Monday, August 31, 2009

Fifty Four Years...and then reunited at the Green House for a few beers!

Will focus on reunions and “slices of life of the summer of 2009”. The "oneness of humanity" which is so much a part of the many summers at the olympics AND which was also part of this past summer...old reuniting classmates!!

Have you ever entertained the thought of gathering your elementary or grammar school classmates together? For our class, it was surprisingly easy. Here’s how it happened.

A place was chosen and a date was set, August 20, 2009. Emails were sent and several phone calls were made beforehand. The place that was chosen was easy to remember and easy to find. Twenty two of us gathered at the Green House in Margate City, next to Lucy the Elephant close to the beach. (Lucy is a six story building built in 1881. I worked to help save Lucy with Jo Harron and her team in the early seventies.)

Our grammar school, St James School was located in Ventnor City, next to Margate NJ. Our lives did grow in different directions but because we shared, for the most part, eight years together as kids, everyone who was contacted said that they wanted to come. There were twenty nine in our class and naturally there were a few who we couldn't find.

Pat Godfrey Johnston and Tish Barton Burns and I arrived early at the Green House, around 3:45 PM. We were engrossed in conversation because the three of us had recently been to China. The others gathered near the entrance of the large porch, waiting for us to arrive! A few looked for the multi-colored flag, which, oops, was still in my purse! There they were, 4:00 PM sharp! Art DiNick and his wife Maureen from Texas, Bob Duffy and his wife from the Boston area, Sissy Hayes and her husband John Fetter from Ventnor were there along with Gladys McAdam and Sue Mahoney from offshore in Northfield. Sue, whose father was part of Margate's history brought old photos and flowers to add to the celebration! Then John Daoud and Chick Contini and his wife Florie arrived. The Green House staff made sure we had one long table that grew as others arrived. Ellen Brett and her husband David from Florida arrived along with Sue Knapp Symington from PA, who had been out fishing all day. Alice Baum and her husband Mike Heaney arrived from New York, then Ron Kashon finally made it after work. One of our classmates, Jerry Dearborn wanted to come, but couldn’t so he sent his “delegation” for representation, his daughter, her husband a Ventnor fireman and his mom! Was there incredible excitement in the air? There are not enough superlatives to describe it. Several had not seen each other since graduation, fifty four years ago!

There we were, on August 12, 2009, in Margate by the beach, reunited in cloud of heartwarming giggles that lasted for six hours!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

One of the Six August Reunions of the Summer of 2009

I was able to make up for missing our summer of 2008 Chestnut Hill College Reunion thanks to a classmate of mine, Joan Willey Thirion, who posted the following message to my classmates for an Impromptu mini reunion:

Dear Classmates,

Carole Wimberg will be returning to Ventnor, NJ Aug 5 to Aug 25 for elementary, high school and a family reunion. She really missed being with us last year and has gathered with Trudy Carlin Rutledge and Peg Atanasio Colucci recently on the West Coast.

We invite you to join us for lunch at noon
at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City
in the Ri Ra Pub (see below)
on Wed, August 12
for an impromptu celebration and fun.

RSVP to me
Sincerely,
Joan Willey Thirion

Ri Ra Irish Pub
For its seventh location, Rí~Rá chose The Quarter, its first foray into the Mid-Atlantic states. Rí~Rá is famous for meticulously recreating the true Irish Pub experience by exclusively importing authentic pubs from Ireland and carefully reassembling them in the US, board by board, pint glass by pint glass. They offer exceptional food that is authentically Irish and exceptional in taste. Rí~Rá pubs have received numerous local market awards and have been instant hits wherever they have opened.

Rí~Rá comes from the Irish phrase "Ri Ra agus Ruaile Buaile”, which translates roughly as celebration and fun. At Rí~Rá, you truly experience the Real Flavor of Ireland – from original Irish pub surroundings in which we serve outstanding Irish Bistro food & pour the best pint West of Shannon to our authentic Irish staff and a typically Irish sense of fun and entertainment. Rí~Rá is much more than a pub as reflected in our listing in Tim Horan’s Top 10 Best Irish Pubs in the US (3 years running) – we are an East Coast institution! Throw in our entertainment schedule (live music 7 nights a week) and you have your Home from Home whatever the occasion whenever you visit Atlantic City. Slainte!


The RiRa Room became 'CHCville' at mid-day! How wonderful it was to be with Alison Kelly, Sue Berkey, Terry McFadden, Dolly Porecca Johnson, Connie Goggin Stark and Adreanna Delasandro at the Jersey Shore! Such a delight, every one of them! All are working on social justice in some capacity and all are helping to make this fragile world of ours better place. Ah, the sisters of Saint Joseph would be proud. Three catch-up conversations were going on at one time and then once in a while we would quiet to hear a "feature story". (haha, I was reminded of the chinese character for "noisy", a picture of three old women!) What fun! Our three hour luncheon time flew by but our friendship was clearly rekindled for a long time to come.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wimbergs and the Olympics

The grand Wimberg Family Reunion was held Aug 16, 2009 in the large tented Egg Harbor NJ back yard of the Petrosh Family. Joyce Wimberg Petrosh, Carol Wimberg Kienzle and Henry Wimberg hosted a spectacular event for over 120 offspring of Henry Wimberg who was born in NJ in 1881. He and Anna Beck Wimberg had ten children, Carrie, George, Larry, Albert, Henry, Joseph, Chester, Charlie, Elaine and Anna May. Older Wimbergs were reuniting and sharing family history while the younger offspring, first, second and third cousins, were busy getting to know each other and playing on the water slides, dunk tank, and in the swimming pool. My godfather, Uncle Chester's wife, Aunt Elaine Keiser Wimberg, was the matriarch of the "wimberg festival". She had several younger Wimbergs by her side throughout the event who were asking questions and listening to her crystal clear first hand memories of The Wimbergs of Egg Harbor 'back in the day'.

Uncle Joe's son Chris Wimberg and and Aunt Anna May's daughter, Sue Gerstlauer were there. They not only made it to the Atlanta Olympics 1996, they made it to the Opening Ceremonies and sat near President Carter. Their story was documented on the front page of NJ's, Egg Harbor News. Because of my very long hours inside the IBC I had NO extra time for partying while my cousins Sue and Chris were in Georgia durring that exciting summer. I had signed a contract for the with the AOB, Atlanta Olympic Broadcasting, and whenever any of my girls in communications could not make it to work because of tough transportaion issues, there were not many alternatives and naturally we could bring in ONLY subs who had previously been credentialed.

Anyone...ANYONE who has ever been lucky enough to make it to opening ceremonies needs an indepth interview directly. How they got their ticket...what it was like getting to the stadium and words...are there enough words in ANY language that can capture THAT experience?