Welcome Fellow Pirates-From the Class of 1970!

It is that time in our lives when we realize that the time to organize our next reunion is NOW! We need your help to help make our 2015 summer event the best that it can be. We are going to be posting lists of classmates on our blog and our web site and asking you to help make contact with every one of our classmates. The sooner the better so we can make appropriate arrangements for fun, fun, fun! Track our journey as we reconnect with old friends....there is no better time!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Debbie Barger Smith



Read on the Reunion Website for my bio. Suffice to say I've been fortunate to have fun and work hard all of my life in both social services and real estate and managed to volunteer countless hours for various organizations. I've lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma during college and met life long friends. Also lived in Westport, Aberdeen, Marysville, and now Lake Stevens. We work hard, love sports, were blessed with 2 children (Jake and Sarah) and I have a wonderful husband, Stephen Smith, a West Valley boy. No grandkids but great dogs! Here are a few of my pictures. Us enjoying world renowned "Hurricane Drinks" in New Orleans. If you're interested, here is my "work" website: Debbie Barger Smith

More Discoveries!

Joan (Trenkenschuh) Borgeois, Linda (Neisheim) Gieser, Debbie (Risner) Berkley, Kathy Butler, Diane Nelson Hoggart, Thelma Brooks Lewis, Ron Bradford, Kathy & Victoria Allessio, Andy Morales and Shelley Edmison White have been located. Send me your pictures and bios people.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Beverly Whipple Gives us a little Glimpse of Her Life!




Here you will find my fellow flutist's links to her world of work and pictures from her world of play. A handful or so of us "Westsiders" have gotten together over the past decade and enjoyed the occasional fun filled afternoon. Bev Whipple has an interesting life. Read the following to see more!

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/09/05/09-06-09-whipple


Bev's Job Link

And now, her updated bio!

After high school, I stayed local and went to YVC and then graduated from CWU in music education. Although teaching band and classroom music in West Valley for three years was a good job and I liked it, I needed something different in my life. I left to drive a long-haul truck. Now that was definitely not what I was looking for. Nor was my stint as a disco DJ. But when I co-founded the non-profit organization, Feminist Women’s Health Center in Washington in 1979, I had found my life’s calling – providing the services that allow women to have control over their lives and become more informed health care consumers. Thougn it was not without its struggles. An expansion to Everett brought relentless attacks and three fire-bombings of the clinic which was eventually forced to closed. I testified in Congress regarding abortion clinic violence. The clinics (called Cedar River Clinics) are now in Yakima, Tacoma, and Renton serving the entire Northwest including Alaska and Canada with women’s health services including abortions for fetal indications, annual exams, birth control and other women’s health services. If you are interested, you can read more about that history at http://www.fwhc.org and Yakima herald http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/09/05/09-06-09-whipple

I met my life partner, Mike, in 2000. He is now retired but is busier than ever. He has two daughters and we have fallen in love with our twin grand children who turned two on February 29 – leap-lings they are called. We live in Selah, sort of, and enjoy an apartment in Renton where we spend a good amount of time. We enjoy downhill skiing, motorcycling (yes, I have my own), scuba diving (both cold and warm water), world travel, hiking, biking, swimming, boating, and even took surfing lessons in Costa Rica while we were going to Spanish school there. Motorcycle adventures through Thailand and the Baja were high points. Sprint triathlons are my latest indulgence. Our motto is, “if you put a whole bunch of good days together, you end up with a good life.”

I played keyboards in a rock-n-roll cover band, Trauma, for 13 years. Then a few years with The Plains who played some original music. We recorded a CD and once even opened for a Leon Russell concert.

My younger sister, Darlene, (1973) and I spend time caring for our 91 year-old mother in Yakima. Our older sister, Sandra, (1969) whom some of you know, died in April of an aggressive cancer.

Oh yes, and I was married and divorced twice.

Linda Watten, Patti Leiferman, Ron Bradford and Bev Hershey HAVE BEEN FOUND!

Yesterday I remembered that I saw Linda Watten over 30 years ago at my in-laws church in Yakima. I e-mailed that pastor, and just received an e-mail from Linda. Patti Leiferman has just been located through our Alumni Site, and I have Ron's and Bev's contact information. Keep 'em rollin' in, people!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

It's Funny How This Process Works-But the Real Jim Alexander has been found!

Jim Alexander....where is Jim Alexander.....I thought I knew so I called 411 and got his telephone number. The longest call in the history of woman kind for getting a wrong number. Just for your information, our Jim Alexander does not live in Selah. When I called, the Selah Jim Alexander, who sounded our age..ish....insisted he could help me, told me how nice I sound (to which I replied, of course I am nice but I have to get back to reunion business), wanted my phone # to check in with me later, and on it went. Whew. I suspect we're all getting wrong numbers as we try to seek our former classmates. But just for your information, the real Jim Alexander has been found! He's not in Selah, or even Washington State...no he's in Oregon!

Fallen Pirates

We lost Vic Trujillo, Marcy Hanthorn Barnes, Carolyn Gilmore Judd, John Conant, Bruce Perry, Kathy Engel, Tim Growcock, Richard James, Donna Orman Neve, Larry Spencer, Mike Stamper, Dennis Trenkenschuh, Gayle Vandom, Jesse Rials, Roger Barnick, Sharon Bradley, Allen Calvert, and probably more. I feel in my heart that I'm only 20 years old, well maybe 30. Can we possibly have lost these classmates at such a young age? These losses touch my heart. Every one of them.

Some of us may not be here in another ten years. Let's not squander an opportunity to celebrate our high school years and reconnect as adults with those long ago friends.

Please let us know of any others who have fallen. Thank you.

Debbie

CLASSMATES! We are seeking you....

I just want everyone to know that we are diligently seeking you out. Every time I try to locate a classmate via classmates.com, the alumni site, or white pages, I carefully look through my annual to make sure I have your face firmly implanted in my mind.....then I send a note, a letter, try to call.....I want you all to know that you are in our mind and we need every one of you to respond. No better time than now!

Harvey Wolney Has Been Found!




Thank you Mike Bond, for having Harvey contact me! As I stumbled out of bed at the early hour of 8 a.m., Lake Stevens time, my phone rang. It was Harvey. Harvey Wolney is livin' the good life in Key West, Florida. He will certainly send us details later but for now here's the summary: retired, enjoying life, 6 sons scattered all over the US of A, and tan. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Vetress Arnold Has Been Found!

Vetress Arnold has been found. After many efforts of finding our missing Pirates, I am so very happy to report that we have our successes! We hope to see Vetress at our reunion.

STILL NEEDED!

I'm sure we'll need more help as time goes on, but for now...need someone in charge of the Memorial Table for our fallen classmates.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

First In Person Meeting Coming Up

We'll be holding our first meeting at Debbie Barger Smith's house in Lake Stevens this Saturday, January 9th, 2010 from 1 - 4 pm. Tacos being served. Any ideas, please respond! Thanks.