The Big L: September 15, 2018

The Big L: Nativity BVM Class of 1968

It’s the friends we meet along the way that help us appreciate the journey.

The Nativity BVM Class of 1968 held its 50-year reunion (the big “L”) at the Schuylkill Country Club on September 15th.  Those in attendance listed from left to right are: George Connell, Joe Briggman, Larry Lonergan, Joe Ferris, Joe Anthony, Jerry Zebertavage, Ken Koscil, John Salmon, Cheryl Belas Koscil, Janice Yenosky Wambold, Jay Zane, Imelda Pfieffenberger Juba, Jerry Yeasted, Loretta Clark, Jim Morgalis, Kathy Brixius Adams, Jackie Maley Troy, Ed Reese, Al Frantz, Mary Jane Appleby, Bill Schlitzer, Diane Wawrzaszek Barney, Kathy Kaswandik Burch, Dennis Maley, Sue Hummel Scheetz, Joe Murton, John Kilmurray, Anne Marie Lescavage Wachter, Jo Ketner Gallagher, Bill Biltheiser, Mary Margaret Guyeski Moore, Marie Messaros Zebertavage, Bob Hughes, Tom Takach, Jim Place, Ann Callaghan Daldo, Anna Maria Alvarez, Dave Cunningham, Mernie Mulroy Taronis, Mick Brennan, Peggy Evolo Bullock, Marie Seminavage Wetzel, Jean Rees, Joan Rees Katz, Mary Shollenberger Roth, Carol Felker Scarborough*, Alice Smith Stemcosky, Mary Ann Stanus Kane, Kathy Shay Stein, Ann Marie Fronza DiCello, Ginny Holley Cunningham, Marie Zambiasi Fries, Susan Hutsko Klegka, Gerry Glunz Schwartz, Peggy Coyle Allen, Carol Talpash Weirich  Missing from picture, Marsha Pradon Baumener. Honored guest was Mr. George Repella.   

                                                          A splendid time was had by all!                                                  

                                              Hopefully more photographs will be posted in the near future! 
                                                                                    *Sorry Carol!

                                                              

August 29th Update

“Ut natus esse bestiis”

                      Don't be late!  Get your reservations in now for the Big L...

                    5oth Anniversary Class Reunion!

Please send your check as follows:

Check is to be made payable to Larry Lonergan. 

Please write “Nativity ‘68” in the memo 

Mail it to  130 S. 25^th Street, Pottsville, PA 17901 

Checks made payable to Nativity Class of 1968 are creating hassles with the financial institutions as well as Homeland Security and DEA 😠

There have been many monetary donations and your kindness is appreciated!😀

There are optional activities on the weekend: Roma Pizza on Friday evening.  

The time was moved up!!!  It starts 7 PM! Not 8 PM !!

 Remember the days when you could go to the Coney at 2 AM and have Coney Burgers and fries!  

It would be appreciated if you can send an email if you are interested in any of these extra activities, it would be appreciated.  Friday at Roma, Saturday at 10 AM Schuylkill County Historical Museum, Yuengling Tour 11:30, Nativity Tour 2:00 with Mass (that counts for Sunday!) an Sunday Breakfast at Blu Tavern...just so we have an idea of numbers😕

Bring along some memorabilia to share...old photographs, prom flowers, TIA buttons, football cleats, cheerleader pom poms, bus tokens, unreturned library books, etc.  

There will be a salute to VETERANS...bring along any photographs of your military daze!

Lastly...create the buzz and pass the word to others to attend.

It will be the gathering of the tribes!!

Ut natus esse bestiis!

Question from the Mailbag: What is the dress attire

                      NATIVITY BVM CLASS OF 1968 50th Anniversary Reunion

                                                   SEPTEMBER 15, 2018 

                                        QUESTIONS FROM THE MAILBAG

One classmate from eastern Pennsylvania sent an inquiry as to the "dress code" for the reunion.

First of all, let me dispel the rumor going around that all the women must wear their 

school uniform.  However, if one wants to wear the school uniform, then go right ahead and get your ironing board out.  Just make sure that the hem touches the floor if you kneel down! 😏

I realize that many of you may be traveling back to Schuylkill County for the first time in decades and will be impressed by the laid back, grunge attire visible in downtown  Pottsville.  Dirty caps are generally a must for men of all ages and if the temperature goes above 70 degrees, shirt come off the men and the manboobs come out, while the women always squeeze into tank tops and gym shorts two sizes too small and hair is to resemble a bird's nest. 

 If the temperature is below 70 degrees pajamas are quite popular; ditto as to wearing one's underwear three inches above the waistline. Driving around you will see a vast array of flip flops, cargo shorts, baggy velour sweatpants, jazzercize outfits, flannel shirts, etc.  Hobo chic is the correct term used to describe 21st century fashion in this neck of the woods and our citizenry takes pride.     

😁All kidding aside, the Schuylkill Country Club has a Dress Code posted on its website which takes aim at the beloved hobo chic:

No caps, visors or headbands on men in the grille room, dining room, or living room. 

Jeans will not be permitted in the living room or dining room at any time. Bathing suits, gym shorts, 

"cut-offs" and jogging outfits are prohibited in the clubhouse at any time.

So the reunion is not a black-tie, long gown affair...so don't feel obligated to dust off your old House of Palko tux or Juliette prom gown that you never returned, but do take a healthy dose of pride in how terrific you can look at a party to celebrate this milestone occasion without going overboard.
                               I think the dress code is easy enough to follow.
                                  Its a party and not a funeral so be festive.  🎉 🎈🎊  
                                           Dress Sharp...Be Sharp....Be There                                    

To be on the safe side you can mimic Frank Betz who attended one reunion changing outfits hourly.👌

Lastly, reunion returns are coming in at a steady pace as well as some extra gift money.

           We already have a winner for the earliest reservation. Who will it be????  

                                                        

The Big L: Nativity BVM Class of 1968 Reunion

The Nativity B.V.M. High School Class of 1968 would be honored by your presence at its Fifty-year Reunion

•  Date:   Saturday, September 15, 2018    
• Location: Schuylkill Country Club,  877 West Market St., Orwigsburg

•  Time:  cocktails 6:00 P.M. dinner 7:00 P.M., followed by live music
•   Attire: dressy festive casual
•   Cost: $50 per person

Optional Weekend Activities

Friday Sept.14^th: 7-10 P.M. Ice-breaker informal get together at Roma, 116 W. Market St., Pottsville
(note the time change as the written invitation states 8 to 10)

Saturday Sept. 15^th Schuylkill County Historical Society Museum:  Tour 10 AM

Yuengling Brewery: Tour 11:30 AM 

Pottsville will be holding a downtown coal festival on Saturday!

Nativity High School: Tour 2 p.m., followed by Mass in Chapel 

Sunday September 16^th : brunch at Blu Tavern, Route 901 Llewellyn  9:00 – 12 noon

 Golf, tennis, hikes, and other activities can be arranged upon advance notice during your stay either on Friday, Saturday or Sunday

                          RSVP by September  7, 2018 with payment  to

Larry Lonergan. Please write “Nativity ‘68” in the memo 

 130 S. 25^th Street, Pottsville, PA 17901

                    Consider adding a donation to defray expenses!

Greetings Classmates of 1968!

It’s Time for Our L Class Reunion! You remember from Latin Class…L…the big 5-0!

This class reunion will be a great way for all of us to get together and catch up and celebrate. It will be a real Classic rewind.  The main event will be Saturday evening starting at 6 pm at the Schuylkill Country Club, Orwigsburg – dinner with music to follow. While there will be music, there will be places to talk and reminisce, including the picturesque patio.  No need to shout!

Registration is now open so please send in your reservations, but no later than September 7th.  Early response provides the Committee with a cash flow to continue to plan this event.  We are hoping for a great turnout and look forward to a wonderful class reunion.  We look forward to seeing you and I suggest you contact a classmate or two and promote a big turnout. 

                                                                       Create the Buzz!

You can periodically check the class website at www.nativitybvm.blogspot.com for updates. See who won the raffle prize of two registrations.

A prize will be awarded to one lucky classmate who adds a nice comment to the blog.

The dinner will be a great buffet featuring beef, chicken, fish, and vegetarian:  

Please! Bring along any and all memorabilia, photographs, etc. from your school days as there will be a table set up for display.  There will be a video presentation to rekindle some memories.  There will be prizes awarded!  Remember one prize is for the first reservation received, so get your checkbook out now! 

 For information on places to stay visit the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau Web Page

                                                                 www.schuylkill.org

Directions to the Schuylkill Country Club: about one mile west of Orwigsburg on Route 443. 

                                                                    www.schuylkillcc.com

Remember even if you are unable to attend, please send in your response with updated information for our records. 

                                                                                                                        Hope to see you soon,

 Larry Lonergan & the Committee,

                                                                           The BIG L

                                                           “Ut natus esse bestiis”

Nativity BVM Class of 1968 50^th Class Reunion

Response  Form

      to be mailed to

Nativity BVM Class of 1968

% Larry Lonergan

                              130 South 25^th Street

Pottsville, PA 17901

 Your Current Name:    ______________________________________________

High School Name (if different)  :___________________________________

address       street____________________________________________________

                      city___________________________________ state _________ zip__________________

Phone          ________________________________  email         ________________________________

______  Yes! 😊 I will attend the 50^th Nativity BVM class reunion:

and I will bring the following guest(s) _______________________________________________________

_____ Sorry ☹ I regret that I will be unable to attend.

                        Number of persons attending x $50 per person    $ _______   

                                 Optional contribution to help defray costs. *                      $ _______

                                                            TOTAL                                             $_______
*Even if you cannot attend!

Any interest in golf, tennis, hiking, spelunking, etc. while you are in the area?

Any comments, questions or special requests (speak up or forever hold your peace): 

        P.S. A classmate who enters a normal comment to this blog may be eligible for a nifty prize!  

50th Anniversary Reunion September 15, 2018

The 50th Anniversary Class Reunion of Nativity BVM H.S. plans 

activities for the entire weekend in mid-September 2018

On Friday September 14th there will be an ice-breaker informal gathering at a local 

pub/restaurant (location to be announced later).  

Saturday September 15th there will be a selection of activities including a tour of Yuengling Brewery, The Schuylkill County Historical Museum, a tour of Nativity High School, with the Reunion beginning at 6 PM with cocktail hour followed by dinner at 7 PM.

Sunday there will be a brunch at The Blu Tavern.

Golf can be arranged as well as well as bowling,

hiking and tennis. Pioneer Tunnel in Ashland is a great attraction and highly recommended for those who may never have been there. 

http://www.pioneertunnel.com/

For those who experienced Roadside America as a child, the fabled attraction is now up for sale!  No closing date has been announced.  Consider investing your 401(k) in this iconic piece of history!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roadside-america-model-railroad-a-tiny-slice-of-americana/

Other ideas are welcomed.  

.  

Nativity B.V.M. Class of 1968 50th Anniversary Class Reunion

                                                            

                                                                                      

                          Nativity B.V.M. Class of 1968

                50th Anniversary Class Reunion 

                                                 When: Saturday September 15, 2018

                                Where: the Schuylkill County Country Club, Orwigsburg

                                                           more details will follow

                                   keep that entire weekend free to hang out with old friends
                                            

                                       and even make new friends :) it is never too late you know

  I have been informed there is a Facebook Page for the Class of 1968 but so far I have been
unable to find it.  Perhaps it is my eyesight. Maybe it is like a leprechaun - we know it exists but rarely ever see it.
     
                    Whether I find it is irrelevant, it is the search that is important.

So far we have contact from classmates living far away such as Mexico and California indicating attendance.  This means turnout may be large. A good omen.  If you have questions let me know.  Pass the word.

                                             

the 1993 coffee mug

 

 

The above depicts the coffee mug given out as an attendance souvenir at the 1993 Class Reunion commemorating the 25th year graduation anniversary. The reunion was held at Rick-Ann Hall in Primrose.  Not much coffee was consumed at that reunion ironically.

 

Someone told me that the mug was recently featured on Antique Roadhouse, a PBS station.  It was described as follows: STUNNING! GORGEOUS! VERY RARE! HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE! IT IS A STUNNING DISPLAY OF CERAMIC WORKMANSHIP  DURING THE LATE 20th CENTURY PERIOD! ONE OF THE FEW COFFEE MUGS EXISTING FROM THE  FIRST GULF WAR! AWESOME!

 

 

 

 

TOP TEN REMIXES

"You’re So Varicose Vein" by Carly Simon

 "How Can You Mend A Broken Hip?" by the Bee Gees

 "I Can’t See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash

 "These Boots Give Me Arthritis" by Nancy Sinatra

 "Once, Twice, Three Trips to the Bathroom" by the Commodores

 "I Get By with a Little Help from Depends" by the Beatles

 "Talking’ ‘Bout My Medication" by the Who

 "Bald Thing" by the Troggs

 "You Can’t Always Pee When You Want" by the Rolling Stones

 "I Heard It through the Grape Nuts" by Marvin Gaye

Father McKenna

The Reverend F. Charles McKenna

The Reverend F. Charles McKenna died on Saturday, 4 January 2014, at Holy Family Villa

for Priests, Bethlehem, PA, at the age of 79.Born in Allentown, Father McKenna was the only child of the late Francis Charles and Ouida M. (Petit) McKenna.Father McKenna attended Thirteenth and Union Grade School, North East Junior High School, and Reading Central Catholic High School, Reading. He received his Masters Degree in American History from Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA. He studied for the Priesthood at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook, PA.Father McKenna was ordained to the Priesthood on 14 May 1960 by The Most Reverend J. Carroll McCormick, D.D., at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia.His first Priestly assignment was Parochial Vicar, former Saint Canicus Church, Mahanoy City, followed by Parochial Vicar, Saint Anthony of Padua Church, Easton; Parochial Vicar, Saint Joseph Church, Summit Hill; Parochial Vicar, Saint Joseph Church, Girardville; Professor, Nativity High School, Pottsville; Professor, Marian High School, Hometown; Vice Principal, Pius X High School, Roseto; Professor, Holy Name High School, Reading; Professor and Chaplain, Alvernia College, Reading; Parochial Vicar, Saint Patrick Church, Pottsville; Parochial Vicar, Holy Infancy Church, Bethlehem, and Parochial Vicar, Saint Joseph Church, Reading. Father McKenna retired in 1992.During the course of his Priestly Ministry, Father McKenna also served as Berks County Clergy Representative, Diocesan Board of Education.

 

Services: A Mass of Christian Burial for Father McKenna will be celebrated at Saint Joseph Church, 1022 North Eighth Street, Reading, Pennsylvania, by His Excellency, the Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop of Allentown, on Friday, 10 January 2014, at 11:00 AM. The Reverend E. Michael Camilli, M.S.C., will be the Homilist.Main Concelebrants will be Reverend Monsignor Gerald E. Gobitas, Secretary for Clergy, Chancellor, and Rector, Holy Family Villa for Priests; Reverend George R. Winne, Pastor, Saint Joseph Church and Saint Paul Church, Reading, and Reverend E. Michael Camilli, M.S.C.  Calling Hours will be held on Friday, 10 January 2014, in Saint Joseph Church, Reading, from 9 to 11 a.m.Interment will take place at Gethsemane Cemetery and Mausoleum, 3139 Kutztown Road, Laureldale, PA.

 

 

Published in Morning Call on Jan. 8, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

                                               

 

Barbara Purcell

Barbara M. Liebner, 63, of Pottsville, died Wednesday December 18th at Broad Mountain Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Frackville, after a long illness.

Born in Pottsville, March 7, 1950, she was a daughter of John F. and Mary Alice Purcell.

She was a member of St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Pottsville, and a 1968 graduate of Nativity BVM High School.

She was employed for many years at the Pottsville Hospital.

Barbara was a former member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.

She was preceded in death by her husband, John J. Liebner, in 2010.

In addition to her parents, Barbara is survived by her daughters, Beth Liebner, Pottsville, and Teresa Liebner, Baltimore; two sisters, Sheila E. Purcell, Pottsville, and Kate Epstein, West River, Md.; four brothers, Paul Pur cell, Virgina, Jack Purcell, Baltimore, Md., Matthew Purcell, Flanders, N.J., and Patrick Purcell, Odenton, Md.; several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, December 26th, at Lord-Bixler Funeral Home Inc., 1818 Mahantongo St., Pottsville. Interment will be private at the convenience of the family. The family requests contributions in Barbara's memory be sent to St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church Memorial Fund, 319 Mahantongo St., Pottsville, PA 17901 or Pottsville Free Public Library, 215 W. Market St., Pottsville, PA 17901. Lord-Bixler Funeral Home Inc. is in charge of arrangements. Condolences may be expressed at www.lordbixler.com.

Published in Republican & Herald from Dec. 20 to Dec. 22, 2013

Requiescant in pace

photo captured with my Iphone

The photo above was not captured by my Iphone, nor

was it taken at Sweet Arrow Lake. If you really want to know, it was taken in 1967 at

the Whimsey, which was located between Wadesville and St. Clair on the old Darkwater Road.

 It was taken on my Kodak Instamatic.

 

 

 

 

 

                                          This is the photo that I captured on my Iphone!
                                               Sweet Arrow Lake in the autumn....

                                       “Fall has always been my favorite season.
                                  The time when everything bursts with its last beauty,
                           as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
 
                                                                                                         Lauren DeStefano, Wither

St. Patrick's and St. John's grade school attendees

                                   attendees who went to St. Patrick's grade school together

attendees who went to St. John's grade school together

 

 

 

45th Anniversary Reunion of Nativity BVM Class of 1968

     Nativity BVM High School Class of 1968 45th Anniversary Reunion

                                                             Sweet Arrow Lake Park
                                                                   Pine Grove, PA
                                                                 October 19, 2013

                                                                     more to follow
                                                   photo compliments of Jo Ketner Gallagher

the reunion of 1978

The reunion held in 1978 was also held in Rick-Ann Hall, Primrose.  City chicken, halupkies and mashed potatoes. I ask you....could it get any better? No sir..eeee....bob.....

1978 was a great year! "Animal House" was released. Could it get any better? No sir...eee...bob......

Can you identify any of these people? Come on....I dare you....

Remember to sign up now.  Reunion will be held on October 19th at Sweet Arrow Lake whether or not the federal government reopens or the government goes into default or goes to hell in a handbasket.  Party on! 

Information and details on the upcoming event are on prior blog posts. Procrastinators still welcome. Email the blogmaster.

Remember...mystery faculty members are scheduled to appear....Who can they be???? Sister St. Isabelle?  Eggs Benedict???  The whole town is buzzing with anticipation and suspense.....