Yes, our 50-year reunion is still almost two years away, but we're trying to locate our lost classmates well in advance. Have you moved or changed your email address since our 2014 reunion? If so, please visit the Update My Information page and enter your current contact information so that our database can bve as current as possible. Thank you!

From Kris Paoletti Surrey: The photo below from 1964 shows Robin Christy, me, Debbie Phillips and Bev D'Angelo with the late Ginny Poe and with Dawn Comnfort (Dawn did not graduate with us).

Below that photo is a picture of Bev, Debbie, me, and Robin at the Scioto reunion party, 55 year later, on July 6, 2019.

Since Mrs. Elizabeth Richmond was unable to attend our 50-year Class Reunion, several of us decided to meet her for lunch at the end of July. What a rare opportunity it was to be able to share with this amazing lady the impact she has had on our lives! She was thrilled that she had inspired several of us to become English teachers or seek careers in journalism.

After having already taught for six years, Mrs. Richmond retired from Arlington after twenty-four years. Then she taught at Wellington for another ten years in what was supposed to be a "part time" position.

Besides being involved in many activities in her retirement, Mrs. Richmond travels yearly to the United Kingdom.

Pictured above are Ann Salimbene, Julie May Jones, Lyn Skillman-Mitchell, Mrs. Elizabeth Richmond, Carole DiPietro Ott, and Kristy Kable Smith.

At our 50-year reunion, Mark Frey shared the July, 1968 original newspaper article from Denise Kontras' "Twixt Teen" column in the UA News. Both Mark and Fred Golan were featured in Denise's column that week.

Pictured, left to right, are: Mike Stoyak, Denise Kontras, Fred Golan, and Mark Frey.

Delana Jensen Close, Michelle Close's 95-year-old mother, just published a book that she's been writing since 1955. "The Rock House" won an award for best historical fiction from the 2019 Independent Book Awards. Close isn't finished yet, though: she is currently working on two other books!

Note from Ellen Isaly Clark: "I worked for Mrs. Close and her late husband, Dean Close, while I was attending OSU. At that time, they owned Fifth Avenue Galleries, and I worked as a picture framer. Mrs. Close was in the store a great deal of the time, and I developed great respect and affection for her. Michelle's father, Dean Close, was a local restaurateur (The Grandview Cafe), gallery owner, and an accomplished artist. My two years of employment at the gallery were educational and inspirational because of the Close Family."

Read about Mrs. Close's many accomplishments and watch the video showing her embracing a 95-year life still full of hope, achievement, and learning.

You can purchase Mrs. Close's book, The Rock House, here.

On January 30, 2018, sixteen UA69ers gathered to prepare postcards to be sent out to our classmates, asking you to update your contact information on this web site. Thank you to these wonderful UA69ers who worked so hard on this project!

We also greatly appreciate the UA69 classmates whose financial donations made this project possible without going into our treasury. These donors include: Anita Evans, Craig Anderson, Colleen McMahon, Scott Denis, Jane Cunningham, David Bruck, Sue Jones Patterson, Geoff Schmidt, John Livingston, and Sally Whipple Rudy. Thank you all so much!

If you would like to volunteer to be on a reunion committee for our 50-year reunion in 2019, please email Ellen and we'll make a list!

MANY THANKS to all these UA69ers who made the postcard project a success! Now for everyone else - PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION!
  

We have another "Kids of UA69ers" second-generation UA69 classmates wedding (that might not be the right terminology, but you'll see what I mean in a minute).

On June 23, 2018 Vicki Murphy's daughter, Tabitha Kidwell, married Gary Baird's son, Jim Baird, at First Community Church.

In an extra "UA69," Rev. Jim Long officiated at the ceremony.

Tabitha and Jim met in 2015 through friends and bonded over Ohio State football. Jim is the director of communications for the Stimson Center, a non-partisan think tank focused on security issues. He is also a freelance sports writer for the Sporting News.

Tabitha is a doctoral candidate in Applied Linguistics and Language Education at the University of Maryland. She recently studied in Indonesia, and will complete her dissertation on English teachers' early career challenges soon.

Stella Brown Economy snapped this photo, showing Groom Jim Baird high-fiving Gary during the recessional.

Congratulations to Tabitha and Jim, and best wishes to the new Murphy/Kidwell and Baird families!!

'Tis the season for weddings! Pat Stone Patterson's son, Jay Patterson, married Chelsea Powell on Saturday, June 23 - the same day as Vickie Murphy's daughter and Gary Baird's son tied the knot. A big wedding day for UA69ers!

Jay is also a UAHS alum, and Pat reports that the wedding was scheduled to take place at her niece's home, but because of the change of weather, they moved the event to LaScala, where they celebrated with lots of dancing. Thanks to Taryl Mason McGinnis for the photos of the happy family. (Click photos to enlarge them.)

From Holly Graf Fries:

Arlington friendships are truly golden.

Dianne Detwiler Elzey and I have been friends since 3rd grade at Barrington Road Elementary; Robin Morris, Dianne and I since 7th grade at Jones Junior High.

The three of us vowed to meet in celebration of our 60th birthdays. Well, it took a few years to make it happen, but we recently met in Lander, Wyoming to hike, laugh, share treasured memories and experience the beautiful West.

Dianne (from Toledo, Ohio) flew to Denver where I (Boulder, Colorado) picked her up for a road trip to Lander. There we met Robin (Bozeman, Montana), with Lander serving as a good midway point. A new chapter has now been added to our history as a threesome. We raised a few glasses to the Class of 69!

We have another "Kids of UA69ers" second-generation UA69 classmates wedding (that might not be the right terminology, but you'll see what I mean in a minute).

On June 23, 2018 Vicki Murphy's daughter, Tabitha Kidwell, married Gary Baird's son, Jim Baird, at First Community Church.

In an extra "UA69," Rev. Jim Long officiated at the ceremony.

Tabitha and Jim met in 2015 through friends and bonded over Ohio State football. Jim is the director of communications for the Stimson Center, a non-partisan think tank focused on security issues. He is also a freelance sports writer for the Sporting News.

Tabitha is a doctoral candidate in Applied Linguistics and Language Education at the University of Maryland. She recently studied in Indonesia, completing her dissertation on English teachers' early career challenges.

Stella Brown Economy snapped this photo, showing Groom Jim Baird high-fiving Gary during the recessional.

Congratulations to Tabitha and Jim, and best wishes to the new Murphy/Kidwell and Baird families!!

From Dave Cooper:

Hello UA Bikers from sunny south Florida. If you are looking for a summer vacation in 2019, you're invited. Think about this one.

Since I have to come north for the 50 year reunion, I thought I would cross Laconia, New Hampshire off my bucket list on the way.

Laconia Bike Week in 2019 is June 8-16. Time to start planning for a road trip!

We just need to be back to UA in time for the 50 year Class of 1969 Reunion the week of July 1st, 2019.

See the flyer I have made, outlining some of the details.

From Dick Dunkel on June 8, 2017:

It is with deep sadness, but loving acceptance that I announce the passing of my lifetime friend of more than 50 years, Bill Willer.

Bill and I shared the best of times through Jr. High and High School, somehow survived the 70's, raised families in the 80's and 90's, and in recent years were travel companions from skiing the Colorado Rockies to lounging on the beaches of the Dominican Republic.

My life was immeasurably enriched by his outgoing spirit and loyal friendship. He taught me to water ski, guided me to my wife of 39 years, and got me to the slopes of Vail for the first time. I can only hope that he felt and treasured the love and gratitude of our unending friendship as much as I did. He now can realize the light, love, and peace that the last months of his life did not afford him.

A memorial service is planned for Wednesday, June 14 at 11:00 am at the Lebold-Smith Funeral Home in Bolivar, Ohio. An obituary may be viewed at smithfuneral.com.
   

Stephen M. Polk of Polk Foundation in Upper Arlington, Ohio has been recognized for his Lifetime philanthropic excellence at the 10th Annual Invest in Others Community Leadership Awards Gala in New York City. Financial advisors are nominated by their peers for actively giving to improve their communities and make a difference in the lives of others.

Invest in Others is the premier financial services 501(c)(3)non-profit dedicated to recognizing, encouraging, and supporting the charitable works of financial advisors and the advisory industry throughout the United States and around the World.

In addition to our daily after school programs at the Run the Race Recreation Center, in the gym, art room, library, music, game room and providing meals and transportation for 50+ children each day, we have special events for them and their families throughout the year which we need your financial support.

Our back to school carnival had games, prizes, food and desserts while providing more than 250 backpacks with school supplies for children of all ages and grades. Our Halloween party was a similar affair and we gave the elementary school children their own costumes which they could keep and use for Halloween and pass along to their younger siblings. We give away hundreds of coats, gloves, and hats for the upcoming colder weather, and provide complete Thanksgiving meals with Turkeys and all the fixings for more than 250 families, over 1000 children. We give complete Christmas meals for the families as well as providing gifts for the children and parents. If the households need furniture or appliances we find and deliver when we can.

We work with low income children and families in Columbus who would not have any of these things without your support.

Thank you for considering a tax deductible gift to help us help these needy families and move them from a life of survival to a life full of possibilities.

Please send your donation to:

Stephen M. Polk, President (Class of 1969)
Polk Foundation- A 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization
P.O. Box 12099
Columbus, Ohio 43212

Rock Fest Committee Member and Guest Musician George Frecker '69 has offered his latest invention, a patented commercial can crusher, to UAAA for our Rock Fest event. Please watch this video of George's COOL and earth-friendly product!

You can see his Can Crusher in action at the Golden Bear Rock Fest on Saturday, April 23 from 7 - 11 at St Agatha!

From George Frecker '69:

I had the fantastic opportunity to fly in a MIG fighter jet. This is the same type of jet flown by the Russians in Top Gun. The owner, Rick Boone, is a client of mine from Wichita Falls, Texas. The total time of the flight was 50 minutes. Rick is seated in the front of this clip and took control of the first and last ten minutes of the flight. I did the aerobatics and sat in the back with the GoPro. The first one was an aileron roll and the second was a barrel roll. These were accomplished at 17,000 feet and 350 knots. I did edit out the barrel roll that overly rolled over - commonly known as "falling out". The whole experience was very surreal.

I got my flying bug because of my dad who was in the Army Air Corps and trained heavy bomber flight instructors in WWII. Although I do have some power experience, my main aviation passion is with sailplanes in which I have over 2,000 flights. Sailplanes are powerless and capable of staying aloft for hours. It is a serene experience being up in the sky silently soaring with Red Tail Hawks and turkey buzzards (and occasionally a helium balloon).

I have my own sailplane and am a flight instructor. One of my real pleasures is doing aerobatics (it takes amusement park rides to a whole new level). I started flying sailplanes in 1979 at Central Ohio Soaring Association out of Marion, Ohio and I am still involved there. If anyone is interested in more information, please call me (614-451-2588). MarionAirport.com/COSA/
   

Fritz Reitter and his brothers are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Reitter Stucco Company. Fritz is president. Congratulations, Fritz!

From The Dispatch:

A lot has changed in the past 100 years in the stucco and plaster business, but one thing has remained a constant here in central Ohio: the Reitters.

Founded in 1915 by Gabriel Reitter Sr., an Austrian immigrant and masonry artisan, Reitter Stucco & Supply Co. is now run by his great-great-grandsons Fritz, 64; Bobby, 61; and Jack, 59. They never met their great-grandfather and learned the family business from their father, Richard, and grandfather, Gabriel.

“We just grew up in this business, and as soon as we could push a broom, they put us to work,” said Jack Reitter, the company’s vice president of sales.

“Then, when we were maybe 12 or 13 and old enough to carry mud in buckets, we were laborers at job sites,” said Fritz, president of the company, based at 1100 King Ave.

Reitter’s business is an equal mix between stucco, EIFS and manufactured stone, but the three brothers seem to have a special fondness for stucco, and warm memories of their grandfather teaching them how to apply it.

Read the entire article.

From Jim Fergus:

I've been going through some old pictures and found these from the 1969 Ohio State Track meet. It includes Earl Hill, Denny Dicke, Bill Riesenberger and me from the class of 1969. Also pictured are: Marv Crosten, John Kingsboro, Jeff Sorensen and one I didn't identify.

From BMWUSFactory.com:

Walt Dennis, a participant in the 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation, won a new BMW 325i when he made a hole-in-one in the first round of the tournament.

Walt aced the 154-yard, 9th hole at the Thornblade Club, which serves as the host course in the three-course rotation being utilized for the unique Web.com Tour event.

Walt, president of HFI, LLC, an automotive interiors supplier in Columbus, Ohio, was paired with professional Adam Crawford when he knocked a 7-iron in to become the first amateur to win an automobile since BMW took over sponsorship of the event 13 years ago.

“I knew I hit it pretty good, but I didn’t think I hit it hard enough,” said Dennis, who plays to a 2-handicap out of Scioto Country Club in Columbus and now has five career aces. “The car never entered my mind. I was giddy because my wife (Jane) was there, Ash (Hall) was there, my partner was there. I’ve been in events where there are cars given away, but it’s got to be the right hole, it’s got to be the right temperature and it’s always somebody else that does it. I didn’t see a sign and so it would probably be for Sunday and the finals, that’s when they have a car. This is pretty special. This is just huge.”

Dennis and his partner Crawford posted a team score of 8-under 63 while Crawford carded a 4-under 67 on his own ball.

The Ohio State University Department of Athletics began construction on the Jane and Walt Dennis Golf Performance Center in March, 2013. The 20,800-square-foot facility will be used by both the OSU men’s and women’s golf teams and will be one of the largest collegiate indoor golf centers in the country. The center will include a heated hitting bay building, allowing year-round practice.

Read an article about, and see photos of, the new golf center here.

Congratulations, Walt!

From Steve Basford:

Again this basketball season, I am the play-by-play broadcaster for the Ohio Wesleyan men's and women's games. We have live video on stream.owu.edu.

Game dates and times vary, but they generally are on Wednesdays at 7:00 or 7:30 and Saturdays at 1:00 or 3:00.

From Karen Shafer

I am a member of Tri-Village Lion club; We support the Eye Bank. Pilot Dogs, and the Ohio State School for the Blind Marching Band, to name a few. We also do a Give a Book Get a Book campaign where children get to pick two books:one for themselves and on for another in more poverty stricken areas. We want to encourage reading

Now it is time for the Give Your Write Arm to a solider on active duty. We need letters from you that offer support for are troops.It would be great if you can write a letter or have yoru grandchildren draw a picture.

We will be at MCL on Veterans Day to collect letters. So please take five minutes and write a letter as the soldiers who protect us. They really love it . Thanks in advance. No money asked ... just a few minutes of your time.

Karen Shafer

PS: If you have any books for kids or adults, please give me a call at 614-565-1035 and we will pick them up

On July 24, the UA69 reunion committee members gathered together to review the reunion events one by one, talk about what worked and what we might want to change next time.

Any time we call together a meeting of this group, we also end up with a fabulous selection of goodies to sample. Thank you to this wonderful group of hard workers who made the reunion so enjoyable for everyone. And - the reunion was successful on all fronts. We actually ended up with $3,273.00 more than the balance we had when we opened the books, and we have a healthy balance moving forward toward the 2019 50-year reunion! Thank you for your donations to the various funds, and for making our reunion such a success!!!

From Jeff Stevenson:

I had a different kind of class reunion though. I met up with John Leshy at Manson's guitar shop in Exeter, England on July 8 (selfie attached). The last time John and I had seen each other was at the class reunion in 1984! John is doing great, and he is still playing guitar - VERY WELL!!!

He brought some old photos with him. They were pics of The Squires back in 1965. Clearly visible are John (his mom took the pics), George Frecker, Mike Doyle and me. One was during a gig we played in the Tremont Elementary School gym, one was at one of our Ohio State Fair gigs and the other two were of the band practicing in John's basement. What a blast from the past!

It was really great to see John again after all these years. We did our best to catch up, but you can't cover 30 years in an afternoon. It was all good though.

The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is a week-long event held every year in Nova Scotia.

This year Steve Holloway and his wife, Donna, were invited to perform at the event; this is why he missed the reunion. The show was a great success, playing to audiences averaging 5,000 each evening. Pictured is Steve and Donna, in costume.

The two-and-a-half hour family show is fast-paced – every scene only lasts about 3-6 minutes, so there is always something new to see and experience. There’s bagpipes, highland dancers, la culture de l’acadie and military traditions.

From Frank Guglielmi:

My son, Chris Guglielmi, and Ed Rhine’s daughter, Liz Rhine, were married last September in Columbus.

They both graduated from OWU and the University of Findlay with advanced degrees and reside now, in all places, in Upper Arlington, on Mountview Road.

Chris owns the Jimmy John’s at Kingsdale and 10 other locations, and Liz is physical therapist at Riverside.

Their wedding fell hot on the heels of my daughter Annie’s who also married a young man named Chris Riehl from, you guessed it, UA. We seem to be captured by my roots there and it’s seems both providential and amusing.

Reunion Co-Chairman Patrick Dynes and his date, Karen Charlesworth, came through Columbus on their way to the Indianapolis 500 and tried on the UA69 reunoin hats that Jack Cochran's company designed. These hats and visors will be available for sale at $15 each. You can order them from the reunion reservatoin form!

Later, Pat and Karen went with Bill and Ellen Clark for dinner at DeVinci at Kingsdale.

Mary Ervin Butler and Linda Whiteman Uhrenholt decided that Napa Valley is about halfway between their two homes, so they met on May 21 to partake of local goodies and continue the ongoing search for lost classmates.

If you know the whereabouts of anyone on this list,, or have any kind of idea where any of them might be, please email us with a lead!

Meanwhile, Linda and Mary continue their detective work!

Wil Verhoff has fulfilled a lifelong dream.

On Saturday, May 17, Wil was ordained as a priest in the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes, in the Akron area.

Wil began his seminary work at the Methodist Theological School in 2004. He is currently a pastor at Messiah Anglican Church in Stanford, Kentucky.

Classmates and lifelong friends Geoff Schmidt and Jim Merrell traveled to witness the ordination and to share in the joy of Wil's special day.

A Note from Wil:

"I have a church organization, Messiah Anglican Church; all I need is people to be a part of it. In the past two years I've concentrated on getting established in this rural Kentucky community which the average person does not know what Anglican is, which is Biblical like any other Protestant denomination.

I have been a volunteer chaplain at the local hospital, Adult Daycare, and two nursing homes. I remarried in 2009 to Barbara (Britt) Verhoff who is multi-talented and a remarkable nurse anesthetist at the local hospital. I have four children, all happily married, and two grandchildren, and two on the way."

Congratulations to Wil Verhoff on this great achievement!

On Sunday, May 18, Brendon Todd, the 28-year-old son of UA69er Martin Todd and his wife, Carolyn Todd, won the Byron Nelson Golf Championship. The two-stroke win over Mike Weir was Brendon's first PGA victory. He finished with a bogey-free 4-under 66 to win.

Raised in North Carolina, Brendon graduated from the University of Georgia, where he was part of the 2005 team that won the National Championship. He joined the Nationwide Tour in 2008 and won the Utah Championship.

In the 2009 Athens Regional Foundation Classic, Brendon became the first player on the Tour to get get two holes in one (on the same hole!) in the same tournament.

Good news for those of us in Columbus: Brendon Todd will be playing in the 2014 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course from Thursday, May 29 through Sunday, June 1.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Each year the Upper Arlington Alumni Association selects one or more alumni for the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

A Distinguished Alumnus is an alum (or group of alumni) who is honored for his or her personal educational or career achievement.

This year, our own COLLEEN McMAHON has been selected for this award, based upon her outstanding career in field of law.

Colleen is a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. She was appointed to the federal bench in 1998, following a career that included two decades of law practice at the New York City law firm of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, a stint as a speechwriter/special assistant to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and three years as a judge of the New York State Court of Claims. At Paul Weiss, a firm noted for its litigation expertise, she was the first woman litigator elected to partnership. An acknowledged leader of the New York City Bar during her years in private practice, Colleen chaired the Committees on State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction and Women in the Profession at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and headed The Jury Project, New York's highly successful jury service reform effort. She has served as Vice Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York and a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese; taught courses in law at Benjamin Cardozo School of Law; been a member of the Committee on Audit and Administrative Accountability of the Judicial Conference of the United States; and presided over a number of high profile cases, including lawsuits in which the heirs of actress Marilyn Monroe and cartoonist Jack Kirby sought to reclaim rights in their work, and the infamous "Newburgh Four" FBI sting operation, which involved serious allegations of Government entrapment that were recently explored in a documentary film. She is frequently asked to speak at continuing education programs and other events.

Colleen attended The Ohio State University ('73), where she majored in International Relations, and Harvard Law School ('76). She serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for OSU's College of Arts and Sciences. For fun she sings with elite amateur choirs in the New York City area; presently she is in the Canticum Novum Singers, described recently by the New York Times music critic as "this excellent chorus." She has written two books of meditations, one for members of Vestries and other lay church governing boards, the other from the perspective of a judge.

She is married to private equity investor Frank Sica. They have three children, Katie (an elementary school art teacher, married to Shawn Pero), Patrick (who recently completed a tour as a Lieutenant in the Armored Cavalry, United States Army, during which he served in Afghanistan), and Brian (a financial services sales representative, accomplished triathlete and occasional blogger).

UAAA will present the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus Award to Colleen McMahon on Friday, July 4, 2014 during the UACA Party in the Park at Northam Park, prior to the fireworks.

From Dave Cooper:

I will be riding my 05 Kaw Nomad up from Florida for the week of the reunion.

I want to put together a ride out to Buckeye Lake for classmates. Thinking Sunday, July 6 around 10:00 am. Beer at The Port, east end, Lunch and one man band at Copper Penny south side and stop at Island House, west end for a drink. Trip back to Cbus. Stop at Heritage, 70 and Brice Road for night cap.

NOTE: This event is not sponsored by the UAHS Class of 1969 as part of our reunion weekend.

The Upper Arlington Alumni Association's database of all graduates from 1923 - 2013 has been a valuable tool for us. Names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, as well as student activities, are entered into this database upon graduation, and then each grad's information is updated through the years.

The UAAA database has provided starting points (former addresses, phone numbers, parents', siblings' and spouses' names ... ) for our classmate searches. UAAA provides complimentary mailing labels, based on this database, for reunion mailings and activity-specific events such as athletic, band, orchestra, and vocal music reunions.

For a monthly fee (paid by membership dues), our database is secured, stored, protected, and backed up daily. In 2012 and 2013, UAAA held our Golden Bear Rock Fest fundraiser to help make ends meet. But we REALLY need your membership dues!

Joining UAAA is simple. We offer several levels of membership, as well as payment plans..

$20: Annual Membership
$80: Reunion Membership (5 years, and one is free!)
$250: Life Membership
$500: Golden Bear Membership

Our class has been generous through the years! The UAHS Class of 1969 has more Golden Bear (14) and Life Members (21) than any other class.

Those of you who have joined at the Reunion and Annual Member levels have helped UAAA tremendously! Unlike Golden Bear and Life memberships, the Reunion and Annual memberships do expire, so won't you please renew your membership? We really need our alums' support!

You can join UAAA or upgrade your membership here. Thank you!

If you are unsure of your membership status, please email Ellen.

Our own Terry Streng, a standout baseball player and co-captain of the 1969 Golden Bear baseball team,was inducted into the UA Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 8, 2014. Terry is one of six honorees inducted into this first class of the Hall of Fame.

Since the first pitch in 1925, Upper Arlington Baseball has earned the reputation as one of the leading baseball programs in the state of Ohio. With 14 district championships, including two state championship teams, Upper Arlington Baseball has consistently produced competitive teams and talented players. Over the years, Golden Bears Baseball players have been honored with numerous All-State and All-District player awards. Many former Golden Bears have gone on to play college baseball and several former players have played professionally.

CONGRATULATIONS, TERRY!
   

Craig Robinson sent in a couple of pages from the 1969 school newspaper, The Arlingtonian. One page shows our traditional Senior Awards (congratulations again to the winners!!) and the other contains "Graduation Brings Memories," our Class Bequeaths to our Teachers, and "Seniors Speculate: What If ... "

Thank you, Craig, for bringing back a lot of fun memories from 45 years ago!

See the Arlingtonian articles. (Be sure to view both pages!)

Susi Wiseman Thomas is sharing her Pen Points magazines from 1964, when we were in 7th grade, and from 1966, when we were in 9th grade at Jones Junior High School. Craig Robinson has submitted his 1965 Pen Points magazine for your reading pleasure!

Pen Points was a magazine that was (from the magazine's Foreword) "designed to represent the many students who have felt the desire to express themselves and who have been able to do so effectively through form and word. It is dedicated to every student reader, with the hope that he or she will also attempt to reproduce thoughts and emotions for the many persons who are searching for truths."

Some of the writing and artwork is really thoughtful and insightful! Even if you didn't attend Jones, you'll see the works of many of your UAHS friends in here!

Click on either image of the Pen Points covers to see the magazine in its entirety as a PDF. You'll see poems, stories and artwork from dozens of our classmates. Clearly they highlighted the work of the 9th graders, so the 1966 (yellow and orange) issue has more featured stories and illustrations by our UA69ers.

The teachers/editors included: Mrs. Marian Smith; Mrs. Betty Hennessey; Mrs. Joyce Guckert; Mrs. Frances Bretz; Miss Judy Hudnall; Mrs. Ruth Armstrong;Mrs. Martha Yutsey; Mrs. Gloria Bohen; Mrs. Mary Jane Spahr, and Mrs. Ellen Buesling. The Art Editors were Mrs. Anne Smith and Mr. Jerry Tollifson, and the Typist was Mrs. Ruth Griffith. The English Coordinator at the time was Mr. Stephen Nesha.

In 1964 and 1966, our superintendent was Mr. Walter Heischman. The Jones Principal was Mr.Samuel Henderson (1964) and then Mr. David Jones (1966), and the Assistants to the Principal were Mr. Bernie Cellar, Mr. Marvin Baker, and Mr. Walter Niceswanger.

From Ellen Isaly Clark, March 11, 2014:

Tish Mintzer Hopkinscontacted me today to tell me that she was visiting Cheri Bennett Schlesinger in Texas when an ice storm brought down several large branches that landed on the Schlesingers' garage roof. Cheri's husband, Henry Schlesinger, got on the roof to remove the branches, slipped on the ice, and fell to the ground.

Henry was life-flighted to Hermann Memorial Hospital in Houston, where doctors performed surgery to attempt to repair damage done to Henry's cervical spine. Right now he is paralyzed from the shoulders down. Doctors have said that the next two weeks will indicate whether Henry will have the potential to regain mobility in his extremities.

As you can imagine, this is a terrible time for Cheri and her family. The family has set up a GoFundMe web site to raise funds to help pay the extreme medical bills that the Schlesingers will incur. If you are able to help in any way at all, please visit this web site and contribute whatever is comfortable for you. No donation is too small.

Cheri's email address is Cheriyvonne@sbcglobal.net.

Visit the GoFundMe web site here.

If you would prefer to send Cheri a card or send a check to the house, here is her address:

Cheri Schlesinger
18802 Pheasant Lane
Tomball TX77377

We have had to deal with 3 blood clots in his lungs, pneumonia. And then coding 5 days ago, Through all the prayers and support I'm so happy to report Henry is now at TIRR Memorial Rehab, One of the top notch facility in the country, same place Gabby Gifford the congress women who was shot in New Mexico, so I know he is in the best place for recovery.

Please, Please post this on UA web site so I can truly Thank the most wonderful caring group of classmates and true selfless loving people anyone could ever ask for, I am so humbly Thankful from the deepest part of my heart

With much sincere love,

Cheri Bennett Schlesinger

Terry Looker sernt this link to an online jukebox! YOu just select one of the dates and you can hear the songs that were popular in that year!

Listen to the jukebox here.

Each year, Jones Middle School has a special Veterans Day event to honor Upper Arlington veterans and to give students an opportunity to interview them and learn about these veterans' military experiences.

At this year's Veterans Day celebration, Birti Hardie and Debbi McNeal Wood reunited with former Jones teacher, Mr. Bob Donaldson. Mr. Donaldson was a wonderful educator and the Jones students who ahd him for American History will remember him as one of their favorite UA teachers.

Mr. Donaldson has attended our reunion parties in the past and is looking forward to seeing his former students next July!

From Cyndy McLane Street: "I met Debbie (Leggett, now Carnes)as the NEW girl at Tremont and we became fast friends. She took me under her wing. Then when St. Agatha merged with us at Jones the three of us were "Les Trois Musketeers" So many memories!

Judi (Ryan, now String) lived on Brandon as did I back in those days, Debbie was on Harwitch Road. So there were a zillion sleepovers, and we walked to every dance, Teen Club together. It has been a friendship (along with a bunch of other UA69 girls) that has brightened all our lives for decades!"

Patrick Dynes is featured in an article in IN-Health Magazine, a publication of Inova Mount Vernon Hospital.

You can read the article to find out how doctors performed surgery to correct two disabling spinal conditions and restore Patrick to good health again. He now is pain-free and has resumed all his favorite physical activities, such a road-biking and working out at the gym.

Read the article here.

On August 24, 2013, Kiki Street, daughter of Scott Street and Cyndy McLane Street, married Greg Kullman at the Catawba Island Club at Port Clinton.

There were a lot of Class of 1969 friends there, and Jimj Long officiated at the ceremony!

Watch the video here:

Doug Ezell contacted me to report that his band, The Midlife Chryslers (and you gotta love the name!) was the subject of a video interview on KTVQ-TV in Billings MT. The band, who has been at it for more than a decade, has several iteresting engagements coming up, including a Las Vegas convention during which they will entertain 20,000 audience members!

View this YouTube video of inspirational coaches and words of wisdom about the lifelong lessons that players learn through the game of football and being part of a team. The video features Kenny Chesney singing "The Boys of Fall."

See this video now.

Please visit Bearalums.com, the official Web site of the Upper Arlington Alumni Association. Please make sure you're a member of UAAA, and also please check that your name and email address are listed there and are current and correct.

The Alumni Association keeps a database of thousands of graduates of our high school and helps reunion chairmen send mailings to their classmates. UAAA publishes a newsletter, Traditions, for all members, full of information and news about UAHS alumni.

Our class is amazing! Joanie Igel Dugger, Assistant Director of the UA Alumni Association, sent me this list of classmates from 1969 who have joined the Alumni Association at the two top levels: Life Member, and Golden Bear Member. Please show your support of this great school system by joining. You can do it by clicking right here. Thank you!

In his bio on the Classmates Then and Now page, John Neale talks about his interest in competing in triathlons. He wrote: " In my free time, I have become a runner (I did the Columbus Marathon in 1987), bicyclist, and triathlete. In 1998, I was the Rocky Mountain Regional Masters Champion at the Olympic distance triathlon for USA Triathlon, the national sanctioning body. Last year (2008), I succeeded in crossing the #1 item off my bucket list by competing in and finishing an Ironman triathlon in Tempe, Arizona (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run)."

See the video of the Ironman Triathlon here.
Read John's bio and other classmates' bios here.

Steve Holloway has published his second book, Canadian Foreign Policy: Defining the National Interest. Though designed for college courses on foreign policy, the book serves as a good general introduction to Canada, its role in the world and its relations with the US.

Steve is currently chair of the Political Science Department at St. Francis Xavier University, in beautiful Nova Scotia. StFXU is a small liberal arts college (about 4000 students) which has frequently been ranked as the best small university in Canada. More information about the book and ordering can be found on Amazon.com or on this link.

See Steve Holloway's amazing (and huge!) collection of photos and scans of school programs from Hastings and UAHS.