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Long-distance WSCO members Matt and Beth Barry were here from Cardiff, Wales, and spent 3 days with David C. Jones in June. Many of you will remember Matt from WSCO’s 2000 picnic when he helped Lloyd Savage and Bob Penry lead the group singing. At that time, Matt was studying law in England, was in the U.S. on an internship with an Ohio Representative in Washington D.C., and stayed with David while touring Ohio. David was in Wales for Matt and Beth’s wedding in November, 2005. In addition to visiting a number of Columbus landmarks, highlights of their trip included a day in Oak Hill and Rio Grande and, on their final day in this area, they spent time in Granville.
David evidently really liked the Granville area because he sold his house in Upper Arlington and packed up and moved to Granville!
Homer and Dianne Williams missed the WSCO picnic because they spent four days with daughter Heidi Daniels and son-in-law Nick Madison. Using their lovely mountain-side home in Roseberg, Oregon (with a beautiful view of the mountains and Oregon wine country) as a “base”, Heidi and Nick wined and dined (literally) Dianne and Homer with tours of the Oregon coastline, visits to wineries, and a trip to Crater Lake where they enjoyed a picnic of wine (see – I told you) and cheese, sandwiches, and homemade blueberry crisp made with just-picked Oregon blueberries. They also got to see wild salmon swimming upstream.
On the way home, Homer and Dianne headed into Portland to spend a day enjoying Washington Park and the Pearl District and then drove through the Columbia Gap towards Wyoming. They loved Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons – “an amazing area!” Next stop was Yellowstone National Park, with all its natural beauty.
Dianne says that when “hiking in Yellowstone guests are strongly advised to make noise (wear a bell, sing, clap, etc.) so in the event you run into a bear you won’t startle them. While skipping up the trail well ahead of Homer I found myself singing Calon Lan. There were times I could hear Homer humming Cwm Rhonda.” (St. David, Patron Saint of Protection from Bears?) Other highlights of their 6,000 mile trip included Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands in South Dakota.
Barbara Clark was in and out of town so much this summer that she had to leave a picture of herself at home for the pet sitter to point out to Jack the dog and Gypsy the cat. In June she was up to Lakeside, OH, for one day. In July she was off to her church School of Missions. In early August, after celebrating her 70th birthday, she drove to Big Stone Gap, VA, with college friend Greta Crilley. Their road trip included seeing the outdoor drama “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine” and antiquing and sightseeing. Later in August she went north with several friends to Stratford, Ontario, Canada, for the annual Shakespeare Festival plays.
Board member Gwen Baxter spent two wonderful months, July and August, in Denver, Colorado with her son and his family.
August 21st, Ronda Griffith flew off to visit her daughter, Karyn Schmelzer, a respiratory therapist living in Austin, TX. Ronda’s other daughter, Rebecca Schmelzer, is the Manager of Youth Services at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Northside Branch and she and her boyfriend, Yusuke Nagata, a student at Fisher College of Business, went to Japan in September so Rebecca could meet Yusuke’s parents. Ronda reports that her son, Jeremiah Schmelzer, who is autistic, is doing great at Goodwill’s Young Adult Services program.
Maria Theresa Agozzino – Mabli, to us – sends greetings to her Columbus friends – read her comments on her experiences at the 2009 Smithsonian Festival in the article on page 12. Mabli is now on the campus of Bowling Green in western Kentucky, has taken up a tenure track assistant professorship in Folk Studies and Anthropology, and was scheduled to be teaching three classes this fall.
Morgan Burgess died Sunday, June 28 at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife, Judith, children, grandchildren, and a sister, as well as other relatives. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean Conflict, president of his own insurance/investments company, an active member of Grace Brethren Church and participated in the Man to Man prison ministry.
Life member Joseph Sooby, Jr. was 84 at the time of his death on Tuesday, July 21 in Wilkes-Barre, PA, where he had recently moved. Joe was a decorated veteran of WWII, serving with the 132nd Army General Hospital in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. He retired in 1984 after teaching in Michigan for more than 30 years and moved to Columbus, was a member of Christ Anglican Church and the Buckeye Bulldog Club. Surviving are several cousins and close friends.
Helen Stacy Evans, 92, of Washington County, OH, mother of Life Member Stacy Evans, died on Sunday, August 2, 2009, at The Ohio State University Medical Center.
We found out recently that Life member Margaret Love passed away July 24, 2008.
Our sincere condolences go out to all the families.
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