Jim Gillen

Jim Gillen was on the track team as a freshman, the wrestling team and the class council as a sophomore. He was involved in vocational graphic arts as a junior and senior.

Jim was one of those guys that grew up in my same neighborhood, in the ten block area north of MacArthur High School, a relatively new subdivision in the 1960s. I lived on Hunt Street and he lived on Garfield Street. All the girls liked Jim, including my little sister. We saw each other all the time, and we all went to the same schools - Garfield, Roosevelt, and MacArthur. But then years and decades do separate people. For example, I was startled to discover that Jim eventually found his calling in a lifelong service career that also mirrored what my father had done for two decades before retiring. It really is a very small world.

Jim shares his life and its highlights with his classmates through the following:

"I was born and raised in Decatur, Illinois, the youngest of four siblings, which were three boys and one girl. I was educated by the Decatur Public school system and Richland community college. I married Sue, the girl I dated through high school. We have been married for 44 years and have three grown sons, two grandsons (who are 5 years old) and a granddaughter (aged 15).

"Straight out of high school, I started my employment as printer for Rand McNally Co. Then I changed jobs in 1970, moving to the Decatur Fire Department. During my time there, working for 34 years, I was promoted through the ranks and served as Battalion Chief for the last ten years of my career.

"I retired in 2003 after having a heart attack.

"For the last three years, I have lived on Pana Lake in Pana, Illinois with my wife Sue. I enjoy fishing, family, spending time with my grandchildren and trying to keep this country from being destroyed from within by our present government. My wife says I'm very strong headed."



"My first car was a 1953 Chevy. I paid for it myself. It was green. Sometimes we had to push it to get it started."

++++

So what have you been up to in the last, well, 45 years?

Add your Mac '65 brief biography to the virtual and real reunion project and see your polished and edited notes published at this blog. To contact Loren Coleman or others on the Mac '65 reunion committee, please use this safe contact form here.

Thank you.

Reunion is set for June 24-25, 2011 !, in Decatur, Illinois, naturally.

St. John's Day

Today, is Midsummer Eve, St. John's Eve, June 23, so allow me to introduce you to June 24th, St. John's Day.

It is named after John the Baptist, in celebration of his birth date. The feast day of his birth (June 24) became celebrated more solemnly than that marking his martyrdom by beheading (August 29). This is unusual but then "strange" and June 24th go hand and hand.

On June 24, 2011, in one year and counting, the Mac '65 Reunion, in conjunction with the Classes of 1966 and 1967, will open. Did the planners realize the highly symbolic significance of this date to those born in 1947? It is doubtful, so let me share some fun facts.

Throughout Europe, and via the United Kingdom, St. John's Day's symbolism spread to the USA. In the UK, and especially, Scotland, bonfires are a key. Should we be surprised to find it so in North America?

St. John’s Day (”Jaanipäev”) is a major traditional holiday in Estonia, celebrated by singing around bonfires, in Estonian communities in the United States and Canada as well as in Estonia itself. The glow-worm, because it usually starts appearing around St. John’s Day, is called “Jaaniuss”–”St. John’s Worm” – in Estonian.

In France, the "Fête de la Saint-Jean" (feast of St John), traditionally celebrated with bonfires (le feu de la Saint-Jean) that are reminiscent of Midsummer's pagan rituals, is a catholic festivity in celebration of Saint John the Baptist. It takes place on June 24, on Midsummer day (St. John's day). In certain French towns, a tall bonfire is built by the inhabitants in order to be lit on St. John's Day. In medieval times, this festival was celebrated with cat-burning rituals.

Of course, there will be no cat burnings during Mac's St. John's Day Reunion celebration. But a bonfire might be in order. Fire in the sky is a major underlying theme of this day.

Does the name Kenneth Arnold (pictured below) ring a bell? He wasn't a graduate of the Class of 1965, was he? No. But the year we are were all born or nearly so was an important one for Arnold. Little do most people in the Class of 1965, know or realize but most of us entered life at the same time the Era of Flying Saucers also did, thanks to the specific events of June 24, 1947.



Additionally, the date has a long history of notable events. Take, for example, a look at some of these:
Knights Templars first display the "Mysterious Head" at Poitiers (1308);
Founding of the Order of the Garter occurs (1348);
King Henry VI founds Eton College (1441);
John Cabot discovers North America (1497);
Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada (1604);
Galileo is released (1633);
"Woman of the Wilderness" utopian community arrives in America (1694);
"Woman of the Wilderness" angelic visions take place (1701);
Grand Lodge of Freemasons, the first Masonic Lodge in the World, is inaugurated (1717);
Ambrose Bierce is born (1842);
Red rain falls, Italy (1877);
Ice fall occurs, Ft. Lyon, Colorado (1877);
Fall of jelly-like mass occurs, Eton (1911);
Fred Hoyle is born (1915);
Mick Fleetwood is born (1942); and
Jeff Beck is born (1944).

This date will forever be tied to the first day of "flying saucer" history, due to the now-famous Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams, Washington State sighting by Kenneth Arnold of disc-shaped objects in the sky (1947).

Other "fiery" anniversaries date to that year, as well:
Filmstock fire kills seventeen people, Brussels (1947);
Movie theaters evaluated during huge fire, Perth Amboy, NJ (1947);
United Airlines plane is struck by lightning over Cleveland (1947);
Invasion of grasshoppers is battled with flame-throwers, Guatemala/El Salvador (1947); and
Woman is attacked and killed by bees or wasps, Seattle (1947).

On the 60th anniversary, in 2007, the infamous Angora Fire starts near South Lake Tahoe, California destroying over 200 structures in its first 48 hours. What events have dotted your past histories from this point on the calendar?

Strangely, the deaths of various phenomena researchers, writers, and fans have occurred on this date, as well. These include Frank Scully, June 24, 1964; Frank Edwards, near the coming midnight of the 24th, still on June 23, 1967; Arthur Bryant, June 24, 1967; Richard Church June 24, 1967; Willy Ley, June 24, 1969; Jackie Gleason (who was an every advocate of the flying saucers), June 24, 1987.

In years gone by, June 24th has been a focus of cryptid milestones, including:
Bigfoot sightings occur, Logan and Union counties, Ohio (1980);
Chupacabras are encountered outside disco, Maria Elena, Argentina (2000);
Moose hunters see Bigfoot, near Fort Simpson, NWT, Canada (2002);
Mysterious fire erupts in Gallipolis, Ohio resident's car on bridge from Ohio to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, site of the Mothman lore (2003);
Massive unusual aerial phenomena is seen, Xalapa, Mexico (2005);
"Aren't You Chupacabra to See Me?" airs for first time on Cartoon Network (2005); and
Nestle uses Bigfoot-costumed marchers to launch Kit Kat Limited Edition – Cappuccino at the Giant Mahkota Parade, Malacca, and Jusco Tebrau City, Johor (2005).

In 2006, coincidentally, the grand opening of the Bates College Museum of Art's "Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale" exhibition occurred on June 24th. Also on June 24, 2006, this date saw the death of renegade publisher Lyle Stuart who published anomalist writer Frank Edwards' Fortean books, with the first one in 1959 being Stranger than Science, a paperbook full of information on unexplained phenomena.

The birth of members of the Class of 1965 in 1947 built to a peak of strange happenings by June 24, 1947. Flying saucers. Unexplained events. Mysterious fiery outbursts. Strange cryptid sightings. Beltane fires. Little people. Miracles. Bathing. Round dances. Collecting of glowworms. Folkloric incidents. Weird encounters.

From what you know in your heart, you could say that we were a class born with fire in our belly. We have carried on that tradition and passion way beyond any vision we could have ever had. It has been an amazing journey. And we are not done.

Respect the wonder and adventure of the 24th of June.

What cosmic finger of fate caused the Mac '65 reunion committee to pick the date they did for the upcoming reunion? Certainly, I was not consulted, so don't blame me. But I am here to tell you they could not have picked a more special date in the 1947 historical calendar.

What special events will be in the mix on this date in 2011, on the 64th anniversary of the beginning of the Age of Flying Saucers and the 46th anniversary of the graduation of the Class of 1965? Stay tuned.

Margy High

Margery Anne High, also known as Margy High, also known today as Margery Kane, started out her freshman year at MacArthur, quietly enough, in the girls chorus, the Latin Club, and the high school newspaper workshop. But that would only be a hint of what was to follow. Margy became involved in Girls Choir and Monitor Feature Staff as a sophomore and junior, the Christmas Program for four years, and several music programs during her junior and senior years. As a senior, Margy was the Honor Roll Editor. She filled her four years with lots of words and music.

What has Margy been doing in the last four plus decades?

She answered with this:

"Where do I start?

"After high school, I attended Southern Illinois University and received a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education.

"Sally (Buck) Carll and I were roommates at Southern. We stood up for each other when we each got married and have stayed best friends for all these years. By the time I got my bachelor’s degree, I had one daughter and another one on the way.

"My husband, Ken Robinson, and I lived in Carbondale and that’s where we raised our daughters, Kristy and Leslie (who are now 42 and 38!!). I have two grandchildren, Jake and Meg (ages 15 and 10). Both daughters and their families live in the St. Louis area, where I go frequently to see them.

"So how did I land in Urbana, IIllinois? My life after the divorce from Ken was a single one. I went back to school and earned a Master’s degree in English at SIU. I taught English part time at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois. My full time job at SIU-C was as an office manager for a water research group, which enabled me to travel the country, as I was in charge of all the conferences and meetings. All this time, I was enjoying the girls and putting them through SIU-C as well. They’re both married and have good jobs in St. Louis now. Kristy, my oldest, and her husband, Bob, have my grandchildren. Leslie and Greg are “yuppies” – living in the city and enjoying traveling and city living!"



"I have been single for most of my adult life, but found my husband, John Kane, in 1996, when I moved back to Decatur. We dated in Decatur, were together for 10 years, married for 5 of those, and moved to Urbana when we married because I was working here at Human Kinetics Publishers as a managing editor for scholarly journals in the physical activity field. John died in 2007 of cancer.

"Since then, I’ve been working, enjoying friends I’ve made in Urbana, going to Decatur frequently to see my brothers who live there, and sharing my home with my dog, Scout (she’s 3 years old: a brown and white Cock-a-Poo). I met my 'significant other' a couple of years ago, and we enjoy traveling and attending events here in the Champaign-Urbana area."



When I asked Margy about her first car, here's what she said:

"I think the boys of the class of 1965 have more interesting car stories!!"

"Yikes: my first car....I'm thinking it was a little white Corvair with red seats. I didn't have a car of my own in high school like my brothers did (noisy Corvettes). The Corvair was one I had when I was married at age 20. My dad wasn't very happy I was driving it - and he was right: I wrecked it when the brakes failed in Carbondale early on. I did have a wonderful 1964 red Volkswagon convertible that I had when attending Millikin while my husband was in Viet Nam (around 1969). I loved that car.

"My present car is a 2005 Chrysler Sebring (I love the heated seats in the winter). Just goes to show how age has altered my priorities!! I may get a zippy little car next time, though."

Margy High Kane added a final note:

"That's it in a nutshell. I’m in good health after two hip replacements ~ and look forward to visiting with all of you next year. I’ll probably come solo unless I find a classmate to accompany me. See you in June of 2011!"


++++

So what have you been up to in the last, well, 45 years?

Can you help us find our missing classmates?

Add your Mac '65 brief biography to the virtual and real reunion project and see your polished and edited notes published at this blog. To contact Loren Coleman or others on the Mac '65 reunion committee, please use this safe contact form here.

Thank you.

Reunion is set for June 24-25, 2011 !, Decatur, Illinois.

Delinda Chapman

Delinda Chapman filled her MacArthur days with singing, student activities, and more. During her freshman year, she was involved in Girls Glee Club, and then the Girls Choir as a sophomore. Student Council got her attention as a sophomore and senior. During her junior year, Delinda was active with Concert Choir, Prom Decorations Committee, Junior Talent Show, Stephen Decatur Exchange, Big Mac Day, and Junior Class Ring Committee. At the end of her days at Mac, she was the chair of Homecoming Photography, and with the Float Committee, as well as in the Russian and French Clubs. No one could claim that Delinda Chapman remained idle as she rushed towards graduation in 1965.

So, how do you think she's lived her life?

Here is Delinda's update:

"I have been busy since I last saw you all as I am sure everyone else has been. Below is my brief bio outlining the years in between.

"I retired from state government employment December 2002 after 21 years of service. For thirteen years prior to state government, I was a teacher, principal and supervisor of elementary education. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, and Master's and Doctorate degrees in education.

"I am a past president of the American Association of University Women—Illinois and a past national board member of AAUW as the Great Lakes Regional Director.

"For the past ten years, I have hosted and produced 'Equity for Women' and 'The Learning Curve,' a cable television program in Springfield, Illinois.

"I married my college sweetheart, [and that marriage] lasted four years. After my doctorate, I married John Erickson. We were married for 25 years, until his death in July of 2004.

"For the last five years, I have been painting pictures finding my hidden creativity. I show my paintings in three venues in Springfield and one in Jacksonville, Illinois.

"I have four step-daughters, four granddaughters, three grandsons, and three great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter who keep me young and alert.

"I am still busy."

Delinda's answer to the first car question follows:



"My first car was a 1965 red VW convertible bought to get me to student teaching. What a car! I drove VWs for 20 years then was shamed into buying something more professional by my employer as the floorboards were rusting out in my latest VW model. So after four other cars I am now driving two KIAs, a sedan for the road and a Sportage for my art work. I saw a new VW convertible a few weeks ago, sigh. I think my next and last car will be just that!!"

Stephen Day

Stephen Day was involved with golf, class representation, and one of the Big Mac Days, during his high school years. Stephen made it through MacArthur, like a lot of us, being involved, but not too involved. After all, for many of us, getting through high school was a chore on the way to the ultimate goal, which was graduating, to be followed by going to college or getting a job and growing up.

The glory years waited for most of us after Mac. Stephen writes me that he thinks his life is boring, but I disagree. Stephen's post-Mac years are rather reflective of the high points that many of us achieved that hardly feel like big deals to us, but viewed from the outside, are good mountains to have climbed.

Indeed, having had a peek at Stephen's beautiful family, he has much to be proud of, but let me get on with his overview of what he's been up to since 1965.



"I graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1971 with a degree in Pharmacy. Worked at St. Mary's hospital in Decatur for a few years. We moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, where I worked for a pharmaceutical company. In 1983, we moved to Mesa, Arizona. I took a position as Director of Pharmacy for a small hospital. Over the years, the organization grew and merged with another hospital group. Today I'm in the same position as the Director of Pharmacy for Banner Baywood Medical Center, Banner Heart Hospital, and Banner Ironwood Medical Center (opening in November). Wow, my whole life in one paragraph."

I can also add that Stephen is married to Fran LeBel Day, and they have three grown children, Krysten, Bradley, and Jaclyn.

In answer to my question about his first car, Stephen shared the following and sent a photo of what it looked like. You have to imagine the color.



"My first car was a 1960 4-door pea green Valiant 3 speed. I went to my dad one day and told him I needed a car for work, to get to school, and there was no way he was driving me on another date (due to the bad experience my date and I had when I reluctantly agreed to let him drive on a previous occasion). All the other guys had cars and I needed one too. He said, 'OK son, I'll pay half,' (then a long pause as he knew I was getting my hopes up)...then he continued, 'up to $150.'

"So I ended up with this ugly faded pea green thing. One very humid day that summer, while working downtown at Osco Drug, someone egged the car (inside). After that it smelled on the inside like it looked on the outside. To this day I blame that damned car for my lack of luck with the Class of '65 ladies! Obviously I still have fond memories of that car and the good times (and memories) that accompanied it."


This 1960 4-door Valiant is shown in "Twilight Blue," not the "pea green" of the vehicle owned by Stephen.

One final note: After my recent posting about Lynn Calhoun, I got an email from Stephen. He wrote, in part, that, "Lynn is my first cousin and he has had it pretty bad in the intervening years since high school. All of what you've written is true....Viet Nam probably triggered the downward spiral....Thanks to you and those who contributed to the piece."

++++

So what have you been up to in the last, well, 45 years?

Can you help us find our missing classmates?

Add your Mac '65 brief biography to the virtual and real reunion project and see your polished and edited notes published at this blog. To contact Loren Coleman or others on the Mac '65 reunion committee, please use this safe contact form here.

Thank you.

Reunion is set for June 24-25, 2011 !, Decatur, Illinois.

Lynn Calhoun: Victim of Vietnam

Tomorrow is Flag Day. Let's revisit a soldier classmate of ours today.

For the Class of 1965, perhaps one of the most overwhelming background bits of noise that remains in our lives is that we existed in America during the Vietnam War. No reason to be political about this; it is merely a fact of being a child of those times. In one way or another, we made life choices due to Vietnam, and probably knew someone tragically touched by the war. It is a fact that is hard to avoid.

For some of our classmates, the War lives on in their day-to-day existent. I'm going to look at one such person today: Lynn Calhoun, whom Donna Camp tracked down. First a little info on the syndrome.

In the mid-to-late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) was conducted by the U.S. government to better understand the psychological effect of being in the Vietnam War. The findings from this study were more shocking than what people were prepared to hear since it was only a decade after the end of the war. Among Vietnam veterans, approximately 15% of men and 9% of women were found to currently have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Approximately 30% of men and 27% of women had PTSD at some point in their life following Vietnam. This comes about through a variety of manifestations. Nightmares and anger are examples that are constantly mentioned; there are others. If you happened to have a precondition vulnerability to mental health issues, you might be predisposed to suffer PTSD even worse than others did.

In addition to psychological treatments for PTSD (for example, cognitive-behavioral therapy), medications have also been found to be useful in treating the symptoms of PTSD. A number of factors can interfere with the treatment of PTSD, such as stigma, avoidance, and other disorders, as well as substance use disorders, depression, and anxiety disorders.

In the time leading up to this posting, various people have talked to Lynn about his troubles, and he has given permission for me to share some insights and information with you. I'll be very honest with you. This is another moment in our "reunion" history where a simple card or note from you, Lynn's old Mac '65 classmates, might do a world of good for Lynn.

First, do you remember Lynn? He is recalled as a great guy around school, a big part of Mac.



Lynn Calhoun's Cadet sketch tells of him playing football as a freshman and sophomore, four years of baseball, playing in the student faculty game as a freshman and senior, and helping out with the Big Mac Assembly as a freshman, sophomore, and junior. Indeed, as a junior, Lynn was heavily involved at school with the Homecoming Queen Committee, Homecoming Assembly, Spanish Club, Student Council Alternate, Class Council Alternate, Student Council Assembly, Spanish Club Float, and Homecoming Float. His senior year, Lynn was back working on the Homecoming Float.

But what happened to Lynn, after graduation?

Here is some of what Lynn shared with classmates, which has been sent on to me, with his permission to send out his call for communications.

First of all, Lynn Calhoun went to Vietnam and was injured in some way there, mostly mentally. He has been a disabled vet for decades. He has been in and out of the VA in Danville, on at least an outpatient level.

Lynn has had a rough time, since Vietnam. In 1976, his mother died by suicide, and one of his two sisters was in and out of institutions. All of this, of course, impacted Lynn greatly, troubling his mind, and ending his marriage (there were no children).

For Lynn, the Vietnam War lives on, and in the recent past he tried to share reading material and military photos with a neighbor about this period of his life, causing concern for him from folks who didn't quite understand what was going on. Lynn sometimes constantly reads the Bible too.

Today, Lynn is diabetic, fights his weight, has a congestive heart ailment, and has been given a schizophrenia diagnosis, mainly due to episodes he has when he goes off his medications. He knows he shouldn't do that, and perhaps that is behind what has recently happened to Lynn.

Lynn said that he has been at a nursing home (Arcola Health Care Center) since September 26, 2008, when he refused to take his meds.

His sister recently passed away, and he is now feeling more and more isolated. Lynn told Keith Rogers who talked to him that he would like to talk to anyone! He needs his old classmates to send him cards! He can go out on passes...he can walk but really needs a wheelchair, just in case. His appearance might shock a few of his old classmates: he has a full head of white hair and a long white beard.

Lynn is at the Arcola Health Care Center
422 E. 4th Street South
Arcola, Illinois

His mailing address is

Lynn Franklin Calhoun
P.O. Box 70
Arcola, Illinois 61910

He'd really like to hear from you, if you'd like to contact him.





The P.O. Box number is where you send him mail.

Help out a classmate; please send him a note!!

Floats

As you look through the Cadet of 1965, one notes that floats are a major feature of the Yearbook. Why?



"I remember stuffing some kind of tissue into cotton pickin' chicken wire 'til I was blind and my fingers were numb. Now that I look back on them, I'm impressed at how nicely done they were." ~ Donna Camp.



"Our floats blew all the classes away and we won 4 years in a row." ~ Rick Livesay.



"Our class won first place in the float competition EVERY year, a feat that obviously cannot be topped!" ~ Cheryl Lanum.



"We won First Place all 4 years!" ~ Debby Burrows.



"Yes, all 4 years!!!! Class of 1965 ruled!!!! And still does!" ~ Millie McCaddon.

Competing against the other classes at MacArthur, during all four years of homecoming parades, became a personal fight we took to heart. That we were able to beat out all the other classes to win the honor for "best of parade" was experienced as a sign of Class of 1965 pride.



If someone throws down the gauntlet, you shall find the Class of 1965 up for taking first place by having the most members of our Class attending the reunion, as well as having the best margaritas, the best pyramids constructed by our former cheerleaders (with backflips demonstrated along the side), and the best breakdancing exhibitions by former football players. Our nerds and geeks will show off their excellent Apple stock portfolios to grand praise and acclaim, and demonstrate they can text faster than their grandchildren. Our classmates have succeed even in not succeeding, if they so decided, for it isn't about the resume, it's about the life.

We already have beat out all the other classes for having the most interesting lives by the most interesting people in the world!



The competitive juices still run strongly through the varicose veins and arthritic fingers of our Class of 1965!!

The women and men of our class are up for mounting any challenge. Bring 'em on!!



Stay curious, my friends.

Janet Owens

During Janet Owens' senior year at MacArthur, she was elected Vice President of the Future Nurses of America, which was a true precursor to what career would await this young woman beyond 1965.

But that only hinted at how active Janet was in school. She was on the Cadet staff as a junior and senior, and was involved in many musical ensembles and band clubs, performances, competitions, and appearances. Her high school career didn't stop there. Janet was in the Spanish, Dramatics, Latin, and Book clubs, as well as serving as a Student Council Alternate and being in the Senior Class Play.

From the obituary that has been located, it appears Janet Owens was involved in nursing and raising her four children. Then Janet Owens died too young, on the West Coast. Our thoughts to those she left behind. Hers will be another familiar face who will be missed at the reunion.

Selections from her obituary:

Mrs. Richard (Janet Lee Owens) Terry, 43, of Placentia, Calif., formerly of Decatur, [Illinois] died 5 a.m. Tuesday (Feb. 6, 1990) in Placentia Linda Hospital [in California].

Mrs. Terry was born in Springfield, daughter of James L. and Lois Stedman Owens. She was a nurse at Brea Community Hospital in California and a member of First Christian Church of Long Beach. She married Richard L. Terry in 1969.

Surviving are her husband; sons, Wade, Aaron and Marcus, all at home; daughter, Marissa at home; parents of Decatur; brothers, Gary Owens of Vancouver, Wash.; Dennis Owens of Houston, Texas; Tim Owens of Kirkland, Wash.; grandmother, Lillian Stedman of Arlington, Wash.

Decatur Herald & Review, February 9, 1990.

Thanks to research from Donna Camp.

Mondo Cane's More

For those that need to be reminded, ''More'' was deemed our official Class of 1965 song. It is the theme song to the 1962 Italian film Mondo Cane ("A Dog's World"). For those that don't remember, Mondo Cane was one very bizarre film but the song was a lyrical love song.



Here are some YouTube versions of the song. Viewers beware (not because of any graphic content, but because of the singing on a couple of these).

David Gross

David Gross was in AVA, and for four years involved in the stage crew and golf for MacArthur. He also was in the Spanish Club during this first two years at school.

His is an obituary recently discovered, regarding another classmate who left at such a young age - 23.



Click on the news article to enlarge it for easier reading. Thanks to Judy Quinlan Sumner, Mac '66, for passing this along.

45 Years Ago!

Today, June 4, 2010, is the 45th anniversary of the graduation of the Douglas MacArthur High School Class of 1965.

Where we all went, what we did, and whom we became have their roots on that day. Graduation.

The other events happening on June 4, 1965, were mostly ignored, missed, or forgotten because we were so preoccupied with ourselves, our futures, our celebrations, and our fears of our tomorrows.

Therefore, for some memory moments, here are some highlights of what occurred on June 4, 1965.


The big news of the day was that Gemini IV was in its second day of flight. Gemini IV performed the first American extra-vehicular activity (EVA), also called a space walk. Astronaut Edward White took his space walk for 22 minutes, the previous day. It thus was all over the news on the 4th.


President Lyndon Johnson, meanwhile, was giving one of the most famous speeches of his life, his Civil Rights address at the Howard University commencement, as we were graduating from MacArthur:

To shatter forever not only the barriers of law and public practice, but the walls which bound the condition of many by the color of his skin. To dissolve, as best we can, the antique enmities of the heart which diminish the holder, divide the great democracy, and do wrong — great wrong — to the children of God. ~ LBJ, June 4, 1965.

Miss USA 1965, the 14th Miss USA pageant, took place in Miami Beach, Florida on June 4, 1965. It was the first Miss USA pageant to be televised live (on the CBS network). The pageant was won by Sue Downey of Ohio.



Life ran a story on this date saying that only baseball players wore sunglasses to keep the sun out of their eyes, and everyone else wore them because they were cool.


Some trains had a decidedly modern deco look then. Pictured is the 20th Century Limited, Train #26, taken in the Midwest, on June 4, 1965, by Dr. Louis Marre.



Memorable music was released on June 4, 1965. There was a Beatles album containing "I'll Follow the Sun," "Baby's In Black," and "Words of Love." The Rolling Stones' classic, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" first appeared, as well, on this day.


On June 4, 1965, Andrea Jaeger, a future American tennis player was being born in Chicago, Illinois. Jaeger would later become an Anglican Dominican nun in 2006.



Finally, Life ran an ad on June 4, 1965, for a new vehicle that would be just right for an emerging generation who liked to travel around in groups, to concerts and on various exploratory road trips.

After graduating on this date 45 years ago, many of us moved on from Decatur and explored the globe, in VWs and other means of hitting the road. Many others stayed in Decatur, investigating systematically the brave new world from there. In June 2011, hundreds will find their way back to Decatur, to say hello again, no matter where you've been.

Congratulations, everyone!

Cheryl Lanum

When Cheryl Lanum was at MacArthur, according to the 1965 Cadet, there is a hint of what she would become someday. Was the tomorrow tale to be told in the fact she was a student council alternate as a freshman, in the Latin Club as a freshman and sophomore, or that she was a member of Future Nurses from her freshman through junior years? Indeed, was there even a hint of Cheryl's emerging future, in the last activity credited to her, as an active member of the homecoming committee helping with the floats as a senior?

Let's hear from Cheryl about what happened in her life, in her own words:

As we are preparing for our big reunion next year and starting to reconnect here, many of you may be thinking, "I don't really remember much about Cheryl Lanum." Well, that could be because, as many of you stated when signing my yearbooks, I was a "very quiet" and "shy" girl. I think that's why I always kept Donna (Camp...best friend since age 7) around. She ALWAYS did all the talking for me.

I owe a great deal of gratitude to the late great JR Coutrakon who spent a large part of one semester as my chemesty lab partner, and Steve Haury who likewise was my biology lab partner. Thanks to them, after Mac, I was able to get into Nursing School.

After graduation, by a process of elimination (it was the only opening left), I found myself starting to work in surgery. Yes, that would be the actual operating room. It seems I have a great knack for all aspects of surgical nursing and forty years later, it is still my passion. I am now the Orthopedic Team Coordinator at Decatur Memorial Hospital. If any of you are getting to a point where you need those hips and knees replaced, I can arrange that!

Finding a career that suited me so well gave me a confidence I had never known. I found my voice. I started getting over all that painful shyness. It was a good thing. I would need all the help I could get with my next and GREATEST passion of my life: children!

I, like many, have been married twice. Mikey is a podiatrist (yes, a foot surgeon I met in surgery!). [His name is Michael (Mike) Clark. I'm the only one that calls him Mikey, as noted in here.] We've been together 30 years now. I have a mine, his and ours crew. I have 3 children, 2 stepchildren, 3 grandchildren and 5 step grandchildren. My oldest son, Tim, and his wife live in Decatur. His son will be a junior, his daughter a sophomore at Mac this fall. His youngest is 16 months old. My daughter, Angela and her farmer husband live in Bloomington and are expecting their first child. My step kids are Jeff, in Bloomington with 3 boys, and Jennifer, in Pittsburgh with 2 boys. My "baby," Will, is 28, a Golf Pro in Bloomington. My only "at home" baby is my yellow lab, Wrigley.

All of my children were active, and I admit, I still worked when the first two were small. When Will was born, I took a 14 year maternity leave to stay home with the kids. "Stay home" is something that rarely happened. It started slowly, volunteering to go along on field trips, then being a room mother. Then Will learned how to talk. From that point on, whenever ANYONE said "could someone...?" Will would say, "My Mom will!" I became President of the PTA, petted my first python on the zoo trip, became secretary of the Mt. Zion Booster Club, Chairman (for 15 years) of the Junior Golf Program, baseball coach, designated Concert mom (that was cool! I even got to go to the Monsters of Rock festival in Indy with 6 teens!). Well, you get the idea. Good thing I wasn't shy anymore.

In between I've traveled to Canada fishing, Jamaica (16 times) golfing (and for my daughter's wedding), Key West to see the sunset from Mallory Square, and places too numerous to mention. I've seen Jimmy Buffett with all my Parrothead kids, been to Fan Fair in Nashville, seen VanHalen and the Monkees...and many, many more. To sum it up, once I came out of my shell, I found out that life is a great trip!

Directly above is Cheryl's actual first car, from Donna Camp's photo album.

My first car was a '58 Ford named "George." Dad bought it on my birthday in 1959. Sometime later, it became mine, and became Donna's primary ride until Wayne came along. I sold it for $50 when I finally was able to buy my own first car, a '68 Chevy Nova, named "Tony." Sadly, I still name my cars. Now I drive a red Sebring convertible named "JB," short for Jimmy Buffett. It seemed fitting for a beach kind of car. By the way, Donna still gets to ride in it once in awhile.