Blog Reminder

Please remember that the blog works backwards.  To follow it in some kind of order for this 45th Reunion...go to " 45th Reunion...Here We Go Again"....and read that entry first....then continue " UP"....  Also, remember to click on " comments" at the end of each Post.....or you'll miss what others are saying !

45th Reunion Invitation & Schedule

You are invited to the Topeka West 45th Class Reunion "Class of 1968"

September 27-28, 2013

Friday Night Picnic ____(Yes, I/we plan to attend)  

Name_______________Guest_____________

When: Friday night, September 27th, 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Where: Garden House at Lake Shawnee (same location as the 40^th reunion) The address is 3650 West Edge Rd.  West Edge is the road that runs on the west side of Lake Shawnee & is accessible from 29^th, 37^th, or 45^th.  There are two locations to park.  One is at the Ted Ensley Gardens parking north of 37^th.  Look for the gazebo  -- the shelter house is just east of there. 
The other is off SE Yacht Ct, just off West Edge & south of 37^th St.
Cost: $20/person (includes food, beer, soft drinks, & bottled water).

Tour of Topeka West  

When: Saturday morning at Topeka West Cafeteria 10AM-Noon
Rolls, coffee, & juice will be provided - no charge

Golf Tournament ____(Yes, I/we plan to attend)

When: Saturday, September 28th, 10:30 AM
Where: Shawnee Country Club (now Great-Life), 913 SE 29th
Cost: $35 - Pay at course
Make reservations no later than September 14th through Charlie Thompson at thompson9292@att.net

Saturday Night Hors d'Oeuveres & Cash Bar and Dancing  _____(Yes, I/we plan to attend)

When:  Saturday night, September 28th, 7:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Where: Shawnee Country Club Restaurant (now Great Life), 913 SE 29th
Cost: $20/person (includes heavy hor d'oevres, possibly some drink tkts --yet undetermined)
Cash bar prices: $2 beer, $3 large draw, Wine $4-7, Well drinks $5-7, Soft drinks $1.50, Water - no charge
Mark the events you plan to attend, write your name on the form, & enclose your check & mail to: Linda McPike Marling, 1831 SW Oakley, Topeka, Ks 66604 as soon as possible so we will have operating expenses!

• All events are casual attire.
• If paying after August 1, 2013, please enclose a $5 late fee for ea night per person.
• Please enclose a short bio with your reservation or email it to Linda even if you can't come to the reunion.
• Direct questions and any contact information of classmates shown on the missing list to:

                Linda at linda.marling@yahoo.com 
                Terry Diaz Dykstra at princessofkeene@hotmail.com
                Jan Pipkin Flesher at janlynn4650@gmail.com
                Elaine Neff Toland at eneffy@gmail.com 
                Margo Weidner Leonard at margoleonard50@gmail.com
                Charlie Thompson at thompson9292@att.net .

Hotels rates will be posted at a later date.

2012 LIST OF MISSING CLASSMATES

We've found some, and sadly lost some.  The new total of missing classmates is 104 classmates for whom we have no contact information. Even tho some were at the last reunion, emails were returned, and we have no physical address. We are counting on you to help us with locating them. Please send all information privately to someone on the reunion committee below, either in a message or by email. Thanks for helping YOUR reunion be a successful one. We will remove them from the list as they are found and let you know in a post.
The committee consists of Margo Weidner Leonard, Terry Diaz Dykstra, Jan Pipkin Flesher, Charlie Thompson, Elaine Neff Toland, Jenny Jordan Friedstrom (all on FB) and Linda Marling and Julie Taylor.
Adonna Crenshaw
Alan Burcham
Allan Jones
Beverly Brown (the blonde one)
Brenda Nicholas
Carol Russell Mallory
Cheri Platt
Cheryl Brinkman
Chris Ahrens
Chris Devins
Chris Petro
Chuck Johnson
Daniel Johnson
Dave Van Compernolle
David Wilson
Debbie Ard
Debbie Coleman
Debbie Pittman
Diane Stone
Elise Dimpudus
Eric Van Benschoten
Gary Beard
Gary Mincks
Gary Ward
George Landon
Henry Haines
Janet Oliverson
Janet Stephens Paduh
Jay Zuercher
Jim Davis
Jim Hart
Jim Thompson
Joe Werner
John Falkenstein
John Hammond
John Martin
John Roberts
John Smoot
John Weaves
Jon Barr
Judith Barnett
Judy Armstrong
Judy Dittman
Karen Shanholtz
Kathleen Peyton Reich
Kathryn Warren
Kathy Waldoch
Linda Durham
Linda Rohr
Linda Sample
Linda Suwalski
Lisa Goltz
Lynn Miller
Marcia Moore
Marcia Thompson
Max Ayers (Topeka last known addr)
Mike Buxton
Mike Hurley
Mitch Carlson
Monty Hempel
Nancy Logan
Pamela Grunewald
Patricia Cody
Phyllis Campbell
Rebecca Kock
Richard Sellen
Robert Dalton (last addr in Colorado)
Ron Meyer
Ron Millican
Rusty Barnes
Salee Steward
Sandy Cook
Sandy Peck
Scott Fisher
Sharon Barnes
Sharon Weightman
Sherry Clark
Sherry Conley
Sherry DuRoy
Steve Anderson
Steve Hawks
Steve Ladner
Steve Ward
Steven Brewer
Sue Soper
Ted Pulling
Teresa Wright
Terry Albert
Tom Collister
Tom Gillman
Tom Meyer

45th Reunion -Here We Go Again

So...here we are again..... 
Seems like it was just a short time ago many of us met at Lake Shawnee and the Ramada for our 40th reunion.  Still......it's time to start planning our get together for our 45 th.  Several of us have been meeting and gathering feedback from as many classmates as possible for reunion ideas.  Many suggested that we look at a fall date this time since most of us are not tied to summer vacation for our kids anymore and since the Kansas heat can be pretty oppressive in the summer ! ( we got lucky 4 years ago).

So our 45th reunion is planned for September 27th and 28th of 2013.  Only 11 months away.  Please put it on your calendar NOW.  We're still working out details and will share as they become available but what we do know is that we're meeting at the Garden House at Lake Shawnee on Friday night. This is where we met last time and it's a lovely location.  Great outdoor areas to chat but a nice enclosed spot with air conditioning and or heat !  On Saturday night we'll be gathering at the former Shawnee Country Club (now run by Great Life) at 29th and Adams.  This is a beautiful venue.  Large two level  room with lots of glass overlooking the golf course and plenty of outdoor tables and patios.  There will be plenty of room to mingle and visit. Both locations have ample parking and are easily accessible.  We will have golf at Shawnee Country Club on Saturday morning.   There will be time to visit Topeka West for those who wish to do so. We will try to get some group discounts at a couple of hotels for our out of town classmates.

Rather than creating a new blog...we decided to just continue with this one...so those who want to look back...or who may have missed it 4 years ago can look back at the fun we had !  Some of it is touching, some informative and some quite funny ! Remember to click on comments after each post to see what was said....but PLEASE don't add anymore information or comments there.   We'll start new posts for this reunion so only add comments to posts that say 45th !! 

Rumor has it that Vancouver Jan has had a mishap since we were last in touch with her.  Apparently her pole was broken,  she suffered  a knee injury and her  costumes have had to be altered to fit her new figure. !! We'll have updates as we move ahead but we have heard that the part of the pole that could be saved was remade into a trapeze.  She always was such an inventive girl. In the last 4 years it's we've been made aware that Vancouver Jan is not our only celebrity.  We've heard that for the 45th " Elton Jim" will make an appearance and who knows how many other talented classmates may show up.   You won't want to miss this reunion......these  "stars" are  getting older they may not be around for the 50th !!

The Kids of '68

The Partys Over

To view the pictures of the reunion click on the link below or type it into your address bar. Click on the pictures. There are 4 albums. Click on one...when it opens click on the first picture. Then to the right click on "more info" that will give you the names of most in the picture. Then you can use the arrows at the top to go to the next picture....each should have the names on the side along with some techy photo stuff. We will be adding more pics as we get them from YOU!!and...we will try to also add them to a Walgreens site so you can order prints easily. Let us know if you have any questions.

http://picasaweb.google.com/TWHS.Class.of.68

Turn out the lights ....the partys over. Well actually that's not true....and the party will never be over as long as there are a few of the "kids" from the Class of "68" that make time to get together.

We ....on the committee hope you had a really nice time. We had fun this weekend and we had almost as much fun these last months planning. Most went as planned....some did not...but that's to be expected. We have lots of people to thank and we will probably miss a few and have to add later...but here goes. First of all we want to thank each of you for helping. Although as a committee we spent lots of time "searching" for lost souls.....you may not realize that lots of classmates "fed" us information and suggestions. We would never have been able to find some folks without your help. We want to thank Kirk Nystrom for the tender words that he spoke at the memorial to our deceased classmates. (Kirk...what you wrote and your delivery was perfect..) There were a lot of moist eyes during that time and that's as it should be. We want to thank Janine for sharing her lovely voice and for leading us in singing. Music always adds such a special feeling. We want to thank Marshall for being our "announcer" he did a great job of passing along information and running our contests. We want to thank Pam(td's friend) for taking pictures and helping carry and clean...and the other committee "significant others "that helped in so many ways....especially Penny and Mark. We want to say a really special thanks to Roger Wood. He did an amazing job of taking our pictures. Without him we have some good pictures to share...but with him we will have some great ones.

You can add your "post reunion" comments here. If you have not posted your bio...go ahead and do that in the area for "The last 40 years". ..it's never too late. We will keep the blog going as long as it is being used. It's free and I don't think it has a life span. However, there are many of you that are much more high tech. and we hope that maybe one of you would be willing to help us set up a new website that has more features. This blog really is pretty elementary but all that I (TerryD) know how to do...so please...someone...help!!!????

We would like your comments and suggestions for the next reunion or any future activities that we could plan......but fyi.. NO anonymous criticisms...I'll just remove them. It would also be very helpful that if you have a complaint that you also offer a solution. And...please be kind!!!

Speaking of anonymous.....in case you were not told, the following is the explanation for some pretty crazy characters...
Vancouver Jan was ...Jan Pipkin because she made the bad mistake of not posting her bio ...so we made one up for her and posted it......she was horrified at first but then was a good sport and played along. Terry Brumm "created" her...Elaine and TD embellished a bit. VJ needed a boyfriend so Terry D made up Under the Covers Man.....TB embellished. After that both Terrys just switched back and forth writing additional comments. Lester was created by Elaine N. .....her very creative spelling made him quite endearing. On Friday night Jan was VJ, TD was Lester and TB was UTCM. It was also revealed on Friday night that LennyD was Scott Kennedy and Alcoholanon was Mike D. Charlie will not admit it but he is hiding his creative writing skills...several of the really funny anonymous comments were from his computer.. We hope these characters made the blog a little more fun...it's interesting that even the committee did not know who some of these guys were until Friday!! We appreciate everyones tolerance for borderline bad taste and our strange sense of humor!!! ( don't blame the whole committee for a few with no class)

We will be letting you know soon how to share your pictures with us. Check here in the next few days.

Some of us were talking about adding a comment here, on occasion to get the Topeka area classmates together. There is no reason that you all can't do the same...... feel free to use this site for that. We're fairly sure Bobos had a good weekend..we hope you liked your pie.

Some of you had books that people were signing with contact info. I don't think that we had an "official" class book so if those of you that have that info would share with us for our records we would greatly appreciate it. As in the past...we will not give out private info without your permission. BE SURE to let us know of changes to your info...especially e-mail...it's the best way to keep in touch. Send changes to Terry Brumm at brumm8@charter.net

So....for some this was a life changing weekend/ event. We hope everything goes well. For some, you found out that your fear of "not fitting in" was not valid. You fit in just because you are you and you are part of us. Some of you that bragged about the great fishing or skiing or sites in your area are probably going to have lots of company in the future.....we may hold you to that "come on down" that you said after a few drinks!!!

We were blessed with lovely weather. Had you come on Thursday night you would have been greeted with pouring rain and wind and we would have been crammed in the shelter. As it was we enjoyed the lovely area, flowers, lake and silver moon reflecting on the water.

The biggest and most important "thank you" goes to you all. No matter how much "party planning" happens....it's not much fun if no kids show up to play. So thank you all so much for coming and talking, and laughing, and dancing, and posing for pictures, and eating, and hula hooping, and making it fun just by your presence. Lets keep in touch.

Just For Fun

This is where you can post any fun activities that you think others might enjoy. We will try to have at least one suggestion every couple of months but PLEASE feel free to post anything that you hear of in the area. A great band or art exhibit or new place to eat....fall festival or whatever. As a matter of fact, if you want to have a party and invite all of us that would be swell!!! Just give us the details!!!

If you don't live in the Topeka area and want to get your Denver or KC or LA friends together go ahead and put those activities here also.

Please put the date, time, place and any details someone might need such as reservations needed or cost or whatever.