A Great Success

     The 70th.....that's right......the 70th BHS class reunion is history and according to Gretchen Otis, who coordinated the event, it was a huge success. Gretchen mentioned that she had, some years ago, assisted Thelma Nelson Boyd with a 69th reunion by mail.....that would be the class of 1934.......but she still wonders if anyone knows of any previous 70th or beyond gathering?
     This most recent event actually drew grads from 1940 through 1946, ages 85 to 95. Five states were represented. A total of 36 attended the Open House, 30 to 35 the breakfast and train  ride. The official '44 class dinner, hosted by Bill and Jodie Beckwith at their home, was enjoyed by nine classmates.
     Gretchen praised Fenner Stevenson and his son and the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad for their assistance. Fenner, Bill Beckwith and the late Marshall King were instrumental in obtaining and bringing "new wheels" from Nebraska to Boone for the handicapped accessable railroad car. It and a regular car were used for the group's train ride. Fenner's son applied the wheels and replaced a window and had it up and running shortly after it's arrival from Nebraska.
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     We heard from former Booneite Jeff Tyrie this week but with sorrowful news. Jeff reported that his brother Dan, 72,  had passed away last June but he doubted if any of his Boone acqaintences were aware of that. Jeff wrote, "even though he wasn't a native, he loved Boone when we lived there and he returned several times a year to visit with friends and in-laws. Dan worked at Gambles for several years and opened up his own store, C+D TV and Appliance. He also ran a route for Archway for a time. He also built a race car that ran every weekend at the Boone Speedway with Larry Brown as the driver. For over 25 years in Lafayette, IN he ran a shop that he started as a small engine repair shop out of his garage that grew into a successful retail store that sold all types of mowers and landscaping gear. He wife, Kate (Crocheck) survives, along with three sons, all of whom were born in Boone."
     Jeff said the family lived in Boone from 1960-70. Dan came here before the rest of the family and remained here three or four years after the others had moved on. Wilbur, who was connected with Archway, was the dad of the family.
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     In our last edition we mentioned receiving information from former Booneite Gene Keys and his wife, Karen (Helm) about a monument........a tribute to victims of a 1943 military plane crash in Boone County.
     A little more info now on Gene and Karen. Gene wrote, "I wasn't the most popular guy in school and was always in trouble. Not only did I grow up on the wrong side of the tracks, I grew up "between" the tracks. We had the Chicago and Northwestern in our back yard and right across the street in front was the old Fort Dodge, Des Moines/Southern interurban maintenence yards. Before the ink was even dry on my diploma, I was on a plane to Navy basic training. I made up for my earlier bad behavior while in the Navy, staying nine years. I then came back to Boone but couldn't find steady work. The only job I could get was as an electrician's helper at Quinn's. After a year there, several broken bones, a bad welding burn and so much black sand in the pores of my skin, I looked like a coal miner. I  received my appointment letter from J. Edgar Hoover and was off on a 26-year career with the FBI which took me all over the world. My first field office assignment was at Albuquerque, NM where I stayed for eight years. Then it was off to Washington D.C. where I transferred to the Intelligence Division and traveled the world. My last few years were spent at the FBI Academy at Quantico, VA. Karen came to Colorado in the early 70's and retired from Hewlett Packard and after that, ten years at Walmart. We were reunited via the internet and married a few years ago."
     Gene and Karen's older sister, Kay, were 1961 BHS grads. Another of Karen's sisters, LaVonne, lives in Castle Rock, CO. and there's a "little brother," Mel Helm, also in that family. Mel is retired and living in Tama. Mother Helm is Ruth who Gene said, "volunteered at the Boone hospital since "Moby Dick was a tad pole" and at the Mamie Eisenhower birth place. She also worked at Bournes for quite some time."
     P.S. We had mentioned in the last edition that former Ogden residents, Warren and Ruth Christensen, had a special interest in that monument. Now living in Loveland, CO where Gene and Karen live, the Christensen's, former owners of the Ogden roller rink, have a son, Mike, a retired Air Force Colonel who is married to LaVonne, Karen's sister.
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     Boone Area Deaths: Esther May Schoff Barnhart,101, Boone. Moved to Boone after the death of her second husband, C.J. Barnhart. Four children survive, Elizabeth Nelson, Valenette Heldt, Roland Schoff and Evelyn Stockman.........Arvid Miller, 74, Ogden. OHS-60. Worked at Rolfes, Sears and Sonoco. Boone area survivors include his wife, Janet, son Kevin and sister, Lila Mallicoat of Boone........Janice Smith, 76, Boone. Longtime secretary at Bourns and after retirement, was a secretary at the Boone and Scenic Valley. Boone area survivors include daughters, Jacquelynn Smith and Jill Smith Ginther, and a sister, Betty Miller all of Boone..........Rev. Tom Geelan, 78, Ruthven, IA. Served Boone Sacred Heart parish for a time. Retired in 2007..........Randy Newton, 60, Ogden. OHS-72. A longtime employee of Ogden Municipal Utilities. Boone area survivors include his wife, Erica Fleming, son Bart and daughters, JoAnne Kirton and Amanda Mortensen of Ogden, and son, Justin, of Boone........Jeffrey Smiley, 55, Boone. BHS-78. Jeff worked 34 years for Besser Quinn Machine and Foundry in Boone. Then worked for Seneca in Webster City until retirement this year. Boone area survivors include his wife, Shelli, sons Aaron and Austin and daughter, Alyssa, father and mother-in-law, Jack and Bev Coffman, and brother-in-law, Chuck Coffman all of Boone.
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