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Reunion Newsletter

Northwest High Classes of 1970/71 - 50+ Year Reunion

Inside this issue

Welcome Class of ‘71 ..... 1 Reunion Update ............... 2 Get Your Tickets! ............. 3 Remembering Gladden . 4 Committee Updates ........ 5-6 Announcements ............... 7 MIA - Where are they? .. 8 In Memoriam .................... 9

WELCOME TO THE REUNION - CLASS OF ‘71 By Marvin Goodwin

The best laid plans can go awry is a popular saying which has often proved true. No group knows that better than the Class of 1970 from Northwest High School, which had been going full steam ahead in planning for its 50th class re-union until the Covid-19 virus ravaged the country. But even when the most careful event preparations have been altered by unpredictable forces, a silver lining can be found. With the Class of 1970 reunion pushed back another year, the Class of 1971 will join the Class of 1970 for reunion festivities, NOW sched-uled for Oct. 1-3 of 2021 in St. Louis. The gathering of the two graduating classes, while not unique, should produce a memorable experience, given the circumstances which resulted in the event. “The more, the merrier,” intimated some Class of 1970 members, who delighted in the chance to reconnect with Class of 1971 members. Indeed, many students were in the same classes, same activity clubs and same sports teams as they generated those memories of Northwest High School life. And as in the Class of 1970, some Class of 1971 graduates have spread across the country and made noteworthy achievements. Ken Shanika is an artist with an eye for painting natural scenes, Joseph Bowie has made his living as a musi-cian in Europe, Darryl James has been a mainstay in St. Louis music and enter-tainment industry as a promoter and event coordinator, and Cozy Bailey is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. David Atwater, Melinda Blase Nickelson and Undrey Clay are among other Class of 1971 members, along with Teri Bas-com, one of the coordinators for the Class of 1971 reunion. For the past several years, Northwest High School’s Class of 1970 had been planning its 50th class reunion, which was scheduled to be held in June of 2020. Some tickets had been sold and a hotel site had been finalized as early as late 2019. But as the virus continued to surge in early 2020, it was decided to post-pone the event until further notice. Class of 1970 members reached out to Class of 1971 members in a spirit of goodwill and, after getting feedback from both classes, the combined reunion was approved. Now, with the Covid-19 virus still ravaging some areas of the country, the plan is for the combined reunion to still be held and we hope to see a large contingent from classes at the event.

WILL YOU BE THERE?

February 28th, 2021 Getting Back on Track Edition

Welcome to the Northwest High School

Classes of 1970/71 Newsletter.

We hope to share some experiences as well as share

some memories of high school as we approach our 50th year class reunion, (now in 2021).

~Marvin Goodwin

As your Planning Committee Chair, I also want to take a minute to welcome you to what we feel will be a fun filled weekend. Please be sure to sign up for goodies and

extras on our very own website below. Also, if you want to help out on one ore more of

our committees, contact me at t.simpson3@gmail.com. Hope to see you there!

~Ted Simpson

www.nw7071.org.

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Reunion Update

It has been determined that we will plan forto be our combined 70/71 reunion on October 1st through

October 3rd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport. It is a beautiful property with spacious rooms

for those coming in from out of town. The Event Committee is planning an awesome gala event for Sat-

urday night, Oct. 2nd with a fun Meet and Greet on Friday night for us to get reacquainted. It is shaping

up to be an awesome weekend that we will cherish for the reminder so please don't miss this oppor-

tunity.

Hotel and sleeping rooms:

Hotel is one mile from Lambert airport and offers 24-hour complementary airport transportation. Major

intersection near hotel is I-70 and Lindberg Blvd. It is also near The Crossings at Northwest (the rede-

veloped Northwest Plaza). Complimentary parking and internet. Property is newly renovated, with 2

story waterfall and indoor pool in atrium. For photos, visit: http://cphotelstlouis.com/ Coffee maker

and small refrigerator in the room. No room safe. Sleeping room cost is $94 and includes 2 individual

breakfasts.

Event space and event details:

FRIDAY NIGHT MEET and GREET: Gateway Ballroom Sections I and II...3,450 square feet will be utilized.

Current St. Louis County Covid restrictions, require capacity to be cut in half. By October, it is expected

that will be lifted or modified to allow 75% occupancy. If the event were held today, we would be lim-

ited to about 100 guests** at any one time so their would need to be a float through the room. For

both Friday and Saturday, guests may buy their own drinks at the nearby bar to eliminate the bartender

fee. Currently, Gateway Ballroom Sections I – IV is available if the group requires more space.

SATURDAY BANQUET: Gateway Ballroom Sections I - IV...6,900 square feet will be used. During cur-

rent restrictions 215 guests is the max.. Will will be using the Class of 1971’s own Darryl James as our DJ

and there may even be some live entertainment.

HOSPITALITY SUITE and SUNDAY FAREWELL: Hotels are not allowing sleeping rooms to be used as hos-

pitality suites right now. The room we would use (Cardinal Room/1,100 sq feet) is on the same level as

banquet space and during Covid restrictions will accommodate about 45 people at any one time. We

will have the room from check-in on Friday until check-out on Sunday. We will bring in “dry” and pack-

aged food and bottles of non-alcoholic drinks into the hospitality suite.

Regular rooms are spacious and will cost you $94. That includes two individual breakfast

meals. (See the rooms on their website.) The hotel does have 2 “Jr. Suites” which are simply

larger room with a sofa across from the bed. And, each of the 12 corner rooms in the property

are slightly larger. .

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GET YOUR TICKETS! Hello Classmates!

Please read this section in its entirety as it contains VERY important infor-mation about our reunion. It has been determined that we will plan on our combined 70/71 reunion on October 1st through October 3rd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport. It is a beautiful property with spacious rooms for those coming in from out of town. The Event Committee is planning an awesome gala event for Saturday night, Oct. 2nd with a fun Meet and Greet on Friday night for us to get reacquainted. It is shaping up to be an awesome weekend that we will cherish for the reminder so please don't miss this opportunity.

Now this is the important part… The hotel industry has changed mightily since we first started this endeavor a few years ago. Due to COVID-19, we will be incurring what I think are significant risks. This is what we are dealing with... • Hotels are now requiring a hefty deposit (25% in our case) in order to save a date. • Once a contract is signed, the deposit will not be refunded. • As we approach the reunion date, if we cancel then our liability increases proportionately (increase in the per-

centage of the overall contract amount due). Now while we are already prepared to cover the 25% deposit of the 5 digit contract amount, I am not prepared to make the deposit until I see a COMMITMENT FROM YOU that shows you intend to come to our reunion. This means PURCHASING YOUR TICKETS in March! We are going to be monitoring sales very closely during this time frame and ...

unless you are willing to commit, I will not be signing any contract and will cancel the event for this year! Again, THIS IS MY LAST YEAR of working on this as I've already committed more time and money to this endeavor than I ever thought I would. If it doesn't happen, I will be happy to hand over the reins to anyone else who wants to absorb the stresses that go with it.

So what's it going to be class? If you REALLY want to do this, it is YOUR time to PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

Discounted Ticket Prices (thru March):

Classmate Ticket (entrance to all events)- $70 Guest Ticket (entrance to Sat. main event)- $45 Regular Ticket Prices (April 1st - Sept 30th): Classmate Ticket (entrance to all events)- $90 Guest Ticket (entrance to Sat. main event)- $65 EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Due to COVID, seating capacity is limited to 215 people at our venue. It may be increased as time goes on, BUT WHO KNOWS? Because of that, we MUST restrict the number of tickets we sell so as not to surpass 215. We have currently sold 40 of the 215 seats which means 175 seats will be sold on a first come, first served basis! So you can procrastinate if you want to, but the risk is you may not be able to attend, or you may have to pay extra should the capacity limitation be increased in the future. Finally, the functionality behind website link to purchase tickets is currently being upgraded but will hopefully be available in the next few days. If you don't wish to wait you can al-ways just send a check payable to the following... NW7071 Reunion Group, 400 Dallas Dr., Campbell CA 95008

I HOPE YOU GOOD FOLKS WILL TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND MAKE THE SAME COMMITMENT 40 OTHER PEOPLE MADE. PUT THOSE REFUND AND STIMULUS CHECKS TO GOOD USE AND GET READY FOR WHAT I'M HOPING WILL BE THE BEST TIMES OF OUR LIVES.

ALL IT TAKES IS YOU!

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Remembering Mr. Gladden by Marvin Goodwin

Jim Gladden was named to the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. But did you also know that Gladden taught biology at Northwest High School during the late 1960s? Gladden, a big, strap-ping man, was also one of the assistant football coaches while at Northwest and, along with head coach Don LaPlante, drove the players hard and with purpose.

In biology class, he supervised students dissecting frogs and grasshoppers, and taught his students well with sound principles. But when they became particularly chatty during class, he let them know. In one instance, he slammed his textbook shut and shouted to the class, “Shut your damn mouths!” The result was silence, for Gladden’s size and demeanor were not to be challenged. Gladden coached high school football in Florida before joining the Florida State coaching staff in 1975 as a graduate assistant. The following year, he was named to the coaching staff the next year when legendary Bobby Bowden became head coach. Gladden coached linebackers and defensive ends during his ten-ure with the Seminoles, who won national championships in 1993 and 1999 and played for national titles three more times. While the fact that Florida State earned a bowl berth in each of the last 23 years of Gladden’s career is stunning. Even more impressive is Florida State’s record 14 straight Top 5 finishes from 1987-2000. Glad-den coached and recruited some of the greatest names in Seminole history, including NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks. Gladden retired from coaching in 2001.

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Research Committee

Chair: Ted Simpson (temp)

Members:

Renee Gates ‘71

Midge Flinn ‘71

Gail Preston-Rivers

Kathryn Woodley For the last 2 years the Research Com-mittee has been trying to locate the whereabouts of over 340 classmates. Sadly we are aware of 37 of our class-mates who have passed on. Using many different avenues and programs we have at least some information on about ⅔ of our classmates. Some rec-ords are incomplete without an email and/or mailing address. If you have contact with anyone from the class of 1970 or 1971, please share the reunion information with them. They may con-tact me, t.simpson@gmail.com, and I will be glad to add their information to our files. You may also direct them to the reunion website at

www.nw707071.org.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Recent contacts…

Kathryn Miller, Flora Kilgore, Randy Knox, Darryl Keeton, Louis Anderson, David Smith, Chondus Smoot, Tommy Newton, and Lafayette Lacy

Note: There were 142 members of the class of 1971 that have been contacted as well, too many to list them all here.

Planning Committee Updates (With revised committee members)

Lodging & Venue Committee

Chair: Pat Otte-Sherman

Members:

Rita Boyd ‘71

Teri Bascom ‘71

Lynne Madison-Jackson

The Lodging and Venue Committee

did a checkout trip last week and

viewed several properties and talked

with their Sales Manager in an effort

to secure us the best prices for the

best venue. We have settled on the

Crowne Plaza Hotel which offered us

great prices for lodging and banquet

facilities at a location and property

that is just gorgeous. Please check

out page 2 of this newsletter to learn

about what we’ve shosen for you.

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Planning Committee Updates (cont.)

Event Committee

Chair: Joan (Fisher) Frierson Committee Members: Shirley Sweetenburg-Sexton (Budget Mgr) Karen (Rogers) Johns ‘71 Verase (Owens) Parks ‘71 Peggy Baskin ‘71 Pat Otte Sherman Lynn Madison Jackson John Dennis Tate Karen Wade Robinson Sharon Fahey Gartner Evelyn Rice Dianne Holloway (Committee to reactivate soon)

Finance Committee

Chair: Brenda Mamon

Members:

Steven Roberts (Legal Counsel)

Shirley Brown-Orr ‘71

Gloria Young-Thomas ‘71

Kert Rosenkoetter

John McDermott

Ad Book Team:

Mark Sevier (Mgr)

Debra Fields-Gardner ‘71

Georgia Kelson-Taylor ‘71

Clay Hart

Mario Menears

Delores Stith-Rutlin

Beverly Scott-Cade

James Morgan

Lafayette Lacy

Tommy Newton

Chondus Smoot

We are ramping up once again in order to make the weekend a memorable and fun event! The Ad Book team (subcommittee of the Finance team) needs alumni participation to keep the ticket prices down and to defray the cost of the event. It is our goal to raise a minimum of $1600 from Ads in our Reunion Souvenir Book. To achieve our goal, we need for each of you to consider buying and/or selling an ad. Mark Sevier, our Ad Book manager, is asking for us to be creative and to think out of the box by reaching out to your fraternity, sorority, clubs and church groups in addition to the people you do business with. Next are some examples…

Finance Committee (cont.)

Think Out of The Box and Be Creative by

• Showcasing one, two, or three generations of your

family tree

• Buy an ad to salute a family member

• Celebrate a milestone cancer free, sobriety, retirement,

anniversary!

• Use photos to make a collage of your life since 1970!

• Share your artistic side with your Artwork or Poetry.

• Review your new book or short story.

• Advertise your You Tube channel, podcast or that of a

family member.

Know that members of the Finance Committee have already committed to doing a personal ad. You can now go to the website at to access and/or download Contract Information and Ad Layout Forms. https://www.nw70reunion.org/ad-book/

We are also sending this information to you in attachments to this email. Additionally, please take a moment to update your information on our website to ensure it is accurate in case we need to contact you. Also indicate if you can ac-cept text messages. Your information will be se-cure and not sold or distributed to others. An account is established for vendors who can’t make electronic payments and must pay by pa-per check. Please have your customers make out any checks to ‘The Dreamers Guild’ who is help-ing to manage the funding for our efforts. Ads should be camera ready pictures of the actu-al ad in one of the formats provided. No drafts! Ads may be in black white or color. PDF files are acceptable. Please, NO POLITICAL ADS! These books are intended to be keepsakes for family and loved ones, commemorating a most exciting, fun and growth period in our lives. Please consider sharing your cherished memories with us through our Ad Book Cam-paign so that we may enjoy them at the reunion and beyond. Thanks!

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Reunion Tickets

Reunion Tickets are now available

at the presale price of $70 each un-

til October 1st, at which time they

will revert to the normal $80.

Make sure to take advantage of the

discounted price while you can!

Reunion Memorabilia

Reunion memorabilia is now available

for purchase at our website—

https://www.nw70reunion.org/shop/

Please come check out our store and

make a purchase or two as…

PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS RE-

UNION EXPENSES!

Select the Songs You Want to Hear

BIG FUN! We have now developed a website applica-

tion to allow you to vote for your favorite

songs from our high school days to play at

the reunion, songs such as the Miracles

‘Tracks of My Tears’, The Doors ‘Light My

Fire’, Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Goin On’ or

The Beatles ‘Hey Jude’. You will be able to

vote as often as you wish up to a date to be

determined but there is a catch…

• You must be registered on our reunion

website to participate

• You can vote for up to 100 songs for a

particular year and genre for just $5.

Or, if you prefer, you can vote for up to a

100 songs for each year, for either R&B

or Pop/Rock for just $15 or a measly $25

to vote for any song in any year, in any

genre. Vote as much as you choose to

ensure your favorite songs are played.

Songs are made available based on their

popularity on the Billboard and R&B charts

from 1967-1970. Based upon your votes,

the top 25 from each genre for each year

will make the playlist for the reunion. You

will be able to monitor the results and vote

some more should you see any of your fa-

vorite songs start to fall out of the top 25

from your chosen categories.

To cast your votes, just click on the Song

Voting link on the website menu and select

Vote from the dropdown link.

Once again…

PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS REUNION

EXPENSES!

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MIA - Class of ‘70—Where Are They?

If you have any information like and email address, home address or phone number, regarding any of the people below, please help us to contact them by sending that information to Ted Simpson at t.simpson3@gmail.com. Those colored RED, we have NO contact information for. We have found SOME info for those in BLACK but feel free to share what you have. Those in BLUE we have contacted since the first newsletter. We appreciate your help!

George Edward Alewel

Louis Parker Anderson, Jr.

James Patrick Andrews

Deborah Lynne Benson

Janet Felkel Berman

John F. Boler

Michael Joseph Boyle

Robert William Brown

Kenneth Brown

Janet Lorraine Brown

Darlene Brown

Walter Walther Brown, Jr.

Jo Denise Bryan

Mary Jane Buetterhorn

Virginia Burns

Patricia Calkin

Deborah Carr

Richard Anthony Catlett

Donnell Coats

Veronica Compton

James Craig

Randy Crenshaw

Florence Czaicki

Gabrielle Lourdes Davis

William M. Dentshier

Judith Ann Dowdy

Maryanne Dragschulz

Yvonne Edwards

William Edward Esters

Diane Lannette Fields

Ruth E. Fiori

Jack A. Frazier

William B. Funke

Chris Harper

Mona Lucretia Harris

Susan Marie Harting

Charles Haywkins

Roger Kevin Hayes

Brenda Diana Hill

Carleton David Hinton

Darryl Steven Howard

Victor Houston

Craig Edward Hunter

Charles Jackson, Jr.

James Janiesh

Joyce Ann Johnston

James Frederick Jones

Richard James Kessler

Flora Lee Kilgore

Marilyn Killian

Donna Klutinis

Lafayette Eugene Lacy

Wayne Lamm

Richard Raymond Larkins

Keith Leroy Laura

Derrick Russell Lewis

Michael Jerry Lewis

Michael Lott

Russell Glen Luke

Naomi Mabins

Doreen K. Martin

Francine Martin

Stephen Anthony Martin

Diane Marie Mazzola

Glenda Kay McMillian

Susan Mooney

Cheryl Dianne Moore

Mike Dennis Moore

Linda Lee Myers

Geraldine Geraldine Nelson

Thomas Nicolai

Melvin Palmeri

Deborah Jean Patterson

Elaine Veronica Perry

Virginia Frances Podorski

Betty Pogue

Terry Powell

James Pribble

Flora Reid

Christine Reinicke

Cynthia Louise Reidmeyer

Steve Revere

Evelyn Ozella Rice

David Norman Richter

David Wayne Robbins

Stanley Wern Rodgers

JoAnn Rooney

Debra Rubbelke

Neal Ray Schmidt

James Scholtis

Larry D. Schroeder

Thomas Scotino

Gregory Stephen Scott

Paul Langston Young

Mark David Semar

Joanne Sheputis

James Shringer

Michael Edward Siebets

John Edward Siebuhr

David Timothy Smith

Douglas Cameron Smith

Marion Smith

Linda St. James

Janet Staniszewski

Judy Staniszewski

Deborah A. Stelmar

Sandra Jeanne Theriault

Vernon Bernard Thomas

Ronald Charles Townsend

William Howard Tucker

Leora Turner

Sharon Edith Wade

Claude Walton

Rocky Errol Washington

Donald Waters

William C. Webster

James Lee Williams

Maurice Wilson

Michael Mitchell Wilson

Dianna Winfield

Christine Marie Yackey

Paul Young

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In Memoriam - Rest in Peace

Douglas Alexander, Jr.

Edward Gerard Angelbeck

Leonard T. Bober

Robert Livingston Boyd, Jr.

Ronald Clark

Emma Loveetta Coleman

Valeria Marie Corpus

Vernetta Cox

James Craig

Elmer Germany

Steven Lynn Hearns

Suzanne Marie Hoffman

Deborah Jean Johanpeter

Daniel Kelly

Albert Lee Keys

George Lee

Joanne Virginia Liscombe

Robert Jack McGary

Daniel Murphy

Holly Lee Niemeyer

Glen William Petro

Carol Sue Pyatt

Michael Robinson

Rodney A. Savage

William John Schmidt

Michael Joseph Soos

Thomas John Stavron

Edwin Lamarr Temple

Cassandra Jean Williams

Janet Ellen Young

Additional Classmates recently determined to be deceased: Daniel Kelly, Terry Powell