Reunion October 1st & 2nd. Start Planning NOW!!

Announcements -

We're trying to get updated and verified mailing address for everyone so we can send out paperwork on the October Reunion - but we have A LOT of folks whose addresses have not been verified. Please visit our update page HERE and see if you can help us out. We don't want to miss inviting anyone because we couldn't find them. Give us a hand folks!

For Reunion schedule - see the sidebar on the Home page

March 2010 -

9 - Myra Hickam Sams and Kathie McDowell Maurer are our classmates who have most recently registered on site. Welcome to you both! And if you haven't registered yet, please take a minute and do so. It will ensure that we have accurate contact and mailing addresses when the reunion reservation paperwork goes out. I know you don't want to miss out, and we don't want you to either. So get registered today, and make plans to be in Collinsville in October!

6 - Our most recently registered classmates, who all registered on the site in the past week, include Judy Roschke Hart, Carol Kolo Basarich, Janice Thilman Macdonald, Paula Sweitzer Kilgore, Patricia DaPron Santhuff, Paul Rugg, and Keith Marshall. Welcome to you all! I hope you can all make arrangements to be in Collinsville this coming October - there's a lot of folks who'd love to see you!

February 2010 -

27 - Ellen Witte, Wayne Ray and Louis Schneider are today's newest registered classmates. Welcome! Hope to see you and everyone else in October in Collinsville.

26 - Today we welcome Mary Randant Reinacher as our most recently registered classmate. Hope you're enjoying looking around the site, and hope to see you in October too!

25 - We've had a bunch of folks register yesterday and today, so here goes - A very hearty welcome to Billie Jean McFain Rainey, Beverly Frame Fahrner, Joan Elliott Schrumpf, Richard Werner, Charlotte Lipe Haney, Mary Jo Sullivan Jones, Lynn O'Dell Martin, Patrick Pittman, and Ric Stephenson! We're happy to see you all here, and we'll be even happier to see all of you in Collinsville this October!

23 - For those folks who don't know the members of the hard-working Reunion Committee, let me give them a big Shout Out - Renee Tope Taake, Diane Hadfield Miller, Mary Brewer Astrauskas, Jim Seka, Terri Koehne Odorizzi, Pat Stephens Logsdon, Joe Mannisi, Dick Chamberlain, and Judy Schikowski Mentz. These folks have been putting in a lot of hours of hard work getting everything organized, arranged, and prepared so that the rest of us can come home to Collinsville and enjoy the best Reunion ever! My sincere thanks, and I'm sure all of yours, to these loyal classmates who make everything happen. You guys are the BEST, bar none!

23 - A big welcome to our most recently registered classmates - Larry Leach and Sandra Christie. Again, welcome aboard! Hope to see you, and everyone else, in Collinsville in October!

19 - Again I find myself behind schedule and playing catch-up. So let me welcome our latest classmates who have registered on the site - Patricia Stephens Logsdon, Jo Ann Reagan, Patricia Nance Soileau , and Alan Sinclair have all registered in the last four days. Welcome aboard all! And if YOU haven't registered yet, it's quick and easy, and will ensure that we have good contact info when the reunion mailings go out. Just click on the menu item that says "Register". See you in October!

16 - And a big welcome to our newest registered classmate, Rich Harrison. Welcome aboard Rich!

16 - The "Ladies of '65 Dinner Club" had another get-together last night at Alphonzo's Restaurant, and Nancy Kingsbury Fox has been kind enough to share a picture of the ladies with us. Looks like they always have a good time - maybe it's time for you to give them a call or email and join with them next month. Click on the thumbnail for a larger photo.

15 - Let me catch up on welcoming our newest registered classmates. Doug Hartmann, Gary Fletcher, Susan Bauer Fletcher, Jane Reinsch Kelly and Jeanne Dupree Stiles all have registered in the last few days. Welcome aboard folks. Hope to see you all in Collinsville in October!

8 - Welcome to our newest registered user, and also a member of the Reunion Committee, Renee Tope Taake! Welcome aboard Renee, and thanks for all the hard work you and the other members of the committee are doing to get us ready for the October reunion. We really appreciate it!

5 - We received this today from classmate Bill Esicar - looks like he has a new wife and partner - Deborah Esicar. Congratulations to Bill and Deborah from everyone. We wish you both all the happiness the world has to offer. And we hope to see you both in Collinsville next October! Click on the thumbnail for a larger photo.

5 - Welcome to our newest registered users - Mary Brewer Astrauskas and Terri Koehne Odorizzi. Welcome ladies! These ladies are Reunion Committee members working hard to get things organized for October. Join them here as registered users, and make your plans now to get back to Collinsville in October.

4 - Want a free email account at 65kahoks.com? Now available to registered users, a free email account with a quota of 50MB of storage. If you're registered on the site, just log-in, click on the "Extras" menu, and click on the "Free Email Account" link.

January 2010 -

30 - Today we welcome Linda Wetmore Vawter to our list of registered classmates. Welcome Linda! You made certain that we have current contact info for you when the reunion paperwork gets mailed out soon. Make sure you don't miss out either - register today! It only takes a minute. And thanks again Linda! Hope to see you in October.

29 - A big welcome to our newest registered classmates, David L. Cates and Jim Seka, and to Cassie Langford from the class of '63. Welcome aboard everyone! We're happy you're here!

28 - We confirmed today that classmate Nada Nolen McAllister passed away on October 11th, 2001 in Stilwell, Oklahoma. We have been unable to locate an obituary for Nada, but the information was confirmed by her nephew Kenneth Nolen.

17 - Have you ever felt that time just wasn't cooperating with you? Seems that way around here all the time. Anyway, let me catch up a little by welcoming our latest registered classmates - Linda Jerrell Pflasterer registered on Thursday the 14th and Vi Gillespey registered this morning. Welcome to both of you! And if you haven't registered on the site yet or verified your mailing address for us, PLEASE do it soon. The Reunion Committee will be sending out reservation packets and information soon for the October reunion, and you don't want to be left out!

12 - We've been busy getting a lot of pictures online out of the '63 and '64 Kahokian yearbooks. These are photos of our classmates - members of the class of 1965 - who didn't make it through graduation with us. Most moved with their families to other places, like classmate Steve Eyman, who actually graduated from Mattoon High, but tells me he has always felt the connection to the Collinsville Class of '65. Unfortunately, the pictures come from the group photos of our homeroom classes, and only list last names. If you can, take another look thru our class pictures and see if you can help me identify some of our "unknown" classmates.

11 - Today we welcome Jo Anne Giofre as our latest registered classmate! Thanks Jo Anne. You made certain that we have current contact info for you when the reunion paperwork gets mailed out soon. Make sure you don't miss out either - register today! It only takes a minute. And thanks again Jo Anne! Hope to see you in Collinsville in October.

10 - Things are getting busy around here, but we still have time to give a big welcome to our latest registered classmates - Dick Chamberlain, Karen Pitts Garner, and Phillip Roberson all registered in the last two days. Thanks a lot guys! Hope to see you all in October!

6 - A big hearty welcome to our latest registered user, Sharon Stumpf Kimme! Sharon registered today and has made certain that we have current contact info for her when the reunion paperwork gets mailed out soon. Make sure you don't miss out either - register today! It only takes a minute. And thanks again Sharon! Hope to see you in Collinsville in October.

1 - We start the new year off by welcoming classmate Don Omohundro as the first person to register on the site in 2010. Thanks for registering Don! Hope to see you at the reunion in October!

December 2009 -

31 - As the year draws toward an end, we get to welcome Sharon Bauer Culberson and Carol Hornal Boone as our newest registered classmates. Thanks for registering Sharon and Carol! Hope to see you in Collinsville next October!

30 - A big thanks to Wanda Bower Baker for her assistance in locating information about our deceased classmate Phil Bergfield. Phil's information on the "deceased" page has been updated accordingly. It's the help from folks like Wanda and all the rest that allows me to make the site more meaningful for everyone. Thanks Wanda!

18 - This morning we welcome classmate Lester Fulton to our list of folks who have registered on the site. Thanks Lester! Hope you're making plans to get back to Collinsville for the reunion next October!

15 - More sad news arrived today of the passing of classmate Charles Dill on Saturday, December 12th. Visitation at Herr Funeral Home will be tomorrow (December 16th) and the funeral will be on Thursday the 17th. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. His obituary is located on the "deceased" page.

9 - Dianne Mardus Parker has sent us the picture of the December get-together of the "Ladies of '65 Dinner Club". She writes - It's that season again and the Ladies of '65 joined together at Renee's beautiful home to celebrate Christmas!  We had lots of good things to eat and drink and a wonderful evening of friendship and love. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!

8 - Received the sad news today of the passing of classmate Rose Miller Koehly. Rose died on December 3rd as a result of injuries suffered in a car accident. Our condolences go out to her family and fiends. More information is on the "deceased" page.

1 - We start the month off with a new registration - this one by classmate Michele Burger Hornacek. Thanks for registering Michele! Hope to see you in Collinsville next October!

November 2009 -

19 - Today we welcome Martha Bemarkt Phillips as our most recent classmate to register on the site. Thanks Martha! Hope to see you in Collinsville next year!

17 - Glad to let everyone know that today we have removed Gail Anderson Jackson's name from our "Missing" page. Gail registered on the site and is hoping to attend next year's reunion.

17 - We received the belated news today of the passing of classmate David K. Eckmann. David passed away in late 2006 after suffering a stroke. Other information can be seen on the Deceased page, and comments by his son Kyle are on the News Forum page..

14 - The agenda for Friday evening of our up-coming reunion has been set - we will be gathering at the American Legion for food and fellowship. The meal will be served from 5:00pm - 8:00 pm, and we have use of the facility for as long as we want afterward to visit and reminisce. No prices have been established yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I can. I urge each of you to start planning nowto make the trip back to Collinsville one more time. The economy is tough - so start putting a little money aside now, and plan on making the trip. See you in October 2010!

October 2009 -

21 - We'd like to catch up on our welcomes to folks who have registered with the site. These folks registered between the first of August and now, and we say "thanks!" to each one -

Janice Thilman Macdonald
Nancy Morales Owler
Gene Fayollat
Paula Mitchell Wild
Linda Paul Hyatt

20 - Georgia Yost has provided photos from the October "Ladies of '65 Dinner Club". Click on a thumbnail for a larger view, and visit our download area if you'd like a copy.

18 - Classmate Dav Pauli under the alias of Fid Hawser has finally gotten his novella out to the public. It's called "The Fetish Of The Sun God" and it's available from Amazon.com for just $9.99 in Kindle format. Check it out by clicking on the title, and give our classmate some support!

2 - We learned today of the passing of classmate Willard Benearl 'Benny' Pittman. Benny passed away today. I'll post his obituary on the 'deceased' page when I receive it. Our condolences go out to his wife Asuncion, brother Pat, family and friends.

September 2009 -

25th - Georgia Yost has sent us some more pictures of the 'Ladies of '65 Dinner Club' get-together for September 2009. Looks like the ladies are always having a good time - maybe it's time you contacted one of them to find out how to join them in October! Click on a thumbnail for a larger view. 4x6 inch 300 dpi copies are also available for download for our registered users.

17th - Mark your calendars - Our 45th Class Reunion will be held on Friday October 1st and Saturday October 2nd 2010! More details will follow, but start your planning NOW!

August 2009 -

29th - I'm looking for a way for everyone to have the ability to comment or add their "two cents worth" to whatever may appear on this page. I've set up a test page that is essentially a "mirror" of this page, but it incorporates a "Search" function so that you can search for any word or phrase in any posts, and the ability to respond or comment on anything you see posted. You do not have to be a registered user to comment - anyone can. They will, however, have to be reviewed before they are presented to the "public".......just a means for me to try and protect the site from spam, offensive language, or whatever. If you'd be so kind to view this new page, you can go there by clicking here. Please make whatever comments you care to....let me know what you think. Thanks for your help.

18th - Georgia Yost has been kind enough to send us some more pictures of the monthly meeting of the "Ladies of '65 Dinner Club". Click on a thumbnail to see a larger view. Copies of the pictures are also available for download for registered users.

15th - For our registered users - you now have the ability to upload photos up to 5 megabytes in size directly to 65kahoks.com. Just log in and you'll see the "Extras" menu appear. Select the "Upload Photos!" menu, select the .jpg or .tif file you'd like to share, and click the "Send File" button. The larger the file the longer it will take to upload, of course, but when the upload is complete you'll see a message indicating that the upload was successful, and a copy of the image you uploaded. After I review the photos (they have to be in good taste, and I reserve the rigt to make that determination) I'll make them available for download to all the other folks who have registered. Come on! Share a picture or two!

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July 2009 -

Earlier this month I received an email from a lady (not a member of the Class of '65) that has bothered me. She was a bit irate, wanting to know why I had given so much notice to the death of Coach Fletcher, who was technicallly not a class member, while at the same time ignoring the death of classmate Dale Kirsch. She was certain that I had been notified, yet weeks had passed and nothing concerning Dale had been posted onsite. Unfortunately, that email was the first that I had heard of Dale's passing. I was able to verify the lady's information and get the notice posted that day, but it has bothered me since then - that folks would "assume" that I had been notified, when in fact I had not. Folks, I don't live in Illinois anymore - I live in hot, sunny South Carolina, and operate this website from there. Please, please, please - if you know of something that should be posted on this site, take the initiative and personnaly send me an email about it without delay. Those emails are the only way I can keep the information on this site current and relevant.

We'd like to catch up on our welcomes to folks who have registered with the site. These folks registered between the first of May and now, and we say "thanks!" to each one -

Danny Spiker (not a 1965 class member)
Marylou Bernasek
Nancy Kingsbury Fox
Judy Schikowski Mentz
Beatrice Dickman Clayton
Randy Thomas
Dorothy Fike Johnson

I just learned today (July 7th) of the passing of classmate Dale Kirsch. Dale died on June 7th at his home in Canton, Missouri. Our heartfelt condolences go to his surviving family and friends. His obituary is posted on our "deceased" page.

With heavy heart we learned today of the death of Coach Vergil Fletcher yesterday, June 30th 2009. Coach Fletcher was 93 years old. He would have turned 94 today, July 1st. His passing marks a sad milestone in the voyage of our class. An article in the Belleville News-Democrat details Coach Fletcher's life and death here and here. His obituary is posted on our "Deceased" page. Coach, we will miss you. The Class of 1965 will be contributing to a charitable fund of the family's choosing. You can view and enter comments in his Legacy.com guestbook here.

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June 2009 -

We received notification of the death of Lorraine Votava Barker on June 5th, 2009. Our sincere condolences go out to her family and friends. Her obituary is posted on the "Deceased" page.

I received a request recently from an old Navy buddy of classmate Ellis B. Gossett. He did not realize that Ellis had passed away until he saw his name and picture on our "Deceased" page, and desired more information about when and how he had died. Unfortunately, I had no information to give him. Which got me thinking that I need to try and do more with that page. As a retired Army man myself, I fully understand the camaraderie that develops with military folks - a closeness that transcends time and space. And that same clossness exists between old classmates, even those we haven't seen or talked with in years. But as usual, I need your help.

We currently have 49 classmates listed on our 'Deceased' page. I only have death dates on three of them. Ideally I'd like to have information such as that provided by Richard Stowers' sister - click his picture here for an example of what I mean. If you have any information on our deceased classmates - when and where they died and/or from what cause - please drop me a line. I will add that information to our database so that when someone clicks on a picture on the 'Deceased' page they will be able to find out at least a minimum of information on their lost friend.

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April 2009 -

We'd like to catch up on our welcomes to folks who have registered with the site. These folks registered between the first of the year and now, and we say "thanks!" to each one -

Lannie Altenberger
Carol Taylor Black
Donna Jean Wilson Schumacher
Linda Armstrong Beard
Georgia Yost
Terry Poneleit
Donna Kay Jones Preloger
Steve Eyman
Linda McCain Nekola
Ruth Ann Hubert Kelly
Mike Simmons
John Olson
Randy Whaley
Sherry Ahring Spiker (class of 1966)

(Note: Steve Eyman moved from Collinsville to Mattoon, Illinois following his Junior year. He graduated in 1965 from Mattoon High, but still considers himself one of "us" and so do we.)

Thanks for all of the help in locating classmate Ray Krek. I finally got in touch and was able to pass on the material to him. I won't mention the name of the classmate who made it happen, simply because I don't know if he would want me to or not. But thanks a million for the help.

On a related note - if you haven't taken the time to register with the website, please find the minute or two it takes to do so. It will enable us to get in touch with you for special announcements or whatever, and help us keep your contact information current so that you won't miss hearing about anything important. Thanks.

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March 2009 -

I need a little help here folks - I've received something that I have been asked to forward to classmate Ray Krek, our own Chief Kahok. Trouble is, he has never registered with the site, and I have no contact information for him. If any of you know how I can get in touch with Ray please drop me a line and let me know. I'd sure appreciate the help. Thanks.

 

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December 2008 -

Dianne (Mardus) Parker was kind enough to send us a picture of some of our classmates. She writes - Attached is..."a copy of the Christmas photo from the December 8 meeting of the "Ladies of '65 Dinner Club".  This year Terri Odorizzi hosted the party at her home in Collinsville. We all had a great time with some marvelous food and, naturally, fabulous company." Click the photo for a larger view.

We're glad to see you all looking chipper and ready for the holidays! To all of our classmates near and far- May all of you enjoy a wondrous and Merry Christmas!

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November 2008 -

Sandy (Oliver) Anderson would like all of her classmates to know that she is expecting another grandchild this coming April - here's what she had to say -

"I'm going to be a grandmother again in April. This will be my first "natural" grandchild and it is my daughter Claire who is due with this baby on the very day her Father left us. We both think this is very special."

Sandy would love to make contact with former classmates - especially Pat (Furfaro) Totleben, Joyce (Vandermark) Henke, and Renee (Tope) Taake. Please note that it is the policy of this site NOT to share email addresses or other personal information about classmates unless they SPECIFICALLY request it. If anyone would like to send a message through this site to Sandy, we will happily forward all email to her. Also, if you would want me to share your email address with her, please send me a note to that effect. Address your email to glen_england@65kahoks.com, or just click this link, and we'll send it on to Sandy.

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September 2008 -

New Beginnings....

There's a different engine running behind the scenes here at 65Kahoks.com - one that will hopefully make the site more secure, more responsive to your wishes, and more enjoyable to visit. We have improved security, encrypted our database information, and instituted a means to log-in, change or reset your password, and access content that will ONLY be available to registered users.

First a note about our Privacy Policy - We ask that you register at the site for a very basic reason - in order to compile and maintain accurate contact information so that we can notify you of coming reunions, get-togethers, or other happenings that you might be interested in. Yes, your contact information (name, address, email) will be shared with the 1965 Kahoks Reunion Committee, and we will work with them to get notifications out to you in a timely manner. This is the ONLY use that will be made of the information you provide. No information will be shared with any other person or entity, ever. That is my guarantee to you.

Your password information is encrypted as soon as you click the submit button on the "Register" page. The plain-text of your password is, at that moment, not available to anyone, including the site administrator (me). It is stored in an encrypted state and can only be used by you. For that reason, if you should ever forget your password, there is no way for anyone to recover it for you. That is why we have initiated a "Forgot password" page that will reset your password to a random, temporary password for you. The temporary password will be automatically emailed to you, at which point you can log in and then change the temporary password to anything of your choosing.

High Resolution Pictures...

We hope everyone has loved seeing pictures of your old classmates, and a few of you have asked me to provide them with copies of pictures used on the site. As part of an incentive to encourage everyone to register with the site, high resolution 300dpi images are being offered for immediate download to your computer - if you are registered and logged in.The initial 'crop' of pictures includes over 390 photos taken during the "Birthday Bash" celebration in Collinsville last September. Other pictures will be added as they become available. Check the "downloads" page whenever you log in. These photos are formatted at 4 x 6 inches and 300dpi - excellent resolution for making high quality prints to put into your own photo albums or to share with family and friends. After registering and activating your account, when you log in you will see that the menu at the top of the page has changed - it will then include links to the photo albums as well as pages where you can change your password or log out (look to the right end of the menu bar). New areas available only to registered users will be created as we move forward.

I sincerely hope that you have been enjoying visiting the site, and I hope you come back on a regular basis - maybe just to hear some good oldies. Whatever the reasons for visiting, I hope you will want to continue coming back, and I will do my best to make this site what YOU want it to be. I've heard from former classmates, and I've heard from some of their children over the past year. To ALL of our Kahok family - classmates, children and grandchildren of classmates, friends - Welcome. Let me know your thoughts and I'll do my best to fulfill your wishes concerning the site. I'm not a professional programmer - I'm an old dog trying to learn new tricks, and I can use all the help you care to offer. I can especially use your suggestions and ideas.

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