Paula Stone Tucker, Bob Arnett, Lyla Cosner Howell, Barbara Enoch Arnett, Leonard Howell, Sandy Weils Cook, Bob Cook, Arlene Kitchin Martin, Joe Martin, Roleta Meredith, Bill Meredith, John Olesky

Another fabulous Monongah High reunion

The 3^rd annual Monongah High Reunion/Sarasota in the Sarasota home of Bill Meredith, Class of 1957, and wife Roleta Meredith, a Clarksburg Washington Irvin graduate, drew a dozen Lions and friends on Feb 5, 2015.

Because I can’t combine the two photos till I return to Ohio in April, I posted both. Until I PhotoShop the two photos into one seamless photo, this will have to do.

As usual, the Lions enjoyed the day so much that they chatted, dined and laughed for four hours.

To make everyone feel like back home, Roletta served pepperoni rolls, born at Country Club Bakery in Fairmont thanks to an Italian immigrant, and West Virgina hot dogs with snappy chilli.

And John Olesky gave everyone a blue bag with yellow wrapping paper that housed Russell Stover pecan delights wrapped in a WVU Mountaineers design.

Monongah High connections:

Bob Arnett, Class of 1957, and Barb Enoch Arnett, Class of 1960, who live in Scherr, West Virginia, but were vacationing in Florida.

Lyla Cosner Howell, Class of 1958, and husband Len, who live in Elkins.

Sandy Weils Shaffer Cook, Class of 1959, and husband Bob, who live in Fort Myers, Florida.

Joe Martin, Class of 1957, and wife Arlene Kitchin Martin, who live on Treasure Island, Florida.

Bill Meredith, Class of 1957, and Roleta Meredith, the hosts.

John Olesky, Class of 1950, and Paula Stone Tucker.

The next Monongah High reunion will be at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 1 in The Villages, Florida for the West Virginia Day picnic.

Pat Meredith Wills, Class of 1950, and husband Don Wills, wintering in their Crescent Beach home just south of St. Augustine Beach, Florida, plan to attend.

So do Dolores Sweede Matkovich, Class of 1953, an husband John Sweede Matkovich, Class of 1948, who live on Palm Harbor, Florida. 

And John Olesky, Class of 1950, and Paula Stone Tucker.

If you can make it to West Virginia Day in The Villages, call John at (330) 388-4466 for the details on how to get the tickets.

5 days till

Monongah High reunion in Sarasota

Not too late if you phone!

Bill Meredith, Class of 1957, and wife Roleta, a Clarksburg Washington Irving graduate, will host the 3^rd Monongah High Alumni Reunion/Sarasota in their Sarasota home at noon Friday, Feb. 6.

Call John Olesky at (330) 388-4466 or Bill at (941) 342-0030 so that Roleta will know how many to feed and so that Bill can give your name to the guard at their complex entrance to get access to their street.

Bill’s directions to his home at 3201 Charles MacDonald Drive in Sarasota: 

To get to our home from I-75, take exit 207 (Bee Ridge Rd.) and go east about 1½  miles to Gary Player Drive.  Turn left onto Gary Player Dr. and proceed to the gate.  All names will be given to the guardhouse.  Once through the gate, go to the first stop sign (Tom Morris Drive).  Turn right on Tom Morris and go to the first street on the right, which is Charles MacDonald.  Turn right and proceed about 1/4 mile to our home on the right side at 3201.  The number is on the mailbox.

March 1 will be the West Virginia Day Picnic in The Villages, Florida. At least four Monongah High alumni said they will be there.

Admission will be limited to the first 500 tickets purchased. The Villages is northwest of Orlando and northeast of Tampa and 30 to 40 minutes from each city.

Send your check for $18 per person to Karen Rodriguez, a 1960 Fairmont East grad married to a Fairmont West grad. Make the check out to: West Virginia Day Picnic.

Mail it to:

Karen Rodriquez

2755 Privada Drive

The Villages, FL 32162

On a separate piece of paper, put your name, the West Virginia town and county that you came from (they will seat people by counties so the Marion County people will be seated together), your email address, your phone number.

The doors will open at 11 a.m., the catered meal will begin at 12:30 p.m.

See you there! Either Sarasota or The Villages.

Or, better yet, both!

Come to the Monongah High Alumni Reunion in Sarasota Feb. 6, 2015

The 3^rd annual Monongah High Alumni Reunion/Sarasota will happen at noon Friday,

Feb. 6, 2015. If you live in Florida or will be vacationing there Feb. 6, 2015, email John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com to let him know you think you can make it.

Bill Meredith, Class of 1957, who lives in Sarasota, Florida and summers in Buckeye Lake, Ohio, explains in his email:

Hello To All,

Since we had to cancel  our annual get-together last December, due to my surgery, John Olesky and I vowed to try again this coming winter.  In fact, we have already come up with a date.

The reunion will be  at the Meredith home in Sarasota on Friday, February 6, 2015, starting at noon.  We hope that by starting to plan things early, we can get several more people to attend.  

I'm sure there are several dozen Monongah HS alums living in Florida.  I am only aware of a few, so we need help.  If you know of anyone, young, old or in between, who have a Monongah connection, spread the word.  They are welcome to attend.  

As always, John will publicize the event on his Monongah HS Blog.

We will be in touch with more details later, but since you now have a date, please plan on attending.

Have a wonderful summer.

Bill Meredith---Class of 1957

Bill and wife Roleta, a Clarksburg Washington Irving graduate, hosted the 2012 and 2013 Monongah High Alumni/Sarasota Reunions at their home adjacent to a golf course (of course; it's Florida) at 3201 Charles MacDonald Drive.

A third reunion was lined up for December 2013 but Bill's medical problem interfered.

Attending the January 2013 MHS Reunion in Sarasota were Bob Arnett, Class of 1957, & Barb Enoch Arnett, Class of 1960, who live in Scherr, West Virginia, but were vacationing in Florida; Lloyd Schell, Class of 1957, who lives in Pompano Beach, Florida; Lyla Cosner Howell, Class of 1958, and husband Len, who live in Elkins and Fort Myers Beach, Florida, and show up in Mountaineer Field in the same Section 107 where I sit with my sister, Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of 1955, of Riveville; Sandy Weils Shaffer Cook, Class of 1959, and husband Bob, who live in Fort Myers, Florida; Joe Martin, Class of 1957, and wife Arlene Kitchen, who live on Treasure Island, Florida; Bill and Roleta, the hosts; and John Olesky, Class of 1950, and Paula.

If you show up, you’re in for hours of cheerful chatting about the joys of Monongah High and life ever since. Mark Feb. 6, 2015 on your calendar. If you'll be in the area Feb. 6, 2015, let me know.

More about this later.

Paula and I will be staying in The Villages, Florida from January through March of 2015, except for heading down to Siesta Key and Sarasota Feb. 5-9 to take in the Monongah High Alumni Reunion at the Meredith home and the Greek Festival at St. Barbara's Church in Sarasota, where they have the best lamb shanks in the world, even better than what I ate in Athens, Greece.

So if you're near The Villages in January through March 2015, call me at (330) 388-4466 and we'll have a mini-Monongah meeting there, too.