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An invitation for one last time
for old Cavemen in summer 2023:

"Moms, apple pie, & the American flag"
Sunday, July 2nd, 2023


Gather for one day to remember how things were,
before they got so damned screwed up.

  • I counted my years and realized that I have less time to live going forward than I have lived until now.

  • I have more past than future.

  • I feel like that boy who got a bowl of candies. The first ones he ate ungraciously, but, when he realized there were but a few left, he began to taste them intensely.

  • I have no time to withstand ridiculous people who, despite their chronological age, have not grown up.

  • My time is too short: I do not have much candy in the bowl anymore. I do not intend to waste any of the remaining desserts.

Those words and thoughts are from “The Valuable Time of Maturity,” by Mário Raul de Morais Andrade, who lived his life in Brazil, from 1893 to 1945. His words have been translated into English, with various versions.

I have more past than future, and there are few candies left in my bowl of life. I am opting for one of those candies to be a day in Mishawaka with some people whom I would enjoy seeing one last time.

The year 2023 is 55 years after my last days at MHS.

I'll begin this rambling nonsense with a smile for you:



If that little song offends you, you won't like what's below.

I've reached my limit:

Recall Sojourner Truth's words from 1851:
"And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?"
Recall Helen Reddy's 1971 "I am Woman. Hear Me Roar!"
But, in 2022, a woman was nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court because she was both a woman and of African descent, yet she doesn't know what a woman is. Seriously? She doesn't know what a woman is?
And, yes, William "Lia" Thomas is a man, and Richard "Rachel" Levine is a man. And so is Bruce "Caitlyn" Jenner.
A woman is not a stereotype or some man's caricature of what he imagines a woman is.

How does this relate to the fact that June 5, 2023 will be 55 years after the last official act of the Mishawaka High Class of 1968? Well, I would be interested in gathering with some people whom I knew way back when -- but not with all.

It's 55 years after Mishawaka High's Class of 1968 was coming to its end of “officialness.” I would like to see some folks whom I knew way back when. Some I knew when we were little children at North Side, playing on the streets in Normain Heights. Some I first met in 5th grade at Battell, walking in those dark halls. Some I met at Main, where I was one of the kids sitting on the 3rd floor at lunch time, eating from a paper bag carried from home, sometimes with a cupcake from Kuss'. And some folks I met at Mishawaka High. Admittedly, the ones whom I would most like to see are the ones whom I met before MHS, but there are several whom I first met at MHS whom I'd love to see one last time.

So, I have arranged the following:

WHAT: Open house and potluck day,
. . . . . . . ending with fireworks in the sky.
WHEN: Sunday, July 2nd, 2023.
. . . . . . . .All day.
WHERE: Mishawaka [email Alice for location]
WHO? See below.

Regarding the Who? in that above box, my candies are running out, and I do not want to waste them:

  • If you don't know what a woman is, I do not want to see you.
  • If you say that a man-who-pretends-to-be-a-woman is really a woman,
    I do not want to see you.
  • If the intentional killing of a viable unborn human baby is okay with you,
    I do not want to see you.
  • If you deny that the "Russia! Russia! Russia!" hoax was a hoax,
    paid for by Team Hillary, I do not want to see you.
  • If you deny that Hunter Biden's laptop was real and filled with real info,
    I do not want to see you.

I'd like to see some folks from the old MHS '68 group, but not all.

The date will be Sunday, July 2nd, 2023. Email invites have been sent to over 220 folks from the MHS '68 group, people whom I think may be interested. If you are interested in joining but did not get an email invite, email Alice for location:

Understand: This is a by-invite day, with an extremely broad invite-list. It is not an open-invite to any and all.

I have rented a place for the day. I'll "seed" the day with some roasted chickens and some pizzas, and I'll hope for the best. No beer, wine, or alcohol, please.

I'm doing this because I'd like to have one last time in my old hometown. This will be my last time ever in Mishawaka, and there's a good chance that it will be my last time ever in all of Indiana. Since 1976, I have lived 600 miles from Mishawaka. For many years, I have had no connection to Mishawaka.

Do you recall Ronald Reagan's words in 1980: “I am paying for this microphone!”




I have "paid for the microphone" for the day so that my last visit to my old hometown will not be spoiled by people who push the insanity of today's far leftists.

Come as you are. No need to try to impress or to dress fancy. (I'll be wearing jeans and be plenty fat.) No one will be asking for donations for any "favorite charity." Anyone who offers to help cover costs will be advised to donate to some good cause. Show up as you might if you stopped in to visit your crazy cousin whom you've seen off and on since you were kids: She knows your ancestral tree better than you do, and she'll be happy to tell you about your great-grandfather. You know that she's crazy, and you accept it.

Bring your harmonica and play a tune. Bring your knitting needles and spend the day sitting, knitting, and hearing old familiar voices. Bring memorabilia to share. Come with genealogy questions, and I'll try to help you find answers. Bring a deck of cards and find a foursome to play Euchre. Whatever. Bring food! Lunch will be potluck. Come by yourself, or come with your significant other, or come with a friend. Bring your dog if you'd like. Bring your parrot. Bring your goldfish in a bowl. ;-)


On March 25, 2022, I emailed 250+ folks from the MHS '68 group, sharing my idea to hostess such a gathering. I had just read one more anti-woman news story telling of the word "maternity" being removed from the name of a hospital because the word "maternity" was "offensive" to some people.

For me, it was the last straw, and my response was to write the following to those 250+ old MHS '68 folks:

June 2023 will be 55 years after we had our last official act as the Mishawaka High Class of 1968. I would be interested in the possibility of gathering with some people whom I knew way back when -- but not with all. I am considering paying to rent a space for folks to gather (my dime, entirely), with the understanding that leftists / progressives / liberals / call-them-what-you-want are not welcome.

  • Any person who doesn't know what a woman is would not be welcome.
  • Any person who says that a man-who-pretends-to-be-a-woman is a woman would not be welcome.
  • Any person who thinks it's "okay" to butcher viable unborn babies would not be welcome.
  • Any person who still argues in favor of the "Russia! Russia! Russia!" hoax that was perpetuated by Hillary Clinton would not be welcome.
  • Any person who still imagines that Hunter Biden's laptap was not real and filled with real emails and real photos would not be welcome.

No, I am not wealthy. And, like everyone else, after 14 months of Biden-management, I am less wealthy and will be less wealthy every day. (That's what intentional inflation does: It makes all but the uber-wealthy poorer.) However, I would enjoy meeting with some folks from the MHS '68 group, but not with all. The only way that I have a right to do that is to say that I will pay the rent for the day, in some place, and will give an open invite to MHS '68 folks who fit the above description.

"Liberals" have seriously harmed this country.

In 1968, who'd have imagined that I'd be called a "right winger" because I say that women are real, that men-who-pretend-to-be-women are men, and that killing babies is wrong?

Think back to some of the best MHS teachers: Mary Hess, Ken Armel, Charles Karst, Thelma Martin, Ward Baker, Auggie Baetsle, Marvin Wood, Bruce Chamberlin, Mildred Harden, Merle Blue, Bob Heck.

Would ANY of them have gone along with the insanity brought by "liberals" who claim that men-who-pretend-to-be-women are women?

Here are some of the responses:

  • Hi Alice, l would love to see you, so yes I’m in. Keep me posted.
  • Cheer Cheer my Dear. Glad there’s still some common sense around. Would be happy to get together and have some fun.
  • Not to worry .. I'm all in ...
  • Sounds good to me! Let me know, please. I will try to attend, Lord willing. If I can help, let me know. As for your 'rant' - I call it truth, not rant - Amen, Sister, preach! I read only the bare, unvarnished truth!
  • I'm in, if still alive.
  • While I haven't attended any of our past reunions, I'd be interested in your 2023 proposal. Put me down as a 'yes', as long as I'm still counted among the living!
  • That sounds like fun. I pass all the qualifications to attend! So glad the vaccination wasn’t one of them. Thanks again for sharing & doing great things!
  • Can you run for President? Thanks for being brave enough to say it like it is. It would be most enjoyable to attend this event, I look forward to more information as plans get worked out. Thanks for all you do to keep our times at MHS alive.
  • Here! Here! Way to go, Alice!!!! I think Libs should be outlawed, too; however, it is the proverbial war between good and evil. Good will eventually win!!!! Thanks again for all you do!!!
  • Sorry I missed you at the 50th. And you can count me in for a meeting in 2023 - God Lord willing. By the way - I agree with you!!!
  • Sounds good to me.
  • I’m in! Hope it is Castle Manor, or something similar!!! I was coming anyway.
  • Good to hear from you. Glad to help w/ rental, more food - morning donuts…..
  • Feel free to let people know I’m in. Thanks for sending this and starting up the idea!
  • You can count me in. As you move forward with planning, let me know if I can help.
  • Love it!!! Isn't it crazy? Doesn't it make you think of the "Emperor has no clothes" parable? I love that you are open: No hidden agenda! My hat is off to you! If this is scheduled when I can come, I would love to! Please put me on the ''Keep posted" list, and I am happy to contribute to providing food for the group.
  • Your email is refreshing. I agree.
  • I just returned from a vacation and found this message. I’d love to come at this point. A lot can happen in a year (not with issues but with old-lady health concerns!) Maybe I will sneak my sister into the gathering! Put me on the list and we'll go from there.
  • I would love to attend! I totally agree with all your statements.
  • I totally agree, I get so disgusted with all this that it takes everything I have to not just rip some of these people! I would not care who gets offended, I don’t care anymore…I can’t believe what is happening and that people can be so stupid and are willing to just follow along with these crazies. I just keep believing we have hit the wall and this ship is going to right itself soon.

Those last words are the best:

I just keep believing we have hit the wall and this ship is going to right itself soon.

Because of those responses, the possibility moved from an idea into an "arrange this," and I have rented a space for the day.

I hope to see some old friends and friendlies on Sunday, July 2nd, 2023. I hope to see my few old close friends and some friendly folks from the distant past of our childhoods in Mishawaka, so very long ago.

I have arranged for the day, and I have emailed invites to 220+ people.

I have attempted not to send emails about this to any whom I know to be supporting the totalitarian, dystopian regime we are now surviving in the USA, a regime worse than that described in George Orwell's book 1984. This invite would offend supporters of the regime. My object is not to offend them, but I do not want to see them. They are not welcome.

This will be a day for people whom I would be happy to sit with while drinking a bottle of pop, remembering how things used to be, and sharing with one another how life has been over the decades, from when we met as little children, to now that we are old.

And, should you feel the need to tell me how wrong I am to plan such a day, I refer you to President Reagan's words: “I am paying for this microphone!”



On June 5, 1968, most of us walked across the football field in maroon robes, sat on the bleachers, and listened to Phil Eskew babble. Eskew (1906-1991) headed the Indiana High School Athletic Association from 1962 to 1976. The man had zero connection to Mishawaka, did not know a darned thing about us, and it's likely that his words connected with no one on that day. But we sat patiently and politely.

We also listened to Randy Marks ask for a silent prayer for Robert Kennedy, who had been shot in the wee hours of that morning. Four-and-a-half years earlier, most of us had been at school in 8th grade when we learned that Bobby Kennedy's brother had been shot -- a nightmare day that all recall. Those two assassinations became the bookends of our teen years in Mishawaka.

I have only a few memories of graduation day: I remember the wind blowing against our robes as we walked across the field to the bleachers. I remember smiles and happy words after the graduation ceremony as we were again inside the high school, returning our rented graduation gowns, exchanging little “name cards,” telling one another that we'd stay in touch. Why, of course we would! Some of us had seen each other almost every day since we began kindergarten, or since we met in 7th grade. Together, we had learned to decode squiggles on pages, and we had learned to write our own words, and we had learned to divide fractions. Of course we would stay in touch!

And then life happened. We made plans, but life happened. Few of us maintained contact over the many decades. Fewer of us saw one another with any frequency over the many decades. When we would make contact, usually we would paste on a smile with each trying to convince the other that, “Everything's fine!” We all know that not everything was fine for all those decades. There have been successes and happinesses, but there have been enormous losses and sadnesses and agonies. Remember: I've worked the genealogies for almost every one of you. I've seen the records of some of those agonies. Some had suffered major agonies even before graduation day.

At least 87 from that old group have died:
Deceased of the MHS Class of 1968
That's 20 per cent dead, at least.

Back to that graduation day: Ten of us gathered a few times in advance of graduation to plan the graduation events. The others were student council president Dave Nevel; class officers Randy Marks, Joe Jasiewicz, Cosimo Natali, and Penny Reynolds; M-Men president Randy Shayler; and the other honor society presidents, Carol Nix, Becky Smith, and Dan Nicolini. Our faculty “class sponsor,” Jeannette Davis, was in charge, but she was not always able to push us where she wanted us to go: She was not in favor of an outdoor ceremony, but we insisted. She did not like the idea of the “Symphonies in White” tradition, with two girls from the junior class leading us into the commencement ceremony, dressed in white full-length gowns and carrying red roses, but we insisted. It was a beautiful tradition, and Cheryl Tagliaferri and Cindy Theilking lead us onto the football field and to where we sat on the bleachers.

I recall the graduation committee meetings back in spring of 1968. I was tasked with designing the cover of the program for what was called “Class Day.”

The theme of the program cover was “Yesterday's gone.” There was a song popular back then, “But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone.”



That song seemed fitting for the day: “Yesterday's gone.”

I had begun kindergarten at North Side with Lois, Randy, Bob, Eve, Christina, Marsha, Glenda, Tom, Billy H., Bill B., and Tim Farr. In the photo below, top row, from left are Bob H., me, and Tim Farr. Next to Tim is an unknown girl, then Randy. Directly in front of Tim is Lois. To the right of Lois is Tom. Then two unknowns. Then Marsha. Then an unknown. Then Christina. In the front row, Eve is 2nd from the left, then Bill B. Then two unknowns. Then Glenda. Our teacher? That was Mrs. Russell Uhrenholdt, born Ruth Frances Blanchard, in 1933.

Four years before we began kindergarten, in 1951, our kindergarten teacher had graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, in Washington, D.C. Just three months before we began kindergarten, she had graduated from University of Wisconsin, Madison, and married Mr. Uhrenholdt at a Methodist Church in Madison. After the wedding, she and her new husband moved to South Bend. In September 1955, she begin teaching kindergartners at both North Side and Twin Branch, where she would play the piano for us and encourage us to be quiet by telling us to listen for a pin to drop. She was a nice lady. In 2023, she and her husband live in Rochester, New York.

Just three months before high-school graduation in 1968, I took a phone call from Tim Farr's mother. She asked that a thank-you message be printed in the school newspaper, to thank people who had offered kindnesses after Tim's death. Tim died March 3rd, our senior year, just a few weeks after he and six other young MHS '68 men had dressed up fancy and served as attendants in a wedding: Tim, Dave Hoskins, Ken Quick, Rich Gottman, Steve Hartley, Jeff Barcus, Alan Evarts. Now, four of those seven are gone.

Yesterday's gone.

But back to our graduation day, it was unlike what would happen in 2023: The ceremony opened with a prayer by a Catholic priest and closed with a prayer by a Lutheran minister. 1968 was a time when we prayed, a time when people believed in God, a time when most attempted to follow God's laws, a time when we felt guilty when we goofed. And we all goofed along the way. Well, perhaps not you, but I surely goofed over the years.

We left the Mishawaka High School grounds that day, and there never again has been anything “official” about the Mishawaka High Class of 1968.

Some won't like what I say next, but you can't send me to detention or order me off school property:
The far-leftist media, the corporate oligarchs, and the entertainment oligarchs have nearly destroyed the USA. They pushed riots and violence in 2020 across the USA. The riots they encouraged and praised destroyed billions of dollars of property and destroyed many small businesses. The riots caused deaths that are ignored. The Black Lives Matter group that pushed the violence had nothing to do with black lives mattering, but few people have the guts to say that in public. People were punished for saying, "
All lives matter.” So-called journalists stood in front of burning buildings and spoke of “mostly peaceful protests.” Then we got to the election of 2020, and here's what happened:

The USA became an occupied nation on January 20, 2021.

Biden's disasters and harms against the USA are so numerous that one loses count: Afghanistan, highest inflation in 40 years (inflation = a tax), Ukraine, the southern border of the USA, totalitarian mandates in the name of COVID, sky-high gas prices, baby formula shortages. Then there are his pro-abortion efforts (all while pretending to be Catholic) and his pushing the tranny-crap so that men-who-pretend-to-be-women have the right to intrude in women's private spaces -- complete with their ding-dongs swinging. Women locked in prisons have been raped and impregnated by men-who-pretend-to-be-women, and the main-stream media response is "ho-hum."

Biden is the worst USA President in our lifetimes and perhaps the worst USA President ever.

I'd like to see some folks from the old MHS '68 group one last time.
I've arranged for the space, Sunday, July 2nd, in Mishawaka.
I'll keep my fingers crossed and see who shows up.

Alice
cavemen68.com

P.S.
For a few folks in the MHS '68 group, I really am their crazy cousin.
According to paper-trail genealogical research, these folks are my distant cousins: Keith Smith (GRIMES line); Sandy Young (CRIPE line); Sandy Eberhardt (CRIPE line); Pat McGee (SANFORD line); Tammy Reed (KEIM line); Dawn Housand (KEIM line); Sharon Gill (SOULE line); Pat Semprini (SOULE line); Mike Hass (HOTCHKISS line);
Ron Wise (deceased) (BUNNELL line). According to autosomal DNA, Spider Draves and I are distant cousins, somewhere on my father's side; that's a puzzle yet to be solved.

I stress "distant." The connections are beyond fifth cousins, and sometimes it's a half-cousin situation. And, of course, for all but Spider, the info is based on the paper trail, and sometimes paper-trail genealogy is not what it seems.

I have a massive amount of genealogical information that I'd be happy to share. You'd have a hard time finding a genealogist as good as I am, at any price, and I do it for MHS '68 folks for free:
Mishawaka Small Trees (genealogy info for MHS '68 folks)


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