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’ 78 Class Holds Annual Get-Together At Historic Old Home Farm
The 7W8 class had a great time at their annual picnic at the Historic Old Home Farm near Pottstown , Pa . Pictured are ( from left to right ): Steve Wagner , Kurt Elliott , Bob Olock , Phil Gricco , Ed Zimmerman , Jim Hershey , Tom Bressler , Mike McGann , Gregg Trexler , Garry Saroukas , and Bob Caldwell . They had such a great time they are already looking forward to next year ' s picnic .
classmates at his house prior to Alumni Weekend this past June . There were approximately seven classmates along with wives in attendance . We all gathered in Tom ’ s outdoor courtyard and enjoyed great food and drinks . Tom and his wife were great hosts and they have the best outdoor courtyard for a party .
Brian Cosgrove reported that he thinks his family is complete with four grandchildren . Brian and Tammy just celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary in October .
There have been a lot of emails bouncing back so I have begun making phone calls to classmates attempting to obtain updated email addresses . If you did not receive an email from me this fall , please contact me and provide me with your email address .
Thanks , Bob Duncan
Tom Konopka 188 Mill St . Port Republic , NJ 08241 Cell : 609-442-5088 tomkonopka01 @ comcast . net
Hello 8W1 !
I said HELLO 8W1 ! Stand up , speak up , and drop me a line ! Yep , 40 years in a blink of an eye and here we are ! Some kid is in the bathroom at Jenks on his iPhone reading The Williamsonian and laughing at our given nicknames and wondering what is Geezer Period ! I heard Geezer Period is a thing of the past . I ’ m not sure if any of your grandkids were renamed .
Since this is my first shot at the class notes I ’ m gonna be brief . I won ’ t write about myself just yet , but would like to hear from some of you guys . About a third of us use the ancient Facebook . If you ’ re on there and want to check out some old friends Flynnie , Chip , Flounder , Kenny Poletti , Bill Minahan , are just a few . Did I mention Leo Mc
Glynn ? You can also contact me to connect with our classmates .
The Willie Reunion in Wildwood , N . J ., was a lot of fun . I looked and looked , hoping to find anyone who may have been in our five-year circle of Williamson . Checked off on the list were Dom Dipaiola and Tom Armstrong , not 8W1ers , but close . Their whereabouts were a mystery as well ! I made some new friends and ended up hiring one of Sal Valari ’ s 9W8 ( I think ) daughters for our store Beachlove on the Washington St . Mall in Cape May , N . J . Check us out if you ’ re in the Cape .
So here ’ s how to reach me : Tom Konopka , 188 Mill St ., Port Republic , NJ 08241 , Cell : 609-442-5088 , tomkonopka01 @ comcast . net
Facebook : I have two profiles . One profile has me in a Santa suit . Yep ! The other Thomas Konopka has a vertical arrangement of flower pots . For now , go find me !
Stork
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Steven Spiese 20 Alanrose Court Newark , DE 19702 Cell : 302-229-5363 spiese @ aol . com
Greetings Gentlemen ,
I hope that you are able to look back at the summer of 2022 with fondness and a smile . Time marches on my brothers , and waits for no man ! I am happy to report we had a successful 40-year reunion last June at the Springfield Country Club . Special thanks to Laura Brown , director of alumni relations , for all her hard work in making the evening a true success ! It was certainly a great time ! The Machine Shop boys led the way with five attendees , followed by Brick Shop with four , Deck Shop and Plant with three each and Carp Shop with two . Great turnout , comparatively speaking !
I ’ m pretty sure as you read this , you are wondering who I missed out on seeing . In no particular order here they are : Jeff Speaker , Tim Bressler , Tom White , Chris Schell , Bill Bainbridge , Don Juan Dyson , Dom Carr , Glenn Gale , Jeff Kinney , Jim Feaster , Frank Mackell , Ken Connor , Brad Quimby , Bob Deley , Brian Maguire , President Mike Clement , and yours truly . The evening flew by in what seemed to be an instant ! It was surely a pleasure to be able to connect once again and share some stories of days of old when Q was bold !
I will again solicit from each of you some interesting facts about how you are and where you are in life . It ’ s getting to be retirement time !! My suggestion is when you are able , retire ! Do not delay ! I ’ m sure you will find something to keep you occupied ! Please take a few moments and send me some details ! Until then my Williamson brothers , be well and take care of business ! I ’ ll be in touch ! Love you Misha , miss you Mom !
Steve Spiese , B-80
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Randy Johnson 38250 Yacht Basin Road Ocean View , DE 19970 706-955-9441 Cell : 302-228-8216 randybigtuna @ gmail . com
Well , Well , Well ... look who it is ? Our 30th class reunion was a success with a great turnout . The food was prepared by executive chefs at Springfield Country Club . Beverages were served by the Ritz Carlton international wait staff . Buy one , get one drink specials . We had a lot of laughs and memories of our youth .
What the heck is this AARP invitation card thing about ? Look ! They are throwing in a blue backpack . If they throw it in a stadium chair with arm rests , then
I will take two . Those 55 + active adult communities are growing rapidly . The HOA ’ s are brutal with small pools .
Literally at the start of COVID , I bumped into Bob Young at Peach Bottom . How long ago was that ? I haven ’ t seen him in 20 years . He said he would buy beers , but hasn ’ t made it happen yet . Hope you are doing well with your health . I believe that was about the time of Slippy ’ s passing . RIP , Slip .
Great to see a lot of other Willy grads working in the power plant industry over the years from the Mid-Atlantic to Georgia , Florida , Colorado , Michigan , New York , and Mexico .
PVH continues to do his nuke painting job in Jersey . Great to hear that P . Abate 9W2 ( Dec Shop ) has retired from the nuke painting industry . Congrats !!
Bob H . is also living in the Keys claiming to have fished with Jimmy Johnson .
Scolis … it ’ s always great to catch up and celebrate .
Breslin is rallying the troops for hunting season , again . They continue to prosper in the construction industry .
O ’ Neil ’ s looking forward to retirement from the union . The guy is walking five miles a day and eating healthy .
Gilpin is still with Boeing and building muscle cars as a hobby . This guy is walking three miles a day and not eating so healthy .
Anderson was supposed to make the reunion , but had car trouble on the way to the dentist . Sounds like he ’ s walking as well . He said the police are writing tickets outside of town . Phil , be careful out there on patrol it ’ s certainly not 1991 these days . He ’ s definitely not walking for coffee and donuts .
Espo “ Tile and Real Estate ” is busy this time of the year with golf . It ’ s rumored he ’ s got Masters tickets .
Dolan is running pipe fitting crews at multiple locations . He said his old neighborhood is a zombie tent city . He ’ s not running for the Democrat mayor ’ s position .
Boyce is busy with major carpentry projects . He left with two class mugs .
I want to send a special shout out to Mr . Tim Burbage for attending the event . Nothing like KP duty . He reminded me of the time we spent at Tech finding our way , as geezer dish washers .
Reliving our time spent with the Zepps , Mr . Stevick , Harvey , Bellerjeau , Plumb , Johnson , Sister Ann , Swanson , and many more Willy families . Great times and great memories !
Thanks to the people that continue to contribute money . Send in a small donation when you can . Delaware has less expensive everything .
My oldest son just went off to college to play football and I have 16-yearold fraternal twins still at home . And , of course , a wonderful wife of 20 years that keeps it all together . I hope all is well with everyone . Best of luck to you and yours . Keep the faith .
Best Regards , Randel 9W1 PS : I apologize if I left someone out . I wrote this last night . Some things don ’ t change , my memory and procrastination .