Jim Ridenour ’54 is halfway through three family reunions.  The first, in Denver Colorado had all of the children of Hank and Ardy Charles all IWU grads or faculty, with 20 other family members there.  The Chicago Cub game, however, was postponed because of hail!! One of our cousins flew in from Sweden for the affair.
The second will be in Chicago with about twenty there, including several of Carol Pettyjohn’s  IWU ’56 kids in attendance.  The third next month in Baltimore with all of our children, plus about 20 others.  All three dates include Cub games, in celebration of the World Series win!
Jim and Doris will be visiting Mickey Drexler, ’48 (?)l Howard Berggren ’54, Helen Lacroix ’53, and Bill Jennings ’53, during these travels.

Here is a note from John Shaffer ’59 –

“We have lived in a retirement facility for one year now, known as Wesley Homes Lea Hill in Auburn, WA., located about 80 miles south of our former home in Stanwood, where we lived for sixteen years. We are enjoying this community of 250 people which provides full range of care. Makes it easier to travel and we just returned from “down under” where we visited Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. We are hopeful that North Korea does not send a bomb to Seattle, but if they do, it has been nice knowing you. Then you can be glad that you live in the middle of the country and far from military targets.”

Bob ’59 and Judy ’59 were in Quebec City 9-13 March for a weekend clarinet festival. Bob conducted 3 works with the 30 member clarinet orchestra of local professionals and students from the Conservatoire on the 12 March concert and gave a three hour master class on the 13th at Laval University. On 6 April, he began rehearsing The Motor City Collection by Alan Torok. This is a set of 10 pieces for clarinet and piano. The plan for Bob is to premier them in a house concert in May with the composer present.

The following is a note from Shirley Kersten ’47 –

“Yes, there are a few of us 1947 grads! Missed us in the Class News notes. I’m in San Gabriel Assisted Living facility here in Rochelle (northern) Illinois. Went to 65th Class Reunion but there wasn’t any special gathering place at the luncheon for the 65ers so only 5 of us found each other. I’m 92 and am writing a pictoral history of the farming operations on our farm in the 1930’s – also family, school and church history in the greatest little village in northern Illinois – my hometown of Steward, population 250! Size: 4 blocks wide 6 blocks long.”