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07/18/10

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Here is all the news that your classmates want you to know about.



 Gale Martin is being feted.  Check it out here.
 
Here is Martha Kyle Roy's 4th grandchild, Shae Nicole.


Pictured: Ron and Debbie (Collett) Carder; daughters Jamye (w/husband Kevin) and Jennifer (w/husband Steve); 4 Grandchildren: Brett - 13, Haley - 8, Chase - 8, Ty - 2 1/2 ....

From Bennett Poling (Bennie)

 

Then:

In case anyone remembers me from high school, here is my story.  I left Elkins High School, or should I say I quit my senior year, just weeks before Graduation.  I had a disagreement with a teacher, because she lied to me and I went to the principal office and told him I quit.  He said I would never get anywhere with out his diploma, again I had a disagreement before I even left the school grounds.  However, I left and took my GED, which the same principal tried to have taken away from me, but he failed to do so.  When my graduation invitation came, I threw it away, along with the cap and gown.  I did not like school very much except for Math and Science which showed in later years. (A bit of a rebel and a bit hot head when I was young)

 Military Years:

 I worked around Elkins until 1974 when I joined the army, just before Vet Nam war ended.  I went off the Fort Dix, NJ for basic, the war was ending and I did not make it to Vet Nam, but instead went to Fort Ord, California, 7th Infantry Division where I made Sergeant and became the Batallion motor Sergeant.  In 1976, I received orders for Germany with the 3rd and 64th armor 3rd Infantry Division; I was the motor Sergeant for C Company.  In 1979, I went before the Warrant officer board. I n 1979 I received orders again for Fort Hunter Liggett, Ca. While stationed their, I received orders for Warrant Officer and was appointed as a W one in 1980. 

            In 1982, I again received orders to go to Germany for three more years, this time with the 1st Squadron 2nd Armor Cavalry Regiment, over seeing the East German and Czechoslovakian borders. In 1985, I returned to the US to Fort Hood. TX.  Where I decided to leave the service as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 after 14 years, to accept a job offer with FMC, A manager from FMC had been trying to talk me into taking a job there since 1980, FMC built equipment for the Military.  By the time I processed out of the service and arrived in San Jose, Ca. for my meeting with my new boss to be in 1987 I was handed quite a suprise.  The day I went to FMC for the job, and I asked to see Mr. Friedman, I was told he had passed away just 2 weeks earlier, so went the job.    

 Life after the Military:

            It is 1987, folks were not to keen on X-military because of Vet Nam. I had a few job interviews that just did not grab my interest; I found one on about the fourth interview that seemed interesting. The company was Varian, located in the Silicone Valley. So I took a job as a Master Technician, building MOMBE (Molecular Oxide Molecular Beam Epitaxial (These use Gas injection) system machines.  I build 12 of the 14 of these machines ever built and traveled from New York to Tokyo Japan to install the systems, I also built 16 MBE systems (Molecular Beam Epitaxial systems (evaporation type) These systems were for growing electronic chips. I did this  from 1987 to 1991. In 1991 I took a job with the same group as a design engineer until 1992 when the company was sold to a company in Michigan. (To cold to make the transfer after all the years in sunny Calif.)

            After a 3 month long Vacation (vacation not unemployment) now 1992 I decided to look for a new home. I was called to an interview at Stanford University’s Lennar Accelerator Center (SLAC). They were looking for someone to replace one of their Principal Technicians for 6 months, it looked like a very interesting job so I started the job the following Monday.  The job was with the SSRL (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory) division of SLAC.  After about 30 day with SSRL I was asked if I would help Dr. Roger Carr build his EPU (Elliptical Polarizing Undulator) after the first day Dr. Carr if I would take the lead on the project, and I accepted. I build and installed the device in the accelerator.  When the device was used it set new records. One of the things this device made possible was multiple layering hard drives, within the next 2 years hard drive got cheaper and began the era of Gigabyte drives.

            After my six months, I was offered another job at SSRL with a little longer term.  Here I worked with Physicist and Engineers on maintaining what is know as SPEAR a ¼ mile oval shaped Accelerator (see SSRL web site and video). In 2000 I was asked by Physicist Dr. Roger Carr to work on the VISA project. The original design did not work properly because of mechanical and vacuum design problems.  I was given the OK to re-design the device consisting of 6, 1 meter Undulator sections.  I completed the new design, had parts made and assembled the device and shipped everything to Brookhaven National Laboratory, on Long Island NY. Where I assembled the device and the VISA project was to take place in 2001. (See VISA web sites)

            I then took the job to build SPEAR III in 2002; I was the Assembly manager for the 54 Girder assemblies that make up the SPEAR accelerator. (See SSRL web sites.)

            Then in 2004 I took the Scientific Engineering position with the LCLS (Linac Coherent Light Source) as the LCLS Undulator Assembly manager. The VISA project was the for runner project for the LCLS. (See the LCLS web sites)

My old friend Dr. Roger came to me in 2004 and asked if I would design and build the Laser Heater Undulator for the LCLS just before I took the LCLS Engineering position. Of course being my best friend at SLAC I said I would very much like to do this for him. It will be the SLAC topic for the PAC09 (Particle Accelerator Conference in Vancouver, Canada on May 4-8 2009.

We are still building the LCLS; I have installed 25 of the 33, 3 meter Undulators in the Undulator Hall.

            I have now been asked to be the Installation Manager for LUSI (LCLS Ultrafast Science Interments)

I plane to retire after 21 years with Stanford University in 2013 and until then I will be the Field Operations Manager for the LCLS Undulator Hall and continue to do projects like LUSI and the up coming Phase II Project.

 Well I hope I have not bored anyone to death, with my short life story. I hope to come to my first reunion with all of you in 2010.

 I often think what I could have achieved if I only had his diploma. With that I will say to all young people out there to finish High School and go to College.  If you don’t want to go to College think about the Military I still miss it. 

 

Web Site’s

SLAC     http://www.slac.stanford.edu/

SSRL     http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/

   SPEAR 3 Video http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/spear3/spear3_dedication_nbc.mpg

   SPEAR COLSE REPORT: http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/spear3/spear32004close-outreport.pdf

VISA      http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/visa/

     VISA Collaboration   http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/visa/visacollaboration.html

LCLS     http://ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/lcls/

LUSI      http://photonscience.slac.stanford.edu/lusi/index.php

My e-mail for work is :  Poling@slac.stanford.edu

My private e-mail is: UndulatorMan@hotmail.com

My home phone is 408-223-9592

 

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Hi all,
Just wanted to let you know that our family spent Thanksgiving in
NYC so we could see our daughter in the Off-Broadway show "Our Sinatra" and we were not disappointed. It is a great show and tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes.  Elliott Roth is wonderful -- both singing and accompanying Chris Gines and our daughter, Harmony Keeney, on the Baby grand piano as the trio flatter Sinatra by singing some of the many songs he made famous over his 40-plus year career.

From Old Man River, Without a Song, and The Summer Wind to The
Tender Trap, I've Got You Under My Skin and I'm a Fool to Want You -- Keeney, Gines and Roth continue the expressive rendering of songs that Sinatra perfected in his lifetime. 

Although you can get tickets for $80 at www.telecharge.com -- you can get them HALF-PRICE at the Discount Ticket booth on 46th street in NYC or by logging onto        http://www.broadwaybox.com/shows/our_sinatra_nyc_tickets.aspx

The intimate Black Box dinner theater in the basement of the Broadway Comedy Club on 53rd Street in
NYC is not wheelchair accessible, so was easier for the young people to hop down the stairs to see the show -- although about half the audience was over 40 with a couple of octogenarians saying that the show was well worth the climb up the stairs afterward.

Also, the term dinner theater is used loosely. The foods (chicken wings, hot dogs, sandwiches and mile-high chocolate cake a la mode washed down with sodas, beer or cocktails) are standard comedy club fare. But the location of the Broadway Comedy Club between 8th and 9th avenues makes it easy to walk down 9th Avenue from 50th to 46th street and enjoy some wonderful restaurants -- Thai, French, Ethiopian, Italian, endless cuisines -- with prices to fit any wallet. 

So I hope all my friends had as wonderful a
Thanksgiving as we did this year -- and please pass this information on to any of your friends and family that may be visiting NYC in December and January. 

Thanks, Sally Keeney

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bulletShirley Bailey Daniel's granddaughter is a flower girl in this year's Forest Festival.  Here is a picture of the beautiful Alyssa Harper.

 

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bulletSteve Williamson's wife has published her first novel.  You can find out more by going to http://www.bonniewilliamson.com/

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bulletMy nephew was married on November 11, 2006.  You can see some of the pictures here.

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bulletJim Phares has made the news.  Check it out here.

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bulletNews of Karen Bialek's daughter, Ashley can be found here.

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bulletBobby Hiner is a first time grandpa!!

His daughter Krista Hiner Sappey gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on Novemer 20, she weighed 6lb and 15oz and was named Mia Sage Sappey.  You can see a picture here.
 

   

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bulletFrom Sheila Simmons:  I have worked at the Huttonsville Correctional Center for 20 years. For 15 years I have been the director of the West Virginia Braille Program (a division of Prison Industries that includes license plates, license decals, furniture, etc.). I have a crew of inmates that have Library of Congress Certification in Braille Transcription. We transcribe textbooks into literary Braille for schools all over the United States and Canada. We work in close contact with the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind and the West Virginia Instructional Resource Center, both located in Romney. I am married to Gary Simmons, most people know him as Moldy, and we have one son, 33 year old Scott, married to Julie Lantz Simmons (she is the nurse for Dr. Corder in Elkins) and they have a 4 year old son, Grant, the "apple of my eye." We moved to Huttonsville in 1990 after Scott graduated from EHS.

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bulletFrom Louis Moore:
We moved to New Jersey last September - I started working out here last July. I had been working for an automotive supplier in Detroit and the future was not looking too bright. Knew of this company through some folks that I had worked with in the past. Really good job but the $$$ increase mostly got ate up by the cost of living in NJ - ridiculous - but we are really doing fine. Bought a house that we have been working on almost continuously - it is really nice now. Victoria worked for a mortgage company for several months but they moved the office her 20 minute commute became 50 -60 and she told them "no thanks".
The move from Michigan - we had been there together for 14 years - was tougher that we anticipated. We are both missing our friends there but we have gotten back a couple of times and some of our friends have been here to visit. We are about an hour from New York City but are in a really nice hilly part of NJ about 15 miles from the Pennsylvania border.

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bulletFrom Sharon Isner Hitt : Just to update my life, I have been married for 35 years, have a son and a daughter and 5 grandchildren.
 

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bulletFrom Tom and Joan Vance.  Tom and I are still a "thing" just like in 1968, 69, 70 and 30+ more years.  We've been married now for 33 years, and have two children.  Amy, who lives in Staunton VA with her husband and 3 children, and Jeff, who lives in Myrtle Beach with his wife and 2 children.  How did Tom & I get so old as to have 5 grandchildren already????  Oh well, life is great and we are so blessed.  Tom is a district conservationist for USDA, in Greenbrier County (Lewisburg) and has just a little over 2 years until he can retire.  We do get to Elkins pretty often, since my parents and his Mother are still living there.  We have a cabin on what was his grandmother's property, so we always have a place to stay, etc.  I'm looking forward to the reunion, since we've missed the last few.

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From Greg Haddix

Well here's my story since I left high school. Attended Fairmont State College (started out rooming with Mike Feaster and Ed Meredith....then Mike left college and Ed and I roomed together until we graduated). Graduated in '74 and went straight to Washington DC and worked in a private psychiatric hospital as a recreation therapist.  Spent 4 years there and then came back to Elkins.  Acquired my master electrician's license and worked in the electrical field for approx. 10 years.  I went back into the behavioral health field, starting with the Elkins Mountain School for one year, as a counselor.  Then to the Appalachian Community Health Center for 5 years as the director of the Day Treatment program.  During this time at Appalachian I was able to acquire my master degree in Guidance and Counseling K-12 and a specialty in community agency counseling.  Went into the school system for a short time and then went to work with Youth Health Center in Elkins, working with children doing individual, group, and play therapy.  From there I moved on to where I am presently with the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services as a vocational counselor for the past 4 years.  I also work on a contracted, part time basis, in the Randolph County School System as a guidance counselor with the Alternative Learning Center at the Elkins High School and Tygart Valley High School.  Hope to retire with the state. 

     That's what I have done vocationally, now for what I have done personally.  Upon graduating from college I married my high school sweetheart Marsha Feaster and we were married for three years and were divorced.  I remarried in '79 to a lady from Virginia and we were married for 20 years.  We had two handsome boys, Nicholas Ryan and Philip Bryce Haddix.  Hard to believe that Nick is 21 and Phil is 19.  Just to boast a little bit to all you EHS alumni who follow the football program at EHS.  Both Nick and Phil played for EHS.  Nick was not quite as passionate as Phil about the game.   Phil played for EHS for the past 4 years and each year he was selected to the first team all conference NCAC team.  He was a running back for EHS and he was a starter in his junior and senior year.  Last year he was the work horse for the team as he ran for over a 1000+ yds leading the team to the best record in the past 10 years of 8-2 and a position in the state playoffs.  He was also selected to the 2nd team All State as well.  This is all kind of amazing in that Phil only weighed, at most during his time at EHS, 150 lbs.  He was quick and had a way of avoiding direct hits.  Enough boasting for now......that's one of those perks you get when you're a father or should I say parent??

     Well as they say, three's a charm.  I met a very special person approx. 4 ½ years ago and we married in June of 2000.  Her name is Patricia Huffman and she was born and raised in Valley Bend, WV and attended school at the Tygart Valley High School (imagine mixing a Tiger with a Bulldog....for those of you who have been out of touch for a while.....Elkins Tigers and Tygart Valley Bulldogs).  She attended college at Marshall University and acquired her master degree in Guidance and Counseling from Marshall as well.  She worked at Youth Health Services in Elkins and this is where we met.  After having our second daughter, Patricia has stayed at home till the girls start school and then she plans to return to work.  But the scary part for me is that I have started another family at the age of 50.  I have two beautiful daughters, Courtney Paige, 3 years old and Abigail Renee, 2 years old, and a step son, Steven Ryan, 7 years old.  It's amazing the difference between raising two boys and then raising two girls.  No comparison!!!!!  We all currently reside in East Daily, on the back road for those of you who want to visit and all is welcome.  Haddix/Huffman sign is hanging on the lamp post in the yard and a bright yellow pole (so we won't back into it with the van) holding a backboard and hoop at the edge of the driveway.  Can't miss it!!!!   I am going to try to send accompanying pictures with this document so you can see what I'm bragging about. (in terms of kids).

     In terms of hobbies, I play guitar for my own entertainment.....occasionally go public.  Into remodeling around the house, have remodels two house completely that I lived in the past.  Got into restoring old Volkswagons a few years back and have a 1970 Beetle setting in my garage at the present time.   Like walking/running (to keep my weight down) and the picture that I am send I am 20 lbs lighter than when the picture was taken.

     You know time has really gotten away.  I think back on my days in school and how I struggled through school academically and socially for various reasons.  I have talked to others in our class and it seems that a lot of others had a lot of the same feeling that I had about school in how we each treated each other as class mates.  I guess we have to go through these times and this is what helps to form the person that we have become today.  I was quiet and lacking in self esteem when I attended school and it held me back from accomplishing a lot of things.  It also served to not allow a lot of you to get to know me as I really was.  That's the part, when I look back on school and all the memories, that I have a hard time feeling good about.  However, I have been able to overcome a lot of these childhood faults and have been able to move on. It's like my wife keeps asking me, when I say I would like to go back and change some things, if you could,  would you be where you are today?  Since I am content at where I am in my personal life......I guess I really wouldn't want to change anything.  However, it's hard not to think...........what if!!!!!!

      I hope to be at the next reunion.  Looking forward to seeing all of you.

 

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bulletFrom Gary Bonnell

Spent twenty years in the Air Force and retired in 1993.
Was fortunate enough meet and marry Stephanie while we were both stationed in Germany (yes she was in the Air Force too and she retired in 1994).
Have lived in the San Antonio, TX area since returning from Germany in 1987
Had a house right in San Antonio until 1997 when we got tired of the hustle and bustle of city life. Sold that house, bought two acres of land south of San Antonio and had a new house built.  Continued to work (as did Stephanie) until 2002. Decided then that we'd had enough of the "rat race", so we both quit our jobs and began traveling. We packed up the RV and hit the road when the hot summer weather arrives in south Texas (about mid May) and generally stay away until about mid to late Sept. Then we come back home to Texas for the winter.

 

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bulletFrom Brian Bell:
My wife Cheryl, daughter Nikki and I have been at 723 N. Locust Street for 11 years. Cheryl is a department manager at Target, Nikki is in 7th grade at Northern Middle School, and I'm in my 10th year at World Kitchen, Inc.  (formerly Corning, Inc.) in Greencastle, PA  Things are pretty hectic at work right now but will taper off toward Christmas.    My mom Katye is nearing in on her 81st birthday and doing well.  Haskell passed away from Parkinson disease in 1996 at the age of 73.  Larry and his wife Deanna still live in Bridgeport/Clarksburg, WV area and Mark lives with his wife Christina in Vienna, VA.

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bulletUpdate from Don Sturm.  After leaving EHS, I went to Virginia Computer School after I graduated, I started working for the Census Bureau located in Suitland, Md. not far from Andrews Air Force Base.   My Mother died in 1971 so after that I lost contact with anyone in Elkins.    So no one knew how to contact me about the reunions.   So when it was coming time for the 1990 reunion I surf on to the EHS website and found a place to post a message.   It was not to long until Carol Lantz responded and got me back in touch with the class.     I married Barbara a student at Virginia Computer School in July 1972 and we now live in Brandywine, MD (just on the other side of Andrews so I have to go all the way around the Base to get to work.  No children just 2 dogs and a bird.  I now work on a Electronic Reporting Branch help desk for companies that have to report data to the bureau.   I will be able to retire at the end of 2006, we plan to move back to her area near Southport, NC.    She does not like snow for some strange reason??

 

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