Reunions
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Originally published 02:48 p.m., October 22, 2007
Updated 02:48 p.m., October 22, 2007
EHS Class of 1957
The Emporia High School Class of 1957 reunion, “Moments to Remember,” was held Sept. 28 and 29 at the Best Western Motel. Classmates met Friday at the motel for socializing, then attended the Emporia High School Homecoming football game that evening. On Saturday, they met for breakfast, then went for an afternoon tour of the Granada Theatre, given by Duane Henrikson. A collection was taken for a plaque from the class to be put in the theatre.
The master of ceremonies for the Saturday evening dinner was Darrell Stebbins. The Rev. Monte Sue Gann Diebolt conducted a memorial service remembering the deceased 29 classmates and also gave the invocation. Vocal students of ESU professor Penny Speedie entertained during dinner with music from the 1950s.
After dinner, Leo Lutz gave a video presentation of snapshots of the junior and senior high school days, accompanied by recorded background piano music played by classmate Brenda Bruckner Casey of Guilford, Conn. Disc jockeys Dan and Jane McCoy played music for dancing.
Those attending from out of state were:
Larry and Barbara Mercer Finuf of Thompson, Ga.; Donna Huff Ellis of Medford, Ore.; Carol Forrester Wright of Bluffton, S.C.; Nancy Wood Diebolt of Dallas, Texas; Dick and Monte Sue Gann Diebolt of Statesboro, Ga.; Edith Brockelman Stafford of Sedalia, Mo.; Jack and Mary Edie Murphy Slack of Tulsa, Okla.; Bob and Nancy Barr of Potomic, M.D.; Ed Hawes of Dallas, Texas; Kenneth Andrews of Kansas City, Mo.; Janice Morgan Hawes of Afton, Okla.; Ron Blaylock of Monkey Island, Okla.; Erik and Ronda Sutton Ostergaard of Palm Desert, Calif.; Curtis Maxwell of Walnut Creek, Calif.; Sara Massey of Willis, Texas; John and Doris Black Vaughn of Allen, Texas; Roy and Bonnie Kane of Greenwood, Ind.; Don Neufeld of Branson, Mo.; Howard and Judi Rosenbalm Barton of Circle, Ga.; Ed Schulenberg of Denton, Neb.; Stuart and Carolyn Ann Cram of Danville, Calif.; Pat Dorrel Laskoski of Sedona, Ariz.; Gary Wisler of Colorado Springs, Colo.; Franny Ashby Gabrielson of Lyons, Colo.; Frank and Sharon Braynard Erickson of Pompano Beach, Fla.; Dave Jones of Littleton, Colo.; Gene and Anne Ensminger of Covington, Ga.; and Karon Dyer of San Diego, Calif.
Attending from Kansas were: Darrell Fillmore and Cliff and Shirley Woodworth Koehn of Wichita; Mary Ann Schultz Short and Joe and Julane Hovorka of Wichita; Vance and Pam McWilliams of Arlington; Dick and Sally Short of Paxico; Ken and Marilyn Johnson of Olpe; Bill and Louise Barnow of Overland Park; Larry and Kathleen Lillian Smith of Overbroook; Floyd and Phyllis Troyer Whiteman of Mission; Marilyn McCallum Forrest and Sharon Coffman Giffin of Hutchinson; Joe and Susan Morris of Leawood; Kay McBride Martin of Olathe; Don and Donnel Dehler Bailey of Neosho Rapids; Clayton and Barbara Grimmett of Stafford; Loyd Kufahl of Augusta; Toady and Doris Spray of Great Bend; Leo and Wilma Lutz of Lawrence; Eddie and Doris Spencer Danford of Strong City; and Larry and Barbara Burch Richard of Scott City.
Attending from Emporia were: Pat and Jeanette Davidson Hoy, Rob and Verna Germann Uran, Dale and Carolyn Davis Davis, Russ and Myra McMurphey Jones, Tom and Carol Krueger, Clarence and Janice Mercer, John Lopez, Bill and Sue Smith Rogers, Mary Jane Vaughn Coffee, Alvin and Glenda Miller, Darrell and Helen Stebbins.
Guests attending were Imogene Buntrock of Medford, Ore.; George Ludwig of Topeka; and Don and Elaine Ek, Darrell and Shirley Jones and Jay and Margie Stine of Emporia.
Smith-Staats
The 56th annual reunion of the Silas Smith and Charles Staats families was held Oct. 7, 2007, at the West Campus of the Emporia Presbyterian Church.
Thirty-seven family members shared a covered dish dinner. Lena Hobble Young of Emporia, reunion chairman, welcomed the families. A short memorial service was held in memory of Howard Frazier, who died seven days after the 2006 reunion. Members who could not attend because of illness were remembered. The oldest family member in attendance was Ben Winter of Emporia, 100.
Attending from out of state were William Stokes Jr., of Springfield, Mo.; Roberta Stokes Callicoat of Collinsville, Mo.; William Stokes Sr., of Ramona, Okla.; Bill and Joan Van Sickle Sloan of Maryville, Tenn.; and Janie Stokes-Coplon of Seattle, Wash.
Attending from Kansas were Bob and Joyce Winter, Jeff and June Winter and Erin and Jacob, all of Auburn; Jim and Connie Brown and Nathan, and Garold and Linda Smith of Berryton; Sasami Conway and Kristi Winter of Lawrence; Delmar and Marjorie Miller of Olpe; and Paul and Linda Winter of Wichita.
Other Emporians who attended were Esther Chapman, Gene and Rosalie Fowler, Evelyn Frazier, Clayton and Erlene Hobble, Jason and Mary Hobble, Raymond and Shirley Van Sickle, Miriam Winter and Ben Young.
The next reunion will be held at noon Oct. 5, 2008, at the same location.
Grandiew community
The 2007 Grandview reunion was held at the Saffordville Community Building with 61 people in attendance. After the noon meal, a memory-sharing time was enjoyed. Winners of door prizes were given gift certificates.
Those attending were Troy Robert and children of the Kansas City area; Eugene Talkington and Delores Conley of Matfield Green; Leila Merry, Brenda Gehring, Walt Rathke and Naomi Finney of the Olpe area; and Elsie Thomas, Kathy Mildward, Bobby Peet and daughters, Nell Beyer, Mandi and Avery Beyer, Madison and Kennedy Dragonas, Claudean Cassida, Bill Cook, Dorothy Fehr, Robert and Judith Kewley, Thad and Tiffany Robert and children, Ron and Arlene Dodge, Hal and Charlene Palenske, Frank and Carol Buffington, Bill and Jack Edie, Brad, Becky, Cody and Troy Conley, Bruce, Carolyn, Doyle and Duane Conley, Dorothy Nurnberg, Eric, Cheri and Andrew Parks, Dan Nurnberg, Justin Nurnberg and Lindsey Tacy, Scott and Carla Gallmeister and Hettie, Pat and Melba Weyrauch, Gary Watts and Howard and Karen Nurnberg, all of the Emporia area.
The 2008 reunion will be held Sept. 14.