March 2019

Welcome to the March 2019 edition of our class blog! Happy Spring!

Thanks to all who sent in photos or news! This is a nice news-filled edition!

Have a look at the submissions from our classmates!

Here is a picture from the 8th grade Sixth Annual Turkey Bowl Classic

program ~ courtesy of John Baker:

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Thanks to Jim Goodwine and Lynn Savino - 

Back then.....

3rd Grade Class Photo - Immaculate Conception School

Top Row:  Bill Plunkett, John Backer, David DeOrio, 

Scott Mitchell,Sam DeOrio, Billy Bruning, Mary Hornig,

Maureen Benson, Michael Frawley, Kevin Mariani, 

oe Sinnaeve, Tom Reavely, 

Kevin Klimek, Joe Kelly

Middle Row:  Cindy Okunski, Jean Branna, 

Patty Menz, Janet Fox, Debbi Karpowich, 

Mrs. Swillenger, Lizanne Barrett, 

Jennifer Cammarano, Philomena DePalma, 

Kathy Brennan, Lynn Savino

Bottom Row:  Paul Lange, Bob McCrimlisk, 

John Wentz,Paul Bergin, Mike Moran, 

Jim Bush, Jim Goodwine, Joe Knapp

And now  as 60 year olds....

Jim Goodwine, Todd Cochran, Lynn Savino, Bob McCrimlisk,

 Mike Grattini, John Baker, Patty Menz

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February Celebration!

A gathering at the Rhodes North Tavern in Sloatsburg on
 February 19 for the 
February birthdays.

Todd Cochran, Patty Menz, John Dolan, Jim Goodwine, 
Jim Bush, Lynn Savino

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Sadly we lost a classmate - Don Stricker passed away December 22, 2018. 
He is survived by his wife Kathleen and sons Donald and Christopher.

Don was a member of the Mahwah Fire Department, 
Company #1 for 39 years. He had served as Chief in 2007 and 2008. 
One of his big accomplishments was to start the Mahwah Fire Department 
Company #1 Rescue Scuba Team.


Some of you have posted condolences on the funeral home web site, 
I also posted on behalf of our class to let his family know
we are sorry for their loss.

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Congratulations to Mike Cummings and his family! 
They have welcomed their new granddaughter,

Camilla Katherine Bruna. 

She was born on February 18, 2019.
What a wonderful blessing!

Proud Grandpa Mike

 in the rocking chair.

Behind, left to right:  Mike's wife Michaela, 

Mike's daughter - new Mom Kaitlyn Bruna, 

new Dad Franko Bruna, 

and Mike's oldest daughter Kellie Cummings.

Congratulations Cummings Family!

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From Proud Father of the Bride

 Tom Collishaw - 

"This photo shows me walking my daughter Courtney down the aisle at her wedding 

on Nov. 6, 2018. 

It was a great moment for my wife Suzanne and I, 

and we had over 225 friends and family celebrating with us."

"Courtney and her husband Michael Mendoza are making their home in Visalia, CA 
and she is a social worker at a nearby high school district."

Congratulations all around to the Collishaw family!

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Philomena DePalma has a new on-line jewelry business with

 the company 'paparazzi'.  

This is costume jewelry that won't break the bank!

 All items are $5.

Head to her website to see and you can order directly from there

 if you are interested.

paparazziaccessories.com/262643

Good luck with this new endeavor, Philomena!

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Debbi Karpowich O'Connor announces some news.....

"After nearly 37 years of teaching middle school science, this will be my final year.  

It was a hard decision to make.  

I know I will greatly miss my students, my awesome team of teachers,

 as well as teaching certain lessons.  It is just time.  

My schedule at school is a tough one and I am just getting worn out from it all.  

I always wanted to be able to retire before I became, "one of THOSE teachers" 

and I think this is the right time to do that!

  I hope to get some sort of a part-time job in the future,

 preferably in a bookstore or library.

  We will see what the future holds! " 

Wishing you all the best, Debbi!

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Linda Swickle Everett shares the following:

Zipper Wallet Obsession  - a Charity Project

I'm an avid quilter and have accumulated quite a lot of scrap fabric. Last Christmas I put a small dent in the scrap heap to make a bunch of different zipper pouches and wallets for friends and family, using various methods I found online. One of these was a small wallet-sized pouch that held a gift card.

The friend who received the gift card was impressed with the wallet and said that she could sell them for me in the summer if I made a bunch – she sells antiques at a flea market every summer and thought these would sell well alongside the antiques. 

I sorted through my remnants and started to sew. I had finished about 20 or so wallets and decided to try selling them at work to raise money for an affiliated non-profit, Rutgers Against Hunger. 

My first batch of wallets sold out before lunch on the first day. So I made more. Those sold out too. So I made more. And a few more… I have not yet run out of fabric scraps so I’m still making wallets! 

I set up a little "desktop shop" in my office. If you happen to be at Rutgers School of Pharmacy, stop by!

I even wrote up a DIY tutorial - here's a link.

-- Linda (Swickle) Everett

Many thanks for your contribution, Linda!

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Classmate Joe Cuhaj has written the following piece -

 thanks so much Joe!

Greetings, 76’ers!

I have to tell you, I have been very fortunate the past several years with my writing. Since 2000, I have had many short stories published in magazines and have written articles on everything from environmentalism to trash compactors to Ringo Starr trivia.

I’ve had seven books published including several guides to hiking, paddling (no, it’s not about corporal punishment!), and camping in Alabama, a brief (very brief) history of baseball in Mobile (home of 5 Hall of Fame players), and a new book on the “Hidden History of Mobile” that will be out this fall. That is, if I finally start putting it to paper.

With each book or article, the voice of our favorite English teacher, Mr. Sterling, rings in my ears: “It made me feel like I was really there”. That’s what I shoot for in each book and – hopefully – I’ve hit that mark once again with my latest Falcon Guide that was just released, “Best Dog Hikes Alabama”.

The book features over 40 great trails that hikers and their four-legged companions can explore in the state, each leading to amazing scenery including waterfalls, towering canyons, bogs, and beaches, all teeming with incredible flora and fauna.

What I’m most proud of in the book are the discussions about getting your dog ready to go hiking. Many people think that they are just dogs and should be able to hit the trail right off the bat, but that’s not the case. There are required vaccinations needed, preventative medications to ward off ticks and fleas, an assessment by your vet as to the condition of your dog, and on and on it goes.

That last consideration became very apparent to me as I began writing the book. My rescue Labrador, Archer T. Dog, was with me on my first hike when I noticed him limping a bit. We curtailed the walk, took him to the vet, and low and behold, he had severe issues not to just one but both of his knees. After two surgeries he is back to full strength but still, lesson learned about getting them checked out before hitting the trail.

The book also features plenty of historical tidbits, dog friendly hotels and restaurants near each trail, and plenty of recipes for making healthy peanut butter dog biscuits and power bars.

As soon as I signed the contract to write the book, I knew that I wanted to use it as a platform to help pet rescues across the state with a series of events. The first one will be taking place March 30^th high atop the state’s highest mountain, Cheaha. With the help of Alabama State Parks, the day will have copies of the book for sale which I will be autographing with a portion of the proceeds benefiting area pet rescues. Several rescues will be there with pets ready for adoption (potential adopters can take the pup of their choice on a short hike), and wall-to-wall presentations about dog training, getting them ready for the trail, and much more.

It’s just my little way of giving back for all of the success my readers have given me, and to all of the puppies that have joined me on the trail over the years.

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March Birthday Celebration

for Lynn Savino and Jim Bush who are celebrating this month.

Everyone gathered at the Mahwah Bar & Grill.

Back (l to r):  Jim Goodwine, John Baker, John Dolan, Walt Michaels,

 Todd Cochran, Jim Bush

                                                 

Front (l to r):   Patty Menz, Lynn Savino

Front to back

Left side:  Patty Menz, Walt Michaels, Jim Bush, Jim Goodwine, John Baker

Right side:  Anna Reisel, Jeff Reisel, John Dolan, Lynn Savino, Todd Cochran, Ada Cochran

Happy Birthday!

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Sheila Laming and her husband Michael just celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary!  Congratulations to them!

For this edition of the blog Sheila was kind enough to send some family photos 

to share with everyone.

Here is a little collage I put together with her adorable granddaughters Beckett (who is 4) 

and Rory (who was born last year.)

More pics (from l to r) Sheila's daughter Shelby holding her daughter Beckett,
 Sheila, and Sheila's mom, Mrs. Laming

Here are the Laming 'kids' - Sheila, Ross and Gail.

Thanks for sharing, Sheila!  (And your Mom was my favorite nurse!)

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Here's a blast from the past - 15 year class reunion!

Thanks to Lynn Savino for the photo.

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Yes, Colorado got snow this winter!  

Thanks to our classmate Donner Tevis

 for sending the following photos....  

 Digging a path to the cabin - this is 2 days worth of snow.

The snow on the roof needs to come down, too.

The dog got up there thanks to the high snow.

Here's another picture of the dog on the roof.

And look closely, there is a house back there.

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News from Todd Cochran~

"As of July 1, 2018, I retired from my position of

 Superintendent of the Bergen County Department of Parks.  

After 35 years of service, I currently reside in

 Greenwood Lake, NY with my lovely wife, Ada."

Congratulations Todd!  Best wishes!

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A little pre-anniversary shout-out...

Philomena DePalma and her husband Robert will be celebrating their 40th anniversary in early May.  Cheers! What a great milestone!
Congratulations!

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This wraps up another edition of the blog. Thanks so very much to all of our classmates who have contributed this time.  Without your input we wouldn't have a blog (or you would have to read all about life in a sleepy rural town in Ontario!)

Have a wonderful spring and summer!  The next edition is in October 2019 and I will send out an email asking for submissions then.  If you want to reach me you can reply to any of my emails, message me on Facebook or send a note to 

mahwahhighschool1976@yahoo.com 

(note that I don't check that email too often anymore since you all have been able to 'find' me through my personal mail and Facebook so replies might be slow.).

Thanks again!

Until next time, 

Sue

Our class Facebook group is located at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/47889678341/