Our Classmates' Stories
After Nancy Andjelic Gagliano took the "Southeast Side Tour" she sent this email to her children and their families:

"WOWWWWW! This is a history of our lives. We could do a slide show for our kids, grandkids and future great grandkids. It
details where: we both lived, me 98th and Ewing (Route 41), Jim 98th and Avenue H - two blocks east of me; where we both
played, swam, went to the Fieldhouse everyday, (Calumet Park); where we both worked (me - East Side Library 104th and
Ewing, Jim(1st job) and his Dad at Republic Steel, Jim Interlake Steel,(37 years), my Dad (General Mills - 40 years), My Mom at
98th & Ewing Avenue on the East Side in her "Andjelic Beauty and Gift Shop". Jim and I attended Taylor Elementary School,
my High School (Bowen), our first home (Hegewisch), Hegewisch - 133rd & Baltimore Avenue where I worked on Tuesdays
when the Chicago Traveling Branch Library parked there every Tuesday (different location six days of the week). Our first
home was four blocks east of the Ford Plant in Hegewisch! And on and on and on - Blah blah blah. This was just a TERRIFIC
piece of history for us. I printed it and I will save it to a disc. But, anyone that didn't see these areas in person will think we
were the "dead-end" kids!!!!! Sure looks like a destitute area in photos, huh? And I learned a LOT for the little I read as I was
printing it. Like the grave in the "Material Service" driveway located just on the bend of Ewing Avenue. In the gravel
driveway into their property, just before you would start to drive up Ewing Avenue's hill to the 92nd St. bridge over the
Calumet River. It ALWAYS fascinated me (from the time I was a little girl) when I saw that grave with the little white picket
fence around it and those huge cement trucks whizzing past all day every day and NEVER hitting it (as far as I know) -WHO
COULD POSSIBLY BE BURIED THERE?????? Anyway, this was a very interesting view of our lives from our births until we
moved to Florida in 1998."

Take the "Southeast Side Tour" and bring back some memories of your own!
Alan Simon writes: a brief synopsis of the past 50 yrs.
Right after graduation, I went to college. After college, I did a short stint in the Army, after which I took a job in Chicago. I
was only there a short time when I changed jobs and went to work for Westinghouse at their central research labs in
Pittsburgh. It was in Pittsburgh that I met my wife to be, Joan Perry, who was working as an Occupational Therapist at a
home for handicapped children. A month before we got married, the group I was with folded and I was transferred to the
Westinghouse Electronic Tube Division in Horseheads, NY. We got married, moved to Horseheads and rented a house on
Sing Sing Rd. We stayed there a couple of years and then transferred back to the Westinghouse Research Labs. It was during
this time that we completed our family...two daughters, Julie and Debbie. I was also able to obtain my MS degree at
Carnegie Mellon Univ. during this time. We stayed in the Pittsburgh area until 1976 when I got transferred to the
Westinghouse Defense Center in Linthicum MD. I was there until I took early retirement in 1996 and Joan continued working
to support us. We are both retired now and spend time with hobbies, volunteer work, church activities and visiting our
grandchildren, Ian and Evie in Arizona.

Greetings to all who might remember me.

Al Simon
Ellicott City, MD
Front Row, from left to right: Joan Hastings, Juanita Pirosko Witt, Janet Garriock Oliver, and Karen Peterson Sertich.
Back Row: Ron Stajkowski, Dave Starcevich, Bruce Dammann, Louis Navarro, Peter Barrick, Dee Mrkacek Husselbee, Judith
DuBrownik Baker, Dorothy Collier Roser, Marilyn Carres Athas, Sally Orr Auw, Roy Syler, Caroline Saric Magsaysay, Nancy
Andjelic Gagliano, Louise Saliga Bland.
In July 1997, Dee Mrkacek Husselbee and her husband Bob, hosted a "mini" 40-year reunion for 18 of her June classmates and
their guests at her their home in Palatine, IL. Dorothy Collier Rosier and Sally Orr Auw provided able assistance. Bob was
Finance Director for the Village of Palatine before he retired in 2000. They now live in a "55 and older" golf course community
in Plainfield, IL.
* * * * * * * * * *
Friends Forever: Christine Johnson Morgan and Marilyn (Ray) McCleary Rolff

Our friendship began in kindergarten at Caldwell School and went on from there. We had a wonderful time at Bowen together
- and with all of you. (Chris attended the 2004 Reunion and Ray attended the 1967 reunion; both were great!)

After high school, we were friends all through college. We were in each other's weddings, and in the mid '60's we lived in
Western Springs at the same time - enjoying life as young couples. Chris and her husband Jerry moved in and out of town
three times and lived a lot of other places as well before retiring in Georgia! Western Springs has been home to the Rolffs for
43 years -- after 2-1/2 years starting out in LaGrange Park.

What we really want to share with you is that we have had so much fun through the years and we are very happy to have this
long and satisfying friendship. We have enjoyed each other's children and thrilled to the arrival of each one and to the arrival
of each of our grandchildren. (Chris has 6 and Ray has 4.) We have made friends together and have a group of four couples
we love and with whom we have had fabulous times for over 35 years. Next summer we are all going to Whitefish, Montana
together.

A favorite high school memory is: Chris insisted that Ray tryout for cheerleading with her and saw to it that she learned the
routines to make it sophomore year. Being cheerleaders was one of many highlights of our happy days at Bowen High!

Happy 50th Class of '57 and best wishes to everyone --

Ray and Chris
(Marilyn and Christine)

Ken and Jan Levinson are now settled in their new home in Ft. Collins, CO. While cleaning their attic prior to their move from
CA., Ken found a photo of the Luella School January 1953 graduating class. Several of those pictured are a part of our
Bowen57 group. See our Memories Page for a 1955 article about his appearance on the Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour.
Larry Smith writes:

It has been a busy life for me. I went to college at DePauw University in the tiny town of Greencastle, Indiana. Major in
Physics, Minor in math. Got out in 1961 and had applied for several jobs out of town. I started to work for CIA in Sept 1961,
reading Physics Journal articles from various foreign countries and comparing them to U.S.A. physics. Deadly boring. I left my
deadly boring job by learning the Fortran computer language and working for a place called Melpar at Route 50 and the
beltway (495). I was very lucky to work on a high speed train simulation model and got to crash a simulated helicopter (my
boss scared the hell out of me with that one as his own joke). Learned a lot about simulation. Quit that job after 4 years and
worked in Crystal City (near the national airport) working on simulations of planes landing on carriers and people working on
destroyers (demands on their time vs. "ship readiness".

By then, had a daughter (Valerie) and a son (Kenneth). The girl was an angel and the boy was multiply-handicapped with
behavior disorders (very belligerent), health problems, retarded, learning disorders, didn't talk much, hyperactive, blah, blah,
blah. Due to him, I did a lot of volunteer work, went to court several times (learned a lot about law and constitutional rights)
picketed Blue Cross/Blue Shield and others, got him coast to coast news coverage, and then Fairfax county (VA) finally yielded
and started some classrooms and bought some space in private schools for the handicapped. They were pretty incompetent,
though. Luckily for us (I say us because my then-wife and I made a very good team), a research-oriented MD had another Dad
call me. We connected and it was the beginning of a self-taught decade on metabolism and biochemistry and tutoring. Very
intense, very stressful and exhausting. Since good nutrition became table talk my daughter picked up on that, and organic
gardening. She now has a job in that area at USDA plus she picked up on the skills to
work with volunteers. Neat gal. I changed jobs in 1972 to work for the Army on Personnel Simulation models. I needed high
quality insurance coverage and to get out of the stress of working for the "beltway bandit" world.

My son eventually exhausted his Mom and I, after a behavior drug almost killed him in 1981-2. An experimental use of a
nutrient saved his life. To this day, MDs routinely deny that he had a problem and sometimes attempt to put him back on the
same or similar drugs. So, he wrecked the house in 1982, began a tour of state institutions and I got to visit more courtrooms to
protect him. Wore me out.

Divorced in 1984 (we no longer needed to be a team) and I had a wonderful time as a single guy for 15 years. Danced, danced,
danced, partied, put on dances and other events, danced some more. Helped my honey learn to be a DJ (I was her "grip", or
"roadie" . She has been my mentor on people skills (I had less than none) and convinced me that I could relax from all the
fights with the State. My immune system is a mess from exhaustion; so, I spend stunning amounts of time managing health.
Fortunately, all the biochemistry I learned to help my son now keeps me alive. It even turned me into a "motormouth" on 1
nutrient. Sometimes, people wish that I had not learned THAT trick.

My work with the Army evolved. Did some performance analysis on 7 mainframes we had until 1980. Got extensive PC skills,
and did quite a bit with that. Today, I am a software project manager of a small team of 5 other guys. We get to do the new
stuff, creat Web Applications so soldiers in other parts of the world can do stuff as if they were in our building: push
technology, push standards, etc.. It is all hard stuff but we like the hard stuff...Works out well all around. This outfit will move
to Ft. Knox no later than 2011 but I will retire by
then (in 2009 if I can last).

My honey, Sherry, and I married in 2007 after dating for 15 years. Yes, 15, 15, 15 years. She works, and is slowly getting the
house repaired. My son's damage, and my bachelor ways, led to a lot of need for repairs, landscaping, etc.. She has a
daughter and red-haired granddaughter straining to be an adult (18 shortly).

My son went worked his way out of the state institutions after about 10 years. He now lives, in a group home, about 5 miles
from us. My ex is in West Virginia, my daughter lives near Annapolis and works in D.C.. Her husband is a dynamite "fix it" guy
and has a great stepson. Life has been very, very, busy and interesting.. Kind of like a chinese curse "may you always live in
interesting times". Why is it called a curse? Think about it.

Hugs and best wishes,
Larry Smith
Fairfax City, VA
Merle Berkovsky Lask wrote that her grandchildren have had a lot of fun looking at our website. Two girls ages 15 & 9 live a
block away from her, and a boy age 6 and a girl age 3 live only 10 minutes away. How lucky! See the Memories Page for her
thoughts about Mrs. Goode.