March 2006                                                            The Megaphone                                                                   Page 4

A Common Bond

by Deborah (Bozell) Donahue

  My husband and I had the opportunity to attend the Elwood gathering in Lake Okeechobee, Florida, last weekend. I have to tell you it was a great reunion with so many people I had not seen in over 40 years.  There were over 80 people in attendance and the one thing that brought us all together was our geographical roots.

  The organizer, Jane Morehead, selected a great venue for the event. This is an area of South Central Florida where many Elwood people live part time out of the year. The gathering was at the KOA Camp Ground in Okeechobee, but it felt more like a resort rather than a camping facility.

  This venue offered a large club house or lodge, golf course, swimming pool, tennis facility, and a Shanty Pub for the thirsty golfers who wanted a break between holes. It also had a residential area where most of the Elwood people reside for months away from Elwood, or another Indiana town. For those who enjoy the RV life style, that facility was available as well.

  Although much time had elapsed between our last visits, it did not take long before we all reacquainted ourselves with one another. This group consisted of people from the graduating classes of 1920 through 1960. If you did not remember a certain individual who was present, there was someone attending who shared a connection with someone you were familiar with or knew.    

  I can’t put my finger on the common bond other than the roots that brings this group together, however, there was a closeness I felt by those who attended, and I know it was real! My husband too is amazed with this group, and marvels in how we all still keep in contact with one another after all these years.

  I know the organization of the Panther Den by Marvin Crim helped with this endeavor and for that I am truly thankful. Without Marvin’s original idea of a means of reconnecting all of us through cyber space and the dedicated attention he has given to this site, we may not have had this great experience.

  This was a group of folks who had only one common thread, and that’s our hometown, but had the respect of one another to make the journey to reunite after all these years.

  Deborah (Bozell) Donahue '64

Words Shared

 by Karen (Stine) Hollies

  These are not my words. However, they so impressed me that I wanted to share them. The author is Elizabeth Kaye. The excerpt is from "Mid-Life: Notes from the Halfway Mark." I found it in an interesting book that I just read, "Our Lady of the Lost and Found," by Diane Schoemperlen.

  "I no longer expect things to make sense. I know there is no safety. But that does not mean there is no magic.  It does not mean there is no hope. It simply means that each of us has reason to be wishful and frightened, aspiring and flawed. And it means that to the degree that we are lost, it is on the same ocean, in the same night."

  I loved this and hope you do too.
   

Respectfully Submitted,
Karen (Stine) Hollies '54
Virginia Beach, VA