Travels to Waseca

The attendance was sparse but a good time was had by all when metro area Wasecans, and other Wasecans, gathered September 15th at the Creeks Bend Golf Course near New Prague for an afternoon of golf followed by a lunch and social. The weather was great; the course was great; the golf was fair.

If you’re interested in attending future events for Wasecans living in the metro area (or if you’re willing to travel to the metro area for an event), please email us to be added to the list to be contacted.

Gertrude McLoone Brozik recently celebrated her 104th birthday at the Atria Bayside Landing senior living facility in Stockton, CA. Gertrude was the wife of Joseph Brozik, her high school sweetheart. Here’s a link to the story:

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090107/A_NEWS/901070314

I received the following note from Emily Westphal concerning her grandfather, John Spillane, SHHS 1936: 

John J. Spillane was my maternal granfather.  I was doing a search on his father, actually, and found my grandfather’s name on a list of missing Waseca alums.  The reason the attempt to contact him came back to you is because my grandparents weren’t living at the listed address at the time of your letter.  My grandfather died a number of years ago, in February of 2002.  It’s a shame because he would have loved coming to the reunion.  Those were good times in his life.
-Emily Westphal

As I work on the mailing list for the Waseca 2008 All-School, All-Class Reunion, I’m struck by the number of classes who’ve lost track of their foreign exchange students.

If you were a foreign exchange student in a Waseca school, contact me to make sure we have your correct contact information. And, if you were a host family or friend of a foreign exchange student and you have contact information for a foreign exchange student, contact me to make sure we have current contact information for the student in our lists.

Here’s a list of the missing exchange students I’m aware of:

1965 – Jaime Mac-Veigh (Spain)
1966 – Dominique Richard (France)
1970 – Randy Scarbrough, Elizabeth Zorraquin
1971 – Minh Quang Le
1972 – Hans Buege, Terri Pinto
1973 – Kika Aros, Sachiko Takahashi
1974 – Juan Ramon Bilbao, Leena Laine

I received my Waseca 2008 All-School, All-Year Reunion registration materials in yesterday’s mail. If you are an alumnus of a Waseca school and don’t receive your registration packet soon, contact me to be mailed or emailed a packet or download the registration forms that I’ve posted on the Waseca Alums site at www.WasecaAlums.com.

Mailings recently sent to the following Waseca Sacred Heart High School graduates at the listed addresses were returned as not deliverable. If you have current contact information on any of them, please contact us at WasecaAlums.com.

1931
McGowan, Catherine (Conway) Box 426, Fonda IA 50540, 1931

1934
Baumgartner, Marie (Gallagher) Box 253, Bird Island MN 55310, 1934
Brisbane, Helen  7609 NW 3rd, Vancouver WA 98665, 1934

1935
Ernst, Marianne (Zimmerman) 1742 Woodland, Fayetteville AR 72701, 1935
Nelson, Edna (Kuehnel) 609 15th St SE, Owatonna MN 55060 1935

1936
Davis, Irene (Conway)  4323 Girard Ave N, Minneapolis MN 55412, 1936
Hambley, Margaret (Gurnett) 6660 E Dodge St, Mesa AZ 85205, 1936
Spillane, John 6729 1st Ave S, Minneapolis MN 55401, 1936

1940
Hawkins, Vera  406 S. 3rd St., Stillwater MN 55082, 1940

1945
Weber, Donald  5643 Green Circle Dr, Minnetonka MN 55343, 1945

1947
McLoone, James W326 N6898 N Lake Dr, Hartland WI 53029, 1947

1950
Judd, Clara  117 E. Paquin #110, Waterville, MN 56096, 1950

1954
Simon, Margaret  1240 Leawood Dr, Elgin IL 60210, 1954

1955
Gerdts, Michael  715 Preston Ln, Hopkins MN 55343, 1955

1957
Hilton, Helen (Hayes)  8045 Xerxes Ave S #206, Bloomington MN 55431, 1957

1961
Gallagher, Jack  17105 T St, Omaha NE 68135, 1961
Smith, Shirley (Powell)  Route 1, Medford MN 55049, 1961

1962
Jewison, Gerald  1766 Fm 1778, Nevada TX 75173, 1962
Myers, Sharon  1921 Menomonie St, Eau Claire WI 54703, 1962

1963
Sylvester, Catherine (Stirens)  1235 Roma Ave, Roseville MN 55113, 1963

1964
O’Grady, Tim  708 9th Ave NW, Waseca MN 56093, 1964

1965
McCarthy, Gary 3022 Placer Circle, Eagle River AK 99577, 1965

1966 
Gallagher, Gary 3701 Lynbrook Dr NE, Cedar Rapids IA 52402, 1966
O’Brien, Margaret  2624 N 54th Place, Phoenix AZ 85008, 1966

1968
Netjes, Lois (McShane)  1138 N 9th St, Payette ID 83661, 1968

1971
Wilker, Sharon (Wheelock)  26151 128th St, New Richland MN 56072, 1971

No graduation year listed
Cottingham, Shirley  PO Box 60297, Palo Alto CA 94306
Danielson, Rita, Rt 2 Box 2, Sheimo SD 57060
Donahue, Patricia  73 Harbor Dr #415, Stanford CT 06902
Malling, Betty (Tollefson)  1976 N. Lemontree Ln, Chandler AZ 85224  
Miscka, Joanie  300 3rd St SE, Waseca MN 56093

The following graduates of Sacred Heart High School are currently missing. If you have current contact information on any of them, please contact us at WasecaAlums.com.

1919
Kaiser, Genevire – Sr. M. Fiato
Kramer, Leslie (Plummer)

1923
Mulcahy, Mary (Campion)

1932
Waples, Cecelia (Reycraft)

1935
Blackwood, Gerald
Feudner, Ruth (Kiely)

1942
De Lucctti, Suzanne (Brozik)

1943
Arp, Dorothy (Webber)

1948
Yess, Paul

1951
Emard, Carol

1954
Pantzar, Phyllis (Pfieffer)
Simondson, Joan (Sheeran)

1956
Blue, Rita (Gerdts)
Farnand, Shelia
Larson, Mary

1957
Brozik, Martin

1958
Bentley, Sharon (Josephes)
Gehring, Yvonne (Malecha)

1959
Kaiser, James
Miller, Lawrence
Zimny, Norbert

1961
Noe, Marie (Evans)
Josephes, Kathy
Moore, Sharon (Pfiefer)
Morgan, Joseph
Tollefson, Arvid

1963
Flores, Rafael
Gwin, Susan
Pomijie, Henry Bill
Schimek, Carol
Thompson, Betty

1964
Venecheik, Nickolas

1965
Ahern, Patrick

1966
Braughten, Mary (Kukuczka)
Hunt, Katherine (Turnacliff)
Leononsaco, Colleen (Cahill)
Mettler, Galen
Pomije, John

1967
Gabiou, Chris
Gilbert, Nancy (Gerdts)
Tollefson, Gary

1968
McLoone, Pat

1969
Mettler, Allen
Oliver, Theresa (Coulombe)
Pomije, Moira
Shuttleworth, Janet (Klein)

1970
Carter, Debra (Albert)
Klein, Patricia (Hanson)
Meyer, Robert
O’Grady, Robert

No graduation year listed
Brixius, Mary
Bryndilson, Gladys 
Cahill, Janet 
Degan, Ellen 
Holland, George 

The next meeting of the Waseca 2008 All-School Reunion Committee is scheduled for Monday, June 18, 7 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Trainor Campion Center (old school) meeting room (use west door). Alumni are needed to help plan this event. The reunion is scheduled for Friday – Sunday, July 4, 5, and 6, 2008. For more information, contact Bill Fitzsimmons at 507-835-1094.

The 1937 graduating classes of Sacred Heart High School and Waseca High School will hold their 70th Reunion at noon on Saturday, June 9, 2007, at the Happy Chef Restaurant, Waseca.

The reunion will continue on Sunday, June 10, with an 11 a.m. brunch hosted by Harold and Elsie Jorgensen Frentz at the Happy Chef Restaurant.

Helen Gallagher Fowler told me that the reason they hold their reunions at noon is that so many of the classmates can’t drive after dark. Fowler said they expect about 40 people to attend the reunion.

I was talking on the phone today with Mary Greeney Harter (SHHS 1962). She wanted to know if the Waseca 2008 All-School Reunion was just for Waseca High School. I assured her that all Waseca schools, including Sacred Heart High School, are to be included in the Waseca 2008 All-School Reunion.

Mary also informed me that her SHHS Class of 1982 is not planning a 45th reunion for this year.

A graduate of Sacred Heart High School mentioned to me that some SHHS graduates were upset that the Waseca Hall of Fame didn’t include SHHS students. Since he mentioned that, I’ve learned more about the Waseca High School Athletic Hall of Fame (and I’ve posted information about the program and their inductees on the Waseca Alums site).

My opinion is that the Waseca High School Athletic Hall of Fame program was appropriately started by WHS and the WHS Booster Club to honor their student athletes, coaches, and others and I understand why it’s limited to Waseca High School. That said, it’s my opinion that if there is the interest and support necessary, there should be a separate Sacred Heart High School Athletic Hall of Fame and a separate Southern School of Agriculture Athletic Hall of Fame to honor the athletes and coaches of these schools.

(As an aside, I also think there should be a Hall of Fame for exceptional achievement in any area by graduates of the three Waseca schools, SHHS, SSA, and WHS. If I remember correctly, several graduates of Waseca schools were honored during the 1998 All-School Reunion for their exceptional achievement following graduation.)

I’m willing to assist in getting additional Halls of Fame started in any way I can.

I received a Google News Alert today on the Star Tribune article “Keeping seniors with the family“ that features Roy “Red” Myers, Waseca Central High School Class of 1930.

Carol Powell Wobschall also mentioned the article to me when I called her to see if the Sacred Heart High School Class of 1957 would be having a 50th reunion this year. Carol said as far as she knew there were no current plans for a reunion for the class.

I took a trip by phone to Waseca today to talk to our 1946-47 Kindergarten teacher, Miss (Elaine) Beise. She became Mrs. Fox when she married Jim Fox during the school year. We had a good chat. She said she’d share some of her kindergarten memorabilia with us. Jim sent me an email telling me that, as newlyweds,  he and Elaine moved into the house our Lucas family lived in at 308 4th Ave NE. Our family lived in that house when I started kindergarten. Jim described the house as their “honeymoon cottage.” Waseca Central Kindergarten Class 1946-47

I called Sharlene Winegar, a member of the Waseca 2008 All School Reunion committee, today to try to confirm when the Waseca 2008 Reunion was scheduled. She said it was scheduled for the 4th of July weekend, Friday, July 4 – Sunday, July 6, 2008.

Sharlene said they will be needing volunteers to serve on the planning committees and volunteers to help with the events. She said that planning would get in high gear next spring.

New member Bob Halstead posted in the forum that the Waseca Central High School and Sacred Heart High School Classes of 1947 are planning a joint reunion for June 2007.

Keep us posted on the plans. We’ll even create a page for reunion information (we’ll do that for any class planning a reunion). We’ve even created a separate department for the Waseca 2008 All-School Reunion.