MSO - April 1988

Volume 2, Number 9, April 1998
MIDNIGHT SUN ONLINE
-The Online Newsletter for Robert E. Peary High School Alumni-

MSO WEB SITE - http://www.pearyhs.org

INTRODUCTION

Greetings Huskies!

GALA AND AUCTION: Many thanks to the Peary alums who participated (and helped organize) The Friends of Danny Foundation benefit at Circle D Farm in Woodbine, MD on March 28 to assist Danny Haynos's (1971) surviving wife, Gretchen, and four children. Thanks to the assistance of the foundation, Danny's family will not lose their home. More than 100 donated items were auctioned, from weekend getaways to professional sports tickets to dinners to yachting, and lots of merchandise. Thanks to all who donated and devoted their effort to this event.

SAD NOTES: Our condolences to the Cottle family. Patricia Cottle (known as Carol), Class of 1964, passed away earlier this month. Also, condolences to the Chancey family, who lost Kimberly Chancey Wallace, Class of 1965, on March 23rd. And our sympathies to Marilyn Martin Lynerd (1966), for the loss of her son Andrew two weeks ago. He was 25 years old. The father of Carol Cotton Hendrix, Class of 1964 and the online coordinator for her class, passed away last week. The funeral was held this past weekend. Our prayers and thoughts go out to all of the families.

DR. DUMAIS: A reminder that pledges to Patrick Dumais, son of Dr. Dumais, are due June 1st. Patrick is participating in a marathon on Fathers Day, June 21, in memory of his father, our third principal at Peary. Please see the website for more information.

RACE FOR THE CURE: Beth Leimbach Swanson (1966) is a 17-month breast cancer survivor. When she was diagnosed with this in 1996, she made a promise to participate in programs that educate about the disease. Please see her submission in this newsletter, or online, about how you can participate in this annual DC event and help find a cure for cancer. All Pearyites are encouraged to participate in this 5K walk/run to be held on Saturday June 6th.

REUNIONS IN 1998: The Class of 1968 is holding its 30-Year Reunion on Saturday, September 26, 1998 at the Bethesda Hyatt - more details follow in this newsletter. The Class of 1973 25-Year Reunion will be held the weekend of June 26, and the Class of 1978's 20-Year Reunion will be held the weekend of August 7. Part of 1978's activities that weekend will include a picnic on Sunday (8/9) at Black Hill Regional Park's Shelter B. No word has been received regarding plans for a 1983 15-year reunion this year. Class of 1963... see below!

REUNIONS IN 1999/2000: The Class of 1969 has begun its plans for next year's 30th - info follows. Preliminary planning has started for a joint 1963/1964/1965 "35th" in the year 2000!

As the years pass, it becomes more difficult to locate our former classmates. Please take a look at the missing persons listings online that we've been able to compile (ongoing) and see if you can help us locate people, or their siblings or parents, friends, place of employment. Anything and all will help!

BIRTHDAY PARTIES: The Class of 1966 50th Birthday Bash will be held June 12-14th. Please get your forms, payment, and cruise survey to Gale before the deadline... and please return the form whether you're attending or not. Denny Dennewitz needs your cruise survey to tailor the plans! A reminder that you must make your own hotel reservations for the Birthday weekend, and the discount deadline is MAY 12. All of the details are online in the 1966 Class Section.

The Class of 1976 40th Birthday Get-together (yeah, '66'rs may have the wisdom, but we still have the youth and stamina) will be held on Saturday June 6th at the Outta the Way Cafe in Derwood, MD. Gerry D'Ascoli (1980), one of the restaurant's owners, is helping us plan a great evening. There will be live music, and people should arrive anytime after 8:00p. We are NOT renting out the restaurant and no payment due - you're on your own as far as costs with what you order that night. Although this is not a formal event, please RSVP to Neal Pizzano at npizzano@erols.com as soon as possible, and spread the word to those without e-mail and RSVP for them too. Getting a headcount will really help Outta the Way Cafe plan for us. You can use the form at the website and submit your RSVP online if you wish.

Both of these Birthday events are open to individuals from ALL classes. If you're interested in attending the 1966 party, you need to contact Gale Senseman Privette at gale7@juno.com as reservations and up-front payment is required. She'll send you the information. If you want to attend the 1976 gathering, simply RSVP to Neal Pizzano. It's a public place and pay-as-you-go, but 1976's get-together needs the headcount as soon as possible. Thanks!

ALUMNI KIDS: A newly-constructed section of the website, affectionately titled "Husky Pups," has been added to post news about the children and grandchildren of Peary alums.... births, accomplishments, graduations, etc. As of this writing, births and news items of accomplishments have been posted.

DUANE BLACK: Coach Black was inducted into the Maryland Coaches Hall of Fame on March 7th. Alums who attended the event to honor Coach Black are listed online. Lynne Keady Galletti.... where are those photos?! Lynne, as many of you know, is quite busy with her weekly Radio (WFMD-AM) and Cable (Newschannel 8) shows, "Mom's Talk." Congrats... we understand!

MORE SPORTS: Congratulations to Paul Foringer (1972), whose Gaithersburg High School basketball team won the Boys 4A State Championship! See the submission in this newsletter from Jody Leins Kenefick (1971) regarding her involvement with the sport of wrestling for all you former, or current, grapplers!

ROCKY MOUNTAIN GATHERING: The Colorado All-Class Reunion/Soire was held on March 21 at Dave and Busters in Denver. See Ron Bostwick's submission in this newsletter about the evening and the 18 Colorado alums who attended. The challenge has been presented... who holds the "better" gatherings, the majority of us still "local" or those out in the Rockies? Probably has something to do with the thin air out there affecting the brain. Thanks to Janet Peters (1980) and Ron (1977) for organizing the first official "out-of-town" Peary Alumni gathering since the MSO has been around!

WEBSITE: We currently have over 1,500 online now. Lately, we're averaging 90 new people a month who find us. Thank you for continuing to spread the word about our effort. We're extremely grateful for your donations to support this project too! As you know, this website and newsletter are soley supported by your financial contributions - we have no corporate sponsors to cover the costs associated with the servers where all this information is stored or for the maintenance of the web pages you have been enjoying.... it comes out of your Webmaster's pocket (who, btw, is a starving artist/computer weenie). Your financial support is critical to its survival. If you enjoy the reminiscing and newly-found contacts you've been making through this effort, please consider a donation to help it continue. Donation information is online. Thanks!

THANKS: Continued thank-you to H. Laura Vandevender-Collins (1973) who maintains the 1974 class information section. These sections are updated by them on a regular basis as your information comes in. Thanks to all of our online coordinators who store all of this information for their classes.... and welcome to Phil Sandoe (1978), who will be updating the Class of 1978 pages (thanks, Lynne Keady Galletti for your past help too). If you're into creating web pages and think you might want a thankless duty, keeping track of your class members and updating your class section, your volunteerism is welcome. All of our online coordinator positions are filled with the exception of 1967. Nonetheless, the actual html coding and updating for the specific classes would still be helpful if you'd like to assist or take charge!

Special thanks to Neal Pizzano, who initiated the formation of The Robert E. Peary HS Alumni Association... working with the Hebrew Academy to help ensure that our traditions and school building are held in-part by those who walked those hallways, works with the class reunion committees to help locate missing people, and maintains the entire offline student database. Thanks to Ken Roseman for the photographs he supplies us taken at alumni gatherings... and thank-you to all of YOU who have joined us online for your participation - for simply finding us and being here amongst old friends!

PURPOSE: See Gregory Jones' well-stated paragraph in this newsletter!

Articles for the next issue of the Midnight Sun Online are due Saturday, May 23rd.

Bob Lau, Editor/Webmaster The Midnight Sun Online Robert E. Peary High School

PAGE 2