Iowa City West High Class of 1973
Home of the Trojans
Dave:
I’ve attached a more recent family photo for the photos page. I had forgotten that I’d given you that relatively old one. I’ll try to remember to send an even newer one in the next few months since the boys, especially Ben (the younger of the two at only 13) seems to have hit about 6′ recently. As always, thanks for all you do! Your emails really brighten my day.
Judy
Hi Dave,
Sorry that I haven’t updated things since ages ago. Would you please post a new photo for me? I got remarried in July 2010 to a chemistry professor at Santa Clara University who I met commuting to Santa Clara on the train.(Steve Fedder) He was divorced and so was I, and we had many stories to swap in the beginning. We both have children at similar ages, so now there are five kids in all, who are gone to school or graduated and gone to jobs, ages 20-26. Life for me is wonderful, the best it’s been in years! A new chapter and it’s a great one.
Love hearing your updates, keep them coming!
Patty
Dave,
We had a lot going on the past 1-2 months, as my mom’s stomach hernia raged out of control, caused infection, and thereby made her congestive disease fail (lack of a better word). In other words, her health failed immediately, and Geri Hartsock died on Sunday night August 6th near midnight with family and church members by her side. Because she knew she was dying, she called all of her friends to say goodbye. We had her celebration service on Friday August 10th, in Brighton Iowa. Her burial was alongside of her Husband, Ernest Hartsock in the Hummer Cemetery near Sharon Center Iowa. My wife Anne and I provided music for the Service. (She sang, and I played organ prelude, and postludes.)
She was Born in Freeport Illinois, and Lived in Clinton Iowa…Met my Dad in Bible School in Zion Illinois…My Dad was a farmer in Oxford for many years, moved into Iowa City in 1967 and eventually they lived in Brighton Illinois since 1998.
Note: (see the photo below of the cat that I was lucky to see.)
She had a life long affection for Cats, and guess who showed up?!
(or Honorary Paw Bearer, or, ….. a Cat Honorguard!) How did they know?! I don’t believe they believe in using Twitter, I wonder what other way they communicated?! or do they just know………….
We recently returned from a trip to Iowa. My family and Julie’s family both had family reunions, so we got to see and visit 50 of the 53 members of both families. Those not present had commitments that could not be broken. For my family it was the first time since December of ’99 that we were all gathered together. We had a family dinner at a local watering hole and a family gift exchange at my mom’s house later in the day. Immediately following the gifts was a massive family water fight with 500 water balloons and 20 or so super soaker water guns. At the end of the day I don’t think anyone had a dry piece of clothing on. It was great fun and a little hard to believe that that many adults could have such a good time without any hard feeling.
Julie’s family gathering was much more sedate with a large BBQ adult beverages and great conversation. We spent part of one day playing in West High’s annual golf outing. Shooting par golf and finishing dead last. We actually played well but could not make those birdie putts needed for the win. There were a few familiar faces there and the tourney was won by Dave Osborne and his team. I spent a little time chatting with him and getting caught up on his and Walt’s past.
We spent the 4th of July at the Coralville Reservoir, a little different than the white sunny beaches of south Florida. The weather there was amazingly hot. It was about 88 when we left Ft. Lauderdale and well over 100 in IC. The drive up was over 100 the entire trip with the hottest in Nashville at 113, according to our car temp gauge. Hard to believe that we had to come home to get to cooler weather.
The picture above was taken at my family reunion, From L-R Ben our oldest, Brandy girlfriend of Quin, Quin our youngest, Julie and myself, just getting into the water fight. Hope all is well for everyone and looking forward to next year class reunion
Dear David,
Below is a link to a news item that might be of interest for inclusion in the class of 73 emails you send out:
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/06/hobokens_pier_a_park_will_be_s.html
Hope you are doing well.
Martin
(Webmaster’s note: We enjoyed the article so much, we wanted to capture it here so we don’t lose it!)
HOBOKEN – June 28, 2012
A special concert this evening will feature a mix of music from stage and screen, and will be a hometown performance for at least one musician.The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will perform at 7:30 p.m. in Pier A Park, located at Sinatra Drive and First Street. Attendees are invited to bring a blanket or low-back chair, in addition to a picnic for the free performance. And one person looking forward to the performance is Hoboken resident and violist Martin Andersen.
Andersen, playing with the orchestra for the 33rd season, has lived in the Mile Square City since 1981 and thinks performing in the place he calls home is a great idea.
“It reminds me of the setting the symphony did with concerts in Liberty State Park. It’s a beautiful location on Pier A with the skyline in the background and lighting at the end of the day,” he said.
The concert, led by conductor Emil De Cou, will feature music from the movie “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” Richard Rogers’ “Carousel Waltz,” and the shipboard high jinks of Gilbert and Sullivan’s resoundingly popular “H.M.S Pinafore” along with patriotic favorites.
The program will also feature Tchaikovsky’s “Polonaise” from “Eugene Onegin,” Nicolai’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” overture, Richard Strauss’ “Voices of Spring,” and a salute to the armed forces.
A trio of vocalists from Opera New Jersey soprano Channing Connell, mezzo-soprano Leah Dexter, and baritone Jeremy Moore will join the NJSO.
The City Council recently authorized a $45,000 contract to book the orchestra, which annually provides more than 250 performances and features 60 performers.
Andersen missed last year’s performance in Hoboken, which was only the second here for the symphony since the 1980s, but is looking forward to what will hopefully be a comfortable summer evening filled with music.
“This is a good thing for the symphony to have a presence in Hudson County,” he said.
Hi, Dave:
Yesterday (Sunday) I attended the Sharon Center Bluegrass Festival. The setting was beautiful. It was held at the Sharon Center Methodist Church located about a half mile east of Sharon Center. They have a large, well maintained slopping lawn with many shade trees. The stage was at the bottom of the slop which enabled everyone to see from their lawn chairs. Each of the five groups performed 45 minutes to an hour. Jackie Dague Nicholson, along with her back up group sang beautifully from her bluegrass repertoire. Her back up crew which Dave told us about in last weeks e-mail, were highly talented musicians.
The last group was the one that Paul Roberts was in. He played the base, the banjo and sang. What a delight he and his crew were.
The afternoon was very delightful with about 200 to 300 in attendance. If you know where to go, you can have a great time in Iowa, including Sharon Center.
By the way, West High won a national math contest, a national debate tournament, was chosen by Newsweek Magazine as the best high school in Iowa for two years in a row and the athletic teams won six state championships during the 2011-2012 school year. What a school with great students, parents, faculty and administrators!
Ed Barker
On June 17, 2012, we welcomed a new little guy, Harrison Andrew Carvo, into this world. You can officially call me Grandpa.
My daughter sure knows how to do Father’s Day right!
Hi Dave,
This past weekend I married off my second daughter, Valerie to Alex Willcox in Des Moines. It was a beautiful ceremony and dampened only by a brief summer shower just as the wedding party got on the bus. Alex and Valerie are living in Bozeman, MT.
Here is another photo of the wedding, the sculpture cake that was a family affair. I made the base, bought the glass, made the bottom layers out of Styrofoam, bondo and fondant, Valerie made all the details on the cake including all the silk flowers and ruffles, and Krista made the REAL cake on the top. It was quite the family project, especially since we had to coordinate the construction from three different states, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana.
Dave
Thanks again for keeping us all in the loop. I really do enjoy the updates. I finally got around to putting together a brief update on our situation. See the attached Word document. Feel free to share it with the rest of the class.
Best Regards,
Chris
Here is Chris’ update:
Dear West High Class of 1973,
After spending most of our lives in the Midwest – Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, back to Indiana and back to Illinois, my wife Sue (McLaughlin) and I moved up to Anchorage, Alaska in January after I accepted a financial executive position with Alaska Communications. We love it! We survived what was supposedly the worse winter in over 50 years and are now well into spring. The last of the snow melted from our yard just last week. Given that we received almost 140 inches this winter and we live part way up the mountain, I guess that’s not too bad. We have actually had a few of days over 60 degrees.
Those of you that have visited Alaska will understand when I say the scenery is absolutely spectacular. We have just started to explore the area, including some hiking, skiing and wildlife viewing (see below). We’ve already had a few visitors from the lower 48, including our daughter who lives in Chicago (we used to think that was a pretty cold and snowy place).
Settling into our routines is a little more challenging than in the past. Running, for example, is somewhat more problematic than in the Midwest. Yak Tracks (or roofing nails) on your shoes in the winter (October – April) is a must. Now that the bears are out of hibernation, pepper spray and bells are required. I have been advised, however, that if you find yourself needing to use the pepper spray, you are probably doomed. I’m still trying to find some “flat” courses. Moose, lynx and bear (brown and black) have all been spotted in our neighborhood. The moose actually come up to our windows and look in. This past weekend, two grizzlies came onto our property and proceeded to ÒinspectÓ our garbage can, which had been set out by the road for morning pickup. Bear-proof containers are on order. Our neighbor, unfortunately, had to kill another grizzly after it killed his llama and went after his horses. The treadmill is looking more practical everyday! Sue did some Nordic skiing this winter and is considering taking up the biathlon. I don’t think I’m coordinated enough to handle skis and a rifle at the same time. I’ll join the musicians union and try to rustle up a few gigs.
We are currently on about 19 – 20 hours of daylight; sun up around 4:00 AM and sunset about 12:00 AM. It never gets totally dark. By way of contrast, in January, sun up was 10:45 AM and sunset was 3:30 PM. This is truly a land of extremes.
Our classmate Janet Gregory has lived up here for something like 18 years. I popped in on her at the toy store she owns. She loves it here as well. It was good to catch up.
So, I just wanted to share our adventure with everyone. This is a beautiful place and we are happy and blessed to be here. We plan on making it down to Iowa City a few times a year and hope to be there for the 40th reunion next year. If any of you happen to make a trip up here, give me a shout.
Chris
Don’s father passed away on the 5th of March, and Don gave us permission to post his father’s obituary as a tribute to his life.
Donald Ray Rinehart, 85, of Cedar Rapids, died Sunday, May 6, 2012. Services: 10 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at Sharon United Methodist Church, 1809 Ninth St. SW, Cedar Rapids, by the Rev. Bob Dagit and the Rev. Brenda Ehret. Family will greet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 11, at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation, Cedar Rapids. Scattering of cremains at a later date.
He is survived by his wife, Willa; his children, Don (Tami) Rinehart of New River, Ariz., Lisa (John) Della Selva of St. Paul, Minn., and Ken Rinehart of Cedar Rapids; sister, Marjorie Dunham of Freeport, Ill.; four grandchildren, Christopher Rinehart and Nicole Irvin, and Natalie and Lauren Della Selva; stepgrandchildren, Keegan and Jess Boyer of Cedar Rapids; stepgreat-grandson, Owen James Caldwell; sister-in-law, Betty Stansberry of Arizona; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Doyle Rinehart; and infant brother, Carol Rinehart.
Don was born April 15, 1927, in Kellogg, Iowa, to Carl and Marie (Hinshaw) Rinehart. He graduated from Knoxville High School in 1945 and served in the United States Army from March 1945 to October 1946. He married Willa Hahlbeck on April 13, 1952, Pender, Neb. Together, they had three children, Don, Lisa and Ken. Don worked as a medical administrator for the Veterans Administration, until he retired in 1983.
Don enjoyed playing guitar for the dance band of Leonard Reyman Band for over 40 years. His love for music and entertaining and watching others being touched by his talent was symbolic of the way he gave and received love with his family and those whose lives he touched. Don also volunteered at St. Luke’s Hospital for many years.