January 2001                                                                     The Megaphone                                                                              Page 8

   Two years ago the Panther Den was a vague memory in the minds of those who had attended WLWHS during the 40’s, 50’s and part of the 60’s. But lo and behold there was a person by the name of Marvin Crim who was sitting around bemoaning the bad weather and driving Ellen, his bride, bonkers.  She finally said to him, Marv get thee into your computer room and out of my hair.  So Marv began spending more and more time in there and came up with the idea of designing his own web site using a Panther logo. As he started thinking about what he would do, he knew that it would not be something just for him but something to share with some of his old buddies and so the Den List was started.

   In April of 1999, there were six people on the list. Marv, Jerry McClish, Bob and Vicki Wardwell, Dave Jones and Loretta Dodd. Linda and Bill Harris became part of the fun and then there were eight. After a couple of weeks being hounded by Loretta, I finally became part of the fun too. By June, there were twelve people listed on the Panther Den.  By July we had grown huge. At least twenty-five were now Panther Den List members.  Every one participated in writing notes back and forth and the news started spreading about how much fun we were having.

   October 1999, our first breakfast gathering was held at Jim Dandy in honor of Dave Jones visit to Elwood. At least forty people were in and about. This was also the first ‘Roast’ the Den group gave . . . to say hello to Dave. I don’t know how many of you have seen ol’ Dave in the last several years but he doesn’t wear out any combs, if you get my subtle message. So when Luther Barnes came into Jim Dandy wearing his barber coat and carrying clippers and razors and proceeded to drape the Panther cloth around Dave, it was a very touching moment. Most of us were crying, mainly because we were laughing so hard, and everyone got to give Dave a good roast.  What a gentleman! He didn’t bat an eye and took everything in great humor.  I am sure there are pictures somewhere of Dave getting a haircut from Luther.

   At this time our group had grown to about fifty and Loretta said, "Boy, oh boy, Marv, you have really created a monster. This list is growing on its own." And so the infamous nickname was born.  You got it, Doctor Frank N. Stein. This became shortened to Doc and that is what Marv has been called ever since.

   Since this group was growing with abandon, a master list was needed with . . . names, addresses, maiden names if applicable, and location of residence.  (Does that sound familiar?) So Loretta volunteered, with a little arm twisting from Doc, to put this list together. Now we refer to her as Doc’s able-bodied assistant and she simply had to be called Igor from that time on. (Or Iggie to those who know and love her. )

   Christmas was nearing and so we planned the first of our gatherings at the library meeting room.  Loretta, Vicki and Sharon (Nan) put it all together and thus the ‘Party Angels’ came about. There were about twenty who braved the cold and came out to celebrate with us. At that time, Doc was on the receiving end of the roast and I want you all to know he cried the whole time. I guess it was because we surprised him with his very own BOSE Radio/CD player. This does indeed prove that real men do cry!

   In March of 2000, the Panther Den was moved from Listbot to E-groups.  In the process, the archives from Listbot, which contained some really memorable messages, were lost.  But we started over with more members and a more convenient format for us to use and it has worked very well for all of us

   We also started talking about reaching one hundred members by the first anniversary in April. Do you even think there are that many who would be interested we asked each other.  Would you believe it? This little monster just kept going and going.  By April we had indeed reached our one hundred member goal.  We realized that just a breakfast gathering would no longer cut it so we started talking about a large gathering.  We held the anniversary breakfast gathering  and turned it into a planning session for this larger gathering.  Vicki suggested we call it Denstock and that sounded pretty good to all of the rest. We had a couple more planning meetings and the Party Angels came through again. This time Teresa Hollowell worked with us and became our fourth Angel.

   We reserved the shelter house at Callaway Park for June 17, 2000, and proceeded to do a little decorating in Panther Style.  Doc brought his famous Bose and Teresa Hollowell set up a video cam to send pictures out to the members who could not make it. There were about one hundred people who attended.  There were hugs and tears, laughter and tears and memories and tears. The air was saturated with the emotions of this multi-class gathering. The feelings were tangible, we could feel them envelope us and touch us as surely as  the caresses from another person. I am sure that all who attended that first Denstock was very surprised at the depth of caring and love so strongly expressed. We all knew that this was something that would also grow as the list was growing.  One hundred fifty, two hundred, three hundred and now we are getting close to the four hundred number.

   I attended the gathering the Saturday before Christmas at Jim Dandy and there was much fun and laughter. Vicki took and posted many pictures so those of you who were not there this time could be part of the group.  I did not go to the gathering on Saturday after Christmas,  I was busy playing with grands who were visiting from Texas. Vicki, again, took and posted pictures so we could all enjoy the evening.

   This is our cyber-spaceship which Captain Marv-el built for us. We time travel back and forth, from the present to our past and back to our present again. We can go back in time, to any place and reminisce with others about the life and times that were shared then and we can return to the present and share our thoughts and feelings with those in all parts of the country at the same time.

   What else can rejuvenate and replenish our hearts and minds through this wondrous time travel. The participants in this list are forever young in spirit.  The friendships and caring through this list has grown as fast as the list itself. We care about what others feel and we are not critical of what they say. Sometimes it will be the best Sugar Cream Pie recipes, sometimes it will be announcing the birth of new ones and sometimes it will be the joys or heartaches that need to be shared. It will always be someone touching the senses of someone else some way.

   For those of you who are new to the Panther Den List, take a while to learn about the people on this list who share their thoughts with you. You will develop new relationships that will surprise you and take you places you did never dream possible.

   We have all become possessive of this list and tend to think of it as belonging to us. While we have the pleasure of writing and saying  just about anything at anytime we choose, this list was created and is owned by our own Doctor Frank N. Stein and with almost four hundred members it is good to have someone who can and will be responsible for this cyber-spaceship we so enjoy traveling on.

   I can not think of anything else that has blessed so many and drawn so many closer to each other than this site. It has eased us through long and difficult nights that caused us much frustration. It has given us a chance to relive the childhood experiences through the eyes and memories of the adults we have now become. It has shown us the memories we had forgotten until another opened them for us. It will only get better as we continue to grow and become more in touch with others on the list. Thank you to all who take time to send their messages for us to read and enjoy and maybe even groan about. Some will like everything written and some will like nothing.  I think most of us will be in the middle, but I know that all of us will be tolerant of each other.

  Thanks again, Doc, for sharing this site with us. You did not have to do so and I do appreciate very much the opportunity to participate.

Your Roving Elwood Reporter,
Nan aka Angel #2
Sharon (Benedict Hurst) '53
Now in Elwood, IN