Jeff and Jan Baker are still traveling since his
retirement. They have been to Alaska and British
Columbia this summer. Then in their spare time
go camping with grandsons Ethan and Isaac. Ted
Daniels got another excellent report that his can-
cer is completely gone and he is doing very well
in Dushore, Pa.
May God bless all with good health and hap-
piness,
Jack Bendick 7W0
71
W
Emidio Falini
221 Marshall St.
Kennett Square, PA 19348
484-888-6895
[email protected]
I was glad to see everyone at Alumni Day. We
had a good turnout and this year we did things a
little different. The wives left us at Williamson and
went to Longwood Gardens for the day. For some
reason they didn’t want to hang around with us
and hear the old stories of our days at William-
son. Then we all met back at my house in Kennett
Square, grabbed a bite to eat, and hung out.
In attendance were Bob Keys, our VP, Bob Sloan,
Dave Steiner, Phil Massimini, Chris and Dot
Freeman, Herb Fankhanel, Bob Melick, Glenn
Bechtel, George Wilkinson, and Ed Wanyo. Our
VP, Bob Keys, is now retired as of the Monday af-
ter Alumni Day. He plans to travel and promised
to keep in touch through Facebook. Carol Wanyo
took the time to take pictures of the day and post-
ed 70 of them on our page in Facebook. We all
thank Carol for taking the time. Without her we
may have taken maybe one group picture. Jimmy
Cass was on the road on his way up from Florida
so he couldn’t make it, but is enjoying retirement.
Don Jones still holds down the fort in Newburg
and I see him from time to time. One guy I see
in Cassville is Dave Maitland. It has been a while
since I have seen him, but he was still working
at New Bolt on Center. He only lives a few miles
from me, but I see him on Sunday mornings at
the Cassville Store. He has a place near Jonesis’s
and spends most weekends there. We also saw our
seniors Phil Lock, Warren Long, and Gary Her-
ron 7W0.
I did get a chance to talk to a couple others
that we haven’t seen for a while. Ralph Finkbiner
called me. He is retired from the trades and by
now should have his knees rebuilt. He was hav-
ing a hard time walking and can’t get around
very well. He said he was doing one in July and
the other in August. Hopefully, we will see him
in October with his new knees. Al Coccagna also
called me, Al still works for an engineering firm
and is sort of retired. (Italians don’t retire.) He
still works, but has a flexible schedule. Al said he
spends time still working and on his off days set-
ting tile at his children’s homes. Al developed his
tile setting skills his freshman year at Williamson
setting wet bed slate in Cillucci’s house. George
Wilkinson is in touch with Tom Deffley, but Tom
was out of town Alumni Day and couldn’t make
it. Tom is semi retired, but still takes on jobs.
Hopefully, we will see Tom in October. Bob Pe-
terson and Bob Melick were able to get together
and spend a day checking out Bob’s P. Muscle car
collection.
Phil Massimini had flowers sent to Russ Gib-
bons family from the Class of 7W1. Thanks for
taking care of that, Phil.
It looks like Homecoming Day is Oct. 14. Mark
it off on your calendar for you old timers or get
your grandchild to put it in your phone or pad
calendar. I will keep in touch. Call me anytime
and make it a point to see us in October. [Face-
book-WilliamsonTradeSchool7W1]
Keep in touch, Emidio
72
W
Dave Churchman
403 Shady Creek Way
Salisbury, MD 21804-1970
410-251-8127 (cell)
[email protected]
Greetings to my Brothers of 7W2:
I begin my notes with some sad news. Randy
Hummel informed me that Frank Hull passed
away on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, after a brief ill-
ness. Frank was born in Chester, Pa., but was liv-
ing in Newark, Del., at the time of his passing.
Randy said Frank was married to his sister-in-law
at one time. On behalf of our class, I offered con-
dolences to Frank’s family on the funeral homes’
website. As is the tradition at Williamson, they
will honor Frank’s memory with a prayer at a
chapel service. Rest in Peace, Frank. Your class-
mates loved you and enjoyed their time with you
at WTS.
Well, by the time you read these notes, our
45th reunion will be history. I’m looking forward
to writing our next class notes to report on the
events of the reunion.
About a week after submitting my class notes
in April, I had lunch with John Young at Ford’s
Garage in Ft. Myers, Fla. Ford’s Garage is a res-
taurant named after Henry Ford and, as you can
guess, the restaurant has an automotive theme.
John and I must have talked for three hours, while
enjoying the beautiful Florida weather, seated at
an outside table, enjoying good food and adult
refreshment. John is happily retired and has been
living full-time in Port Charlotte, Fla., for almost
four years (December 2017). John and his wife
Carolyn have two children, a son who is 38 and a
daughter who is 35.
John stays busy doing some engineering con-
sulting, working for H&R Block during the tax
season, umpiring baseball games, and playing
with the stock market. John said that over 30
years, he has officiated soccer, basketball, football,
and baseball games. John added that the officiat-
ing has taken its toll on his body causing him to
curtail some of these activities. John told me that
when he met his wife in Indianapolis in Septem-
ber of 1973 (?), it was love at first sight. They were
married three months later. We had such a nice
time at lunch that John invited me and my wife,
Diana, to dinner at his house the following week.
Carolyn prepared a wonderful dinner and then
John took me for a walk around his house. John
showed me the rain barrels that he uses to irri-
gate his plants. I’m thinking, are all Power Plant
guys this industrious! John has several fruit and
vegetable plants in his yard, including a blueberry
bush (ate some, very good), banana tree, pineap-
ple, limes, tomatoes, green peppers, and jalapeno
peppers, to name a few. John has a “green thumb.”
In the evening, we watched several species of fish
swimming in the canal, made possible by a light
that John had installed under water. I asked my-
self again, are all Power Plant guys this industri-
ous? John and Carolyn have owned their house in
Port Charlotte since 1990. They allowed renters to
pay for the house for 23 years, until they moved
in, in December of 2013. Like most of us, John has
his story about how he got into Williamson. He
said he was one of those guys who wore a leather
jacket and stood on the corners of Philadelphia
when he heard about Williamson. John, I know
that you are happy that you found Williamson,
and your classmates are as well.
I had a nice long chat over the phone with
Gary Biddington on Sunday, Aug. 13. Gary has
had many jobs over his long career. Currently, he
is working for Home Depot in Willow Grove. If
you live in or visit the Willow Grove area, stop
by the Home Depot and say “Hi” to Gary. Right
now, Gary is out of work for six weeks because of
gall bladder surgery on July 29. We all wish you
a speedy recovery, Gary. Gary has two daughters
(39 and 36), one son (24), and five grandchildren.
Gary’s oldest daughter is a sixth grade teacher, and
his youngest daughter is a manager for a home
building company. Gary’s son, David, just left
for a teaching position in South Korea. Although
Gary is somewhat apprehensive about David go-
ing to South Korea, Gary says that David is excited
about the opportunity. The Class of 7W2 wishes
David many blessings in his teaching profession
and in his travels throughout South Korea. Gary
provides care for his 94-year old mother, who
lives with him. Gary also provided care for his fa-
ther, before his father passed away from dementia
in 2012. Gary said that his sister, who is a retired
nurse, helped him with the care of his father, and
now with their mother. I can’t think of anything
more important than caring for your father and
mother in the comfort of your home in their final
days on this earth. You and your sister have been
a real blessing to your father and mother, Gary.
Gary told me something that I didn’t know, and
that is he was the last member to join our class in
1969. Gary was placed on the alternate list after
being refused entrance to Williamson on the first
try. I can relate to that as I, too, was placed on the
alternate list. Anybody else in the same situation?
Let me know. Anyway, Gary’s seventh grade wood
shop teacher, Bill Jones 2W6, just happened to be
a senior to John Boyd 2W8 during their days at
Williamson. What a coincidence! Bill Jones called
Mr. Boyd on Gary’s behalf and voila, that is what
it took to get Gary into Williamson. Is that a great
story or what? Email or text me if you can top
that story on how you got into Williamson. Gary
welcomes all of his classmates to “friend” him on
Facebook. Speaking of Facebook, I continue to in-
teract on Facebook with Walt Becker, Bill Grimm,
John Koenigsberg, Gary Biddington, John Young,
Bill Fisher, and Warren Hunter. Warren Hunter
is fighting cancer, so please remember him when
you say your prayers. God bless you, Warren, we
are praying for you. That’s about all I have for this
edition of the Williamsonian. I hope to bring you
news of our 45th reunion, when I write my next
article. Until then, take care and may God bless
you.
Dave
73
W
Tim Kain
281 Thomas Jefferson Terrace
Elkton, MD 21921-5167
410-392-5923
[email protected]
Gentlemen,
Just back from a family vacation in Myrtle
Beach and our school year is starting, so time is
flying by. I am starting my 35th year with New
Castle County Vo-Tech and I can see a light at the
of the tunnel. Retirement for me is right around
the corner as I am sure it is with most of us. News
from everyone has been sparse so I will keep this
brief. I hope everyone is doing well and would
love to hear from you. Our 45th year class reunion
is coming up in 2018 and our 50th is not far away.
Hope to hear from you.
Tim
74
W
Rick Caputo
154 Park Way
Montgomery, TX 77356
(832) 517-0773 (Cell)
[email protected]
http://www.nedg.com/7w4/
Gents,
I’m writing this as Hurricane Harvey hammers
the Houston area. I am on the north edge of the
storm, and with a few days to go, have already re-
ceived about two feet of rain. So far, we are among
the lucky ones as the house has remained dry and
we have not lost power. Hopefully, that will con-
tinue. Of concern right now, we have many huge
trees in our backyard that hover over the house
and Sheila is concerned that with the saturated
ground and the wind, one may land on the roof.
Anyway, I greatly appreciate the emails and text
messages of concern I have received from the
class.
In July I flew into Pittsburgh and drove out to
stay with Mas for a week. We had a great time,
visiting with family, taking in the sites in the area,
and the best part, just hanging and catching up.
Mas and I lived together for a few years when
we graduated from school and while our paths
have diverged at times over the years, we remain
close friends. I live in a populated area and so
staying in rural Pennsylvania with the solitude
and beautiful views from Mas’s front porch was
a vacation in itself. Mas is in a great place in his
life, he is close to his family and people that care
about him, and, of course, loves his dog Gert,
his constant companion. We did make a 4-hour
trip up to Hag’s place for an overnighter, picking
up retiree Grant Walk on the way. Grant invited
us in to meet his wife Emmy, and the four of us
had a nice chat. Grant has a cabin outside Port
Matilda that he and Emmy stay at often. They
are planning a trip up through the northeast and
into Maine this October to celebrate their 30th
wedding anniversary. Of course, Grant brought
a few bottles of his homemade hooch with him
on the trip. Jack Leary, Farmer Dick, and Brian
Stewart all met us at Hag’s cabin. Was sorry to
hear that Farmer Dick’s mother passed away re-
cently at age 82. Mazaik said he wanted to retire
soon and still thinks about moving to southwest
Alaska. In addition to his concrete construction
business in Hamburg, Famer caters events and is
a great cook (he brought clam chowder, sausage
and pepper, and corn on the cob to the cabin for
the overnighter). Big Jack is enjoying being semi-
retired, hunting, fishing, and seeing Chris off to
work every morning. He also spends quite a bit
of time watching his daughter’s son and stays in
close contact with Kenny Brown. As for Brian, he
continues to be an avid hunter, but is also quite
the gardener and has been kind enough to share
some of his crops with us every time he comes to
the cabin. However, it has to be said, his hunting
skills have been seriously called into question,
having gone out the last two times for turkey with
Marine and Big Jack and coming back empty. In
fact, I’m beginning to believe that the “two tur-
keys with one shot” story was perhaps a dream he
had. Speaking of Brian, I received this letter from
him: On May 28, I made my spring pilgrimage to
Hags’ for turkey season. On this particular out-
ing, I shared a set-up for gobblers with Big Jack
on his first turkey hunt. It became a mini-reunion
with me and Jack and others, a recipe for a good
time. Jack and I have never done any shooting
together, but I found it’s never too late to have a
“get to know each other” blast with someone you
have known a long time, but have never done any-
thing with. We had enough fun to plan on doing it
again in spring of 2018. This fall I plan to take Karl
Custer afield to hunt turkey. What I’m trying to
point out is that due to Hag’s generosity of letting
us come and stay with him, it leads to new con-
nections and shared endeavors that never would
have happened. We get to know each other bet-
ter, come to Hags and you will see what I mean.
Mas and I caught a bucket of blue gills, and they
became fertilizer for my garden (thanks, Gary, I’ll
bring you some crops in the fall f or your help). We
shot clay birds which is some event. Bring your
shotgun. Mas was most impressive on the shoot-
ing line as he stood next to (Hag’s son) Brett’s girl-
friend Maria who is a regular Annie Oakley. Mas
may have said something about Maria being a
good shot “for a girl” and as I walked away I heard
her threaten to kick his ass. I saw an albino dear
and a bald eagle while I was there. Your pal, Brian.
Got this email from George or Else: Hi Rick, I
hope you and your wife are weathering the storm
down in Texas. Pattie and I are enjoying retire-
ment for the last year and a half now. We brought
a new 38’ RV to travel the country in. Picked it
up in December last year and have been down to
Florida for spring training, Ocean City and the
Poconos to name a few places. We hope to get to
Maine then across the country to California next
year. Pattie and I will be staying in Florida from
January through June as snow birds. We have a
2-year plan to find a house and spend the winters
in Florida, and leave the RV up here in Pennsyl-
vania during the summer months so we can be
with the kids. My youngest son added a new ad-
dition to the Else family last Jan. 1. They named
him Miles Fielder Else. We now have five grand-
children in the family. Hope you get through the
storm safe and I will write again soon.
From Dusty Bartow: Hi, Rick, I see the pic-
tures on Facebook of you and the family, you guys
look great. Marianna and I have a new grand-
daughter and she was named after Marianna’s
21