2000 June 1 / DIV 3 Good to see Div 3 photo up now! I think I held the sign in the majority of my class pics. Seemed to go to the tallest girl most of the time. Funny, so many young women are my height or a lot taller now! I remember being so hurt that I could not become an airline "stewardess" because the height limit was 5'8" (the planes were so much smaller with lower roofs then). So I became a teacher... - Diane diane (wilson) dyer ddwithlove@excite.com June 4 / MR MERCER Oops, forgot to mention that Connie has been trying to get in touch with the Royston Willie Mercer listed in the UK White pages but so far unsuccessful... - Sandy Sandy (McKeachie) Forbes June 6 / Us Males! I had an entertaining conversation with Jill (Boorman) Slagboom today. She hasn't visited the website yet but insists she will soon. "I'm amazed by all these men organizing this!" she says. "Uh, huh" "Where were you guys back in grade 12 when we needed you?" "We had other things on our mind I guess," I said. - Dave davfoste@islandnet.com June 7 / LEE GOULD'S BIO Lee's bio is fabulous. - George GuernseyVet@aol.com June 7 / CLASS OF '60 Amazing !!! Never thought anything like this would happen. Sitting here in New Zealand and my past flashes in front of my eyes. Thanks to Richard Goodall and his helpers to persevere in tracking me down. I'll do the bio soon and regret not being able to join in the fun in hard copy. - Richard Richard Cox rscox@voyager.co.nz June 8 / CLASS OF '60 I was really quite excited to hear of the plans to organize a reunion of Oak Bay High, class of 1960. I have spent some time with Oak Leaves 1960 trying to remember people and getting quite nostalgic. Sorry my bio is rather rushed and a bit dull! I'd like to hear from anyone who remembers me. - Raymond Raymond Barnes / phone: 416 461 1891 (Toronto) / email Gary for Raymond's street address June 10 / SALMON ARM FIRE Little did I know that it was John de Bourcier piloting that huge Martin Mars water bomber that performed so well during the great fire and historic evacuation of Salmon Arm. When it was all over, I stood on my deck and watched John fly low over the town, dip his wings and fly off into the sunset. It was like a scene out of a WW2 movie, something I shall always remember. Well done John. - Richard rgoodall@shuswap.net June 13 / REUNION TRIVIA TEST In 1960 what was the waiter's name at the Snug? - Richard Richard Cox rscox@voyager.co.nz June 13 / DON'T KNOW Well, Richard Cox, I don't know the answer to your question, but I do remember how scared Sandy Halkett, Rita Neal, and myself were of you in elementary school! - Diane diane (wilson) dyer ddwithlove@excite.com June 14 / Gosh...I didn't know!!! To know that I scared people in Miss Orchard's(?) class 50 years ago is terrible. How about an apology from me to you today. I remember being rigid with shyness!!! - Richard Richard Cox rscox@voyager.co.nz June 14 / CHAS IS EVERYWHERE My sister was in Mr. Gibbard's English class studing Julius Caesar, when Chas spotted two students rambling back from industrial ed class at the Junior High -- they had to commute in those days. He threw up the window sash, and demanded to know why they had taken so long to return to the high school. Well, you guessed it, the window sash began to slip and began to inch down toward the bald spot on his pointy little head, then, CRASH! God, students were so cruel in those days .... to cover up, he went back to the play saying "eh, tu Brutus?" picked up a plastic ruler and stabbed his chest .. the rular broke and the pieces flew all over the room .... not a good day for the teacher. - Laurel Laurel Page Johnson laurelj@aebc.com June 15 / 80 mph down Gov't. St. (May) Yes Laurel, I know that must have been you. I remember another eventful trip over the Malahat returning from a Shawnigan Lake post-grad party. You were driving - could that have been your mother's Nash Metropolitan too? - Carol Carol (Kirkendale) Winterbottom philw@coastnet.com June 15 / THE SNUG One of the waiters at the Snug was Irwin, Austrian, moustache. I should know, he served me about a million Tom Collins (Ugh!) before I was 21!! - Lue lue crawford luecrawford@hotmail.com June 19 / MISSED YOU, RICHARD Hey, Richard, just got back from the reunion, we had a most wonderful time, sorry you weren't there... and no apologies necessary...I think we were scared of any boy on our walking route! Do you remember an older boy in our neighborhood named Archie Greco? We were scared of him too! I remember my piano teacher, Miss Leask, lived on your street..anyway, your bio is wonderful, sounds like a heavenly place..see you next reunion! - Diane diane (wilson) dyer ddwithlove@excite.com June 19 / REUNION WEEKEND I would just like to give a huge thank you to the many people who were part of the reunion committee. It was an affair to remember! Renewing old friendships was such fun and I thought everyone looked wonderful and had aged like an extremely fine wine. Thanks again guys for all your hard work - you did a fantastic job! - Betty Betty (Bunton) Thomson n-bthomson@home.com June 20 / A GRAND EVENING Boy! They're going to have to make these machines a lot easier to use before I buy one. Can't tell if the note I just wrote was successfully sent or not - it just disappeared. What I wanted to say was thank you to all the organizers of events Friday night and Saturday at OBHS. It was great to see so many happy, healthy former classmates. I particularly enjoyed the less-intense time at the school -- a lot of work by Tammy to gather together all the photos and memorabilia. Now it's back to the real world; time to get the pots planted since the rain has stopped. Cheers good health and a happy summer to you all. - Terry Therese (Bradshaw) Williams chickiedoc@yahoo.com June 20 / ITS OVER I can't believe how many people I didn't get to talk to. When can we have another? Not that I did any of the work but I'd sure love another chance. I had a great time and thanks to all the dedicated classmates who sacrificed their Friday afternoons at the Snug. - Diane Diane (Wiper) Bryden dbryden@gvmhs.com June 21 / DITTO... Yes, it was a most wonderful time, and like Diane Wiper, I know there were people I just didn't get to talk with. A big thankyou to everyone who masterminded this event, and love to you all! - Diane diane (wilson) dyer ddwithlove@excite.com June 21 / IRWIN AND FEAR Hi, Lue and Diane, Yes Lue I thought that was his name. I don't know what the prize was to be tho. How about a Collins at the Snug! Thanks Diane for the reassurance and yes this is a great place to be. - Richard Richard Cox rscox@voyager.co.nz June 21 / GRAD WEEKEND A weekend to remember???? You bet!!!! - George George OBriain Brwdpatch@Aol.com June 21 / SAILING I am sure that all those who went out on the cruise in the morning and afternoon will agree that it was the most beautiful day for such an event. Bonnie & John Stenstrom were terrific hosts and everyone had a blast! Pat & I are looking forward to the next reunion. Thanks again to Bonnie & John. - Mike Mike Gibbs mgibbs@webtv.net June 21 / A HUGE THANK YOU Thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of the reunion. It was unforgettable. So much fun without the typical teenage hangups. - George George Guernsey GuernseyVet@aol.com June 22 / THANKS! I would like to add my thanks to all of you that worked so hard to make the reunion so successful. It was an amazing weekend and I vote for doing it again in a few years. Hopefully I might be back in Victoria then so I will be able to contribute. And Richard, I'd love to collect my trivia prize at the Snug but please could I have a martini instead of a Tom Collins!! - Lue lue crawford luecrawford@hotmail.com June 22/ OLD FRIENDS Trouble with the reunion was that there wasn't enough time to visit everyone. Thanks for the email addresses, the hours of typing and email fanouts. We who just enjoyed it are most appreciative. On Friday night, I did leave a Pentax camera case at the yacht club -- anyone pick it up? I went back to find it, but no one was there to ask. HELP someone. Thanks... - Laurel Laurel Page Johnson laurelj@aebc.com June 22 / REUNION Too, too, too, too much fun!!! I'm ready for a forty year and two month reunion. Thanks everyone. - Roz Roz (Johnston) Showers showers@bc.sympatico.ca June 22 / REUNION I agree Diane and Roz, the sooner the next reunion is the better. I felt a little shell-shocked Friday evening, so then I only had Sat and Sun to visit and by then, lots of people had left. Will do better next time. Thanks again organizers. - Holly Holly (Jackson) Liddiard lidds@home.com June 22 / REUNION A huge thank you to Gary Wilcox for providing this site for communicating - it made for warm feelings before the get together. - Terry Therese Williams chickiedoc@yahoo.com June 22 / 60th BIRTHDAY How about a "60th birthday" for all of us who turn 60 in two years? or ... "When I'm 64".. if 2 years is too soon. - Laurel Laurel Page Johnson laurelj@aebc.com June 22 / WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE! I can't believe it is all over and how many people I didn't get a chance to talk to. It was a wonderful time and the committee did a fantastic job. Thankyou everyone for all of your hard work. I can't wait for the next one. It was so good to see everyone. - Carolynne Carolynne (Bowen) Perry carolynne@carolynneperry.com June 22 / REUNION 1960 - 2000 From your comments sounds like we should have made it a 5 day weekend. Glad you all had a good time. Thanks for all your efforts in getting here. - Ron Ron McMicking lindaandron@home.com June 23 / REUNION I have had so much fun relating the amazing experience to my family and friends. My mind is still trying to cope with have to jolt back 40 years then race to the present while clouded in beer suds. You all look marvelous after 40 years and in another 10 when we get together again who knows. I do know that I plan to see more of the Ontario contingent in the near future and keep in touch with some of you so that when I retire back there in 7 I will have someone to Snug-it with. Thanks again to the committee, a great job. - Ian ielse@home.com June 23 / LAUREL'S IDEA I like it!... Aren't we an amazing group? I cannot tell you how good it feels to have people to call when I visit Victoria to see my parents. Even though I visit regularly, for the first time in many years I felt "at home." - Diane diane (wilson) dyer ddwithlove@excite.com June 23 / REUNION I don't know how long it will take me to get over the incredible time I had last week-end. I have never felt so great about seeing people from long ago, and had a blast. The organizers deserve a huge high five for all their work and the success of every event. Thanks so much to everyone, and when you are ready for another, please let me know and I will be there with bells on! - Lynn Lynn (Peachey) Feir lynnfeir@yahoo.com June 23 / REUNION I sincerely want to congratulate and thank everyone on the committee and those that were not for a most wonderful weekend. I had a great time (better than I expected) and enjoyed meeting as many as I did - I think I like you all better now that we have all matured a bit! It was a blast. - Craig Craig Stewart cjstewart@georgian.net June 23 / AFTERMATH COMEDOWN Hi All! I've just read through all the June chat. I find I don't get here as often as I should. Maybe now that the reunion is over I'll visit more often. Sounds like we could have spent many more days and never finished revisiting all the old memories. I guess another one is definitely in the cards. I was blown away by the boat ride out around 10 mile point. John and Bonnie were great. I think one of the most memorable things that happened to me was sitting across from Richard Goodall at dinner. The guy has an encyclopedic memory for details about our lives- good and bad! Thanks Richard! I'm off to the Snug in a few minutes for our last official meeting. I'm thinking of suggesting we have a less formal reason for meeting about once a month - maybe beer and gossip! - Dave davfoste@islandnet.com June 24 / THANKS What a fantastic reunion! Special thanks to Ron and Linda McMicking for their hospitality and to John and Bonnie Stenstrom for hosting two wonderful cruises in "Private Affair" The committee, volunteers and the 135 plus grads who came, made it a weekend to remember. - Richard rgoodall@shuswap.net June 24 / THANKS RICHARD Without Richard carrying the torch alone for some distance at the beginning, our incredible reunion would have been nothing more than an interesting idea. But once momentum started building, enthusiasm and expectations started soaring. Even then the weekend exceeded all expectations - which I think says something about old friendships. - Gary gwilcox@direct.ca June 25 / THINKING ABOUT IT Just returned Friday. I'm sitting here reading all the e-mails and looks like everyone feels the same as I do. I had a great time meeting old friends most of whom I hadn't seen for 40 years. Pretty amazing! Really enjoyed it all and thanks for the efforts by all who put it together. - Lynne Lynne (Maclennan) Schulnik lynnelj@hotmail.com June 26 / REUNION VIDEO Linda and I have just watched the video twice through--it's great and will be a wonderful memory of the reunion weekend. Thanks to Doug for producing a video that will give us a lifetime of memories to cherish. - Ron and Linda lindaandron@home.com June 27 / THANKS FROM COLIN Colin Marmo phoned me to say how much he enjoyed the reunion and seeing everyone again. He apparently stayed a few more days to visit old haunts. - Richard rgoodall@shuswap.net June 27 / MORE THANK YOUs I just picked up my photos today and was totally enraptured again by the wonderful weekend we all had! The committee couldn't have arranged anything better, right down to the beautiful full moon on Friday night! Let's not wait another 40 years for the next reunion. - Maureen Maureen (Dowling) Sawkins msawkins@vcc.bc.ca June 27 / REUNION VIDEO I received my copy of the ruinion video about an hour ago and just finished watching it. What a wonderful production, the photographer and editor really captured the spirit of the complete weekend. The warmth of the weekend went much deeper than the weather. Lets start preparations for for the 45th. - Tom Tom Miles timiles@mars.ark.com June 27 / THE REUNION, WHAT ELSE This is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Ron and Peter after out wonderful weekend. Perhaps some of you feel the same way. Thanks for the memories! I want to thank all of you for the wonderful work you did arranging the reunion in Victoria. The venues were great but it was the welcoming atmosphere you created that made it so easy for our class mates to get over their nervousness quickly and get down to the business of renewing old friendships. It felt like only yesterday that we graduated from OBHS and though most of us have a much larger girth, not as much hair and lots of gray, I think we all felt like kids again. The hard work by so many people was rewarded by the excitement of every person there. I wish the reunion had been a couple of days longer as I did not get to tell lies and war stories with everyone. I'm sure I echo the feelings of everyone that Sunday night was a let down after all the wonderful weekend activities. I had dinner with a couple of old friends and our topic of conversation for the whole evening was "did you talk to so and so? and I wish there was another bunch of grads here tonight, it's too quiet". Leaving high school is part of the rich pageantry of life, but when we leave we don't really understand what an influence the school and our friends have had on our lives and our development. We have made friends all over the world the past 40 years and have only fleetingly thought about Oak Bay High School. It was only after experiencing our reunion that I realized that no matter how wonderful your friends are there is something overwhelming about being together with the people who are your roots and influenced your life. We had a wonderful reunion and I think your comments about not being able to surpass it are quite right Ron. We never have to surpass it, but we certainly have to have some more. They can be less formal but we have to have another! Lets keep up the address list so we won't have to look so hard next time. Thanks again for a wonderful weekend. - Tom Tom Miles timiles@mars.ark.com P.S. for Sandy and Dick. Sandy thanks for the spark and Dick thanks for catching it and turning it into a torch. Bravo Zulu to you all. Phil can explain that to you. - TM June 27 / ZULU OK Tom and Phil. I'll bite. Explain this "Zulu" thing for the rest of the class. It must have a more in depth meaning than the old Zulu nation from Natal. - Richard rgoodall@shuswap.net June 30 / REUNION THANK YOU Just received my video today and have been re-living the memories of a wonderful reunion weekend. A big thank you to everyone who was involved in planning it. It was quite amazing to feel that connection to people from so long ago. I kept seeing one smiling face after another and hearing comments such as "I don't remember when I was last this happy", and "do you remember...?" It was so much fun and truly an event to remember. Thank you everyone. - Carol Carol (Kirkendale) Winterbottom philw@coastnet.com June 30 / REUNION Played golf with Gary Taylor today and he said what a fantastic time he had on friday night. Said I would pass it on for him and we would see him at the next. Cheers!!! - Bruce bruce mantell b.mantell@home.com