How lucky were we?

A couple of thoughts after our reunion. We all realize how crazy and out of control our world is these days. I still have one son in the Air Force and worry about his future as this world unravels. There seems to be no end to the conflicts that challenge our country's military involvement. I worry about the world that my grandchildren are inheriting and the challenges they'll face as they go through their school years and mature to adults. Bullying and the pressure from social media. Which brings me to my point. How lucky were we...the class of '69....how lucky were we to grow up when we did? The sons and daughters of World War II vets, farmers, main street store owners. We saw the birth of Winnebago Industries. We rode our bikes everywhere and spent most of our free time playing outside instead of staring at video games, computers and smartphones. We grew up when rock and roll was born and flourished. Some of the greatest music ever. The war in Vietnam may have affected a few of us but we graduated from high school late in the conflict. We lived through the muscle car era and drove some of the coolest cars ever. Main street in Forest City was vibrant. The one thing that stinks about our time in high school was the absence of girls athletics. Do you ever wonder what girls in our class would have been the basketball, volleyball, track or softball stars? Sports were very important to me growing up and I'm sorry you girls didn't have the same opportunities as the guys. But looking back, I thank God that the 50's and 60's was my time to grow up and enjoy life in Forest City. Getting together for a reunion brings back such good memories and a great opportunity to see the many faces and personalities that meant so much to me then and still to this day!

Great Time!!!

Are you ready?

We are three days away from the weekend of our reunion!

For those of you who will be in Forest City on Friday night, plan to gather at Bear Creek Golf Course for a drink and maybe a little dinner with your friends from FCHS Class of '69. Golfing kicks off at 9 am on Saturday morning....plan to be there an hour early. Then, the main event starts at 3 pm at the Wooge Farm, 1970 Pilot Knob Road (directly east of the golf course on the way to Pilot Knob State Park).

We will have a good, old fashioned hog roast! With pasta salad, baked beans and a potato dish. The gentleman roasting the hog for us will be on site all day tending to the hog which, he says takes him 12 hours!

We will have enough food for those of you who may have been on the fence about coming and decide at the last minute to come.

Safe travels to all of you!!

Schedule of Events...Your response needed by July 27

FCHS Class of 1969 45-Year Reunion

August 29-31, 2014 (Labor Day Weekend)

Forest City, IA

Please respond by July 27, 2014

Please plan to come to Forest City on Labor Day weekend and join your high school classmates as we mark 45 years since graduation. The weekend will be very informal and much of our time will be spent outdoors. Plan to dress comfortably for the conditions. Most of our time together will be spent at Bear Creek Golf Course and the Gaylord Wooge farm directly east of the golf course on the road to Pilot Knob State Park.

Sadly, classmates Tim Edmondson and John McClement passed away earlier this year. This kind of news shakes us all. Personally, I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to spend quality time with treasured high school friends. Hopefully, we will make it worth your time to come and you’ll have every opportunity to catch up with everyone. Please encourage all classmates to join us!

Schedule of Events

Friday evening, August 29: Bear Creek Golf Course throughout the evening. 5:00 pm until? Drinks & order from menu. Pay your own tab.

Saturday morning, August 30: Best Ball Golf at Bear Creek Golf Course. Foursomes will play a best ball format for 18 holes. Tee times are reserved for up to 6 foursomes starting at 9:00 am. Please plan to arrive around 8:00 am for registration, foursome assignments and tee times. $37/golfer with a shared cart.

Saturday afternoon, August 30: Arrive at the Wooge Farm at 1970 Pilot Knob Road at 3:00 pm or thereafter. Charge per person is $15 (cash only) to cover food and other expenses. We will eat about 5:30. Grilled pork loin with side dishes. Bring your own beverages/coolers. Water, cups, ice and setups will be available on site. Stay as long as you wish throughout the evening and catch up with classmates. You may personally invite any friends from other FCHS classes to join us in the evening after we eat! Anyone that wants to show up is welcome.

Sunday morning, August 31: Breakfast Buffet at Bear Creek Golf Course starting at 9:00 am. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and one more chance to greet friends. Once again, you are responsible for your own tab. Cost $10/person.

Respond directly to Frank Kamish before July 27, 2014 with the following information so we have all head counts for golfing, food at Wooge’s and Sunday breakfast. Call me directly at 563-940-3095 if you have questions.

Information that I need from you by July 27!

____ Yes, I will attend

____ No, I will not attend but please keep my contact information for future reunions

Name:

Spouse/Companion Name:

Address:

Email address:

Preferred phone number:

Number golfing on Saturday morning:

Number attending main event Saturday afternoon/evening at Wooge farm:

Number attending Sunday morning breakfast:

3 ways to respond:

1) kamishfj@gmail.com (copy/paste the above into an email)

2) Call me at 563-940-3095

3) Mail your response to:

Frank Kamish

28629 Meadow Ct.

Moravia, IA 52571

(I prefer that you respond by email!)

**** Note ****

MOTEL ROOMS are available at the Super 8, Forest City either online at http://www.super8.com or by calling 641-585-1300 or 800-454-3213. A block of rooms were reserved in my name until 30 days before our reunion. If they tell you they have no rooms, try asking for a room from our block for the Class of ’69.

I have no contact information for the following classmates.

If you know how to contact them, please advise or forward this invitation to them directly.

Linda Anderson Kennedy, Kari Avomeri (Finland), Roger Bobst, Bobbi Crosby Huske, Lon Escherich, Judy Fosnes, Rollin Hocum, Leann Montgomery Pieper, Michael Preuss (Germany).

Should we invite other classes?

Would anyone be interested in allowing friends from adjacent class years to join us at an appropriate time during the weekend? Comments?

Final plans in the works!!

I just returned home from a visit with my homies. I'll be working on the details of our reunion weekend and will mail invitations out to everyone for whom I have an address. This will be a Friday night through Sunday morning event. Plan to stay overnight nearby on Friday and Saturday nights. There will be an informal get together on Friday night, best ball golf starting at 9am on Saturday morning, a winery tour early Saturday afternoon followed by the main reunion event at Wooge's farm from mid-afternoon through the evening. We will eat about 5:30. Plan to BYOB and coolers. We will have cups, ice, mix, etc. Sunday morning there will be a breakfast buffet at the golf course before you head home. There will be a per person charge of $15 for the Saturday evening event to cover our costs. Comments?

Rooms Reserved at Super8 Forest City

I have reserved a block of 15 rooms at the Super8 in Forest City for 3 nights from Friday, August 29 through Monday, September 1.

I talked to a young lady by phone that really didn't know how to handle such a request. She advised that they will hold these rooms on my card up until 30 days before the event. So, this is of little value to you all other than to know that rooms are available at this time.

Please call the motel directly at 641-585-1300 if you'd like to reserve a room. Contrary to the rate quoted below, their current online rate for one room (King or 2 Queens) for 2 adults with the AARP discount is $57.86 per night.

Rooms are reserved under the name Class Reunion. Confimation # 853-950059. My recommendation is to book early online and perhaps get a better rate than they've quoted.

SUPER 8 FOREST CITY

1215 HWY 69 SOUTH

FOREST CITY, IA 50436 US

Phone: (641) 585-1300

Fax: (641) 585-1448

Email: super8forestcity@hartfamilyhotels.com

Confirmation Number: 853-950059

Account Number: 853-950059

Arrival Date: Friday, August 29, 2014

Departure Date: Monday, September 01, 2014

Number Of Nights: 3

Room Type Requested: NK1, 1 KING NSMK

Rate Plan Requested: SSR - AARP / SENIOR RATE

CXL Policy:

Room Rate:

8/29/2014 (Fri) - 8/30/2014 (Sat) $66.59 + Tax per night.

8/31/2014 (Sun) - 8/31/2014 (Sun) $62.09 + Tax per night.

Special Requests:

Total Estimated Stay Amount: $195.27 + Tax

Forever young!

Lookin' good ladies!!

What music would you like to hear at the reunion?

Please excuse my selfie being inserted here but wanted you to know that I am putting together some music playlists for our reunion. Now that I'm retired, I have been feeling pretty nostalgic and have been adding to my personal music collection the past two years. I am a fan of the early-mid 70's music more than late 60's. I promise you we will not play music so loud you cannot have a conversation.

What would you like to hear at our reunion?
Any requests?
What would be on your playlist?

Three that missed the 2009 group photo

Noticed that Monty, Kathy and Ann were not in the 2009 group photo.
So, here they are!

Rest in Peace, John.

Sadly, I just read Denis Foss' news of the passing of classmate John McClement today. Here's a pic of John from the 2009 reunion.

I encourage you to express your thoughts about John (use the comments button) and relay any information about his arrangements here. If you cannot comment, you may also email anything you'd like me to say/post about John to: kamishfj@gmail.com.

http://www.petersenlundfh.com/obituary/122682/John-McClement-of-Forest-City-Iowa//

We lost a good friend.....we need this reunion!!

Hey everybody, this is Frank Kamish.
I'm winding up a day of sadness remembering a good friend and classmate Tim Edmondson. Tim passed away in Spirit Lake, IA on January 31, 2014. His body was cremated and his memorial gathering was today at Petersen-Lund Funeral Home in Forest City.

Here's a link to Tim's obituary.....
http://globegazette.com/news/local/obituaries/timothy-r-edmondson/article_8cdc4a8a-a074-5f01-8dc2-9fa7af6b67c2.html

Tim was a big part of my life growing up in Forest City. I lived only a block away from him and Monte Jefson through all our school years. We played whiffle ball, basketball, football and hung out together all the time. I learned how to play slow motion football in Tim's back yard. I even taught my own kid's how to play it 25 years later.

I was not close to Tim these past years but his great sense of humor was always there in the back of my mind. I would find myself at almost any moment remembering some crazy name he dreamed up for a classmate or some other moment when he made us all laugh. I'd smile to myself....sometimes break out in laughter all by myself...because of Tim's humor, the crazy things he would say or the crazy moves he would make. He was a great friend to grow up with and will be missed by many.

Tim's passing offered the opportunity for a few of us '69 classmates to gather at the Country Club after Tim's memorial and spend some quality time together. We swapped stories about Tim and soon began discussing the possibility of a 45-year reunion. Personally, I've missed recent reunions and don't remember what poor excuses I might have had. Now it's more important to me than ever to have this reunion knowing I've lost a good friend. So, with all of us sitting at a table having a drink, Wooge committed the use of his farm for our gathering once again and I committed to put this blog together, send out the emails and get the ball rolling. 

We have tentatively set a date for our reunion for the Saturday, August 30th......that's the Saturday of Labor Day weekend......at Wooge's "Shack" on the Pilot Knob Road. We'll plan to do the reunion under the premise of "keep it simple". Don't expect anything fancy. We will probably even ask you to bring your own beverages, not sure just yet. As time passes, we will clear up the details.

In closing, please pause for a moment and remember our good friend Tim and make a promise to yourself to make it to Forest City this coming Labor Day Weekend for our 45 year reunion!!
Are you in??????

You can communicate directly with me by email: kamishfj@gmail.com