Spring  2003 Issue                                   Marsha (Reynolds) O’Connor, 709 Indiana Street, Neodesha, Kansas 66757

From the Desk of Marsha (Reynolds) O’Conner:

Deer Class of ’63,

Hopefully, spring is here!  Man, I thought it was a rough winter!  In the hundred years that weather records have been kept, this part of the country had more snow than we had this year only twice – ’88 and ’24.  And yet, until this rain—that we’re now having—started, the ponds, etc., were really low.  We’ve now had a good rain for 3 days.  The grape hyacinths and jonquils are blooming, the lilacs are budding, the grass needs to be mowed, and the wise robins—who usually come through here in February—are here.

Upcoming Reunion: 

By now you should have received your reunion mailer from Pauline and Diana.  Please get it filled out and back to them.  It sounds like they’ve gone to a great deal of effort to make it a memorable weekend for all of us—something for everyone seems to be included.  Please notice that the restaurant which they have planned to use is highly praised in the article that I’ve included.  (I had planned to send this from the “N.Y. Times”, thinking that you all would be interested in it.  Part of it had been reprinted in the Independence paper, but I found the entire article to be very interesting.)  Thanks for your hard work, Pauline and Diana!

http://www.neodygrads.com/

Check out the web site!!

Please join us for the upcoming 40^th Reunion!!

Expressions of Sympathy:

Condolences to Sharen (Smith) Livingston who lost her father, to Aprile Erbe who lost her father, to Ken Crawford who lost his mother, to Diana (Osburn) McPhail who lost her mother, to Terry Secrest who lost his father, and to Vincent Meigs who lost a granddaughter.

From the desk of Rita (Riggs) Clanton:

Cecil and Rita just returned from a vacation to Kansas to visit her mother, who still resides in Garden City, Kansas.  After spending a few days with her, they drove to Kansas City to visit Cecil’s sister Anita, who has lived in Overland Park for many years.  Rita enjoyed hunting through antique shops in Kansas City and setting up a computer for Anita that her son Brad built out of spare parts from his computer company tech room.  Anita was thrilled!  On the way home, they stopped in Ennis, Texas, renting a hotel room to sit back and watch Kansas whoop Marquette in the March Madness playoffs.  We won’t talk about the rest of the tourney!!  They have settled back into daily routine awaiting the arrival of their first grandchild, Benjamin Wells Clanton, due approx. June 5!

Local News:

Sue (Reed) and Terry Wilkes have just returned from Wichita.  Terry had a bi-ventricular pacemaker (a new-to-the-market, Mercedes model) and a defibrillator implanted, and reports that he’s feeling better already.  Sue says she is feeling great—her current medication is working well for her.

Allen Zadorozny’s youngest son will be playing in the Kansas State 8 Man All-Star Game in Beloit, Ks, the weekend of our reunion.  Sorry we’ll probably not see Allen and Betsy, but we wish them a great game and a safe trip.

I gave Mary (Dover) Alley a call to inquire about her family.  She and John have been married 34 years in June.  John is a mechanical design engineer for what is now Honeywell.  He’s been there for 36 years.  Mary teaches biology and anatomy at Kansas City Christian School in Prairie Village, Ks.  (Sorry, I forgot to ask her how many years!  Some reporter!!)  They have 4 children:

1)       Kristen married David – They have 2 boys: 4 yrs and 4 mos.  She graduated from Oral Roberts Univ. and has a Masters’ from the Univ. of Indiana.  She is a research scientist in toxicology and virology for Eli Lilly.

2)      John Robert, Jr. married Kelly – They have a daughter who is 5 yrs. and are expecting a second child.  He graduated from KU Medical School and is presently in residency in surgery at KU Med. Ctr.

3)      And 4) – Twins – 15 in April.  James is a plumber and is single, and Stephanie just married Eric.  She has an MBA from Pitt. State.   Busy family, into all the activities of a family with children.  Thanks, Mary!

Other Local News of Interest:

*  The Superintendent of Schools  has resigned and is moving to Haysville;

*  The mayor wants a new swimming pool.

*  The NHS boys basketball team made it into the District Playoffs,                                                                                                               while the girls were one game shy of State play.

*  NHS boasts of a State FCCLA (Formerly FHA) officer.

*  The old “Truck stop” restaurant has been leveled.

*  The K-Mart in Independence is closing.

*  The one grocery store in Independence, which came after their 3                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           grocery stores closed when a Walmart Super Center came to town, is                                                                                                               trying to hold onto a corner of that business.

An update on the work being done on the refinery contamination:

A group was brought in from K-State to help locate sites and recommend treatments.  Tens of thousands of gallons of contaminates have been taken from the refinery grounds, mostly near the site of the tank that lightening struck in the mid-60’s.  That work continues.

I guess that’s it for our spring letter.  Please get your motel reservations made if you are coming to the reunion.  There are always several other reunions, as well as the refinery reunion, that weekend.  Hope to see all of you in June!  (For those of you who attended North Lawn, Connie (Reece) Selgrath is planning to attend.)  Until then, health and happiness to one and all, and come June, safe travels.

Most Sincerely,

Marsha O