The family is spread across the country – we’re in Maine, retired but working a pharmacy counter on weekends, fumbling now and then with furniture making, doing video work for not-for-profits, and generally enjoying being hermits.  Rick’s mom and dad live in Venice FL, Brett and Lisa and the baby live in Michigan where Brett is the manager of a Chile’s restaurant, Melanie is a nurse in Tucson and the other Powis household, as in Rob & Denise, has homes in GA and FL.  Their kids are in Atlanta and Nashville…..

Mark and Jayne Owens visited us once…we watched the launching of a magnificent yacht from Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay.  I get a Christmas poem every year from Patrick Gainor.  I’d say come visit but one of my running buddies from our time in Rhode Island came once and never came back – she said we live too remote.  Maybe one road in and one road out and only one stoplight can seem remote if you’re from away?

Have a great reunion.

Peggy

Posted by (Deborah)Laura Branam on March 20, 2008, 12:38 pm
75.17.83.177

I'm uncertain why I've not received any e-mails until today regarding the 2008 Reunion. It would be wonderful for my life events to allow me to attend this Reunion. I'd love to see everyone again! I have lived far from Terre Haute since I married a New Yorker who graduated from ISU. We moved to NY in 1974, Michigan in 1975, Houston Texas in 1976, Washington, DC in 1977 and returned to Houston -1980. I divorced in 1984, but remained in Houston where their father could still regularly see my three wonderful children: Anna-marie (31) graduated with BS in Pol.Sci.is single and lives in Chicago; Christina (29)degree in Early Child.Educ., married 6 years with 5 yr. old twin daughters, and another daughter 2yrs. her husband a teacher and coach> they live in his hometown in north Texas. It's a 5 hour drive for Nana (me) to visit them. My youngest, and only son, Aaron (26) graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 2004. He is single, working on a graduate degree in Military Intelligence while stationed in Little Rock, ARK. He is now a Capt.and will soon be deployed for a 2nd time to Afghanistan. The Election is weighing heavily on my mind because of this @#*&^%$@@#! War in Iraq! I went back to college after my divorce and completed my BS in English and Psychology; taught at a private school for a year, then received my MS in Clinical Social Work in 1989. I have worked in Counseling and mental health since 1989. I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Presently, I am a counselor at a posh private catholic girls school in Houston teaching Character Education and doing counseling. I am ready to leave Houston for a different pasture, even if it's not "greener." Now, that my children are all over, there's nothing holding me here. It's been such a surprise to have lived in this BIG CITY of 4+ million for all these years, especially since I always loved the wide open spaces and my horses! Life has taken some interesting turns! I wish I had a picture of my family to attach, but I'm on a friend's computer. Any one feel free to write me. Hoping to see you all face to face in August. P.S. I changed my name to Laura after my divorce, when I took back my maiden name as well: Laura Lynn Branam, if you were wondering.....there were too many Debbie's born in 1950!! ciao`

     I cant believe Ive gotten this old!!!! I have four children, all grown, and four grandsons. My oldest daughter, Anna Marie, still lives in Terrible Hut with my four grandsons. My next daughter, Jennifer, lives here in Indy. She works at AUL in annuities and she and her husband own their own moving company. They dont have children but they do have three cats, two dogs, a bunny, and a 15-foot boa constrictor. My youngest daughter, Jamie, lives in Phoenix where she is in her PhD program for anthropologic genetics. My son, Michael, lives here in Indy, works for FedEx, and is working toward his degree in geology at IUPUI. I work at Eli Lilly in scientific communications and am (slowly) working towards my PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

     I was divorced for many, many years vowing to never marry again, and quite happy not having a man in my life, and then I met my husband. We married four years ago at a beautiful lighthouse on the Great Ocean Road in Australia. (No hes not Australian, hes from Indy.) We have a beautiful house on a 60-acre lake and do a lot of traveling.

     In the spring of 2001 I heard from Frank. We met with Marty in TH and had a great day! We played all the old music, shared old and new photos, and went to all the old places we went to as kids. We had so much fun! Frank even got all misty trying to explain to someone that we had been nearly inseparable as kids but had not seen each other for 35 years. I have also been renewing my friendship with Nancy (Mundell) Martin, my best friend from Woodrow Wilson and beyond (she went to Wiley).

     Ive been remembering a lot of things about those days. Miners Picnic, tag football on the stadium grounds, Caravan of Stars, sitting in study hall at Wilson when they announced President Kennedy had been shot, playing ditch in our neighborhood, the Deming park pool, the rats in the boys locker room at Tech, plaster falling on our heads during English class, piercing our fetal pigs ears during dissection, Henris and ODays, doing the bash, the dog with red eyes in the crypt at the cemetery, and sledding on Martins hill. So many memories.

It has been a long time. I guess you think about old friends over the years and how you should make an effort to reconnect. Then inevitably family matters take over, and the years go by too quickly.

I left Terre Haute after graduating from ISU in 72.  I married my wife Tania (from Linton IN) on 8/5/72. I taught eighth grade English and coached eighth grade football at Centerville IN. After four years, I decided I needed to get into a field where I could afford to care for my family. I tried insurance sales and didn’t like it. I hooked up with Farm Bureau Insurance on 2/28/77. I have been with their claims division for 31 ½ years now. I have worked in different capacities, and I am presently a Unit Claims Coordinator, another name for claims manager,

We have four children: Jason, 35; Krista, 30; Joseph, 23; and Autumn, 4. Age four is correct. Obviously, we didn’t think there was a chance of being pregnant again, but boy were we wrong. Everything turned out great, and we were rewarded with a great little girl on 2/20/04. We had to learn everything all over again. It has been a unique experience, fun but trying at times. Autumn starts preschool on 8/18/08. That should be an interesting experience since we have never had a child go to preschool. I now get to look forward to the things my older daughter went through: ice skating, marching band, dating, wedding, etc. Well, I always said I would never retire.

We have lived in Evansville IN since 1979. It is home to us since we have no family left in Terre Haute or Linton.

I am looking forward to the reunion and catching up on friendships that have gone too long without reconnecting.

In the immortal words of Coach Woody Roloff: stay loose, go reckless, and enjoy life.

             Wow, this is hard!  After graduation I worked for Sears, then Columbia Records, for a short time. Ron (Schulte class of 67) and I married in Aug. of 69, after he had graduated from basic training and AIT in the military.  We lived in Germany, and traveled on weekends and his leave time for the next 2 years.  Sleeping in the back of an old Opal station wagon, we camped our way through Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy a two-year honeymoon, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

            When we returned stateside, we settled in Seelyville to bring up our two daughters.  I worked part-time as a self-employed commercial artist, usually for other shoestring businesses, and part-time in retail.  Ron was working for IBM in Greencastle when they closed in 1987 and transferred him here, to Carlisle PA.  Ive been working full-time since the move, creating art for exhibitions, a gallery, and painting murals and the faux finishes that are currently all the rage in home decorating.  I work a few evenings a week, at a quaint (right out of a murder mystery) used bookstore.  The books are great and the customers are interesting, so it makes a nice change from the isolation of the art.

            Both daughters are married, and we have two grandchildren.  After several severe bouts of yo-yo children, Ron and I finally have the house to ourselves, with the exception of Max our beagle.  We live in the Historic District, a block and a half off the square.  Built in 1759, our house was turned into a Victorian in the 1890s. Tall and narrow (3 stories, but only 17 ft. wide), it was the first house the realtor showed us when we arrived here.  I loved it on sight, but we looked at 12 others, trying to find something more like Indiana.  When Ron said: If were moving to the East, we might as well live like it, we gave up.  The last couple of years all our spare time has been spent renovating the place (trying to stick the pieces that have fallen off, back on, while trying to catch the ones that are in the process of falling).

            Otherwise, we still enjoy camping (in a tent these days), hiking, visiting nearby cities, and spending time with the kids and grandkids.

Its hard trying to put into words a small bio on oneself. Its hard to know what to put in or what to leave out. I wont bore everyone with the details of my divorces (2), both were my fault. I will tell you that I have a great relationship with both. In fact I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas the last 3 yrs at my ex-in-laws and my ex-wife Peggy. Peggy is the mother of our daughter Sarah Beth. More on Sarah Beth later. (see pic on family page)

Lets pick up after I got out of college and moved to Evansville, IN. I moved to Evansville because of a job offer and have loved the place ever since and have no immediate plans on moving. The job offer was in Human Resources and I have been in that field ever since. After a couple of job moves and promotions I find myself working in Mt Vernon, IN. at an oil refinery. We have 310 employees in 4 states with about a million dollars a day in sales. I work as I said in HR and love every minute.

As some of you know I love to travel and have been blessed to spend quite a few vacations in the Caribbean (13). My main reason for going is I love to scuba dive. I have been on over 110 dives and plan to add to that number this summer when I head to Grenada. Grenada is located 100 miles northeast of Venezuela. Hope to have some pictures by the reunion. I leave July 3 and will be back before the reunion. I got interested in diving after spending a week in Jamaica on a honeymoon (2^{nd marriage). After seeing all of the underwater beauty I just had to learn to dive.}

To bring you update date on my current love life.,none. I have been divorced for 3 yrs now and dont date much, 3 in the last three years. Some of you helped with icebreaker questions on one date. Didnt work. So I guess God has a plan on that and I will leave that in his hands.

Speaking of God I gave my life over to the Lord 10 yrs ago and its the best thing that ever has happen to me. I dont know where I would be now if it wasnt for his love and strength. Some ask if I love the Lord so much how could I get divorced, because, I, as a sinner still do stupid things. I have made amends with the Lord on those sins but still have to deal with the actions.

Now for the love of my life, my daughter Sarah Beth. Sarah Beth just turned 21 last month. After spending 2 yrs at ISU she decided to transfer to Salem State just outside Boston. We moved her there in Aug of last year. She is a junior and studying criminal justice. Her plans are to work for the US Marshall Service. She has been home on Christmas break for the past few weeks and will return on Jan 18th. She is not sure if she will finish there or come back and finish at ISU. You would have to know her to understand that. I know here and I dont understand, oh well.

I think that about covers the high-lites and the low-lites of my life. All in all I have been blessed, the good times have out weighed the bad. I feel good about myself, most of the times, and still enjoy good health. I plan to do more traveling and diving. Life too short to stay at home and not see the world or at least parts of it.

Looking forward to seeing all of you at the reunion.

Most of you know that I love to track people down from our class and had some luck at it. If you are looking for someone let me know if I can help.