Class of 1960 Zoomers at Zoom 43
Row 1: Marilyn Bellert, Fred Elder, Dan Tontz, Glenna Park; Row 2: Mary(Mert) Curtis, Diane Zinn, David Robinson, Skip Granger; Row 3: Johnny Stevens, Calvin Ross, Kay Ellen Consolver
Diane reported that our first Zoom was on January 21, 2022 with the topic of “Our Lives Since East.” The familiar Zoomers Marilyn, Fred, Diane, Dan, Calvin, Linda, David and Jane joined in as well as some others we’ve rarely seen since – Ron Troy, Gayle McCune Granger, Barb Hammond, Rich Hayse, Ed Pearson, and Gerald Fry.
Glenna explained that the plane on the t-shirt/coaster design was the aircraft her dad designed, the Stearman Aerial, and that she played on as a child as he was building it.
Topic #1 – What Went Well with the 65th Reunion
Kay Ellen Consolver, Litchfield CN: I appreciated having so much time to talk. For me, being with the women who were my girlfriends was very moving. They helped raise me. They taught me how to be a woman. So many boys were also our friends. We did so much together – drive-ins, games, movies, parties. I learned how to be friends with boys and men as well as women, valuable skills in my life.
Kay Ellen also mentioned that she sat down next to a man she did not know and wound up having a delightful conversation on Saturday evening. He was Hal Ottaway, ’61, who joined his friend David Robinson as a guide on our bus tour of downtown Wichita renovations. Hal explained that he had always wanted to meet her because his family owned Joyland Amusement Park. But he and his siblings loved going to Kiddieland, owned by the Consolvers, whenever they could. For Kay Ellen and her siblings, Joyland was strictly off-limits. They shared memories and laughs about working in the family business.
Dan Tontz, Dallas TX: Everything went well and Marilyn showed her skill at being a good improvisational speaker, handling anything that came up. (Marilyn said she had a ball doing this and appreciated that everyone was so responsive.) I’m sure there were behind the scenes problems, but Marilyn and Diane cleverly covered them up.
Johnny Stevens, Wichita, KS: I was only there on Saturday. I really enjoyed meeting old friends, especially Danny Kinney, who I hadn’t seen for 10 years. I enjoyed making contact with so many people, partly since I was at the wrong reunion on Friday. I couldn’t understand why I didn’t recognize anyone at all. On Saturday, a lady recognized me and delivered me to Diane and the right reunion. I was very grateful to her. She turned out to be a friend of one of my golf partners. (The lady was Sally Dye Kinzy ’62, widow of our classmate Bob Kinzy.)
Glenna Stearman Park, Montgomery Park MD: We laughed a lot about Johnny’s
story. Dinner with him was really fun! The reunion gave me an opportunity t9 apologize to Danny Kinney for a cafeteria experience at East. One day, I approached a table of guys, told them I didn’t feel good. I proceeded to throw up a load of plastic vomit on Danny’s lunch tray. I have loved this memory for years and also enjoyed apologizing. This type of prank was a regular for me, and I came by it naturally. My mother was kind of wild, doing things like placing plastic ice cubes with flies in them in glasses at big family dinner.
Hotel: Everyone agreed the food at the Broadview was excellent. Was a bar really necessary? Opinion was divided on this one. Those who traveled really appreciated having the evening events at the same place they were staying.
65th Reunion: What Could Have Worked Better?
Glenna: I wish we had the fans with our yearbook photos on them that we had at the 62nd. We should have those again. I want Jane Thompson Olson to always plan the table decorations. She has a good eye and a great sense of humor.
Mert: I enjoyed the bus tour, but we needed more time and a sound system on the bus. The A/C noise interfered with the speakers. I wish they had had microphones.
Kay Ellen: Extend the bus tour time to two hours so we could get out and walk around some of the sites, especially Keeper of the Plains.
Dan: The tour of East High School was worth the time. The vice-principal Iain McHugh was an excellent tour guide. Mert and Kay Ellen agreed. They wished the school had provided accurate information about the timing of tours.
Johnny: Have everyone at the Saturday night event introduce themselves. There were more people I would have liked to talk with, but I didn’t know they were present.
Calvin: The Zoom went well, but I would have liked to be able to see the persons at the hotel. I could hear everyone, and that was good.
Skip: I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the Zoom and enjoyed the discussion. I could see and hear well, but like Calvin, I wished I could see the speakers’ faces.
Another Reunion? Yes? No? How? When?
Marilyn commented that everyone voted to hold another reunion, but we need volunteers to make that happen. Kay Ellen, Dan, and Glenna volunteered to help with planning the next one. They asked for guidance from Diane and Marilyn on the process and steps involved. There was general agreement that a one day event makes travel and lodging too expensive, but liked the idea of an outdoor event at Cowtown or the Zoo, if weather-proof accommodations were available.
Timing: Several people pointed out that waiting five years seemed too ambitious. Holding the next reunion in two or three years made more sense.
Topic #2 – Does Being Outdoors Have Special Meaning for You?
Marilyn Tompkins Bellert, Sycamore IL: Gerald Fry introduced us to the concept of “forest bathing” in one of his stories
about happiness and reverse aging. Extensive research indicates that time spent outdoors improves quality of life for seniors and can slow the onset of dementia. Recently, I learned that a person can earn a certificate or degree in “forest bathing.” An important physical and spiritual concept in Japanese and indigenous American cultures, “forest bathing” is a thing, as my grandkids would say. We all grew up playing outdoors every day, so maybe we take being outdoors for granted. Does it have special meaning for you?
Fred Elder, Madison WI: Being outside, instead of being surrounded by tour walls, opens my world. Outside, I’m surrounded by things I can’t control – trains, sounds, skies, animals. Being outside is a spiritual and physical experience for me. It helps me think. With decreased mobility, I no longer do the things I did in the past, but I’m outdoors whenever possible.
Dan: I got through the pandemic because I could sit out on his deck and enjoy the skies, wildlife, sounds, and fresh air. It made a lot of difference and kept me sane.
Mary (Mert) Lancaster Curtis, St. John KS: I live close to the Quivira Wildlife Refuge
and drive to it the back way through the salt water marsh. It’s wonderful to live so close. I recently took my 19 year-old great-granddaughter and her boyfriend to visit. Neither had ever seen a wildlife refuge and didn’t know what one was. They really enjoyed it. This great-grandaughter is the oldest of my 15 great-grandchildren. (Some of the family started early.) I love it when they come to visit Great-Grandma on their own!
Calvin Ross, Johnson City TN: I appreciate the mention of forest bathing. I didn’t know you could get a degree in it. Our house has woods on three sides, but is still in the city. I especially feel a spiritual connection to the outdoors. I move easily into a meditative state when I am in the woods, submerged in something different – leaves blowing, winds swaying the trees. It’s easy for me to settle into that mood, meditate, and go where the meditations lead me. (Calvin sent a photo of his house in the woods.)
Skip Granger, Sun Valley AZ: I am outside daily for my hour of swimming and pool exercises. Like everyone else, I’m outside often, driving to medical appointments. To help with back pain that has been a problem lately, I will be having a nerve ablation next week and would appreciate your good thoughts for me.
Johnny Stevens: I am blessed to have four grandkids who play golf, and I’m often on the course with one of them. Just about every day, half of my day is outside. I walk the course instead of riding in a cart. Last week, I went to watch my granddaughter, who is at OU on a golf scholarship, play in a tournament. During the week, I walked 36 holes. (Several classmates mentioned watching his grandson Sam playing in tournaments on TV.) Sam is doing really well. He is home this week, but will be back out playing in tournaments next week. I don’t often go to see his matches on the road. I like to sleep in my own bed.
Kay Ellen: I’ve always been a city girl, but I started walking to be outside, then I started running, and eventually I ran five marathons. Not any more. Now, I try to make a minimum number of steps each day as part of recovering from injuries. I like to be outside in the fall. I find being outside especially in the evening helps my spiritual mindfulness.
Diane Zinn, Lawrence KS: I love Fall, especially watching the Harvest Moon and Hunters Moon rising in their glorious orange from a nearby hilltop. Sometimes I feel as if I live outdoors: during the growing season I’m outside 10-15 hours a week. Currently that means I am gathering black walnuts so they don’t catch on my mower blades, tossing Osage oranges out of the way, and watering a huge newly-seeded grass area. I find being outdoors invigorating. Over the years, the wildlife here has had transitional periods. We always have many deer. The first years we were here, rabbits were abundant, then disappeared. Family of foxes lived and played around for several years, then vanished. Once I counted five turkey hens and 34 poults parading across our lawn. They too have vanished. Skinks don’t show up much anymore. My most interesting siting was a pair of black snakes copulating in the sycamore tree in our back yard. But my favorite is a small box turtle named Bleu that has shown up for 15 years.
David Robinson, Wichita KS: A lady friend and I walk every Thursday morning around 8 a.m. at Great Plains Nature
Center, 29th and Woodlawn. We take food to feed the fish, but the ducks usually grab it first. Recently a fawn walked right up to me. Even though we can hear cars in the distance, we feel as if we are far away from everything. There is housing built all around the area, but when you are in there, it’s beautiful, very peaceful, and very relaxing.
Glenna Stearman Park: My main experience with walking and being in nature was when Joel and I lived in the “science city” in South Korea. It is very hilly and mountainous country. We lived on the lower side of a slope. On many days, I went walking through the villages with old traditional lifestyles. The huts have open open sides and are very simple. People sleep on the floor. During the day, blankets are piled in the corners of the huts. Trees in the area were often persimmons. I felt as if I were going back thousands of years. I especially loved the Buddhist temple near our town. The temple’s architecture matched and merged into surrounding tree branches. They are very sensitive to the ancient trees. What a beautiful experience for an artist. Every Saturday and Sunday people go walking. You should see women in high heels hiking up mountains. Amazing. Everyone seemed very connected to nature. Now, I don’t walk much, but like to sit on whatever deck is wherever I am.
Marilyn Tompkins Bellert, Sycamore IL: I live on a small pond where I am fortunate to see and hear a lot of wildlife. This morning, my eagle-eyed spouse spotted two eagles cruising above our pond. They circled together and seemed to be playing, so I thought maybe they were fledglings. However, they were huge and had to be adults. One of them dive-bombed a goose, but discovered that the sinewy head and neck were attached to a big fat body and dropped it. They fished for a while and ate their catches on the bank. As Fred and Calvin commented, watching the action outdoors takes you into a bigger world. So does listening intently. From now through the winter, we hear coyotes laughing and howling after dark, in the evenings and often in the middle of the night. Definitely other-worldly.
Final Words for Today
Dan – The new Zoom crew plans to continue the Zoom sessions on the third Thursday of the month. I will take turns with Calvin as host. Linda Soderberg McKay will hook us up to the Zoom. We already have the topic selected for the Zoom #44. I will send it to Diane to post when the time is right.
Mert – Sorry I can’t join in every time. Today has been a lot of fun.
Skip – Sorry I’m not wearing my reunion t-shirt, but I had a meeting before this to attend. I’ll wear it next time!
Kay Ellen – Thanks to COVID, we have done the Zooms. Thank you to Marilyn, Fred, Diane for making it possible.
Calvin – Such abundant wildlife around here. We see turkeys, lots of birds, and recently even a bear! I asked Nancy to make sure the doors were all shut!
Fred – Another positive for me at the reunion – I got to see an old KU football friend while at the reunion. Not many of us are still alive, so this was special. I also checked on the church I used to attend. No services, but I got in to see it. Calvin – I just saw six turkeys walking by my window.
David – It was great to see all of you at the reunion. I enjoy the Zooms.
Glenna – I just had a blue bird in my yard recently and even a blue jay, and they are uncommon around here. I enjoy the hummingbirds and finches. What a surprise to see a young fawn, whose mother left it in my Iris bed. All day! The fawn didn’t move all day.
Johnny – I enjoyed meeting old friends at the reunion and meeting Marilyn and Diane and seeing Fred again. Congrats and thanks to all. I look forward to seeing everyone again. It’s been fun to see Skip on Zoom; we walked to school together, regardless of the weather.
Diane – I totally share all of Marilyn’s sentiments. It’s been a great run and I’m so pleased I agreed to be a part of it. How else could I have become acquainted with so many of you and learned so much about those I never knew at East. Let’s all stay in touch and continue to share our thoughts and memories.
Marilyn – After five year working on this project – the websites, the Zooms, the mailings, the reunions – I have had a wonderful time with you all. Diane and I sometimes complete each other’s sentences and read each other’s minds. Teaming up with her every day, 24/7/365, has been a joy. Fred is also an excellent partner: he gets things done! All of you have shared your happiness at being connected and your sincere gratitude. Many of you have shared your money to keep us operating. I’m very proud of your confidence in us and of the fun we have had together. Now, I’m looking forward to participating in Zooms with you and hoping for more reunions. See you in November!
