The Event ~ The Season of Friends

Friends are a treasure. Friends weave in and out of life, they come and go with seasons and reasons. I don’t make friends easily, probably because of my reserved, quiet nature ~ I’m not an outgoing person.

Today I want to remember friends who have walked through my life.

Jeani Martin, me, Marilyn Roos, Valerie Buckingham, Connie
Covert, (back row) Charlotte Ross, Connie Undem

I don’t remember much about childhood friends or class mates.  Many of my elementary classmates went through 12 years of school together.  All seven of us in this first picture started and graduated together.  This picture was in our yard at one of my birthday parties.  H-m-m,  maybe I was seven or eight that year!  That's me, second from left!

One dear friend I met at church camp in 4th grade remains a dear friend today. We continued to go to church camp togther for several years.  Her name is Heidi Gasser – today she’s Heidi Thomas, author and journalist. I am the proud owner of her first published and autographed book. We were in each other’s wedding. She is a Godparent to Janel. She lived two hundred miles away, but we managed to spend time in the summers at each other's home. Our constant snail mail letters to each other in the late 50’s and 60’s always included the silly musings of me buying gas from her (Gasser) and she buying corn from me (Corneliusen). Ha-ha!

Off to college in 1968 and the beginning of the most special life friendships. I cannot imagine whatever brought the seven of us girls together in college ~ we were all so different – way different ~ but we became inseparable for our two years of college. My roommate Carol Sethre (Pomeroy); Penny Anderson (Becker); Carla Stroman (Miner); Diane Parmley (Olsen); Betty Heezen (Stewart); Ginger Redfern (Campbell) and myself. We partied together, attended each other’s different churches together, ate meals together ~ where there was one there were seven!



Top photos 1968-69 in college; bottom photos 2002 at reunion 32 years later



For the most part we’ve managed to keep in touch, although we each lost touch with someone through the years. Internet and email brought us all back together again and in 2002 all seven of us reunited at a 32-year reunion in Rapid City, our college stomping grounds. We picked up where we left off ~ we laughed, we cried, we shared. A fun weekend. Today we are drifting again, but in our hearts, the special memories will remain.

Doug and Lorraine Kizzire

Our first best friends in marriage in 1970 were Doug and Lorraine Kizzire. They lived across the road from us after Tim and I were married. Today they remain our most special  friends.  Lorraine and Tim share a birthday, and every year we still get together to celebrate over dinner. It may be the only time each year that we see each other, even though now we live only 30 miles apart. Occasionally, we do talk on the phone. I must remember to guard this friendship as it remains a special blessing in my life.  Lorraine is truly an angel as helping others in need is her gift. If there is a need, she is there.

We had special friends from the church in Bayard ~ the Masers (John and Joyce), the Kaufmans (Rick and Jacque), the Sauers (Patty and Lee), and others in the late 1970's early 1980's. Our kids grew up together and we spent many, many Saturday nites visiting in each other’s homes, putting all the kids down to sleep while we adults played cards well into the early morning hours. I know the kids remember those many nites of playing with their friends while we adults played cards or visited into the wee hours of the morning. The guest kids at each house were put to sleep on the couches, and loaded into the cars for home at 1 or 2 or even 3 in the morning. Yes, they did sleep!!

Roberta Clark

For many years while living in Bayard, Roberta Clark was a dear, dear friend.  Those were the years I was a stay-at-home Mom, and we spent many days sharing morning coffee together.  Our kids played together.  We continue to keep in touch today.  We moved from Bayard, and they since moved to Chappell, but we got together often for lunch when we both worked in Scottsbluff.

Gene and Mari Scharzkopf; Beth and Dan Forbes

Moving into Scottsbluff we gained new friends ~ Gene and Mari Schwarzkopf.  We shared many a ballgame together through junior high and high school watching our girls play volleyball and basketball. We became good friends with Dan and Beth Forbes who moved into the house across the street from us on Avenue K. They have since moved to Idaho. We had the pleasure of visiting them in Idaho and seeing them whenever they get back this way.  Schwartzkopfs, Forbes and us rode all over town in a big black limousine once when I won the limo ride in a contest. We had the limo drive through the Hardees drive thru and order pop for us all; and then up to the Monument and all over Scottsbluff/Gering.  Crazy!



Top:  Doug/Pam Hill; Beth/Dan Forbes; John/Joyce Maser
Bottom: Connie/Ernie Bussinger; Mary/Gene Schwarzkopf

 The pictures around the table are from fun murder mytery dinner parties we hosted. Enjoying the dinners and fun mystery game were Forbes, Hills, Masers, Bussingers, Schwarzkopfs.   We had to dress the part at these dinner parties. We were gangsters, call girl, tennis player, priest, gypsy, hobo, Italians, doctor, and other  Fun, fun.  I'm preparing to do another one this fall.  It will be a murder mystery dinner at a 50's reunion.  Appropriate for our age as we go back to the 1950's era! 



Tom/Cindy Briggs; Larry/Kris Scovil; Jessye/Dave Goertz



We became very close to Bible study friends from church ~ Tom and Cindy Briggs,  Larry and Kris Scovil,  Dave and Jesse Goertz. We shared a lot of each other’s trials and joys in life, praying and crying together in our Bible study, Experiencing God.  The Goertz's and the Scovil's have since moved from the community, but we keep in touch.

Sandy Hanson, Joyce Hillman, Laverne Knoedler,
Suzanne Browne, Geri Manka,  Sandi Stricker

My job at the Chamber in 1986 -1997 brought friends that became close in my life: Joyce Hillman (Senator Hillman); Sandy Jo Hansen, Geri Manka, and Pam Hill. We enjoyed gathering together to reminisce through the years.

Today I cherish the friendship of Don and Becky Kerbel, Larry and Sharon Kaufman, and Richard and Cindy Groskopf ~ friends from our church in Scottsbluff. We enjoy spending time together playing games.   We have shared countless meals together and many board games, and many, many prayers as we have gathered often to pray together for our families and church friends.  I need to take a picture of this group, so one will be forthcoming soon.

Tim and I; Connie and Rich Stricker

Tim's cousins, Connie and Rich Stricker have been very close to us through the years.  They are a couple of relatives who we do alot with and have through the years.  We continue to visit back and forth.  They are the ones we went to Florida with in December 1981 for a 17-day vacation ~ their 3 kids and our 3 kids in a passenger van!  What a fun event.

Dick and Sharon Rahmig have become breakfast buddies as we share Saturday morning breakfasts out quite often. Sharon has been our auction clerk for the last 12 years, which is where that friendship started. We are sisters in heart! 

Many others have come and gone through the years, leaving only a trace of memories, but still a part of our history. I wish I would have taken more pictures through the years. Yes, these have all been Eventful Friends of the past and present.

My life friends are, of course, my family  ~ my daughters, my son, and my husband.   



The memories linger longer and forever.  I love them with all my heart, soul, and being. 

They are truly my Eventful Friends for life.