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Monday, November 7, 2016

The Longest Stay: Wisconsin 2015, Part 2

AHS circa 2015 - but it looks pretty much the same as it did in 1965

Graham and Cailin’s wedding was certainly the highlight of our stay and what prompted our early return. Already on tap was Tom’s 50th high school reunion in September, an important life milestone and another reason for staying as long as we did.
Although we’re on the road away from Wisconsin for the better part of the year, staying connected via the Internet has been critical. It allows us to stay in touch with family and friends (perhaps too much so considering the amount of time we spend on Facebook at times). But the technology has also allowed Tom to continue to be the token male on his reunion committee, just like he can still manage the Wisconsin Birding Network listserv from afar. Tom maintains and updates the class web page as well as the class Facebook Page. Imagine in 1960’s having all this technology! On second thought, maybe we were better off without it back then!

Carol had no problem assimilating into conversations

Our now lengthy stay enabled Tom to attend in person, several of the committee meetings. And as this was the milestone 50th, the committee put in a lot of extra effort locating classmates who we had lost track of (or they lost track of us). face to face meetings pouring over collected data were critical.
The 50th venue turned out to be a bit different. Committee efforts remained high and the goal was to make the night as simple as possible for everyone plus keep costs a minimum. Rather than having a sit down dinner, we opted for an assortment of hors d'oeuvres. Instead of a DJ, we supplied our own CD mixes played over the venue’s sound system. And instead of any pre-reunion activities, people were pretty much left to mix and match whenever they arrived in town. Classmates just wanted a comfortable place to talk and get caught up on what’s been happening. We may have been a large class (nearly 500) but many have stayed close over the years. And those who haven’t felt like it was only yesterday when they strolled out wearing a cap and gown.

gathering before the tour

stairway to heaven or highway to hell?

getting an overview of what we'll see - note the orange and blue school colors

The one exception to a pre-reunion event was scheduling a tour of the high school. In 1965 it was the only public high school in town. Appleton High School as it was known then. Now it’s known as AHS West to differentiate it from AHS - East and AHS - North. The central core of the building looks the same but several additions have been made over the years. An expanded track and field, an indoor competition certified swimming pool, and much more parking to name but a few.

imagine the balloons

The tour, which took place on the morning of the reunion was conducted by the current high school principal. Tom had been back in the school from time to time to participant in Veteran’s Day oral history events but that was limited to only one classroom. How strange to be walking the long ago familiar halls. 1965 AHS was an overly crowded school but today, the only activity was a group of students decorating one of the gymnasiums (there are now three) for Homecoming. The auditorium was the site of many a basketball game, especially when some of the games ended with us winning a birth in the state championships in Madison.
Somehow the lockers looked both familiar yet different. Smaller perhaps? The central stairwells were the same but now there was an elevator. Memories of one of the principals who was very short of stature and who prowled the halls with his megaphone shouting at students brought some laughter. The teacher’s lounge looked the same but smelled much differently - no smoking in the building is now the rule. The auditorium had gotten a facelift (new seats and stage flooring). Memories of theater classes, hours in homeroom plus chuckles about a long ago senior prank. A handful of students had broken into the school and filled the auditorium ceiling with helium filled balloons in time for the next morning school-wide senior class awards assembly. Those us us who were in on the prank chuckled the loudest. We recalled how the helium balloons slowly drifted to the floor while student’s shot them with paperclips and spit wads. The principal was not pleased. And no, he never found out who was involved.

after 50 years, Deanna finally realizes her dream of being homecoming queen

The school rock still adorned the front lawn. How many layers of paint announcing a new “class of…” were there? The fairly large rock was also the target of rival out of town high schools. One year, Lawrence University students stole the rock which was later recovered from the Fox River where it had been rolled down the hill near the university. Never fear. The dastardly deed was appropriately avenged. There always was a bit of rivalry between high seniors and Lawrence students (especially in the frat houses). Le Brawl anyone?

the 'rock'

The afternoon before the reunion Wally Sunderland and The General stopped by our RV to say hello. That night we got together with a group of classmates and their spouses at our old stomping ground, The Stone Cellar, just down the street from our former house on E. South River. The night of the reunion we had quite a large turn out. Some familiar faces and some not so familiar who have missed several reunions in between. Carol has always said while she didn’t graduate with us, she feels more of a kinship with our class reunion than she does with hers from Baraboo High School. But then the class of 1965 always did have the greatest and best!
In addition to the wedding, reunion and South Africa, we squeezed in a whole lot of family and friends. Up next, our crazy calendar pace.

back then, enemy territory - the teachers' lounge

classroom - blackboard to whiteboard to smartboard

the original Terrors logo

older brother of a classmate - ran into Joe twice while in Vietnam ('68)

one of our better known alums

we don't need no stinkin' elevator

Wally and The General - looks stock but it ain't!

Chip Reston a classmate who has also taken to the road

circa 1965 - lost the hair but gained much better taste in beer

The Longest Stay: Wisconsin 2015, Part 1

Caitlin and Graham

We’ve returned to Wisconsin every spring since taking up life on the road in 2009. 2015 wasn’t going to be any different, just our timing. We had already planned on flying out of Appleton for our October trip to Africa , and Tom’s 50th Appleton High School (West) reunion was in September. Usually our Appleton visits average about three months so we figured we’d arrive later than usual, sometime in August. That would give us time to swing through the Pacific Northwest once we left Arizona in late April. However, an email from Graham asking what we thought about a June wedding and asking to perform the ceremony, seriously altered our timing. PNW plans were shelved and we headed for Wisconsin. Miss Tom’s son’s wedding. Are you kidding?!
To get caught up with our trip experiences on our way back to Wisconsin, checkout blog post “Arizona to Wisconsin 2015”. This current blog entry picks up from there.

Caitlin, Graham, Carol May 2013

We first met Caitlin Duhadway, Graham’s then girlfriend, when she and Graham showed up for Carol’s surprise 70th birthday party at the Ward’s home in Dale, May of 2014. For us (and for all who met her) it was love at first sight, and, abundantly evident right from the gitgo, that they were a perfect match. Their engagement came later that year so we knew it was just a matter of time before they were married.

Jennie and Graham - 1985

Graham at Bubolz - 1985

An outdoor wedding at Bubolz Nature Preserve was their plan. Tom had taken Jennie and Graham as young kids to Bubolz hence the fond memories. The reception was to be held in Appleton. They planned an intimate wedding and reception. Less than 30 people. Close friends and family. To their credit, Graham and Caitlin did all their own planning, paid all their expenses. How often does THAT happen these days?
Before we arrived back in Wisconsin, Tom had finished writing what he would say for the service. He had asked what they wanted to include. Their response? He had carte blanche. They would write their own vows, yes, but they didn’t even want to know what Tom had written (although he had dropped a few hints just to test the waters with no negative reactions). Talk about faith and trust!

pre-wedding arrangements

We met a few times to discuss details (but mainly just to hang out). A week before the wedding, we stopped at the nature preserve to see what the wedding site layout looked like. As luck would have it, Caitlin and Graham happened to be there sorting out where decorations would be placed (they made their own) and how best to arrange seating within the retama (a shelter to you Gringos).
The week prior, Carol and Jennie and Jennie’s mom Carol Jensen-Olsen had gone shopping in Green Bay, for, you know, mother of the bride, sister of the groom togs. Tom wisely stayed home. But Tom eventually bought an outfit that included a tie. You have to realize that Tom had designated our RV as a tie-free zone. Well, one little tie wasn’t going to kill him.
The afternoon before the wedding the kids started decorating. That night several of Caitlin’s family members and friends gathered at what was billed as a rehearsal dinner at the kid's favorite Chinese restaurant, The Happy Garden. This was our first opportunity to meet Caitlin's family (many from the St. Louis area) and to discuss how the ceremony would unfold. Mostly, tho, it was an family time to socialize. We also picked up on where Caitlin got her smarts and good looks!

floral creations of their own

June 27th was the date, one day before Graham’s birthday. The weather could not have been more perfect. We arrived to find Graham hustling to put last minutes touches to the decorations and hang small speakers for music. Families began arriving including Tom's sister and brother-in-law (Plover, WI) and Jennie's brother and his wife (Florida).

Tom, Graham, Alrick, Caitlin, Jennie, Carol

The ceremony was brief, lasting 15 minutes, start to finish. It included quotes from Caitlin and Graham’s favorite movie, “Princess Bride”, lots of hankies, and before you knew it, they were husband and wife. Thank goodness Graham’s mom’s husband Rollie brought his camera. Tom was kinda preoccupied. Several of his wedding photos appear in this blog entry. Thanks Rollie!

happy couple

The reception was held at The Gather. Without going into much detail, everyone had a grand time. The bride was handily wheeled around the dance floor by Hank, her father. Graham and his mom did a turn on the dance floor. Toasts to the couple abounded. We had offered to buy a wedding cake but the kids instead had asked for their favorite maple bacon cupcakes from SAP Restaurant. We added a small wedding cake from Manderfield’s for them to take home for later. The cupcakes were great but they had to have a cake to freeze to celebrate their first year wedding anniversary!

dotting the 'i's" and crossing the 't's"

A few days later, the kids stopped out for Tom to sign their wedding license as the officiant. Just to be clear, Tom is not an ordained anything. The kids had already applied for and signed papers at the courthouse and were legally married by Wisconsin law. Marriage ceremonies may be religious but it’s nothing more than a legally binding contract. This was the same process that Chris and Robyn employed in Colorado when Tom officiated at their wedding.
Since the wedding, the kids have moved to the St. Louis area (summer of 2016) and bought their first house. We couldn’t be happier for them although we’ll miss meeting at the Happy Garden for dinner now that they’re now longer in the Fox Valley. Looks like we'll have to include St. Louis in our future return trips to Wisconsin!