We'e So Popular!

It looks like word is out that we're having a reunion!   And it must sound like fun, because we've had a few folks from outside our class ask to come.    You are, of course, most definitely welcome to invite anyone you wish!   Just put their names on your registration form and send in the moola...   $50 per guest.   If you love 'em, we love 'em! 

And if you like 'em, but not enough to spend the money, please invite them to the Friday evening festivities.  The Alumni Reception (5 p.m. - 7 p.m.) is sponsored by the Diocese for all Menard graduates.

On the other hand...   it's been a long time since we've been together and the general sentiment is that our reunion should be small enough so that we can really visit and catch up with each other.   So, early on we declined an invitation to be included in the "Grand Reunion" that was held last fall for several of the Menard classes that followed us.   And, shoot me, but my answer to a very recent request to include other classes in our October festivities was a resounding no.  

By the by, we may have one surprise visitor....   last fall I called "William L. Glasscock" in Oklahoma; he gave me his physical and email addresses and I sent him the "green envelop."    This week I got a note from him and his wife: 

               Sheila, this sounds like fun!  but we have to confess, we've never heard of Menard H.S.!  My husband, Bill Glasscock, is a 1969 graduate of Washita Heights H.S. in Corn, Oklahoma.  Must be the wrong Bill Glasscock that you found.  We were tempted to send in our money and crash your party and have everyone wonder who the heck we were...    Anyway, we hope you find the Bill Glasscock you are looking for, and that you have a great reunion!     

                                                                                                         Bill and Dana Glasscock

Don't they sound like fun?   I think I'm gonna ask 'em to come as my guests!     

As of today, I've received registration info/checks from 10 of you.  Thanks!!!!    I know our deadline is not until the end of July, but the sooner the better! 

Sharing the Love... With Sister CC and Friends!

Working on our Reunion plans has been pure delight, not only because of how wonderful it's been to become reacquainted, but also because of the outpouring of generosity I've witnessed.   So many of you have come forward to offer help and do special things that I couldn't have even imagined...   we're going to have an amazing reunion!

Given the love I've seen,  it was only natural that I thought of you and your big hearts, when I learned that Sister Cecil Clare Vanderlick was living in McCullough Hall, the nursing center for the Sisters of Divine Providence, and had need of a few personal things to make her retirement comfortable.  Can you imagine that this passionate woman with boundless energy for teaching and nursing would find herself at a point in life where she would request a few stamps when asked if there were something she might want?    That's how Anita and Mary David learned of the needs of the Congregation when they visited her last year in San Antonio.

As you might imagine, Sister CC's situation is not unique.  While she and other retired members of the Congregation of Divine Providence are well-cared for, they are not living in the lap of luxury, nor do they wish to be, haven taken vows of "poverty, simplicity, charity, and abandonment to Divine Providence" many years ago.   But they do have needs and the Congregation is experiencing an up-hill battle trying to meet them.   

At the forefront of the battle is another beautiful woman with whom we are all acquainted:  Sister Ann Petrus.   It is her greatest challenge as the new Superior General of the Congregation to care for those aging and ill women who dedicated their lives to us.  She and the few active sisters work tirelessly at their own jobs, teaching, seeing to the housing needs of poor women, ministering to the spiritual needs of many more, and then contributing their own hard earned income to care for their retired sisters.  There are 170 nuns in the Congregation today, and nearly forty percent of them are in assisted living or require nursing care.  It is staggering to consider the personal burden that providing even the most basic care poses to each working member of the Congregation.

So what can we do?   In the long run, we can, as individuals, donate to the Providence Trust, a charitable fund "designated to ensure the future comfort, safety and if necessary, nursing care for Sisters in their later years."   To do this, simply go online at http://www.cdptexas.org/donatenow2.html and make your donation!  It couldn't be easier, and wouldn't this be a fine charity for regular giving? 

 

In the short term, we're going to have a load of fun at this reunion, and part of that will be a live auction for a really wonderful memento being built as we speak...   stay tuned for full disclosure in the next few weeks!  We'll also have a silent auction and I encourage you to participate.   We already have the promise of some gorgeous jewelry made by our own Frances Ward Johanson, some etched wine glasses created by Joe Hebert's daughter, and music CDs customized by Mike Blank and Mike Conelley for our class!   If there's something you'd like to donate for the auction, let me know.    

And of course, outright cash donations, large and small, will be gladly accepted on behalf of the Sisters at the reunion!   Don't forget Sister Ann will be there...   we ARE her favorite class!

By the by, you should receive your reunion registration package in the next two weeks! 

Much love to all of you.....    Sheila