NEWS UPDATES

February 2009 -- Remember "The Velaires"? Their reincarnated group has been playing again for the last four years. There have been some recent personnel changes, and one of them is a classmate of ours -- Denny Wurster. Did any of you know that he was a member of the original "Screamers"? He joined the guys for their 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert in September 2008 and had so much fun that they made it a permanent arrangement. Here is their web site: The Velaires. Be sure to check out Denny on the "Bios" page!

August, 2008 -- Fran VanRennes Krommenhoek hosted the bi-monthly gathering of this group, which formed after our 40th Reunion.

Back Row: Frannie (Van Rennes) Krommenhoek, Pauline (Hilsinger) Groetken, Judy (Fredrickson) Loraditch, Sandy (Cotton) Seversen, Katie (Smith) Batcheller, Mary (Dilley) King, Judy (Goodwin) Cowley, Diana (Crabb) Buddi
Front Row: Diane (McIntyre) Bjorkman, Linda (Matz) Johnson, Bonnie (Hardy) Quade, Janette (Woestman) Linden

August, 2008 -- Leonard Sigler wrote to make connections with old classmates. He did not graduate with us, but went to Franklin grade school with friends Arlene Pittman & Doug Krommenhoek, to West Junior with Richard Remington, Bill Rhymer, Phillis Wegner & Janet Stokes, and spent two years at Central, which he calls the "best years of my life." At the tender age of 17 he began his "trip around the world." He married Judie Force, Class of '61, finished high school & went on to a degree in Electronic Engineering. He has retired in Bella Vista, Arkansas, where there are 7 golf courses & plenty of fishing. All of his contact info can be found on the "Directory" page.

In July of 2007, the first ever Central All School Reunion was held, with various activities taking place over the course of three days. Neil Hyink organized a gathering of the swimming & cross country teams to honor Coach Ray Obermiller's special milestone birthday, which coincided with the big event.

Many people who had never attended a class reunion were here for this one. One of those was Tom Dittmer, who is shown here with Jack Holmes and Cindy Hoak.

August, 2006, saw a get-together of members of the Classes of 1960 and 1961 at Stormin Norman's in Waterbury NE. It just happened to coincide with Terry Oleson's 65th birthday.

Left to Right: Jack Holmes, Terry Oleson, Sharon (Shumansky) Wiese, Denny Wurster, Bruce Wiese

September 13, 2006 -- Carol Beebe Carothers is searching for Marianne Dillon, a classmate from Bryant School and possibly 7th grade at North Junior. She graduated from Chadron, NE, probably a private Catholic school. She would have graduated with us had she stayed here. A search of Classmates.com on this date has turned up nothing. If you have any information on Marianne, please contact Carol at rccarothers@charter.net

These four got together for the first time since CHS days. They met in July, 2006, at Dan Mahoney's cabin east of Ely, MN, for a few days and had a great time. Jerry sent us the picture.

Left to Right:

• Jerry Pickering - Indiana, PA - Retired college Biology instructor, married 43 years to Susie Scott (class of 1961), three children, 7 1/2 grandchildren
• Clark Munger - Tucson, AZ - State Judge, currently single, two children
• Dan Mahoney - New Zealand - Retired college instructor / currently mycologist, four children, numerous grandchildren, studies fungi with second wife Ann
• Ed Sibley - Sioux City, IA - Semi-retired college business instructor / locomotive restorer, married to Jane for 34 years, one child

Did you know that Clark and Ed are cousins?

(From Neil Hyink) April 3, 2006 - Gary Fethke, our 1960 CHS midyear classmate and outgoing Tippie College of Business Dean, was, in a 5-4 vote, selected by the Iowa State Board of Regents to serve as the University of Iowa’s interim president. Gary led the Tippie College of Business for 11 years before announcing last year his intention to step down. His resignation as business school dean will be effective at the same time outgoing UI President David Skorton is leaving to become president of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Fethke is probably best known for shepherding the construction of the business school’s John Pappajohn Business Administration Building.

CONGRATULATIONS to Gary and his wife, Carol. Good Luck in your new position; your classmates are happy for you!

On January 17, 2006, Keith Krommenhoek underwent lung cancer surgery, apparently a metastasis of his previous colon cancer. He is home now, but will need follow-up chemo treatments. He would appreciate your messages of encouragement! E-mail at kro@hutchtel.net

(From your webmistress) Some of you may not know that our beloved Castle has been saved through a historically sensitive conversion into apartments. It is alive and well again -- filled with hilltop inhabitants.

The dungeon and auditorium, however, have been refurbished and maintained for use by the public. In November, 2005, my husband and I, accompanied by a daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons, attended a "Rockestra" concert there.

Sioux City ROCKESTRA is the only known rock orchestra in the country. Their first season was performed at Morningside College's Eppley Auditorium. The acoustics in that all-brick room left a lot to be desired for that much sound. On the other hand, our Central auditorium provided the perfect environment for this very talented group of musicians & vocalists. The Castle rocked that night!

What a treat to again sit in the room where we enjoyed so many programs in our younger days. My only complaint was that the newly upholstered seats seemed narrower than they were in the 50's. I didn't know metal and wood could shrink that much in 45 years. Hm-m-m-m .......

December 19. 2005 -- (from the S.C. Journal) ... Rex & Sherry Whitney are the winners of the 2005 Clark Griswold lighting contest. Their display includes 25,000 lights. But Rex, who works for MidAmerican Energy, says he has never kept track of the monthly increase in their utility bill. He adds, with a laugh, "No, I don't get an employee discount. This is called job security."

Rex started working on the layout at the end of October, and finished it by Thanksgiving. This was the 5th year that the Whitneys had entered the contest; they had previously finished in second and third place. Rex says he will continue decorating for Christmas, but will not enter the contest again. "I've hit the pinnacle," he added.

August 15, 2005 -- Ron Dollerschell, who was in attendance at our gathering last month, has successfully undergone an 8-hour quintuple by-pass surgery. He had not yet had a heart attack -- the blockages were discovered just in time.
Update (September 13th) -- Ron reports he is feeling good, healing up well, and has started his third week of rehab. He has even been seen walking the mall!
Further update (November) -- Now Ron has had his gall bladder removed. His doctors say that commonly causes problems after heart surgery.

August 5. 2005 -- Sandra Rohr Fry writes: Update on my life. I have raised seven children (never expected this in 1960). You could more accurately say I had four & a bonus, plus two. They are very impressive people in spite of the fact that I was the one who raised them. The seven awesome people led to 15 grandchildren, and one due in September. Thanks to one of my plus two children, I also have two great-grandchildren.

I finally made it to college on a full time basis last fall 2004. To my astonishment, my grade level led to being inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. What a rush! I still have many challenges ahead to face. Algebra is one subject quite alien to me, leaving me with a harsh struggle to overcome and conquer.

The Sioux City "Saturday Breakfast Club" which has been meeting since our 2000 Reunion

April 22, 2005 -- John Nye writes: This was the first time I’d seen the new web site and the pictures from the last reunion. Wish we could make it this summer, but the last year and a half have not been too kind. Have had a kidney removed, beaten bladder cancer, quit smoking and now have blood clot in left leg, so my time off is limited. If you get a chance, check out our web site: J-C's spiceitup!. We have a side business where we sell hot food. Most of the products we carry have been featured on the Food Network on Food Finds.

December 16, 2003 -- Sandy Hodgson Adams writes: I hope to be able to come back to Sioux City for a visit when I retire. Only 4 years & 7 months to go! The main reason I've not kept in touch with anyone from the class of '60, is that I moved to Grosse Point, Michigan, for my senior year. My father was the manager of the old S.S. Kresge store & was constantly being moved around. I did fly back to Sioux City for the senior prom, but I am legally not a member of the graduating class of '60. The two years I spent at Central were the best of my entire high school years ('58 & '59).

December 10, 2003 -- Lee "Tic" Wilson (our latest "find") explains how he got the nickname he now uses:
I spent 35 years working in the computer industry, 30 with IBM. While at IBM (an industry filled with acronyms), the manager would leave for vacation or temporary assignments and had to leave someone IN CHARGE. The guys typically called that person the A.I.C. (the "A" referring to a part of the anatomy). But when it was me that was left IN CHARGE, they said I didn’t deserve the title of A.I.C. becuz I wasn’t that kind of person. This was in the timeframe of Laugh-In’s greatest popularity, and the guys called me the TURKEY IN CHARGE, or the Tic. It stuck!

(Sioux City weather) is exactly why I chose to leave and live in the South. The Sun is shining, it is 55, there is an old large Blue Heron sitting on my boat dock, sunning himself and looking for an easy meal. I love the snow to ski on, play in, but I also like to be able to leave it behind.

The summer of 2003 found Linda Marshall returning to Sioux City for her 40th Central Reunion, and sister Marilyn (from our June class) met up with her here. A hasty gathering in Fran VanRennes Krommenhoek's garden produced this pic:

L-R: Linda Matz Johnson, Linda Marshall, Marilyn Marshall,
Fran VanRennes Krommenhoek

July 22, 2002 -- After successful colon cancer surgery, followed by a course of chemo from 9/00 thru 2/01, Keith Krommenhoek had more cancer surgery just this July 10th -- exploratory & liver resection. There were no signs of disease outside the liver. About 25% of his liver was removed, along with the tumor, which was fully contained, with a clean margin all around the tumor. That was the very best possible outcome!

July 18, 2002 -- Tony Lazos writes:
"After Vietnam & an M.B.A. from Harvard, I founded three healthcare companies which went public & were acquired. I am now involved in my 4th company which will be to genetic (DNA) technology as Microsoft is to software. I chose to live in California after being stationed in the Marines here. THERE ARE NO MOSQUITOES HERE, NO COLD WEATHER & THERE IS A BEACH & AN OCEAN. Other than that, California is very much like Iowa!? However, I still say to this day that I am from Iowa, for you can not match the people & the values there.

This fall, Clark Munger, Bill Rhymer, Dave Mahling & I will be having our 40th reunion of our ISU fraternity pledge class. The Sioux City boys have stayed in touch after all these years...an incredible feat.

I married at the age of 40 & have 3 beautiful children...a daughter of 18 & 15 year old twins, a boy & a girl. The woman I married is the greatest lady that I could have found to be my wife & mother of my children. Unfortunately, we parted ways amicably this past year. Teddy Roosevelt said, 'The most difficult challenge a man faces in life is to stay married.' How true."
(Editor's Note) Hey, Ladies! Tony's single again -- See his addresses on the Directory page

March 21, 2002 -- Larry Newman writes:
"My, how time does fly. My step-brother, Connie Harris, did graduate in the summer of 1959. He is a year younger than me. He is retired & lives in Arizona with his wife Carolyn. I can't remember her maiden name but she also graduated from Central. I should have graduated the class before Connie, the winter of 1959. That is... if I had spent more time on studying instead of having fun. Instead, I went into the Army in February 1959. I love looking at the pictures of the class reunions and trying to put faces to the names. I never bought a year book so I don't always remember everyone, especially since we all are 40 years older."

November 3, 2001 -- Cherie Diller Jaynes reports:
"I married Jerry Jaynes in Oct. 1961. We have 3 grown children -- sons Rick & Randy, and daughter Melissa. My husband died of a heart attack in 1998. We have one grandson, age 14. I was a homemaker for many years, then graduated from Riverside California College as a teacher & counselor. I counsel grades K-4 at Sunnymead Elementary in Moreno Valley, and I teach part time at the LaPetite Academy. When we moved to California 38 years ago, I lost contact with everyone in Sioux City." (Note: See addresses on the Directory page)

August 31, 2001 -- Ron Fish was found brutally murdered in his home yesterday; a slain family of six in another area of town was also discovered about the same time. The alleged perpetrator has been arrested after an intensive manhunt by the SCPD. Sioux City has made the national news in light of a tragedy again!

Update: (September 26th) In a surprise move, and against the advise of his attorney, Adam Moss, age 24, a former employee of Ben Fish Tire Co., plead guilty yesterday to 7 counts of first degree murder in the slayings of Leticia Aguilar, her 5 children, and Ronald Fish, plus the theft of Fish's car. He was immediately sentenced to 7 consecutive terms of life imprisonment, plus 20 years, with no possibility of parole.
(Editor's Note) Information from an inside source indicates that someone close to the perpetrator convinced him to plead, thus sparing the community from the details of the grisly nature of the killings, which would have come out in a trial.

October 2, 2000 -- Marilyn Kirkpatrick Champlin reports:
"I enjoyed seeing the labeled pictures from the reunion. I really had forgotten that we would be having a reunion in 2000. I would have enjoyed seeing everyone again, having not been back since our 10-year reunion. Sioux City holds many memories for me. My family moved away and I haven't been back except to visit the cemetery where my first husband (Jim Scott) was buried years ago.

I graduated from U.N.I. in Jan. of 1970 and am a retired Speech Pathologist. I married Brett Champlin in 1977. I am currently embarking on a second set of careers - author, composer and lyricist. I would love to hear from anyone from Central who cares to correspond." (Note: See addresses on the Directory page)