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Rocky River High School
Class Of 1963

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It would be great if some of you could share any adventures you've had for Where In The World Are We? It's fun to travel with you!

 

 

Again we are saddened to report that Coach Kelly passed away on February 7,2024.  Here is the link to his information.  His service is Saturday, February 10, in Lakewood.  Follow the link for details:

                  https://www.zmfh.com/obituary/donald-kelly

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another class 60th reunion in Michigan. This is an annual event for Sloans and Zahnows.  Debby (Murray) and Hugh Sloan are on your right and Debby and John Zahnow are on your left.

 

There are several new photos in the 60th link--compliments of Mary Ann Gillespie.  Thanks, Mary Ann!  After watching the slide show can you name everyone in picture #41??!!

Some photos are up.  Click the 60th link in the left menu bar.  Click on  the first photo and wait.  It will automatically give you a slide show.  We will be adding more photos eventually.

We had SUCH a good time this weekend.  We missed you if you weren't with us!

Had an email from Pat Osorio at 6:45 tonight (Saturday) which wasn't picked up until 10 pm.  He said he was unable to call because he forgot he had his phone blocked for calls outside of Chile.  He sent big hugs to everyone and love!  He hopes to see us some time.

1% ers - Hard to believe but this includes many of us.

99% of those born between 1930 and 1946 (worldwide) are now dead. 

  • If you were born in this time span, you are one of the rare surviving one percenters of this special group. 
  • Their ages range is between 77 and 93 years old, a 16-year age span.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE 1% ERS:

   You are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900's.

  • You are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war that rattled the structure of our daily lives for years.
  • You are the last to remember ration books for everything from gas to sugar to shoes to stoves.
  • You saved tin foil and poured fried meat fat into tin cans.
  • You can remember milk being delivered to your house early in the morning and placed in the "milk box" on the porch.
  • Discipline was enforced by parents and teachers. 
  • You are the last generation who spent childhood without television; instead, you “imagined” what you heard on the radio.
  • With no TV, you spent your childhood "playing outside".
  • There was no Little League.
  • There was no city playground for kids.
  • The lack of television in your early years meant that you had little real understanding of what the world was like.
  • We got “black-and-white” TV in the late 40s that had 3 stations and no remote.
  • Telephones were one to a house, often shared (party lines), and hung on the wall in the kitchen (no cares about privacy)
  • Computers were called calculators; they were hand-cranked.
  • Typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon.
  • 'INTERNET' and 'GOOGLE' were words that did not exist.
  • Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and the news was broadcast on your radio in the evening (your dad would give you the comic pages when he read the news).
  • New highways would bring jobs and mobility. Most highways were 2 lanes (no interstates).
  • You went downtown to shop. You walked to school.
  • The radio network expanded from 3 stations to thousands.
  • Your parents were suddenly free from the confines of the depression and the war, and they threw themselves into working hard to make a living for their families. 
  • You weren't neglected, but you weren't today's all-consuming family focus.
  • They were glad you played by yourselves.
  • They were busy discovering the postwar world.
  • You entered a world of overflowing plenty and opportunity; a world where you were welcomed, enjoyed yourselves.
  • You felt secure in your future, although the depression and poverty were deeply remembered.
  • Polio was still a crippler. Everyone knew someone who had it.
  • You came of age in the '50s and '60s.
  • You are the last generation to experience an interlude when there were no threats to our homeland.
  • World War 2 was over, and the cold war, terrorism, global warming, and perpetual economic insecurity had yet to haunt life.
  • Only your generation can remember a time after WW2 when our world was secure and full of bright promise and plenty.
  • You grew up at the best possible time, a time when the world was getting better.
  • More than 99% of you are retired now, and you should feel privileged to have "lived in the best of times!"
  • If you have already reached the age of 77 years old, you have outlived 99% of all the other people in the world who were born in this special 16 year time span. You are a 1% 'er"!

 

If you receive an email from umpquariver@sisna.com asking if you shop on Amazon and/or Ellen is requesting you help out by sending her friend $100 Amazon gift cards for her birthday----don't!  It's a scam.  That email address has been hacked and is no longer working.  New one is:  ellenaspinwall2021@gmail.com

I'm really sorry about this!

 

 

Check out the "Where In The World Are We?" page and let us know where!!!

 

We just heard from George Prymmer letting us know that he's "Alive and well in southern California for most of my life and in good health. Distant relative is your obit entry. Married to Marsha for 43 years with four lovely grandchildren."  

The mistaken In Memory post was actually a distant relative of George's.  We are VERY happy to learn that George is doing well!

 

We have a fav! Many congrats again to Ed Smith!

 

Don't forget to send in the names for Debbie Benn Mormon's photo here on the Home Page!

 

Visit the "Memory Scrapbook" page for 2 'new' old photos contributed by Debbie Benn Mormon. Also check out this one below from Debbie. Can you name all the people in it? Not all went to River. Let us know their names!

 

And if you have time over the holiday, visit Cliff's next adventure in France at the Chateau de Bizy in Vernon, FR, on the "Where In The World Are We" page.

 

Check out another of Cliff's adventures in France on the "Where In The World Are We" page.

 

Check out Ron Hanson's latest travel adventures on our "Where in the World Are We" page!

 

Check out Cliff Obrock's recent adventures in France on our "Where In The World Are We" page. He has more adventures to share, but for now, enjoy Paris and the Louvre!

 

Check out our "Where In The World Are We" page for the latest safari story from Larry Gilbert.  Do be prepared for some graphic photos of the circle of life.

 

Check out the Mini-Reunion page for a recent photo sent in by John Zahnow.  Looks like they are having a great time!

 

While you are hopefully enjoying the long, Labor Day weekend (in spite of the rain in Northern Ohio), check out Ron Hanson's latest adventures in 'Where In The World Are We!​​​​​

 

Here's some serious nostalgic fun!!!

 

Ukraine is famous for its unique, intricately designed eggs.  This folk art is very ancient.  Seeing them in person is more than impressive. 

Please pray for Ukraine and the brave people there.  And for the families and friends of the classmates we have lost the last few months.

 

Congratulations, Ed!  You did it again!  The class chose their 2021 fav holiday photo and you are it!  Or maybe it's your son.  

Excited!  We have a new travel contributor.  Ed Smith has sent in his first installment about traveling to France.  Check it out on "Where In The World Are We?"  I'm wondering how much a Euro is in dollars and hoping for some prose and photos of the renovations.  Enjoy visiting France with Ed and Marlene!  (and watch for more installments!)

 

This is pretty neat.  Ron Hanson sent it in and I've been trying to figure out how to add this to the Holiday Photos page with no luck.  It will appear there as a still but I thought everyone should see the video.

 

See another African Safari photo on Where In The World Are We. See update for Marcia below (thank you Barb Sabo for the update):

From Marcia:  "I have been truly blessed to have come through such a horrific accident as unscathed as I am. I am crushed to have lost my sister and best friend but am grateful she never suffered.  I have been in a rehab facility almost one week now and am making improvements every day. Hopefully I will be able to be discharged in another week. I walk easily with a walker and am graduating to a cane, which is a little more of a challenge. Next step is to be rid of the cane. They expect me to be back to normal within 3 months when I can return to the links."

Her address:  Marcia Pullin Bruder, 2006 Indenpendence Blvd, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 If you are so inclined, I'm sure she would very much appreciate hearing from any and all of you.  Please cards/letters only.

 

Check out Ron Hanson's latest adventure on the "Where In The World Are We" page!

Larry and Jean (Toots) Gilbert went on Safari in Africa about 2 years ago.  Larry is sharing his photos with us on the "Where In The World Are We" page.  Watch for more posts from Africa periodically and enjoy the arm chair tour as it goes!

 

Gary is holding his own but broke his arm 2 or 3 weeks ago.  He loves hearing from his classmates.  Give him a call if you get a chance.

440-525-1967

  Jeffery Paul posted some photos on his FB page. 

https://fox8.com/news/live-rocky-river-firefighters-battle-blaze-at-auto-body-shop/?fbclid=IwAR0GEln-ZSkDfSUVHfesvWAAgHYt6tfatGobUMZwsjbhDXvbPcKl1NCgKxc

 

Can you name them before the video does???

We encourage everyone to send in any travel photos you may have. It doesn't need to be a blog post (though it can be).  Just a brief description of what and where like the one recently posted.  We really want to share in your adventures!

 

Scroll down this page to see the newest 20th reunion photo.  Can you name all of them, including the ones with their backs to the camera??

 

Gary is currently staying at his daughter's and is back in therapy making progress, if slowly.  Give him a call.  440-525-1967  He loves hearing from all of you!          

Here he is hard at work a couple of weeks ago at the shop.  It was quite amazing to see him working with very tiny screws.

                          

Gary approved this message.

 

Whatever your personal thoughts and feelings are right now, please put your spiritual practice into overdrive. Our country needs your prayers, meditations and spiritual thoughts. Please spend a small amount of time daily in your spiritual practice toward healing our country.  These are tough times in so many ways but together we can help heal and make things better through love, kindness and respect for one another.

 

 

For those of you who remember Miss Ashbaugh (thanks to Pat Gillespie for sending this in)

MARILYN L. ASHBAUGH

of Avon, OH passed away peacefully at home on April 2, 2020. Daughter of Lloyd & Hazel Ashbaugh of Knox, PA, (deceased) and sister of Ann Price, (deceased). Marilyn received a degree in music from Westminster College & Masters in Music Education & Choral work from Penn State University.

Marilyn taught at Cumberland, MD School District and 28 years in the Rocky River, OH School System. Marilyn taught piano for many years and was loved by former students. She will be missed by her dear friend, Lois McCreight and many other friends. Private services. 440.933.3202 www.buschcares.com

 

To assist you with the current self-quarantine policy, we have a brand new feature!  At the suggestion of Ed Smith, we are featuring things to do during self-quarantine.  The new page link is located in the left menu bar immediately under "Where In The World Are We?"  Please read Ed's suggestions and send Ellen yours to post (umpquariver@sisna.com)  We think this can be a fun page with some great, and even amusing, suggestions to keep us from going stir-crazy!  Thanks, Ed, for contributing.....now.....for that travel adventure......

 

Here's a new 20th reunion photo below. Who can name them?

 

In keeping with the Cleveland sign, there is a very nice article about Cleveland and the Cuyahoga River in the NY Times.  Just click on the link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/

travel/cleveland-cuyahoga-river-pollution.

html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

 

Hi Class:

We have a new feature on the class website.  Where in the World Are We?  This will feature travel tales written by classmates themselves along with photos of their travel experiences. We hope everyone will eventually submit at least one travel story with pictures. You are welcome to submit more than one.

Over time, we may go around the world!

The first story is mine. If you follow my blog, you may have seen it before but it’s worth a repeat here. Have you ever taken the tour on the Black River at Lorain? It is a very interesting, educational tour and a fun boat ride. Just click on the “Where In The World Are We” link in the left menu to start reading.

We are also going to have a recipe exchange page so be thinking about your favorite, yummy recipes. The first one is mine and I quote my son, “I think the second bowl was even better than the first!”

Please submit your travel adventures and photos and recipes to Ellen:  umpquariver@isp.com and she will get them posted. If you wish any assistance with writing or editing, let Ellen know.

We can’t wait to see where you’ve been and read about your time wherever in the world it is. And we are really looking forward to your recipes!

Ellen

 

   HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE ARIZONA SONORAN DESERT!!

 

Friday night at Panini's

Shooters On The Water

Shooters On The Water was awesome. The food was great, as was the company. We watched a 1,000 ft Lake Erie Freighter being pulled out to the lake by the Tugboat, Oooooed and Awwwwed at the sunset reflections on the downtown buildings, watched the blimp and enjoyed the nighttime lighting on the Terminal Tower. It was a spectacular ending to a spectacular day.

 

There's a brand new Cleveland Sign downtown. It's been up just 2 weeks. It was the first stop on the Eliot Ness Tour. Watch for more photos soon.

AARRRGG......Attention all you RRHS63 Pirates!!!

New Major Mini Photos - August 11, 2017 at Panini's.  This is a slide show, so wait a few seconds for them to change.

Over 73,000 hits - and counting - on this little Web site.  Only one hit PER DAY per person is tallied, so we are getting a lot of traffic, a lot of email, and more participation than you know.  It all started in July 2009, so  we are averaging over 900 hits a month since it all began!!

 

In the last year, over 1,700 emails have been exchanged between our classmates. 

 

PLEASE BE SURE TO ENCOURAGE ANYONE YOU KNOW
WHO ISN'T HERE TO JOIN US.


The Pirate says:  We still have a long way to go to reach our classmates...

If each of us does his or her part to contact any of our non-participating or missing members, it would really help to add interest, variety, and excitement to rockyriver63.com. 

The real success of this Web site is the communication and catching up with our classmates that has begun and continues because we're all out here.  That will be multiplied each time we add a new member who can be in touch with former classmates and new friends.  Can you help? - Please?


 


 

 

NOSTALGIC LINKS
 
have been added to the Menu Bar.

Turn your speakers on and take some time to look back at our history!

 


LIVE CHAT IS NOW IN PLACE, and improvements are on the way.

For now, the best way classmates can use it is to set up an "appointment" to have a chat - any two or more alumni - until Instant Messaging is working.

Try it with one or more of your friends!


 Please take a look at the free-for-all known as "Message Forum" and use this opportunity to speak your mind about ANYTHING.
(We need some new ideas....  You'll see.)

 


If you haven't already done so,
please register and fill out your profile!


   Click on the following links to check out some new posts and changes:

  •  The free-form "Message Forum" is is a free-for-all.  Rather than a threaded, topical organization, it is just a continuous bulletin board and open-ended chat.  Feel free to add your own topics, thoughts, opinions and ideas.  Try it out, and let's talk to one another!      


    If you know of alumni who haven't signed in, please tell your friends about this site and ask them to visit, register and update their profiles. 

  • First-time visitors, please register and tell us about yourself!  Just click the "Classmate Profiles" link on the right  and click your name to get started.

 


  

 


 Note: This site is for childhood friends, attendees, and graduates of Rocky River High School, Class of 1963. It is completely FREE to our alumni and is privacy protected. And, there will NEVER be  advertising on this site. Just log in and update your profile!

Why not add your photos and stories?

It really brings the history of our class to life.  The more participation we get to represent the members of the RRHS Class of '63 the more classmates we will have join us.

Even if you haven't attended a reunion, nor kept in touch at all since graduation, please take the time to update your profile and upload your photos.  Your submissions will make this site more fun, more interesting and complete. 


What better way to connect with an old friend?  Just open up the classmate's profile you're looking for, write your message at the bottom of the profile, and click the "Send email" link.  

We hear a lot of emails are being exchanged!

You'll see - your classmates would love to hear from you!  


{C}

 "Message Center" makes class emailing easier!
Now you can write and send new messages directly from the "Message Center" page, instead of having to go to the '63 Alumni Profiles.  Moreover, your messages, both sent and received, are saved for reference. And each dialogue is saved in a history, or "thread".

In time you will likely have many threads, which are all accessible through a page indexing legend at the top of the Messages page.  This will allow you to click to go to previous pages of threads.You can toggle between "inbox" and "outbox", and even sort your messages.  

If you don't want to save older threads, just click on the red 'X' at the right to delete them. If you are sure you won't need to refer to older messages, delete several threads at once by checking the box at the left, and then clicking on the "Delete selected threads" button at the bottom.

Email messaging - an easy way to contact an old friend-
or make a new one!  Please stay in touch!

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

While my partner, Mike, and I planned to come to the 60th reunion on August 18th, we will not be coming. We have both contracted COVID and will not be finished with taking PAXLOVID in time.

Peg

Another set back for our Classmate - Gary Mason

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/crews-battle-fire-at-rocky-river-auto-body-shop

 

 

Aren't you a member of the
Rocky River High School Class of 1963?

Why haven' t you registered yet?


 

 

Click to get cool Animations for your MySpace profile

Another "missing" classmate has contacted RockyRiver63.com!

John Maier  hasregistered on the Web site! 

We're still looking for 27 classmates....

Click to get cool Animations for your MySpace profile

 

 


 

 

 


 

 

There are 142of us registered, and 27 missing
Sadly, we know of at least 28 who have passed away.

That leaves about 29 who have not logged in! 

If you visit here, and have not yet registered
and completed your profile,

please let us hear from you....

 

Just click the Pirate to get started!


 

Here for the first time? 

Just register once using the "'63 Alumni Profiles" link, enter your email address and your choice of password, and update your profile.  Don't forget to upload your photos - they really add a lot of interest!

 

 

 


Way to go!

We are doing great: 142 classmates have registered on RockyRiver63.com

A very big thank you to all of us who are here.  

Please encourage those you know 
who are not here to join the Web site.

The more the merrier...

Please take time to look over the Missing Classmates link - and the In Memory page - and give us any information that will help us to find - or acknowledge the loss- of our class members. Thanks!