University High School

Bloomington, Indiana

Class of 1963

Univee 63 Monthly Bullets

Sent out by Skip Higgins on the first of each month

Volume 1, Number 1, February 1, 2023
Good Morning Univee '63 Classmates -
Welcome to the first ever Univee 63 Monthly Bullet. In the wake of a wonderful October 2022 reunion, a Zoom call on New Year's Day, assorted email messages, and at least one mini-reunion with Jim Shaffer, it is the overwhelming consensus of the class that we should stay in touch. This email, and monthly editions to follow, is intended to do exactly that. I am happy to be the editor and compiler of this effort, but I need your help. Please send me updates on your lives, your activities, your families, your travels, along with photos. I will occasionally reach out to many of you for such information, especially to those who we missed at the October reunion. Tim Snyder, Ray Gibson, Tess Dickason Cederholm and more will hear from me if I don't hear from you first.
This month, we have a bit of southern hospitality to share from Bob Richey. Bob or Bobby was arguably my best friend in high school, and we have remained that way ever since. It was a treat to work closely with him on the reunion committee for the past 3 years or so. Bob picked up his Bloomington stakes and headed south last year. Here is his story, with photos attached:
After practicing medicine in Bloomington for 50 wondrous years, I finally took down my shingle and retired. My children encouraged me to move closer to family, so last year I took them up on their offer and moved to Nashville, TN (Franklin). It proved to be a wise decision since I've fallen head over heels in love with everything here in Tennessee--the people, the lifestyle, the hospitality, the food, the culture, and the near endless list of things to do. The "retirement agenda" has gotten to be a "whirlwind clearly outta control,"-- leaving little, if any, time to "grow old!" If any of you happen to be in the Nashville vicinity anytime in the future, please get in touch...I'd love every chance to reconnect! Meanwhile, Y'all take care...Be safe and be well, Bob ("Bobby") 1-812-325-4184 rwrichey@att.net
I have intentionally not provided you with captions for Bob's photos, as it would be entirely appropriate for you to call or email him to ask him for their names and places. He is justifiably proud of his clan and would enjoy telling you about them.
Just prior to our reunion last fall, I called Carol Alexander Mullis to ask her of her intentions regarding the reunion. I knew she still lived in Bloomington, so I hoped to encourage her to attend. We had a very nice conversation in which she told me that she had been recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. So sad. Since then, she has passed away and I have attached her obituary to this Monthly Bullet. Sorry to end this otherwise upbeat message with a downer but I felt you'd want to know.
Stay tuned for the March 1st Bullet, and let me hear from you. I hope Bob's message will set a reasonable example for other classmates to follow, sharing their recent news.

Volume 1, Number 2, March 1, 2023

Good Morning Univees Class of '63

This month's Bullet starts out on a sad note. On February 2, Bill Peterson passed away. His obituary is enclosed. Bill had been suffering the effects of Alzheimer's Disease for quite some time. We were unable to contact him for the recent reunion and suspected at that time that not all was well. Justin and I attended his calling and his Celebration of Life service, where we visited briefly with his first wife Susan Black, UHS class of 1964, and one of his sons Andy. Bill Dickens sent a red and white carnation bouquet which was quite lovely. I told his wife Judy that Bill was well liked by all of his high school classmates and that he was a good athlete. I have many fond memories of Bill during our high school years, and I'm sure that you do as well. Please take a few minutes to reflect on our unique classmate Billy Pete.

Next, here's some good news. How many of you remember Elise Jordon who attended 7th, 8th and 9th grades with us at U-School? She was in touch with our Beckies preceding our 40th reunion, as she submitted her life story to the reunion booklet for that event, but perhaps not since then. She lived in Bloomington and then Indianapolis from 1990 until 2019, so we dropped the ball somewhere along the line. I have asked her to gather her thoughts to submit an update for a future Monthly Bullet, but in the meanwhile here is her contact information which you can add to the most recent class roster and use to correspond with her until then: Elise Ann Jordan Kushigian 11987 SE Troika Ave. Happy Valley, OR 97086 Elise.kushigian@email.com 317-450-1286 503-618-3100

Moving on, if I am to serve as your compiler-in-chief for this Monthly Bullet, it is only fair that I share some thoughts with you about my recent life. This is appropriate if I'm asking each of your to do the same for future Univee Bullets. Thanks again to Bob Richey for getting us started last month. It's also especially fitting since today is the 54th wedding anniversary of my wife Mary Sue and me, who I met on a fix-up date indirectly through Patti Talbot. We're the proud parents of a son Michael and a daughter Amy, and the grandparents of 5 ranging in age from 27 to 7. My lifelong affair with cycling experienced two big changes recently. First, I retired from being Managing Director of the iconic Hilly Hundred Weekend bicycle tour in 2017. This annual event began in Bloomington in 1968, attracting a grand total of 54 riders. 50 miles on Saturday, and 50 more miles on Sunday, hence the name. It grew to over 5,400 participants by the year 2000. I rode it strictly as a participant from the mid 70's on, shortly after our return to central Indiana from the Air Force. I never had any aspirations to become involved in its management or leadership, until I was asked to do so in about 1999, shortly after retiring from the real estate business. I loved the event too much to turn it down. And then for 18 years, I served as its Assistant Managing Director (1 year), Managing Director (16 years) and Treasurer (3 years). It was a wonderful experience, not the least of which was that it kept me involved in things Bloomington. Not just the hills and roads of Monroe and Brown Counties, but also the people and activities of our old hometown. It was truly a year around job and lucky for both the event and me that my career in real estate was over. Our 50th class reunion was conducted on the same October weekend as the Hilly in 2013 and so I was able to participate only briefly with all of you on Saturday night in the Frangipani Room of the IMU.

The other recent cycling change is that I haven't ridden my bike as much as normal since the onset of the pandemic. And I haven't quite gotten back into the habit pattern that sent me to local training rides 4 or 5 times each week, March through October over the years. Before the pandemic, Mary Sue and I had spent almost 20 consecutive winters in SW Florida, when the bike was a big part of our snowbird experience. She played golf 2 or 3 times a week, and I rode with the local bike club that often or more. We haven't gone to Fort Myers the past 3 years, and we're uncertain about our future plans. I'll keep you posted.

The highlight of 2022 for me was participating with the reunion committee of Georganne, Ann and Bob. It was great fun, often time consuming but definitely rewarding. We were very pleased with its outcome and seeing so many of you in October.

I have enclosed a recent photo of Mary Sue and our 3 local grandchildren, two of whom are IU graduates and the youngest is a junior at Clemson. At the far right is Connor, Maddie's fiancée. Mary Sue and I were captured by our caricaturist at the reunion, and that's enclosed too. I continue to conduct genealogy research on my family and those of friends. I recently discovered some distant cousins, who moved to Monroe County, Indiana in the 1830's, and many are still there. Great fun to meet these people.

Over the next 3 months, we'll hear from Deedie Bell Robinson, Jim Shaffer, followed on May 28 with our next Zoom call, and then John Linnemeier on June 1st. The months of July, August and beyond are open. So please send me information of your recent lives and families to keep this thing going. Many of you have commented that it's well received and appreciated so let's all participate. Congrats to Linda and Bob Dro for the recent success of their Kansas City football team.

Volume 1, Number 4, May 1, 2023

Good morning fellow Univees -

Happy May Day, the first day of Indy's big month. The race and all of it's various activities have changed over the years, some would say for the better, while others wouldn't agree. Sorry Fred, no more Snake Pit. April's chores are over: taxes are paid, crabgrass pre-emergent on the lawn, IU's Little 500 and more. The weather in central Indiana has started to improve but still a bit cool and wet around the edges. Nothing like the snow that Jayne and Deedie probably still have. Our flowering trees have been spectacular this year: the dogwood, magnolias, crabapple trees and more.

I heard from Bill Dickens last night and he wants all of you to know that he's doing fine. No big changes. He mentioned that Lynn Farkas and Dave Thomas had a great telephone conversation recently. Good stuff. And it was great to get an update from Elise a couple of weeks ago. Really sad that we weren't in touch while she lived in Indianapolis. Bob Richey wants you to know about his new phone number as a result of his relocation to Franklin, TN. It's 615-648-2707. Since it's a southern exchange, you'll have to talk slowly.

Our featured classmate this month is Jim Shaffer. It's appropriate to include him early in this series due to his leadership at UHS and especially over the years since then. This role continues to this day as he's agreed to coordinate and manage our next Zoom call on May 28. You'll hear from Jim later this month with his instructions. But now, here's his recent story:

The Life and Times of Jim Shaffer - April 5, 2023

After graduation from UHS I went to Purdue to study engineering, where I discovered two loves and a, well … dislike: The greatest love was my spouse, Lynn. We have been fortunate to grow together over 56 years. I now think of us as one soul in two bodies. The second love was my first career, 30+ years in the media business, starting with newspapers and expanding to TV, radio, and Internet. The dislike? Engineering. I was good at it but didn't enjoy it, so I climbed a career ladder of management, which took me to progressively higher titles in Minneapolis, Baltimore, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, Maine.

Lynn patiently followed me around the country, but when we got to Maine, we liked it so much that we decided no more moving. (We have lived in 15 houses!) My Maine gig ended when we sold the media holding company that I led, so my next challenge became to re-invent myself as necessary to stay in Maine. Initially, I joined the launch of an Internet-oriented start-up, but that failed - we lost time and money in what I now recognize wasn't a good fit for me. I also studied leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School, and that led to a satisfying second career at the University of Southern Maine (USM), where I held five teaching and administrative titles over eight years. My titles included Dean of the School of Business and later Dean of the College of Management and Human Service, which by then included the School of Business. Both sides of my family have deep roots in academia, and my father, who had been Dean of Students at IU, was intrigued that I became a second Dean Shaffer in the family. It was as if the prodigal son had returned to his family's academic tradition.

Along this path, Lynn and I raised two boys, each now married with two children, giving us four grandchildren. The picture shows our extended family at a reunion in May of 2021.

I retired from USM in 2012, after which I devoted most of my time to non-profit work. However, starting a few years ago, I have been backing away from non-profits and exploring some completely new paths, including spiritual studies and music. I pulled my acoustic guitar out of the closet and started playing and performing with a group of 70-somethings. We aren't really that good, but we are having fun, and when we perform the audience picks up on that, and they have fun, too. And I'm still getting better at music. It's satisfying to be my/our age and still improving at something!

In the category of, "while we still can," Lynn and I also enjoy travel. We have been to 32 countries all around the world. The pandemic slowed us down, but we are now resuming. Last year was Iceland. This year we will add Egypt, Jordan, and Greece.

To close on a note of gratitude: I feel lucky. As with all in our class, I was born at a very fortunate time. We were ahead of the Baby Boom and had less competition in our careers than people born just a few years later. World War II had weakened other world economies, leading to a prosperity boom in the US. My parents gave me a great example of what a marriage could be. Bloomington was a great place to grow up. Lynn and I are healthy and happy. And perhaps most importantly, I love and feel loved.

In short, it's been a good ride, with hopefully more to come. My father lived to 101, so I may have many more years ahead. I can think of no greater wish for all of you than that you feel as fulfilled by your lives as I do.

2021.11 Family at Reiters

Jim asked me to share a photo of him and his family. It is attached. Don't try to call him for the next couple of weeks to continue this conversation as he and Lynn are currently traveling. He has promised to be back home in plenty of time to manage our May 28th Zoom call to celebrate our 60th.

Hope you and yours have a great month. See you (literally) on the 28th.

Sincerely, Skip Higgins

Volume 1, Number 7, August 1, 2023
Good August Morning, Univee Classmates –
I hope that each and every one of you is enjoying this series as much as I am. For me, contacting our classmates and arranging for “their story” gives me a ton of satisfaction and enjoyment. The challenge is to think of something clever and entertaining to say in this email message to you. As you can readily tell, I did not live my life in the halls of academia as did this month’s subject classmate. Here we are privileged to hear from Terry Lawson who, as you can see below, distinguished himself in his academic career. I remember Terry as a quiet, very good student and a capable athlete. We became good friends on the cross country team and in the chemistry lab. I couldn’t keep up with him in the mathematics classroom with Jerry McIntosh who also served as our cross country mentor. So, enjoy the read, and let him hear from you. Lawson.terry@gmail.com 971-998-5810 I’m sure that your exchange will be mutually enjoyable. His family photos are attached.
After high school, I went to IU and graduated in 3 years with a major in Mathematics. The main reason I decided to graduate in 3 years was that my Topology professor in my third year encouraged me to apply for an NSF graduate fellowship, which I received and used to fund my first 3 years at Stanford. At the end of my second year at Stanford, I met my future wife Barbara. Barb’s extended family had a long history at Stanford: her grandfather received a Ph.D. there and later was a professor at Columbia, her parents met there as students, and many relatives got degrees or taught there. That summer Barb and I started dating, and we married the next spring. I got my Ph.D. at Stanford in 1971 and took my one and only job (other than visiting positions at UCLA, Indiana, Michigan State and UC Irvine during sabbaticals) at Tulane University. My major research area was differential topology, and my work in the later years used breakthrough work by Simon Donaldson (for which he won the Fields Medal, the highest honor for a mathematician) that was motivated by its applications in physics. Besides two terms as chair and many years as the undergraduate major adviser, I wrote 2 texts, one in Linear Algebra published by Wiley and one in Topology published by Oxford University Press, numerous research papers, and directed 7 Ph.D. dissertations. One Ph.D advisee, Mike Frame, later taught at Yale and was honored one year as the Outstanding Undergraduate Professor there - it is quite unusual for a Math Professor to win such an honor.
Barb and I have 2 daughters (Amy and Kathy) and a granddaughter Maya (Amy’s daughter). Amy’s husband Hemant is from India and Kathy’s husband Kelvin is of Chinese descent. Amy lives in Ann Arbor, where she stayed after getting her Ph.D. at Michigan in Archeology. She has a business in Social Work and was a longtime Childbirth Educator. Kathy lives in the Netherlands. Her husband Kelvin works worldwide as an opera singer - he also heads a nonprofit Vital Opera that Kathy is also involved in. Kathy just started a job heading a new grants program at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. A big attraction of Europe for them is that the European Union funds the arts much better than the U.S., but Covid has restricted Kelvin’s opportunities as group performances and worldwide travel by opera companies were shut down.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina pretty much destroyed my normal life as a professor in New Orleans. Our home was badly damaged; after having some repair work done, we sold the remains at about 1/2 its former value, and rented rather primitive housing that was available in the ruins. It was many years before our old neighborhood resembled what it was previously, as qualified contractors and labor were rare and extremely expensive. I took a leave from Tulane in 2007 and we bought a house in Portland, where we lived except for a period back teaching in New Orleans before retiring from Tulane in 2010.
My main activities after retirement involved hiking and cycling, both nearby and while traveling. I led many hikes for the Mazamas (a hiking and climbing club), and served as chair of their Trail Trips Committee. I also was the main ride organizer and leader for the weekday rides for Portland Velo ( a cycling club) for many years. I enjoyed many hikes, backpacks, and longer cycling trips, mainly in the Western U.S. but also one nice one in Spain. Although I never ran much after running cross country in my senior year in high school, Amy is a runner who has done an Iron Man triathlon and met her husband through running, and Kathy’s husband Kelvin is a long distance runner who recently did a 100 Kilometer race.
Next month, I will send you a very special treat, a group message from “the Village People.” So stay tuned and stay cool. The wonderful month of September will be here soon.
Yours truly, Skip Higgins

Volume 1, Number 8, September 1, 2023
Good Morning All -
September 1st: Labor Day Weekend: Glorious cool weather. Does it get any better than this? Maybe not. This is probably my favorite time of the year, with warm days and cool nights, recalling the resumption of the academic years in Bloomington, whether it was at U-School or IU, it involved reuniting with friends/classmates who we had not seen for 90 days. Football was and is an important element of the mix at this time of year. And more. Great memories, continuing to this very day.
This month's Univee Bullet highlights our classmates who live in or near The Villages in Florida. For the sake of this discussion, we'll refer to them as The Villages People. They seem to lived in close proximity, both physically and emotionally, getting together frequently for social events aka mini reunions. You may remember that Ann Armstrong Hodge was instrumental in organizing a class reunion at The Villages 5 or 6 years ago (sorry Ann, I've forgotten the exact date) which served nicely as a precurser to the reunion we had last October. To a large degree, Ann and Georganne too were the inspiration and guiding forces for the event last year. So it's entirely fitting that Ann is involved in this edition, along with our several friends who live in her immediate area. Further thanks go to Lynn who gathered the stories, bundled them nicely, and sent them to me. Several photos are attached of these lovely people, high-lighting their frequent social activities together.
Univee thoughtsHello, all you great Univees ! This is a letter from all of your Univee friends that now live in The Villages, (T.V.) Florida. We are: Tunde (Csoke) Rigel, Ann (Armstrong) Hodge, Lynn (Farkas) Weddle, David Adcock, Gretchen (Ross) Henoch and we are occasionally visited by Fred and Marsha Jones (who live in close by Ocala Fl. ) and Rita (Adcock) and Jim Barrett, who live in California
First, a little bit about T.V. life style. It is a 55+ retirement community encompassing approximately 32 miles with multiple neighborhoods and various housing styles. We are about 45 miles northwest of Orlando with an estimated population of around 140,000 residents.
Just a side note: In 2017 we organized a class reunion for classes of 1962 and 1963. We thought it would be a great place to see everyone. About 25 people came and we had a blast.
In our individual letters you will get an idea of life here in T.V. There are numerous recreation facilities, golf courses, swimming pools for families and some just for adults. Arts and culture are prominent - movie theatres, performing art centers, four town squares, with nightly, free music. There are hundreds of resident-run social clubs. It goes on and on, but this is a place where you can be as active or inactive as you wish. Oh, and also, we get around in our golf carts. There are golf cart trails and tunnels to keep us safe. Our hope with this letter is that you can catch up a little with all of us and how we are doing. We are still absolutely amazed that we all ended up here in what we consider a very special place.
Ann
I paid my first visit to The Villages October 2013. By July 2014, I was living there. I had been retired for eight years (librarian- Lebanon, In. - public schools). My family had all moved South, and I needed to move from my two story, larger home. When I moved to The Villages, I knew Lynn lived there, but little did I know that Tunde and Lee and Gretchen and Fred and Dave would follow. Also, Jim and Rita Barrett visit a few times a year and Fred and Marsha Jones just moved to Ocala, Fl. (30 miles away). It is great! We get together often and every time we start talking about our younger days in Bloomington and then we realize - hey-this is wonderful being with people who actually knew us when we were YOUNG !!! We feel very fortunate to have each other here and have had such wonderful classmates that we talk about often. We wish each and every one of you would come to visit. Several of you already have !! We love all our class of 1963. GO UNIVEES !!!!
Tunde
Harold Swartz, founder of The Villages retirement community, fulfilled his goal to provide retirement and to enjoy retirement as a "millionaire " the following way: Created a geographic setting, with underground infrastructure, providing small lakes, golf courses, town centers with 365 days a year with live bands, soft ball courts, tennis, (pickle ball courts that came recently), county clubs with restaurants and pro shops, theaters, arena for private clubs open to everyone,( present have 3000 clubs, but if someone wishes to start a new club, they can) created neighborhoods with gates for security, attracted multitude denomination place of worship, all the above amenities made available to everyone for the same monthly fee, whether you own a 75k home or a million plus home, so everyone feels equal in participating in all the advantages available. Each neighborhood has its own character, where neighbors can gather for card games, euchre, bridge etc. mahjong, Bunco, book clubs, WWI and WWII history clubs, pot lucks and get around with golf carts provided in its infrastructure. My husband and I decided to participate in the life style following our retirement.
Gretchen
My husband Fred and I moved to The Villages in 2014, an over 55 community. We have never doubted our decision. There are plenty of options to keep a person as busy and active as they wish. Each Thursday The Villages newspaper has a 64 page insert listing all activities including pickle ball, water volleyball, softball, cycling groups, water aerobics, and obviously many more. Our move was prompted by the ability to play golf, get away from winters and to downsize. Homes are single story privately owned residences, which do vary in size. There are 4 town centers and weather permitting, there is live music every night of the year until 9:00 in the town centers. Communities are grouped into villages that have swimming pools. There are local and regional Recreation Centers but all amenities are open to residents. When we moved, it was a stroke of luck to discover three classmates lived here and now we have grown to 6 (counting me). We get together regularly. An added bonus was to discover that our four children and families enjoyed coming to visit. I have two weekly 9-hole golf friends, weekly card game and monthly bunco dice game. Our neighborhood does have occasional block parties and a few neighborhood golf cart parades!
Lynn
My husband Bill and I moved to the Villages Feb. 28, 2013. Really looking forward to a new life in retirement. Sadly, he passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in mid April, just about 5 ½ weeks later. I only knew two people here and it was a very tough trial to say the least. However, I am so blessed that it happened here. People opened their arms and said "welcome". I immediately joined a church choir and these people have now become my best friends and family. And --- talk about blessings. I have these wonderful Univee friends to hang out with. We have so much fun talking about old times and friends, playing cards, golfing or just hanging out. We even had a Christmas in April party !! I have been involved in the music scene here, since the beginning. I am currently in 4 different singing groups, this year I have performed in "The Sound of Music" and "The Man From La Mancia", and soon to be in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", (the musical). I do water aerobics, a bone building class and play cards, and sometimes golf. Both my children and one sister now live in Florida. So, I am busy keeping up with them. So, all I can say is that this is a wonderful community to live in. You can be as active or inactive as you wish. Friendly people and beautiful weather. I have been truly blessed.
Dave
Hello Univees, I moved into The Villages August of 2016. I knew at the time there were 4 classmates already leaving there. I became the 5th. Tunde, Gretchen, Lynn and Ann. They greeted me with open arms. When I stopped to think about it, what a unique situation. 5 class of '63 graduates living in the same retirement community. I have to admit being the only guy was rather awkward, but their husbands and boyfriends made for great get togethers. (The girls still treat me so nice.) We do communicate on a regular basis (cards, lunches). I enjoy living in The Villages. I was quite active until the plandemic. With everything shut down for 2 plus years (for no reason I might add) I found myself getting used to being alone. Still wouldn't change my lifestyle. Shorts, T shirts and flip flops.
Fred
Marsha and I moved from our home in Bloomington 45 years and headed south to Sarasota County Florida. I can truthfully say, it was a difficult decision, leaving town and friends I had known for, pretty much, my entire life. We were excited about not having to shovel snow and being able to play golf at any time. Then, a couple of years ago, we headed north to Ocala, and settled in a Del Webb 55 and older golf community. Ocala is horse county, home of the fabulous World Equestrian Center and one of the few areas that experience all three seasons, summer, fall and spring. Roses grow year-round and Marsha even has a patch of Zinnias growing. We are just 45 minutes west from the villages, and my UHS classmates Anne, Tunde, Lynn, Gretchen and Dave. It has been a great joy connecting with all of them, swapping old stories and rekindling memories. We celebrated with one terrific mini reunion, meeting for brunch and for dinner. For me, there is something just great about being around friends you grew up with, people who share the same memories of childhood and high school. I consider myself lucky to be living here.
Rita and Jim
Our love affair with The Villages started a long time ago when we visited our friends Tunde (Rigel) and her husband, Lee, who had moved there. Over the years, we visited them many times, enjoying all the wonderful things The Villages has to offer. At the time there were only two Town Centers, but, it has grown considerably over the years. My brother, David Adcock, moved there in 2016 and we try to visit him a couple of times a year. He lives in the original historical Village called Orange Blossom, which is a very charming community. And when we visit him we are so happy that we have a chance to see the other Bloomington folks who live there as well. We always get together for dinner or some kind of outing. Our next visit will be sometime this Fall.
Now go and check out their photos
Bill Dickens told me (bragging) that he found his UHS class ring. As a challenge to all of us, he wonders who else can find their UHS jewelry. I don't know where we're going with this, but take a few minutes and see what you can find. You might be surprised.
Next month we'll have the good fortune of hearing from Joe Rees and his wonderful life and travels. Stay tuned.
Enjoy the day, Skip Higgins
At Tunde's home
Villages Mini Reunion

Volume 1, Number 9, October 1, 2023
Welcome to October!! Just like I told you in September, this is my favorite time of the year. The good: cooler but moderate temperatures, the fall colors, Homecoming games and related events, the end of the baseball season, IU basketball just around the corner, and more. I’m sure you could add many events of your own. The bad: shorter days, leaves to rake, and not many more. This month marks the 1 year anniversary of the UHS Class of ’63 59th reunion. We had a wonderful time, but we missed many of you who were unable to travel. As such, we began a series of Zoom calls in an attempt to get ’63 Univees together without the inconvenience or expense of traveling. It seemed to be the consensus of the group that we conduct 2 Zoom calls per year. The next such event is scheduled for 8 pm EDT, Sunday, October 22, 2023. And then we’ll convene again on May 28, 2024. Jim Shaffer has graciously agreed to again be our leader/moderator. Heads up for an email from him later this month with further details.
Our featured classmate this month is Joe Rees. I have many warm memories of Joe from our high school days. From all appearances at that time, he was destined to a life of public service, aka politics. And so it has happened just that way. Joe has provided us with a great example of our continued communication. Shortly after receiving his update for the purpose of this bulletin, he fired another email to me with a new and updated version. He explained that his son Patrick had just landed a wonderful new job, as you will read below, and he wanted all of us to know of it. The overriding message here is this: whenever any of you have exciting events to share with all of us, please don’t hesitate at any time to send the news to me, and I’ll include it in a future Monthly Bullet. Or you can make such an announcement directly by “replying to all” to any one of my monthly emails. Do it. We’re interested.
And now, this from Joe and Sherry:
Sherry and I missed the 50th reunion because in June 2013, I had just started a four-year tour in Brussels as the Customs Attaché, accredited to both the Mission to the European Union and the Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium. My primary mission was to be the U.S. Customs representative to the World Customs Organization (WCO) with a membership of 185 customs administrations. I also worked with the European Commission on customs and security issues (this will play a role down the road) and represented the ambassador at Armistice Day ceremonies, which I viewed as an honor and privilege.
Once selected for a post, the State Department takes over everything from training to housing to transporting your family and household goods. The Foreign Service Institute provides history and governing structure of the EU and, among other things, training in counter surveillance; how to lose a tail; and, what to do if taken hostage. I was thinking to myself, what are they talking about? I’m going to Brussels where the greatest danger I’m going to face is a bad canapé at a cocktail party. The two guys next to me, however, were going to Yemen and they were taking copious notes.
Without getting too far into it, my approach and attitude toward the job changed when, on 22 March 2016, suicide bombers detonated explosives at the Brussels airport and the Maelbeek metro station, close to the European Parliament and European Commission buildings. By happen stance a colleague and I had organized a terrorism workshop for European Union countries in The Hague and I was moderating the workshop when the bombs went off at about 9:00 AM (actually the bomb at Maelbeek was recorded at 9:11). Terrorism was no longer theoretical and our work on counterterrorism increased substantially.
The work was exciting, sometimes depressing but always interesting. The travel was great, and our European vacations did not have to begin with a $2,000 airfare. At the end of four years, it was time to return home in September of 2017; I retired at the end of that year. I gave up flying sailplanes (couldn’t fly often enough to stay safe) and took up shooting (sporting clays) and turned in my road bike for a recumbent -- lower center of gravity and easier on my back.
We did some traveling and wanted to do more and decided that a 130 year-old, three story Capitol Hill townhouse was not conducive to travel so we sold it and moved to a co-op in southwest Washington that overlooks the Washington channel and the Potomac river. We don’t worry about the roof, drains, or repairs and we can lock the door and travel to our heart’s content. This year we spent five weeks in Europe - Croatia, Bosnia, Belgium, France and England. And we just returned from a boat tour of Iceland.
In September of 2020 our son Patrick married a lovely young woman of Bosnian decent and they blessed us with a granddaughter, Dahlia Luna, in August 2021. Patrick, who has spent his career working for NBA teams, has accepted a job with the Minnesota Timberwolves as the chief communications officer.
Life is good and our door is always open if you decide to visit Washington.
Joe’s photos are below.
Bill Dickens is on the docket for November 1st. In his own quiet way, Bill has been an important leader of our class. So please stay tuned for what the Gamecock and US Army Colonel has to tell us a month from today.
As always, Your classmate, Skip Higgins

Volume 1, Number 10, November 1, 2023
Here we are in November, already. The Holiday season. Halloween is just in our rear view mirror, All Saints Day today, Turkey Day in three weeks and the big guy with a red suit and a long flowing white beard only 7 weeks away. That would be Santa, not Tim or Jack. The best day of this season for me is Lasagna Day. I quit counting birthdays a while back, and since Mary Sue prepares my favorite meal on my birthday, I now call it Lasagna Day.
Sad news from John Linnemeier. John has informed me that Donna Hayes has passed away near the end of October. Apparently she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease in recent years. She lived in Colorado Springs, and that is presumably where she died. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult itme.
This month, Bill Dickens has agreed to provide us with an update of his life and times as this month’s featured classmate. Bill doesn’t mention it in his piece, but he mentioned to me that he discovered an interesting newspaper article in his archives as he was researching topics to cover in his update. This newspaper article told of a high school football game, where Bill had scored a touchdown and a PAT. Included was mention of a Univee player by the name of Bucher who ran 60 yards in the wrong direction, resulting in a safety for the opposing team. Bill is curious if any of you, especially John, remember this incident and if there might be any different versions of it. Think about it.
In the meanwhile, here is Bill’s blog, with photos:
How to cover it all? Well, we shall see (?).
So, after UHS...University of South Carolina on a football scholarship, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Gamecock football, graduation and marriage to a lovely Chi Omega, sweet Allyson Bell, a cheerleader...became an Army Lieutenant paratrooper in Alaska for a year jumping out of airplanes...an extremely cool tour...
..Next, Vietnam (an extremely warm tour) as a Rifle Platoon Leader and Intelligence Officer, a tough year...then, back to stateside in a Command position (SC) followed by a year of Flight School (AL)...loved it...eventually became an Instructor Pilot...
...Then, assigned to Korea as an Ops Officer flying CH-47 Chinook helos for a year...back to the good ol' US of A and Infantry Career Course (GA) another year...volunteered for Ranger School, ate some snakes (true) and shed a bunch of weight...
...Then, Commander and staff officer in 82d Airborne (paratroopers again) in NC for four years...mostly jumping out of Air Force airplanes...
...Washington, DC next as an Assignment Officer assigning officers worldwide for a couple of years...then, a year at the Marine Corps Staff College in Quantico, VA...learned how to communicate using only grunts...Deedie, it's just a bit of humor...
...Europe called...off to Germany (Stuttgart) and command of UH-60 Blackhawk helos and a 7th Corps Staff Officer position for four years..best food I have ever had, and the heaviest!...flew my Blackhawks over the channel to England to train with the Brits...great experience...dined one night with a member of House of Lords...
...Back to US (LA) commanding & flying in an Attack Helo Battalion of AH-1 Moderized Cobras for two years...Cajun country and crayfish boils, a truly unique experience...Mardi Gras was nice, interesting and bit strange for a Family trip...
...Then to the National Training Center (NTC) on the high desert of California as Chief of Army Aviation...all NTC functions were active, outdoor warfighting scenarios (very complex) using lasers on people, tanks and aircraft...and some well-controlled exercises using bullets, artillery and Air Force bombs. This was a very tough gig followed by a very smooth one...
...Harvard (Cambridge, Mass) was next, studying/sharing as a National Security Fellow for one year. Yes, a great year, informative and very broadening...became a Red Sox fan... enjoyed Cape Cod a bunch...Boston's Union Oyster House is the best!...often sculled on the Charles River out of Harvard's Weld Boathouse...really enjoyed those times ...
...Back to Washington DC/Pentagon and on the Secretary of the Army's staff for two years as Executive Officer for Legislative Liason (working the House & Senate)...Congress, what an eye opener!!...money, power and who you know (and can trust)...
...Next, to Army Chief of Staff's group pushing around lots of ideas and dollars as Director of Requirements for Army Aviation...always wrestling for funding...then remaining on the staff for two more years as Pentagon's Director of Army Risk Management...
...Six straight years in the Pentagon was enough. I retired with no regrets, returning to South Carolina and the University of South Carolina for several years as Director of Environmental Health and Risk Mitigation officer...then fully retired to Charleston/Mount Pleasant where I now reside.
My wife passed away several years ago, BUT we were blessed with three boys (Citadel) and one girl (Boston U). She and I so enjoyed their many and varied activities. All my boys are now here locally as are four of my grandchildren (two boys & two girls). My daughter is in Munich, Germany with her husband and two girls, all of whom I talk to and see quite often via the Messenger app...wonderfully amazing stuff!
Along the way, I/we vacationed in a score of countries. All were unique, fun-filled and enlightening...each trip facilitated (obviously) by my career's location in either the Far East or Europe.
If you have questions, send an email or give me a call (803) 361-3471. I would be glad to talk to any member of the class o' '63.
Best to All - Bill
PS - Met Al Gore in the Pentagon, Bill Clinton in the White House and many, many DC "poobahs". BUT, again BUT, the best thing to have happened to me and the Family was that we had (unknowingly) moved into a home two blocks away from BOB BATCHELDER!...
Yes, stranger than fiction...Bob, I, our wives and children very much enjoyed each other during those DC years. Bob, a lawyer, lobbied Congress for several organizations. He was a great and always-helpful friend...well, of course, Bob was a Univee.
The photos that Bill wants to share with you follow. They are Bill making a tackle against in-state rival Clemson, Bill and family at the Citadel, Bill rowing in the Charles River while at Harvard and Army garb from Vietnam and the Pentagon. In his family photo, his son Joseph is on the left, son Justin Ellis Dickens or Jed is next to him, son Billy in front, daughter Ansley is the blond and Bill’s wife Allyson is the brunet. It is unintentional, yet ironic, that Bill is featured in the month of November, where we celebrate Veteran’s Day on the 11th. Think of him and his wonderful service to our country on the 11th. Better yet, call or email him on that day. You will not be disappointed in the banter that will follow.
So, please enjoy this holiday season and continue the conversations with each other that our Monthly Bullet have inspired. Great fun to be sure.
As always, your classmate, Skip Higgins
Beating Clemson in 1965	Citidel Parade Ground
Pentagon and Vietnam garb	Sculling on the Charles

Volume 1, Number 11, December 1, 2023
Good Morning Fellow 63 Univees -
'Tis the season. Yes, it's the Holiday Season in full bloom. Thanksgiving is a recent memory, see attached photo of a couple of Thanksgiving turkeys, Christmas and New Years Day are coming soon. I hope that each of you is still experiencing the magic of this time of year, especially through your family and friends. Bloomington and UHS were certainly wonderful places to begin a life-long process of enjoying this season of the year.
This month's featured classmate is Patti Talbot Sanborn. I remember Patti as everybody's best friend during our high school years. And as far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed. My best memory of Patti is that she was indirectly responsible for my blind date with Mary Sue, who I eventually married and still am. She was a friend of a friend and I remind Patti of this interesting coincidence from time to time. Further details have been withheld for the sake of all concerned.
Patti has lived a wonderful life and here's her story, with accompanying photos.
So Skip has asked me to follow Bill Dickens’ bio!! And what an impressive one it is, as are so many of our fellow Univees are. So proud of you all.
This will be short and sweet as I was not in the military, not an artist, not a Washington pol, not a singer (well, not exactly true. I did sing with the Park City Singers for several years), not a professor, etc. etc.
I have, however, enjoyed my life and am so happy I ended up in Park City, Utah. It is a beautiful area with loads of outdoor activities to keep me moving. Plus, the community is a super place to volunteer for non-profits (and we have tons!)
To start, I went to IU, am a Tri Delta, was on the winning Little 500 Tricycle Tri Delta team in 1967 (so fun!). I left Bloomington after graduation to live in Kansas City with Joni Robertson for a while. After eight months I moved to London England with two friends to see what it was like to live in a foreign country. And not knowing another language, we choose London!! That was a wonderful experience for a naive young girl from Indiana, Plus, I have a real appreciation for people from other countries and their cultures from living there. (As one friend said “They don’t do things here like we do in the US.” But she didn’t mean it as a compliment (she returned home!). Anyway, four and half years of working for the National Bank of Detroit as a secretary and enjoying all the sightseeing around the U.K. and the continent I could do, I had to return home in 1973 to start earning a proper living.
Next phase of my life was in San Diego (where I moved because my sister, Judy, was there and I hadn’t had a tan for four years!). So fun as well, lived in South Mission Beach, near the Pennant and the Beachcomber, if any of you know about them. Played Over-the-Line on the beach, learned tennis and a bit of sailing. Met my exhusband, got married in 1980, had my one and only child, a son, in 1982. We moved to Las Vegas in 1988 where we spend seven LONG years. I obviously do not like Vegas. In 1995, we were able to move to Park City as my ex had business in Salt Lake City. I started in on my volunteering career (?), started hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, golfing and watched my son turn into an adult. He is now a Captain for United Airlines, based in Newark for now. Also enjoyed when the Olympics were here in 2002 (they may be coming back in 2034) where I volunteered with PC Chamber and collected LOTS of pins!
Next came divorce in 2003. I learned to stand on my own two feet and have enjoyed single hood ever since. I have been able to travel one big trip almost every year, including Asia (five countries in five weeks), China, Turkey (twice), Egypt, Morocco, Croatia, the Galapagos, the Baltic, and Great Britain and all countries in Europe. And I am particularly proud to have hiked the Inca trail (four days in the Andes) to Machu Picchu. Such a gift!
I am still living in the same house in Park City (with a great view of the mountains). I work at Deer Valley Resort during the winter, two days a week selling tickets. I still volunteer (found my niche of being the Treasurer) and have the most amazing friends in the world.
Well, this got longer than I intended :( I was so pleased I came back to Bloomington last October to reconnect with some of you. It was lots of fun!! Hope to see you all again soon. Love and hugs, Patti
The next two Monthly Bullets are being prepared "as we speak." Jack Brummett and Terri Thoma Lewis are hard at work preparing their stories. I'm sure they're having fun in the process.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, Skip
	In Morocco	Patti and friend
Patti's golf course in the fall & View from Patti's house

Volume 1, Number 12, January 1, 2024
Good Morning and Happy New Year 2024 to the Graduates of University High School 1963 -
It's been a good morning to sleep in. I did and I hope you did too. For me, no late night party or midnight celebration. Just recovering from a full day of NFL football, neighborhood fireworks and a busy Holiday Season. For us, the highlight of this year's Holiday Season was a visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC and to grandson Nathan Higgins' Clemson graduation. He finished in 3 1/2 years, with a 3.94 grade average. He is continuing for another year to obtain his masters in accounting. His parents and grandparents are obviously very proud of this young man. His parents and his older siblings are IU graduates.
Speaking of accounting, this month's featured classmate is Jack Brummett. Jack is the source of many good memories, some recent and some of long ago. He was a good Univee athlete, playing both football and basketball. He was also a good guy to hang out with. But most importantly, we all got to know his parents and his older sister Brenda from the Brummett Pharmacy. Who among us, didn't use the Brummett Pharmacy on a daily basis for our needs? The Higgins family certainly did. Sadly, Jack lost his mother during our high school years. I think this tended to bring us closer to Jack as we tried to support him during this difficult time. So here's his story, with a little help from his in-house secretary Anita. Thanks to Jack for sharing this wonderful story with us. Enjoy.
Patti thought she was to follow a difficult path to tell her story of life beyond UHS. She just added to my task.
After graduation I attended Purdue one and half years then realized pharmacy was not my real passion although all my aptitude test said I should sell drugs in Bloomington (like my father). I transferred to IU and graduated from the business school majoring in accounting. Shortly after graduation, I moved to Chicago to await my invitation from Uncle Sam to join the war in Vietnam. In Chicago I met a friend of my sister who was in a reserve unit. I was able to join the unit and stayed out of the war. I greatly respect all of my classmates who were in the war, but I took a different path.
After graduation I attended Purdue one and half years then realized pharmacy was not my real passion although all my aptitude test said I should sell drugs in Bloomington (like my father). I transferred to IU and graduated from the business school majoring in accounting. Shortly after graduation, I moved to Chicago to await my invitation from Uncle Sam to join the war in Vietnam. In Chicago I met a friend of my sister who was in a reserve unit. I was able to join the unit and stayed out of the war. I greatly respect all of my classmates who were in the war, but I took a different path.
Anita continued to work with Delta Airlines, which allowed us to travel on a limited budget. After the birth of Eric then Sara, Anita quit Delta and I returned to public accounting with a different national firm. After several rewarding years of work with this firm, I again accepted an offer with a client in the commercial real estate development business. It may seem that I made many job changes (friends wanted to start a moving business if they could get my business)!
I was fortunate to never be seeking to leave any of my jobs and I never prepared a resume. My familiarity with a new employer/partnership made changes less stressful.
To be merciful, I will skip several moves to the final opportunity again with a client headquartered in Lansing, Michigan (Doug Carter's stomping grounds). Cinnaire is a large non-profit company with a primary business of providing equity for the development of affordable housing. I ran the Indiana portion of the company and we were very successful. Working with a group of like-minded skilled professionals was rewarding. We were a big part of making quality housing affordable throughout Indiana (my part of Cinnaire). I was able to use my knowledge gained in public accounting and with real estate firms to help structure tax motivated partnerships with large corporate investor partners. Enough about my career …Sorry one more 'business' item. In 1986, we along with a contractor friend purchased a retail building in downtown Zionsville, IN. We have been fortunate to have it continuously rented. A good source to add to our retirement income.
In 2022 my brother (Bill), sister (Brenda), and I sold the building that formerly housed Brummett's Pharmacy. The purchaser was Indiana University Foundation, the entity so ably lead by Bill Armstrong (Ann's dad) for many years. It felt good to keep it in the IU family.
Our kids all have good careers and were fortunate to marry wonderful spouses. Chad trained as an anesthesiologist at the University of Michigan. He now leads the U of M research in pain management and lectures worldwide regarding the opioid crisis. Kate works as an aide at an elementary school and will soon start on her masters in elementary school counseling. Chad and Kate have three children 13,11, and 8. They live in Ann Arbor, MI.
Eric is in Columbus, Ohio working for DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse). It is a business like I never experienced but he had earned the confidence of the executive officers. Jen is a speech therapist in the public school system. They also have three children ages 8, 6, and 3.
Sara is a pediatrician caring for newborns at Community North and East. Her daughter (4) wants her to bring some of them home! Mark is a stay-at-home dad who has worked as a consultant to various companies and stays busy with their kids - coaching all of three soccer teams last season. Their kids are 10, 7, & 4.
Since retirement about seven years ago, Anita and I have traveled throughout the US and some international trips. Like Patti, we visited Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. We did not hike the trail at Machu Picchu like she did. It was difficult enough walking the trail to Sun Gate that overlooks the main area that you see in pictures. My brother Bill and his wife Charlotte (Ellson) are our traveling companions. Most of the time we prefer to drive which gives us flexibility for side trips. Bill is four years older than me, but age difference disappears as we age.
In no order we have vacationed with them at the Finger Lakes in upstate NY (they live in Geneseo, NY); traveled east through Vermont, New Hampshire to Maine (loved Acadia); Sedona and Phoenix; long trip to Bryce, Zion, Arches, Canyon Land, Monument, Antelope Canyon and drove home through Kansas City and Bethany, Missouri where Anita was born; New Orleans through Springfield, IL, Memphis, Jackson, MS; Jack and I then flew from there to Boston to hear Chad speak; to Nova Scotia and on to Newfoundland (highly recommend); northern Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dunes; cruise through the Caribbean to Panama Canal, and last September we spent a month traveling from San Diego to Sacramento visiting Sequoia and Yosemite Parks.
Many more trips but I will leave it here. I do regret not staying in touch with my classmates. Could have seen Jim Shaffer on our way to Acadia, Deedee in Vermont, and Jim Bucher in California.
We are all fortunate to have attended UHS. I hope we will see each other from time to time and know you are invited to visit us in Zionsville.
Happy New Year     Your friend, Jack
As you might remember, we conducted a Zoom call a year ago today. By the consensus of the class, we will limit these calls to twice a year: on May 28 the anniversary of our graduation and October 22 the anniversary of our last reunion. Please consider joining us in May as these calls are great fun. It is often difficult to hang up after 45 to 60 minutes of catching up with each other. Jim Shaffer will again lead the way. The next Monthly Bullet will come your way on February 1 with Terri Thoma Lewis' story.
Enjoy your day, Skip Higgins
Brummett grandchildren	Jack and Anita

Chad Brummett family

Eric Brummett family

Sara and family

Volume 2, Number 1, February 1, 2024
Good morning and congratulations to us, the graduates of UHS Class of 1963, and our little project entitled the Univee 63 Monthly Bullet. We have now completed a full year, sharing life stories of each others' lives since UHS. This began as an outgrowth of our October, 2022 reunion, a result of the Reunion Committee's attempt to contact, invite and ultimately get together with each and every living member of our class. No one can be surprised at the 12, and now 13, life stories so far, submitted by our classmates who continued their success and happiness experienced while in high school. Their life patterns were set in stone (limestone?) while at UHS and unchanged for the next 60 years.
This is most certainly true of this month's featured classmate, the very classy Terri Thoma Louis. Her story is shown below, with photos attached. I am certain that you will enjoy reading her thoughtful essay as much as she did preparing it for you.
Univee Profile. 2024 submitted by Terri Thoma Louis
Not sure how far to go back.... Starting with the end of my junior year at IU. Ellen Woods and I came up with a plan to escape to San Francisco to explore big city life. We spent the summer of ’66 working temp jobs. It was a magical time as we wandered aimlessly experiencing an awakening to options and possibilities. Returning to IU, completed my degree, packed up and moved to San Francisco where I lived until late ’68. When it became clear that my BA in Sociology was not in high demand, graduate school was my next destination. It took a few years but finally got my MSW in ’72.
I consider myself so lucky that I had chosen a profession which was such a good fit, the kind of work which didn’t feel like work. I worked in public mental health, and child protective services (an area where everybody hates you – the kids you are trying to protect, the parents, and lawyers and judges who were trying to choose the best option when so frequently there wasn’t one). My mental health experience included work with a most challenging but also most rewarding population -– the chronically mentally ill who were at risk of frequent hospitalizations, self-harm, self-medication, and faced a multitude of other barriers to functioning in mainstream society. I learned so much from those clients and hold them close to my heart though it’s been a decade or two since I have had contact. Leaving the public sector, I established a private practice in psychotherapy which continued for 36+ years until retirement at 69 yrs.
When I turned 50, I started a seeking -new- experiences tradition to celebrate each new decade. The 50 trip was the California Zephyr from Denver to San Francisco. My 60th birthday trip was to Lake Powell. We rented a houseboat and cruised, explored, got lost, got stuck near shore (the lake was low even then and is now perilously low). If we were to do this again, we would bring a couple of hefty cabana boys or younger relatives on the trip to do the heavy lifting. It was a lot of work. The 70th birthday trip was to Yellowstone. Yellowstone with its boiling, molten pods, its steamy geysers and abundant wildlife --- one has the sense of wandering onto an alien planet. I haven’t figured out the trip to mark my 80th but am leaning toward Glacier N.P. and Banff in Canada or the Columbia River Gorge. Might consider another visit to the canyon country of Utah which always beckons; that’s Patti Talbot’s territory and she will know what I’m talking about.
Retirement is my happy place. Though I loved my work I was ready to turn my phone off, and do other stuff, or JUST BE. Husband John (of 45 yrs.), Phoebe (dog & mistress of the house) and I live In Manitou Springs, CO a village of about 5000. We’re at the foot of Pikes Peak and get to enjoy Its majesty daily. Manitou has an active arts community, a population which includes a mix of free-spirited old hippies, mainstream professionals, new age healer types, craftsmen, and it’s rumored that we even have a witch’s coven. We are grateful to live in a setting so beautiful and a community of neighbors who support one another. During the pandemic someone got the bright idea of howling (at the moon) at 8 p.m. every night. Supposedly this was in support of first responders and medical providers who were working to treat the covid plague. What happened is it brought all of us out to our porches and decks as we attempted to howl like wolves. It was hilarious and provided us a sense of togetherness. In 2012 we suffered through a disastrous wildfire just north and east of us which destroyed 348+ homes and took two lives (some of our friends were directly impacted). We were evacuated for less than 24 hours as we were out of danger when the wind shifted to carry the flames away from us. Before the wind shift, the fire was less than ½ mile away, the flames visible and threatening. We have our run-for-it list, and our evacuation bin packed and ready with our valuable papers residing in the safe deposit year-round. Those in the know tell us it’s only a matter of time. Two other major wildfires within 20 miles or so are the reminders of how fragile and vulnerable our high desert terrain is.
Manitou is a tourist destination which has its pros and cons. One thing about visitors is they are usually smiling, enthusiastic, in awe of the mountains, and eager to explore, if out of breath the first day or so. Some may be in an enhanced state since we have two legal recreational marijuana outlets, the only ones within 50 miles. When we first were pondering approving this, many of us were hesitant, feeling that it might have negative consequences for the peace and security of the town. The opposite is true and, in fact, many of the pot seekers are our age – old timers wishing to visit the high times of their youth, I guess. The money which has poured in from these enterprises has allowed us to invest in updated infrastructure. The cons of living with tourists are the obvious – traffic, noise, crowds etc. much like Bloomington when the students return after summer break.
My retirement activity includes signing up for art classes, the most recent being an indigo dyeing class, and pursuing my weaving and knitting. I studied loom weaving years ago and have produced a bounty of woven cloth which now hangs on walls, covers tables, chairs and some is wearable. My goal now is to learn to sew. My super sewing skill is using the seam ripper to undo everything that I’ve stitched, so I need help. Am a devoted knitter and currently meet weekly with fellow knitters to teach newbies and learn from those more experienced. I was in a small writing group which melted down when the pandemic hit; haven’t found a replacement. Reading is part of my daily activity, walking my exercise preference. I was not blessed with children but have nieces, nephews and a goddaughter who have contributed much joy, laughter, and even some tears to fill that void.
My latest project is courtesy of my brother, Mark, who gifted me Storyworth last Christmas. Questions like “what did you learn from parents?”, “what trends did you follow as a teenager?” and many more jog the memories so that the final product is a book of stories – like a guided memoir. I’m in the process of completion and it has been a fun though labor-intensive activity. One of the memories which surfaced during this process was the water tower caper -- climbing and painting seniors ’63. (do you remember Georganne and Ann? Sherri was also with us). Other high school memories, too many to review here, became so vivid that I was quite surprised when I happened to look in a mirror only to discover I didn’t look anything like a 16- year- old! Am planning a Bloomington trip next Spring and hope to arrange a get-together with anyone available.
I think that I need to wrap this up before you all go to sleep, but I have never been accused of being concise or at a loss for words. Thank you Skip for your continued effort to keep us connected. The profiles submitted by everyone have shown how many special people we were privileged to know and with whom we shared those precious high school years. It was a major disappointment to me to miss the reunion, but really appreciated the photos.
Wishing you all a healthy, safe, and satisfying year. I look forward to future profiles and if you’re ever in this area let me know.
Looking forward, we'll keep this thing going ........ with your help. It's not an exercise in competition but rather a celebration of us; one month, one classmate and one story at a time. With Groundhog Day tomorrow, can Spring be far behind?
Your friend and classmate, Skip Higgins
Phoebe on sentinel duty	Pikes Peak	Recent knitting project
Terri & John in Yellowstone	Snow day

Volume 2, Number 2, March 1, 2024
Good Morning fellow Univees. March 1st: "Comes in like a lion, goes out ......... " You know the rest. We'll see how that works out. Exactly one year ago today, I shared my story with you. You may remember that it included a long history of bicycling, starting with the IU Little 500. It was a "breaking away" experience. In the early 1980's, I joined the local cycling club. At one of my first club events, I recognized a face in the crowd that looked familiar. I said something witty to her, like "You look familiar. Who are you?" She replied "Janet Hollis" and many high school memories came flooding back. I have seen Janet many times over the past 40 or 50 years, and they have been always a pleasant experience. Janet and her husband Ron Selby have been very active in the club, most recently serving as Membership Chairpersons, arguably the most difficult job in the club, and they have done a fantastic job. Here is Janet's story with photos.
I attended IU and spent my junior year in Paris. That was wonderful! I traveled during school breaks and the following summer. I got seasick on the ferry from Wales to Ireland, took a boat across beautiful Lake Lugano in northern Italy, and went to the Soviet Union in December, a train trip that included doing a section in a Polish mail car when our train left without us from a village stop. In beautiful Delphi a sacred presence can still be felt, 2500 years after Delphi’s temple was an active religious and political site. My time in Europe led me to pursue a master’s degree in art history at IU.
Of course, I loved languages, having studied Latin, French, and Spanish at UHS, plus German and Italian at IU. My teaching career included teaching at IU as a graduate assistant, in middle school, and in high school, finishing at Zionsville High School. Perhaps there is a language gene; if so, I got it! My mother, sister, and cousin all taught languages – French, Spanish, German, Latin, and Greek. Supposedly one of our ancestors was Latin tutor to Mary, Queen of Scots!
After living in France, I spoke French pretty well, and wanted the same proficiency in Spanish, so I took the opportunity to live and work in Puerto Rico for six months, first as a bilingual secretary and Head Start assistant in Mayaguez and then as an Interpreter in the American hospital in Puerto Rico. I completed an A.B.D. (all but dissertation!) at IU in French literature.
My husband Ron is an electrical engineer and bicycling nut, and he speaks a little French, so we have been back to France several times to sightsee and for him to participate in a long-distance bike ride, Paris-Brest-Paris. We have one daughter who lives in Chicago. My family has a cabin in the Nebo Ridge area of Brown County, not far from the Deam Wilderness. I love to hike there in the peaceful solitude. Ron and I have done many hiking and biking trips to the Smokies and out West.
I’m grateful to have grown up in the amazing center of culture and intelligence that Bloomington was and is! We had unique opportunities at UHS provided by our teachers, classes, and activities, without realizing at the time how special all that was. Thank you to Skip and others who have taken time to keep us in touch with classmates – it is appreciated!
My best wishes to all - Janet
It has been suggested that if you might wish to respond to a classmate's story, as many of you have already, that you "reply to all." The purpose here is to encourage further conversation and sharing. The stories to be shared in the next few months should be lots of fun. Classmates on tap include John Bucher, Chuck Abbott and Dave Thomas. I can't wait to see what Barney has to say, having been my good friend on the track and cross country teams. So stay tuned for those and enjoy your early Spring 2024. Thanks again to Janet for sharing today.
Your classmate, Skip Higgins
Hollis sisters Marty Janet and Susan	Ron and Laura

Volume 2, Number 3, April 1, 2024
Thanks again to Bill Dickens for getting the conversation started regarding our classmate Donna Hayes. It was well deserved and badly overdue. Your comments were entirely appropriate and appreciated. Donna and I spoke at the 2003 class reunion about the Monroe County Hays/Hayes family, to which I have a connection. A few years after Mom died in 1996, Dad married a Hays family member for his second wife and she was a wonderful addition to our family.
This month's featured classmate is Chuck Abbott. Whenever I think of Chuck, other names come to mind: Stan Kent, Bill Rash, Phil DuChateau and Carl Brugger. This small band of brothers participated in the hiking/canoeing/camping organization called Les Voyageurs. We walked across the state of Illinois in February of 1963, were pictured in Life Magazine and formed bonds never to be broken. We also gave our best efforts to the fledgling UHS Gymnastics team. We weren't very good but we had fun and learned alot together. As Chuck describes below, he gave many years to our country through the US Army, again demonstrating parallel lives to the people mentioned above. I hope we'll have a lively conversation after you read the following.
Hello Univees. I hope this catches you all in good health. I must say that I am honored to have been invited to share with you my travels and journeys, even if they may not be as exciting as some that I have read in Skip’s newsletter.
I’m going to start with the summer between my junior and senior year at old UHS. At the time the IU Geology School conducted a summer field trip for senior geology majors. They traveled by caravan all the way a Montana field camp where the student’s studied geology for four weeks. Then it was back to Bloomington. I was lucky enough to accompany the students and faculty on the trip that summer. I earned my keep by doing chores around the camp and working in the dining hall. What a trip it was and it definitely had a big impact on my life. Once I saw the Rocky Mountains, I knew then and there I would live in the west forever.
After graduation in 1963, like some of you, I envisioned myself following in my father’s footsteps so it was off to Purdue to study electrical engineering. Quickly discovering that my dad’s profession was not my forte I returned to Bloomington to study Geology at IU. I enjoyed the subject and it was easy for me, most likely because of my exposure to in high school.
In addition to studying rocks and land formations I also had this burning desire to fly. Probably because my dad had his own airplane when I was very small. I’ll always remember sitting in the back seat of his old piper cub. So, in my senior year at IU when I was given the opportunity to take flying lessons offered by the ROTC department, I jumped at the chance. After a few months, I had my private pilots license and to quote from John McGee’s “High Flight”, I slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
I was commissioned through ROTC in 1968 and started my 28-year military career as a new second lieutenant. Shortly thereafter I received my orders to Vietnam, stopping first to attend infantry officer basic course and helicopter flight school. Then in January 1970, I was off to Vietnam where I was assigned to an Air Cavalry Troop. It was a very interesting and eventful assignment. I flew the “Huey”, logged a lot of flight time, and mastered the art of mountain flying. Very happy to say that for each takeoff I made there was a safe landing. On a side note, classmate Carl Brugger was assigned to a helicopter company located at the same airfield. Anyway, about 9 months into my tour, I was reassigned to the Americal Division Tactical Operations Center as an Assistant Division Aviation Officer. Flying a desk was definitely not as much fun as flying in the field, but it was much safer.
After leaving Vietnam, I was assigned as commander of a basic/advanced Infantry training company at Fort Ord, California. While it wasn’t as exciting as my Vietnam tour, the setting around Monterey and San Francisco was much more appealing. Actually, I loved the area so much that after completing my four-year Army obligation, I decided to stay in California (not that meeting my future wife there had any influence on my decision).
After about a year, I discovered that I truly missed the smell of jet fuel in the mornings so I accepted a full-time position with an Army Reserve helicopter transportation company in Salt Lake City (near the Wasatch mountains). The company specialized in aircraft maintenance. I was an administrator during the week and on the weekends, I was the commander, flight instructor, and test pilot.
I married my sweetheart; we had our first daughter and what more could a guy ask for? A new family, living in the mountains, and all the flight time I could ask for. So, I’m not sure if it was a midlife crisis or what, but at some point, I decided to utilize my geology background. And with that, it was off to Round Mountain, Nevada. The very center and most remote part of the state. There I worked with the mine engineering staff in developing a gold and silver open pit mine. It was quite successful and has since turned out to be one of the larger producing mines in Nevada.
After a few years and another addition to the family, I started to miss the camaraderie of the military and so I joined the Nevada Army Guard drilling weekends in Las Vegas. And a couple of years after that the Army offered me a temporary active-duty tour assigned to the National Guard in Carson City. The tour was later made permanent and I had numerous assignments culminating in Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. Just before I was promoted to Colonel my life took a very sad turn as my wife of 23 years passed. I quickly learned the trials and tribulations of the ‘single working parent’.
In 1992 while sitting on the bleachers at one of my daughter’s softball games, I met this wonderful young lady who was to become my wife and sole-mate. We blended families and started our own “Brady Bunch” and we’ve been happily married since.
I retired from the Army as a colonel in 1995 after 28 years of service and was appointed by Governor Miller to the Nevada Department of Veterans Affairs. As Commissioner, I was able to obtain federal and state funding for the construction and operation of the state’s first veteran’s home. We also developed two state veteran cemeteries which I am very proud to have been a part of. My last assignment with the state was Chief of the Office of Traffic Safety.
My wife Cheri was the Human Resources Manager for the Nevada Department of Administration and in 2008 we both decided it was time to expand our horizons and start traveling, so we retired and hit the road. Since then, we’ve traveled extensively with tour groups, with family and friends, and on our own. Our first learning and discovery adventure took us to China. Since then, we’ve traveled both islands of New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Portugal, Southern and Northern Spain where we trekked a few miles on the El Camino de Santiago. We traveled to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana in South Africa and saw the Victoria Falls. We visited the Galapagos Islands and Machu Pichu, Vietnam (4 times), Cambodia, Costa Rica, and most of Europe. Our most recent trips have been to Japan, Norway, and Finland. We’ve also visited Moscow and St Petersburg. But now I’m starting to sound like John Linnemeier so maybe I had better stop there. John, you definitely hold the record for travel.
On a somewhat humorous note, many of our adventures have had the added bonus of a natural disaster looming in the background. There were a couple earthquakes, a couple typhoons, rioting in the streets, floods, and so on. I’ll not mention the hippopotamus outside of our tent in Africa or the story about the lion, but I will say that our kids always ask us before we leave for an adventure if we’ve purchased the trip insurance.
We’re still living in Carson City, Nevada which is located near Lake Tahoe. It is one of the most beautiful and largest alpine lakes in the US. Besides travel, we love visiting our kids and grandkids and agility training with our Australian Shepherd.
Our oldest son Charlie lives in Carson City. He recently retired both from the Guard and the Nevada Highway Patrol. He’s married and has a daughter who works and lives in San Francisco. Our daughter Andrea married a Dutchman and is a teacher at an international school in Amsterdam. She has three kids and we love going there before and after one of our trips. Our Daughter Niki, the softball star, is a caregiver in Reno. She has two kids and one grandson. Our son Chip lives in New York City where he is a successful director, choreographer and Broadway performer. Love going there for the shows.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with you some of the treasured moments of my life and travels. I would like to thank Skip for his work keeping us informed and networked. And thanks to the faculty of old UHS. They taught us how to think, not what to think. That’s so important in today’s world.
Best regards. Chuck & Cheri Abbott
Below are photos of Chuck, Cheri and their beautiful family. I hope you enjoy your reunion with Chuck Abbott. We'll have more fun in a month. No foolin'.
Skip
The Abbotts, December 2023

Volume 2, Number 4, May 1, 2024

Good morning and welcome to May. Spring is in full bloom with flowers and trees in complete dazzling display. It's gonna be 80 degrees in my neck of the woods today. Hope good weather for you too.

In addition to the season that's upon us, I have wonderful news to share with all of you. Gail Parsons Michael is our featured classmate this month and she has a most poignant message for us. Further, we are now in contact with the lovely and talented (remember Teahouse of the August Moon?) Tess Dickason Cederholm. I regret to report that we had been using an incorrect email address for her for the past few years. Since the wrong address never bounced, we were unaware of the problem. So after a terrific telephone conversation, I've been sending material to Tess regarding our 2022 reunion and our Monthly Bullets. I've asked her for a life story which will hopefully be available later this year.

Now, here's Gail!!

Time flies when we’re havin’ fun! Right? It’s hard to believe that we were Univees 60 years ago and ‘once a Univee, always a Univee'! Skip asked me to walk down Memory Lane and recall some of the highlights of Dick’s and my life since our days at UHS. (Dick Michael, UHS class of 1962) After Dick and I graduated from IU, we married and moved to West Lafayette to open a clothing store, the Oxford Shop. I taught school for ten years and then stayed home to raise our two children. We lived just one block from the Purdue football stadium and even though the Boilermakers were our rivals, we found West Lafayette a wonderful place to raise our children and also to establish a clothing business. Just this past year we moved to Carmel, Indiana to be near our children and grandchildren. Our children and daughter-in-law are pharmacists, so we have that drug area well covered. Living only four blocks from our grandchildren allows for lots of fun family time.

After reading about the exciting travels of other Univees, I think back on one of our favorite travel adventures in Switzerland. Dick and I have enjoyed traveling to many countries, but we have found Switzerland to be our very favorite!! Let me tell you about one particular event that stands out among others. Dick was the building chairman for large church that we were attending. After nine months of overseeing the project, there was only one job that needed to be completed. A very long trench needed to be dug from the building out to the corner of the property for a wire to be placed in order to light up the church sign. A man arrived one morning to dig the trench and toward the end of the day Dick stopped by to ask what he charged for the job. Earlier Dick had told the man that the trench needed to be completed that day because we were leaving for a vacation to Switzerland the next morning. The man thought a minute and replied, “I want you to give me $300, and I will keep $100 of it, and I’ll give you $200 to take to Switzerland and give it to someone who needs it, and the Holy Spirit will tell you who to give it to.” Dick said, “My wife will love this!”

I hurried to the bank and exchanged the $200 for Swiss francs and put the money in an envelope with an explanation about the gift, and added our name and address. O? we went to Switzerland and we prayed that God would show us who to give it to. As we were in the little Swiss village of Murren, Dick wanted to hike to the top of Schilthorn mountain and have lunch at the top at a revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria. I had heard that a snowstorm can blow in unexpectedly in that area and told Dick that I would ride the cable car to the top and meet him there for lunch, because I sure didn’t want to be caught in a freak snow storm. Since it was a beautiful, sunny August day, Dick thought that surely a snow storm was out of the question! Two college guys who were staying at hotel overheard our conversation and they volunteered to hike with Dick the following morning - and o? they went.. It was 8:30 on a sunny morning so they took o? in shorts, with a water bottle, and a couple candy bars. At 9:30 is was cloudy, at 10:30 it started snowing, and by 11:30 it was a blizzard!

As I rode up the mountain on the cable car, I told the driver that I was worried about my husband and two college guys who were hiking up the trail. The driver said that they were keeping an eye on the three hikers as they could see them from the cable car - and they guys were slowly making their way to the top. At one point Dick was so cold and tired that he said he couldn’t keep going but the young guys urged him on. After waiting at the restaurant past noon, I rode back down to wait at the station in hopes that they would eventually arrive. Finally, two hours later the cable car driver brought the three freezing hikers back down the mountain. As Dick was both shivering and tired, I told him that I thought we were to give the money from the ditch digger to the cable car driver and we agreed with that decision. As Dick hurried back to the hotel to get warm, I took the money to the cable car driver and as he read the explanation on the envelope, he burst into tears. We didn’t even know his name but we knew that God knew the man since He led us to give him the money.

Three months passed before we heard from the Swiss man. One day a package arrived with the return address, ‘Peter Michael, Murren, Switzerland”. We sure didn’t have relatives in Switzerland so who could this package be from? The letter said, “I’m sorry it has taken me so long to write this thank you for the money. That same week we had our first child and it has taken us some time to get settled again. I must tell you that three days before you handed me the money, I had received a bill that I couldn’t pay, and I knelt down next to my kitchen table and told God that I couldn't pay the bill and that He would have to pay it for me. Your gift arrived at the right time and I paid the bill. Thank you!” So a man in Murren, Switzerland asked God to pay the bill, God spoke to a ditch digger in Lafayette, Indiana to send $200 to someone who needed the money, we were asked to carry the money to Switzerland, God told us who to give it to, and the bill was paid by Peter Michael on time! And to top it o?, the man God led us to was Peter Michael - our same last name!! Nothing is too di?cult for God!

As we are all approaching that octogenarian age, we need to consider where we are going to spend eternity! It’s coming around the corner sooner than we think! God is real and He wants a relationship with each of us. He has made a way for us to know Him and that is through His son, Jesus Christ. Seek Him and you will find Him when you search for Him with your whole heart. Take time now to consider where you will spend eternity - because it is a matter of life and death!

Some of you many have had my mother, Mrs. Parsons, for your earth science teacher at UHS. She dearly loved every one of her students and wanted the best for each one of them. In 1964 she moved to Ohio, completed her PhD, and taught at Ohio Northern University for many years. Speaking of UHS teachers, I remember my trigonometry teacher, Miss Gillespie - do you remember her? Also a driver’s ed teacher, Mr. Kelly, who would get into the car and say, “Another day, another dollar." Funny things that come to mind from ‘way back when!

Well, carry on! We can be very thankful that we were blessed with a fantastic high school experience and outstanding Univee friends!

- Gail (Parsons) Michael, UHS 1963

Gail and Dick

As previously announced, our next semi-annual Zoom call is scheduled for 8 pm on the 28th of May, the 61st anniversary of our UHS Commencement ceremony. Jim Shaffer will again be our host, and you'll hear from him a few days in advance of the 28th with a link to the event. The few that we've already had were great fun and I don't expect this one to be any different. See you (literally) on the 28th.

Your friend and classmate, Skip Higgins

Volume 2, Number 5, June 1, 2024
Good Morning Classmates. This monthly edition begins on a sad note. I received the information from John Linnemeier just yesterday that Al Reineking has passed away. His obituary is here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/kingwood-tx/richard-reineking-11834874
Al's sense of humor was uniquely his own. He and Randy were easily compared with The Blues Brothers John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Al's passing is a gentle reminder to celebrate all of our classmates who are no longer with us. This is especially appropriate considering our recently observed Memorial Day.
Also recently this past week, we enjoyed a Zoom reunion, thanks to Jim Shaffer, of our 61st High School Commencement ceremony. Wouldn't it be nice if we all looked like Dave Thomas saw us in his mind? I think we all sound the same, but not so much otherwise. We'll do another one on October 22, the second anniversary of our most recent Bloomington reunion.
It is my great honor and privilege to share the life history since high school of John Bucher with you this month. Bill Dickens and I have been working on John for at least the last six months and the results are not disappointing. See below, with wonderful family photos attached.
Fellow Graduates: After much harassment from Skip and Bill, I've included a description of life after high school. Thanks to the uniqueness of our high school, I found that I had one leg in IU and one leg in high school during our senior year. We had the introduction to IU in Mr. Pettijohn's class by attending Professor David Dirge's Government 101 class at IU and, for me, second year Spanish at IU during our senior year. (Many thanks to my Latin teacher, whoever she was, during 7th and 8th grades, and to Senorita Parker for several years of Spanish). During my Freshman year at IU, with the language requirement completed, I changed from Spanish to German, and received a scholarship to study at the University of Bonn, Germany during my Junior year. Incredible experience! Jim Binkley preceded me in the program, who I saw in Bonn. I attended a political rally where I met, then former, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. I hitchhiked from Bonn to the cities of Italy, attended language school in southern Germany, worked at a castle (Burg Katz on the Rhine) for two months and entered university in October. The school sponsored a trip to Berlin and, at night, three of us ventured into East Berlin for a truly totalitarian experience. During semester break, I hitchhiked from Bonn through Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia (now Macedonia, Croatia and Serbia) to Greece, Crete, Rhodes and on to Istanbul. My parents brought me back to a more comfortable life the month thereafter with a trip through Holland, Germany and Austria.
Upon my return to IU, I finished school in the class of 1968. Having been in ROTC for four years, and (fortunately) getting a deferment for law school, I began law school at IU and, on a whim, transferred to the University of San Diego School of Law to complete my last two years. I met my bride to be, Jeannie, in a very upscale (ahem) bar called the Beach Comber in South Mission Beach in San Diego. I passed the bar exam, we were married in the fall of 1971, and in March of 1972 I received a letter from the Dept of the Army giving me a choice between joining the Army Reserve for 8 years from the date of my commissioning in '68, or joining the National Guard for 6 years from the date of my commissioning. You can guess the choice I made. One funny story: I was sent to Fort Knox for Army Officer Basic school where we learned about tanks. Being a 1st Lt., and stopping for my first appointment at the Base barber shop, I directed the private on how much hair he could take off my head: "Cut the sideburns, don't take too much off the top, and leave some hair on the side of my head." The reply of "Yes, Sir" gave me comfort, and I wound up with one hell of a good haircut. Moving on to the third day of classes, as I was walking down the hallway to change classrooms, I heard someone yell "Hey troop!" Thinking it was some moron, I continued on my way. The yell of "Hey troop" resounded again, and I noticed that students coming toward me were staring at me. I turned around to see a somewhat tall, blond, steely blue eyed General looking straight at me. I walked toward him, saluted and, looking me in the eye he yelled "Cut It Off!" I replied "Sir?", whereupon he repeated the words "Cut it Off". It suddenly dawned on me that he meant my hair, and I replied "Yes Sir". The General who gave me the order was General George Patton's son, George Smith Patton, who was then the Commandant of Fort Knox.
After the stint at Fort Knox, my wife and I headed for Europe for a month before I started working as a lawyer. I practiced 8 years, having been appointed a Bankruptcy Trustee (not terribly fun), and subsequently being hired by a firm that was awarded the job of representing the FDIC as Receiver for United States National Bank, at the time the largest bank failure since the Depression. Although I enjoyed what the work entailed, I didn't particularly enjoy the 6 day + work week schedule, with two kids and one on the way. Fortunately, I had two good friends in commercial real estate who encouraged me to make the jump to a new field. One of the friends is Kraig Kristofferson (brother of Kris), who was at CBRE. I joined a competitor (the other friend's firm) because the draw was better. Fortunately, the new career worked out great, the people were terrific and I started the tenant representation business in San Diego representing law firms in the negotiation of their office leases. Good fit!
In 1996 on a trip to Quebec, I got the urge to learn French. I now speak it, and go to France as often as I (we) can. I retired in 2018, but after a year and a half of idle time I was asked by clients to get back in the game, which I have been doing on a limited basis. The socialization I got with clients was very much welcomed, and I truly loved the job. I've now retired again as of April of this year - maybe. :)
Along the way in San Diego, Bob Batchelder (Batch) and I would get together for lunch, the last being one week before he died; Tim Snyder visited twice, once while in law school and once to visit a friend's graduation from the Marines; Jim Schaefer, while with the LA Times newspaper, invited Jeannie and me to the Olympic Games in LA; Bill Dickens visited, too, who, together with Batch, directed and produced The Three Amigos in our living room. Also, Lincoln Foster is a resident of San Diego, and Justin has visited several times. We've met for lunch and had fun reminiscing. It was great to see high school friends again.
Jeannie and I have three children; 2 boys and 1 girl. The boys live in Newport Beach and San Mateo (both went to the University of Colorado), while my daughter (who went to more schools than I could hope to count or afford) lives north of Houston, TX. Our kids have blessed us with 7 grandkids. The world has certainly changed since 1963! I think of Bloomington often, and during our reunion in 2013, I visited each of the three homes I had lived in since birth. Two are now owned by the University. The home in which I was born, on 9th street and two blocks from the old field house, is used for counseling grad students of some esoteric, not-quite-understood discipline found only in academia. I visited the house, asked the seated students if I might take a minute before their meetings with the professor, and seated myself on the couch. When a student who was in a session with the graduate advisor left, I jumped up, went into the professor's "office", and promptly told him "My name is John Bucher, and I want you to know that you're sitting in my bedroom!" (At least, I thought it was funny.)
Thanks, Skip and Bill, for continuing the effort to keep the class connected. Bloomington certainly was an extraordinary place to be born and raised, and University High School brought together an extraordinary group of wonderful people. How fortunate we have been. One last shot: my TV commercial for Crest. I’ve searched for it for years with Proctor & Gamble, and later at Duke. Jack Snapper assisted, but no luck. What does one do in such a case? Ask your 15 year old granddaughter to find it. She did within 24 hours, and it’s attached. Being bald on top, I REALLY miss the flattop!!     John
The Crest Toothpaste commercials that John and I could find are attached in various forms. Try them. They are fun and will bring back memories.
Enjoy your summer. We'll do this all over again on July 1 with an update from Dave Thomas.
Your friend and classmate, Skip Higgins
Jeannie and John	The Bucher Boys	Granddaughter and Daughter
Crest Toothpaste Commercial featuring Randy Lloyd and other class of 1963 Univees     https://repository.duke.edu/dc/adviews/dmbb36913 Crest Commercial     https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=TqJqBC_1BoQdz87h&v=5iidu8HCpAs&feature=youtu.be

Volume 2, Number 6, July 1, 2024
Good Morning Fellow 1963 Univees -
July 1st. Where does the time go? With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games just around the corner beginning at the end of this month, it is entirely fitting that this month's bullet features our classmate John David Thomas. Dave, or Barney as he became known during our senior year, was one of the more outstanding people in our Class of 1963. No, Dave was not an Olympian, but he was a wonderful athlete. He was one of only a handful of athletes from our class who went on to compete at the collegiate level. Dave was an enthusiastic participant in every high school activity possible. In this case, the word possible is defined by his eyesight problems, which he describes below. Dave had a sense of humor that was remarkable, although he could turn it off and be completely serious at the drop of his hat. Do you remember that he wore a baseball cap when he ran track? He did this to reduce the glare and improve his chances of staying where he wanted to be since he was often out in front. Here is Dave's story with photos attached:
Profile- Experience after high school graduation - spring 1963
As most of my classmates know, my life was affected dramatically, as I was shot in the eye with an arrow as a preteenager.
I saved a young girl from being shot, but I suffered the consequences. I was in the hospital for about five weeks and eventually my right eye had to be taken out and I lost 50% of my vision in my left eye.
My favorite sports prior were basketball, baseball and football, however, I was not able to compete in any of these sports, so I did cross country and track.
Eventually, I enrolled at Indiana University, majored in accounting, finance and business. During my freshman & sophomore year, I participated and lettered in track and field. I always told my kids I was the “fastest white boy in Indiana!”
Unfortunately, I had other eye issues and due to the medicine, I had to quit the sport. But still remained active and switched to long distance running later in life.
Fellow Univee Pete Houdeshel and I were charter members of the Pi Kappa Alpha or Pike fraternity at IU. I served as treasurer during my senior year.
For some wonderful news, I have been blessed. I received my Master’ degree at Arizona State University and received outstanding graduate student (one of ten) voted to be successful. I worked for Fortune 500 companies: RCA Corp., NCR Corp., & MeadWestvaco in accounting and financing, but again, eye issues cropped up and I could only work on a limited schedule.
I told my boss at Mead, I was frustrated and that my eye doctor told me to get a job with lots of flexibility. He said he had a friend with a college profession, in Defiance, Ohio and I ended up in Defiance teaching accounting and finance. After three years of my eyes remaining stable, I got tired of teaching and I got a job at Price Waterhouse, CPA firm and auditing colleges. A college hired me a Chief Financial Officer at Rio Grande College & Community College. I worked there for 4 years and married Sharon McFarland, we have 3 wonderful children, John David, Kasie Lynn, and Callie Ann, 11 grandchildren from 2 ½ months to 22 years old, 8 boys and 3 girls. Unfortunately, Sharon and I divorced but remain good friends, she is a wonderful mother and grandmother.
The highlight of my professional career was the position at Eureka College in Illinois, which was the college Ronald Reagan attended. I was the Vice President & Treasurer and I had the challenge to downsize the institution. In fact, my reputation professionally was in the same bailiwick as Hacksaw McGraw, “we must downsize.”
I had many opportunities to confer with President Reagan and was going to work on his transition team with the president of the college until I had another flare up with the remaining eye.
After, I took another job at West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) in Buckhannon, WV. A cute little mountain town full of wonderful people and the place I have now called home for almost 40 years.
The school had significant losses for seven years in a row. A head hunter contacted me looking for Hacksaw McGraw. I was offered a job and moved then started on 08/1/84 as VP/Treasurer at WVWC.
I have been very fortunate and involved in the community. In 1997 I was recognized as Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce, and that same year, I retired from WVWC when I found out after my 5th surgery I would never see again.
While in Buckhannon, WV, I have been involved with the community for many years and founder of the Upshur County Development Authority, Chairperson for Mountain Cap WV, Salvation Army, social service agencies. I also was founder of Better Schools and I coached the soccer clubs and helped start the girls program at the high school.
My father told me if you become successful, besides being dedicated to your wife & children, do whatever you can for your community. Which I think, I have done.
Since I retired 30 years ago, I have had lots of free time to do things and to help the community. My neighbor talked me into running for City Council in 2004 to help the community more by being an elected official. I always tell my children “this is my last year” and then I somehow always end up running and winning. I believe in term limits and have been fortunate to be elected for six terms.
I also have a great love for animals. I’ve been blessed to have had 2 of the best dogs, Clarabelle and Abigail. They were my little sweeties. At one point I also had a little squirrel friend, named Barney. He let me hand feed him and would crawl up my arm and sit on my shoulder. My neighbors got a kick out of that. I now have a cat, to my surprise, named Huckleberry. I’ve always considered myself a dog person but this cat has become the best companion and I love him dearly.
I have some of the most amazing memories of my time at University High School. Billy Dickens and I chat once a week and love to reminisce of our “glory days” as young adolescents. I would love to hear from any of you.
My number is 304-472-7007, let it ring awhile, I’m not as fast as I once was!
Warmest regards, your classmate, David
While doing some research a couple of years ago to find the long lost UHS sports trophies, specifically the Al Hermann award plaque, I spoke with a long time Bloomington school system teacher, coach and administrator who might have had a clue. He didn't. But during the course of the conversation, he asked me the name of my track teammate who wore the baseball cap. He couldn't remember Dave's name, just as I'm forgetting his name, but he remembered Dave as being a very good runner. I thought this was remarkable, as he went to the "other" high school in town.
Have a great month of July and remember to root on our representatives in Paris.
With best wishes, Skip Higgins

Volume 2, Number 8, September 1, 2024
Good Sunday Morning Fellow Univees and Welcome to September --
This month's Univee Bullet contains a bunch of important information. Many of you may remember that our high school class has a website, maintained by David Gray, UHS class of 1965. Dave recently posted an update of our missing classmates, mostly members of our class who moved away before our graduation, and consequently became "lost." The website can be found at https://www.uhsbloomington.org/1963/1963.html Check it out. There's lots of good information here that should be of interest to you.
In recognition of Dave's efforts on our behalf, and other UHS classes too, I have added Dave's email address to our monthly distribution list. We should consider him to be an honorary member of our class, joining Bob Appelman, Rita Adcock Barrett and Tunde Csoke Rigel in this status. And sadly it is necessary to remove an email address at this time. We have received news of the passing of Kent Bond. Kent was with us from his junior high school years through our sophomore year. He was a terrific classmate and athlete. His obit can be found here: https://www.caldwellandcowan.com/obituaries/kentallard-bond Both Bob Dro and I encouraged him to attend our 2022 reunion but his health did not allow that to happen.
This month's featured classmate is Julie Swaim Ryan. As you can see from her photo attached, she has retained her sparkling smile over the many years since we saw it on a daily basis. Julie was an unofficial member of our 2022 reunion committee, pitching in to help in any way that we needed help. Julie loves to tell the story of her last name: S - W - A - I - M. It is an anacronym, which stands for Sworn to Withhold Allegiance to the Invading Monarchy, according to research done by Julie's grandmother. It turns out that her early Dutch ancestors living on Staten Island in New York resisted the English authority as it became the ruling power at that location. Do you remember your early American history? Before it was called New York, it was called New Amsterdam. It doesn't get any better than this, combining family history with actual American history. It seems that these Dutch became so adamant in their resistance that many of them adopted this anacronym as their legal sur name. And finally in this regard, information found at Ancestry.com suggests that Julie and I may even be distant cousins. I won't take this any further, as I've already tested your patience, but I couldn't resist mentioning it.
Julie's story follows, with some great photos attached. Enjoy.
After high school graduation, I attended IU and majored in Speech & Hearing Therapy with a minor in Art. During the summers after my freshman and sophomore years, I had a blast working at the NY World's Fair. There I learned I was not meant to be a waitress outside of a summer job. I also got married the summer between my junior and senior year.
A highlight of my final summer in Bloomington, was the night Georganne and I decided we would drive to Indianapolis to see Robert Kennedy sign the ballot to run for president in Indiana. Very quickly it turned into a mob scene. We were being shoved back by police and being squashed in the crowd. We decided it was too much of a mob scene for us and decided to leave. As we were getting out of that mess, we heard someone yell that Kennedy just arrived in a white convertible. Having this information, we made our way down to his car. A woman sitting in the front passenger seat confirmed Senator Kennedy would be returning. I was standing at the back of the car and Georganne was sitting on the backseat door. Soon there was the thunderous roar of the crowd as it set upon us. I looked for Georganne and spotted her legs hanging over the door. She had fallen into the back seat and was being pulled out by an annoyed-looking cop. I heard someone saying "watch his back" and "help him onto the car". There I was with Robert Kennedy's hand on my shoulder. Myself along with several others lifted him onto the trunk of the car where he waved to the crowd. On the way home, I could smell his cologne on my hand.
My first year after graduation, I was hired as a speech therapist for several Bloomington elementary schools. I worked one year before getting divorced and moving to Chicago with classmates Georganne Poolitsan and Ann Armstrong. Before the actual move, I was hired as a speech therapist for several Chicago suburb schools. Note, the date was August 1968, right smack dab during the Democratic National Convention. Curious, I remember us driving down toward the lake where all the action was occurring and being stopped by police on horseback waving their sticks and ordering us to turn around. And we did.
I say Chicago when in actuality we moved to Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago. It wasn't long before we were informed living there was GU (geographically undesirable) if one had any intentions of dating! Which we did! When our lease was up, we moved the 13 miles into Chicago, bringing along another friend, which made four of us living in a beautiful Victorian third floor walk-up apartment. After two years we all went our separate ways. I remember having a lot of good times there.
I spent a total of three years being a speech therapist. I would need to get my master's degree by year five if I were to continue. I really didn't want to go back to college. I had been taking shorthand classes at night to prepare me for the business world. I also took painting and sculpture classes at the Old Town School of Art. As luck would have it, I got a job at a small advertising agency as secretary to the President. I did everything from making coffee to paying bills. While walking down Michigan Avenue during lunchtime one day, I ran into a guy I'd known from college. He worked at a newly formed ad agency, Arthur & Wheeler, where they were in need of executive secretaries. He encouraged me to apply. I was hired and spent two years there learning about copy-writing, client relations and the advertising business. And I loved it! Their major client was Alberto-Culver and when I left, they'd just landed Mortens Fish where I learned it is fish fillets and steak filets…fil its and fil lays, respectively. I never say the former because, who does?
One of our clients made me an offer I couldn't refuse. It was to become the office manager of his production company, aptly named Lee Hill, Inc. They were in the business of making in-house instructional videos, like how to use a particular fryer for McDonald's employees. At this job I worked closely with the accountant learning all about quarterly taxes, bookkeeping, invoicing, etc. I also worked in close contact with the two art directors and a production manager. It was fun. But after six years living in The Windy City, I was ready for a warmer climate. It was hard to give up my wonderful apartment in Old Town where my next-door neighbor was John Candy! We shared the back porch. And I could go to Second City anytime I wanted!
During my last year in Chicago, I went to visit my friend Cookie, who had recently moved to Nashville. It was springtime there while still winter in Chicago. I fell in love with the once forgotten smell of honeysuckle and what seemed to be a much slower pace. Cookie, worked at a recording studio and publishing house. Through her I got to meet several recording artists and also received lots of free albums! If you remember the song Drift Away by Dobie Gray, he become one of my dearest friends until he died a few years ago.
I decided Nashville would be my next home. After sending out resumes, I landed a job with the ad agency, Eric Erickson, as traffic manager, i.e., making sure all projects were on schedule, opening jobs, invoicing, and an occasional on-air talent. I also worked closely with all our suppliers, i.e., printers, illustrators, writers and engravers. Unlike Chicago where a television ad might involve five ads being shot for one commercial, then all five ads being tested in focus groups and maybe taking a month to get on air, the agency in Nashville might get a television ad request on Monday and it would be on air by Friday. Same with print advertising. Their main client was Opryland.
At the time, I was also painting t-shirts for a funky vintage clothing shop. I brought a few in to work to show my friends. When an opening became available in the art department for a layout and paste-up artist, they asked if I'd like the job. Yes! Finally!! Now I was where I really wanted to be…in Creative.
I was learning typesetting, paste-up, layout and design. Unfortunately, this place was a sweat shop. Working weekends and nights were often the norm. After about 1 ½ years, a co-worker and friend (from Columbus IN) left and went to another agency. He told me not to worry, he'd hire me away. And he did. I started working again as layout and paste-up artist for Buntin Advertising. An aside: At this time in Nashville anyway, women were not Art Directors. As a matter of fact, in both agencies I was the only woman. I think I may have broken the ceiling on that, as they eventually gave me my own clients and I became Art Director on those accounts. Buntin's major clients were Camping World and Cracker Barrel.
It was at this time I heard about a weekend "Experience" called Institute for Self-Actualization, or ISA. I was coaxed and promised by a very trusted friend that participating in it would, "answer all my questions about life", so I naturally signed up. One of the things I came away with was: Always Keep Your Agreements. In fact, I participated in many workshops throughout the year.
And it did change my life. It allowed me to see that all my work experiences enabled me to say, "Hey, I Can Do This Myself." So, in 1980 I went out on my own and opened Graphic Matters, working out of my spare bedroom. Shortly, I was offered FREE space in a small start-up ad agency that wanted me handy for layout and design work. It wasn't long until they needed my space.
Luckily another well-established ad agency and client of mine offered me office space in their building. The agency was Gish, Sherwood and Friends. As they had no print production department, Graphic Matters was hired to do all their print production work! Consequently, this necessitated hiring another artist/designer, plus a bookkeeper/production person. I also bought a house in 1989!
Next, Graphic Matters landed a start-up regional home health-care account, named Home Technology Healthcare. I hired an account executive plus a sharp, male receptionist/runner. (We were previously all women.)
I've got to brag here. In the 21 years I owned Graphic Matters, we never had to recall a job for any mistakes. We were all self-starters and self-motivated. We were a highly oiled machine. We laughed daily. They were my family.
During my ISA Experience, I'd made a goal of retiring at 55. HaHa. How was that to happen? I was now closing in on 50 and retirement was nowhere in sight.
The only unfortunate part of those 21 years was the constant stress from meetings, deadlines, keeping up with new technology, managing and creating. In 1997, all that was coupled with toxicities I withstood from having my house re-decorated. The paint, rugs, furniture and their off-gassing made me sick. I'd also had a flu shot that made me feel like I had a bad cold for about six months. I was exhausted with every muscle in my body hurting while still working hard. After many trips to different docs, a rheumatologist diagnosed me with polymyalgia-rheumatica…usually found in much older people. Reluctantly, I was on prednisone for almost a year to keep me from getting something called Giant Cell. It was during this time that I re-evaluated my situation and began my "Get a Life Campaign". So, when some friends invited me to go on a camping trip to Land Between the Lakes, I complied. It was a big group of people; some from KY, IN, and TN. No one knew everyone. Long story short, that's where I met my now husband, Tom Ryan, from Louisville. We long-distance dated for 2 years before he proposed and I accepted. We bought a house together in 2000, and I moved here in February 2001. We were married that May in a pretty park across the street from us! His 5-year-old daughter, Allison, was our Flower Girl. I was now a MOTHER albeit Step-Mom to an adorable and smart little girl! So, this is how I retired at 55! HA! And thanks to Tom, my hero, I was no longer in constant stress. Even though I enjoyed my work tremendously, I was able to heal.
Tom is six years my junior so he continued to work. Meanwhile I'd partitioned off part of our basement to make my pottery studio. Back at Graphic Matters, I'd had a client, Mid-South Ceramics, a clay distributor and tools supplier, who gave me one of their older kilns. The owner was correct in thinking I'd enjoy working in clay. I had fun hand-building all sorts of things which I gave to family and friends. Once in Louisville I started taking pottery classes to learn to "throw" on the potter's wheel. I had also gone to a day-long workshop on how to make bas-relief tiles. I ended up designing a series of tiles and selling them at the Art Festival in the park right across the street from us. That was easy. I tried lugging a tent and all that goes in it to other shows in the area but quickly learned it wasn't for me. I now do one show a year at historic Locust Grove on Mom's Day weekend. This year I sold birdbaths, bird houses, tiles, and vases. I also make flowerpot heads, dubbed PotHeads by my now 30-year-old step-daughter. Until COVID I spent a decade of my time making bowls for the annual Empty Bowls event here. I was ready with lots of bowls last year but, sadly, they didn't hold it and I haven't heard if they will again.
Tom retired in 2019. The following February COVID arrived. We holed up here for those two years. Lucky for me Tom is the main cook at our house so he did the grocery shopping and most outside errands, as I am auto-immune compromised. He is an avid reader so read most days while I worked in my studio. About the only times I went out during COVID was on Tuesdays to an artist friend's house where I had started painting again…mostly pastels. She started coming over to my studio on Thursdays to learn how to throw pottery on the wheel. We keep the same schedule to this day. I no longer have wall space for my paintings and have begun filling up the stairwell!
Unlike so many of you, you've probably noticed I have not mentioned trips to Europe, or to any other continents. And here is why: Sometime in the early 70s I took a trip to Hawaii. On the way back, the pilot came over the PA to say we would be turning around, flying low and spilling our fuel into the ocean. All we knew was some gauge, oil I think, was showing a problem. Anyway, after about 45 terrifying minutes of complete silence, we were ready to land. I looked out the window to see all sorts red flashing lights from fire engines and ambulances. I wondered what was going on until I realized they were there for us. We landed safely. After that I flew a few more times, even to Hawaii again, and then just stopped flying due to my fear of being up in the sky in a plane.
All of that may change. A little more than a year ago we visited several classmates living in The Villages of Florida. Ann Armstrong Hodge got the group together for a lunch at one of the many golf clubs there. I can't tell you how great it was to see Tunde, Gretchen Ross, Fred Jones, Lynn Farkas Weddle, Dave Adcock and, of course, Ann. It was also nice to meet the spouses I had not yet met. Most folks had been on a Viking Cruise of one sort or another. It sounded so wonderful that Tom and I are now thinking about doing a Viking River cruise. I know I'll have to fly, but my doctor says she can give me something to ease my nerves.
I want to end by telling you some really great news: I am going to be a GRANDMOTHER! Alli got married two years ago Christmas and she and husband Julian are expecting a baby girl in October. I may have to start knitting again. I can't tell you how excited we are.
I also want to say how proud I feel every time I read a monthly classmate bio. I admire you all and am glad I got to spend my teens with such an exceptional group of people. I miss you all and hope to see you again at our next reunion.
One more thought from me: I'm going to talk with Dave Gray about the possibility of adding these monthly Univee Bullets to our class websites. I am occasionally receiving requests for past Bullets and this would be an effective way to keep an ongoing track of them. Stay tuned for more.
Your friend and classmate forever, Skip

Volume 2, Number 9, October 1, 2024
Please take a few minutes today, and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, etc. to remember our classmates affected by the recent hurricane. We have quite a few Univees living in the southeastern US. Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia and more. My grandson Nathan Higgins attending Clemson University Accounting Graduate School in Greenville, SC is still without power, and his problems are minor compared with most. Think of them and say a prayer for them.
My first memories of Indiana University and its wonderful campus were in 1959. That year our family moved to Bloomington and I met most of you for the first time and we began our 4 year adventure at UHS. Go here for an aerial view of the campus at that time: https://fedora.dlib.indiana.edu/fedora/get/iudl:1759014/LARGE Noteworthy in this photo are the following: a brand new Ballantine Hall, a recently expanded Indiana Memorial Union building, Memorial (10th Street) football stadium used for the last time for football this year, the western elevation of our high school building, and the new fraternity row on N. Jordan Avenue where my KDR house was completed in 1959. This photo, and thousands more, can be viewed at the IU on-line archives at https://archives.iu.edu. Do this: but do so at the risk of being mesmerized and difficult to leave it.
The above paragraph explains one of the many results of my visit to Bloomington a week ago today, September 24, to attend a presentation by the director of the IU Archives Dina Kellams. Dina gave a talk on the history of U-School at Indiana University to the general public at the Bloomington American Legion facility. This was somewhat of a repeat performance of a talk she gave to the UHS class of 1964 60th reunion this past summer. It was interesting for two reasons: its content and its audience. I saw many faces that I didn't recognize and many that I hadn't seen for the better part of 60 years. Dina's presentation will eventually be available on Youtube, and I'll share its internet address with you as soon as it's available. In addition to all of the obvious reasons that U-School was created and maintained such a lofty academic stature, it was mentioned that Herman Wells saw a quality high school as an attraction for quality college faculty and staff: our parents.
This month's featured classmate is Bob Poling. Sorry, Bob, that we had so much to discuss in addition to your wonderful story. And it is a remarkable story as you will soon see. Bob's energy and accomplishments in a southwestern US culture, very different from our Hoosier state, are amazing. So, here we go:
Hello fellow Univees! I have been asked to contribute to the ongoing story of life after UHS and I find that my story has a lot of twists and turns but I will attempt to share some highlights.
After graduating UHS in 1963 I enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in Norman for four semesters and the following summer moved to Hollywood to work in A-1 studios as a script runner for movies. Back to Bloomington the following fall and then back to OU for two more semesters. Again returning to Bloomington I worked at Whitesides on the downtown square but traveled to Santa Fe the following spring to visit friends and fell in love with New Mexico. That summer I rented a house on Canyon Road in old Santa Fe that had a shop space where I and a friend opened The Leatherworks selling belts, watchbands and various other leather goods that we made. I returned to Bloomington that fall but was drawn back to Santa Fe in short order. I rented another shop I named Leather and Sterling on Canyon Road and began to make leather clothes, such as leather coats, pants, mini skirts, vests, sandals and also brass and silver jewelry. A native American student at the local Native American Institute came into my shop one day and proposed that I would be the right craftsman to go to a peace and love exposition in New York to show and sell my wares, all expenses paid. I agreed, of course, and joined a group including the infamous Hog Farm commune, the Jook Savages and others, all of us flying off to New York City on a chartered 707 where we made our way to Bethel, NY, for what turned out to be Woodstock! They provided tipis for us on a hill overlooking the stage where we were totally blown away with the music, the rain and Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner as the sun came up. A few days later we flew back to Albuquerque on the 707 with sitar on the intercom and magic koolaid dispensed from a wine bota. That following spring I decided to finish a degree at UNM in Albuquerque. Five semesters of study in a wonderful anthropology department and although school was shortened that spring with Vietnam protests, I received my degree. Meanwhile, I had moved to an old adobe house in Placitas, a small unincorporated village in the foothills of Sandia Mountain about eight miles east of the Rio Grande river, north of Albuquerque and south of Santa Fe where I made sheepskin coats and other unusual leather goods such as an elk hide coat lined with linen with a bearskin collar and antler buttons. A few miles outside of the village I bought a 3.74 acre lot at 6300 hundred feet altitude in what was essentially wilderness with coyotes, bobcats and wild horses as neighbors for $250 down and $25 a month. No utilities but I was undeterred and began making adobes (sun dried mud blocks) to build a round adobe house with a triangular tower in the middle with a sleeping loft. A group of guys and I went up into the nearby Jemez mountains where a lumber company was logging, leaving behind long tree tops in large piles. We managed to load about 25 of these logs onto an old flat bed truck hauling them back to Placitas where I spent part of the winter peeling off the bark with a draw knife making round beams called vigas. Although I didn't quite manage to get the roof on the round central room, we moved into two side rooms that I had made marginally livable with wood stoves, kerosene lamps and an outhouse. An unusually cold and snowy winter made our long and hilly dirt roads and driveway rather challenging. We finally managed to get power and running water after about five years. After turning thirty years old, Sandy and I were married in our home and Sandy and I have been blessed with three wonderful daughters and five grandchildren. Fifty years later we still have wild horses coming onto our property but I try and discourage them from coming into our courtyard. I began to design and build other adobe houses in the pueblo style in the Placitas area which I continued for the next 48 years building 1-5 homes a year. One of the clients that I built a house for was a pilot who owned a series of single engine planes. We became good friends and flew many thousands of miles together including many adventures into Mexico. On one long trip we tried to land on a grass strip in the mountains of Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico, in the high pines near Lake Patzcuaro but after several passes overhead we were unable to get the natives and their animals to vacate the landing strip so we flew down the mountain to Uruapan which had a paved runway and took a harrowing bus ride back up to Patzcuaro. We had better luck getting the natives and animals off the runways in our many trips to some of the coastal villages in Baja Mexico.
For several summers my brothers John (UHS '54) and Harvey (UHS 51') and I would fly into a remote Canadian wilderness lake near Flin Flon, Manitoba, on an old float plane for a week of fishing. We came back to the primitive one room cabin on a small island one afternoon after fishing to find a bear in the cabin. We made a racket and as the bear jumped out of the broken window, we realized that its mother and sibling were hanging out behind the outhouse. As we were unarmed with nothing but an axe, we were a bit nervous that night but put a string of empty cans outside the broken window where we heard clanging in the middle of the night. We jumped up yelling and fortunately the bears left us alone.
Back in Placitas, I decided that I was frustrated with buying individual lots to build houses so in 1987, I bought about 400 acres in the Placitas area and began to develop three subdivisions with lots averaging about 2+ acres. As I had no experience in developing subdivisions, it was a steep learning curve putting in all underground utilities including creating water systems and miles of roads through rugged countryside. Meanwhile Sandy had inherited a one-half interest in a cabin her grandparents had built on the side of the Jemez River in the Jemez Mountains about 50 miles west of our house in Placitas. We acquired the other half interest in the large A-frame cabin and I stripped it down to studs and joists (leaving a native stone fireplace 10 feet wide and 22 feet tall) and rebuilt the whole place for my fiftieth birthday. Along the way I also rebuilt our Placitas house and added an office building, an octagonal woodshop and an octagonal studio along with an additional 13 acres.
Sandy and I have been extensive travelers with notable trips to London for many theater shows, three weeks in Tuscany for my 60th birthday soaking up the golden light and wonderful sights and food and three weeks in South Africa exploring game parks and villages and putting on a wedding for our youngest daughter. However, before going to South Africa we had a round of vaccinations and after we returned home I developed a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis which may or may not have been a result of the vaccinations. After trying acupuncture and other alternative methods, my rheumatologist suggested the usual drugs which all had potential harsh side effects. I decided to scour the internet for more alternatives and I developed an unusual system of recovery which I can share if anyone is interested. It took about two years but I experienced a complete recovery. I had taken up skiing in my late thirties and white water rafting and canoeing in my late forties running many exciting rivers including the Colorado through the grand canyon. Although the RA slowed me down for a couple of years I resumed rafting and canoeing and last summer rowed my raft 83 miles over 8 days down the San Juan river through the goosenecks in southern Utah with my middle daughter, setting up camp with friends every night along the way. Life remains full for us and I am quite healthy, still not needing glasses or hearing aids or any bodily replacements. My favorite hobby is cooking and I enjoy making candlelight dinners most evenings with fresh organic gluten free foods. Although I have given up wine I still enjoy a beer or unfiltered sake with dinner. If you find yourselves coming out to Santa Fe, give us a call.
Bob and Sandy Poling: 505-980-5280 mobile, rhpoling@gmail.comWhere in the world is John Linnemeier? I will ask John to provide us with a full report of his recent travels and I'll share it with you as a future Univee 63 Bullet.
Don't forget that we have our next bi-annual Zoom call on the 22nd of this month, the second anniversary of our 2022 reunion in Bloomington. I'm hoping that Jim Shaffer is again available to be our leader. Stay tuned.
Your friend and classmate, Skip Higgins

Volume 2, Number 10, November 1, 2024
A special bonus to IU's very special football season came to Bloomington last Saturday morning. In advance of IU's game with Washington, ESPN's College Football GameDay originated from the south parking lot of IU's Memorial Stadium. It was well done, with Lee Corso and Kyle Schwarber in attendance. The aerial photos of the event displayed the wonderful fall colors in Bloomington and all of Southern Indiana. I hope you've had a very colorful fall wherever you are. Go Hoosiers.
As I mentioned last month, the Monroe County History Club had an interesting presentation on September 24. I've attached a flyer advertising the event. The event was recorded and can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuZAsPig2J0 It's rather long, 1 hour and 19 minutes, but hang in there and watch it to the end. You will be sure to see something that you didn't know and that you will feel worthwhile. At the very end is a group shot of U-School alumni present and you'll see me in the back row talking to Barratt Patton, Roger's older brother.
		Join Director of the Indiana University Archives, Dina Kellams, in her inaugural talk to the Monroe County History Club as she takes us through a short historical journey of IU's University School. What were its roots? How and why was it so unique? And most importantly, who were some of the people who made it special? Drawing from the extensive collections of the University Archives, Dina shares some of these details. Also many "Univees" were in attendance to share some anecdotes of their experiences at U School with the audience.
On the subject of special, this month's featured classmate is Jim Barker. Jim is one of a handful of '63 U-School alumni who makes their home in Bloomington. He joined us at the reunion 2 years ago, and it was great to see him again. His story is shown below, with photos attached. It's a great read. Enjoy.
Life since 1963 in a few paragraphs? Oh my. Well, a wife and child top the list. I was single a long time, focusing on math and engineering - easy to do at PU in the 60's. But on my first business trip requiring air travel (1976, taking plans to Penn Central RR) a young woman got on the plane late in Philadelphia and, having to split up from her friend, sat next to me. The first words I heard my future wife say were "There are two seats together up ahead, Barbara, do you want to move?" Ahhh, love at first sight. But Barbara, bless her soul, was comfy. Mary Jo and I conversed the entire trip back. I told her about going exploring and backpacking in Utah's canyon country and, in telling, changed my friend's Scout into a Jeep so a well-dressed woman from Philadelphia might understand. When she replied with glee that she drove a Scout, things got serious. Fate is so unpredictable. Photo of wedding attached.
After Purdue (structural engineering) I worked in Texas on the F-111 aircraft. It had already been designed, but hundreds still worked to make sure each part could handle the forces: a skin thickness here, a rivet spacing there, and such. Told them I was going to CU Boulder in 9 months but they hired me anyway.
Boulder was great. Hard work but fun: engineering wasn't dominant. It was just another school in a liberal arts university. How refreshing. I used savings to purchase abandoned mining claims in the mountains around Central City and Leadville. Had wanted to build an A-frame on one, but that dream is long past. Still own several claims though, including one staked in 1905 up near the continental divide, named the "Bushwhacker" - that always makes me smile.
After CU I worked at Martin-Marietta, Denver (think 2nd half of "Lockheed-Martin"), doing vibration analysis of the Titan 3D launch vehicle. We modeled how the vehicle (many parts) shook during flight. Titan 3's used two 10-foot diameter solid rocket "strap-ons" identical to those white tubes on the space shuttle, and the vibrations were beyond intense. They affected the guidance system and increased the stresses in the rocket's structure, and especially in the satellites. Months before launch the satellites would be bolted to a giant shake table and shaken with the frequencies and amplitudes we predicted for their mounting rings. Then they were retested to see if they still worked properly. A slipped mirror, a broken connection, and taxpayers would have very expensive space junk.
The satellites were KH-9's and early KH-11's, which were the best reconnaissance satellites we had back then. Each satellite weighed about 25,000 pounds, which was quite heavy for 1973. NASA doesn't publicize it, but Hubble is sort of a late model (larger) KH-11 with different sensors and the controls jiggered to point at Orion instead of Vladivostok. There were only three of us doing this work at Martin. One was my supervisor, so I did much of the detailed calcs. Other teams developed mass and stiffness data, and wrote the code for programs, but we assembled it all to model the rocket. Another group in California did the same thing a different way, and we only compared final answers. If there wasn't agreement we went back looking for errors.
The satellites were KH-9's and early KH-11's, which were the best reconnaissance satellites we had back then. Each satellite weighed about 25,000 pounds, which was quite heavy for 1973. NASA doesn't publicize it, but Hubble is sort of a late model (larger) KH-11 with different sensors and the controls jiggered to point at Orion instead of Vladivostok. There were only three of us doing this work at Martin. One was my supervisor, so I did much of the detailed calcs. Other teams developed mass and stiffness data, and wrote the code for programs, but we assembled it all to model the rocket. Another group in California did the same thing a different way, and we only compared final answers. If there wasn't agreement we went back looking for errors.
After sufficient indolence, I moved back to Bloomington and took a job designing road and bridge projects, meeting Mary Jo at this time. I really like the broadleaf forests here. In much of Colorado the trees grow apart, sparsely, with sunshine between, so as to have room to collect their needed water, in what is really a dry environment. In contrast, it seems like the summer temperature drops 5 or 10 degrees when you enter a shady midwestern forest. Designed many bridge projects. Gradually, the road approaches, hydraulics, and traffic safety aspects of projects became more interesting to me than the structures themselves. Except for the old ones. The 90-year-old iron trusses. The hundred-year-old covered bridges. I loved those right away. The metal trusses, in particular, seemed ignored and unappreciated, when they are actually ingenious, strong, and beautiful. I much enjoyed designing repairs to these and keeping them serving. And being an engineer who convinced at least a few Commissioners that they could be saved, and didn't have to be replaced, and that those that did, could be moved to carry walking trails. Sometimes though, I felt a little lonely when talking preservation with Commissioners whose aesthetic interests centered on corn picker clearances.
During this time Mary Jo and I started a family. But our first born lived only a month, never leaving the hospital. Nothing good about that except it meant, statistically speaking, that lots of other couples never had to hear the word "bilirubin". And so it goes. However, our second son, Joel, is doing much better. After going through the "gonna-be-a-rock-star" phase, he settled down at IU, and met an extraordinary young woman from Colombia. She had taught herself English, gotten accepted several places, and chosen the university she could afford. They married just before Joel graduated. After getting her PhD she found work as assistant to the President of Barnard College. And after a few years there she was chosen to be an assistant to the Provost of Princeton University. That name impressed us. And then I looked up what a University Provost is. Gulp. We have two grandchildren, 10 and 8 this year.
For 16 years I had my own engineering firm, specializing in repairing and preserving historic bridges. Did some good work. Saved a covered bridge in northern Vermont, and helped with one in California, but most projects were in Indiana and Ohio. We prepared the plans, and left construction to contractors. I coauthored part of a book titled Covered Bridges and the Birth of American Engineering, developed and published by the National Park Service. Miss Spear would have been surprised. Very surprised. Growing older, and not enjoying sales or late-night meetings, I sold Barker Engineering to a large Indianapolis firm in 2014 and became a staff engineer there. Eight years I later started Kurdziel Barker Engineering with my supervisor, who also appreciates historic bridges. So, I'm still working on them, though slowing down. It's only slightly "work" now, anyway.
Twice I took Jerry Macintosh with me as volunteer field crew when appraising the ills of old bridges. Jerry enjoyed these outings - being applied geometry and algebra, so to speak. During one trip we identified a serious problem with a 180-foot-long covered bridge (Forsythe). Plans and construction followed, fixing the deficiency.
I haven't kept up well with classmates. See Justin and Linno occasionally but not often. Phil W and I took a raft trip through Cataract Canyon years ago - exciting. But I have been poor about maintaining contact. A shame, because our class was such an eclectic and talented group of young adults.
Until recently, I had two long-term ambitions beyond family. One was to buy a handheld, 3D scanner and a tall ladder, and go around to iron truss bridges and 3D scan their surviving builder's plaques, to preserve that quirky art from thieves and wrecking balls. My second hope has been to write a book about western vagabond Everett Ruess. Phil Wikelund helped me acquire a few of his original writings, including several he wrote in Valparaiso, Indiana. But two months ago Mary Jo had a serious stroke, which is much affecting us. I'm not sure what the future holds now.
Demonstrating his expertise as an engineer, Jim has been able to put captions to his photos within the photo. I need to learn how he did that so we can better enjoy photos in future life stories. I'll try to learn his secret.
Hoping a great Thanksgiving to everyone, Skip Higgins
wedding	Joel & family	Pulaski 15

Volume 2, Number 11, December 1, 2024

It was great to see Nancy Weigel Sherrick at the October 2022 Univee reunion in Bloomington. She hitched a ride to the event with her brother Bill, class of 1962, and then found a ride to the Eagles Nest at The Pointe for the Saturday night party. She was a determined lady, dedicated to seeing all of you and sharing some time together. When I asked her to share her life story with us in our monthly class bulletin, she was less than enthusiastic to do so, concerned that you’d find it less interesting than some of the recent bio’s. But she prepared the enclosed story for you anyway, which I think is compelling indeed. She’s had a unique and quite wonderful life, as you’ll see below. Please let her hear from you, that you agree with me and that you’re happy to get up to date with a truly special member of our high school class.

Skip has asked me to bore you with my life since high school. Not nearly as exciting as all the rest I have read so far, but here goes:

After graduation, I took some business classes at IU for a semester. I really wasn’t happy doing that. I then moved to Fort Wayne and went to International Business College and took secretarial training there. After going to International Business College, I got a job at American Hoist & Derrick in Fort Wayne as a secretarial assistant. I then transferred to The Crosby Group which was a part of American Hoist in their data processing department. I was there for 18 years, then they decided to transfer to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I could have relocated with the company but I had gotten married in 1972 and we bought a home on a lake north of Columbia City (20 miles from Fort Wayne) in 1975 which I love and am still there.

When I left The Crosby Group, in 1984, my husband and I bought a tavern. Thought that would be a fun job. I ended up getting divorced from my husband in 1986. I then sold the tavern. I liked bartending but owning a bar was not for me anymore, no time for yourself. I then got a job at North American Van Lines processing driver’s logs. I also worked at a couple restaurants here at the lake bartending part time which I enjoyed. I didn’t like the job at North American and was able to get a job at Seyfert’s Potato Chips in the data processing department. That was a good job until they sold out and closed in 1992. My neighbor owned a company called Indiana Wire Die along with two other gentlemen. He told me they were looking for an office manager and asked me if I would be interested. I said yes and went to work there. It was interesting and I also learned how to make wire drawing dies. I was there about 10 years when one of the owners bought out the other two. I decided to leave there and was able to get a job at Bohl Equipment & Crane. They sold and repaired forklifts and overhead cranes. I worked in the scheduling department and did some invoicing. In 2008, when the economy went to hell, I was laid off from that job. I then decided to go on social security.

In 2013 I got a part time job in the office at a company that did home restorations. They started a new company, Rosewood Staffing, in 2018 which does medical staffing in nursing homes. I then transferred to that company in the payroll department. I am still there, but have gone part time. At almost 80, I am about ready to quit working and enjoy myself.

In 1990, I joined a service and friendship sorority, Sigma Phi Gamma International Sorority with chapters all over the United States and Canada. We do fund raisers and donate money or help needy families or organizations with whatever they might need help with. It is really rewarding to be able to help the less fortunate. We also have a Convention every summer, usually in June. It has also given me the opportunity to go to places that I would not have gone. I have been to California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Kansas, South Carolina, Niagara Falls, Mexico and Canada.

While I was working at Bohl Equipment & Crane, I met and married my current husband, Kevin Sherrick in August of 2008. We were married on our pontoon boat on the lake. We had about 20 other pontoons full of friends and family at our wedding. We had a friends karaoke machine on our boat so everyone could hear. It was really a fun time. Attached are a couple pictures of the wedding.

This about sums up my life since high school. Hope I didn’t bore you too much. - Nancy (Weigel) Sherrick

As previously announced, all of our previous Univee 63 Bullets are making their way to our class website. With the help of David Gray, the process of entering past Bullets has begun, but we have a long way to go. Please check our progress from time to time, starting today if you wish. To go there directly, click on https://uhsbloomington.org/1963/Bullets.htm. You can also get here by starting at our school website, https://uhsbloomington.org and then select 1963. Under the primary title box at the top of this page is a link to the Monthly Bullets. Check back here early and often.

Finally, it must be mentioned that yesterday was a thrilling day for all Hoosiers. Not only did IU tromp Purdue in overwhelming fashion, but also Ohio State lost to Michigan. OSU spoiled IU's otherwise perfect season a week ago, and it was great fun to see them humbled. Go Hoosiers in the post season.

Happy Holidays to everyone.

Sincerely, your friend and classmate, Skip Higgins

Updated 20 Dec 2024