Heinrich Maurer took us at our word and came for a visit Sept. 2-7. We enjoyed his visit and he made many friends in the short time he was here. On Sept. 17 we went to Maumee Bay State Park for a Monarch butterfly banding session led by Doris Stifel. Cliff went to Dr. Isaacson at Toledo Clinic about his skin problem. 10/13 Samuel Allan Long was born on Nov. 13. When we got the news, we all piled in the car & drove to Toledo Hosp. to meet the little guy. We were honored as BG's Family of the Year at the Church of Latter Day Saints. Mayor Ed Miller made the presentation. We got an engraved silver bowl & certificate. We went to Indianapolis for Thanksgiving at Sam & Jo's. Thad provided us with masks this time! We went the 24th, as did Ellie, Jack, Tom, Nancy & girls. We antiqued & shopped. Thad & Mindy returned early. After church & a stop at the Waffle House, we headed home & celebrated Kim & cliff's birthday. Dec. 21st was candymaking day at Rocks & we were joined by Steve, Jennie, Lori, Brian, Joyce Wallace, Hiltners, Maxine, Ching & Yeuli (Chinese friends of Rocks). It was fun & we accomplished our candy dipping. We went to the 7 o'clock service Christmas eve & then carolled at Graues, Mr. Graves, Rocks, Mrs. Reichert & neighbors. Cliff & I sang at 11. At church Dec. 25th, Thad, Mindy, Cliff & I "did" the advent wreath--not many in the congregation. While we were having dinner, the Millers trooped through! Different! The 29th Kim, Steve boys & we went to Winter Wonderland & then ate at Christopher's. New Year's Eve we went to a buffet at Rock's & then to Hiltners. 1989 Jan. 1 we went to Canada, visited John & Betty who had their family with them. Dinner was at Eyres & then back to J & B's for overnight. We visited Aunt Mary who was in the hospital with a broken hip & stopped to see Aunt Flo, Shirley and Bill on our way home. Cliff went to Phoenix in January to the MAA governors' meeting. Sammy got casts on his feet Jan. 27. In Feb. we went to Lawsons and later in the month, Fred, Louise, Sam and Jo came for a visit and we went to Ann Arbor to Esther Case's birthday party at Fran Lyman's. We went to Oglebay Park in Wheeling, W. Va. in May with Hiltners and visited the Hare Krishna center nearby which Peggy Hall had told us about. In June, Cliff and I went with the mission trip to Port Gibson, MS. Many home repairs were made in a poverty stricken area during the week we were there. We visited Vicksburg and toured the battlefield and museum accompanied by Jeanette Mahoney & had supper at Norma Jones' apt. Norma gave us a tour of Alcorn U. campus. Mark and Mindy annouced their engagement July 2nd. Andy and Anna came from Togo in July. We all went to Brown County for the family reunion from July 16-23. While there we went canoeing, some went to a Reds game, we visited Bloomington & toured Columbus. Mark, Mindy & Thad returned early. On Sept. 17, Andy & Anna left for Puerto Rico to pick coffee (Andy had met the guy who owned the plantation when he was in New York one time) and were married there on Oct. 30. Mindy coached softball and tennis. She "did" her methods in Maumee and her student teaching at South Main with Pam Makara. She attended outdoor camp with her class. She moved into an apt. with Lori Fox, acquired Jane Honda (which caused her all manner of problems). Thad went to Oklahoma for Dean Sergent's wedding & led the Olympics there. Kim and Steve went to San Francisco from July 27-31and we took care of Sammy and cliff. Lawsons came for a visit from the 25th -28th. Steve got a promotion at NFO...and tore ankle ligaments while playing basketball. We flew to Boulder where Cliff attended the MAA governor's meeting from Aug. 5-11 We stayed at Maurine Eaton's PEO B&B. What a wonderful hostess! After I went to church, she took me on a tour of Boulder & had a picnic for me. Another day she took another couple & me to lunch in Longmont. Butlers loaned us a car! We enjoyed "Can Can" at a dinner theater and "Love's Labor Lost" at an outdoor theater. Bohns were there & we were glad to spend some time with them. Linda Butler and we drove to St. Francis, Kansas to see Aunt Vera before we returned home. Cards were played! Cliff made a sound system cabinet for church. He served on session. We went to his 40th high school class reunion Oct. 27-28. Hawkins were there & others he hadn't seen for a long time. Cliff was recognized for 30 years service at BGSU. November 18th was the holiday parade & we were to ride in a convertible as the previous Family of the Year. It was so cold that we rode in an enclosed car! Wileys were here for Sammy's birthday party & his baptism and party the next day. The 20th we met Anna & Andy at the airport. The coffee plantation owner's wife wasn't fond of Anna & when the day came that she threatened Anna with a knife, they decided it was time to leave! We all, including Mark, went to Sam & Jo's the 23rd and we stayed at their minister's home. Fred, Louise & Sara came next day & Mark, Mindy & Thad left! After a pleasant stay, we went to church & brunch & then came home the 26th. Cliff got a tooth crowned the 30th. Mindy graduated Dec. 16th & we went to the Pheasant Room buffet afterward. Mark, Irv Hahn, Lisa Keil came for spaghetti that eve & Stantons came later. Cliff & I enjoyed brunch at Mayers the 23rd & later we went to see the zoo lights & Cliff & I took little Cliff to see a live nativity scene. We put out luminaries Christmas eve, went to the early service where Kim, Steve, Andy & Thad ushered & later carolled. The 25th we were happy to spend the day all together. On the 27th, Anna and I made tons of lasagna for a reception at Wintergarden Lodge honoring her & Andy & Mindy's graduation. Seventy were present to make it a special occasion. Seven stayed overnight at the lodge. Brad & Jean Strutner came from Calif. Maxine Miller & Lois Hiltner were wonderful helpers. Marek Przezdziecki and John Leahy got here late on the 28th & could only stay til the 30th. We went to Rocks for New Year's Eve. 1990 On Jan. 1, Andy flew to Miami to pick up his motorcycle and then biked to Tucson, AZ where he became a research assistant (under Don Myers!) and grad student. After we dropped Andy at the airport, we went on to Canada & enjoyed dinner at Leapers & stayed overnight at Eyres. Anna couldn't go, passport-wise so Mindy stayed with her. Andy visited Norma Jones in Vicksburg on his cold trek. We took Anna to Detroit Jan. 13th and she flew to Tucson after Andy arrived. We went on to Plymouth, MI to see the spectacular ice sculptures there. On Jan. 15th, Cliff and I went to Louisville where he attended the governor's conference and the MAA mtgs. I enjoyed the lovely Hyatt pool, visited the Presbyterian Center, the Derby Museum and we stayed at a PEO b&b the 17th (where they had quite a collection of piano rolls). Janet Blair joined us when we returned home the 18th. We all went to Elk Grove Village Feb. 9th & enjoyed a visit with Richards, Jeff Clark & Dolores & came home the 11th. Fran Lyman had car trouble the 22nd & stayed overnight with us. What luck that she was near BG! We were in Toledo the 24th, headed home early afternoon & weather conditions had become so bad we wondered if we'd make it home. We did! Shortly after, Maxine called to see if I'd help staff the Methodist Church shelter so I spent the night there...not very restful sleeping in the kitchen with lights on & refrigerated machines running! Mark's junior high team won a thriller from Perrysburg at Anthony Wayne on the 26th & another from Springfield on the 28th! Maxine & I got involved looking after bluebird boxes at Oak Grove Cemetery! Cliff was patching up the Chevy himself and I was involved with Great Books with some Conneaut students. Mindy & I went to the wedding at the mall & ordered her wedding cake! March found us in Calif. Cliff took Tom & me to the airport the 19th & we flew to LA. Cliff came later & the guys attended a computer graphics conference there. I took the train to San Diego and enjoyed some days of visiting the Noland family. We went to Elyse's & spent time at the Wild Animal Park & the boys' schools, had Italian dinner with Curt & Marlena, toured the Coronada Hotel & harbor area, to Bruce & Debbie's for dinner, enjoyed singing partner songs. Diane drove me to LA to meet the guys and along the way, we met Nancy & had lunch at Dudley's restaurant. We visited Eric's house (but not Eric), Huntington Library, met Ray and Eleanor Brown for dinner. We stayed at the Viscount Hotel and we flew back March 25th. Steve met us in Toledo. March 26th, Eunice Chase, Carol Joynt, Maxine Miller and I drove Miller's van to Herndon, VA where we visited Bill & Elaine Spragens. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and we went to Congressman Gillmor's office, a capitol tour, botanic garden, Library of Congress, Ford Theater, house where Lincoln died, art galleries. I was getting weary & rested while Carol & Maxine toured the archives. Someone thought I was a bag lady & told me I couldn't sleep there! We went to National Presby. Church for dinner & program (the one Spragens attend). We had lots of fun and returned the 29th. In June, Cliff went to MS with the church group for another week of building projects and repairs. He helped Steve build a "fort" at 886 Champagne. July 14th was Mark and Mindy Gedeon's wedding date--the culmination of a long time romance dating back to their friendship beginning in 3rd grade when they biked to their Little League practices together. It wasn't a surprise when they announced their engagement! Rick & Mary were overseas & couldn't come, nor could Eric or Bruce's family. The birth of Kevin Gammon was imminent so Tom & Nancy couldn't come either but sent Alicia as their representative! Everyone else was here, including Lila. While we were at the rehearsal dinner at Day's Inn, Steve and Kim hosted supper for the visitors--some friends who came too. We'd decided on the Pemberville American Legion as the site of the reception & it wasn't air conditioned. We lucked out! The day was a cool and cloudy one. Everything went well & it was a very special day and time. Lila, Kim, Diane, Elyse, Maxine, Andy, Anna, Mindy, Mark, Lisa, Irv and others decorated on the 13th & some of us ladies cut up a bushel of fruit. Maxine fixed lovely bouquets for all of the tables. Sue invited all relatives & some friends to come there for lunch! At church next day, nine of us sang a gospel medley which was received with applause! We served punch and fruit afterward and many of the guests went to the service. Some went to the church game the 16th and 14 went to "Carousel".There were lots of golf outings, we went to the zoo, 28 went to Cedar Point, 11 went canoeing on the Old Mill Stream in Findlay. People left gradually, Sam went to Washington. Three carloads of us went to the Hayes center to tour/shop on the 19th. By the 20th, all had left (Andy & Anna off to N.Y to visit). It was a pleasure to have the reunion here. We took Andy and Anna to the Detroit airport, took the ferry from Marine City to Sombra, visited Aunt Mary, went to visitation for Uncle Clarence & the funeral next day, then returned home. Sept. 1 we returned for Beth Leaper's wedding, stayed with John & Betty and for brunch at Leaper's next day. Not long after, we learned that Ed was diagnosed as having lung cancer. Kim, Steve and boys went to Tucson to visit Andy and Anna. cliff started preschool 2 days a week with Carol West as his teacher. From August 7th to 9th, Cliff went to Columbus for a special celebration of the MAA/governor's conference. I went to Chautauqua Aug. 8th with the King's Daughter's tour, meeting the bus in Bucyrus, along with Ranghild Stone and Rosa Crow. Twenty eight of us had a fine time, including a day at Niagara Falls and elegant meals at St. Elmo's & the Hotel Atheneum there. A performance of "Faust" was wonderful. We went back to the chapel after the sacred song service & got poured on! Sue Buck led the tour and I roomed with Donna McCreight at Florence Hall. Cliff met us in Bucyrus on the 13th..and then we froze corn! The week they were married, Mark, who'd just graduated, was hired as a math teacher in the junior high at Fremont. There were no jobs available for Mindy so she worked at Heinz as a seasonal worker until November when two elementary openings became available and she became a 2nd grade teacher at Otis. They rented a house at 412 Hayes Ave, moving there Aug. 9th. Mark coached the junior varsity basketball team. Sept. 8th we went butterfly banding at Maumee Bay State Park with Doris Stifel telling us how to do it! We hurried back for Pam Ensinger's wedding & then to Lee Miller's to see the Mahoneys. Thanksgiving was unusual. Lill Danuser, with whom Ed had been living, planned to be away on a short trip so we said we'd go to be with Ed (who by this time was using a morphine "pump" due to the pain) while she was away. She left before we were to arrive and Ed became confused & was hospitalized. We went as soon as we could--Thad, Kim, Steve & boys, Cliff & I. When we saw him, it was obvious he wasn't in shape to continue to be taken care of by Lill. The discharge planning people supplied lists of nursing homes and Cliff & I visited several before making a decision on which we thought would be best. Ed was admitted to the one we chose before we returned home. On Thanksgiving Day, Kim, cliff and Sammy & I went to the Brookfield Zoo--an unusual way to spend the holiday. Andy and Anna came for Christmas. Thad met them in Detroit the 19th. The 24th we went to the early service, carolled at nursing homes & other places. Mindy played "Santa" Christmas day. We had brunch, delivered Wheeled Meals, had a feast & a real gifting time. The kids gave to favorite charities in our names! Special! Kim & Steve had an open house the 27th. On our way to Chicago, Andy, Anna, Cliff & I ate at The Patchwork Quilt, went to see Ed before continuing on to Lawsons. He was in very bad shape...receiving oxygen & massive morphine by the time we left. Rita was in town & went to see him but we didn't see her. Andy & Anna went to visit Haas' while we were in town. Dolores was over for a visit. Rock's had a 50's party New Year's Eve with over 20 there, including Stantons, all appropriately dressed! (Done) 1991 As usual, we (Kim Steve, cliff, Sammy, Andy, Anna) went to spend New Year's Day with the Long cousins. We stopped to see Shirley & Bill, visited Aunt Mary at the nursing home, went to Longleys for dinner. Steve's family stayed with them while we other 4 went to John & Betty's. Next day, we returned home & went to Hiltners for dinner. Jan. 3rd, we got a call from the cremation society in Chicago and it quickly became apparent they were calling as a result of Ed's death. He had died on Jan. 1. He didn't want a service of any kind. Sue took Andy, Anna & a Chinese student to the zoo & art museum on the 4th. Our family had beautiful amaryllis in church the 6th in our honor. Andy, Anna & I went to Fremont the 7th & they spoke to Mindy's class about Togo. Maxine went with me to take Andy & Anna to the airport in Detroit the 8th. Two days later, we returned to Detroit airport, thanks to Hiltners, & Cliff and I flew to San Francisco where he attended the governor's conference/MAA mtgs. We went early so we'd have a chance to visit with Rita and also with Barb and Cathi. Bobby, Rita Marie's son was there, as were Nathan, Barb's son and Rachel, Cathi's daughter and we enjoyed our visit. At the time we arrived, Cathi hadn't yet heard of her dad's death. We stayed overnight with her & Rachel. From San Jose we went on to Yosemite and stayed overnight. The weather was lovely and we tried snowshoeing and did quite a bit of hiking in that beautiful, snowy place. Then we went to Sacramento and enjoyed visiting the Bogarts, eating delicious food with them & having a tour of the capital city. Pat (Horan) and I had been friends since nursing school days. The days in San Francisco were lovely. We got travel passes & rode all manner of vehicles, esp. cable cars, wherever we chose. Those places included a bay cruise, Ft. Mason, Cliff House, Golden Gate bridge, Ghiardelli Square. By myself, I went to the zoo & Cameron House, took a Friends of the Library walking tour which included the Trans Am building, old mint, Wells Fargo. The Gulf War began the day before we flew home & we went to the Exploratorium that evening..practically had the place to ourselves!. Security was tight at the airport! When we got to Detroit, our flight to Toledo was cancelled so we bussed there. Kim and the boys met us. In February Cliff was trying to get Ed's estate cleared up so his debts would be paid & the insurance money would go to his daughters. It was stressful but he did it! On the 23rd, we (Thad, Steve, Kim and boys, Cliff & I) met Lawsons & Richards at the Angola Holiday Inn & enjoyed a weekend at Pokagon. We went on the toboggan slide and that was lots of fun and went on some trails. Cliff came home with a Bobby built bike. Fred and Louise drove here March 22nd and we drove on to Virginia to visit Sam and Jo, along with Diane, Ellie and Jack (they flew). While there, we went to the Pentagon to see Sam reaceive his meritorious service medal. All 8 rode in our wagon (betcha it was groanin'!) and then we went to Union Station, a capitol tour, had lunch & saw the National Geographic exhibits. Next day all but Jo went on a tour of the White House & then on to Williamsburg which we toured, stayed in 2 Howard Johnson rooms, ate at Cracker Barrel for the first time and enjoyed some hilarious card games. It got up to 83 degrees the 27th & we made good use of our Patriot Passes that day. On our way home next day, our car hit the 100,000 mark so Louise treated at the next McDonald's in way of celebration. Her Dad had just fallen and had to have surgery and wasn't in very good shape. He died a few weeks later. A man came to look at Ed's truck & bought it on May 21st! Cliff took Kim and Steve to Detroit & they headed for Hawaii that day and we kept two dear little boys til June 5th. They were very good and were fun to have around. It was warm so they spent lots of time in their pool. Maxine & Kim & we went to Dora's pool one day & Sammy fell in. What a scare! Rocks, Hiltners & we went to Tiffin to the antique show June 15th. We planned to celebrate Rock's anniversary at Pioneer Mill Restaurant. It was closed. Grr. Cliff and I went to see several productions of the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster in June. We stayed at Celia & Bob Gate's PEO bed and breakfast and toured Canton one day, including the Football Hall of Fame, McKinley memorial, Malone College, ate at Shreve in Amish country. We took our bikes along but it rained. We saw "The New Moon", "A Night in Venice" (Hollisters were there too) & "Patience". On the 28th, Mindy announced that there was going to be a little Gedeon in February! My 40th high school class reunion was held Abingdon in July. We left the 12th, dropped Andy at the airport in Detroit and took the long way to Galesburg! We stayed with Fred and Louise. and Diane, Elyse & the boys were already there. Fred had arranged an open house next day & we were happy to see former Delong friends, Killingsworths, Marjorie & Vivian Larsen. The pig roast/reunion was that eve at Ippolito's farm. Then we went to Brown County for our family reunion. On our way there, we stopped in Urbana to visit Prof. Ketchum who was in an Alzheimer's unit there--so sad! Golfers enjoyed the course at Brown Co. & Sam paid to walk. Some went to a Cinci baseball game & others to Ray Cramer's band concert in Bloomington. Some went on an architectural tour of Columbus while Cliff got a $300 water pump job on our car. There was swimming, ball playing, card playing, lots of chatting & eating. On our way to St. Olaf's, we stayed overnight with the Noonans in Danforth. We enjoyed a bike ride to the DQ several miles away. Next night we stayed at Mason City, IA of "Music Man" fame. We walked the Meredith Wilson Bridge, went to the Presby Church & were in Northfield and found our nice dorm at St. Olaf's. We were there several days & enjoyed returning to the town we'd spent 3 summers in. We had our bikes & found the hills a challenge! Cliff got a bladder infection while there so didn't enjoy our trip to St. Paul to see "The Grand Hotel" with Tommy Tune. We were almost so high up we needed oxygen! On our way home, we stayed in Rockford the 26th & arrived back home the 27th. Mindy began teaching 4th grade (a 2nd grade class was eliminated at Otis). She coached volleyball and softball and Mark coached basketball. Thad made an offer on a home ($56,000 app), 'twas accepted & moved to 516 Buttonwood in July. Anna went to Togo and spent several weeks there making arrangements to bring Tchapo back with her. They arrived in late Aug. & he started to kindergarten the next day! He picked up English very quickly and by the time they came for Christmas, could understand and speak English. Andy came here for several weeks but wasn't able to stay for the family reunion as he was going to an NSF conference in Wyoming. He had knee surgery for an unstable knee which wasn't completely successful. Steve and Kim built a deck on the front of their house (with John Krukemyer's help). Steve taught a course at BGSU (but didn't enjoy it!). Hiltners & we went to the Croswell to see "The King & I" August 9th, ate at the Hathaway House after our Entertainment book possibilities struck out! Longleys and Eyres came to camp August 16th. We went to the Pemberville Fair & the guys went to the tractor pull while the ladies shopped. The 19th we went to the Carousel Museum in Mansfield with John & Lois & found that very interesting. Cliff worked at the Toledo disorganized Habitat for Humanity the 24th & we went to the dinner celebrating Ralph & Donna Olson's 50th that eve.. Mindy & attendants had a shower here for Lisa Keil the 29th & we went to their wedding at our church & reception at the Atrium on Aug. 31st. I was Maxine's guest for lunch at the Fremont Woman's Club Sept 11th, we visited the Hayes mansion. Tim Robertson was a visiting math prof arriving for fall semester & Joan & I became good friends while they were here. Cliff, Vic Norton & Tom went to Purdue to a SIAM conference Oct. 1-2. We went to Malabar Farms with Toledo hostellers the 4th-6th. It was hilly & rained so we didn't do much biking but canoed 16 miles & had a good time. Cliff gave a talk at the fall meetings at John Carroll but wasn't happy with it! We got word that Aunt Vera had died the 30th...the oldest of her family & the one with most initial medical problems! November 1st the BGSU Danforth associates were hosts to the Ohio group & 60 came. Olscamps invited us all there for a lovely meal & evening on Sat. Dale Smith was having a big event at the planetarium so our PW group took care of refreshments & that involved some planning & preparation. I took estrogen awhile but didn't like it so quit. I served on the election board. Stantons moved into their lovely new home on the lake. Nov. 22 grandparents were invited to a preschool program and lunch. Cliff was a pilgrim, I an Indian, Next day we made candy at Rocks--Steve & Kim's family, Stantons, Hiltners & us. First Kim & the boys were in the holiday parade. After lunch, the boys flattened the candy balls for us! Then Rocks & we went to the Meth. dinner theater "The Man Who Came to Dinner". We'd seen "Annie" with Hiltners in Adrian the night before. Sam & Jo came the 27th to join us for the Thanksgiving holidays. Cliff Sam & I went car looking. The two couples went to Tony Packo's for lunch on Sat., to Maumee Bay, Berman's & Woodville Mall. Andy, Anna & Tchapo arrived from Tucson on Dec. 15th. The 5 of us, plus little Cliff went to see the zoo lights the 18th. The 19th we went to Fremont to help Mark & Mindy move. On the 21st, the neighborhood carolling party was held at our house with non-neighbors Rocks & Stantons joining us. We went to Maumee Bay next day & enjoyed racquetball, volleyball & swimming. Andy & Anna shopped on our way home the 23rd while Cliff & I "dickered" with the car guy. We ended up with a '92 Olds wagon for $19,000, including our car. Mindy called the 24th, wanting her tranquilizer Rx refilled...feeling anxious. We had our usual luminaries & Christmas carolling plus going to Hiltners open house. Christmas Day was another lovely one. Cliff, Sammy & I delivered W/M to 3 people. Mindy played & we sang. The 27th, Helen Lakofsky, Pat Cochrane, Andy, Anna & I fixed supper for Martha's Kitchen..40 eaters! Marek came for a visit by train on Dec. 29 & was here for an enjoyable few days. (Done) 1992 We took Andy, Anna & Tchapo to Detroit for their return flight to Tucson on Jan. 3. Leaving the airport at Phoenix, they had car trouble & needed a $200 tow! They spent the night in the car (glad to have the down pillows we gave them for Christmas!). On the 10th, we went to visit Lawsons & Richards.. Cliff made a podium for Mindy, at her request. Lois Cheney & I went to Monroe MI for a synod PW midwinter mtg. the 15th. The weather was abolutely awful but we made it there & back. Candidate David Young preached the sermon the 18th, was voted upon favorably & agreed to become pastor of BG First Presbyterian. We left on a snowy morning in March (Spring break!) with Thad as our chauffeur to drive to Toledo and catch a plane to Orlando. We left late but did leave! We drove our rental car to Cape Canaveral to catch our Premier cruise to the Abaco Is. Whoops, weather conditions prevented us going there so we went to Nassau instead. Sam, Jo, Ellie, Jack & Diane joined us & we had gorgeous weather, good food and a grand time. The entertainment didn't live up to previous cruises. Sam, Jo and Diane barely had room to turn around in their cabin! When we got back, we went to the Kennedy Space Center for an interesting tour and then to Disney World to our luxurious digs at the French Quarter. We spent 3 days exploring Epcot Center, MGM Studios & the Magic Kingdom & had a great time. I became moderator of Presbyterian Women in Maumee Valley Presbytery in April and went to Dearborn for a PW enabler gathering for an overnight in May. In May, Cliff and I went to our first elderhostel (even tho' I wasn't old enough to qualify). It was at Killarny Mountain Lodge, a little fishing village on the Georgian Bay, not far from Sudbury, Ontario We were the only people from the US there--many nice folks. Hiking & canoeing were featured along with classes on the brain & the geology, geography & history of the area. It was lovely. Cliff and I went to Albany in early June to a math/art conference. He really enjoyed it and began carving alabaster and then marble. Beautiful! In June the synod gathering was held at BGSU with over 400 in attendance. A highlight was a one woman production of "Lazarus". From there the mission trip to Neon, KY took off--12 of us where home repairs were made along with trusses, painting, cleaning up etc. One of the homeowners was so grateful that she cooked for us several times. Steve and Kim went canoeing with friends and cliff and Sammy stayed with us. We went to the Gray reunion & visited Aunt Ethel, Aunt Mary, John & Betty. The boys were so good! July found us at Brown County again with 37 present--including all of us. We left July 19th, stopping in Indy to see Sam & Jo's beautiful big new house. Diane returned home with us. We stopped in Indy. at the children's museum. July 24th. AAT headed off to Rochester with a rental car next day and were gone til the 28th. While Diane was here, we went to "South Pacific", softball games, did lots of looking thro' pictures & Andy's baby book..also the booklet about the Grays. She returned home the 28th. Mark and Mindy took summer classes, came to BG for lotsa softball games, went to Vermont to visit Lisa and Mark, announced that they'd be parents in February, moved into their own home on Fennimore St. in December. We were all available to help with the move! Steve and Kim acquired a doggie, Abby, in July and bought a new van. Thad re-met Debbie Harris in July and made many a trip to Buffalo where she was working. His furnace quit necessitating a new one, the clutch on his Nova gave out. He purchased a Saturn. Thad became intramural/sports club director. We met Debbie July 18. In September our kids hosted a party for us at Kim & Steve's in honor of our 35th anniversary. Kim made a beautiful counted cross stich "throw" with 12 Hummel pictures on it for us. Wow! She'd made 2 Hummel pillows for us earlier. Andy went to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to help Mike Evans celebrate his 40th bd. Anna continued working toward her GED. All three were here for the reunion & Christmas. When they were here in the summer, we enjoyed gardening, the zoo and a trip to Cedar Point. I had a biopsy of a place on my left cheek in the summer which proved to be basal cell carcinoma. In Sept. I went for a 2nd opinion with Cheryl Kosarek (thought it was OK). Soon it began to scab over again so on Dec. 1 I went to Dr. Shanahan for "further excision" & it looked like he took half of my face! I was not pleased! Mark and Mindy moved into their house at 934 Fennimore and had lots of helpers in doing so. We met Missy & Jon Detweiler. Sam & Jo joined us for Christmas & we went to Maumee Bay State Park for one night afterward & Debbie joined us. Fran Lyman stopped by for a short visit Christmas Day. Cliff took the pool table to Fremont the 28th & made needed repairs on the felt. We celebrated with Rocks New Year's Eve. 1993--The siblings met in Indianapolis over Martin Luther King weekend. We played cards, games, shopped, ate, generally had a good time. Presbytery was meeting in BG on Feb. 16th & we had a wonderful lunch prepared for them. Unfortunately, few got here due to the blizzard we had. We had a call from Mindy early that morning that they were heading for the hospital! My body was in BG but my mind was in Fremont as I wondered how things were progressing. By afternoon, a call to the hospital encouraged us that our grandchild would be born soon. Cliff had a annual periodontal appintment scheduled for that afternoon & as soon as we got to Toledo, I called the hospital & Alexis Lyn had just arrived and I was able to talk to her happy mother! We then headed for Fremont to get a look at the little darling. Steve had decided to take a job with IRI in Cincinnati so as we were gaining a grandchild nearby, we were losing 2 in BG. The four left Feb. 28th & that was a sad day. Cliff and I walked to Community Nursing Home to visit Bob Graves and found him dead. We notified the staff! Cliff went to Traverse City with me in April to a Presbyterian Women event. The cherry blossoms were in bloom & the area is so beautiful. We stayed at a PEO b&b, enjoyed going to Sleeping Bear Dune & looking way down from way up! We took a nature walk & saw lots of wildflowers, including jack in the pulpit The family reunion was held in Colorado Springs in July and our family drove to Indianapolis on July 10th and flew to Denver. It ws the first flight for Mark & Alexis & when we took off, we got a "thumbs up" from Alexis (with Mark's help). Mindy still prefers to be on the ground! Jo joined us & Sam was able to come for a few days later. The Cincinnatians flew with us and the Arizonians drove. Thad went to visit Mark Kepke and family and we stayed at the Red Lion in Denver. Mindy, Mark & Alexis visited Christy in Colorado Springs while we others visited Rocky Mountain National Park and that night Andy, Anna & Tchapo joined us at the Red Lion. We headed on to Colorado Springs the 12th where Diane had chosen a motel out of the AAA book & it worked out well. We were shocked to learn that Jack wouldn't be joining us..had angioplasty a few days before. Lila Oster & Linda Baker joined us for one day. We went to the Flying W ranch for a chuckwagon dinner & to be entertained by "The Sons of the Pioneers" one evening. At the Garden of the Gods, we came upon a rattlesnake who was putting on a performance! The motel pool got a workout from our group. The kids enjoyed it so much. There were 37 of us there. One day we toured the Air Force Academy and then went to the Hotel Broadmoor for lunch..Elegant! We also visited a nature center and took a mountain road to see a beautiful waterfall. We left the MelHaven Motel the 16th, visited the Olympic center, the statehouse & then flew back to Indy. We celebrated Stantons 42nd anniversary July 22nd & the Eyres & Longleys came to camp near BG. The 29th we drove to Canada to Aunt Ethel's funeral where Cliff was a pallbearer. Letchs invited us & others to their cottage in MI on the 31st. Mr. Boxley came to cut our large apple tree in the back yard on Aug. 2. It was leaning toward the house & we didn't know if the interior was dead (it wasn't) Cliff and I went to Fremont Aug. 4th where he helped paint and then we continued on to Wooster to see "The Birdseller" put on by the Light Opera & stayed at a PEO b&b. Such nice people! August 5th we toured Zoar Village and then went to the amazing Warther Museum in Dover. It was hard to believe that one man could do such extensive carving. That night we saw "Bitter Sweet". The following day we went to the Rubbermaid showroom and then returned to Fremont to take care of Alexis while Thad, Debbie, Mark & Mindy went to Cedar Point. Lawsons came the 8th and we went to the zoo concert featuring the Sweet Adelines. Next day we went to walk some of the boardwalk at Magee Marsh, lunched at Mon Ami before taking the ferry to Middle Bass Is. We rented bikes & enjoyed touring in that fashion. On the way home, we stopped to see the Gedeons. On the 10th, we enjoyed a day at the county fair. We hooked up the camper and went to Chain o Lakes Park in Indiana the 17th where we did some canoeing. The nervy coons ate the coffee cake in our cooler next day (thought we should be on a diet, I guess). We visited Shipshawanna & Gene Stratton Porter's home. On Aug. 22nd, we went to Chautauqua, NY to scout it out in preparation for a tour I was to lead the next summer. We went to Jamestown to buy curtains & bedspreads for the Ohio Room, went to the presentation on Palestine Park & saw a silent movie with organ accompaniment. While there I bought a bike, at Cliff's urging, in Jamestown before returning home the 24th. We drove to Sam & Jo's Sept. 3rd and went to Abingdon to celebrate Louise's 70th birthday. Our arrival didn't surprise her but the open house on the 5th did! Before that event, we attended the Presby. Church & ate together at Sirloin Stockade. We got home the 6th. On Oct. 7th, I drove to Dublin, along with Geneva Strausbaugh to the King's Daughters convention. While there, I sat next to a woman whose cousin's house we painted in Pt. Gibson during one of the church mission trips. Small world! We made 88 pints of mincemeat Oct. 26th and, at the recognition dinner that evening, Cliff got a framed falcon print. In November we went to Pat & Murray Mayieux's wedding reception the 13th, helped decorated a Habitat for Humanity float for the holiday parade on the 18th, had most of our immediate family here for Thanksgiving on the 25th (cliff's bd) and to celebrate Kim's birthday the 26th. Andy, Anna and Tchapo came for Christmas. They flew into Columbus & stayed with the Cincinnatians a few days before driving the Camry on here. We had enough snow to do some sledding! On the 27th, we went to Maumee Bay to stay in a 4 bedroom cabin. We got totry out the sledding hill & I had a very bumpy ride when I came off the sled! We also did some cross country skiing with skis Thad borrowed from the rec center. Eleanor and Jack came on Dec. 30th and on the 31st, we joined others at Sonnenburgs to celebrate New Year's Eve--a lovely time. Andy, Anna & Tchapo looked after the doggies for Thad. Thad moved into a lovely big office in the new field house, did lots of travelling...from Washington to southern Cal, acquired two Labs--Lincoln on Dec. 5 and Truman on Nov. 7th (7 weeks old)--owned jointly with Debbie! Debbie was back in BG, eliminating those trips to Buffalo! She continued in sales for US Surgical. Andy continued work on his dissertation, Tchapo was in 2nd grade & Anna was enjoying volunteering at U. of A. hospital. Mindy returned to teaching the end of March and Bunny (Carolyn Clark) became the caregiver for Alexis. Mark coached basketball & helped with softball. (Done) 1994--On the 11th, we took Andy, Anna & Tchapo to Columbus for their return flight to Tucson. On we went to cold Cincinnati where Cliff was given a meritorious service award from the MAA. It's given to an Ohioan every three years so he's in a select group! He was honored before the whole group & then we were guests for dinner at a fancy downtown hotel, the Netherlands Omni. On Jan. 26th, we headed south, staying overnight in Nashville. We visited the Opryland Hotel and saw the harpist/dancing water performance. Next day we had lunch with Lance at the Stockyard Inn, went to see their house, visited the Parthenon and then drove on to Huntsville, AL. We had too little time there to see and do everything we wanted to as we were to be in New Orleans at a PEO b&b that night. In New Orleans we did some sightseeing before going to an elderhostel in Thibodaux (Nicholls State). We saw a "spoof" Mardi Gras parade, went on a Mardi Gras walk with a ranger, visited the French Quarter, the Garden District & rode the St. Charles streetcar & saw some beautiful scenery. The dorm facilities at Nicholls State weren't elegant but were adequate. The classes on the Mardi Gras and The War for Southern Independence were very interesting. We spent one day in NO (travelled on a bumpy school bus) and had a tour of the facility that puts the floats together which are used in the NO Mardi gras parade . We attended a parade in Huoma and the Clydesdales from Budweiser were part of it. We enjoyed seeing all the gear that travels with & is put on them. Rain threatened but...the show went on, halted for a while by a broken axle on one of the floats. That allowed us to do some shopping while the repair took place. We got lots of necklaces (thrown by the crewes). We travelled north through Baton Rouge & toured some antebellum mansions along the way. Then we went to Vicksburg where we visited Norma Jones, our former BG associate minister now teaching at Alcorn State. We spent a day in Natchez & had the experience of going onto a gambling boat at Vicksburg--very fancy but discouraging to us to see all those people putting money into slot machines & games set against them--very little relating to other people! We enjoyed dinner in an Oriental restaurant with Connie & Norma. We came north via the Natchez Trace to Nashville, arriving Feb. 9. Andy had knee surgery next day. We went to Indianapolis for a sibling weekend on February 18th & again had lots of fun; played lots of games and cards, shopped. Cliff got a suit & green light jacket . One day we visited the war memorials, capitol and art museum. On March 4th, we returned to Indy & were joined by Lawsons, Richards, Swails, Dolores and Kay Lennartsen for another weekend at a very nice hotel in Indy. After brunch on the 6th, we went our separate ways. The weather was nice enough for tennis playing. In May we flew to Phoenix, looked up the Bruce Nolands before continuing on, in our rental car, to Prescott. We stayed at the hotel overlooking the courthouse and right next to Whiskey Row. The weather was so pleasant and we enjoyed hiking, birding, trips to red rock land, Red Rock Canyon & Sedona. Then we drove to Tucson to visit Anna, Tchapo and Andy. It was hot there! We visited the Desert Museum, Bisbee Copper Mine, Colossal Cave, the cactus in bloom, dinner with Myers, Reid Park zoo, to John Fife's church. We drove on to Flagstaff (where we saw the Cline library, went to Meteor Crater, Winslow, Holbrook, Canyon drive. On the way to Tubac, we stopped at St. Xavier mission & went to a Toros game in the eve. We flew back to Columbus the 27th, went to some St. Mark's tournament games there before heading on to Cinci for the night. After lunch at the Olive Garden, we went to the zoo. Thad & Debbie arrived that eve. We returned home the next day. June 3rd we had sigmoidoscopies done by Dr. Hess. Glad that's over! Cliff went to look at a house Martin Harris was looking at the 8th & took a marble along! (Martin didn't buy it!). June 11th I got glasses from Walmart (lost mine on the trip). We toured Hiltner's new condo the 12th. June 17th the KKK was in town. Grr! Cliff met the group leaving for Des Moines the 18th & they headed off to repair flood damaged homes. Cliff put in our Maytag dishwasher June 27th. Lawsons arrived that eve, we went to the church game, next day to Fremont to visit the Hayes home & museum & stop to see the Gedeons. They left next day. Cliff was helping with one of the HFH houses in Bloomdale. July 11th I had a root canal done ($500) by Dr. Peterson. Eileen Plocher & Esther Bucher arrived July 12th & we left for Ames, IA with Teresa, Ila Banbury, Johanna Knox early next a.m. for the PW National Gathering. We returned July 18th. The memorial service for Tom Apple was held on July 20th. The 23rd we, along with Sammy & cliff, went to Canada to Bob & Cathy Leaper's post wedding barbq. Next eve we went to Thane Norton's wedding dinner & Steve & boys went home after Kim's WWWW. The end of the month, Dr. Kelley put a crown on "that tooth". We picked Diane up at the Detroit airport July 30th, Thad & Debbie joined us for dinner. Mack drove with Harriet Dimick, Maxine, Diane & I as his passengers. We got to Chautauqua in good time but the buildings were locked. All's well that ends well! Aug. 1st a bunch of us went to the opera, "The Italian Girl in Algiers" & enjoyed it. Next day we had lunch at the Athanaeum Hotel & sat on the porch. Eighteen went for a ride on the Chautauqua Belle & went to Old First Night. Una May Gill fixed an elegant dinner the 3rd & entertainment was the ballet. We got home the 4th & the family was gathering for Thad & Debbie's wedding! On Aug. 5th, I went to Chases to see the Spragens before having lunch with Maxine Chen, Martha Wright, Florence & Diane. Then we decorated Stadium View party house & Brights prepared & served the catered meal (set up for 58). Alexis was baptized before the rehearsal & she screamed. It was a hectic but very pleasant evening. Next day the guys (mostly) golfed & then discovered their tuxes needed adjusting. People came here for continental breakfast. We were at the church for pictures at 11:45, Thad & Debbie were married at 12:30. The reception was held at the ice arena and the bride & groom, as well as others, skated! We were home soon after 6 & some went off to Golf. Some of us went to church next day (the original 5, AAT & Elyse). We had Ellie's spaghetti for supper & Thad & Debbie gave a tour of their home. Sam took Elyse to her plane the 9th, Rick, Mary & boys went to the zoo, Ellie Jack & Diane went to the fair & a movie; the rest of us went to Cedar Point. Most of us were home by 11. Ellie, Jack, C & I took Diane to Detroit to fly home the 10th & by the 11th, all were gone except for our immediate family. They were here to watch the wedding video & for supper. Steve's family left for home the 12th. We went to the Croswell with Hiltners the 13th to see "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". Cliff was busy helping Thad & Debbie with painting. Andy flew from Columbus on the 14th. Anna & Tchapo enjoyed the Pemberville Fair with us on the 20th & on to see Gedeons. They were with us while Andy & Steve drove from Tucson to Oshkosh with their belongings. BGSU classes started on the 24th. Hiltners moved Aug. 26th. The 29th, Sue joined us in the ride to Oshkosh. We picnicked along the way, arriving there by 4:30. We met Andy, saw the house he'd rented, toured the campus & stayed at a Motel 6. Next a.m. we had bkf with AAT, they took Tchapo to school & we headed home. Sue was a good navigator & drove part of the way. We were home by 5:30 on Aug. 30th. What a good friend Sue is to join me on that trip! Andy wasn't there for graduation but received his Ph.D. from the U. of Arizona..2 Doctor Longs! Mark & Mindy took summer school classes & we were happy to have Alexis with us often. Sept. 3rd they told us that Alexis ws to be a big sister in April. HFH had a fundraiser at the I 75 rest areas (counted $2300) & we were guests of Rocks at Lakeside & biked around the peninsula & to Johnson Is. Jim & Jean Shelley visited us Sept. 13th & we went to LaRoe's for dinner & they stayed overnight. Cliff helped Thad put Sauder furniture together the 18th. October 4th Mindy called to report she was spotting & wanted me to come. I was there the 5th (couldn't get into the doctor) & 6th. Her appt. was at 3:30 & Mark went too then she had an ultrasound. The baby had stopped developing. I cried buckets on the way home & the next day. Thad, Debbie & we headed for Chicago Oct. 8th & went to Sue Lawson's wedding. Steve's, AAT were there too & we had a good time. Next day we went to brunch at Lawson's. Mindy went in for a D&C on Oct 21st. Don & Ruth Myers came on Oct 22nd. Next day we went to Grand Rapids (they sang in the choir with us) for lunch & to ride on the canal boat. Cliff bought a DeWalt miter saw at Anderson's Nov. 1. A HFH hymn sing/supper on the 6th brought in few people but $500 was contributed! Steves family was here the weekend of the 11th & he visited NFO, had lunch & gave a talk for the stats dept. Thad & Debbie had an open house on the 20th. Sam & Jo joined us the 23rd & we had a big dinner with all the family here on the 24th. Steve's family joined the Wileys in Columbus the 26th & the Oshkosh/Indy folks left the 27th. I saw a girl searching for something Dec. 2 & found her blue contact! Cliff was doing consulting with Bob Maltby. On Dec. 9, we made candy at Rocks joined by Anne & girls, Woelkes, Thad & Debbie. We had a neighborhood carolling party at Johnsons the 17th & Thad & Debbie joined us. Andy, Anna & Tchapo got here the 20th. John & Cliff weren't feeling well so Lois & I went to Rock's party as the odd couple the 21st! Our Chinese international student, CN joined us the 24th for dinner, putting out luminaries, church & carolling. We had a great day the 25th, went to Maumee Bay St. Park the 26th & had a wonderful time there. The 28th we went our various way. Cliff & I went to Canada to the Long get together at the hall, stayed with John & Betty's. The 29th, Bill Miller joined us for bkf & we headed home late a.m., taking the ferry. That eve we went to Kirkbrides to plan our Hocking Hills trip. The 30th we went to Fremont to tour the Dillon & Hayes homes by candlelight along with AAT, Mindy & Alexis. Thad &Debbie were away the 31st & the dogs were misbehaving so AAT & we went down to spend the eve with them and watch "Jurassic Park" on their big TV! (Done) 1995 January 3-17 Flew to San Francisco for MAA meetings, on to Costa Mesa for Elderhostel, on to San Diego to spend time with Nolands. Rain, rain, rain--floods, mudslides! February Worked as election judge, PW had retreat at Nazareth Hall, to Indianapolis for ŗoriginal˛ reunion March World Day of Prayer celebration at First Christian, to Bucyrus to KD board meeting, to Indianapolis with Thad & Debbie; met Stevešs family, Lawsons, Dolores at Turkey Run St. Park. Cliff feeling bad with cold (sposed to have PWS women stay here but Peggy Boren took them Œcause he was feeling so punk). April Cliff to Ohio State with Jack Hayden for MAA meetings, I to Medina to KD district & another one at St. Paris later. Maxine had lumps removed from body. May \tab 1 Cliff played squash with Edsel (soft ball). Having muscle spasms when he came home 2 to hospital for blood test (had been told he had low HGB), walked over to see Dr. Wojo later 5-7 to Cinci to be with Wileys & go to Kimšs concert 12 full day! stopped at nurseries, went bird watching at Crane Creek, to Mon Ami for lunch, to Milan to look at museums. Got groceries for Davidsons & stayed for a visit. 13 Severe muscle spasms. Went to E.R. in eve. Dr. Sanchez ordered x-rays. After reading them told us he was looking for bone cancer...Cliff does have arthritis 14 Motheršs Day. MM&A, T & D here for a picnic in living room--Cliff sleeping in recliner 15 To Dr. Wojo. Said go ahead & go to osteopath....whatever helps...pinched nerve?? Cliff having tingling in little fingers 16. Phone call from Dr. Wojo upon receiving radiologistšs report (read on the 14th!!!!) Cliff has serious problem, come to hosp. at 3 for MRI, x-rays of long bones, get cervical collar on. Thad & I manage to get Cliff in car (not realizing he has a broken neck!), losing feeling in fingers & toes. Dr. Laporte in, Dr. W. contacted Dr. Sullivan, transferred from Wood Co. to St. Lukešs by ambulance, got there around midnight, had cat scan done. 17. Dr. Sullivan in to see Cliff in E.R. around 2. Checked reflexes & said Cliff would be paralyzed if surgery isnšt done soon. Rearranged his schedule to do surgery at 11. Steve here by 7 a.m., Long day for Thad, Debbie, Steve & me. Stantons came with care pkg, David Young came. By 6 Mark & Mindy, Andy were there. Dr. Sullivan explained the procedure--3 incisions...bone from hip put in cervical area where vertebra no longer were, more surgery in lower back. C. woke up in ICU wearing a halo; was just glad to wake up!! 18 Kim & boys arrived, quite a gang of us in ICU!! Dr. Sullivan in, ŗMove to regular room˛. 19-24 Making good progress, going to PT & seen by OT, looking forward to going home! 22 Fred & Louise arrived to lend their support 23 Bone marrow biopsy done which finalized multiple myeloma diagnosis. Cliff alone in room so Andy or Thad staying with him at night 24 Asked when Cliff might come home. A bit later, ŗHow about today?˛, Made arrangements for hospital bed, to Flower Hosp. for radiation marking before heading home. So glad to be here! 25 Fred & Louise headed home, to hosp. for first radiation treatment, took taxi van. Alexis with us sometimes while Mark & Mindy take classes 26 Mel Johnson over to put up railings so Cliff could navigate the stairs...& eliminate the commode! 27 Tom Hern, Vic Norton brought computer from school, connected Cliff to the global community 30 Andy returned to Oshkosh; lotsa visitors; pain free, taking walks using walker 31 To Dr. Sullivan for check up, halo adjustment June 3 To E.R. at St. Lukešs for brace adjustment by Dr. Kalb 7 2nd phone line put in 8. Bob & Doris here, Andy, Anna & Tchapo arrived. Watching many videos at night 15 Cliff to Tchapošs softball game 17 Long guys enjoying using camera connected to computer 20 First appt. with Dr. Brown 22 Last of 20 radiation RX, still having shoulder pain, to high tea at hosp., talked to Mike Miesle 23 Bob Maltby here. To Schafer for 2nd opinion 24 Mindyšs comps are over! I attended PW of theSynod gathering at BGSU July 5 Halo removed, cervical collar replaces. Ulcerated area at end of incision on back 8 Diane borrowed Samšs car after arriving in Indy & drove over 9 Brucešs family stopped by on way to Brown Co. for family reunion 10 To Riverside Hosp. for first chemo. Caravaned to Brown Co. with Thad, Mindy, Diane, Alexis 14 Returned from Brown County, nice reunion 20 Guys scanning Abe (cut his head off!) 24 Lila here 26 Lila headed on; AAT returned to Oshkosh, took tent camper 28-29 To Chautauqua, NY for Order Night with Mary Jane Parker. Steve here with Cliff 31 Left for Alaska August 12 Returned from Alaska 15 2nd chemo, I have shingles! 18 Had MRI, Sullivan technique 24 Picked up new computer 25 Thad with us to talk to Chet Marcin about a living trust, decided to do it Sept. 1 Andy called with new address, phone number in Ripon 3 To Lakeside for picnic & overnight 5 Dr. Vanketesan ordered x-rays, morphine 6 Rebecca called to say more radiation is needed 7 New refrigerator delivered, Cliff feeling bad, choir restarted. 8 Signed trust, wills, etc. 11 Maxine & I to Bucyrus to finance mtg. Mack took Cliff to radiation for shoulders (first of 10) & hips & feet were x-rayed 12 Chemo 13 Scott McEwen here--afternoon & eve 14 Left for Ripon after radiation. While there we went to a math picnic, Cliff showed his models, we went to Oshkosh & toured EAA Museum, went to church, Anna, Tchapo and I went to part of a football game 18 Drove to Lawsons via Edgerton & Woodstock (couldnšt find Morozinks). Dolores, Sue, Bob & Richards there for a nice meal & evening 19 Home 27 Got seat belt fixed in car, last radiation for Cliff 28-30 K, S, C, S here. Mindy predicted arrival of baby the 29th. She was wrong! Oct. 2 Jack David arrived at 6:30 a.m. To Suešs Optical for eye checkup, ordered glasses 4 Cliff feeling weak, tired 6. To colloquium 10 To chemo; Maxine & I addressed Habitat fund raising letters 12 To Heimlich talk--use for drowning victims, chest tubes, create esophagus 13 Dolores O. here--Stevešs too. To Gedeons, picked apples, Habitat hymn sing/supper. 17 To retiree group meeting 20 John, Betty, Gloria, Bill here 24 Andy has offer to go to Loyola (post doc at medical school) 25 To school. Made mincemeat at church 28 To called mtg. of KD at Bucyrus, Cliff & I on to Mansfield. HFH dinner/auction in eve 30 Bone marrow biopsy at Mercy Hosp. Nov. 2 Diane flew to Toledo, to Cinci to visit til Mon., on to Nashville, visited Lance & Karin, stayed at Vanderbilt Lowešs & Cliff attended SIAM meetings. To Cinci the 9th, home the 10th 13 Took in 24 hour urine spec. Mindy returned to teaching 15 Chemo followed by W/M, lunch at hosp. 1995--The year started out well with a trip to sunny (?) California. We flew to San Francisco for math meetings there on Jan. 3. Not only didn't we see the sun, there was so much rain that there were mudslides and floods which were very much in the news. We rented a car and visited special friends along the way to Costa Mesa (stopped at Hearst Castle in San Simeon where it was so foggy we couldn't even see the ocean!) where we attended an Elderhostel (stayed at a Holiday Inn & had great food..Cliff met a fellow participant who he worked with at the Naval Ordnance Lab in Wash. D.C. in 1960). On to Alpine from there to spend a few days with Diane and Al. We went to an interesting after church session at their church & then visited with Elyse, Curt and their families. Special! We played a lot of bridge & watached their pond fill up! They'll hire us as rain makers! We did see the sun on the 17th when we flew back to Toledo! Jan. 20th, we left in snowy, slippery weather for the trip to Lake Hope with Kirkbrides & Millers. The winter walk at Old Man's Cave was next day. There were lots of people there for the 6 mile walk! The scenery was beautiful & we had cornbread and soup after 4 mi. We came home the 22nd, another slow trip. In February we spent the President's Day weekend in Indianapolis at Sam & Jo's along with Fred, Louise, Ellie and Diane. Unfortunately Jack had fallen down their icy back steps & wasn't feeling up to coming. One special event while there was hearing the Purdue Men's Glee Club. We did lots of reminescing, laughing/ playing cards, looking at photos. March found us back in Indianpolis--Thad, Debbie & we met Steve, Kim, cliff & Sammy at Sam & Jo's. Next day we headed on to Turkey Run State Park (where we'd gone a few times when we lived in Champaign) to meet the Bob Lawsons and Dolores Oberg. All 18 of us found enjoyable things to do...swimming, hiking the trails, eating, chatting...a great time. The usually healthy Cliff was feeling punk with a cold during much of the month & didn't engage in his usual physical activity. On May 1, Cliff resumed squash playing but came home complaining of muscle spasms in his chest. . The muscle spasms were so painful that he couldn't sleep in bed so, for a couple of weeks, he slept in the reclinier. A visit to our GP on May 2nd resulted in some pain medication for the spasms. Blood work was done & he was questioned whether he was a vegetarian since his hemoglobin was so low. We'd planned to to to Cinci May 5-7 during which time Kim's parents were there too & we took in the performance of her musical group, the Forest Aires (good job!) On May 12, we'd planned to go to Lake Erie to view the bird migration. Even tho' Cliff wasn't feeling great, he thought he'd feel no worse engaging in some activity instead of staying home so we did lots of binocular viewing and then went on to Milan (where Thomas Edison was born ) to look through the interesting museums there. The next day Cliff was having really excruciating spasms so we went to the local emergency room. Xrays were ordered and Dr. Sanchez came back to tell us he was looking for bone cancer but only saw arthritis. Whew! Hot wet packs & muscle relaxant were his advice. We had a Mother's Day picnic in the living room with Thad & Debbie, Mark, Mindy & Alexis so Cliff would be as comfortable as possible in his recliner. On May 14 we had another appointment with Dr. Wojciechowski. He gave Cliff some Demerol & said he thought he had a pinched nerve & had no objection to our going to Mindy's doctor in Fremont, an osteopath, next day. Ah, that next day...the 16th! I was out planting one of my rosebushes received for Mother's Day when the phone rang and Dr. W was on the line telling me that Cliff had a very serious medical problem. The report of the readiologist of the x-rays taken in the ER on the 13th had just reached his desk!! Cliff was to be at the hospital for an MRI & should have a cervical collar on. Thad & I managed to get (drag!) Cliff to the car. He was starting to lose feeling in his hands and feet. He was admitted to the hospital, seen by Dr. LaPorte, an orthopedic specialist, who recommended that Cliff be seen by Dr. Daniel Sullivan, a Toledo specialist. It turned out that Cliff had been walking around with a broken neck since May 1. Late that night, we went by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital in Maumee. Dr. Sullivan appeared around 2 am., examined Cliff, told us he would be paralyzed if something wasn't quickly done, rearranged his schedule and Cliff went to surgery at 11 a.m. By then Steve had arrived and Andy was on his way from Oshkosh. Funny how things work out! He'd just finished grading his last finals, turned in the grades & headed for St. Luke's. Debbie, Thad, Steve & I had a long day of waiting and wondering but Dorothy and Al came with a care package and to commiserate and David Young, our minister, came. Mark, MIndy and Andy arrived shortly before Dr. Sullivan came to talk with us at 6 pm. (How can anyone do surgery for that length of time..or longer??). He sketched what he'd done (removed a piece of bone from Cliff's hop to transfer to his neck where the vertebra had disintegrated, done additional surgery on his lower spine and put a "halo" brace" on to hold the bone graft in place--during surgery, a person from OR came to ask what size jacket {which held the halo in place}he wore and that gave us a start! The sketches were reproduced by Cliff's children so they could be explained to Dad! We got to see him a little later in the Intensive Care Unit and he was alert & talkative. Kim and the boys arrived the next day and during that weekend, we more than filled his hospital room. The staff was wonderful in dealing with our big group and turned his room into a private one for most of his stay. That enabled Andy or Thad to stay overnight with him so someone was always available to help him (or keep him from pulling his IV out, as he did once{before they started staying with him}!). Fred and Louise came to offer their support and help. By the 24th, Cliff had been to physical therapy several times, been seen by the occupational therapist, had a bone marrow bippsy which finialized the diagnosis of multiple myeloma and was rarin' to go home! When I asked when he could go, the nurse came back to say, "How about today?". Arrangements were quickly made to get a hospital bed (in the dining room), we went to Flower Hosp. to get him "marked" for radition and headed for home! Getting in and out of a car wearing a halo brace isn't easy! Cliff was so happy to be home ..& we to have him here. Trying to sleep while wearing a halo isn't easy and he watched parts of many videos during the time the brace was on. May 25th Cliff went for the first of 20 radiation treatments aimed toward taking care of the tumor in his spine. Next day, our neighbor & friend, Melvin Johnson came over to put railings on the up & down stairs & make 3 levels of our house accessible to Cliff (especially bathrooms!). On the 27th, Tom Hern & Vic Norton, friends from the math dept, brought Cliff's BGSU computer over and hooked him up to the global community! He and Andy spent many happy hours on projects during the summer! Andy returned to his family in Oshkosh the 30th and then Anna and Tchapo returned with him June 8th, after they'd finished school. Cliff kept busy with some consulting, many visits from colleagues and friends and lots of good times with family during the summer. Mark & Mindy took classes at BGSU in the summer so we saw them a lot and had the pleasure of entertaining their enchanting little daughter many times. Mindy took her comprehensive exams for her master's degree in late June, passed them & received her degree at the Ausgust graduation. Anna & I enjoyed gardening & reaped a good harvest. Tchapo was on a Little League team, softball team, played soccer and enjoyed being helpful to Grampa. Steve, Kim Cliff & Sammy were up often to check our progress. Cliff had almost no pain until the jacket to his halo brace was adjusted. Since then, pain has been a problem but mostly controlled by pain medication. He used a walker briefly & then a wheelchair if great distances needed to be covered. He continues to have tingling in his fingers & toes but sees that as a minor nuisance. On July 5, the halo came off. Hurray1! It's saved for posterity. There was great danger of infection in the post area which fastened into his head and Debbie and Andy were diligent in cleaning those areas every day & Cliff had no problems with infection. Diane flew into Indianapolis for our Brown County reunion July 7th & decided to join us in BG. Jo lent her her car. Bruce & his family from Phoenix were visiting in the east & stopped by to see us the 9th on their way to the reunion. On the 10th we went to Riverside Hosp. where Cliff had his first chemotherapy and then Diane, Mindy, Alexis, Thad & we headed for Brown Co. to join the others. We were there til the 14th & had a grand time. It was very hot (thank goodness for A/C!). Andy, Anna & Tchapo headed back to Wisconsin July 26th, taking our tent camper with them. We were pleased to have cousin Lila Oster stop by for a visit. I made a quick trip to Chautauqua, NY for Order Night in connection with my King's Daughters responsibility. Mary Jane Parker agreed to go with me, bless her! Steve came for the weekend to give Cliff a hand..& did our packing for Alaska! When we were together in Feb., we'd agred to go on a U. of Ill sponsored Alaskan trip ....& Cliff insisted we should still go! Thad took us to the plane in Toledo July 31, we put our luggage on & that's the last we saw of it til we got to our cabin on the cruise ship in Vancouver! We were well looked after & enjoyed those days with the Gammons, Fred and Sam Clines. Cliff bore up very well. He was supposed to keep his weight up and being on a cruise was the ideal way to do that! They could've rolled all of us off the ship--Cunard Dynasty! We learned it rains a lot along the inner passage! We managed to keep dry on shore excursions and twice rented vans & Sam chauffered us around. We stopped at Skagway (totem poles!), Sitka (Russian influence) and Juneau (the capitol). We saw whales and glaciers...& lots of water. We disembarked at Seward and motorcoached to Anchorage. Then we flew to Fairbanks where Sam & Jo had an 8 pm tee time & played 18 holes...in the light! We went on a paddle wheeler there to an interesting village to experience how life might've been in the past. Along the way, Susan Butcher stood on the bank of the river to tell us about her Iditarod race experience; we saw some of her dogs, her husband and baby! We went by train to Denali National Park but were disappointed not to see Mt. McKinley. (Apparently only 5-10% of those going there actually see the peak). We were going to take a helicoptor ride but it was too cloudy to see the mount even that way. We went on a 7 hour ride on a school bus (Cliff didn't go) to see the wildlife and were lucky to see grizzlies, moose, caribou, Dall sheep..& a fox carrying many ground squirrels in its mouth. Dinnertime! Back to Anchorage and we went to an interesting museum there. We flew home on the 12th via Salt Lake City & Cincinnati & there were Debbie and Thad waiting for us in Toledo. Right after we got back, I had my second bout of shingles (take L-Lysine!). Cliff had an MRI done on Aug. 18th. The computer he'd ordered earlier was delivered the 24th & has had lots of use. We set up our living trust. Spt. 3rd we went to Lakeside for a picnic with others at Rocks, went to the closing ceremonies, stayed overnight, had lunch at the Marina next day. Andy had a teaching job in Ripon. Cliff had a painful area in his back/shoulders and x-rays indicated more radiation was needed. He got 10 more treatments starting Sept. 11. We left for Ripon the 14th so a few were postponed. Cliff was asked to bring some of the beautiful mathematical surfaces he's carved (wood & stone) to share with math students & faculty at a picnic there. Cliff had never made it to Oshkosh so we went there so he could see where they'd lived the year before and visited the Experimental Aircraft Assn. museum (busiest airport one day a year!). We toured the Birthplace of the Republican Party, attended the Congregational Church on campus and generally had a good time. On the 18th, we headed for Lawsons in Elk Grove Village and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and time with them, Richards & Dolores Oberg. We got home the 19th. What a blessing to have a community of friends and family to bring food, take us places, invite us for meals & fun times. God is good! We don't understand why things happen as they do but surely something can be learned from each life event. Another blessing of the year brought us Jack David Gedeon who arrived on his due date, Oct. 2, at 6:30 a.m. weighing in at 9# 5oz. Wow! Mindy retired from her 4th grade classroom for 6 weeks & during that time, we went to Fremont at least once a week to be with her & her little ones. Dolores Oberg came for a short visit & we did some apple picking in Fremont (besides visiting the Gedeons!) John & Betty Miller, Bill M and Gloria McLaughlin came for a brief visit too. Mark was named varsity basketball coach and moved from junior to senior high math teacher. His first game was against BG and Lisa, Irv and Ed came from Vermont, Chicago and Ann Arbor for the occasion. Mindy returned to teaching Nov 13rh. They're lucky to have Bunny, a wonderful sitter. Diane flew to Toledo Nov. 2, the 3 of us drove to Cincinnati (stopped in Wapakoneta at the Neil Armstrong museum) for a nice weekend with Steve's family. We had a ride in his "new" red (white interior) '90 Mustang convertible--too cold to have the top down! On we went to Bowling Green, KY where we toured the Corvette plant and then to Hendersonville, TN for a brief but lovely visit with Lance and Karin Gammon. Our trip from there to the lovely Vanderbilt Lowe Hotel in Nashville was in heavy rain, in the dark, glaring headlights from heavy traffic...not fun--but we made it! The Lowe was the headquarters for the Society of Industrial & Applied Mathematics convention. Cliff went to meetings & Diane & I toured. We strolled down Music Row , walked to the Parthenon & enjoyed the art there. In the evening we went to the Opryland Hotel. Diane found it noisy and dark & preferred Bob Evans to the restaurants there! Diane & I toured Belle Meade, house & grounds, picked Cliff up, drove to the Cinci airport & Diane headed west from there on Nov. 9th. On returning home, we learned of Louise's breast cancer and she had a mastectomy on Nov. 13th. Our Thanksgiving visitors arrived on Nov. 22--Steve, Kim, Cliff & Sammy, Sam & Jo, Ellie & Jack, Andy & Tchapo. Anna took a nurses's assistant course in Oshkosh & started working in a hursing home in Ripon in Sept. She hadn't accumulated any days off to come for Thanksgiving. Some of our visitors stayed with the hospitable Thad & Debbie. Fran Lyman stopped by for a brief visit on the 24th. Sam, the boys & I went to the planetarium show (always good for a nap!). Debbie & Sam played tennis, the guys played in the turkey bowl, Jack & the ladies shopped. We watched football, played cards & ate. All departed by the 26th. Dec. 12th we drove to Sarnia and met John & Betty Miller, Leapers, Eyres, Longleys & Les & Rosalee Long for dinner. We stayed with Longleys & Lorne & Cliff enjoyed woodcarving talk. Bill Miller joined us at John & Betty's for lunch & then we headed home. We had sleet after leaving Bill & Shirley's in Detroit and were happy to arrive home safely! Steve's & Andy's families arrived Dec. 23 & some went to Fremont to the game. We had dinner at Thad & Debbie's next day; Sammy helped get the luminaries ready. We lighted them after supper, went to the church service, carolled, came back to chat & have hot chocolate & cookies. Christmas was another lovely one & we felt lucky to be together for it. We went to Maumee Bay to stay in a 4 bedroom cabin the 26th. Andy was feeling punk & Thad too, part of the time. We went to the lodge to exercise & swim, to the nature center & did lots of game playing. On our way home the 28th, we had lunch at Tony Packo's. Thad & Andy were still feeling congested & feverish--a bad way to end the year. (Combine) 10 1996 1996--Jan. 8--Thad, Andy and I removed the living room mural after all these years. Andy was very sad to see it go! Thad painted the living room/dining room while we were gone. Bless him! On the 9th, Lisa Elderbrock, Andy, Cliff and I drove to Columbus and flew to Orlando. They attended the MAA meetings. I spent a day at Epcot Center. Sam & Jo were visiting Applebys and they came by one eve and, very early next a.m., picked me up and we went to watch the space shot. Wow! The 12th we drove our rental car to Punta Gorda where we were warmly welcomed by Joe and Gloria McLaughlin. We enjoyed our overnight stay with them and tour of the area and then headed for Ft. Myers next day where we toured the Edison/Ford homes. We got to Rock's rental condo that eve on Sanibel Island. We went to church at Chapel by the Sea next day and then we went to the Ding Darling preserve where we saw a multitude of unusual birds and even a crocodile. It was wonderful! We also did lots of "shelling" at that special spot and brought many home. We met Lisa at the airport and flew home the 15th. Mike Peake was our house guest the 30th & 31st and gave talks at BGSU. He brought us almonds from CA & bought toys for Cliff! Feb--We went to Indy on the 16th for our sibling weekend, went to a 40's Radio Hour play, did lots of game playing, eating, card playing & generally enjoying being together til the 21st. Kim, Steve and boys came the 23rd, Mindy & kids stayed over the 24th--lotsa activity! March--March 11--Fred had surgery for bladder cancer, 12--Andy came on the bus for Spring break & the guys did lots of computering. Steve came the 15th and MMAJ the 16th. All returned home the 17th. 21-23--Alexis and Jack were here while Mark & Mindy were at the state bb tournament. We had fun making snow people. The 23rd we got our glider/rocker. We went to see "Cats" in Toledo with Thad & Debbie on the 24th. The 30th we went to Cinci for a nice weekend. We came home April 1---snow (April Fool!) so the Reds home opener had to be postponed! Cliff's ear had been stopped up since we flew so he had a tube inserted on April 4th. The 12th & 13th he & Tom Hern spent in Akron at the spring math mtgs. I went to Bucyrus the 13th & gave a report, including slides, about Chautauqua. April 19th we met Lawsons, Dolores, Kim, Steve & boys & stayed at the Indy Omni. Fred & Louise, Lashley-Clines were visiting Sam & Jo so we had dinner together Sat. eve (21 of us). Bobby L. thought it was a buffet & ran up quite a bill at the cafeteria! Home the 21st. May 2 we went to the newly renovated Detroit opera House to see an opera performed with Mack & Maxine. Maxine's son-in-law had been working on it & gave us free (wonderful!) tickets! Next day we headed for Galesburg for Helen Harshbarger's 95th birthday celebration. AAT were there too & Andy treated the whole bunch for Sun. lunch! Whatta guy! Jim & Jean Baldwin joined us in Galesburg and we enjoyed touring the Knox campus, visiting Carl Sandburg's birthplace, visiting Bishop Hill. We got home May 7th. Cliff started getting aredia, a bone strengthening drug which is administered IV every 4 weeks. Dr. Brown thinks it's made a BIG difference. Thad was on the parks & recreation board & had invited us to a special event at Wintergarden Lodge on May 17th. He picked us up (we'd been at the Senior Extravaganza at BGSU all day & then I helped with Martha's Kitchen a little) and we drove over to WL. What a surprise when we opened the door--all of our immediate family there along with many friends--a celebration of the first anniversary since Cliff's surgery--Carpe diem! They'd prepared a wonderful meal with many cakes (each child got to decorate one!) & it was a very special evening and weekend. Cliff was asked to ask the blessing before the meal after Eileen Townsend's wedding on the 25th. We sat with Ralph & Phyllis & members of their family and had a wonderful time. On the 30th, Thad, Cliff and I drove to Ripon. On the way we stopped in Long's former neighborhood & got some pictures of the present owner--8940 Emerald Ave. We shared a room with Dorothy and Al Stanton at Best Western & next day was a busy one. We toured Ripon & garage saled & then Andy got the UHaul trailer & we started loading up for the move to LaGrange, IL. Dorothy fixed a wonderful meal for us & we played cards in the eve. Andy had everything measured & knew where it all was to go. He's getting to be an expert! We drove to LaGrange June 1 & left Andy, Anna & Thad to unload while Tchapo & we went to Lawsons for dinner, joined by Dolores & Richards. AAT came over later & stayed overnight. June 2nd we helped assemble furniture & set things up before returning home. June 3rd Alexis had a lymph node removed and biopsied & we went over for that. It was reactive hyperplasia. The zoo had a lovely dinner for 25 year members on the 5th with program to follow. On the 18th, Florence & Stuart Givens & we went to the presbytery meeting in Ottawa for dinner and to hear the moderator of the general assembly, Marg Carpenter. She has a message! Mission! We went to the Croswell Opera House with John & Lois Hiltner the 21st for dinner at "The Grasshopper & to see "Crazy for You". We also saw during the summer, "Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up" and "Damn Yankees". Their theater group does a wonderful job with musicals! The Presby Women in the Synod had their annual gathering at BGSU & I went to it the 22nd & 23rd. We met AAT & MMAJ in Cinci June 27th-30th for another nice weekend. Decided to get a new freezer. July 9th I went to see Dr. Smith and he told me the rainbows I occasionally see are optical migraines! On the 20th, Thad, Debbie, (Mark wasn't able to go as he was taking summer classes to finish up his master's) MAJ, Cliff & I flew to Rapid City (Steve's family drove & had an extended trip). After breakfast next day, Thad said he should've paid for two for what Debbie had eaten..the announcement that there's to be another little Long! We drove to Custer in our rental van & joined Diane, Elyses family, some Gammons & Clines (42 of us) for another great reunion. Mindy, Steve & had had special shirts made up for everyone for the occasion. The facilities were great--mini golf, swimming, etc. and we went to a wood carving museum, to Mt. Rushroom (the four guys, according to Alexis) in the evening & for the light show (where we saw the Brian Youngs). We went to a chuck wagon dinner/show & Nancy Jo ended up being one of the performers! Fun! Our arrangements to fly to & from Rapid City didn't work out as planned & Mindy didn't have to take the small plane either way. Mark drove his family to Detroit & picked them up there! Funny how things work out! Got home the 25th. Aug.--Sue & I picked elderberries along the Slippery Elm trail, avoiding poison ivy as we went. Never again! the 17th we had a neighborhood picnic at Jo & Rodney Vernon's with 44 there. Andy, Anna & Tchapo returned from their several week visit in Togo. Andy reported a rash and feeling "jittery" the 24th--anxiety difficulties. Steve came the 24th & went to the Long reunion with us at Cathcart Park. He went home the 26th; Clinton's train came thro BG & I went over to wave! All the kids were here for Labor Day weekend. Kim, Anna, the kids & I went to the zoo Aug. 31 & Met MMAJ there. Some of us went to the pool next day & had a cookout that night. All went home Sept. 2. The memorial service for Beverly Barnes was held Sept 6; Rachel Hendrix was here for a visit & we met Stantons & celebrated our anniversary at Croy Supper Club. The Black Swamp festival was "on". We learned Thad had a kidney stone Sept. 20th (hope this doesn't turn into an annual Sept. event!) whiich he finally passed on the 27th. AAT were here for Martha & Melvin Johnson's lovely 50th anniversary dinner/dance on the 21st . Lawsons arrived the 30th. Next day we went to Perrysburg where I chose clothes for the hospital guild style show (former presidents modelled). We went to the 577 Foundation, shopped & went to explore Side Cut Park. Mack & Maxine Miller & Sue & Bill Rock came in the eve & we enjoyed some harmonizing. Next day we had lunch at Mon Ami on Catawba Is, ferried to Kelley's Island where we golf carted around & looked at the famous glacial grooves, on to Marblehead lighthouse & stopped at Gedeons on Jack's first birthday. We picked up Doug Meade, former BGSU math student, Oct. 3 & he was here til the 5th. Maxine M. & I went to the King's Daughters convention in Bucyrus the 4th & 5th. The hospital guild luncheon and modelling was Oct. 9th & we wore furs in addition to the chosen outfits. How elegant! I didn't buy any new outfits! The 20th we drove to Lagrange; AAT joined us in the ride to Sherry's & some of the guys & kids went to the Orion/Knoxville game. Fred & Louise took us on an extensive tour of Knox County (Spoon River Days) the 12th and a gang of us went to the firemen's chicken fry in Abingdon that eve. After church, Sunday School and a meal at Abby Lanes, we headed back to Lagrange next day. The scenery was lovely on our return home the 14th. The big celebration of the diamond jubilee of BG First Presby Church was on Oct. 20 and around 230 came for lunch. HFH had taken that on as a fund raising project...and it involved lotsa people! Cliff went to Granville to the fall math meetings with Tom H. the 25th. Ruth Putnam, fellow King's Daughter & nurse, & I had lunch in Grand Rapids & enjoyed some time at Otsego Park. Other events the end of the month were mincemeat making at church, receiving 6 $100 vouchers for our airline delay in the summer, Ralph Townsend's heart problem, anniversary dinner with Pat & Murray Mayeux. We drove to Cinci Nov. 1 and while there went to a woodcarving show. The quartet Steve's in sang at a special event Sun. eve. They're good...almost as good as the Long foursome! Home the 4th. Helen Lakofsky, Mayeux, neighbors & we went on a tour of Lifeformations the 12th. What skill to make figures so lifelike! Steve's family arrived on the 26th (Kim's bd) & AAT & MMAJ next day. We went to Thad & Debbie's to eat...or they were here. Sledding was enjoyed the 27th & later in the day Sam, Jo, Ellie & Jack arrived. We had a big dinner & fun card playing. Sam had car trouble the next day. He picked up the car in Toledo that eve & we all met in Fremont (some went to the Hayes complex) for lasagna & the BG/Fremont game. Fran Lyman & a friend stopped in next day. We went to Grand Rapids to explore, made a quick spaghetti supper when we returned so the coaches could go to Napoleon to scout! All headed home Dec. 1. Dec. 8th we made candy at Rocks with the help of Hiltners, Woelkes, Hiltners, Stantons, Debbie & Thad. AAT came for the holidays on Dec. 20. I went to Dr. Dillon to have some spots on my face "zapped" on Dec. 21. Steve's family came next day. Christmas Dad Mark and Jack weren't feeling well. We received a video telling us a bench at Otsego Park was being given in our name! Lovely! The 26th we went to Tony Packo's for lunch and watched "Babe" at Thad's in the eve. The 27th many of us went to the rec center for basketball, swimming, volleyball, etc. Fun! How quickly 1996 has passed-- Each year more quickly than the last! In January we headed for Florida sun To Orlando math meetings; Andy joined in the fun. To a middle-of-the-night space shot went Jošs parents, Sam, Jo and I. After some waiting, that ŗbird˛ took off, lighting the sky. In our rental car, to Punta Gorda we wended our way With the hospitable McLaughlin cousins to stay. Beautiful scenery was on their tour-- In BG, palm trees seen are fewer! On to Sanibel Island to visit the Rocks from BG Where wondrous shells and birds we did see. Too soon Œtwas time to head back to the north But a mild winter turned out to be forth. February found us in Indianapolis for a five Cline gathering-- Lots of eating, reminiscing, laughinš and blathering! Andy joined us in March for his Spring break And with math & computer problems the guys hours did take. Alexis and Jack came for a short stay While Mom & Dad to the state tourney went to watch, not play. We were visiting Kim and Steve on the Redsš opening day; There was a snowstorm so ball they didnšt play! To Akron went Cliff for the Spring math meeting Started getting Aredia Where colleagues and friends he was glad to be greeting. Back to Indy in April Stevešs family/Chicago friends to meet. As a meeting place city, itšs hard to beat. A trip to Detroitšs renovated opera house was a May treat Where scenery, costumes and musicians were really neat. Then to Galesburg to celebrate a 95th birthday Joining relatives and friends, what a nice stay! TheBaldwins from Missouri met us there-- A several day visit with a special pair. What a surprise we got on the 17th of May-- A party celebrating Cliffšs one-year-since-surgery day! Our supportive kids and friends surrounded us. ŗCarpe Diem˛! Cliffšs lived it! What a plus! ŒTwas a wonderful weekend wešll not soon forget And we treasure each day; on that you can bet! In June to Ripon went friends Stanton, Thad and we-- Helpers in the move to LaGrange to try to be. Andy, Anna and Tchapo had many boxes packed And for carrying/loading help didnšt lack. Andy has a ŗpost doc˛ at Loyola Medical Center And of a nice home and yard theyšre currently a rentor. To Togo the three flew off later in June... Hadnšt been there in many a moon! Seven northwest Ohioans from Detroit to Rapid City flew Nonstop? Nope! Though stops made were few. Mark stayed at home, attending classes at BGSU So in August his masteršs diploma would be due. To Custer, South Dakota we headed in ŗour˛ van Where Cline family members gathered--our clan. Forty-two of us were there in a Cline cluster Swelling the population in our host town of Custar!! Mt. Rushmore is known to us now as ŗThe Four Guys˛-- A name given them by Alexis, (three year old size). Swimming & miniature golf were played by the hour And scenic drives we enjoyed, with mountains that tower. An important announcement was made by Debbie and Thad! Theyšre going to be parents! For them wešre all glad. An August weekend, Steve came and we went to a reunion of Longs. (When all 4 Long guys are here, we hear barbershop songs!). All our family was here for the weekend celebrating Labor Day Probably better noted as a day for play. We returned to Galesburg in October for Spoon River Days And with our LaGrange family and Fred & Louise had lovely stays. The scenery was lovely, the weather was great For good times like this, Œtis better not to wait. For Thanksgiving, guests from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri came; Nineteen including Gedeon, Gammon, Cline, and Long name! Four couples stayed with Thad and Debbie at the ŗLong Hotel˛. Their hospitality is outstanding; they do it very well. To Fremont for Markšs first basketball game; They won! (Thirty Gedeons & Long family came). Steve, Kim, Cliff and Sammy Cincinnatians still are; In summer, enjoying their Mustang convertible car! Theyšre busy with church activities, Scouts and sports In summer toured Yellowstone, the Tetons and forts. Teaching and coaching keep Mark and Mindy busy as bees. Activities and family make them long for more ŗzzzzšs˛! Jack (one) and Alexis get along very well. Whatšs their favorite pace? Youšve got it--pellmell! Debbie and Thadšs blessed event in March is to be-- Thad's kidney stone--Sept. 18-27 Changes in life their two Labs canšt foresee! Thadšs painted for us and comes when ŗhelp!˛ he hears; Helpful and hospitable are these two nearby dears. On a maintenance basis Cliff receives chemo Oft goes to his office and we keep ŗon the go˛. We hope Œ97 will be a good year for you With good health and happiness visiting you anew. We keep hoping for that nebulous ŗpeace on earth˛ And that all earthšs inhabitants will celebrate His birth. 1997 In January we drove to Columbus (the 7th), went to the Ohio Hist. Soc. Museum & stayed at the Quality Inn. Next a.m. we flew to San Diego. Diane met us & we walked along the harbor, went to the math mtg. to hear Cliff & other retirees talk. Andy arrived in time for the talk & then we headed for Alpine. A car was loaned for the guys to get back & forth to the mtgs. Diane & I went to Coronado to play bridge and have lunch next day & I went to choir practice with them. Next day we went to the LaJolla eye clinic with Elyse. Her "freckle" is OK. PTL. We ate at Alpine Inn that eve. We met Elyse & Tyler at Julian the 11th & it was cold. Next day we all went to church & the Blacks joined us for lunch & Curt's family came later. Andy headed back to Chicago the 13th & we next day. We got in lots of bridge playing while there! On our way home from Columbus, we stopped at Woody's for a nice meal & to see their Christmas decorations (we'd heard about them). Steve, Kim & boys came Jan. 17th and the adults headed for New Orleans the next day. We went to Maxine's 70th bd party that eve & cliff & Sammy enjoyed it too. The 19th, sledding was enjoyed by the boys & I, the Gedeons came later. We learned we're to be grandparents in August (Eric). Jack & Alexis stayed overnight. There was a King's Daughters 90th anniversary tea on the 20th. We met Wileys in Bellevue & cliff & Sammy went home with them & we dropped the Gedeons off. Jan. 31 we had an overnight PW retreat in Fremont with Emily Conklin as leader. On Feb. 6, I started on this herstory. Cliff gave a talk at KME the 12th & showed his models. He made the living room plate rail. We went to Indy the 14th & had a great time with the rest of the family. Sam was having some back problems. Sun. we met Steve's family at the children's museum after lunch & they joined us for dinner along with Sam & Jo's English friends. After the others left on the 18th, Sam, Diane, Cliff & I had some bridge marathons. We came home next day. On the 25th, no protein showed up in Cliff's 24 hr urine test...remission. PTL! Cliff gave a talk at St. John's School in Toledo March 4th & I went along for the ride; we shopped & Cliff got new luggage & we got an adjustment on our new pingpong table. On the 7th, Lawsons & Dolores arrived, along with Steve & Andy's family. We went to the Fremont-Mansfield game next day which was a thriller won by Fremont! Mark as coach got his team through the sectional & district and advanced to the regionsal for the first time in Fremont's history! We all went to church Sun. for brunch & then the out of towners headed home. On March 17th, Thad, Debbie & Becky left for Blanchard Valley Hosp. early for Debbie to be induced. Connor Allan arrived at 2:56 pm, weighing in at 8#, l oz. We went to see the little darling and met Eric Scheurman. Mom and baby came home next day! Jack & Alexis came to stay with us the 21st while their Mom & Dad were in Columbus at the bb tournament. Connor was in the hosp. & losing weight the 22nd. Alexis was awake early March 23re and so sick. Poor little dear! She wanted her Mommy and Daddy! They arrived near noon, went to see Connor, now at home, before heading for Fremont. I started writing Mom's history. Easter was the 30th. Jack & Alexis stayed here while M & M went to St. V's to see Ben. Thad & Debbie joined us for supper, Gedeons too. Dee Maltby was under the weather so we took lasagna & ate with them the 31st & saw the Hal-Bopp comet. We went to Brian Pfatlzgraf's concert April 5th. Stantons came for dinner & I burned the counter, along with the brussel sprouts! We went to hear Karl Haas talk & play at the Peristyle on the 6th. I paid Dr. Smith $115 April 8th to have him tell me that "meteors" in my eyes are normal! Cliff wnet to the math mtgs in Youngstown the 11th. Lisa Elderbrock came from KY & stayed overnight here. Steve & Andy's families came the 18th. The men's chorus invited alumnae to join for this concert & Steve did! Their concert next day was really fine and it was a wonderful weekend. April 26th we drove to John & Betty's to have lunch, supper at Donna & Lorne's along with Janice's family. That eve we celebrated Jim & Rachel's 40th anniversary. Next day we went to church at 6th Line, had brunch at the golf course, stopped to see Shirley & Bill Hoy in Detroit, ate at the Erie Frog Leg Inn & went to the Toledo Symphony casual concert featuring the Chenille Sisters. Good! May 5th we headed for Marietta via Buckhorn Children's Center. We had a tour there & stayed at the historic Lafayette Hotel in M. Next day we went on a paddle wheeler on a Nature Conservancy trip and stopped at Blennerhesset Is. It was an all day trip & much enjoyed. On the 7th, we toured the Fenton glass co. across the river in WV. Campus Mauritius and the riverboat museums were enjoyed that day too & we drove to Athens for overnight & met a friend of Cliff's in the motel lobby! We went on to Waverly the 8th & toured the Pike Co. Welfare House. Our guides were Max & May Russell & they wanted to adopt us!! We wanted to eat at a local place but they wanted to take us to a steak house (Ponderosa!). They didn't want us to leave but we headed on to Steve's & Wileys were already there. Kim's show next eve was very good and...what a surprise...when we returned, our whole family was there..Carpe diem! It was a great weekend and the guys fixed bkf for Mother's Day. We returned via Wilburforce & Central State. Thad painted our kitchen ceiling while we were gone (it "blistered" when we were away in Feb.). I was hostess for PEO May 20, Anne Jones co. Steve changed jobs. Cliff had a born marrow test at Riverside June 6th. Andy & Tchapo were here & they went to Thad's soccer game, along with Cliff. Alexis & Jack were here while M & M went to Amanda's graduation. Thad & Debbie became members of First United Methodist June 8th. A retirment part for Cliff was held at Jack Hayden's--a lovely meal and bountiful gifts; many there. Dr. Brown reports no multiple myeloma in Cliff's bone marrow. PTL! June 20th we drove to Galesburg to surprise Diane at her 50th class reunion. Al was there too. At Jumer's, we sat with a Congressional Medal of Honor winner! While there, we went to see Ruby Killingsworth in Macomb, Helen Harshbarger, had a surprise open house for Diane on Sun & saw lotsa people. We went to Lagrange the 23rd to visit AAT, met Lawson's at McCormick's estate/home/gardens/war museum (Cantigny) next day & had dinner with them. We came home the 25th & the next day, Norma Jones came for dinner & a nice visit. Our kids came for the weekend & joined Norma & us for dinner the 28th. Fourth of July found us at a concert at the Hayes Museum, along with Hiltners. Mindy & kids found us in the crowd! Alexis fell asleep & slept through the cannon firing during the 1812 Overture! We picnicked with Hiltners. July 9th Florence, Ila Banbury, Jean Henze & I drove to Louisville for the PW National Gathering. We stayed in the Galt House. Such lines! I was one of the "honored witnesses" & had the opportunity to talk to Millard Fuller who was there to speak about HFH. We returned home the 13th. July 19th we headed to St. Louis, going thro Indy--495 mi. to Gammons new house. The rest of the Gammons were already there & Diane & Tyler arrived late. We drove to the Ozarks next afternoon & stayed in a nice cabin with 5 bedrooms! There were 41 of us there. (all of our family but the Gedeons). It was very hot during the time we were there & the pool got a workout. Steve rented a speedboat one day & that was a hit..riding, skiing, tubing. Rick got his arm caught & got a rope burn. Lots of videos were watched & cards played! We celebrated Ellie & Jack's 50th anniversary. Ellie, Cliff & I went to Osage Beach to shop. We were to meet Jim & Jean Baldwin in Branson the 27th but the car wasn't working right. We limped into town & it quit at the motel! That eve we went to "Shepherd of the Hills" play. In Galesburg we'd learned Ray Cramer was at Branson with his Indiana Brass group so I contacted him & he arranged for us to have tickets to the show July 28th. We got to meet Molly & enjoyed the show. We also saw the "Jennifer" show that day. Next day we went to the Hughes Bros. show, visited our sick car & they said they'd have it ready tomorrow. We went to the Bald Knobbers show that eve--the original! Jim & Jean took us to the garage July 30th & the fuel pump/filter was all in by 11 & we headed home. We lunched at Rolla, were thro St. Louis by 4, stopped at Fazoli's in Indy & got home at 1:45 a.m! The 31st we saw "South Pacific" with Hiltners at the Croswell in Adrian & ate at "The Brass Lantern". Sat., Aug. 2nd we headed for Chautauqua with Millers & Kirkbrides drove their RV. We moved into Florence Hall & went to hear opera highlights. Sun. we ent to the ballet, an art exhibit where Jason DePue was playing (!), to the sacred song service. Margo Evans & her mother joined us for lunch at Hotel Atheneum on Aug. 5. Elegant! We came home the 6th. The 12th, Cliff & Thad made a ramp for T's shed. Bobby Krist's (Stanton's grandson) wedding & reception was Aug. 16th and Connor was baptized next day. He was a good boy! We had lunch at Thad & Debbie's afterward, to Elsass's 50th anniversary & the zoo concert with Bill & Sue. Mindy called at 7 on Aug. 19 to announce that Eric James arrived at 2:30 a.m.--8#, 1 oz. PTL We went to Fremont to see the sweet baby and stayed with Alexis & Jack later. AAT got here Aug. 20th & left for Wash. D.C for a Peace Corps reunion next day. They stopped in Fremont to see Eric & family. I got my lovely watch at Osterman's the 23rd. The 27th I rode to Lima with Debbie & Connor; AAT got back that eve. With others, we went to Venedocia for a Welsh "sing Aug. 31. They make the rafters ring! Sept. 2nd we met Diane's plane & the festivities began! We went to Grand Rapids the 4th & Tchapo fished & we shopped & had lunch. Fred & Louise arrived! Next day we went to get Pat at the airport. Lortons, Richards, Lawsons, Dolores,Ellie & Jack, Hawkins flew in plus all our kids. We had spaghetti & a wonderful evening! On the 6th, the kids served lunch at the ice arena lounge & family & good friends surrounded us, followed by a wonderful program & loving words. The Long guys sang and were quite a hit! We then adjourned to Thad & Debbie's for supper & 31 of us went to see "The Music Man". The BGSU band came in to play "76 Trombones"! We had bkf with Pat the 7th & then Thad took her to the airport. Dear Jo had brought lasagna & that's what we had for lunch. Rog Hawkins gave airplane rides to anyone who wanted to go. The 8th I took Diane to the airport early. Rog & Bonnie were next to depart & then Fred & Louise. Tim Snipes had supper with us. Tom Hern brought photos by of our big event. We went to Herb Hollister's funeral Sept 9th. All 4 kids participated and it was an inspiring service. Connor was with us early on the 10th while Thad & Debbie went to the hosp--another kidney stone! Neighbors & friends came over the 14th for dessert & to wish AAT "bon voyage". The 15th we took them to Detroit to fly to Benin where Andy had a Fulbright scholarship for the year. Cliff was having more tingling so on Sept. 23 we went to Toledo & he had an MRI done. Dr. Sullivan looked at the films & said more vertebra have collapsed but they're not pressing on cord. We went to Cinci the 28th, saw Steve's new office in Milford & had a nice weekend. Oct 3rd Cliff had a hernia repair as an outpatient with Dr. Bielefeld the surgeon. He got along fine. Steve's family was here for a visit the next weekend. We picked apples with the Gedeons at Clyde. On the 14th, Cliff went to a kidney specialist who recommended he eliminate Daypro. We went to see Mindy join Grace Luthrean on Oct. 19..& hear Alexis sing with the cherubs. Lawsons came that eve & we went to Crane Creek next day. They treated at Kaufman's to celebrate our 40th. The King's Daughters convention was held in BG Oct. 24-35 with Maxine & me in charge. It went well. Cliff went to Portsmouth with Tom to math mtgs. on the 24th. The 31st Cliff went to Dr. Neville who said his eye was ulcerating probably due to a virus. Hiltners came to tell us of their trip to NZ & Australia. We were back to Dr. Neville a couple of times about Cliff's eye before we departed for Australia/NZ. He assured us they have doctors there, should we need to see one so off we went. Thad was there to meet us when we returned at 2:30 on Nov. 26 & we were home by 4. We needed to get busy as company was coming! ( While we were gone, Ackerman painted our oven door & surface unit.) Sam & Jo came the 27th & Steve's family was here along for the Gedeons and we had a lovely meal at Thad & Debbie's and wonderful time of togetherness. Steve's family left for Lodi the 29th, dropping the Gedeon kids off on the way. We went to Becky & Eric's wedding in the eve & Sam & Jo kept Connor. They returned home the 30th. In December we went to several of Mark's basketball games. The team was doing well. On the 6th, I went to a brunch at St. Mark's with Sue & then to give blood at St. Mark's My BP was near 160--probably from standing on my head in the other hemisphere!? We made candy that eve with the help of Hiltners & Stantons. Steve's family came the 24th, Thad, Debbie & Connor joined us for chili, church & carolling. Mindy & kids dropped by. Christmas Day we called Andy & all had a chance to chat. All were here for a big dinner at 4 & gift opening. We met at COSI the 27th (Poor Alexis lost her NanO puppy) and then went to Tony Packo's. Steve sang the song he'd written for us. The 28th we were up early and to Fremont for the 9:20 service where Eric was being baptized. He was a good boy. We had brunch at M & M's afterward with only Topher representing the Gedeons. Some of us went to the Hayes Museum to see the special displays. (Done) 1998 From Mari-lyn and Cliff '98 started, for me, with a bad case of flu. Cliff's a good nurse and didn't get the flu (whew!). In February, to Cinci where theyšd had a Big Snow To see little Cliff as one of the stars of a show. Then to Indy for a reunion of 5 ŗkids˛ named Cline With spouses attending; we had a time fine. March--Lawsons visited as did Gedeon kids three (Mark & Mindy went to the basketball tourney) Which kept Grampa n Grama busy as could be! In April, Andy came from Benin for a job interview. The week he was in Bowling Green just flew! Back to Cinci in May for another performance To see Kim & friends emote, sing and dance. To Toronto for math meetings we drove in July. Where we went in the summer, temperatures were high! Then to Indiana to a lodge near French Lick For a reunion of Clines--good location to pick. Of our total number, Longs were nearly half Lotsa eating, card playing, and many a laugh. From there to a Presby Women synod event in BG Where friends and special events I did see. Then Cliff and I flew to the City by the Bay And from there, to Bogarts in Sacramento to stay. Royal treatment we received at their hands; Sonoma, Napa Valley Wine brunch trip, brunch on They did everything but hire brass bands! a paddlewheeler on the Sacramento R. To a math/art conference at Berkeley we went Where Cliff displayed sculptures; a special event. To Chautauqua, New York for our next expedition. Soaking up culture & info our mission. Our African trio in August returned With many things taught and many things learned. Items stored in Thad & Debbiešs basement were removed As the job and move to Ann Arbor were approved! To the Long reunion we 5 went soon after, Canadian relatives to chat with, much laughter. In September of sister Dianešs anemia we learned; Elyse was convinced she had lymphoma Low hemoglobin & weakness have kept us concerned! & her diagnosis proved to be correct In October to Oxford (Miami) we wended our way Sept 27 to pick apples & fish. Where Cliff showed his models; then on to Cinci to stay. At the Stratford festival we were joined by Louise & Fred To see plays enacted, previously read. An Eastern Europe trip was a November treat; Interesting scenery, nice people to meet. Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Prague were cities seen And we bussed through the countryside in between. The castles & cathedrals were sights to behold; No wonder that part of the worldšs called old. Now free from Communist rule, those nations. We hope thatšs always cause for celebrations. Thanksgiving has more meaning each year As we join to celebrate with family dear. Next day after leaving BG, brother Sam had a heart attack; Angioplasty, a stent...and a fast comeback! That was cause for more thanks giving Some minor adjustments hešll make to his style of living. Now Christmastime is fast approaching... And Markšs basketball season (4th year of head coaching). Our number will increase early next year With the arrival of Debbie and Thadšs little dear. Cliff keeps busy with projects galore.. Were he totally healthy, hešd even do more! Wešre thankful for doctors and chemo and pills; For such helpful service, you donšt mind the bills! Enjoy the festivities of this advent season-- The gift of baby Jesus, the wonderful reason. An update on the family: Steve and Kim, Cliff(12) and Sammy(10) live in Cincinnatti, OH Andy and Anna, and Tchapo(12.9) live in Ann Arbor, MI Thad and Debbie, Connor(1.7) and ? (-.2) live in Bowling Green, OH Mindy and Mark, Alexis(5), Jack(3) and Eric(1.3) live in Fremont, OH (Rewrite) The flu bug got hold of me in Jan., '98 & held on! There was a surprise birthday party for Mindy's 30th birthday but we didn't get to go. Mark was busy with basketball and we went to a number of the Fremont games. In Feb we went to Cinci to see Cliff perform in the school musical. Thad, Debbie & Connor went too. They'd had a lot of SNOW there. We didn't! On the 13th we went to Indy for our annual sibling gathering. We did lots of card playing, including bridge & cribbage, singing & went to hear the Purdue Glee Club. On our way home, we stopped in Ft. Wayne to tour the Lincoln Museum. A PW retreat was held at Nazareth Hall with Margo Connor. Around 30 were there & I won the flower centerpiece! Steve's family came the last weekend & we celebrated birthdays. Mark, Mindy, Alexis & Jack came & stayed over. We went to Elk Grove Village March 20th and enjoyed visits with Dolores & the Lawsons, including their kids. We went to St. Charles to browse on our way to Richards, sang in the Meth. choir & had a nice get together with Dave & Lou Lindemann. Townsends, Leetchs & we took Graues out for dinner the 25th & said goodbye as they're moving to Fla. Three little Gedeons were here the end of the month while their parents were at the state tournament. Alexis fell down the stairs & wonders why we don't have carpeting! She & Jack enjoyed a tea party! Andy flew to Detroit from Benin on April 2. He was here for a job interview (and accepted). The rest of the family joined us in several get togethers before he returned the 9th. Tom Hern & Cliff went to John Carroll U. the 17th & gave a short talk. Alexis came here for the children's play. Our 4th Wood Co. Habitat for Humanity house was dedicated on April 19th. May 6th we went to a retiree gathering in Columbus & on to Cinci. Thad's family & Mindy's joined us there for another celebration of Cliff's anniversary since surgery. We went to Kim's program with the Forestaires...very good! Thad broke his wrist while playing soccer on March 29. 'Twas a bad break and on June 6th, carpal tunnel like surgery was done. His plans to put together playground equipment in the backyard changed slightly. Cliff helped & Thad was supervisory capacity. June 19th Steve's family was here & we enjoyed lunch at Tony Packo's (Maumee) & the zoo where MM & kids joined us and some pool time was enjoyed by several. Cliff had some surgery performed by Dr. Cichocki (Thad's kidney stone guy). John & Lois Hiltner joined us for the 4th of July concert at the Hayes mansion & later for a picnic here. We went with them to the Croswell in Adrian to see "Brigadoon", "1776" & "State Fair". It's a long way to go but they're so good! Cliff made a "pentagon" around the tree in the front yard-first wood, then bricks...looks nice! We went to Canada the 14th & took the Miller cousins out for dinner. Next morning we had breakfast with Longleys & eyres at the golf course & then went on to Toronto. We stayed at Ryerson Institue which was a wonderful location. I enjoyed their pool, enjoyed a ride on a ferry, visited the Royal Ontario Museum where an exhibit from Victoria & Albert Museum was featured. Tom Hern, Cliff & I went to a Blue Jay game in the Astrodome & they put the roof on while we were there! We came home the 18th. We made a quick turnaround and left next day. We caravaned with the Gedeons to French Lick, IN. We stayed in a lodge (cattle ranch?) which was very nice. There were 34 of us there to enjoy shopping, a hymn sing, tour of the hotel in French Lick (where people came to drink & bathe in the sulphur water {yuck}) and W. Baden (domed, huge & under construction). We got home the 24th & I spent the next two days on BGSU campus at the Synod PW annual gathering. July 31 we drove to Columbus, flew to Cinci & on to San Francisco. My old friend and nursing classmate, Pat Bogart met us & we were on our way to Sacramento. Next day we took the Napa Valley wine train tour and had an elegant brunch. Then we went to tour the Sebastiani Winery where the casks are carved & on to Sonoma to an art fair. Dick prepared a gourmet dinner for us that eve..they're trying to fatten us up..& succeeding! We had brunch Sun. on a paddlewheeler on the Sacramento R. & another fabulous meal! Then they took us to Berkeley to the art /math conference which brought us there. Cliff displayed some of his models & thoroughly enjoyed the conference & people he met. I took BART to San Francisco & toured some museums, took the ferry to Sausalito & back (on a hot day, that was a good idea). I toured the botanic garden on campus (tho' I was a little nervous when a sign at the ticket booth reported sighting of a mountain lion!) and spent time at interesting Lawrence Hall of Science. We got home Aug. 6th. We made another turnaround and left for Chautauqua the 8th. Millers & Kirkbrides went too & we enjoyed some more restful days in that lovely setting. On our way home, we stopped at Cayahoga R. National Res. and explored some of the canals and biked. We also had a tour of the estate of some of the rubber barons, Stan Hyatt. Cliff went to see Dr. Shocka, kidney specialist, who thinks Cliff is doing OK. August 22nd was the day AAT returned from Benin and we met them in Detroit. Mark & Mindy had organized a bone marrow testing in Fremont and 159 came! The Fremonters came nexxt day & helped get dirt to fill our pentagon! Faithful Al & Dorothy STanton were prestent on the 24th when the move to student housing at U. of Michigan was made by AAT. Kind Debbie & Thad had volunteered their basement to store their belongings so many got moved to Ann Arbor that day. The next day we had a huge rain & water sprayed onto the belongings still remaining, including a lot of books. Thad & I carried things up onto the drive to start the drying out process! Cliff & I joined the Rocks at Lakeside the 26th for some restful time with good friends, even took a bike ride! AAT came that weekend & we transported more things to AA and then went on to Canada. We had lunch with John & Betty & then went to the Long reunion at Jim & Rachel Eyres & had a fine time. Alexis started to all day kindergarten the 31st--Mrs. Warga her teacher The kids were all here for Labor Day weekend and we had a fine time. A call from Elyse alarmed us as she said Diane wasn't well and Elyse was concerned that she might have lymphoma (it took the doctors til Dec. to make that diagnosis). We went to our first Grandparen'ts Day the 11th, visitinig Alexis' class & picking her & her brithers up later & enjoying them for the afternon. The Black Swamp festival was Sept. 13th & Cliff went to look at the art work after church and ran into....Fran Lyman! We found a note from her when we got home saying she'd return, & she did! She was on vacation from her Peace Corps experience in Morocco. AAT were still moving! Sue Rock & I gave a talk about Elderhostels at Carolyn Hollister's on the 16th. Nice lunch, nice ladies. AAT were here & we went on a lantern tour at Ft. Meigs the 19th. The reenactors told us about their experiences &, at one point, an ambulance siren fit right into the scenario! Funny! On Sept. 27th, we went to Fremont and Andy & Tchapo chose to fish near downtown while we others went to pick apples in Clyde. That activity was fun and we returned to pick up the fishermen only to discover the nearby bridge closed so we took a circuitous route home. We learned there'd be a truck/train accident at the bridge and Andy and Tchapo had been observers. The driver was thrown out of the truck into the river. Horrifying! Mark went b ack to get their gear later and came back with a fish on one rod (which they returned to the river). Oct. 2nd we went to Miami, models in hand. Cliff displayed them and was available to give more information about them. I went to the art museum and enjoyed walking around the campus. We went on to Cincinniati and the next few days Cliff helped Steve with a plate rail, we got to hear the guitar group play and sing at church and went to a choral practice of a group Steve was in. When Andy and Anna came the 17tth, we learned Anna had swallowed a pin & gone to the ER, had anesthesia but no sign of the pin. Fred and Louise came the next day. Oct. 19th we took a picnic to Ft. Meigs, on to Ann Arbor where we saw where Andy worked & met some co-workers & stayed overnight. Next day we drove to Stratford, Ontario where we stayed at Albert Place. When we went to pick up our tickets, there was a message for Fred & Louise to call home. Louise was sure something had happened to her mother but in fact, a friend had died and Fred was requested to be a pallbearer for her service on the 22nd. We went to the matinee of "The Miracle Worker", had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant, went to see "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie". On the 21st, we were up early & made a beeline for BG. Fred and Louise left almost immediately so they'd be there for the visitation in Galesburg. Little did we know that that was the last time we'd see Louise alive. Bob and Doris Lawson came Oct. 23, as did AAT. The next day we all went to tour the ore boat, Willis Boyer in Toledo, on to Tony Packo's for lunch, toured the Stranahan mansion and had a nice walk at Wildwood Park. Ben Gedeon was seriously ill with leukemia. He was at Cleveland Clinic where it was hoped he'd have a bone marrow transplant. Instead he was getting worse so the decision was made to fly him to MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston. We went to Fremont the afternoon before he was to leave and stayed with the little Gedeons while Mark, Mindy, Amanda and Hannah went to Cleveland to be with him til he left. On October 31, we drove to Columbus and next day flew to Kulles, JFK and then Finnair to Helsinki. There were 42 on the SmarTour group with us touring Eastern Europe. Our first stop was Warsaw, Poland where we stayed at the Forum Hotel. November 2nd we toured Old Town with out guide, Bettina. After looking around at length, we decided to walk back & saw a beautiful rainbow as we did. A couple from Fostoria took public transportation and both lost their wallets! Cashing traveller's checks wasn't easy, even at a bank..ATM's work better! Nov. 2 we toured the Warsaw ghetto, saw the Jewish memorial, went to the nearby Palace of Culture. It was built by the Russians (& then the bill sent to the Poles) and looks like a wedding cake! That evening we went to a Polise dinner and dancing. The dancers asked us to dance, Cliff several times! We became friends of Lynda & Dick Kroboth that eve. On we went to Jasna Gora Nov. 4, eth spiritual center of Poland. There we wawthe black Madonna, a richly adorned icon in a chapel where mass was said often. Our guide led us past the madonna during mass which made us quite uncomfortable. Healings are said to take place there & many medical aids were adorning one room and another room held beautiful treasures given in thanks for healing. Auschwitz was next..the concentration camp where so many lost their lives. The grey, gloomy weather matched the somber setting with rooms displaying possessions taken from inmates when they came there...and so many died there. We continued on to Cracow and had dinner near one of the downtown squares. Our hotel was a distance from downtown. We had a tour of Wawel castle the 5th, the cathedral, went to St. Mary's cathedral to see the panels changing (a daily happening) and the trumpeter playing. A member of our group discovered the loss of amber jewelry, camera, wallet, etc. while we were on the square. In the afternoon we went to a salt mine and toured the art work, all made of salt! Cliff was suffering from diarrhea the 6th as we headed to Budapest, Hungary. We went through Slovakia on our way to the city. Dinner was at the hotel & Cliff went but didn't stay long. He didn't feel like doing much the 7th. I went to the national Museum with Lynda 7 Dick. Cliff did go on the bus tour. We saw St Stephens & the Coronation Church as we went to hilly Buda. It got dark so early! Our Danube Bend trip was on the 8th but Cliff didn't go. He went to the National Museum. We saw Estergom Cathedral, the torture museum at Visegard Castle, shopped at Szenterden (I looked for a ceramic bunny members of our group wanted who'd gone on the trip the day before..found it! $41!).That evening several of us went to the Hungarian Folk Dance Ensemble by streetcar...not Cliff. We went to Vienna on Nov. 9, had lunch, toured the ringstrasse, Belvedere Palace, a strange house. Next day we went on a tour to the Vienna Woods. We visited Holy Cross monastery at Hekzkedreaz built in 1133, went to Mayerling chapel, visited Baden. In the afternoon we went to Schonbrunn Palace..quite a summer place! We headed toward Prague the 11th, stopping in quaint Dunnstern a hilly town next to the full Danube. We also stopped in Telc before arriving at the Hotel Don Giovanni. We walked to the Lazy Daisy cafe and had a nice meal & heard wonderful piano playing. On our tour of Prague the 12th, we went to St. Vitus Cathedral, saw St. John's casket (which contained 2 tons of silver), walked across Charles Bridge with many statues along the way, viewed the astronomical clock at St. Wenceslas Square. That eve Cliff & I took the subway to the opera house to see "Swan Lake". Karlstein Castle was our objective the 13th. It was very hilly & we could've taken a cart up but we chose to walk. Quite a view! It was built for storing relics! We had a farewell dinner at the hotel that night. We flew to Helsinki on the 14th. It was dark when we got there but we got to see a modern church built into a hillside on our way to our hotel. We had dinner with Froboths. Next day we flew on to JFK and from there to Dulles. At the last momemt, we got "bumped", got $300 vouchers and finally ended up at a Fairfield Inn at midnight. We took a cab to National at 6 the next a.m. went to our Am West flight which was cancelled! Finally we gon on a USAir going to Columbus via Pittsburgh & got to Columbus at 12:30, home at 3:30. We collected meal vouchers along the way & ended up with donuts & pizza! Nov. 22nd we picked Rocks up in Detroit, returning from an elderhostel in Australia/NZ. They'd had a marvelous time. Steve came the 24th and we learned there was to be a change in his job situation. Gammons and Clines came next day and everyone was here for Thanksgiving Day on the 26th. 'Twas wonderful! Sam was able to golf on the 28th. We 5 elder statesmen went to Grand Rapids & had a nice time. Some of Steve's family were sick & they decided against going on to Lodi. It seemed very quiet after they all left! We got work on the 30th that Sam had had a heart attack! Angioplasty was done & he started changing his diet some..maybe too many biscuits & gravy while here!? Tom Hern suggested a math dept. potluck at the Presbyterian Church and we helped with that on Dec. 11. Alexis came for Breakfast with Santa at the senior center on the 12th and then we went to see "The Nutcracker" in the afternoon. A big day! Our candymaking at Rocks was the 18th with Hiltners and Stantons present to help--a fun time! I had a bone density test the 21st and discovered I have osteoporosis in my spine and one hip. Initially I took Miacalcin but switched to Fosomax & Evista. Cliff's last day of chemo was on the 22nd. We learned that Eric Noland had a new job as travel editor on the 23rd. The kids were all here on the 24th & 25th. Ben and Cindy stopped in for a visit which pleased us a lot . The Long guys recorded their reportoire of quartet numbers in the recording studio at Thad's neighbor. tchapo stayed with us during vacation while his folks were working. On the 29th, we went to tour the decorated Hayes mansion & went to the Bowsher/Fremont game. (Diane had her first chemo that day. Next day we tried to visit the Wolcott House and see the zoo lights. Neither worked out so we went on to Ann Arbor and returned home the next day. 1999--Louise wasn't feeling well and we learned she'd had gallbladder surgery in January and her liver didn't look "right". Sherry told us Louise had liver cancer. Cliff talked to her to encourage her to have chemo which she was reluctant to do. Diane was having a bad time. Her hemoglobin was exceedingly low at times and she had a lot of transfusions, problems with blood clots and spiking fevers. The bright spot in January was the arrival of Rachel Elizabeth to Debbie and Thad on Jan 21. Connor came to stay with us the 20th and Debbie was induced at St. Vincent's the next day. Thad called to tell us of Rachel's arrival (12:50 pm, weighing 7#, 15 oz). We took Connor up to meet his new sister. The Harrises had been with Debbie through the delivery. In February we went to Cinci to see the play Cliff was in (Kim helped with the directing). When we got back, we got word that Louise was disoriented and a call the 11th asking us to come. Cliff had to get his aredia & we wanted to wait for Andy to join us so we didn't leave til 3. Before that, we learned that Louise had died. Members of the Cline (Steve rode with Sam & Jo) and Seckler family arrived the next few days, including Thad, Debbie and their little two. A light moment in the weekend came when we sang Happy Birthday to Steve on the 14th & Morozinks "Ziggy" howled along! (We discovered he howled to any music!). He also ran off with my panty hose during the middle of the night (I didn't have them on!). Paul and Eunice Noland came the 15th and all of went to the church for lunch prepared by the church ladies. Visitation followed and the service after that. We went to Meridien Cemetery for the commital service and headed for home after that. It was early morning when we got here & then Andy left in good time to get back to Ann Arbor. Bowling Green Presby. Women had a retreat at "Our Lady of the Pines" retreat center Feb. 20th. Mindy came over during the day for a little visit. Ben Gedeon and faithful fiancee Cindy were in Houston waiting for his bone marrow transplant. None of his siblings was a match but the person who was said he'd go anywhere, any time. Each time the transplant was imminent, something would happen to prevent it. Mark and Mindy went to visit them and we kept the kids. Eventually Ben was told that his condition wouldn't warrant a transplant and he was sent back to Toledo and hospice was called in. Mark and Mindy went to see him and be of help whenever they could and the little Gedeons were here often during that time. We went to help with Ben on April 14th. It was heartbreaking to see the life draining from that wonderful young man and see the tragedy of the impending separation of Ben and Cindy. Lois Hiltner and I went to the historiacal museum to create Ukranian eggs (pysanky) March 12th. Some of the eggs were just beautiful. I still have mine and it's still heavy. As a last resort, Diane decided to go to MD Anderson in Houston and Elyse and Al went with her. They weren't able to perform any miracles so she too returned home. The Gammons, Fred and we met in Indy at Sam & Jo's from April 16th-19th. Diane had just gotten home and was "ready to go". We got word that Ben had died on April 22. Andy and Steve were here for his service at St. Thomas More on the 24th. Mindy spoke, among others, and did so well. The next day, Cliff, Andy and I drove to Indy, caught a plane to San Diego. Originally we'd planned to go on to SD after our weekend with our siblings but that didn't work out but the best ticket price was from Indy so.... Jeff met us and said Diane had been having a bad time..diarrhea due to something Bruce thought would help. From the time we got there, Diane was bedfast. Someone stayed with her all the time; Elyse and her family were there all the time. Steve flew in the day after we did and Nancy got there the 28th. Diane was so weak and anxious to leave this world and be with Mom and Dad. Al agreed to hospice and the nurses were great. Diane left at 4:52 on April 28th with Elyse leading us in singing "Amazing Grace". Eric & Clare had just gotten back from Europe but were with Diane before she died. Next day Elyse gave Nancy and me the jewelry and clothes Diane wanted Ellie and me to have plus other clothes and shoes. then we went to Blacks. Nancy 7 Elyse wanted us to see the fields of flowers growing nearby so we toured those. That eve we were guests of Blacks at a mexican restaurant--Nancy & Eric too. We flew back to Indy on April 30 and drove on to Cinci. Kim's Forestaire show was May 1 and we enjoyed it along with the Wileys. Andy, Cliff & i headed back home the 2nd. We stopped for dinner in W. Liberty and then toured the nearby Mac O Chee castle. Andy then headed on to Ann Arbor. Later that week, Thad, Debbie and Rachel flew to San Diego to be there for the celebration of Diane's life. Connor was with Becky and then came to stay with us the 7th. AAT came for the weekend and we planned to have Mother's Day brunch at the BGSU Union along with Rocks and a bunch of other people. Sun. I went to church, sang in the choir, cried when the minister announced that my sister had died, talked to people afterward. I remember none of it. On the way to the union, I announced that I didn't know where I was or where we were going. My family walked me around & gave explanation but i still wasn't "with it". We went to the ER & a neurologist said I had global transient amnesia & would be OK in a few hours. That was a relief to Cliff who was tiring of answering the same question over & over! I was admitted overnight and "came to" in late afternoon. In the meantime, someone stayed with me & the rest of the family enjoyed a cookout! The claim was that this condition was brought on by stress. I certainly got a lot of attention, as a result, including 3 hanging baskets! On May 24th, we drove to Battle creek and met Doris and Bob Lawson. It was cold & windy but we got out to do some walking, toured the cereal factory, went to the Kellogg bird sanctuary, went to the charming town of Marshall and enjoyed touring the Honolulu house and looking at the rest of the interesting architecture there. There was even a soda fountain there & it'd been awhile since I'd had a soda! We came home late on the 26th. I got our Mitchell Rd. garden planted the next day. We went to Ann Arbor the 29th and had the pleasure of hearing a throat singing concert at "The Ark. Very different! Tchapo, Andy, Cliff and I went to Greenfield Village the next day. There were reenactors all over the place and it was very interesting to see them "doing their thing". I especially enjoyed the music. We were invited to the zoo June 3rd for those who'd been members for 25 years or more. The food and beverages offered were wonderful and the special exhibit was an albino alligator..if you see one, you have good luck for a year! Andy and Thad were playing on the same soccer team and when AAT got here June 4th, we were sad to learn that Andy had broken his wrist (The claim is that he's a copycat as he had knee surgery after Thad did and then broke his wrist after Thad did!). Next day he went to see Dr. Barker who put on a more permanent cast. We all were present for Rachel's baptism on June 6th & then enjoyed having brunch with Debbie, Thad and the Harrises. The synod gathering of PW was held on the BGSU campus June 12-14. I got in on most of it. Cliff was busy painting trim on the house. All but Steve's family were here to celebrate Father's Day with us on June 20th. Mindy was in charge of Bible School for their church. On the 21st, Jack went to Bible School with David Detweiler and they had the misfortune to collide. Jack's top front teeth were pushed back so Mindy brought him to Dr. Pace the 22nd. We were having lunch at Rocks so Alexis & Eric stayed with us during the appointment.. We drove to Wooster June 24th and stayed with Eloise & Lloyd Dunn, PEO b&b & went to the Ohio Light Opera. That night we saw "La Vie Parisian". Our plan was to go to Amish country the next day but alas for plans! The car was leaking so we went to some repair places & got various opinions. The universal one was not to go a distance without refilling the radiator often! We stayed in town & went to garage sales. We came to one at the home of Linda Sweeney & for the benefit of The King's Daughters! We were so surprised to see one another! That night we went to see "The Victorian Trilogy". On our way home next day, we stopped to refill the radiator often!! It was all fixed up by June 30. Our peach tree split on July 1. I'd have cut it down earlier but Andy thought it should be preserved. It was loaded! Obviously it was overloaded, causing it to split. The peaches did ripen so we did enjoy quite a few of it's last crop (when I could beat the squirrels to them!) . Andy's 20th class reunion was July 2nd & 3rd & Tim Snipes came for it & stayed with us. He left us a gift certificate for Kaufman's..how nice! AAT & we went to Fremont and the Gedeons joined us for the 4th of Jjuly concert on the lawn of the Hayes home. It was hot! Steve returned from a trip to Guatemala taken with other members of Mt. Washington Church. It was an eye opening experience. Right after that, Steve's family joined the Wileys for a Canadian fishing trip...didn't catch a lot of fish but had a good time. The sewing group (eaters!) went to Fremont for tea at the Dillon House July 7th. A Lincoln impersonator was the program and it was an enjoyable aftertnoon. Harriet Rosebrock, her sister and I toured the Hayes mansion afterward. We went to the Croswell Opera House the 15th with Hiltners and others. We had dinner in Adrian & then enjoyed seeing "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum". It was presented by BGSU theater in the fall & both were very good. On the 18th, we went to Sombra for a Long reunion at Marie and Glenn Scott's. There was good attendance; some of the Canadians didn't even know who some of the people were! We played games, ate and had a chance to "catch up" with relatives. We stayed overnight at John & Betty's. A Long family camping adventure was planned for July 22. Connor got sick so he & Thad weren't able to join us. We others met in Ann Arbor, did some canoeing/kayaking and then were off to the campground. Anna, Kim, Cliff & i went back to Ann Arbor for the night. It was quite hot (not unusual for that time of year!). We planned to go to a Tigers game --last one for us at the old stadium--but a big storm came up so we stayed in Ann Arbor and had a good time at Andy and Anna's. Cliff was having skin problems and low white blood cell count during this time. On August 4th, he began to have more tinging in his fingers and toes, called Dr. Sullivan who ordered an MRI in Toledo.' Our family reunion was scheduled for Galesburg and unfortunately Jack got chickenpox just before that. Debbie didn't want to expose Rachel to chickenpox so didn't go. Thad, Connor, Cliff & I left on Aug. 11 & stayed at the Comfort Inn, as did Ellie & Jack & Lila. Elyse & her boys, Bruce, Tom Gammon's, Steve's, the Gedeons stayed at Fairfield Inn. We cooked in the party room at Comfort Inn! Fred took us on tours of Delong (!) to see our family home, school etc. & then to cemeteries where loved ones were buried and to the farm where Mom grew up. Many of us went to Jonah's in Peoria for dinner on the 13th and all joined in going on a boat trip on the Ill. R, compliments of Fred. Sherry had a tea for the ladies the next morning. The men & kids enjoyed sports & the playground at Lake Story. That afternoon there was a reception at Jumer's, planned by Fred. Fifty years earlier, he & Louise were married--Diane & Al's 50th would've been on June 19th. In the evening we had a catered dinner in the basement of the bank in Abingdon. Fred had invited friends to join us and it was a lovely evening. We ended up playing...liverpool rummy, what else? When we got back to the motel, we had a long talk with Sam & Jo about the Cline kids and the way they seemed to be feeling about their Dad & each other. On Sunday, we were responsible for most of the service at the Christian Church in Abingdon. Bruce gave the sermon, we sang "Precious Lord" as the anthem, Sara and Emily sang so well, accompanied by Uncle Rick. Abby Lanes was our lunch destination where we partook of the buffet and then headed toward Ohio. We stopped in Danforth to see Don and mary Noonan and went to Gilman to have pizza with them..so good to see old friends! We got home early the next a.m. & Connor had been such a good little traveller. I'm sure his Mom was very happy to see him and his Dad! The 16th we both drank lots of yucky stuff in preparation for our colonoscopies the next day. We were at the hospital bright and early, Dr. Bielefeld was on hand to do the procedures, we spent time in recovery and Thad brought us home. Both of us were fine and glad not to have to repeat that for 5 years! Lisa Terwilliger's wedding was in Bloomdale on Aug. 21 and we were glad to see the Eakins at it & the reception in Findlay--Jo, Dick, Matt and Maridy. We sat with Tom Hern and enjoyed the good food and endured the loud music!! By Eric's birthday celebration on the 22nd, Alexis & his chickenpox were almost gone--they waited til they got home to get them, fortunately. We saw Dr. Sullivan to get the full report of the MRI on Sept. 2. He didn't see that there was anything catastrophic in the report; the vertebra were continuing to compress. We were very sad to learn that he was planning to leave medicine and go into law where he could sue the HMO's!! Fred came on Sept. 4th and was so sad that his children don't plan to be in the same room until he's 80! Sherry and Rick don't see eye to eye, to say the least! We went to Grand Rapids to ride on the canal boat and go to Ludwig mill, spent time with Thad, Debbie and kids, went to Fremont to take care of 4 little boys on the 7th and then went to Stantons for dinner that eve, along with Rocks and Hiltners. Fred got flowers for us to wear for the occasion--our 42nd anniversary...& the date of Louise's birth. Jim and Jean Shelley got here Sept. 10 and we went out for dinner & they came for breakfast the next a.m. The Black Swamp Festival was on and Tim Snipes came to join AAT in going to that & stayed with us. Mindy's family was here too so we had a grand old time! Jean sent a sweater she'd made for one of Alexis' dolls after they got home. Cliff and I left for Door County Sept. 21st. Lawsons talked so much about that wondrous location that we joined them and Doris' sister, Cathy at a motel in Ephraim. We had a lovely few days of walking, biking in Peninsula Park, eating, seeing the peninsula from Green Bay and lake side. One evening we went to the production of "Always" about Patsy Cline. It was cool to be sitting in a tent! The 24th we turned toward Chicago, enjoying stops along the way. We made too many as when we got near the big city, the traffic was horrendous! We finally made it to Alsip, changed our clothes in the rest room & joined Rog & Bonnie and Dave and Lou Lindemann who'd saved us places. Lou, Bonnie and I had a good visit and the guys saw a lot of people they knew. We went to lawsons for the night and next day Hawkins and Richards joined us and we went out for dinner & had a nice evening together. Dolores stopped by briefly. Cliff had a bone marrow biopsy done on Sept. 29th & the report was favorable! PTL! Steve's family was here and we went to Fremont Oct. 2nd for the civil war reenactment being staged there as well as to celebrate Jack's birthday. I went to Medina along with several other King's Daughters for the Ohio Branch convention on October 8th and 9th. Lawsons came on Oct. 11th and we went to Stratford, Ontario the next day where we stayed at the Rosecourt Motel (where Janet McLeary stays!). We enjoyed walks around the city, including a loong one to the costume/props warehouse. We took pictures of ourselves wearing some of the costumes! On the 12th, we went to see "School for Scandal" which we enjoyed. Unfortunately, when we got back to the car, it wouldn't go! We took a cab to the motel, called a repair shop next day & had the car towed there. On the 13th, we went to see "Dracula" which was good and that eve "The Alchemist". The latter we didn't care much for. Our car was repaired the 14th and we came home via Corunna with a short stop to see John and Betty. We had a slooow lunch in Sombra at riverside, took the ferry across & got back in time to have dinner at the senior center (getting there 30 min. late..my fault!). Andy joined Cliff in going to the Ohio section fall math meetings at Wooster on Oct 22-23. Right after that, we started having plumbing problems which necessitated bringing in heavy equipment and digging on our side and Smested's side. A heavy plastic pipe was put in under the street to replace the tiles which were breaking up due to roots. It was expensive but better than having to make a cut in the street! ($4000). On November 2nd, we drove to Detroit, flew to Albuquerque where Cliff attended the SIAM mtgs. We stayed at nearby Best Western Rio Grand which was just outside Old Town. Cliff enjoyed the meetings and I spent time at museums, enjoyed the IMAX of mountain climbers on Mt. Everest and did a lot of walking. We enjoyed the food! On the 4th, we rented a car and drove to Santa Fe. We spent Nov. 5th looking around the capitol and its public art, a church with an unsupported spiral staircase, an old church, the square and its shops before going to a foundry. There wre lots of interesting sculptures both inside and out and we spent a lot of time there. The 6th we drove to Acoma Pueblo and had a tour at that high spot before continuing on to Thunderbird Lodge at Canyon de Chelley. Cliff was feeling quite tuckered out by that time but improved sufficiently to go on the trip on a 6 wheel drive vehicle through the canyon the next day. As indicated by Andy, it was quite spectacular and we saw ruins, writing and all sorts of wonders. We drove back to Albuquerque the 7th and flew home the next day. We sent to Ann Arbor November 20 and that evening took Andy, Anna and Tchapo to Detroit and they were off for a 3 week trip to Paris, Benin and Togo. Andy gave talks in Paris and Benin and they spent time with Anna's family. We missed having them here for Thanksgiving. The rest of our family, including the Gammons, Sam and Jo were here to celebrate cliff's birthday and Thanksgiving on the 25th. As usual, Jo and Ellie brought food and there were lots of good helpers and we had a great time. We eldest adults went to Grand Rapids the 26th & put together a quick spaghetti supper when we got back as Mark & a fellow coach joined us for dinner & then they were off to scout a game. We went to Pemberville the 26th and Jo found a cedar chest so it joined us in the back of the wagon. Mark's first basketball game (at BG) was Dec. 3rd and I was torn but went to the Vienna Choir Boys concert. Cliff & Thad went to the game (Fremont won!). For the first time, we stored the '55 Chevy in Rock's barn so the wagon could be in the garage..surely saved a lot of scraping during the winter! We took it over Dec. 14th and then had our candy making session with Hiltners & Stantons joining us. Christmas Eve the Fremont Gedeons went to the Gedeons, as usual. The rest of us plus Sam & Jo were here for dinner, Tchapo's birthday celebration, putting out luminaries. We got to the church service on time as the Long quartet was singing "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming". Mark & Mindy came & videotaped them. Christmas Day was wonderful, as usual. Cindy joined us in the afternoon and it was good to see her. Sam & Jo left the 26th and we'd been fortunate to reserve a 4 bedroom cabin at Maumee Bay so went there that afternoon. All were able to enjoy two days of togetherness. When we left, it was snowing so Kim & cliff had a slow trip home. Some of us had lunch at Tony Packo's & then headed home. Steve and Sammy stayed a few more days. We went to the candlelight tour of the Hayes and Dillon houses on Dec. 30th and then went to the Fremont/Ottawa game. Fremont lost! Rocks had a group in for dinner and carolling at several nursing homes on the 31st. Mack & Maxine went with us & we had a very nice time..nice ending to the year! 2000--Cliff and I went to Sam & Jo's in Indy on January 14th. We were sorry to learn that Ellie was sick so they wouldn't be there. Fred was and we had a nice weekend. Steve, Kim and boys joined us on the 15th. We went shopping with Sam & looked for lamp shades for our antique lamp--no luck but later found one in Maumee! With the Vienna Choir boys & Yo Yo Ma on the festival series, we got tickets! We saw & heard the latter on Jan. 19th. There was a PW retreat overnight retreat at Oak Openings Jan. 23-24th. It was snowy and cold and those of us who attended enjoyed it. Cliff made bunk beds for Alexis' dolls for her birthday. He ordered a n iMac computer Feb. 17th & it was here a week later! took some doing to hook it up! Tom Hern was here a couple of times! Andy went to Ashland College and Berea, KY for job interviews during the month. We left for the sunny south on March 2nd, staying overnight at Kim & Steve's the first night. Next morning we toured around Northern Kentucky U. knowing Andy was going for an interview there. Lisa Elderbrock saw us as we drove in & escorted us around and we met several faculty members and all seemed very nice..nice campus too. We had a huge lunch at the Boone Tavern in Berea and looked at that campus. We continued on to Knoxville and decided to go to their art museum which was open on Fri. eve. There was an Escher exhibit which we really enjoyed and the joint was jammed because a women's group was putting on a concert! We went on to Chattanooga for the night. We drove to Atlanta , arriving there around noon on a dull looking day. There weren't many people at Stone Mountain and the day cleared and was lovely. We spent a full day...rode the train, took a boat ride, rode the tram (huge!) to the top of the mountain, spent a lot of time at a museum which featured all kinds of cars, including a Tucker (only 50 made), juke boxes, musical instruments, all sorts of antiques. It was fabulous! We also spent quite a bit of time at the museum telling how the sculpture on Stone Mountain (4 of the principals of the Confederacy) came about and showing its progress. There was a plantation which we toured also. We went on to Macon for the night and then to Brunswick the next day. Our destination was St. Simon's Is. where we attended an elderhostel at Epworth by the Sea, a Methodist Center. I'd read several books by Eugenia Price which had their setting as St. Simon's Is. so that made the area even more interesting to me. We'd arranged to meet Jim and Jean Baldwin there. We sang in the choir with them at McKinley Church when we were at U. of I. and it seemed fitting to meet them at a singing elderhostel. By coincidence, Bill and Sue Rock had signed up for it too and, when they heard we were going, Dorothy and Al Stanton signed up too. Their group didn't sing but we had meals together and went to the same evening activities. It was a special time with special friends! The food was great and in abundance and I believe I put on a few pounds! The weather was wonderful too. We had a number of rehearsals with Mary Lu as our director..a talented lady. Her cohort was a Methodist minister who spoke on art, music and architecture. One afternoon we had a trolley tour of St. Simon's Island and another one to Jeckyl Is. A trip to the beach with a naturalist was very interesting. We went to the top of the lighthouse at St. Simon's and another day went to the national park there (but didn't have much time so had a flying self guided tour!). I enjoyed seeing some of the spots described by Eurgenia Price in her book but in the years since they were written, the island has become very commercial. We took our bikes along and did a little riding. The husband of the elderhostel director presented "Sonny's Junque" one eve and had some fascinating items, including a few from Whitehall, IL, Jim's hometown! On Thurs. night, we presented a concert of the numbers we'd been rehearsing and by bringing elderhostel groups in, we had an audience of probably 200 with a reception that followed. We have a tape of the concert, in case you want to hear us! Friday afternoon we said our goodbyes to our friends and drove to Savannah. We walked many of the squares of Savannah and saw many fountains...flowing with green water! We were amazed to learn that the 2nd largest population of Irish people in the US is there! St. Patrick's Day is observed as a holiday there with a big parade...and green water in the fountains, as a result. We had a wonderful lunch the next day looking out on the water and enjoying crab cakes, one of Diane's favorites. The evening of the 11th, we drove on to Charleston, SC. Charleston was another lovely city. We did lots of walking there..took a boat trip to Fort Sumter on the 12th and a ranger led a tour of the fort. On March 13th we went thro' the Provost Dungeon where the pirates were kept before they were hung and some of the patriots of early days. We ate at Poogan's Porch (wonderful), toured one of the beautiful homes, went to Drayton Hall which is one of the few homes which wasn't burned during the Civil War. We were so impressed with what we learned from our guide that we became members of the National Historic Preservation Society. Ashville was our destination on the 14th and we spent some time enjoying the Ashveille nature center after we got there. We'd found the Piccadilly cafeterias and really liked their food! The Biltmore Estate was where we spent most of March 15th. Quite a joint! Too ostentatious for me! We walked through the gardens and stopped at the winery before continuing on to Kingsport, TN. We got to Elderbrocks in late afternoon and Virginia was giving piano lessons so Bill entertained us til she was finished. They were our guests for dinner at the Marriott and we had a nice evening of "catching up". One of the few rainy days was the 16th as we drove to Cinci where we again spent the night with Kim & Steve. I returned the watch Kim loaned me, expecting to find mine at home but alas, I guess I lost it the day we left when I was at the rec center. Home looked good on the 17th--Connor's 3rd birthday. Next day we went to Kobacker Hall and sat on the stage next to the band. We were by the trombones and he was soon "playing" along! The casual concert the 19th was "Irish Eyes Are Smiling" so we celebrated St. Pat's too! Kazada Ntombue gave the sermon at church the 19th and told us how amazing it was that he could translate so many languages! He was our guest the 20th,,from the Congo but studying in the US for some time period. He fixed his own eggs the next a.m. as I didn't know how to fix an omelet! He seemed very chauvinistic. The Gedeon kids came March 23rd and they're an active bunch who kept us busy! I forgot about Eric's ears and he poured water over himself while bathing and I was so worried he'd get an ear infection! We took them to BG Gedeons the 25th so they could share in the fun. In April Cliff went to the math meetings at Marshall on the 7th & 8th and I went to The King's Daughters conference in Bucyrus the 8th. We celebrated Cliff's birthday the 9th and Steve was with us the 10th so took us to Bill Knapp's to celebrate both of our birthdays. Our PW Spring gathering was that eve so the guys went to that with me--too much food for one day Cliff and I went to shipshewanna April 15th and enjoyed the Menna-Hof museum and looking around in the town. We met Sam and Jo at the Oakwood Inn in Syracuse, IN in the afternoon. We found a nice restaurant fronting the water where we had dinner. Next day we went to the Methodist Church and people were so friendly and interested that we were looking at a reunion spot there. The promotions guy showed us around through all the available housing at Oakwood. We had brunch on Sun. and, aside from Sam getting food spilled on his sports coat by the busboy, it was very nice. We went to see Tchapo play volleyball in tournament in Ann Arbor on April 19th. Unfortunately his team lost! Fran Lyman came to join us for awhile. I don't know which one spearheaded the plan but our three sons arranged to get a computer for their former social studies teacher/tennis coach (?) Mike Watkins. Mike had a stroke in recent years so had to go on disability. They thought the computer would get him back in touch with the world and Steve got a voice activated gizmo to make it even easier! What nice kids!! May 5th we went to Grandparents Day for Alexis and then found a park where we took a nice walk and then found a nice restaurant for lunch. We drove to Cincinnati for Kim's Forestaire program on May 6th and Sam and Jo joined us, along with the Wileys. From there, we drove to General Butler Park in KY where we tried "hot brown"--a specialty sandwich of KY. We took quite a hike while there..more than we bargained! Then we went on to Clifty Falls State Park near Madison, IN where we met the Lawsons. We stayed in the lodge and ate most of our meals there. It's very hilly and a challenge for hiking but we did some, swam in the pool, played pingpong. Madison is a beautiful little river town and we really enjoyed being there. The Delta Queen came in while we were there & we were there to hear the calliope playing as they left. We toured the Lanier mansion and finding another soda fountain. My left foot had been bothering me so I went to Dr. Ted Bowlus May 15th & had xrays..a bone spur was trying to develop so he gave me a synthetic steroid shot--the first of quite a few. When I went to Dr. Wojciechowski for a physical, I asked that he look at my ears (I wasn't hearing very well). He cleaned them out....what a difference!! We took our bikes and went to Rock's cottage at Lakeside April 17th. The next a.m. the 4 of us & bikes took the ferry to Kelley's Is. where the bird migration was supposed to be at its peak. Our guide heard a lot but we didn't see much! It began to rain before we got back to the ferry...and then pour! It still was when we got off but a nice beer salesman from Cleveland came to our rescue, took us & our bikes in his van to Rocks! Whatta guy! The Gedeon kids were here, as were Andy, Anna & Tchapo to go to the zoo breakfast for 25 year members. It was chilly but the sun eventually warmed us up and we enjoyed the food and touring around to see the animals. Tchapo went to Fremont June 18th for basketball camp. Andy and Anna went to a work retreat that same week. Dorothy and Al Stanton and we went to Lakeside June 27th to see the performance of Mary Lu Norris, our elderhostel choral director. Steve Rock's family was visiting and we enjoyed some time at the cottage after the program ended. We returned to Fremont for the traditional 4th of July celebration. The 5th, we went to Canada and enjoyed a picnic (indoor, as it rained) at Donna's with Long cousins. We saw Les, Rosalee and Bill before going back to John and Betty's. They took us to the harness races in Sarnia and we had supper there and watched the races. Betty even bet on a few...and did well. On July 8th we went to the dinner theater with John and Lois Hiltner at the Garden Inn in Pt. Clinton. Our family reunion was at Wilstem near Paoli again and once again, our family predominated! Noone was there from Diane's family. Lance & Shawn came part of the time. Ellie & Jack, Tom and kids, Fred, Sam and Jo were the others present. The kids did lots of swimming, the guys golfed, we did a lot of eating and card playing, singing and yakking. AAT rode with us and we stopped at a greasy spoon in Frankin, IN for lunch on the way home. Dorothy and Al Stanton and we went to Ann Arbor July 30th to load up our vehicles and help load up the van and rental truck for the move to KY. AAT got to BG early afternoon on the 31st and Thad joined our caravan (drove the Camry) as we all headed south. It was a warm day & the van was suffering as it got hilly but fortunately it rained & cooled it off so we made it to Ft. Thomas. Stantons were already at the town house apt. and Steve's family soon joined us for the unloading. It went quickly and Kim had brought food for all so we ate and then went to Cinci to spend the night. We came home Aug. 1. August 2 we went to Chautauqua with Kirkbrides & Miller's in the latter's van. We all stayed at Bonnie & fixed most of our meals there. The first night we saw the ballet, heard the symphony on Aug. 3 and Ray Charles on the 4th. We went early to get a seat but weren't much impressed with his performance. Rocks invited us to Lakeside Augl 11. We went to the symphony that night and did a lot of biking the next day, including to Johnson's Is. It was an uncomfortable experience for Cliff and he began to have more pain after that. When we went to Dr. Brown the 24th, gamma rays were showing up in the 24 hour urine specimen--a bad sign! Fred and Nelle Swanson were married in Madison, WI on Aug. 12. We had a neighborhood picnic, a tradition continuing after Vernons moved here, on Aug. 26th. It rained so we ate and ran! Next day we went to Canada for the Long reunion at Barb and Gordon's. Rocks and Hiltners came for pizza Aug. 29th and Cliff left to look at the Habitat for Humanity property in Grand Rapids, along with the others on the building/site comm. The next day we learned that Thad had another kidney stone! Fortunately it passed quickly. We helped set up and take down the rest area stop that was a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity over Labor Day weekend. Steve was here for our anniversary and to join us for Elder-Beerman's moonlight madness Sept. 8th. The NFO golf outing was the following day. Rocks and we had gardened together. They harvested the cabbage and we joined them in making saurkraut on Sept. 15..a new experience! Becky & Eric Scheurman's baby, Nick was born the 25th & we learned Ellie had had an accident on her 75th birthday which laid her up for awhile! On Sept. 29 we drove to Oxford for the Miami conference. Andy gave a talk. Steve and the boys came to Hueston Woods to camp and we joined them for a campfire supper! It was very cold. We went thro College Corners where they're on 2 time zones as we headed back to our warm motel. We were too slow to go to a greasy spoon for bkf so hit a fast food place....here came Steve, Cliff and Sammy. they were packed up and heading home! I went to the PW rummage sale and got a few things, did a lot of walking, went to an apple butter festival. As we left Oxford, we stopped at the art museum for a few minutes. Tchapo was ready to head off for homecoming by the time we got to Ft. Thomas. Quite an event! We all went to Worldwide Communion at Ft. Thomas Presby. next a.m. (I looked up Carol Winkler who I'd met at other PW events). In the afernoon we toured the replica of the Nina..took a lot of nerve to set off to unknown destinations on such a small ship! Then we joined Steve's for a nice meal & eve. Cliff was having more pain so went to Dro Wojciechowski on Oct. 11 & he ordered x-rays. They showed new holes in his bones! Not good! A bone marrow biopsy on the 25th confirmed that the multiple myeloma was no longer in remission. The new westside fire station was open for touring on Oct. 19 and we took Connor and got the grand tour given by Scott Main. Connor got to try everything out! Steve was here the 25th & that eve we went to the Gedeons and had a cookout and then went to Toft's for ice cream! Umm good! The next day he went to see Watkins while we went to the Town Hall talk (Givens' tickets) featuring one of the people who survived the climb to Mt. Everest at the time that a number of climbers died. Wow, what a story...not my idea of fun! Cliff went to the fall math meetings at Wittenburg the 27th and 28th and we enjoyed Pat & Murray Mayeux' dinner party when he got back. Oct. 29th Cliff's ribs were hurting severely. When we saw Dr. Brown Nov. 2nd, he thought it best to try thalidomide rather than chemo so Cliff's counts wouldn't be so badly affected. The little Gedeons came after choir as Alexis didn't have school the next day. We learned we'd need to go to Toledo to Dr. B's office to get the paper work done enabling us to get thalidomide so, we made a day of it. We had a picnic in Perrysburg, went to Dr. B's office and then to the zoo. Cliff read in the car as walking a distance was getting painful. We saw the gorillas, reptiles, fish and enjoyed our visit. On the way home we stopped at Kroger's & had the thalidomide by evening and Cliff began taking it. Alexis & I went to the young people's concert the next a.m. The 3 little boys preferred to stay & play at Thad & Debbie's! Stantons & we went to the senior center for dinner Nov. 7. A young woman claimed to have healing hands & put on a "demo" but Cliff didn't think he was ready for that yet. he was having a lot more pain. One of our last outings before Cliff got to feeling really bad was to a Black Swamp play with Hiltners on the 11th and then to their house for dessert. Cliff had been concerned about getting a handrail for people going up the stairs to the choir loft or pulpit at church so we went to church to look over the wood on the 3rd floor with a view toward getting that done. His arm was hurting Nov. 14 and he was wishing the pain would move elsewhere! He got his wish...it moved to his hips/pelvis and by the 16th he was having severe pain, trouble walking, low counts and edema. Even so, the day before we went to the retiree luncheon (Bob Clark filled in when the speaker didn't show) and walked from one end of the mall to the other. He went to choir practice the 17th and, aside from blood tests & doctor visits, didn't get out again for quite awhile. By the 18th, he'd "had it" & didn't go to the opera, "Albert Herring" with Vernons and Millers...but insisted that I go! The holiday parade was that morning and Anne Graves & I served drinks & snacks & made some money for HFH. I went to choir the 19th but knowing how much pain Cliff was in & knowing he wasn't behind me singing made me feel so bad that I didn't stay for church. That evening cliff was reading about myeloma kidney and became convinced that that's what he had--an emergency situation. I called the evening supervisor who put us in touch with Dr. Bell who was reassuring. I went to the King's Daughters meeting at Zimmerman School the next day but when i got home, it was obvious Cliff was still worried about the possible kidney problem. He was taking Laxis for the edema so I went to get potassium tablets for him to take when taking the Laxis and had a talk with Kathy, the nurse. Cliff's appetite was non-existent so she gave me some liquid for him to take as a supplement. Thinngs looked dark!! Andy and Steve arrived Nov. 22 and put up the Christmas lights and did other chores Cliff had in mind for them. By late that eve, all were here--Ellie, Jack, Sam, Jo, Fred and Nelle. We were delighted to meet Nelle and so pleased that they came. They stayed at a motel...everyone else here or at Thad & Debbie's. We had a big breakfast here on the 23rd and did the dinner cooking mostly here & then took things to Thad and Debbie's to eat. Gedeons had dinner with the BG Gedeons & then joined us in the eve. Nelle and Fred left for Indy on the 24th. Some went to Mark's scrimmage and then joined us for Jo's tostados in the eve. Mindy came to go to the craft show, along with Jack, Jo and Ellie. Rocks stopped by as did Fran Lyman so it was a busy place! Ellie fixed 15 bean soup for supper. Good! Mark came after his scouting, Thad's family came and we had some late picture taking! When all left the next day it seemed very quiet! Stantons came by for a short visit in the afternoon. Thalidomide causes mood swings so on Nov. 30 we got some "happy pills" (Paxil) to help that. Cliff's counts were bad and he was still having pain in his hip even tho' his pain medication had been doubled. I took the wagon over to get a new radiator at Mason's on Nov. 3rd and complications arose & we didn't get it back til Dec. 4! Fortunately Thad was able to loan us his Buick Park Avenue! Andy came on the bus Dec. 1 & Thad met him in Toledo--Mark's first bb game & they beat BG. Mindy & kids came next day & they plus Andy, Thad & Connor went to Kobacker for the Young People's concert about Africa. Thad took the kids home so we had a good chance to visit with Mindy & Andy & then went to Thad & Debbie's for supper. Bob and Doris Lawson came on Dec. 5. Cliff was napping when they arrived & was far from feeling good! We had a nice meal and evening and they're cheery, upbeat people so their visit was good for us. They headed home the next afternoon. People were so good to us--soup & fruit from Teresa Dunn, pecans from Kauschs, soup from Ginny Retterer, apple tart from Hollands, meatloaf, potatoes, banana bread from Renee & Marc Brunner who came for a visit after Primetime at church, quantities of food from our dear friends, Sue and Bill. They came by at least weekly to see how we were getting along. Steve and Andy came again on Dec. 8th. The Gedeons came on the 9th and Alexis and I went to "The Nutcracker". We all had dinner at Thad and Debbie's in the eve. Such hospitality! Andy & I went to church the next day and I went to get started with the candymaking at Rocks and went back for Cliff at dinnertime. Steve & Andy stayed til mid afternoon. We got along well dipping candy but we left before they were all finished...Hiltners and Stantons helped, once again! Cliff got the 2 crewel pieces I'd made for Andy and Thad framed. They took a lot of work! When he got finished with them, they looked nice! Andy and Anna came Dec. 22 (Tchapo came next day with Steve's family) and Andy & I braved the cold to get a tree! It was so cold! I enjoyed decorating it. We had a busy Christmas eve day with getting Tchapo's cake ready, cooking the beef for Christmas dinner, Tocks stopped by, we all went to the early service, brought Cliff, Debbie, Connor and Rachel back home & then went Christmas carolling. The people we sang to seemed to appreciate our efforts so it was more than worth it! We had cake & ice cream later. No luminaries! There was too much snow & it was too cold! Christmas was lovely with a casserole concocted by Steve & Andy, lots of other good food and the main thing just being together. The Gedeons came in late a.m. & we all saw how good Santa had been to us! The 26th we went to Maumee Bay where we had a 2 bedroom cabin and 2 rooms in the lodge. Andy's & Steve's stayed at the latter & 11 of us fit in the cabin just fine. Mark had to do some scouting but was there most of the time. We played charades, did jigsaw puzzles, played cards, went to the lodge for swimming and wallyball. It was relaxing & enjoyable, as usual. Sledding was done by a brave foursome on the 26th. There wasn't much snow and on the last trip down, the toboggan broke and Steve ended up on the bruised side. We all went to Packo's for lunch on the way home the 28th and then people went their separate ways. Allan Emery came for a nice visit the 31st. Cliff went to church that day. He was using the walker with wheels that we borrowed from The King's Daughters at night and if we were out and going a distance. 2001--a new millennium! We flew to New Orleans Jan. 10th where Andy & Cliff attended the winter math meetings. We stayed in the convention hotel so Cliff didn't have quite so much walking & Andy was with him to help with stairs, doors, etc. With this walker, he always had a seat in case all the seats in the room were taken! While the guys were at meetings, I took public transportation to the zoo (a long ride & disappointing visit as many of the displays were closed). I should've allowed more time for the D Day Museum which had numbers of videos and displays of all types about that momentous invasion. How much we owe to those brave men, many of whom gave up their lives during those days. I took a walk through the French Quarter with a national park ranger & that was interesting. Hours were spent at the aquarium..sea horses, otters, penguins; all types of sea life were enclosed in that modern facitlity. The art museum had a display of Faberge eggs and they were fabulous! The Russian Tsar had them made for his wife & mother..no expense too great! Dan McGee, Andy's friend from Tucson now in Puerto Rico, joined us for dinner each eve and we went to all types of places ranging from vegetarian to seafood. We took the St. Charles streetcar to the end of the line & decided which place to stop at on the way back. When we got to the airport Sun., andy's flight was overbooked so he stayed behind & got some vouchers. When we got to Atlanta, the same thing happened so we stayed at the Hilton & got on home the next day with $350 vouchers in hand. Fremont was one of the few schools with school in session Jan. 29 due to icy conditions. When Jack got out of the car at Bunny's, he fell and started vomiting later..a concussion. Mark & Mindy spent the day at the ER with him instead of teaching. Poor little guy! Mark had a very successful basketball season with his team winning the GLL crown for the first time in 47 years!! We didn't make it to many games. At the end of the season, Mindy was preparing spaghetti for the team before each game and they continued to win! Andy and Anna had looked at houses and decided on one in Fort Thomas. They moved in February. Stantons were returning from Florida so moved a token few items..& got to see one of Tchapo's basketball games. By March 10th, Cliff was using the awalker all of the time. Radiation was suggested to prevent further bone deterioration. We went to St. Luke's for those treatments. On a visit to the barber shop, a man backed into our passenger side panel. Because I hadn't honked at him, the insurance company took 10% off of our payment! We were scheduled to go to Sam & Jo's March 16 and with previous snow, there were traveller's advisories. Did that stop us? Of course not! On one of the side roads we hit some drifted snow & did some "didoes" before getting slowed down & onto dry pavement. Another traveller we saw hadn't been so lucky & was off to the side. We were thankful to arrive safely as the temp dropped to freezing. Jack & Ellie were there before us & the 6 of us had a nice weekend. We came home the 19th. Mark and Mindy were off to the state basketball tournament March 22nd so we had 3 little Gedeons til the 24th. The spring math meetings were being held in BG so Cliff was able to get over & attend some of them. We turned Alexis, Jack and Eric over to the care of their Gedeon grandparents. Thad went to Reno to his annual meetings on March 27th. Cliff and I drove to Chicago to a multiple myeloma conference near Lawsons on March 30th. We stayed with Lawsons and had a get together with Dolores and Joe and Lois Richard while we were there. The conference was very interesting and we discovered how many others are dealing with MM. We were told that we should be going to an MM specialist! On April 2, we came home. Steve was here April 5th. We went to Cliff's periodontal appt. and Steve & I shopped at Marshall Field's during it & Steve bought out the store! We went to Thad & Debbie's in the eve & the Gedeons joined us for a birthday celebration. By April 9th, Cliff's WBC was very low but the radiation continued. We were scheduled to go to Bill Knapp's with Rocks, Hiltners & Stantons for his birthday but he just wasn't up to it. On the 11th, Cliff developed a fever so off we went to the ER. He had a respiratory infection and his white count was so low that he was put in reverse isolation. He was typed & crossedmatched for 4 units of blood but his system became overloaded & they were only able to give him 3. The kids were all coming for Easter so visited him in the hospital til he was released on Sat., the 145h and we enjoyed Easter at home. I stayed with Cliff at night and we took his medications & they parceled them out to him there. On April 24th we picked up a transport wheelchair from Joyce Stearns (King's Daughters) & have made good use of it ever since. Because of a rash that developed & was causing Cliff problems, he went off the thalomide at this time. We'd planned to go to Cinci for Kim's musical program, along with Jo & Sam. Before we left, he began vomiting & had a lot of trouble keeping anything down (thalidomide in reverse!). He thought we might as well go, as planned so we did. Kim's show was good, as always. When we got back to their house, Andy showed us a sonogram! Surprise! They're going to be parents!! We left April 27th & returned home the 30th. While there we went to one of Tchapo's soccer games & had our first visit to their house. What a steep driveway! Steve had to drive our car over the lawn in order not to take the bottom out of it! By May 10th Cliff's hemoglobin was befow 8 so he was an outpatient at Wood County Hosp. to receive 2 units of blood. That was time consuming so I planted garden while he was receiving it. On May 17th, Cliff began cycles of dexamethazone, a potent steroid which makes you feel good even if you don't! Steve and Andy got here May 23rd and the four of us then went on to Canada to visit cousins. We had supper at Marine City, looking out at the St. Clair R. & then ferried to Sombra & then to Corunna to John & Betty's. On the 24th, we met the Long cousins at an Oriental restaurant in Corunna. There was a good turnout and we had an enjoyable meal and time; Steve & Andy treated! In the evening, the Miller cousins came to John & Betty's & we had another fine meal and visit. We came home the 25th & the guys headed south. We had an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic May 29th with Dr. Hussein (Egyptian), a MM specialist! Unfortunately none of Cliff's records had arrived so all Dr. H. had to go on were Cliff's notes & graphs. He thought Dr. Brown is doing a good job with Cliff's care and didn't suggest using arsenic at this time (causes water retention. We had a good day for travelling but overshot our mark (missed a turn) so were a bit late but noone was upset. On our way back, we stopped to see what progress was being made on the Gedeon home (the roof was being opened prior to starting the addition over the garage and kitchen). Fair weather had been predicted but, whoops, it rained! Too bad! Lee and Judy Miller came over May 31st and Thad, Lee & Cliff decided on the best plan for a wheelchair ramp. On June 2nd, Thad & Lee set to work & made it happen. It rained in the a.m but cleared & the workers stayed dry. What a big help! Rich, Mary & boys came through June 7th on their way to Washington DC. They stayed at Thad & Debbie's, the Gedeons & we joined them for supper and a nice visit. Dr. Dillon (Jr) looked at my nose bump June 8th & suggested having a biopsy..but not now as we were heading to the half century dinner in a few days. Cliff went to church the 10th...first time in a long while! Ad Kendrick said it was a joy to see him there and there was applause! Bill, Virginia elderbrock & one of Dave's sons stopped by for an evening visit and we had a chance to hear about Lisa's wedding (in May) which we'd missed...& see some photos. Thad helped us move things prior to getting our rugs cleaned on the 13th and we "camped out" for a couple of days til they dried out. Glad to have that done! June 15th we set off for Galesburg for the half century event.. We came to heavy rain at the time we'd planned to picnic so picnicked in the car! We got along well so had a chance to visit with Emily, Sheryl and Gary before going for dinner. I'd forgotten to pack Cliff's sports coat so Sherry loaned him one! There weren't many from my class at the dinner as our "real" class reunion wasn't til July. that was disappointing. Ellie and Jack were there & we all stayed at Fred and Nelle's. they gave us their bedroom & slept downstairs. It was so dark & quiet down there that they slept til noon! That evening Fred had a catered meal at the bank basement with many friends and family gathered..so nice and so much food! It was especially good to visit with Helen & Marilyn Cramer. We went to the Christian Church next day and then to the buffet at Abby Lanes. Rick, Mary & boys had gotten back from Wash. sooner than expected so they joined us. It was the first time the Cline kids had been in the same room for awhile! It was Pat & Rick's anniversary. Rick's family & we stayed for the afternoon & eve & we came on back home the next day. We ate at Lester's Diner in Bryan on the way home. Andy came the 23rd and while he was here, we went to Cliff's office and they sorted things & Andy decided which models would be useful for his classes. Steve's family joined us and we had a look at Gedeon's addition. Alexis went off to Camp Mowana for her first camping experience. Mary and Don Noonan were on their way out east so we joined them for breakfast at Bob Evans on June 28th. They're great people & we enjoyed seeing them again. That eve Melvin Johnson invited us to go out to his "habitat" near Tontogany. He drove us around his pond, the trees he's planted and got a baby bluebird out of a box for us to see. We sat overlooking the pond & enjoyed the sunset & the peace & quiet. July 4th we got word that Jack had made another trip to the ER..broken bones in his hand. He & Alexis were doing somersaults & she accidentally landed on his hand. The 5th, Andy, Anna & Tchapo were here before heading off to New Hampshire. We heard that Ellie has shingles around her ear! Ouch! The threesome returned July 14th & had enjoyed their stay in New England. Next day we headed for Oakwood Conference Center, a Methodist facility in Syracuse IN. Thad, Debbie & kids convoyed with us & Steve's family & Mindy's joined us so all 18 of us were there. Fred & Nelle couldn't find us the first night but eventually there were 37 of us. Elyse & boys and Nancy flew to Indy & rode with Sam & Jo. We Longs cooked the first meal & had a huge kitchen & dining room to work in. We liked Kimmel Hall (bedrooms upstairs) &, at out meeting to decide on the next reunion, decided we'd like to return. There's a huge lake, volleyball, tennis, soccer & baseball fields. One evening we did some singing. Some played golf or went to Shipshewana or Nappanee. Steve's & Andy's family came home with us & we all went to Stanton's 50th anniversary celebration next night. Andy's family then drove to Chicago and from there flew to Togo for a visit of several weeks. Cliff had an MRI with dye at St. Luke's on July 31. It showed further bone deterioration. Jack Calderon stopped by for a visit on August 1. Cliff had another bone marrow exam on the 2nd. We went to senior day at the fair on the 3rd. It was hot (as August usually is!) & Mark & Mindy put the prime coat on the porch ceiling. Thad painted it later, along with priming & painting the cupolo, Jim & Rachel Eyre, Lorne, Donna & Bruce Longley came for a nice visit on Aug. 8. They brought the bird Lorne had carved for Steve. We went to the field house and Thad gave us a tour. Because of a hiring freeze, Thad's application to head up the field house was held up but he was named acting director..and had a new, bigger office. We returned to Clevleand Clinic Aug. 10th to see Dr. Lieberman. He perfected the technique of inserting cement into balloons between vertebra to stabilize the spine. The MRI showed that Cliff's hip was more of a problem than his back (socket deteriorated) and Dr. L. felt there was too much risk to do a hip replacement and that damaged tissue probably wouldn't hold, even if surgery was done. Connor and I had a fun day at Wood Co. Hospital's 50th anniversary party on Aug. 11. I took him over in the stroller & he thought it really went fast! Magic shows, puppet shows, miniature golf, train rides, fishing poles with prizes, bouncing balloon type structures were all enjoyed by him plus a picnic lunch, popcorn, ice cream, snow cones! On the way home, he wondered if we could do it again!! Brenda Kirkbride and I went to a Healing Touch seminar in Toledo on the 13th. It was very interesting and we hope we can use what we learned to help other people. On Aug. 14 we drove to Fremont, IN to meet Bob & Doris Lawson & Joe & Lois Richard. The weather was delightful and our accomodations at the Holiday Inn were fine. We went to Pokagon St. Park for a walk & for dinner. We ladies went to the nature center & saw a fascinating video about butterflies. We enjoyed the buffet but the dining room was cold. When we got back to HI, we celebrated Bob's 70th birthday with, what else?, a chocolate cake (his favorite). Yum! Next day we visited friends of Richards (from Purdue) who lived on Lake James & had a pontoon boat. They took us on a lovely ride around the large lake..beautiful homes. We had lunch at a great Italian restaurant & then went to Auburn to see the car museum there. I wasn't expecting much but it was very interesting. We had supper at a family type restaurant which billed "pie to die for". So we all sampled some..& didn't die! The next day we drove home in the rain, pouring at times. We'd hardly had any. Grr! I'd planned a trip to Chautauqua for The King's Daughters & 22 members & friends went..7 from BG. Harriet Rosebrock was the cook and, from all reports, all had a good time. Cliff & I went to Clyde Aug. 19 to hear Linda Nanninga preach at "her" church there. We enjoyed being there & then went to Fremont to celebrate Eric's birthday & have a tour of the new addition. Aug. 21 we got the report that the bone marrow was as good as it had been in Oct. Additional radiation was suggested for the hip pain. Stantons stopped by the 23rd & Cliff got to feeling really bad..chilling, sort of "out of it". They stayed until he was feeling better & we had an improvised supper! Good friends! His temp was 100.8. He got an order next day for a potent antibiotic & started taking it right away. There was a rainy neighborhood picnic at Vernon's on Aug. 25 but Cliff wasn't feeling up to going. Toledo Museum of Art was our destination Aug. 28th & we saw the opening of the Star Wars exhibit. From there we went to an appt. with Dr. Hunyadi who said the bump on my nose is basal cell & he'd suggest surgery with perhaps a piece of my ear sewn onto my nose. ugh! I made an appt. to have surgery soon. I got a HUGE hematoma on my left hand when I put the wheelchair in the car. Ouch! While cleaning mildewy eaves, I put the ladder thro' the porch screen on Aug. 30. Whoops! We had an early anniversary celebration on the 31st when Hiltners took us to Doc's in Tontogany. We had ribs & they wre delish. Lois had brought a peach pie which we had when we got home. Good! Charlie, Rachel & Jane Hendrix were at church Sept. 2 & came over afterward for a nice visit..so good to see them. Ellie called & had been in another accident (not her fault!). I talked to Elyse Sept. 3 & she told me that Melody had run off & gotten married to her long time boy friend. Al has bought a condo and she'd seen it & doesn't like it at all. Cliff's fever was back Sept. 4 so he got another Rx for antibiotics. Jack made his 3rd trip to the ER for this year..stitches in his eyebrow. He & Alexis were taking turns digging & the shovel got him in the eyebrow! Mindy's getting worried that the ER people are going to think he's ABUSED! At our "sewing" (read: eating) luncheon Sept. 5, the subject of my upcoming surgery on my nose was mentioned. Frances Brent & Jo Vernonn said I MUST go to Dr. Humeniuk instead ("he is the best!). I called & was told I'd have to have a biopsy first to determine if it is basal cell. We went to St. Luke's for marking Sept. 6th. Cliff's temp was up so a CBC, blood culture & chest x-ray were ordered. Dolores and her friend, Iris arrived that eve. We went for a walk after dinner. What a lovely person Iris is All the family arrived, plus Sam & Jo, Fred and Nelle on the 7th. Hail, hail! Next day most of us went to the Black Swamp festival at some point. Andy took Cliff to be typed & crossmatched for more blood. We went to Thad & Debbie's for a wonderful meal in the eve. Seventeen of us went to the BG summer performance of "The King & I!", then back to T & D's for dessert. Happy 44th! We didn't go to church the 9th. People came here for lunch (dinner) and with all of Debbie's delicious leftovers, not much cooking needed to be done. All but Steve left & he & I went to St. Mark's to hear Kerry Clark's concert. The 11th is a never to be forgotten day. I checked the mail & there was a message about the trade centers in NY being hit by a plane..another that the Pentagon was too. It was almost too much to believe that those incidents were deliberate...but that was the case! Terrorists had struck and our lives are to be forever changed. Cliff went for his first radiation treatment at St. Luke's. Steve took him. Mack Maxine & I went to the "free" Toledo Symphony concert at the Stranahan Sept. 13th. There was a somber beginning with music memorializing those who died in the plane crashes & trade centers. There was a large flag as a backdrop and when they played "The Star Spangled Banner", it brought tears to my eyes. On our way back, we stopped to pick up bread products from Panera Bakery for Martha's Kitchen. Wow! Do they produce extra! Cliff had suggested railings to get from the main part of the church up to the choir loft/llecterns and they became a reality. Steve McEwen, Tom Hern amd Dave Chilson actually put them in & we went over so Cliff could supervise! Diane, Jim Eyre & sons stopped on Sept. 17. They were in Orlando on the 11th & were unable to fly back home so drove their rental car from there to Detroit. The King's Daughters potluck was that eve and I left early to go hear Morris Dees, Southern Poverty Law Center founder. There was a big turnout and lots of police and sherrif''s cars around. On the way home from radiation, the red light came on so...the car went to Mason's the 19th for an alternator. We borrowed Thad's car & went to the retiree convocation..in the rain. Linda Dobbs talked about the BGSU computer center & how the retirees could make use of it. I raked and planted grass seed Sept. 20 (& some of it grew!). We went to Home Depot & got a faucet to replace the kitchen one, went to the Michelangelo exhibit at the art museum and had an extremely slow meal at Denny's on the way home. Cliff stated that he didn't like his shrimp so they didn't charge him for his surf & turf meal (the manager wasn't pleased!). The parks & recreation dept. had a wine and cheese reception at Rotary Center Sept. 21. It was crowded but gave Cliff a chance to chat with math dept. & townspeople he hadn't seen for awhile. It was a very nice evening. Sept. 28th was the date of Cliff's last radiation. Afterward we had lunch at a new Mexican restaurant in Perrysburg with Stantons (Mike too). Then I went to elder Dr. Dillon for a nose lesion biopsy. Cliff restarted thalidomide on Sept. 25th and the dexamthazone was cut back. That eve we went to a service of healing at First Christian church. Cliff didn't feel like going so Jo Vernon joined me at Myra Merritt's concert at Bryan Hall on Sept. 26th. What a voice! Outstanding! We went to choir practice next eve & were warmly welcomed back. Lucy Long wanted to have a contra dance fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity so that took place outdoors downtown on the 29th. Many cookies were made but there were few attenders. It was a beautiful night & 90 plus year old Naomi Greenfield came! September 30th we rode to Fremont with Thad, Debbie and kids for Jack's birthday party. Gedeons & Detweilers were there too. Mindy gave me "heads" for my necklace for Andy & Anna's, Thad & Debbie's babies...and a third for theirs which is due in April! surprise! The Kirkbrides, Millers and Longs crammed into our car on October 2nd (Jay drove) & went to the Iris Room at the Hilton for an anniversary celebration. It was a lovely meal & time & Jay treated! Steve came on Oct. 3rd & we chose an Autumn Blaze maple at Klotz & he & Thad planted it. It poured the next day so it got well watered! About every week since, we've had a big rain. Steve planned to return home the 5th but his convertible top was leaky so he left early on the 6th. AAT came & had a slow trip in their new Odyssey van. Joel & Helena Hiltner were honorees at a reception celebrating their marriage on Oct. 6th. All of our family was there except the Cincinnatians. Next day the Gedeons came for lunch & then all "took off" by 2. Cliff got a copy of a book which has photos of his model in it..plus news another will be used in another book! Oct. 10th we had a flat tire & after getting the spare on, went to Speck's & had a set of Firestones put on...needed them anyway. I went to a Presby Women in the Presby. mtg. in Findlay the 13th and there was good attendance & good program. Thad & Debbie got back from Columbus Oct. 14, had her family over for dinner for Debbie's celebration....then headed for Toledo Hospital as Debbie was having some spotting. She was there for 4 weeks!!! Maybe a Guiness record these days! Cliff and I flew to Los Angelos Oct. 18th for Rog & Bonnie Hawkin's 50th anniversary celebration. We went from Toledo to Cinci to LA. We picked up an Alamo mid size Olds & headed north to Santa Maria. We took the coast highway and the scenery was lovely. Then it got dark but there weren't obvious motels so we kept going til we got to our Best Western at 8:15 (11:15 "our" time). I was about done in! We called Dolores Oberg and arranged to meet for bkf (at the motel). She accompanied us on our journeys most of the rest of the time we were there. Fri. we drove around SM & looked in some stores and went to the historical museum. Interesting! That eve we went to Hawkins for a Santa Maria barbq. Family and friends wwere there & we had a lovely meal and evening. Sat. a.m. we went to the airport museum and then to the anniversary open house/renewal of vows. Cliff and Beth were there as attendants at their wedding and Beth did some storytelling at the reception following. Late that eve, Dolores, Cliff & I found an authenic Mexican restaurant & enjoyed a meal there. Sun. we joined the others at church & a tour of the building which Rog had supervised during its renovation. A visit to Firestone Winery was planned for the afternoon where we picnicked & then returned for a delicious spaghetti dinner. Beth & Ralph, Rog & Bonnie, Dolores & we two chatted late. Mon. we drove to Pismo Beach to find the butterfly trees where Monarchs were migrating. Dolores & I were thrilled to find some there. We went on to San Luis Obispo & toured the mission & had lunch by the stream downtown. A visit to lovely Morro Bay followed & then back to SLO & a quick stop to see The Madonna Inn. That eve we met Hawkins at a Mexican restaurant for a farewell dinner. Next a.m. we headed for Thousand Oaks where we visited Ellie & Ray Brown. They made us so welcome & we had a delicious meal and time with them. Wed. late a.m. we set off for Nancy & dudley Micheal's in Brea. It was 80 miles of 5 lane traffic going 65 or better. Thank goodness for a good navigator! We were there in early afternoon & had a good visit & tour of their house & gardens. I hoped to be at our airport motel before dark & we made it..another traumatic drive! We got the car turned in & made it to our Best Western. Next day we flew home, arriving without incident after going thro Atlanta. Rocks were waiting for us when we got in at 10:30. September 26th Jay took me to Weston to pick up our car which had been de-rusted while we were away. They'd taken it over when we left. The "bump" we got in the accident got taken out too. I woke up in the night the 27th to find the light on downstairs &, when I went to turn it off, found a note from Thad that Rachel had an earache so he'd left Connor sleeping in Mindy's bed & taken her to the ER. When he woke up, he didn't want to eat & was soon sick. (Told his Mom that "I fwoed up on the floor accidentally"). He soon felt OK & spent the day with us. We went to Sylvania the 30th to consult with Dr. Humenick about removing my nose lesion. Then we went to see Debbie at Toledo Hosp., I got a flu shot at Dr. Wojo's & then to Pat & Murray Mayieux's anniversary dinner party at Kaufman's. I had an appt. with Dr. Conmy on Nov. 1..Dr. Wojo no longer does pelvic exams. We got word Nov. 2 of the arrival of Thaddeus Tchein. Steve left a message & Andy called later. Thaddeus arrived at 10:04 a.m. & weighed 7#, 13 oz. Unfortunately Anna had a bad tear as the result of the delivery. Calling about an ad in the Sentinel, we discovered it was Platz' who were trying to sell a dropleaf table & 4 chairs. We thought they looked nice so told Andy & he said to get them. Cliff's temp was 102 on Nov. 4 & he got prescriptions for an antibiotic and anti-fungus(?). Next day he was told to discontinue the dex gradually. Sue Rock joined us for the trip to Dr. Humenick's Nov 8 & I had the basal cell removed--2 times to get it all. Steve had been in Fremont to get his car so met us there & the 4 of us had lunch at the Greek Orthodox church across the way..having a festival & lunch. Then we went to Toledo Hosp. where Debbie had a C section at 11. Thomas James was born at 11:30, weighing in at 6#, 5 oz. He had some lung problems so was in the ICU. Debbie was feeling terrible, very nauseated. We did got to see the llittle guy before heading home. Connor & Rachel stayed all night with us & Thad stayed at the hospital with Debbie. Steve headed home the next day. Debbie and Thomas came home on the 11th. I picked Connor and Rachel up after church & they spent the day with us til time to meet their new brother....& welcome Mama home after all that time! The edema Cliff was experiencing was to the point he couldn't fit in his pants so we went to Elder Beerman's & he got a 36/30 pair. Thad found a couple of pairs of sweat pants he could use. I finished making applesauce & pies from our little Jonathan apple tree which was loaded. Took a lot of cutting! Cliff was ffeeling bum and concerned about his kidney founction on the 16th. Anne Graves, Cindy Tyrell & I offered hot chocolate, coffee & donuts at the holiday parade Nov. 17th & took in $286. Not only was that a success, we got to see most of the parade too! Our Thanksgiving visitors began arriving Nov. 20. Andy, Anna, Tchapo & little Thad got here that eve & we finally got our hands on that little guy. He was a good baby & we didn't hear him cry much. Nelle & Fred got here Wed. afternoon followed by Steve's family so we had a gang for supper that eve. Sam, Jo, Jack & Ellie got here after 10. We stayed up talking til 1. Kim & the teenagers went to The Quality Inn. The Cline guys & wives stayed at Rocks (who were at Ann's). Thanksgiving Day we had brunch and then our big meal at 5ish. The turkey got massacred as it wasn't done...didn't look like the Norman Rockwell version! We ate at Thad & Debbie's & had quite a feast. The Gedeons arrived from Mark's parents in time to join us. ...26 of us around 3 tables. Mindy & the kids stayed at T&D's both nights. We had an abundance of desserts..Ellie brought pumpkin & pecan pies, Mindy 2 pecan, Jo Aunt Wanda's cake, A& A cherry pecan and German choc pies & cranberry apple from S & K. We had an assortment of coffee cake & breads brought too. Yum! Thomas and Thaddeus got passed around and were good little guys. Debbie still wasn't feeling too spry. Jo & Sam fixed tostados for Fri. night & then 5 of us went to the UT-BG game under the lights. BG won! Sat. afternoon 5 of us went to the Defiance-BG game but left at half time. We watched Ohio St. win over Mich which gave Ill. the Big 10 title! Good! Ellie fixed yummy 15 bean soup for supper & we ate at T & D's each eve. Steve's family headed to Columbus for a Wiley celebration on Sat. late a.m. Everyone had left by Sun. afternoon (we didn't go to church) & it seemed very quiet. 67--camping trip with Rocks '68--Mindy's arrival Dad's retirement party with all of us in Delong for the occasion. thanksgiving-- Christmas '69--reunion in Bend Oregon camping trip with Long cousins Kitty Twu our international student 74--Aunt Mary smashed up car, Cliffi's Mom hurt '75 Hollywood with Kitty & David '76--to 25th high school reunion, on to New Salem, Springfield, Champaign and ultimately to Purdue to the PW churchwide gathering '77--had simple mastectomy/hernia surgery Steve graduated from high school Hotchkiss, Colo family reunion Aug. 30--off to England, France with Freddy Laker '78 '79--Hospital guild president, 25th anniversary, house tour Cliff to Bismarck, N.D. Distributed 113 cartons of Girl Scout cookies! Andy graduated from high school, began college at Miami U. Birthday party for older ladies with Lolita Guthrie, Elfreda Rusher; neighborhood picnic in lot Christmas party at Townsends '80--took nurse refresher course Eleanor, Diane and Sam came home with us after Tom & Nancy's wedding To Calif. for Elyse & Jeff's wedding--visited Wongs, Hawkins, Browns, Universal Studios Steve, Mindy & I were part of the cast of "The Music Man"--first BGSU summer musical Steve had foot surgery, went to FL with mens' chorus for Spring break, was moderator of the youth triennium held in IN at the same time as Elyse' wedding. Andy became a blood donor, was church sexton, transferred to BGSU living at Conklin Hall Thad bought a racket stringer, was on the cross country team which went to state Mindy accompanied Brenda Bachman & at the 6th grade conceert, was president of the 7th grade chorus (only year they didn't have a Christmas concert!), was on student council Cliff was chair of the Ohio section of MAA, voted math "teacher of the year" Clines, Gammons came for Thanksgiving but no Jo! '81--Sam and Jo married in Jan., we accompanied them on their Hawaiian honeymoon in Feb. (Lila too) Steve got a job with CETA, bought Jane Honda, did his student teaching in Findlay, became a grad assistant in statistics in the fall Andy became a 1 gallon blood donor, joined KME, went to NYC for spring break Thad began college at BGSU rooming with Mark Kepke at Kohl Hall, joined club soccer Mindy joined the church, enjoyed ventriloquism with "Charley McCarthy" Mildred Miller died on July 23. To Galesburg for Aug. 15 wedding of Rick and Mary; on to St. Louis. Andy, Mindy, Cliff & I to Columbia to visit Baldwins; needed a new radiator, went canoeing, Mitzi Gaynor show, Grant's farm Train trip from Windsor to Toronto with Stantons, visited summer exhibition Ed & Lil came for visit in Nov.; Diane had horseback accident Jo & Sam, Gammons, Fred, Louise, Sherry, Gary, Rick Mary came for Thanksgiving To Abingdon for Christmas--Jean, Barbie, Chris & Charlotte there too. '82--Tim Snipe's suicide attempt Rachel H., Marg. Mkiller, Florence & I to Purdue to PW churchwide gathering To San Diego. Andy took long bus trip & met us there. Went to Dineyland, beach, zoo (Cliff & Andy met Neil Michelsen instead) Mindy, Cliff and I to math mtgs. in Toronto, to the exhibition again, saw "Evita" Andy, Cliff added a screened in porch, shingled the house Thad injured his knee at soccer tryouts, had surgery the end of Aug., was on crutches til Dec. 28! Steve continued with CETA, became engaged May 2nd, was a graduate student at BGSU. Andy was a teaching assistant. Mindy helped with Safety Town, Vacation Bible School, swim lessons, tried contacts & succeeded with soft ones, fell off Rocks horse and had a bike accident. Nancy Kinney & I wrote a grant to start a hospice program & got $8000 from PW Hospital guild had a fundraiser, "Just For Kicks" & I was one of the singers. At our after Christmas visit with Lawsons, we all went to the Museum of Science & Industry. '83--Cliff went to Denver to math meetings in Jan. We went to Galesburg for the celebration of Aunt Berniece's birthday Steve and Andy graduated from BGSU on a windy day with a terrible speaker. Steve & Kim married: some folks stayed at Borens, to softball games, Cedar Pt., canoeing Mindy & Gretchen sang at Anne Rock's wedding, Cliff supervised putting together the dance floor Curt & Marlena were here July 3 & 4 & celebrated 4th of July with us. To Ithaca for Steve & Jennie Rock's wedding & elegant reception; to Washington to Jo & Sam's Camped with Canadian cousins, on to Aunt Flo's 96th birthday party in Aug. Andy became a member of Phi Beta Kappa, couldn't get into the Peace Corps so went to Alameda & lived with Wymers & audited courses at Berkeley. Thad decided on a sports management major, bought a Mazda, moved to Kisselle's house Mindy lettered in tennis, took senior life saving I was in the Black Swamp production of "HMS Pinafore" performed at the Elks Club Millers & we heard Millard Fuller speak at Monroe St. Meth. Church & Maxine "caught fire" about Habitat for Humanity. We bought a diesel wagon, headed off to Abingdon with below freezing conditions; it "jelled". We borrowed Ed's car & continued in a whiteout..followed the snow plow to Abingdon! There was no Christmas service due to the cold weather! We visited Lawsons & went to see Dolores at the hospital. '84--Andy got a motorcycle in Feb., rode it home in the summer, then back to LA to start at Cal Tech During March Spring break, went to Chapel Hill where Tom Hern was on sabbatical; intended to camp, mostly stayed in motels. Mindy had 2 Lisas along for company. In April I joined Ellie & Diane in San Diego. We spent a few days in Palm Springs. I flew to San Francisco and visited Andy, Rita Long and girls and Esther Case (distant cousin). Kim and Steve went to New Jersey where she worked at Nabisco & he at AT&T for the summer. When they came back, they moved to Buford's refurbished house on Pearl St. After the reunion, we visited Steve & Kim in New Jersey (strange house owned by Greer Imbrie's wife) and took the train into NYC for the day. Mindy got her driver's license. Thad played for St. Mark's & they got 1st in the state tournament; he worked at the rec center I was walking Peppy without a leash & got a ticket for doing so!! Cliff made the lower level room divider and was consulting with Tom Clark on hose fixtures. The Applebys, Sam & Jo joined us for Thanksgiving. In December, Kim graduated and we had a party for her. We went to Abingdon for Christmas Depressed '85--At the St. Louis reunion we went on a big boat ride, canoed, went to a ball game, Cliff talked to people at McDonnell. Mindy served on the Pastor Nominating Committee, was class secretary, took calculus. Thad graduated Dec. 21 & we had lunch at Wintergarden Lodge afterward; he began an internship at The Falcon House. Andy had enough of Cal Tech, left in March & went to Eugene OR & was a process server. Steve began working at NFO, Kim at UCF and they bought a Camry. Cliff dislocated his shoulder sliding into home so instead of Mindy, he & I camping, he flew to Albany for a conference there. We attended the Gray Reunion before dropping him at the airport. '88 Trip to Cape Cod, met Heinrich Maurer (who came to visit us here!) Butterfly banding a Maumee Bay St. Park New dermatologist--Isaacson, Toledo Clinic Samuel Allan Long born (nov. 13, all jumped in the car & went to see him & his mommy) Honored as BG Family of the Year To Indy & this time Thad brought masks along for our protection! Candymaking at Rocks with Steve, jennie, Lori, Bryan, Joyce Wallace, Hiltners, Maxine Chen & 2 Chinese students from the intl. program Thad, Mindy, C & I "did" advent wreath Sun., christmas Day, Millers "trooped in" while we were having dinner (!), S, K, boys & we to Winter Wonderland, then Christopher's for dinner '89 To Canada, visited Aunt Mary who had broken hip Cliff to Phoenix for MAA governor's mtg.--Sammy had casts on feet Lawsons visited here; Fred, Louise, Sam & Jo here, all to AA to Esther Cases's bd party Went to Ogleby's with Hiltner's in May (snowed the day we left) C & I to MS mission trip with church group; much word dne in Pt. Gibson, had tours of Alcorn State, Vicksburg battlefield museum July 2- Mark & Mindy engaged Andy & Anna arrived from Togo, all to Brown County for family reunion 9/17--Andy & Anna to Puerto Rico to pick coffee, married there on October 30. Mindy coached softball/ tennis; did methods in Maumee, student taught at So. Main, bought Jane Honda! Thad to OK for Dean Sergent's wedding & Olympics (he planned) Kim & Steve to San Francisco July 27-31 (we took care of the boys), Steve got NFO promotion, tore ankle ligaments (bb) C & I to Boulder, CO (governor's MAA mtg), Bohns there too, borrowed Butler's car, Linda went to St. Francis with us to visit Aunt Vera Cliff made church sound system cabinet, to 40th hs reunion, had tooth crowned, 30 yrs. at BGSU Rode in holiday parade (cold!!), Sammy baptized Andy & Anna returned from PR, all to Indy Nov. 23rd, stayed at minister's house. Mindy's graduation festivities in Dec. Went to see zoo lights, live nativity scene with cliff, lighted luminaries 12/27--70 came for party at Wintergarden for Andy & Anna, Mindy's grad Marek Przezdzieck, John Leahy here to visit '90 Andy flew to Miami, biked to Tucson, (visited Norma in Vicksburg) On to Canada after dropping Andy off at airport; Anna flew to tucson 1/13 ( to Plymouth to see ice sculptures) To MAA governor's meetings in Louisville To Lawson's in Feb. Fran Lyman here overnight 2/22--car trouble 2/24--big storm; I spent the night at methodist church shelter Mark's junior high team winning thrillers' Maxine & I began monitoring bluebird boxes Cliff, Tom Hern & i to LA in March; guys to comp. grahics conf.; I to SD. Visited Elyse' Curt's families, Nancy in LA, dinner with Ray & Eleanore Brown To Herndon, VA (Spragens) with Bible study friends, lotsa fun--Miller's van June--Cliff to MS with church group, built fort at 886 Champagne July 14--Mindy & Mark's wedding; all but Eric, Bruce, Rick, Tom's families here! To Cedar Pt Uncle Clarence Leaper died, there for service & back for Beth's wedding on Sept. 1. S, K, c & s to tucson to visit A & A; cliff to preschool Cliff to Columbus for special MAA festivities; I to Chautauqua with King's Daughters group M & M living at 412 Hayes Ave., Mark teaching math at junior high & was junior varsity coach, Mindy working at Heinz til teaching job opened at Otis--2nd grade Ed with Lil, has lung cancer. Went there for Thanksgiving, Thad, Steve's too. Ed in hosp., made arrangements for him to go to nursing home. T., S drove truck home. AA flew here for Christmas, Mindy started being "Santa". To Lawson's after Christmas (A &A too), Ed in bad shape. '91 Steve's, A&A & se to Canada Jan. 1, Aunt Mary in nursing home Jan. 3 got call from cremation society, learned that Ed had died Jan. 1 A & A to entertain at Mindy's class, Maxine & I took them to Detroit to fly back to Tucson We to San Franciso to math mtgs., saw Rita and family. Gulf War began Met Lawsons & Richards (T, Steve's 7 we) in Angola, toboggoned at Pokagon. Cliff's Bobby built bike brought back 3/22-Fred & Louise here, to Sam & Jo's in Va. Diane, Ellie & Jack flew. Took scones! Sam got meritorius service award, all but Jo to Williamsburg. Car passed 100,000 mark, Guy H. died Cliff settling Ed's estate, sold truck in May. S & K to Hawaii & we kept boys. Warm! June--To Wooster Light Opera-"The New Moon", "A Night in Venice, Patience. To Amish country July--to 40th class reunion in Abingdon; Diane, Elyse & boys there. Fred arranged open house, t to Brown Co. reunion, Ray Cramer's band concert, Columbus tour, $300 water pump repair, to see Professor Ketchum in Azlheimer unit (sad!). to see Noonans, and on to hilly St. Olaf's with bikes, Cliff had bladder infection Mindy taught 4t grade, coached volleyball/sftball Thad moved to 516 Buttonwood (56,000) in July Anna to Togo to get Tchapo. Back in late Aug. & he started kindergarten. Andy here a few weeks to NSF conf. in Wyoming so missed reunion; had knee surgery Steve caught course at BGSU, biult deck Cliff helping Toledo HFH, to Purdue with Vic/Tom to SIAM conf. Oct. 1-2, gave talk at John Carroll To Malabar Farms Sears house hostel with hostellers, rainy. Canoed. BGSU hosted Danforth associates, PW helped with planetarium event Took estrogen, then quit, served on election board Stantons moved to lake. Went to preschool program/lunch with cliff--pilgrims & Indians Candymaking at Rocks after Christmas parade--Steve's family, Stantons, Hiltners. Boys flattened candy balls!! AAT here Dec. 15, helped Mark & Mindy move to house. Neighborhood carolling here; to Maumee Bay before Christmas; on way back, stopped to look at & buy '92 Olds ($19,000 plus our car) AA & I helped fix Martha's Kitchen meal for 40. Marek here the 29th for a few days '92 History of Clifford Allan Long I was born at 8940 Emerald Avenue on the south side of Chicago on April 10th, 1931, son of Peter Allan (born September 10, 1897, died January 28, 1964) and Marguerite Mildred Miller (born July 9, 1899, died July 23, 1981)Long. My mother's parents were John Thomas and Hettie Alberta Maria Gray Miller. Hettie was born in 1876 and died in 1965. This is biographical information about John T. and Hettie Gray Miller. (Mr & Mrs. James Miller, pioneers of Moore township, Onatrio settled on the blind (()) line south of 2nd ine of Moore Township. They came from Waubuna which is near Woodstock. To them were born 3 children; Christena who married Alexander Gray of the 2nd line of Moore, Sarah who married John Bidner of the 2nd line of Moore and John who married Hettie Gray of the 6th line of Moore. John Thomas Miller was born September 17, 1874, attended public school at Waubuno then went to Woodstock Baptist College. He joined the Baptist Church while there. He was very musical, playing piano, organ, mouth organ and auto harp. He was an athlete for years, pitching for Waubuno ball team. In 1898 he married Hettie A. Gray, daughter of Mr & Mrs. William Gray, pioneers of the 6th line of Moore. This family consisted of Matilda (Mrs. James Blackman), John, Hettie, Emma (Mrs. William Brown), Charlie whose death occured July 1894, Eva (Mrs. Charles McKinnon..Charles died & she then married Thomas Dicer), Flo (Mrs. James Harkness). Hettie attended Kimball public school, Sarnia High and Sarnia Model School, becoming teacher of Kimball school, SS No. 15 in 1895-96-97. She was a member of Bear Creek Church Presbyterian and Christian Education of 6th line Thetodist Church. Their marriage took place at the home of the bride's parents on Jan. 26, 1898. The attending minister was Rev. J. C. McKee of Bear Creek Presbyterian church. Attendants were Erma Gray & James Nicol & about 50 relatives were present. The young couple took up residence in London Ontario where John was emploued in the roundhouse of Grand Trunk Railroad. In June of the same year, they bought a farm close to John's father that he might assist his father (whose health was failing) with farm work.. To them were born three children, M. Mildred July 9, 1899, James W. March 29, 1901 and Charles C., May 24, 1904. In the fall of In the fall of 1904, he sold the farm to John Lester and bought a farm from Mrs. Miller's father, Mr. Gray. Mr. Miller became a prosperous farmer, attending Moore Centre Baptist Church, member of Temp. Lodge and Chosen Friends and had a deep interest in all community work. Mr. Gray had been postmaster for years of Seckerton Post Office which was in their home which was taken over by Mr. & Mrs. Miller carrying the mail with horse & buggy to Kimball Station. On Feb. l, 1906 while John and William Gray were cutting trees on a farm along the 6th line, a limb struck John on the temple. His father assisted him to the house about 11:30 where John became unconscious. Mildred ran to Mr. Blake's blacksmith shop on the corner for help, bringing Mr. James Gray and Mr. Alec McKay. William rushed to Brigden for the doctor and to take news to his parents wo had moved to Brigden. Dr. Fisher came & found it to be a concussion of the brain, went back for an assistant doctor and were about to call another doctor to operate when John passed away about 5 pm.) Hettie never remarried and died on March 8, 1965 at the age of 89. My dad's parents were Arthur Long (born in Peterborough) and Marjorie McDougall, born in Strathroy. He was one of 8 children . Dougall Edmund Long was born Dec. 26, 1889, Christena Isabella, Aug. 15, 1891, Lottie Rachel July 31, 1893, Arthur George, June 1, 1895, Peter Allan, Sept. 10, 1897, William Stuart, Nov. 7, 1903, Anna Katharine, October 6, 1906 and Marjory Selena November 3, 1909. My parents were both brought up in the Mooretown, Ontario Canada area. By the time my dad was in his 20's, times were bad in Canada so he moved to Chicago at the urging of an uncle who already lived there. He was a skilled carpenter and found work there. He had a bungalow built on Emerald Ave. after which he went back to Canada to marry my mother. They were married in Canada on July 14th (Bastille Day) in 1926 (Mark and Mindy were married on the same day in 1990). I think they were married in the parsonage in Corunna with Aunt Anna (Long at that time) Leaper and Uncle Charlie Miller standing up with them. Edmund Thomas Long was born to them on October 11, 1929. He was born in a hospital but I was born at home as funds were short so the hospital wasn't affordable! I was born April 10, 1931 at 7:30 am, weighing in at 6 pounds with a length of 20 inches. The attending doctor was H.P. Barr. I first laughed aloud on July 7th, my first tooth appeared on Nov. 22nd, I first sat up on September 20th, crept on Oct. 10th, stood alone on December 20th. I took my first step on Jan. 2, 1932 (less than 9 months old!) and said my first word "Dada") in February. My first picture was taken July 10th. The depression was in full swing at the time of my birth and there were some lean years until the war effort got underway about 1939 when my Dad got work on defense plants. The leanest year was when he made just $400. Some of our neighbors were in more desperate straits than we. Mr. Steadman worked for the WPA and sometimes his wife would come over to ask to "borrow" a loaf of bread. With 3 kids to feed, Mom tried to come up with other items to give her, besides bread. We had one of the few telephones in the neighborhood, a coin operated one. Neighbors would come with their nickel and ask to use it. During this time of economic hardship, Dad was unable to keep up the mortgage payments and the distant relative who held the mortgage, Gus Quanstrom, decided it was the perfect time to foreclose. To the rescue came an acquaintance of a friend of Uncle George. He gave the money to Dad who was relieved to be able to pay off Gus. Gus then told him he didn't intend to foreclose (?) but Dad told him he'd already made the arrangements so here's your money! Ed and I went to Ryder School. Students from kindergarten through 8th grade attended. I liked school and did well. There was a friendly rivalry between Larry Steadman and me. When we were old enough to be on the safety patrol, we were both lieutenants and next year I was appointed captain (maybe because I was more academically inclined). Dave Lindemann was another special Ryder friend. He too was on the safety patrol & once while I was standing nearby, prevented a child from being hit by a car. After school, I went home to "check in" & then returned to play whatever was in season (pingpong, ice skating, baseball).. sometimes I was weak from hunger when I got home! Nellie N. Berry was a special teacher during my 7th or 8th grade. She taught all subjects, but English was her specialty and she read poetry on occasion. As a result, I became interested & even wrote a few poems for a high school publication.One day I was carrying a bottle which I dropped & tried to catch. In the process, it broke and I got a severe cut just below my left thumb. Bleeding profusely, did my folks take me to the ER? Gosh no! They bandaged it up the best they could and it did heal, leaving me with quite a scar. The Bob Tully tamily lived in Gary & he worked on a freighter docking there as first mate. When they just had one child, Bob's wife Avis & their daughter Shirley, a girl about my age, came to live with us as paid boarders. The connection was made through Canadian friends. When Avis had her 2nd child, they left our place, moved closer to us than Gary and bought a house. Bob was mainly around during the winter but was still on duty & had things to do to outfit the boat. Our family continued to connect for many years thereafter. Avis was a little sloppy & didn't dress right which no doubt bothered my mom. It bothered me, as I got older, that we'd just "drop in" on them on Sunday afternoons: "Let's take a ride...". My Mom and Dad travelled in different circles as they grew up. My Mom's life revolved around the church whereas the Longs had no church connection. When my Dad moved to Chicago, he probably had little social life since he was working so much. When my Mom moved to Chicago, her life continued to revolve around the church. Uncle George & Uncle Luke Long were my grandfather's brothers. They left the family farm to go to Chicago "where the action was". The oldest son, my grandfather, Arthur, got to work the farm. The uncles were contractors; one lathe and one plaster & owned an apartment building (20 flat) and had money. Uncle Luke was something of a recluse...not very social. They'd give us little bags of lathing nails, more valuable to us than candy. My dad had a tree trunk in the basement and we'd pound the nails into it. Uncle George had a Lasalle convertible with a rumble seat and once we rode to Canada in it..what a treat! It would go 60 mph with no sweat. He probably had an additional car. Uncle George's wife, Lottie, was losing her mind. Their son, Gerry got into trouble as a teenager and ended up in jail for a time. Gerry's wife Lucille liked the high life so Uncle George was always trying to "make it work"--bought them a roadhouse (restaurant/bar) Gerry was never successful at anything for any length of time and eventually Lucille left the picture. They had 3 kids, Connie, Buddy and ? Then Gerry married Irma who had a daughter, June, from a previous marriage. June, younger than I, had polio which necessitated being in a wheelchair. Both Irma and June were very nice..different from his first wife. They had a son, Jack. Mom kept up correspondence with them & the women enjoyed their relationship. As teenagers, when we visited them in their 3 story townhouse, the kids had the 3rd floor to ourselves. & they had 100's of comic books. They lived in the Hyde Park neighborhood which was a step up from ours. The kids had money & we'd go to the corner drugstore & Uncle George made sure we had money to buy whatever we wanted to eat. All this time, Aunt Lottie was getting harder to handle, & was expected to take care of household tasks & the children. Lucille was not really a homemaker and was just "stuck" there. Probably Uncle George paid her off. Dad would do odd jobs for Uncle George like painting when an apartment was vacant so it could be rented right away. Mrs. Dorrance was a special neighbor. Originally from Canada, she & Mom were friends who spent many happy hours together. She encouraged me to read and often gave me novels, etc. After her first husband died, she later remarried..a nice man but one who sometimes had too much to drink & came home violent, beating her & threatening to kill her. Mrs. D. would come to our house and Dad would call the police who would haul Mrs. D's husband off to jail. Next day she'd post bond & he was back to his friendly, nice self & took no offence that he'd been jailed. After he died, Mrs. Dorrance moved to an apt. in the neighborhood but came back to visit frequently. She began to leave dishes in our attic, along with small amounts of cash which she'd sometimes return for. We were told that when she was gone, the things in the attic were ours to keep. (all the good dishes we have downstairs are from her) Other good neighbors were the Mohar family. Mr. M. worked at the post office handling foreign postage. Mrs. Mohar, like my mom, was a homemaker. They had 2 children, Johnny, a year older than I and Sally, younger than I. They went to a parochial school but we played together after school. On Sundays we'd get different Chicago papers so would trade comics..a great system! Hans Bell and his mother were later neighbors. They moved to the neighborhood when Hans was high school age and later went to the U. of Ill. at the same time I did and went into engineering. Clara and Anne Lehr were maiden lady neighbors. Minnehans were other neighbors whose children were Anne, Marie, Dick and Pat. Pat was the only one our age with whom we played. Lemons (Stan, my age and sister Doris) were other special neighbors. We played kick the can, had snowball fights and other fun activities in the evenings. During our growing up years, Dad would take Mom, Ed and me to Canada to spend the summer. We stayed with Grandma Miller & Uncle Charlie. After he died, John Miller lived with her for several years, eventually bought the farm & then married Betty McDonald. After that, Grandma Miller lived part of the year in Chicago with my folks and the rest of the time withUncle Jim and Aunt Mary Miller. Their family consisted of John, Jim's son from his first marriage (John's mother died when he was born), who's about 6 years older than I and Gloria, Bill and June. There was another son, Charles, the youngest, who died at a young age. As Ed and I got older, we were able to help on the farm. Uncle Jim would think up projects suitable for our ages. I learned to drive a tractor, helped with their hen house and taking care of the chickens, pulled out hawthorn trees, etc. While we were there, we visited with the Long relatives too..Uncle Clarence and Aunt Anna Leaper, whose family consisted of Donna, older than I and Gordon, younger than I, Uncle John and Aunt Lottie Eyre whose only child was Jim, older than I, Uncle Art and Aunt Zella Long who had 4 children..Doug, ? Stan, and Marjorie. Aunt Tini Long married Uncle Sam Smith late in life. Aunt Marjorie was married to someone called Jimison & had no children & later lived with Mickey ?. Dougall never married & suffered from hardening of the arteries and died at the institution at St. Thomas. Uncle Bill was the youngest & was married to Aunt Ethel who was originally from England. They had 5 children--Art, Leslie Marie, Joyce, and Allan. At the end of the summer, Dad would return for us. When we were young, we always went to Canada to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays. Our family attended Gresham Methodist Church which was nearby. Eventually Dad stopped attending tho' he'd take us if the weather was bad. Ed enjoyed the youth fellowship up until he was about 17 but wasn't a regular church attender. Mom and I were regular attenders. Before E. Lester came, Emil Faulk & Kay Lennartsen worked with the youth. E. Lester Stanton became our minister when I was a teenager. Before that, the minister was pompous & didn't appeal to many people, especially young ones! When I was in high school, I began to attend youth fellowship, sing in the choir and became involved in drama. We put on plays and were in competitions with other church groups for 3 or 4 years. Others who participated were Neil & Phil Michelsen, Bonnie Reynolds, Beth Rittenhouse, Lois Stanton, Joe Richard. Kay Frazer, later Lennartsen, was often the director of our plays but E. Lester Stanton directed the one at which we won at state. The Dolder sisters participated in youth fellowship and especially enjoyed volleyball on Tues. night after which they often went to a nearby ice cream shop. The Dolders especially liked Ed and a friend of his, Bud Biederman, both of whom had motorcycles & appropriate attire! The same group who participated in plays also went to Lake Geneva to camp in the summers, just for a week. Once in awhile I'd stay another week as a counsellor & would ride my motorcycle (acquired about my junior year in high school) up to Lake Geneva. Ed got his several years sooner & was my advisor. A motorcycle was good, cheap transportation, in my case (didn't have insurance, got good gas mileage). During high school days at Calumet, Beth and Bonnie were in a high school play & needed dance partners so Bonnie asked me to be her partner. I assured her I didn't know how but she was willing to teach me! We learned 2 numbers, "Begin the Beguine" and ? There were football games which we attended on Fridays. Roger Hawkins now came on the scene and became interested in Bonnie. He had a car & often as many as 10 of us would get in to go to games. Bonnie, Beth and Ann Reedy were instrumental in finding dance partners for those needing them and groups of us had lots of fun together. I was the spearhead of getting a church softball team organized and Tom Lisle came on the scene when a basketball team was organized. Rich Oberg was a friend of Rog's & became part of our group and was a good athlete, playing on the "junior" high school team and played center field on the baseball team. I didn't feel that I could always afford to go to dances so Beth would sometimes go to them with others. We did go to the "big" dances like the prom. Once while at a fancy restaurant before a dance, finger bowls were served...water with lemon slices. I made a remark about lemonade & everyone thought I was a jokester. I was serious! (but didn't tell them that!). I was offered a half time scholarship at the University of Chicago but couldn't afford to attend. Instead, I took a position as an order checker at Armour Inc. at the stockyards. It wasn't a very challenging job and the people I worked with weren't too high calibre. When it occurred to me that I wouldn't want my boss's job in 20 years if it was offered to me, I decided to change career paths. Several of my friends were attending college and I opted to attend Wilson Junior College while continuing to work at Armour. I took solid analytic geometry as my first course and then decided to read until fall when I began attending Navy Pier (U of I.) fulltime. Rog was already attending and on the gymnastics team. Since I was riding with him, I became the manager and then later began participating. My specialty was the flying rings & the only thing I did in competition. The whole team went to a couple of meets in Wisconsin. An unforgettable trip was when Joe Richard, Bob Lawson and I headed off to Miami to visit Neil Michelsen, his wife Sue and 2 little kids Lee and Ioa. At that time students were only allowed to make $600 in order to be claimed as dependents by their parents. We'd all made our $600 so off we went in my '38 Plymouth, which my parents gave me (they gave Red an equivalent amount against some loans he had with them - in those days Rita was spending money faster than he could make it), and were prepared to camp along the way. We weren't prepared to have all of the troubles that we had! During one of the times when the car was being repaired (a broken piston) in Cross City, Fla., we met a woman who was a Sunday school teacher and knew two nice young ladies to join us for our three days there. We were taken to the beach & entertained royally. They were having a southern Baptist revival meeting which we went to one evening Another day we went crabbing & our benefactress cooked them for us (delicious!). We went to Fanion Springs to swim and the girls thought the water was very cold but we were used to Lake Michigan! Finally the parts were acquired & installed & we headed on. After a few enjoyable days with the Michelsens & my cousin, Gerry & Irma Long, we started our homeward journey. In Nashville, we had the misfortune of another piston breaking. This time it took 3 hours to fix! Joe had to get back to be in a wedding so ended up taking the bus home (with a little help from me and Bob, and maybe his dad wired some money). While travelling home, what should appear before me but a runaway horse. There was no way to avoid it and in the colllsion, the horse was injured (broken leg) & had to be destroyed. The owner claimed it was a prize-winning Arabian stallion & that I'd been driving 50 mph. The officer at the scene said that the owner had been cited before for letting the horse run loose, knew that I'd been driving at a slow speed since there was no damage to the car & was totally on my side. The owner did threaten to sue but nothing came of the suit as she was clearly in the wrong. Our last car trouble was running under the car before us during a rainstorm. Aside from a dented license plate, there was no damage to the other car & my car had some fender damage. The other driver, a black guy, seemed nervous & I wondered if it was even his car. Since there was almost no damage to his car, I suggested I'd give him $10 to repair the dent. He was all too happy to comply and off we went. After spending 2 1/2 years at Navy Pier, I headed off to Champaign-Urbana. The first semester there, I roomed with Ray Brown. Cliff Zabka found a job for me washing dishes at the Kappa Kappa Gamma sororoity house & that took care of my meals. I liked the courses I was taking and became involved at McKinley Memorial Presbyterian Church, mainly a church for students. There was a Sunday night supper club & many other activities which I enjoyed. I became a member of the early choir & the drama group. After I got my bachelor's degree in math, I decided to continue and get a master's degree. I'd met Jim Baldwin and John Kreer who shared an apartment with another fellow. When that fellow left, they asked if I'd be interested in joining them. That sounded good to me. Jim bought a freezer & we purchased quarters of beef and did our weekly shopping at Eisner's. Each of us was responsible for cooking 2 meals a week and on Sunday, we ate out. We'd buy cakes and pies & the cook for the night would cut the dessert & the other two got to make their choice first! A good system! I'd bought a '48 Plymouth club coupe which served me well in getting back and forth from Chicago. During the summers while I was going to college, I worked at Ditto (where Rich Oberg worked) in place of the office girl (she'd gone to Germany for the summer). Another summer I worked at Western Electric as a tinsmith's helper. The wife of a friend of my Dad's got me a job another summer working in an import/export company, F. R. Schwanke. I was using an addressograph, packing boxes & taking them to the post office. In order to get a cab, several dollar bills needed to be waved in order to be picked up with boxes. During my trial week, I was paid $28 but was encouraged by the woman who got me the job to ask for $30, did so & that became my pay for the summer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Math interests (in chronological order) of Cliff Long 4/28/2002 1) Theory of Schwartz Distributions--'58-'60 , published in '69 (AMS Proceedings) Discovered that generalized functions sort of completed the theory of solutions of differential equations but added nothing to the set of solutions needed by physicists. I was more interested in "actual" solutions~from Douglas Aircraft days and an interest in "applied math" and computer involvement. Rolla, Mo and McShane and Carrier's "anything you can do, I can do also" (by asympt. complex, rather than by distributions) NSF summer institute in Bowdoin, Maine. 2) A practice exercise in Fortran loops led to my renewed interest in paths of zeros of polynomials, i.e. the geometry of zeros of polynomials. A brief section in "Geometry and the Imagination by Hilbert & Cohn Wasson introduced me to complex modular surfaces. Very nice book and idea. 3) Computer-aided geometric design and computer-controlled milling. Fred Leetch's brother-in-law at Ford Motor Co. asked Fred whom at BG might be able to help him. Vic Norton was suggested, but he didn't know anything about computing, so I was brought in. Bezier (basic) Polynomials. Early 70's . Computer-controlled milling again later with Bruce Otten's interest and mini-mill (Vic Repp, Ann Marie Lancaster) 4) Computer Graphics in Teaching & Learning Mathematics~early 70's. The summers at Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., and the arrival and common interests of Tom Hern. Made slides, super 8 movies & stereo. 5) Singular Value Decomposition~early 80's--from teaching linear algebra from Strang's advanced book and an article suggested by (who other than) Vic Norton. Combined SVD with ABE and milling & lots of numerically conrolled milling in connection with examples from 3D calc and teaching Numerical Analysis. 6) From an article by A. T. Winfree in the SIAM, I got interested in carving mathematical surfaces~reinterested becaise of some previous carvings of George Francis beautiful pictures in "A Topological Picture Book" and a prior article in the Math Monthly. George came to give a talk (colloquium) initiated by yes, Vic Norton. George seemed interested in getting me to the (first?) Math & Art Conference at SUNY/ALBANY. (Vic & George were both students of Titus at Mich.) 7) This all led me to some interest in knots and spanning surfaces, and the Hoffman's pictures of the Costa surface helped me along. Then came the recycling 'surfaces' which Tom Hern felt was typical of my mode of thought (or ?). 8) Summer of '95, Andy & I got interested in SVD and his interest in extension to tensors. This led to his observation of using SVD in surface interpolation. Then we spent some time with Tom on the connection between the Fubini & Costa surfaces. 'Fubini' & Costa came into my mind while evaluating Steve Seubert for tenure. And, the carving went on--ever trying some numerical control on wood and stone, i.e. computer assisted numerical control. However, equipment failure and lack of assistance, and cancer spelled doom to that project. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------