UPDATE JUNE 2021
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THE 55-YEAR REUNION WILL BE HELD this year on Friday and Saturday, August 20
and 21. The dates were listed last year in the February through April 2020 updates and
this year in the April and May 2021 updates. The historic event will begin on Friday,
August 20, 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., at the Elks Lodge located at 3400 North Nevada in
Colorado Springs. From the I-25 freeway, get off at the Fillmore exit and head East a
few blocks to Nevada and turn left to go a few blocks to the lodge. The event will not
feature a full-scale meal. Hors d’oeuvres will be served, consisting of platters of meats,
cheeses, veggies, rolls, chips and dips. If you want more to drink than the coffee that is
complimentary, there will be a cash bar at which you can buy other options.
The reunion will continue with a picnic on Saturday, August 21, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
in the gazebo that has a three-tiered turquoise colored roof at Metcalfe Park located at
704 East Ohio Avenue in Fountain. To get to the park, stay on old Highway 85-87 from
Security until old Highway 85-87 becomes Santa Fe Avenue. Stay on Santa Fe Avenue
until you get to Ohio Avenue. Turn East on Ohio Avenue and go 10 blocks until you
reach the park. Tables, chairs and water will be provided. Attendees will buy their own
lunch items at three food trucks, to wit: Solsage (selling sausage burgers, pork burgers,
classic hamburgers, fries, etc.); Crepes-n-Go (selling a variety of sandwiches with meat
and non-meat items stuffed inside a crêpe, a French-style thin bread); and, Lori Lynn’s
Cookies & Cream (selling a variety of ice cream desserts, cupcakes, and fresh-baked
cookies). If the food-truck lunch items do not appeal for whatever reason, attendees are
welcome to bring their own lunches to the picnic.
Registration Fees. Attendees will have three (3) options for registration fees, to wit:
(a) Friday event = $25.00 per person. (b) Saturday event = $10.00 per person.
(c) Both events = $35.00 per person. Deadline to register = July 31, 2021.
How to Register. Make your check payable to WHS66 Reunion and send it via postal
mail with the form on the one-page flyer designed by committee member Daryl Kuiper,
who worked hard creating the flyer that is in a separate attachment with this newsletter.
Accessibility. Both parts of the reunion will be accessible to attendees with disabilities.
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Open to all WHS classes of the 1960s. Just as all of our past events (luncheons,
reunions, etc.) always have been open to all WHS classes of the 1960s, both parts of
the August 2021 reunion also will be open to all WHS classes of the 1960s.
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TO VISIT OUR CLASS WEBSITE that was assembled and has been maintained since April 2009 by our Class Committee member and Webmaster, Paul Snell, please go to: www.1966whs.com
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GOOD GOLLY, MISS MOLLY, WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR? That question captures a
frequent concern by several people who are planning to attend the reunion. It is my
understanding that there is not a dress code, and formal attire will not be required. The
only certainty is that we all must wear clothing. If you want to dress to the nines in
something formal, that should be fine. If you want to wear something casual and
informal, that should be fine. If you want to wear something nostalgic, that should be
fine as well. To those of you who are nudists, please plan ahead so that you can wear
something at the event. Colorado usually has very hot temperatures in August, so
people might consider cotton clothing in order to keep somewhat cool.
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HIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS were the focus of a 2011 article by professional journalist
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, who made the following points:
“On the surface, high-school reunions are a chance to reminisce, reconnect and
discover who has been posting deceptively flattering photos on Facebook. But the
collision of past and present is also a time of self-reflection, measuring who you are
against what you wished for yourself and what you think your peers expected of you.
For some, reunions are a dreaded reckoning. But what most everyone has in common
is some level of anxiety, as the insecurities of the past get thrust into the present.”
Referring to observations by a clinical psychologist, Ms. Elejalde-Ruiz wrote: “Even the
most confident adults can regress in the face of reunions. Emotional memories are very
strong, so when people are thrown back into a high-school context, they trigger the
self-conscious emotions most common in adolescence: embarrassment, shame, guilt
and pride. Fears are based on the expectation that others will judge you as harshly as
you judge yourself, which usually they don't. Those who do judge and gossip are the
ones who have their own shame. People who are anxious about attending their reunion
should make it a point to go. Chances are their concerns won't be validated.”
Ms. Elejalde-Ruiz referred to Social Psychology Professor Glenn Reeder, who was a
co-author of a 1986 study that found: (a) the memory people had of high school was the
most important factor in the decision to attend a reunion; (b) the more-popular kids were
more eager to attend; and, (c) the less-popular kids were less likely to attend because
they worried that no one would remember them. Reeder's study also found that younger
age groups focused on superficial changes (who got fatter, who got richer) in their
classmates, but older attendees at reunions focused on continuities such as the sense
of humor and camaraderie remaining the same.
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CLASSMATES’ MEMORIES of HIGH SCHOOL INCIDENTS are stored in the online
archives folder of this email box. Listed below are a few snippets from the archives.
Pam Rains Shuman: “On our Senior Prom night, a group of six of us drove Paul Snell’s
father’s brand new Oldsmobile up Gold Camp Road. We hit a rock, split the oil pan and
had to coast off the mountain with no power steering or power brakes. We then pushed
the car to the Broadmoor Hotel in our prom clothes.”
Shirley Guinta Tafoya once wrote that she forged the signature of Mr. Stenson (school
principal) on a tardy slip and almost missed graduation because of that incident. She
noted that the incident amused Mr. Stenson, but Miss French didn't think it was funny.
Glenda Windle Armstrong (now deceased) once wrote about the day she was driving
in Security and got stopped by Deputy Sheriff Ames, who was surprised to see that his
daughter Judy Ames [WHS Class of 1966] was in the car when Glenda got stopped.
Stella Romero (now deceased) wrote about her crush on French teacher Mr. Luna. She
said she "absolutely melted whenever he called me Mademoiselle Romero in class.”
Dave Theiss (now deceased) wrote that he and ten other guys from our class were
"skinny dipping" one night at the Fort Carson pool where Dave worked. Their fun was
abruptly halted by U.S. soldiers, who were staging a military exercise nearby. Dave said
one of our classmates put his hand on the barrel of a soldier's rifle and asked if there
were any bullets in the weapon. The soldiers ordered our classmates to leave the base.
Jo Ann Vallone Thayer (now deceased) admitted in our 2006 reunion booklet that she
was one of the people who put the "for sale" signs in front of WHS when we were in
high school. In that same reunion booklet, another classmate Gerry Patterson Richards
wrote that she also put a for-sale sign on the front lawn of WHS. “Boy was Mr. Poole
ticked off,” said Gerry. For those of you who often wondered back then who did that
prank that infuriated school officials, now you know.
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This update was prepared by me.
Respectfully submitted,
Donnie Martínez (June 1, 2021)
Known at WHS by stepfather’s surname Collier
Martínez is my birth certificate and legal surname
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