It was kind of hard to fire up that kind of excitement in sleepy old Center Grove back in 1969, but we gave it a shot, didn't we? Remember our sit-down strike?

Vandy could have kicked the whole crowd of us out of school for that, but he actually called the four ringleaders into his office and talked to us about the issues that led to the confrontation. He was pretty good about keeping order and at the same time giving students a bit of free rein to discover themselves. That's something I try to remember in my job. And I'll bet you've thought about that, too, in your position as a business leader.

At the visitation, I was standing in line behind a lady who graduated in 1958. She remembered Mr. Vandermeer and his wife, Margaret, chaperoning her senior class trip to Washington and spending their entire time keeping the boys and girls separate. Another former student who graduated in 1965 also had a good Vandy story.I chatted with a few others, and everyone talked as if he were a personal friend.

Each person mentioned Mr. Vandermeer as someone who really cared about him or her as an individual. He had that gift.Looking back, I realize how much my teachers taught me, not just about the causes of the Civil War or the way to punctuate a sentence, but how to relate to people. From some of them, I learned what not to do. From others I learned just what it takes to be an effective educator.

Mr. Vandermeer really changed my life for the better, just as he changed the lives of countless other students. I guess there are other ways besides starting an organization to change the world.

Well, Neil, I know you probably can't come all the way from Idaho on this short a notice, but I know you are here in spirit.
Take care. Go Trojans!
Your friend and fellow radical, NormanNorman Knight, a teacher at Clark-Pleasant Middle School, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal.

"The Magic Gopher"

GH sent me this link two nights ago.
It amazed and puzzled me, keeping me from sleeping until I solved it.
I guarantee it will drive you crazy for a while...
Can you figure it out?

In Memoriam

I think I finally figured out how to do it.

You may remember, we started the memorial to classmates, teachers, and friends, and then had second thoughts.
The memorial wasn't accomplishing what we intended when we established it...
To fondly remember folks that had been part of our lives.

So we took it down... put it away for awhile in hopes of coming up with a better idea.
And then Vandy died, and I added his name to the list.
And while I was typing his name, it hit me...
Make this the first post of the blog, so we can all go back and review the post whenever we want!

To give everyone easy access to the post, I've also added an entry to Our Blogroll titled, "We Won't Forget".
Click that link, and it instantly takes you to the memorial post.
I need your feedback now... are ya comfortable with this?
Does it accomplish what we want?

And something else...
I'd like to delete the comments at that post so it stands alone without several comments that are 'way out of date. Let me know what you think of deleting those comments. I'll wait until we have a consensus before taking that action.

I hope this pleases everyone.

Mr. Melvin A. Vandermeer

Gentleman, and Gentle Man.
Teacher, Veteran, Husband, Father, Coach, Principal, Counselor... Friend.

1918-2007
I heard a story about life... that it was "all about the dash".
The dash between your birthdate and the date of your death, and what you do with the time between those dates.
We will always wonder what life is about... whether we are making the most of it.
But I think I know what's really important...
And that is whether the world is a better place because of our dash.

Vandy will be buried today,
And for "Vandy's Kids" I want to say this-
"Mr. Vandermeer, you used your dash well! God Bless You!"

Oh Canada!

Take a look here and see if you agree...
Mr. V. was apparently a Canadian citizen when he enlisted as a Private in 1942, at the age of 24.

And as a sidelight, is anyone else surprised that this sort of information is now available?
...More than a little frightening, in my opinion!