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| The picture above in 1968-1969 sharing watermelon on 3rd floor of the
dorm. The picture below we recreated sharing watermelon on the floor of
the condo. |
It was summer 1968 ~ two weeks after high school
graduation and I was off to college in Rapid City, South Dakota at the National College of Business. I started college in the summer
quarter. Why would any sane high school
graduate do that? Turns out I wasn’t the
only one who made that crazy decision.
Among the many summer students that arrived in early June, turns out there were six
other crazy girls that showed up at NCB
to specialize in some sort of “secretary” career. How we ever ended up a close tight-knit group
of seven I have not a clue. But we did.
For 18-24 months we shared a special friendship bond. Penny, Carla,
Ginger, Betty, Dianne, Carol and me.
After graduation we all went our separate
ways, got married, had 16 children among us (8 girls and 8 boys - Ginger calculated that prior to meeting in Frisco), lost touch
here and there. But always one of the
seven kept in touch with another of the seven, and another kept in touch with
another. And we all managed to keep updated from one of us about one of us. And then internet and email
surfaced into our worlds and we kind of all reconnected again.
In 2002, the seven of us gathered back in Rapid City for a reunion. We picked up right where we left off. And then kind of lost touch again here and
there. Then Facebook surfaced into our
worlds and we all reconnected. A year ago Penny suggested, through Facebook,
that we get together again. The responses flowed: “I’m in!”
“I’m in!” “I’m in” x 7.
We did internet searches for a reunion location. Finally, through an acquaintance of mine, we found a great
condo at a great price in Frisco,
Colorado, and a date was
set: August 7-11, 2017.
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| Front: Dianne, Carla, Sandi. Back: Penny, Betty, Ginger, Carol |
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| From left: Dianne, Penny, Carla, Carol, Betty, Sandi, Ginger |
Carol drove to Salt Lake City
UT from Oregon
to meet up with Carla, and they drove together
to Frisco. Betty and Tom drove
from Ida Grove Iowa
to Scottsbluff. Tom stayed the week in
Scottsbluff on the farm with Tim. Ginger
drove down from Chadron to Scottsbluff, picked up Betty and I. We drove to Denver,
picked up Dianne at the airport, and then Penny at a hotel in Denver and the five of us drove together to
Frisco. (Penny met us at the hotel as
she just finished a family reunion in nearby Fort Morgan. How convenient was that??)
August 7 -11 has come and gone, but the memories will live
on forever, as they have for the past 49 years. We picked up right where we left off. We spent lazy mornings around the breakfast
table talking, laughing, crying, and sharing stories. We spent relaxing evenings around the dinner
table reminiscing through photo albums; and relaxing in the living room sharing more stories and laughter and serious life adventures. We never even
got out for an “elegant” evening of dinner and fine wine!!
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| From left: Penny, Sandi, Carol, Dianne, Ginger, Betty, Carla |
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| From left: Ginger, Carol, Sandi, Penny, Betty, Carla, Dianne |
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| Dianne and Betty - dorm roommates in 1968-1969 |
But we did do a lot of fun shopping late
mornings, lunchs out at noon, and more fun in the afternoons. I think we may
have gotten Miss Penny Pig hooked on second-hand shopping as she bought several
clothing items in the 2nd time around stores. We especially enjoyed all shopping for hats
for our special group picture.
Took a
lot of pictures, enjoyed a Thursday evening concert in the park, a Wednesday
nite swim in the condo pool and hot tub, and a short jaunt to nearby
Breckenridge for a gondola ride to the top of the mountain. Betty and I were just gutsy enough to do the
mile-long Alpine slide, similar to a winter toboggan or luge slide, only on
wheeled carts on cement.
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| Concert in the park ~Parsonfield Band! Great music! |
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| Betty and I ~ two brave souls to do the Alpine Ride |
When Friday morning came, it was not easy to bid
farewell. I think we all felt we could
just hang out more days. We talked about
meeting again in three years when we all turned 70, perhaps on the Oregon coast. In the meantime, may God watch over each of
us, our families and give us the spiritual faith and strength to grow older
gracefully, in a healthy and fit manner till we meet again. Love you all magnificent seven!
Updated: January 2021. We all received the news that our beloved Carol passed away in December. We were shocked and saddened that we didn't get to say goodbye. Rest in Peace Carol.
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Front: Dianne,Carla, Sandi. Back: Penny, Betty, Ginger, Carol
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