I got a letter from Mike Shifflett in July and he asked me to add this to my notes so here goes : Class of 7W3 , My experience at Williamson was something I never expected . After three months , I realized what a great group of guys I was with . Sure , you always have a few who don ’ t get along , but when it came to defending each other we were all friends . At our last reunion our 7W3 class had only five classmates . Our 50th reunion is coming up , and it would be great to see more familiar faces at this one . If anyone is concerned with your looks ( no hair , weight , physical disabilities , etc . ) don ’ t be concerned , we are all 70 +! Father Time gets all of us . I talked to “ Babe ” McNabb , Dave White , Frank Striffling , and Tim Kain , and we are all hoping to see more at this one . We are missing four classmates and I am sure they would have made the reunions if they knew their time was over . Geech , Art Campbell , Frenchie , Jeff Watson , Larry Roth , Clair Newswanger , Bob Wagner , etc . I can ’ t list everyone , but I am sure you get it ! Hopefully , I ’ ll see most of you at our 50th . Mike “ Shiffty ” Shifflett

Thank you Mike for reaching out and , hopefully , your letter will stir some memories with our classmates as it did for me .

The school has contacted me and we are working on getting a committee together to plan our reunion . Right now Dennis Schwandt , Frank Striffling , and myself are on the committee . We would love some more classmates to join us in the planning process , so please think about it and reach out . We are still taking donations for our class gift . If you would like to contribute , please make the check out to “ Williamson 2023 Fund .” If you have any questions about your gift , please reach out to Frank Strffling or me . The most important thing is you put the first weekend in June 2023 on your calendar and plan to attend the reunion .

I caught up with Greg Stewart and we had a nice conversation . I took some notes from our conversation and now I can ’ t find them . So Greg , I will see you at the reunion and you can refresh my memory . I received an email from Brenda Shuey with Larry ’ s new email so , thank you , Brenda and Larry ; we will be reaching out .

OK , guys , that is enough for now and I hope these notes find all of you in good health and enjoying yourself . We will be trying to contact each of you in the coming months about the reunion . So until then , I am out .

Tim Kain

Rick Caputo 154 Park Way Montgomery , TX 77356 Cell : 832-517-0773 scrounge7W4 @ att . net

Gents , I am writing this mid-October , the

Phillies are playing the Braves today ,

and the Eagles are 5-0 . I caught most of the Phillies ’ games this year on MLB network so I ’ ve invested some time in them . I ’ m hoping they go deep into the playoffs , but realize they are probably not World Series material yet . Our seniors , Class of 7W2 , had their 50th reunion this past June . To those in our class who have shared their email address with me , I sent out a 7W2 photo with names . If you didn ’ t get it , let me know . Dave Churchman was nice enough to share the planning and details of all the weekend events , and Mas and I plan to make good use of them in assuring that our reunion is the best it can be . 7W2 contributed an outstanding $ 77,681 toward the class gift with about 60 percent participation . Well done . One of Dave ’ s recommendations was to assemble a committee for the reunion made up of at least one guy from each shop . So far , it ’ s just Mas and me . Consider stepping up to represent your shop . It will involve contacting guys , and phone meetings associated with making decisions around the weekend events . Also , as I have mentioned , we have already set up an account with Williamson for our class gift and have nearly $ 6,000 in it so far . Any contribution to this account no matter how small is appreciated . 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 . Feel free to contact me with any questions .

I talked to Jack Leary today . He is in Florida helping his brother Jerry who had some flooding in his house due to Hurricane Ian . I think Jack said they got about four feet of water , so they are into removing flooring and drywall while living up on the second floor .

Brian Stewart : What ’ s up , boys ? My wife Sue and I have truly found heaven in West Virginia . We love our new home and so does my dog Zeke . I ’ m getting ready to go put out corn at my bait station for the deer . Can ’ t wait to start slinging arrows and bullets at the local herd . There are a couple of nice bucks on the property . My new vegetable garden that I planted this spring produced tremendously and Sue and I have created many a fine meal from our produce and last year ’ s venison . I even tried my hand at making homemade spaghetti sauce today and it came out fabulous . It ’ s one of the things that I have come to truly enjoy now that I ’ ve retired . I have the time to do things like cook with Sue and share in one of the many pleasures our new home has brought us . The inspiration for my sauce was Vince Mina ’ s grandfather ’ s homemade spaghetti sauce that he cooked along with a small game feast for a bunch of hungry poor boys from paint shop . He cooked the sauce with the pheasants , rabbits , and squirrels all day and it was the most incredible Italian dinner I ever had in my life , definitely old world , like having Clemenza in the kitchen . And ,

of course , every day is a good day to sit on the porch at the end of the day and share a couple glasses of red wine and watch the deer hit the bait pile . All that in combination with the Phillies advancing in the playoffs and the Eagles leading the NFL . Well , life just couldn ’ t be better . I look forward to seeing all of you at the 50th and don ’ t forget to send donations to the fund for our class gift to Williamson . We don ’ t want to look like a bunch of cheapskates .

Claire Miller : Pam and I are doing good . We built a house in Myrtle Beach two years ago and sold our Pennsylvania home last year . We ’ ve been here permanently about a year . Our three kids all live in Pennsylvania , so we get back a lot to visit . We have one grandchild , Stella . She is 10 . Definitely enjoying retirement . Pam and I both retired in 2016 . Can ’ t tell you anything about my girlfriend or Stew would be really mad . I am a Steelers fan but must admit , the Eagles are looking really good .

Gary Marlin : I guess from now on my news will be my health ... which I can gladly say is good right now . I ’ ve been on this drug called Keytruda for over two years now and they decided to take me off it because they haven ’ t found any more cancer in my last scans . Doctors don ’ t call it remission when you have metastatic cancer , but basically that ’ s what it is . So wish me luck , next scan off of the drug is 10 / 26 . Retirement is good , but I don ’ t know about the rest of you guys , I definitely get bored . Just got back from a short trip to the Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor , Maine . I know everyone is talking recession , but this placed was packed . As I write this , the Phillies are up 7-3 and the Eagles are 5-0 . Great time to live in the Philly area . Hope everyone is healthy and enjoying this beautiful fall weather .

Vince Mina : Aloha , Rick . Since this just came into my field , I ’ ll respond by saying I love you bro and wish you and your family the best ! Warmest Aloha . V

Ken Taylor : Enjoyed summer ! Cannot believe the success the Eagles are having . Dallas vs . Eagles on Sunday - go Eagles ! My 95-year-old dad got sick earlier this year and I moved him to an assisted living facility . His health is failing and it ’ s just a matter of time . He ’ s had a great life and he is a great dad . We went fishing and hunting together . He took the time to take my cousins hunting . He taught my brother and me many skills . Dad was a World War II veteran along with his two brothers . Dad was stationed at Guam in the Seabees . They built the airport runways on Guam . My Uncle Clyde , dad ’ s brother , served in the Pacific as a Marine fighting on the islands . Uncle Buck was a paratrooper with the 101 First Airborne , Easy Company . His first jump was at Normandy during D-Day 1944 . His next jump was into Operation Market Garden . He also fought at the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne where he was shot in the leg multiple times . They all survived . Dad ’ s

mom had told the boys she did not want them to join the same service branch because she did not want them to all die at once !

Bob Righter : The family football parties are back and the weather is perfect . Playing a lot of golf . Took a few trips since the last update , Arizona , Philly , Orange Beach . Have a great grandbaby , Ember Rose ! LIFE IS GOOD !

George Youtz : Don ’ t really have much to say . The economy continues to turn everything upside down . Please say hi to all the gents for me , and thanks to you . I really do enjoy your news reports . Sincerely , the Youtz .

Mas : Hi all . I visited with Scrounge at the end of March via a puddle jumper to Washington , D . C . As it was a very windy day , I had some serious concerns as to whether I was going to make it there . From DC I had a nice first-class seat and a smooth ride to Houston . I had a great time golfing , fishing , getting a little tour of the area , and just visiting with him and his wonderful wife Sheila and dog Jack . It took Scrounge a couple tries , but I have to say he finally found the perfect life partner . We played an awesome golf course called Tour 18 which was a replica of 18 of the most famous holes in golf . After a long winter layoff my golfing wasn ’ t there , but I had a fun time with Rick and one of his buddies . Of course , we had to visit the obligatory 19th hole afterwards . We hooked up with a really good guide on the lake he lives by and got into some really serious fishing , catching crappie , striped bass , hybrid bass , and catfish . It was only supposed to be a four-hour trip but we extended it into eight hours because we were having such an awesome time . We took a nice batch of fish back to his house and finished off the day with a tasty fish dinner prepared by Sheila . Then Scrounge flew into my place a month later and we hooked up with Brian and his faithful dog Zeke . From my place we went out to Hag ’ s and met up with the rest of the turkey fest crew . Big Jack , Grant Walk , Jimmy Lorenson , and chef extraordinaire Bob Mazaika . As always , a great time with lots of laughs and good food . Sadly , I ’ d be remiss not to mention that Jack and Brian once again struck out on the turkeys . After that , my summer was pretty uneventful and my time was spent golfing , mowing , and working on my garden . I had nice crops of tomatoes , peppers , and cantaloupe this year which was all I planted . My garden seems to get a little smaller each year . Recently , I just got back from a mini vacation in Maryland with a brother , two sisters , and their spouses . We rented a nice place with the main lodge and four separate cabins so everyone had their own cabin . I spent my time there fishing , sightseeing in the area , and hanging out at the lodge with the family . I plan on visiting again with Scrounge in early November . We ’ re going to the Eagles-Texans game while I ’ m down there

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