deferred to Gary ’ s recommendation of Lime Tequila Mexican Restaurant in an adjacent shopping center . Gary chauffeured us to the restaurant in his golf cart where we had a great lunch and another three-hours of catching-up . John and I had a great day of celebration with Gary and Diana .

As I get ready to submit our class notes , Russia has started their invasion of Ukraine , my mother ’ s homeland . I still have family near the town of Lviv on the western side of Ukraine but , thankfully , some of them got out and are now living with a relative in Charleston , S . C . We can all pray that this conflict ( war ) will come to a peaceful conclusion .

I guess that ’ s about all the news that ’ s fit to print . Let me know what ’ s happening in your life so I can inform your classmates . Stay in touch with your alma mater at Williamson . edu . Until next time , stay healthy and may God bless and watch over you , your families , and the people of the Ukraine . Pray for peace in the world !

Dave “ Church ” A-9

Tim Kain 7551 Siena Blvd . Myrtle Beach SC , 29572 Cell : 302-528-8614 trkain @ netscape . net

Gentlemen ,

Winter is ending in South Carolina as I write these notes , and it has been quiet as far as class information is concerned . I did receive news that Tony Smyk passed away in October of 2021 . Tony was from Tower City and a Dec Shop graduate and was a big fan of Mrs . Bickel . Our class sends its condolences to Tony ’ s family . My apologies to Jim Stewart , you reached out for information on how to contact Tony ’ s family and I did not have any . I tried calling your number , Jim , but was unsuccessful in making contact with you .

Our 50th class reunion is approaching quickly . June of 2023 is only 16 months away . I have been writing these notes since we graduated in June of 1973 and I still don ’ t know where the time has gone . Our last Williamsonian was just published not too long ago , so I am pleading with all of you to please send me an email or give me a call . There is still time to donate to our class gift fund that we will present to the school in 2023 . You can reach out to me or refer to the spring of 2021 notes in the Williamsonian on the process .

The school has changed a lot since we left there almost 50 years ago , but it still turns out the best tradesmen in the country ! I know I have said it before , but without my Williamson diploma there is no way I would be where I am today and I am pretty sure we all can say the same thing . Lord willing I will be at our 50th reunion and I hope to see everyone there . I need help in planning

Rick Caputo 15 Park Way Montgomery , TX 77356 Cell : 832-517-0773 scrounge7W4 @ att . net

Gents ,

I ’ m writing this toward the end of February , by the time you read it our seniors ’ class of 7W2 will be celebrating their 50th reunion . I emailed with Dave Churchman 7W2 who is heading up the reunion for his class and I plan to tap his brain a bit afterward on what to do and what not to do , what was successful and what maybe to avoid . Right now , Mas and I are heading up the 50th for our class , but still looking for volunteers if you ’ re interested . This will be a weekend of events and is sure to be a great time . As to our 50th class gift , remember we have an account with Williamson whereby we can all send donations now and for the next 2 + years . Each donation can be for any amount . This gives us the advantage of sending in money as we have it to spare . If you normally donate money during the year anyway , apply it to the reunion gift , as it counts for both the gift and the annual giving , two birds with one stone . All you need to do is write “ 1974 Williamson 50th Reunion ” in the check memo field , or attach a brief note explaining that the check is to be put toward the 1974 50th gift .

Let me start with a note I received from John Grunewald : I was diagnosed with stage 4 COPD probably from years of smoking ( I quit about five years ago ) and 45 years in the boiler business . Anyway , I have trouble getting air out because the lung is hyperventilated . I was referred to this doctor at Temple Hospital who developed this procedure that includes inserting one-way valves in the lung to shrink it down in size . I had three of these valves installed . It ’ s now been six weeks and I am doing much better than before . I ’ m still working three days a week ( just for something to do … I will never be accused of working too hard ) and going to a fitness center on Monday and Friday . Prior to that procedure I needed an oxygen concentrator to complete my exercise routine . I no longer need that so I see the improvement . I ’ m not planning on running any marathons , but am thankful for any improvement to my quality of life .

John Row : Well , time keeps flying by way too fast for all of us ! Remember when you wanted to be 16 so you could drive , then 21 so you could drink legally in PA . It doesn ’ t really seem that long ago . I ’ ve been retired for 14 months now and it ’ s great . I continue to get calls to go back to work with Duke Energy , but I ’ m enjoying this laid-back lifestyle so unless something crazy happens , I ’ m finished working . Melissa and I are fine after a busy year . We went to a wedding in Philly , a family reunion with my sister in Millersburg , totaled our vehicle going to New York , Melissa had a bout with pancreatitis , went back to New York fishing , and visited our boys in Wisconsin . We have calmed down a bit since the Christmas holidays . I haven ’ t seen or spoken with any of our classmates . Looking forward to our 50th or even a get-together at Hag ’ s . Give everyone my regards and thanks for what you do !

Don Dzedzy : Hope all is well . All good here . Trying to get through the winter spending some time with our five grandchildren . Meg and I are celebrating our 45th anniversary this week . Hard to believe . We are heading north to Maine and New Hampshire . Should be cold , but looking forward to getting away . Can ’ t wait for golf season . All our best to everyone .

Bob Righter : Still golfing two days a week , winter weather here in Alabama has been good . Game not what it used to be , but it ’ s still nice to get out with a great bunch of guys .

Paul Brown : Scrounge , It ’ s all good in my world . Won the battle with CO- VID-19 so far , shingles too ! I am officially a “ SNOWBIRD .” Proud owner of a piece of Florida real estate . Plan for now is to stay in Florida from November until end of March , rest of the time down the shore or at our place in the Poconos . Not ashamed to admit I can ’ t take the cold damp winter weather anymore , two spinal fusions and pushing 70 has helped with the decision . I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy and I will be thinking of y ’ all while I ’ m trying to get tired of fishing . THANKS for all you do for the rest of us . I ’ m going to see if I can get you a raise .

Mas : I ’ ve been pretty much holed up here at the house the past few months due to Covid and winter weather . I had a visit from Hag back in September . We went out and visited with Grant and his wife Emmy at their cabin . They both were doing well . He ’ s got a nice little cabin where he and Emmy have pretty much been staying during the pandemic . He doesn ’ t have a lot of acreage at the cabin , but he did take us on a tour of the area and showed us a large amount of acreage that he has and is currently using for deer hunting . I still had some cancer in my lymph node area after my prostrate surgery and underwent radiation treatments and hormone therapy . I ’ m still on the hormone therapy until August , but the good news is that I am currently cancer-free . Other than that , my health has been pretty good lately except for all the old age aches and pains . With Covid finally winding down ( hopefully ) I ’ m planning on flying down to Houston and visiting with Scrounge for a few days at the end of March . Then at the end of April I ’ ll be going out to Hag ’ s cabin for the annual turkey fest . I ’ m looking forward to seeing a few of you guys there . Stay healthy , my brothers . Mas

Big Jack : What a rough time of the year , deer season is over and turkey season is months away . So , call the brothers in Florida and head to paradise . Beautiful homes on the water , boats out back and fish to be caught minutes away . The only rough part was the airport delays both ways , and packed into the plane like sardines . Good thing I quit smoking . Best thing is Kris and I are healthy , kids all good , and grandkids keeping us young . Hahahahaha . 70 this year , boys .

Brian : Hello there my classmates , I entered into a whole new phase of life . I retired in September and my wife and I bought a 25-acre spread in West Virginia . We are loving living in the mountains in the Mountain State . I shot a nice 8-point buck and two does on my own property . Can ’ t wait for turkey season in April as they just began to make an appearance in this area . Looking forward to turkey fest at Hagstrom ’ s in May . I strongly advise any of you fellows that are still working to give it up and enjoy retirement as we come down the finish line , you won ’ t regret it .

Hag : Life stays pretty steady here - all ’ s well , and plenty to do just keeping up . Kinda feel like my title now is “ upstate goober in charge of grounds keeping and building maintenance .” It ’ s all good - keeps me outside and active – a winning combination . Plans are in the making for another spring gobbler turkey-fest ( late April ) here at the ranch - the usual gang of idiots are expected , and this time Stew will be making the trip from Wes Virginia , and word is Scrounge is gonna make the long trip from Texas . I ’ m tuning up the cabin and laying in plenty of material for a classic bonfire and gonna start getting my ribs in shape to handle all the laugh ’ n that goes on , not sure there ’ s any other event these days that has me laugh ’ n so hard . All in all , it ’ s not bad being pretty much retired now , there ’ s always stuff that needs to be done , but the relaxed pace is priceless . We ’ re all in fourth quarter now , so be sure to enjoy the rest of the game , and here ’ s to all of us having a lot of game left before we get the two-minute warning !

Crum Bun : I continue to work parttime remotely which has been a blessing for me . It gives me something to do and feels like I am accomplishing something worthwhile as I have become a homebody due to my compromised immune system . I was fully vaxed last August but got COVID anyway and ended up in the Hershey Medical Center for a week in isolation . They said had I not