ous commitment and deserves a more permanent address . He still works in the hardware business although he now works for Ace Hardware . Ace has a reputation for employing people who can answer customers ’ technical questions rather than only “ which aisle and shelf .” The population of Chatham swells from 6,500 to 35,000 during the summer and some good advice is definitely needed . Giving tech advice fits Ed like a glove .

Wayne Swinehart and his wife Nancy plan to return to Amsterdam for a continuation of a previous vacation . John Eastman 6W4 and his wife Karen are joining them . As in past years , Wayne also plans to go to Florida again in the spring .

As for me , Susie and I , along with our son Justin , enjoyed a couple of weeks in Bar Harbor , Maine . We did our part in keeping the oyster business afloat ! We also spent time crabbing in Maryland .

Skip 6W1

Norman Lepping 1741 Old Forty Foot Rd . Harleysville , PA 19438 215-362-8255 redbrickping @ verizon . net

Hello Boys :

Well , the rain is still coming down from the hurricane . We had no dangerous flooding in Harleysville , Pa . According to the weather people , it will be over tomorrow afternoon . I tried to call Reds and Bob Miller in Florida , got their answering machines , but no call backs , and hoping they are not in any danger areas . At least Reds can lift the bridge up a few feet to rise about the water .

Vince and Betty Barth are well at Sea Isle City , New Jersey shore . Normally , they spend the month of October in Florida and take a cruise while there . This year may be put on hold with the hurricane damage . Always good to see the Barths .

John and Kay Eastman made it to the 6W4 picnic . John ’ s heart problems appear to be in remission . He is having vascular testing and PT . No trips planned at this time .

Earl Morrissey is doing OK , even with a bad knee . The Duke normally cooks dinner on the grill and drives himself and dinner to his girlfriend ’ s home to eat .

George Litzke : George and Cheryl are going to Bermuda to celebrate their birthdays , both in October . Their grandson plays soccer for Great Valley which keeps them busy following the team around . George was up for the class picnic and enjoyed seeing the classmates .

George Pitonyak must have had his

jaw greased recently when I called , as he ran my battery down considerably . We had a good time laughing about the good times at WTS and when we were stationed in companies at Fort Jackson , S . C ., next to each other . He swelled my ears shut there , also .

Darrel and Barbara Sill keep me up to date on the political world . Darrel will be getting his snow blower located on the front porch for its winter on call duties .

Bill Swinehart and family came through the hurricane without having any damage to their home , having lost the roof to previous storms . They only lost refrigerator food due to a power loss for two days . Reds is located two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida .

Bob Miller called me back from Florida reporting no damage to his home , only tree limbs , leaves , and yard cleanup to do . Bob and family are doing well .

Therman Madeira had bypass heart surgery about a month ago , and has to get fluid around his lungs pumped out . He is recovering well , but still has a long way to go . Therman is thinking of retiring from the Reading and Northern Railroad .

Ralph Wickersham : I interrupted Ralph while watching the View . Interesting !!! There was not too much flooding in Ocean City , except at high tide . Ralph said that Caroline is planning to retire next spring . Good luck , Ralph !!!

Bryan Wert had a massive stroke last spring and has been in medical facilities ever since . He is now at Abington Hospital in Abington , Pa . His speech is coming back , but remembering people and life events are much slower to return .

Last spring I took my yearbook to the hospital to try and jog his memory with no real results . He was transferred to Abington Hospital where he had a second stroke . In talking to Rosemarie , he was starting to remember things but has lost much of what he was beginning to remember . To check on how he is doing , call Rosemarie at 215-257-4257 . If I hear some positive news , I will send it out to the mates . Certainly Rosemarie has a lot on her plate to handle at this time .

Carol and I made a decision to stay in our home as long as possible , and put a stair-lift in to get Carol to the second floor in comfort . I admitted that the ash can from the coal furnace was getting too heavy in the winter months to carry up from the basement , so we just finished having a natural gas furnace installed . I had to clear a path from the cellar steps to the heater room and the heater people struggled to get the coal furnace out of the house . Without the coal bunker , more room for trains !! We are both in reasonably good health , and enjoy what we have created here . That about does it for the fall news .

Norman Lepping , B-21

Richard Dunlap 103 Old Field Dr . Bloomsburg , PA 17815 570-752-3228 Cell : 215-872-1111 rdunlap6W5 @ verizon . net

Greetings Classmates :

Hope you and your families are all healthy and Covid-free as we head into the fourth quarter of 2022 . I know I say this all the time , but it seems like the older we get the faster time goes .

I do hope you are all plugged in on some sort of social media platform so you can see all the good things that are happening at Williamson . I know I ’ ve told you this before but , over the history of our school , there have been two or three times the school was struggling financially to the point it almost went out of existence . Now , at this time , through the hard and diligent work of the trustees , administration , faculty , and all those who work at Williamson , I believe Williamson is financially stronger than it ’ s been in a long , long time . With that said they still look to and need the support of us , the alumni . I believe you will all agree our lives might have turned out a whole lot differently had it not been for our three years at Williamson , and it is important that we do whatever we can to make sure this opportunity is there for young men who are just like us . Let ’ s give them a chance !

On Oct . 11 , the Class of ’ 54 and Friends had a wonderful outing at the Shady Maple in East Earl , Pa . Organized and hosted by Ron Richardson ’ 54 , they have been gathering for years . As they lost 5W4 classmates they didn ’ t want this special get-together to be discontinued , so they started reaching out to other classes . This year , with a great suggestion from Laura Brown , director of alumni relations , a letter went out to all class reps asking them to invite their classmates , especially those who live within a reasonable drive of the Shady Maple , to join the party . As it turned out , we had the largest group ever , 73 Williamson alumni , administration , family , and friends . There was a very respectable representation from classes from the 40s , 50s , 60s , 70s , and 80s . Younger grads are probably still working and not retired . From our class , we had Dan and Kathy Allen ( 3-hour drive ), Joel Smiley , Mike Noll , Bob Raybold , Jack Wolff , Gabe Waak , Vic Starr , and Dick and Marsha Dunlap .

Along with an afternoon of good food and fellowship we were treated to an impromptu performance from Christian comedian Gordon Douglas 7W6 . It was so refreshing to see a comedian who can get laughs by telling clean jokes . Actually , most of Gordon ’ s material comes from the crazy life he and his wife Dawn have lived , taking in 25 or more kids who needed a Godly home and direction . Gordon can have you laughing one minute and crying the next as he shares how God has used

Edward Nikles 6W2 , cofounder of Ed Nikles Custom Builder , Inc ., was inducted into Delaware Valley High School ' s Academic / Professional Hall of Fame recently . Nikles is a 1959 graduate of Delaware Valley High School and a 1962 Williamson carpentry graduate . His business grew to become one of the premier homebuilders in Northeast Pennsylvania . He has served on the boards of numerous builder ' s associations at the local , state , and national levels .

him and his wife to share the gospel and make a difference in the lives of these “ at risk ” kids , who would have certainly fallen between the cracks had it not been for the Douglases .

As President Rounds said , Gordon was a tough act to follow , but he took his best shot and gave us a detailed update on all the good things happening at school . He said the school year was off to a good start and spoke of admissions and enrollment . He said retention of the freshman class is high . He talked of a number of construction projects , some underway , some completed . He also had mounted renderings of these projects . If you do not choose to have , or use a computer at this time in your life , I would encourage you to have your kids or grandkids go to any social media platform , either the school ’ s website , YouTube , or Facebook , and see pictures of all the projects President Rounds was talking about . It is all very exciting and encouraging .

6W5 classmates ! We would all love to hear from you and know how you and your family are doing . If you have some time would you please send me a paragraph or two and give us an update that I can use in our class article . We are all in our late 70s and have been blessed with a good life . Whether you worked in your trade or not we were all given a gift we can never repay . We were brothers in school in 1965 and we remain a brotherhood in 2022 . Please drop me a note !

With that said , I only have an update on one classmate . In a recent phone

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