These clips are from Harry Plotke's video that he made from home movies he took in the 1950s. The videos feature views of the campus and campus life while he attended Saint Mary's.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
You're Invited to Homecoming 2009!
On June 19-21, 2009 the Class of 1959 will celebrate its 50th anniversary! This weekend will be an opportunity for you to see old friends, visit former stomping grounds, reminisce about your days at Saint Mary’s and catch up on what’s new with your fellow classmates. There will be opportunities to golf, enjoy walks/rides in the bluffs, take a campus tour, meet our new president, partake in special class gatherings and celebrations and explore new additions to campus and the beauty of the Winona area.
So, make plans now to be in Winona for your anniversary celebration on June 19-21. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the weekend, please feel free to contact your class representative, Harry Plotke at haplotke@comcast.net or the alumni office at alumni@smumn.edu
Finally, let your fellow classmates know that you are planning to attend this celebration by posting a note on this blog!
We hope to see you on Terrace Heights in June.
So, make plans now to be in Winona for your anniversary celebration on June 19-21. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the weekend, please feel free to contact your class representative, Harry Plotke at haplotke@comcast.net or the alumni office at alumni@smumn.edu
Finally, let your fellow classmates know that you are planning to attend this celebration by posting a note on this blog!
We hope to see you on Terrace Heights in June.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Class of 1959 Newsletter: August 2008
From the Class of 1959 Newsletter: August 2008
Greetings to all in the Class of 1959!
Our Homecoming – 2009 is now only ten months away. It is scheduled for June 19-21st. So make a note and plan to attend our Golden Anniversary Reunion.
In my last Class of 1959 Newsletter I mentioned that festivities are already being planned to make our 50th a truly memorable event.
Read more...Some of the planning includes:
Distinctive “On Campus” Room Accommodations
Attendees from the Class of 1959 will be housed together in a residence hall, which has a comfortable lounge for us to gather in an informal setting to reconnect and amplify our memories of fifty years ago. We will have many things to catch up on with those we haven’t seen for a good part of our lives. Of course, there are many off campus inns available in the Winona area too.
Special Dinner Honoring our Class of 1959
On Friday of Homecoming Weekend we will be invited to a private 50th anniversary dinner put on by the university and held on campus. This will give us a great opportunity to launch our reunion. It will begin with a social at 5:30pm, followed by a greeting presentation by our university president, and a nice dinner. I am sure that we will all enjoy this special event, which will only be the start of our weekend together.
Other Events and Gatherings (still being planned)
- Memorial service for your deceased classmates
- Tours of old dorms/buildings
- Golf outing at Bridges Golf Club (formerly Winona Country Club)
- Bluff Tours
- Family Picnic with music on Max Molock Field
- Class Pictures
- Homecoming Dinner
- Dancing after dinner and a Piano Sing Along
- Alumni Mass
Remember, this is your reunion! If you have other activities or events/gatherings that you might want to include during our Homecoming weekend during our return to St. Mary’s, please join in and get it organized. For example, a short presentation after our dinner on Friday night would be encouraged. We have a “once in a lifetime” experience ahead of us.
I took the time to go through our 1959 Redman Year Book, (yes, I still have my copy) and listed all of those pictured on a spreadsheet. It was easy to identify the Scholastics, which are listed by their Brother names; however, I had to guess at some of the seminarians. Then I merged my spreadsheet list of classmates pictured in our Year Book with an address list I got from St. Mary’s, which included additional members from our class. There probably is some duplication here because I am not able to match current names of x-Brothers with their Scholastic names. Also, I am aware that the combined list does not include everyone from our class (some of the classmates I remember are not included) but it is the best I could come up with.
There were forty-two Brothers pictured in our Class Year Book. This list identifies eight who are still Brothers (Bold Br. in title column) and twenty-one who are x-Brothers. The names of these x-Brothers and current Brothers are most likely also listed as Brothers from our Year Book and these entries should be eliminated from the list and the Brother names shown in the notes column after their current name. I need some help from someone knowledgeable to assist me in making these corrections. Also, I would appreciate any other corrections to improve the list. (I hope I got the deceased accurately)
I have a similar problem when identifying seminarians from our Class Of 1959. Some I remember from our competition in the handball courts or across the chess board during Olympic Days; however, I cannot be sure I have identified all the seminarians correctly just from their name and picture in the Year Book. Please help me here too.
Why am I going through this effort? Well I feel it would be fantastic to witness a huge Homecoming next June on the St. Mary’s campus. We were all there in the late 1950’s. It was our home and we developed friendships and lasting memories. Yes, some are no longer physically with us and our numbers are sure to diminish as we age. So I appeal to each of you, call your classmates; encourage them to make plans to attend our 50th.
Please continue to send me items to include in subsequent Class of 1959 Newsletters. Other classmates are interested in you and want to hear about you. As identified in the above Class List I have included forty-seven classmates in previous Newsletters. Many of you have yet to submit a short paragraph to me. Let me hear from you. Also, if you have some ideas about making this Newsletter better I would appreciate your suggestions.
Harry Plotke (new email address) HAPLOTKE@comcast.net
CLASS NEWS
Terry Hebig – Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Terry is still working and not sure when he will retire. He says he may make that decision in 2009. Part of his job is to go to the various work related golf outings, so why retire. In March, he stayed with Jerry Orth and Sarah for a weekend in Sun City Palm Desert and had a round of golf with Jerry. He also had dinner with Ken Ortman, Harry Bock and their wives.
He definitely has plans to attend Homecoming in 2009.
Greetings to all in the Class of 1959!
Our Homecoming – 2009 is now only ten months away. It is scheduled for June 19-21st. So make a note and plan to attend our Golden Anniversary Reunion.
In my last Class of 1959 Newsletter I mentioned that festivities are already being planned to make our 50th a truly memorable event.
Read more...Some of the planning includes:
Distinctive “On Campus” Room Accommodations
Attendees from the Class of 1959 will be housed together in a residence hall, which has a comfortable lounge for us to gather in an informal setting to reconnect and amplify our memories of fifty years ago. We will have many things to catch up on with those we haven’t seen for a good part of our lives. Of course, there are many off campus inns available in the Winona area too.
Special Dinner Honoring our Class of 1959
On Friday of Homecoming Weekend we will be invited to a private 50th anniversary dinner put on by the university and held on campus. This will give us a great opportunity to launch our reunion. It will begin with a social at 5:30pm, followed by a greeting presentation by our university president, and a nice dinner. I am sure that we will all enjoy this special event, which will only be the start of our weekend together.
Other Events and Gatherings (still being planned)
- Memorial service for your deceased classmates
- Tours of old dorms/buildings
- Golf outing at Bridges Golf Club (formerly Winona Country Club)
- Bluff Tours
- Family Picnic with music on Max Molock Field
- Class Pictures
- Homecoming Dinner
- Dancing after dinner and a Piano Sing Along
- Alumni Mass
Remember, this is your reunion! If you have other activities or events/gatherings that you might want to include during our Homecoming weekend during our return to St. Mary’s, please join in and get it organized. For example, a short presentation after our dinner on Friday night would be encouraged. We have a “once in a lifetime” experience ahead of us.
I took the time to go through our 1959 Redman Year Book, (yes, I still have my copy) and listed all of those pictured on a spreadsheet. It was easy to identify the Scholastics, which are listed by their Brother names; however, I had to guess at some of the seminarians. Then I merged my spreadsheet list of classmates pictured in our Year Book with an address list I got from St. Mary’s, which included additional members from our class. There probably is some duplication here because I am not able to match current names of x-Brothers with their Scholastic names. Also, I am aware that the combined list does not include everyone from our class (some of the classmates I remember are not included) but it is the best I could come up with.
There were forty-two Brothers pictured in our Class Year Book. This list identifies eight who are still Brothers (Bold Br. in title column) and twenty-one who are x-Brothers. The names of these x-Brothers and current Brothers are most likely also listed as Brothers from our Year Book and these entries should be eliminated from the list and the Brother names shown in the notes column after their current name. I need some help from someone knowledgeable to assist me in making these corrections. Also, I would appreciate any other corrections to improve the list. (I hope I got the deceased accurately)
I have a similar problem when identifying seminarians from our Class Of 1959. Some I remember from our competition in the handball courts or across the chess board during Olympic Days; however, I cannot be sure I have identified all the seminarians correctly just from their name and picture in the Year Book. Please help me here too.
Why am I going through this effort? Well I feel it would be fantastic to witness a huge Homecoming next June on the St. Mary’s campus. We were all there in the late 1950’s. It was our home and we developed friendships and lasting memories. Yes, some are no longer physically with us and our numbers are sure to diminish as we age. So I appeal to each of you, call your classmates; encourage them to make plans to attend our 50th.
Please continue to send me items to include in subsequent Class of 1959 Newsletters. Other classmates are interested in you and want to hear about you. As identified in the above Class List I have included forty-seven classmates in previous Newsletters. Many of you have yet to submit a short paragraph to me. Let me hear from you. Also, if you have some ideas about making this Newsletter better I would appreciate your suggestions.
Harry Plotke (new email address) HAPLOTKE@comcast.net
CLASS NEWS
Terry Hebig – Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Terry is still working and not sure when he will retire. He says he may make that decision in 2009. Part of his job is to go to the various work related golf outings, so why retire. In March, he stayed with Jerry Orth and Sarah for a weekend in Sun City Palm Desert and had a round of golf with Jerry. He also had dinner with Ken Ortman, Harry Bock and their wives.
He definitely has plans to attend Homecoming in 2009.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Class of 1959 Newsletter: April 2008
From the Class of 1959 Newsletter: April 2008
Greetings to all in the Class of 1959!
This includes those of you who graduated from St. Mary’s, those who have not, Student Brothers, and Seminarians from the Class of 1959. These Newsletters have been developed to rekindle the friendships and the spirit that we cultivated while attending St. Mary’s College (now Saint Mary’s University) during the years of 1955-1959. I have enjoyed hearing from many of you, by letters, emails and telephone. Also, since I have volunteered as one of the participants to contact classmates as part of our 50th Anniversary Class Gift, organized by Ken Ortman, this activity has also put me in touch with many classmates and I take pleasure in sharing your great memories.
Read more...
We have been attempting to improve our address and telephone lists; so if you are aware of a classmate who has not been receiving this Newsletter, let me know and I will see to it that he is included correctly on our mailing list.
During the month of April we had a gathering of Colorado St. Mary’s alumni right here in Castle Rock, Colorado, at the home of Don ’53 and Eileen Gass (CST ’53). It was an informative and enjoyable event attended by members of the development and alumni relations staff. We were shown plans to upgrade the Hoffman Science Building and development of a new outdoor athletic field. They also showed my film, “Saint Mary’s College – 1950’s”.
Homecoming – 2009
Our 50th Anniversary Celebration will be held during Homecoming Weekend in June 2009, which is a little more than one year from now. We are encouraging all of our classmates to plan now to be at this “special” gathering for our golden anniversary. We look forward to a “once in a lifetime experience”, seeing many of our teammates, roommates, and classmates for the first time in fifty years. Festivities are already being planned to make this a truly memorable event. So block out your calendar for early June in 2009 and plan to attend. You will have a great experience!
To make the most of this truly golden opportunity we need to get the message out to every one of our classmates. I’m certain that there are former Student Brothers and Seminarians who can do a much better job of encouraging and relating to your fellow classmates to join us in this celebration than I can possibly do. So “step up and get organized.” I am looking for “Representatives” from these two groups. Contact me and I will help you organize your reunion plans to successfully “connect” and have a great gathering with fellow St. Mary’s classmates.
Harry Plotke
CLASS NEWS
Keith Hanzel – Ely, Minnesota
Forty years of work: Cretin High School teacher as a History instructor, hockey coach at St. Mary’s College, insurance adjuster, St. Paul City Prosecuting Attorney, private law practice, pro hockey player agent, Ramsey County Public Defender.
Married 1961 to 1991. Four kids, (one a St. Mary’s grad) all making me proud.
Retired in 1998, living year round in the wilderness five miles from the Canadian Border and 25 miles from Ely, the nearest town. Spend my time reading, fishing, and hunting. Also, cooking, splitting wood, traveling, sports, and enjoying life immensely.
Come visit!!!
Dr. William Blass – Knoxville, Tennessee
Bill continued his education after SMC receiving a Ph.D. He taught at St. Mary’s ‘63-‘67. He taught Physics and Astronomy at the University of Tennessee. During his tenure at Tennessee, he was President of the Faculty Senate and served on the Board of Trustees for one year. For 18 summers Bill has served as Visiting Faculty member or NASA Fellow at the Goddard Space Center. Bill indicated he will consider contributing to the class gift and may attend the 50th.
Dr. Robert LaPata – Glenview, Illinois
Bob ran into Bob Slomka while celebrating a High School reunion and promised him that he would be at our 2009 Homecoming. He was astounded by the many changes in our campus when he last visited SMU.
Dr. Richard Rock – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dick plans to return for the 50th and plans to make a contribution to the class gift. Also he has been discussing making contacts to other graduate doctors with Ken. Dick is a semi retired orthopedic surgeon and continues to teach. He is a top-notch trombonist and banjo player who performs with Dixieland bands.
Ed O’Connell – Dallas, Texas
Ed attended SMC for one year and graduated from Notre Dame. He has returned to visit with many of us as he did for our 45th anniversary. Ed plans to return for our 50th and will consider contributing to the class gift.
Fred Andrus – San Diego, California
Fred and his wife Alice just got back from a three-week vacation to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. They got to feed wild wallabies, sample Aussie tucker, went hot air ballooning (not Alice) and tries boomeranging. They attended our 45th Homecoming Reunion and will possibly be on campus for our 50th.
Fred Dalleska – New Brighton, Minnesota
Fred plans to attend the 50th and will consider contributing to the class gift.
Bill Harwood – New Bern, North Carolina
After eight years of teaching and coaching in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area Bill spent his last forty years in sales with the quiet company - Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. He had several management positions including recruiting, training and sales and is now a semi-retired senior salesman. He golf’s three or four times a week, and he and his wife Barbara, enjoy visiting with children and grandchildren. They travel or cruise four or five times a year! They now live in Trent Woods, North Carolina, and God willing, he intends to join his classmates at the 2009 reunion.
Greetings to all in the Class of 1959!
This includes those of you who graduated from St. Mary’s, those who have not, Student Brothers, and Seminarians from the Class of 1959. These Newsletters have been developed to rekindle the friendships and the spirit that we cultivated while attending St. Mary’s College (now Saint Mary’s University) during the years of 1955-1959. I have enjoyed hearing from many of you, by letters, emails and telephone. Also, since I have volunteered as one of the participants to contact classmates as part of our 50th Anniversary Class Gift, organized by Ken Ortman, this activity has also put me in touch with many classmates and I take pleasure in sharing your great memories.
Read more...
We have been attempting to improve our address and telephone lists; so if you are aware of a classmate who has not been receiving this Newsletter, let me know and I will see to it that he is included correctly on our mailing list.
During the month of April we had a gathering of Colorado St. Mary’s alumni right here in Castle Rock, Colorado, at the home of Don ’53 and Eileen Gass (CST ’53). It was an informative and enjoyable event attended by members of the development and alumni relations staff. We were shown plans to upgrade the Hoffman Science Building and development of a new outdoor athletic field. They also showed my film, “Saint Mary’s College – 1950’s”.
Homecoming – 2009
Our 50th Anniversary Celebration will be held during Homecoming Weekend in June 2009, which is a little more than one year from now. We are encouraging all of our classmates to plan now to be at this “special” gathering for our golden anniversary. We look forward to a “once in a lifetime experience”, seeing many of our teammates, roommates, and classmates for the first time in fifty years. Festivities are already being planned to make this a truly memorable event. So block out your calendar for early June in 2009 and plan to attend. You will have a great experience!
To make the most of this truly golden opportunity we need to get the message out to every one of our classmates. I’m certain that there are former Student Brothers and Seminarians who can do a much better job of encouraging and relating to your fellow classmates to join us in this celebration than I can possibly do. So “step up and get organized.” I am looking for “Representatives” from these two groups. Contact me and I will help you organize your reunion plans to successfully “connect” and have a great gathering with fellow St. Mary’s classmates.
Harry Plotke
CLASS NEWS
Keith Hanzel – Ely, Minnesota
Forty years of work: Cretin High School teacher as a History instructor, hockey coach at St. Mary’s College, insurance adjuster, St. Paul City Prosecuting Attorney, private law practice, pro hockey player agent, Ramsey County Public Defender.
Married 1961 to 1991. Four kids, (one a St. Mary’s grad) all making me proud.
Retired in 1998, living year round in the wilderness five miles from the Canadian Border and 25 miles from Ely, the nearest town. Spend my time reading, fishing, and hunting. Also, cooking, splitting wood, traveling, sports, and enjoying life immensely.
Come visit!!!
Dr. William Blass – Knoxville, Tennessee
Bill continued his education after SMC receiving a Ph.D. He taught at St. Mary’s ‘63-‘67. He taught Physics and Astronomy at the University of Tennessee. During his tenure at Tennessee, he was President of the Faculty Senate and served on the Board of Trustees for one year. For 18 summers Bill has served as Visiting Faculty member or NASA Fellow at the Goddard Space Center. Bill indicated he will consider contributing to the class gift and may attend the 50th.
Dr. Robert LaPata – Glenview, Illinois
Bob ran into Bob Slomka while celebrating a High School reunion and promised him that he would be at our 2009 Homecoming. He was astounded by the many changes in our campus when he last visited SMU.
Dr. Richard Rock – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dick plans to return for the 50th and plans to make a contribution to the class gift. Also he has been discussing making contacts to other graduate doctors with Ken. Dick is a semi retired orthopedic surgeon and continues to teach. He is a top-notch trombonist and banjo player who performs with Dixieland bands.
Ed O’Connell – Dallas, Texas
Ed attended SMC for one year and graduated from Notre Dame. He has returned to visit with many of us as he did for our 45th anniversary. Ed plans to return for our 50th and will consider contributing to the class gift.
Fred Andrus – San Diego, California
Fred and his wife Alice just got back from a three-week vacation to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. They got to feed wild wallabies, sample Aussie tucker, went hot air ballooning (not Alice) and tries boomeranging. They attended our 45th Homecoming Reunion and will possibly be on campus for our 50th.
Fred Dalleska – New Brighton, Minnesota
Fred plans to attend the 50th and will consider contributing to the class gift.
Bill Harwood – New Bern, North Carolina
After eight years of teaching and coaching in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area Bill spent his last forty years in sales with the quiet company - Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. He had several management positions including recruiting, training and sales and is now a semi-retired senior salesman. He golf’s three or four times a week, and he and his wife Barbara, enjoy visiting with children and grandchildren. They travel or cruise four or five times a year! They now live in Trent Woods, North Carolina, and God willing, he intends to join his classmates at the 2009 reunion.
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