Reitz Century Campaign

Back in 1918, Evansville decided to use the top of an unused hill on the westside of Evansville to build a school. That school came to be known as Francis Joseph Reitz High School. Well, in 2018, Reitz will be 100 years old, and there's nothing like a century to make for a great celebration.

Once again, Linda finds herself in the middle of things.  When Beth Carnahan (current principal of Reitz) first raised the notion of establishing an Outstanding Alumni group of people who bled blue and grey, who were active in their graduating classes, and who sparked reunions and kept track of everyone, I said to myself, "Self, I think they're talking about Linda!" Well I did nominate Linda and then didn't hear anything more until a couple weeks ago. Turns out Beth suggested to the Big Blue Boosters to contact us to work on the Century Campaign.

The long and short of the Century Campaign is to raise a lot of money to help fund Reitz's wish list for projects that the school needs that may not necessarily part of the EVSC budget. It also intends to hold a series of celebratory events over the course of 2018 culminating in some sort of blowout birthday bash.

So somehow or other, Linda and I will be helping to locate a group of active alumni from each class to try and contact every living classmate from '21 to 2018 and get them to contact their classmates. So far, we've been working on getting representatives from every graduating class to attend a January meeting with Beth Carnahan so she can fill in some details. We will also assist these other alumni reps on how to contact their classmates if they have not done so already. How you folks can help is if you know alums from other classes who might be interested in participating in this big effort, especially those who have been actively organizing their class events. Just let us know.

This is also a timely moment to mention to all to make sure that you let us know of any contact information changes that you have had in recent past; thanks to Pam Carroll Oldham for letting us know of your recent move from Germantown to Franklin Tennessee. Congratulations!

Needless to say, there is still a log of legwork that needs to be done, and after early November, any legwork that needs to be done will have to be done by Linda since I'm having foot surgery and will be off my feet for a couple, maybe three months. 2018 is still a ways off, and before then is the little matter of the 50th reunion of the Class of '67 in 2017. We are starting to turn the crank on some planning in this regard but it's way to soon to let the cat out of the bag. First we have to get the cat; actually we still have to get the bag!

On other fronts, sad news for the Beck family with Paul losing his 93 year old mom last week; on the other hand, cause for celebration with the Qualls family as Patty and her brothers help their parents' 70th anniversary. Albert and Dorothy have had a busy month with Albert flying to DC as part of Evansville's first direct flight WWII honor flight and Dorothy recovering from a bout of pneumonia.

The Plan Came Together

I used to think that it was one of the laws of the Universe that nothing ever worked the way you think it should; that there was always a little adjustment necessary to keep all the wheels on the wagon turning in the same direction at the same speed.

It turns out that sometimes things work out pretty well; that is certainly the case when it comes to the Pig in the Park get together held this past Saturday, June 7, 2014. For an in-between early summer event for a reunion event that has never been done before, the Reunion committee has reason to be pleased. A few that planned to attend were at the last minute unable to attend and were replaced by folks who thought they wouldn't be able to attend and found last minute that they could. The question was,"Is it too late to sign up?" We replied that only on Sunday would it be too late! As it was, people streamed in and out over the course of the afternoon and there wasn't a great time to photograph everyone together.

We had planned for indoor activities in the case of rain or scorching heat, and a combination of indoor and outdoor activities for good weather. We probably over thought the event by a lot planning contingencies for disasters that never happened. It turns out that for the Reitz Class of 1967, as long as there is a time and place to meet, and good food to eat that the party is on. Between eating and catching up with all the latest, nothing else was needed. Jeff Stevens catered the veggies for a ridiculously reasonable rate per person and Bob Willis's butts were in Pam Irwin's words, "The bomb"! Refreshments provided and BYO were sufficient and the desserts that were brought undid an entire season of restraint and exercise.

We had the building from noon to midnight, but understandably, considering the kind of schedules that grandparents and young at heart seniors maintain, a good 4 or 5 hours is asking a lot.

It's always hard to plan a summer event, and even though it was pretty universally agreed that we wanted to hold an event sometime before the 50th, there just didn't seem to be the ideal date and reservations had to be made for a venue.

All things considered, it was a successful event high in social and caloric content but not too high in revenue. Thanks to the generosity of the attendees, it was not necessary to dip into class funds that have been set aside for the 50th without having to resort to another round of fund raising efforts.

And thanks for your patience in waiting for this blog entry until after our memorable RV journey to Glacier National Park.

So we have a bit of rest before having to think about the next big event: the Big Five Oh! It'll be here before you know it!

The Winter of Our Discontent; Waiting for Renewal

It's been a rough Winter for us all. The weather has been unusually vicious for the region, and it has taken its toll on the Reitz Class of 1967 with the passing of  Stan Hebbeler, Karen Campbell, Linda Kitzinger and recently Jean Davis Trotter and the continuing health struggle of Steve Jarboe. With Spring nowhere in sight, it is hard to turn our thoughts to renewal and celebration, and yet, with each sadness, there is a corresponding joy as we are collectively blessed with grandchildren and, dare I say it, great grandchildren and their achievements and personal milestones. Life goes on, and we remember lost classmates fondly, and anticipate getting together with those of us who remain behind.

The Reunion Committee recently met at the Parkway Pizza, breaking bread, cracking jokes and shattering traditions to plan our next event. What have we come up with? One image, one idea come to planning fruition:

Here is the way it lays out right now. We've got the Bishea Building out at Burdette Park reserved from Noon to 10pm (The Bishea building is the one you get to after taking the first turn on the right once you enter the main entrance to the park). Barbeque and all the fixings. $10 bucks. Bring a dessert and sugar up the crowd. Wander off to play Putt Putt or a swim or some tennis (warm weather, we're waiting.....), wander back for more food. Let's make more memories as we share some old ones. There'll be new faces and familiar ones too. One thing is for sure: Once again, the Reitz Class of '67 is going to show how a class is supposed to stand strong and united over the years.

You'll be hearing from someone on the Committee toward the end of March when we will start taking reservations. By the way, it will be a lot easier for the committee to contact you if you update your email addresses and contact information as life pulls you from here to there to there to there. Insight to Time Warner email changes, land line cancellations, etc., etc. etc. Post cards are up to 33 cents! Keep them updated so they can keep you updated in return.

Remember that this is the 3rd class event staged by your new committee. Each time we have tried to change things up to keep up interest. Changes of venue, changes in menu, changes in programs, but always on the same principles: Keep it affordable, accessible, and inclusive. We hope you agree with this approach and hope to see you there.