Leon Collins - July 10, 1955 - Mar 6, 2011

Claremont, NH

Leon A Collins, 55, of Lewis Place in Claremont, NH died Sunday (March 6) at Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, NH due to injuries suffered in an accident at his home. He was born in Claremont, NH on July 30, 1955 the son of John and Rita (DeVillers) Collins and had been a longtime Claremont resident. He was a graduate of Stevens High School, Class of 1974. Leon retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Gunnery Sergeant and was currently employed by New Hampshire Pickup and Delivery. On July 10, 1977 he married the former Mercedita Cruz, they had been married for 33 years. He enjoyed woodworking and was an all around handyman. He was a very humble, quiet man but was known as quite a joker by family and close friends. Leon was an advocate for underdogs and was known to treat people fairly, but first and foremost he was a committed family man and loved his grandchildren. Members of his family include his wife, Mercedita C. Collins, Claremont, NH; two daughters, Merci Maria Collins-Abella, Claremont, NH; Andrea Collins Thompson, CA; five grandchildren, Anthony, Alexis and Amor Abella, Andrew and Austin Thompson, his mother, Rita Collins, Windsor, VT; a brother, Alan Collins, Barton, VT; two sisters, Laura Brookens, Lempster, NH and Christine Snyder, Phoenixville, PA and several nieces and nephews. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 on Saturday in St. Mary’s Church, with the Rev. Shawn M. Therrien, pastor, officiating. Following the Mass, full military honors will be provided by members of the American Legion Post #29. Committal services will be held later in the spring in St. Mary’s Cemetery at the convenience of the family. Friends may call the Roy Funeral Home, 93 Sullivan Street, Claremont, NH on Saturday morning from 10:00 Am until the funeral procession leaves for the church. The family suggests that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the St. Mary Parish Renovation Fund, 32 Pearl Street, Claremont, NH 03743. The family invites you to share a memory of Leon with them or leave a message of condolence in the family guest book at www.royfuneralhome.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Roy Funeral Home and Cremation Service.

Leonard "Biddy" Kochis

Dear classmates,

It is with regret to announce our classmate Leonard "Biddy" Kochis has passed away. Some of you are already aware of this, others are not. It is belated news as his passing was not found out about until recently. Additionally there is nothing out there such as a obit to really pass on. I have been able to glean bits and pieces thanks to Paul Colfer who was kind enough to let me know what he could find out. I waited for a few weeks after Paul contacted me hoping more information would be forthcoming from Lenny's family, but it appeared it was not going to happen.

What we do know is Leonard apparently passed away on Nov 28th in 2010 from other complications after a routine knee surgery. From some research I did, I was able to determine he was last living in Reva, Virginia. As far as I know, he has not been in the area for quite a while and don't know if he ever returned for any of the reunions. Some of you may have been more in touch with him than others.

We wish his family well and that those who loved him are at peace. We also hope he had a good life after all has been said and done.


Phil

Belated entry, End of year thoughts

Good morning fellow classmates and friends,


As I sit here with my first cup of joe of the day, and with the final station of 2010 fast approaching, my thoughts are of all of you and another year passing us by all too quickly in the journey of our lives. Amorn and I hope you all had a nice Christmas and were able to enjoy it with your families.


Some final musings. As a whole, 2010 was a challenge for many of us as well as the nation. I can however say that really good things came out of 2010 as far as our class is concerned. For the first time, we made it a point to get together in a non-reunion year and do some really nice things. To re-cap, we started in March with the evening out at the Pleasant, which turned into a danceathon at the Imperial Buffet. We found we still have some moves left in these bodies of ours!


In July we spent a terrific day out at Jim Roy's camp and enjoyed a BBQ and maybe helped Jim get closer to popping the big question to Laurie! We also have some great story tellers in this class too! We also discovered we have many who like fruit here too...;-) What a beautiful day that was in many ways! In August we ended the summer with a bang watching Carey Rush jam at Sunapee Harbor where he put on a magnificent performance for us. John Irish did a great job putting up the videos of Carey's performances on Youtube. Check them out, some good music! Many of us ended up at the Salt Hill in Newport that same evening for a late evening dinner. Sandy, I still can't get over how that guy skedaddled when you went to ask him who he was! It was a perfect evening at the harbor, and again a nice turnout from the class.


In October on a nice crisp fall evening a few of us turned up in Claremont for the homecoming football game. The team lost, but put up a good fight against a much bigger team. We then ended up topping off the evening at Ramuntos Pizza. I am duly informed on just what kind of pizza Jill likes now! And John with his $4 dollar slice of cake! Rachel and Mike, what a great and funny couple you make! It had been at least 20 plus years for a number of us in watching a SHS football game. It was encouraging to see and hear that Stevens sports are on the uprise.


Amorn and I are grateful to have become friends, and renewed friendships with all of you and I hope it just gets better as time goes on. The more time I spend with you, the more I appreciate knowing you. Can you also say, this past summer in NH was the most perfect summer weather wise you have ever lived through? I know for me it was, as I cannot ever recall the weather being this perfect. Also want to congratulate those of you who had new additions to your families in the form of grandkids! Aren't they fun? ;-)


On the downside, we also lost several classmates over the course of 2010, Alice Davis, Anita Methot, and Barret Bodkins. Our hopes are their families have found solace. Let us hope this trend of losing classmates stops for a long while.


Looking ahead to 2011, which I just have this feeling is going to be a really good year. Some things to think about. It has been mentioned a number of times we still have a lot of classmates left to find. Would it be prudent to ask if a goal for us in 2011 would be to try and find some of these people who are still among the missing? Should we put out a list of who we still need to locate and put the detective in us to work on locating them? Its possible many of them aren't aware we are doing things and that we have a mailing list so they can be kept up on what we are doing. Also,never too early to start thinking about what you guys want to do in 2011 as far as getting together. Hike anyone?


I have also thought about some things I can add to the communications part of things, I have been playing around with FB putting together the basic blocks for a Facebook Page just for the class. It seems to be the way everyone is going as it is a great tool for keeping in touch. Yes, it would require having a FB account to be a friend of the page, and to participate in the comments and such. However, you can also view the FB page of a group as a non-member of FB as well, as long as you know the page link, you just won't be able to input anything.


If I do this to completion, I will probably shut down the class blog and transfer the content over to the FB page. It will give us a central point to put out instantaneous messages to the class and input pictures,and video in a easy to work with format. I also like the fact FB has a event calendar as well as a IM feature. I have yet to figure out all the neat things FB can do, but I intend to make myself an expert on it with a little luck! I will still keep up the email list as it will always have a use for certain situations and will be a backup to FB. Let me know if this is something you would like to see happen. I will keep you posted!


In closing, It has been a privilege to have served you as the messenger and sounding board for the class and I have enjoyed it so far. I will continue to do this as long as you will have me, and as long as I can do it well. Again, the real credit goes out to all of you, for without your participation, none of these things we have done would have ever happened. Too all of you, thank you!


Amorn and I wish for all of you, that 2011 will be the year and a really good year regardless of your personal situations for all of you. We also hope to see all of you again and maybe even some new faces as well in 2011 too!


Best wishes, and a happy, prosperous, healthy, and safe New Year to you all.


Phil

Sunapee Harbor and Carey Rush

Good morning class,

A perfect day along with a great bunch of folks from our class along some outstanding tunes by Carey Rush and his band mates made this get together just so much fun. Carey, you have not lost your touch, we need to see you more!! We could all see the joy on your face to be up there "up on the stage again" as in the Bob Segar song you sang so well! I think myself and just about everyone else could have listened to you way into the evening!

Sunapee Harbor was the perfect setting and we all ended up meeting up each other just fine. Even a few faces we hadn't seen in a long time showed up, Tim Cross, Kim McClelland, Debbie Demorest and Jim Hanson! Thanks for coming and it was great to see you again! We hope you join us more often!

After the gig was done, a number of us met over at the Salt Hill in Newport and took over the top floor and had some fine food and drinks. It was really nice atmosphere in there and everyone had a good time. Sandy, I don't know how you did it, but that was the quickest exit I have ever seen a guy make!!!! Kim, I think you should get your electricity free living next to those windmills! Susan, it was a great discussion on the City of Claremont's future and I stand corrected on some things! We also celebrated 2 birthdays, of Linda Bly and her daughter, congrats ladies!!! We all more or less bade our farewells around 9:30 or so and concluded a great day. Amorn and I hope all of you made it home safely and no Gary, we didn't get pulled over this time!.

If anyone else got pictures or video, please share!! I am sure some of you are better photographers than I am!

NOTE: Sandy will be putting on a shindig at her place in early September, details will be coming soon!

Pictures and video attached.

Until next time take care.

Phil

Video

Pictures

Our Day at Loon Lake

Dear Class,

Another class event is history and will go down as another terrific experience for all involved. A total of 18 of us made a day of it on Loon Lake. We were treated to perfect weather with nary a sprinkle and just about perfect temperatures to be outside in. The setting was just marvelous and our hosts Jim and Laurie were just as gracious and accommodating as could be, We thank you both for suggesting this place and making it all come together...well done. I want to thank also John Irish for donating his time, gear and his tireless efforts to keep the music going although I know he was disappointed we couldn't really crank it up! I also want to thank the Loon Lake association for their cooperation in helping Jim make this happen. And thanks to everyone who brought foodstuffs too!

Garth, Gary and Jim really dueled on who could put out the funniest stories...I'll have to call it a draw guys...you were all just too good! It was a nice intimate group and I also want to thank all the classmates for making spouses and SOs feel more than welcome as part of us. The day just went by too fast, but everyone enjoyed themselves and a few particularly enjoyed the fruit.... As the day ended, we were treated to a absolutely gorgeous sunset as patches of fog rolled in through the lake. After the main event was over, everyone retreated to Jim's campsite and we had a nice bonfire to round out the day...hope I did well in keeping that fire stoked Jim... The day officially ended when we all broke up around 10:30 or so and headed out.Yeah, we can't make it to 2-3 in the morning anymore..."LOL"

On a personal note, Amorn and I had a great time and it was wonderful reacquainting with all of you. Real story...on the way home, we were also treated to an extra thrill being pulled over by Sunapee's finest just a 1/4 mile past Garth's house.... Had a vanity plate light out which I already knew about. Ahhh.......nothing like a probable cause stop! No ticket though! I guess business must have been slow last night! And Melissa, I am enjoying immensely those raspberries on my cereal as I type, and yes you will get your container back sometime. Sandy, that grounds/security guy will always remember those golf cart rides! We tried Laurie...to get Jim pop the question...! Better luck next time! Last but not least, still have that cigar Garth!

A few additional notes:

We had some conversations of possibly using the large lodge down the road as a possible venue for our 40Th.

We would like to consider doing this on a yearly basis a summer BBQ, but looks like we should consider changing the month to August being the better month for most people.

On July 31st, there is a annual concert going on in Sunapee Harbor which includes Carey Rush who will be among the musicians featured at this event. He will be appearing from 5-7pm(?) and it looks as if most of us who were at the BBQ will be making the trip over to see him play. Perhaps showing our support will give him more incentive to join in on our class activities. At this point we have no place to really meet there, so it looks as if we will just have to find each other! Amorn and I will be there as well as we love music. There was a little uncertainty on the exact time so Jill will check with Carey and confirm the time.

In early September, Sandy will be hosting a event featuring the pool at her residence to officially say goodbye to the summer of 2010. The final details have yet to be ironed out which she will send me, and I'll put something out to everyone.

If anyone else has good pictures, please don't hesitate to forward them out and I'll add them in. I know I didn't get all of the good ones! To see the pictures, click on the title of this blog entry "Our Day at Loon Lake"

Till next time everyone, "Vade in pace"

Phil

Pictures

Pictures of Class evening out

Here are pics from Saturday night.(Click on the headline)

Summary of Class night out March 27th 2010

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to follow up with a short summary of the evening out last night. We all met at the Pleasant lounge and spent a enjoyable 3 hours together. Some of us enjoyed meals along with drinks. Never thought we would actually close a bar at our age, as the lounge closed at 9! A total of 18 of us made it for the first get-together in the off alumni season so to speak. We also had a call in from Dwain Hathaway who was about to go on stage in San Diego to sing for the first time in years thanks to a different doctor who has helped Dwain recover some of his voice. Good luck Dwain! We also thank the Pleasant for having us.

After the Pleasant closed, a group of us continued on to the Imperial Buffet to take in the scene there as the evening was still young. I think we put the younger generation to shame in that place with the spirit and energy we showed! A special request was put in to the DJ to play our these song from last year "Pinball Wizard" which got almost all of us on the floor. We all still have moves I think! It was a fitting end to a good evening out. I spent part of the evening doing handbag and drink holding duties while the gals hit the floor......;-) (Standing room only there) Yeah, I got out once or twice too....!

A few things to remind everyone of. In 4 short, and I mean short years, we will be having our 40th. A recurring idea which has been floating out there for some time in past reunions is the idea of combining our evening activities after the parade along with finally having our Junior Prom. Obviously it would be a slightly watered down and less expensive version of the prom, without limos, tuxs, etc, but would include all the fun of a prom.

We would like to put this idea out there and get it out there early so we can snag the Center early for the festivities if this idea takes on a life. We are also looking to get an exemption so we can get our night going early. With any luck, the rules of the alumni traditions may even be different then! We have willing entertainers and DJs already among our class to ready to jump in and make the music. At the very least, it will add a theme and something more to look forward to for everyone.

A 2nd thing, just a reminder for everyone, please, please, please make sure to pay your class dues to we can make something special happen for the 40th and possibly use class funds to do things in between years. I know times are tough for some of us, but If you can spare more than the $10 class dues by adding in another $5, $10, $20 or more, it would really help the class funds build up quickly. You should all be getting cards soon with the dues request, please take a minute to send out your dues as soon as possible.

Last but not least, the Dubes, Melissa and Gary have again graciously offered the use of their land to hold a class BBQ sometime this summer. This will include entertainment as well. More details will be forthcoming as I get them, so keep your eye out for more emails.

Thanks again to all who attended last night, it was special to see you all in a different setting. Hope to see you all again and more of you this coming summer!


Phil

Class Evening out

Good evening everyone,

I am writing to update you on the results of the idea of an evening meet-up at a local restaurant during this month. As of today, only 11 responses have been received back. A few sent their regrets they would not be able to attend, even though they dearly wanted to.

From the confirmed interest responses I did get, the 27th was the favored date and the Pleasant Restaurant was the favored venue. Would it work for everyone interested if you still want to go ahead with this, that we just plan to meet at the Pleasant restaurant on Saturday the 27th from say between 6-9pm??

Anyone that hasn't made up their minds about this one way or another, but decides to come at the last minute, I would encourage them to feel free to show up. I am sure the Pleasant could accommodate all of us. Whatever numbers we get, it's a start. Let me know if this is good with all of you who are interested, after all, this is your evening out...;-)


Thanks!!

Phil

Float Build Pictures and BBQ

Doubleclick on images to see full sized versions-Phil

Awesome arrival of the float on Broad Street

Last minute decorating of the float

Dwain and Garth Warming Up

Downtown and Parade Ending

Garth and Dwain ripping it up

Alumni Weekend Summary

To all my 74 classmates,

To summarize up this past weekend takes only one word, fabulous! Friday started with a bang with the building of the float at the Dubes. The weather started off looking like the day would be a washout, but miracles upon miracles, the clouds lifted just as work began in ernest and we were blessed with a nice early summer evening in which to put forth our efforts to build our creation. Work started in around 1pm, as the afternoon wore on more and more reinforcements arrived and the work pace accelerated.

As the evening progressed to dark, the full shape of the float took place and once the lighting effects were in place and turned on it, was really something to see. Too bad the parade didn't take place at night! Can you just imagine going down Pleasant street in our glowing Tommy T-shirts and the strobes reflecting off the Mylar with Pinball Wizard booming from the speakers? Whoa!

Anyone watching had to be impressed with the teamwork and workmanship that was done over the course of the 8 hours it took to put this together. From the sign making, electrical, sound, painting and woodworking, everything just went on in a organized way. Every problem that came up was fixed by the creative minds in our presence. A BBQ was also fired up consisting of burgers, hot dogs, and of course cold beer which were served to the starving masses to keep their energy up. At 9pm, we finished off and some of us less energetic types (like me!) retired for the day and others resumed a impromptu party. (don't know how you guys do it!)

On Saturday morning, the day dawned bright with just perfect conditions for a parade. Our float riders arrived in front of the Moose ready to attach last minute decorations. Our Elton John, Tommy, and our WOWZA Anne Margaret arrived dressed to the "T" for their parts. At 8:30 the float arrived right on schedule. We actually heard the float long before it arrived on Broad Street as Pinball Wizard could be heard from the far reaches of Summer Street

Upon arriving, everyone went right to work, a show of teamwork and hustle that would have made Bill Belichick of the Patriots proud to get the last minute decorations in place. I have video proof! Before the parade even got going, the float got a lot of positive reaction from passing traffic and even other floats. Seeing 80 year old men motioning for us to turn it up doing a little boogie was pretty cool! Who said old guys couldn't be hip! Even our Jr High teacher Mr Al Kaplinski stopped by to give his approval! (Does that guy ever age?) During the parade we saw alot of participation from all ages of onlookers rocking to our tunes. The spirit on the float was just there by the way the back of the trailer could be felt bouncing up and down in time to music.

After Parade Events

The Pleasant venue was great and a good start to the evening. First time ever in there for a lot of us. Great snacks were served and a excellent bar crew kept the drinks handy. About 50 attended this event which was well done by the Pleasant Restaurant. It provided a great option to catch up in a more social setting for those who could not make the later functions.The banquet was also well attended by our class. Mr MaGoon sure still knows how to lead a chorus! A lot of well deserving kids just starting out in life received scholarships....remember when we were those kids???

The final event of the night the Casa De Sol featured another great turnout and final round of visiting. We were treated to a exhibition of guitars and singing by our own inhouse entertainment duo of Dwain Hathaway and JIm Hill. Also Garth Bacon and Dwain teamed up for a doozy of a funny tune of which the title escapes me, but it sure was funny! Great job guys! John Irish kept the tunes coming and the dance floor was filled on more than one occasion. Anita and Brian blinded everyone at least once with the ever persistent picture taking!

I want to just say I had a ball in putting this together. Yeh there were some days I wondered if this would really work out, but my concerns were unfounded. But, I didn't do it alone and I had a lot of help along the way, so therefore let me say my sincerest thanks from the bottom of my heart to the following people.

John Irish...for the inspiration of "Tommy" and for providing a great sound system as a result of his expertise and staging for the float and after party. I don't know how you did that for a living that is not easy work heaving those pieces of equipment around. And for assisting me with putting together those 2 pinball machines. We sure had a lot fun doing that. The audio mix you did for the sound and pinball machines was just awesome.

The Dubes, Melissa and Gary...for the use of their beautiful slice of earth to put together the float and hosting the BBQs to keep us from keeling over from starvation! Also for Gary for his expert use of his nice tractor to lift all the heavy stuff onto and off the trailer. I am so jealous of your toy!! Beautiful place you have and wonderful hosts you are...One of these days, I need to talk to you about how you raise such nice looking raspberries!

The guys in the crew, Joe Andre. Mike Casella, Dwain Hathaway, Frank Walker, Paul Colfer, Gary for the muscle to lift those pinball machines onto the trailer and all the other things you did that needed doing. You all still got it!!

Tha gals in the crew, Anita, Barbara Agel, Sandy Brown, Melissa, Debbie Moody, and Debbie Demorest, for jumping in to paint those pinball machines, and the signage. I think next time we'll use brush paints for everything!!

Anita Delaney....Our artist in residence, for the absolutely super job on being Elton and being courageous enough to get into those shoes! You did Elton proud and then some! Sorry my fisherman's pants just didn't work....but glad that Wallyworld came through! For your wonderfully artistic letter making skills...however, never again....will we do a paint job like that using spray paint! Also, for putting up with the kidding from John and I about your height and the now famous drill joke! Oh....and I did NOT request "Short People"!! ..Last but not least, for taking all those pictures Sat night, hope to get them soon!

Brian Delaney....for pitching in everywhere, although not a member of our class, I propose we make him a honorary member!

Charlene Haynes....for keeping us on track with ways of the alumni rules and for seeing to it our class funds were wisely spent. I know it is not easy putting together a mailing and keeping track of the whereabouts for 200 plus people never mind the tags and photos. The "Class Binder" was a great idea and was well received by everyone. Hope to see a lot more added as the years go by. And yes......I will bring the balloons next time!!!!

Jim Hanson.....for those bean barrels and all the fine electrical work on the strobe lights, you were everywhere it seemed like. I wish I had your energy! Your "hair" raising experience of Tommy was well done!

Norm Webb....for providing your BIL and trailer for the float.You got everything in on time and on schedule. That was a big load off everyone's mind!! Please be our go guy for the trailer next time too ok?

Anne Hulse.....where do I start, from the t-shirts that glow in the dark to the signage for the memorial. Everyone really liked the shirts, they are classics I think! I know I will have to guard mine because everyone will want to wear it to see if it glows! I think we set a record in the number of emails back and forth getting everything worked out!! Please give Ray my regards for the very tasteful job done on the memorial.

Rachel Fluette...for our very own Anne Margaret. You picked a beautiful and stunning outfit, very becoming of the Anne! You should have worn it to the party minus the wig! I think you had that sexy wave down pat by the time we were done! You made the back of the float just perfect!

Barbara Agel...for the nice job on requisitioning Pleasant for the pre-banquet meet. I was plesantly (no pun) surprised at how nice it was in there. I would have loved to have gotten up to that balcony! And for keeping me in stitches with your stories of mowing lawns and bathrooms!! Glad we solved that "Gone to Pot" mystery!!!!

If I missed anyone, please forgive me, as I have tried to include all I can recall. I will be sending out a link to your emails sometime this week to pictures with more coming once I receive Anita's pictures. They will be posted online and in the class blog as well.

In a month (yep, I'm taking a break!) or so I will also start putting something out consistently to keep you all up to date on what is going on. The blog will be maintained as well.


Phil

Last Meeting Summary

The last online meeting was held May 26th. Many thanks to all who attended, it has been a pleasure working with all of you. We are pretty much on the way to getting everything put together for the float build. The only changes which were made, are that I will handle getting the lettering for the banners to give Anne more time to concentrate on her other things.

Again I want to remind everyone we need as many people as possible to help with the float at the beautiful home of Melissa and Gary Dube. I think it will be a good time had by all too!

Melissa and Gary's address is 15 Lynch Place, which is just off River Road between 12A and where Ainsworth Rd meets River Rd. If unable to find it, just listen for some 70s rock and roll...!!

Stats from reservations so far as received by Charlene indicate about 23 going to the Pleasant, and 14 so far to Casa De Sol. Unknown as to how many will be at the banquet table. I expect we will see many more just before the deadline. No matter how many come this year, we will all have a good time! If you haven't gotten your reservations in, NOW would be a good time to do it!

One last request, I just realized we should probably designate someone to officially be the weekend photographer who will take pictures from Friday at the float build till Saturday night at the Casa. I think we would like to see video as well as still shots. Anyone want to to take a stab at this?? For the video, I have a Flip video camera you can use if needed. The only other requirement is a decent digital camera and will enjoy the challenge of putting together our class story for the weekend.

I would like to take a second here to say I have enjoyed working this event and seeing things come together. It's been great hearing from and getting together with classmates who I haven't interacted with in a long time. It's wonderful to hear we have classmates coming from as far away as California, Nevada, etc! We'll have to see who comes the furthest!

Now....Let's all hope for great weather!! See you all in 14 days!

Phil

Hello all,

Thanks very much to all that attended tonight's meeting We had a good turnout and ended up having a fabulously good time reminiscing about our grade schools and other various points of interest of the downtown we once knew that have disappeared forever from the landscape. However, we all agreed. Hotel Winner was not to be missed!! I think we all kinda realize how fortunate we were in our childhoods to grow up there.

On the following meeting subjects we all agreed to

Banner wording-this is now official Anne!

2 vinyl banners of 15 feet long by 2 feet wide with a bluish background and lettering

"Class of '74, See me, Hear me....after 35 years we're still here!!

A smaller vinyl banner 4x6? to say

"Tommy-Pinball Wizard"

Melissa and Anne will be meeting with Ray tomorrow to finalize that and the memorial board as well.

Elton John Pants and Boots.

The pants will be worked on by Anita and John and Phil will see if a decent replica of the boots can be put together.

The B&M Baked Beans wording on the 6 barrels will be in the form of lettering provided by Ray

Paint for the pinball machine will be taken care of the day of the build

Helium for the 20 balloons will be provided by Melissa. If unable to do so, several other sources are available for this.

The Anne Margaret outfit will NOT fit Rachel in the size as offered. Rachel will be contacted by Phil to see if she can come up with an alternative on her own. A consignment or 2nd store may be the solution.

Funding is still holding steady at $900.00 which should be more than enough to cover expenses.

Responses from the class letter sent out by Charlene have been very slow. A lot of people will probably make decisions at the last minute. A small number of letters came back as undeliverable.

Next meeting will be held on May 26th same time same station.

Best to all, and good night.

Phil

Now......A little "Tommy" history link provided here for you viewing pleasure!!! Thanks to Anita for digging this up!

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Pinball-Wizards-Iconic-Boots

Reunion Planning Meeting 4-14-09

Hi everyone,

I want to thank everyone who made it tonight for the meeting. It was a productive meeting and we are on track to getting everything in place. Someday we will just have to have a fun-chatathon on that website! it is always nice chatting with you all!

Here is your summary of the meeting.

Alumni newsletter status:

Some people have received their copies and some haven't. Charlene will be following up on this issue. A lot of missing classmates still listed for our class. We should all make an effort to spread the word around and try and locate these classmates. They all have to be somewhere!! If you haven't gotten your alumni newsletter drop Charlene a line.

Class Mailing:

Charlene will be mailing out the class letter with all the details, forms and costs of the reunion in about a week. Let's hope we get a great response to it! Thank you Charlene for your work on this!

Elton John replacement:

Anita is still willing to do the part, but does not have the time to put together the whole costume due to family commitments. It was agreed everyone in this meeting will look for sources of EJ costume used in the movie Tommy. Needed most are the pants and boots.

T-Shirts and logo:

Anne will order the t-shirts. They will cost $12 each and can be paid for at the time you send back your funds and forms for the activities you plan to participate in for the reunion. The $12 is broken down as follows. $8 will to go to the shirt cost and $4 will go to the class fund. Anyone who will be on the float should plan to purchase the shirt so we will all be same. Anne will order assorted sizes which should cover just about everyone size-wise. It will be a really nice t-shirt with the Tommy logo ironed on. For an example, see the class blog. Nice Job Anne in working this for us!!

Float Banner and signage:

Anne and Melissa will handle the ordering of the banner along with Charlene. It will be with a tie-dye background banner with lettering. 2 banners will be needed with one to go on each side of the float in the manner of a skirt. The memorial sign will be on the front of the truck and be in black and red. Thank you ladies for taking this on.

Painting-bean barrels:

Jim Hanson has agreed to paint the barrels. We will only need 6 barrels for the float. Anne will also get a stencil with the word "Beans" on it. We will need to purchase paint for this project. Barrels should simulate the B&M brand of canned beans.

Pinball Machine:

John and Phil will meet this weekend and start planning of the pinball machine build.

Next meeting will be in 3 weeks. May 5th.

Phil

T-Shirt and Logo

March 31st Meeting Summary

Good afternoon everyone.

Here is your March 31st Meeting Report

Thank you all who attended last night. Here are the highlights:

Signage:

Anne will talk with her cousin Roy about the cost of a plastic based banner for the float due to concerns paper may not hold up if rain occurs during the parade. Roy will also be asked to create a tasteful poster for the memorial poster on the front of the float. In regards to the float build, if it rains, Melissa said Norn has told her there is a place up the road from her house we can use.

Suggested wording for the banner "Class of '74, See me, Hear me....I'm still here!! We should probably throw in "The Musical Tommy" somewhere. We will hear back from Anne at the next meeting on the banner(s) and memorial. We believe as of now per the survey, we will have somewhere around 15-20 people in all to help with the float build. If not we will be looking for you to recruit spouses and friends!

Bean Barrels:

We will need to pick up red, blue and brown paint. Phil will check with Jim to see if he will be willing to apply the paint to the barrels as he has the barrels. It was also suggested we create labels saying "beans" instead of painting. The barrels will need to have the same look as a can of B&M beans. We will need to know what color the barrels are currently, we may not have to paint if the barrels can be labeled. This will hopefully be cleared up by the next meeting. Additionally helium will be used for the Mylar balloons which be taken care of by Charlene.

T-Shirts

We revisited the t-shirt topic. Anne has researched the t-shirt question a bit and has come up with a possible solution in where we could order a batch with the same color scheme for a fairly low price. However the issue of sizing and number of shirts needed came up which would need to be resolved before deciding on making the purchase. A logo has been created which was also brought up by Ann with the possibility of creating a iron-on of this logo which could be applied to the shirts. She will research this a little more on pricing and how the logos can be transfered to the shirts. We really need to determine just how many people are going to be on the float and who they are so maybe we can get sizes figured out. Maybe we could order extra shirts in XL to have available for any last minute class mates who want to jump on the float.

Budget:

Charlene said there was about $850 in the class funds as of now. I believe we can get all we need to get for the float, signage, shirts, paint, beverages for the float build for somewhere in the $300 plus dollar range. John and Phil will pay for the materials for the pinball machine out of their pockets. Charlene said we should have enough to do this even with mailing and dues expenses. It was also decided to donate $50 to the golf tournament which is a new event being held this year to raise funds for the alumni association.

Again if you have not donated to the class fund, please do so, We are asking for $50 from each classmate to cover the expenses of your class dues of $10 and the remaining $40 for the float and other expenses as they arise. if you haven't done so, Please make out a check and to "Class of 1974" and mail to PO Box 81, North Hartland, VT 05052, Care of Charlene Reynolds.

Safety Rail:

This was skipped as we can decide on this relatively quickly at the time we build the float

Meeting Day:

After a short discussion, it was decided the meeting night will remain unchanged as everyone seemed fine with the night and time. So no survey will be put out for this.

Anne Margaret Character:

A volunteer has been found for this charactor. Rachel Raymond contacted me and said if nobody else wants the part, she will do it. She will NOT be required to swim in a pool filled with beans as John was hoping.....;-)

Misc:

A 50/50 raffle was suggested , but thought the better of, as the thinking was a permit needs to be secured for a raffle. Also John asked if his gas expense could be covered for the generator. He figured about 5-10 gallons. Phil will take care of this.

Meeting adjourned at 9pm, a good time was had by all and some very good perspectives were brought up. We have some smart cookies here in our class!! I thank everyone again for being there and hope to see you all at the next meeting which will be held April 14th at 7pm.

Phil