Unsanctioned '80s Holiday Party

The traditional decade party hosted by SPA was cancelled this year due to low attendance last year. However, a bunch of people have been contacting the reunion committee to see if it's taking place. Enter our holiday hero, Chris Cheney, who has organized the rebel Spartans' party:

Friday, Dec 26th

The Blue Door Pub

Fairview & Selby in St. Paul

9pm onward

No free beer, but free cheer. 

Please spread the word to other '80s SPA alums. And contact Chris with any questions: ccheney@everestfg.us

Thank you for your support

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone who attended the class party is still feeling the warm fuzzys from last weekend like I am. I wish I could write as well as Cat to express my feelings about how great is was to see everyone again. I was simply blown away by the number of you who came out, and by the few surprise visitors who dropped by.

Did anyone else have that bizarre experience where you're looking at a total stranger for 2 to 5 seconds, then suddenly the recognition kicks in and memories flood back? To me, that was the most surreal part of the evening.

I'm humbly grateful for the recognition I received for my part organizing the reunion. I thank you very much. The truth is my role as organizer and communicator made me a little more visible, but the class party was truly a team effort. Your reunion committee consisted of Rich Barlow, Chris Cheney, Dan Deuel, Fred Kaemmer, Cat McKenzie, Amy Myrbo, and Jennifer O'Brien. Everybody pitched in contacting and reconnecting with classmates. I intentionally took a half step back from the party details because it's simply not my forte. I probably would have booked the local 'Crapplebee's' and served those little cocktail weinees and meatballs. The team picked a great location and I couldn't image the food or drink being any better! A special thanks goes out to Jennifer who managed all the details with Cafe Lurcat.

I'm not a prolific or good photographer, but I'm posted my photo on a flickr page. (Somebody let me know if that didn't work.)

I hope we can continue this blog and share our lives in other ways; a lot of us are "friends" on Facebook, if you care to join us. We were only successful contacting around 60% of the class and we have no contact information at all for about 10 of us. Some people prefer to leave the past where it lies, so we'll never get everyone to join. But if you run across any classmates during your journeys, please direct them this way and maybe we'll have a few more for the 25 year.

Your friend,

Dave

Send me your pics

Hey alums,

Thank you to everyone who attended our 20th class reunion. Echoing Cat's blog posting, I also had a wonderful time reconnecting with everyone. Overall, the reunion was a reassuring and grounding experience. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded where we came from and how far we've gone – nothing does that better than a class reunion. Whether it's running experiments on Super Colliders in Switzerland, defending low-income/disadvantaged clients in Seattle, broadcasting with NBC in NYC, following successful artistic careers or educating the next generation of leaders (to name just a few), it's safe to say our class is a pretty impressive bunch. It makes me smile to think we all suffered through our teen years (or more) together.

A big thank you goes out to the committee (Dave Salchow, Amy Myrbo, Rich Barlow, Chris Cheney, Fred Kaemmer, Cat MacKenzie, Daymond Dean, Andrew Arashiba) who helped track down classmates and organize the big day. I always looked forward to emails from this group as each one found a long-lost face and shared their news. Planning the whole thing was MUCH more fun than I anticipated.

Thank you to Theresa (Zottola) Drift for sharing her pictures from both the All School Dinner on Friday and our class party on Saturday. I've created a flickr page with these images for everyone to share. If you have more, feel free to email them my way, and I'll add them to the set. My email is jobrienreg@hotmail.com.

Good luck and best wishes, everyone. Let's stay in touch.

One Big Hug

So....since I've been back in NYC everyone keeps asking me how the weekend was.  I just smile and say GREAT! So much FUN! 

But I was sitting here...trying to really put into words how it felt to be around so much familiarity and family at the same time and came up with this. 

For me at least...this was what seeing you all, being with you all was like...with almost everyone it was like no time had passed...conversations were not silted or halted...and the joy that bubbled inside of me at seeing old faces was truly geniune...

I wrote this next line to a friend who asked for details about the weekend it sums it for me the best...

It was really comfortable once everybody got over the whole "what are you doing now" thing in some ways it felt like one big long supportive hug the kind that makes you feel stronger when it's over...the kind you'll long for again when it's not there right at your fingertips.

Thanks Class of '88 for memories good and bad...but for not forgetting where we all came from. 

OK I'm done being sappy now - please those who ever head out to the Big Apple give me a ring so we can share glass , tell more old stories and have one more hug. See you all soon! Love Cat "Cathy" McKenzie

Thanks and Share Your Pics

Fellow classmates,

First

Last weekend was very fun. While I don'ts suspect we will have the same number together again in the next few months, I do hope that those of you who traveled from far and wide had enough fun that you are ready to return again (if not before the next significant gathering, then at least in 5 years). There were others who said that they wanted to come and hope to see pictures from the event. I dropped the ball on this but there were plenty of flash bulbs. So I am begging for a huge communal favor – Please be willing to share your pictures!

The blog that Dave set up would be a great place to post pictures for everyone to see (we're older now, so I trust nobody did anything that would cause trouble). If you haven't already gained access to the blog, then contact Dave Salchow at davidsalchow@yahoo.com.

Thanks,

Chris Cheney

All-School Reunion

What a great time everyone had at the SPA All-School reunion dinner last night. It was a bizarre and nostalgic experience to walk through the halls once again. Dinner was in the brand new dining hall with cathedral ceilings, which were surprisingly free off flicked pats of butter (or other sticky items). Someone also noted how much of the art and murals survived the renovations, but the lockers didn't (they're all tall, and beige). Monkey Island has also disappeared (replaced by 2 old couches). Those of us that spent most of our time in the music rooms were so impressed by the new facilities.

But the best part was seeing familiar faces of class mates and teachers at dinner. It brought back lots of memories both good and not-so, but all worth laughing about years later. Our classmates were kicked out of the dinner and landed at Plum's (on Snelling & Randolph) for more drinks and stories until the wee hours. Thank you, Theresa (Zottola Drift), for taking so many pictures last night!

Looking forward to seeing even more people at Lurcat tonight (Daymond tells us we're breaking attendance records). Bring cameras!

P.S. We've been told that Blake will also being having a class reunion there. Let's go show 'em who's boss, everybody.

Guess Who's Coming

Here are some familiar faces we'll see this weekend. It's not too late to join us. Just contact SPA ASAP to get on the rsvp list. 651 696 1308 or online.

Directions to Cafe Lurcat and Parking information

Hi everybody,

We have a little bit of reunion business to take care of this evening. I'll try to think of something disgusting to post later.

Directions to Cafe Lurcat:

http://www.cafelurcat.com/

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1624+Harmon+Place+on+Loring+Park,+Minneapolis,+MN+55403&ie=UTF8&ll=44.971599,-93.285384&spn=0.015575,0.028539&z=15&pw=2

Cafe Lurcat is located at 1624 Harmon Place in the shadow to the west of Downtown Minneapolis. Beautiful Loring Park is right across the street.

• From the East:
  Travel west on I-94
  Take exit 231B for Lyndale Ave toward Hennepin Ave
  Keep right at the fork, follow signs for Lyndale Ave S/Lyndale Ave N/Hennepin Ave N
  Keep left at the fork to continue toward Lyndale Ave S
  Keep right at the fork, follow signs for Lyndale Ave/Hennepin Ave and merge onto Lyndale Ave S
  Continue on Hennepin Ave
  Turn right at Maple St S
  Maple St S turns right and becomes Harmon Pl
  
  
• From the South:
  Travel north on I-35W
  Slight left at MN-65 (signs for I-94 W)
  Take the ramp onto I-94 W
  Take exit 231B for Lyndale Ave toward Hennepin Ave
  Keep right at the fork, follow signs for Lyndale Ave S/Lyndale Ave N/Hennepin Ave N
  Keep left at the fork to continue toward Lyndale Ave S
  Keep right at the fork, follow signs for Lyndale Ave/Hennepin Ave and merge onto Lyndale Ave S
  Continue on Hennepin Ave
  Turn right at Maple St S
  Maple St S turns right and becomes Harmon Pl
  
  
• From the North:
  Follow I-694/I-94 to I-94 east/south
  Follow I-94 east toward downtown Minneapolis
  Take exit 231A-B for Lyndale Ave/Hennepin Ave
  Merge onto Lyndale Ave N
  Turn left at Dunwoody Blvd
  Slight left at Hennepin Ave
  Turn right at Maple St S
  Maple St S turns right and becomes Harmon Pl
  
  
• From the West:
  Follow 394E toward downtown Minneapolis
  Take exit 8A to merge onto Dunwoody Blvd/Wayzata Blvd toward Hennepin Ave
  Continue to follow Dunwoody Blvd
  Slight left at Hennepin Ave
  Turn right at Maple St S
  Maple St S turns right and becomes Harmon Pl
  

Parking:

There is ample parking in the area, although not all of it is free.

(Cafe Lurcat is circled at about the center of this image.)

Valet Parking is located right in front for a cost of $7.

There is a significant amount of metered on-street parking in the area, which is free of charge after 8 PM. However, these are difficult to come by, so a significant amount of searching or luck may be required.

There is a free weekend parking lot underneath I-94 next to the Basilica only about a block-and-a-half north of Lurcat. Don't park in any of the reserved spaces.

Finally, there are a lot of paid parking ramps and lots within a few blocks. The closest is on the corner of Maple Street and Harmon Place on the same block as Lurcat. The cost is $5. Another good option might be the Minneapolis Community and Technical College ramp on Hennepin between N 16th Street and Laurel Avenue. The cost is $5.

A little further down Hennepin toward downtown, on the corner of Hennepin and 12th Street, there are several $4 lots plus a municipal parking ramp. Finally, there is parking near the Walker Art Center and Parade Stadium to the west of I-94 which would include a nice walk through the art park and flower garden.

If all else fails, Cafe Lurcat is conveniently located within walking distance of the City of Minneapolis impound lot.

I hope this post is helpful to some of you. I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at the all-school reunion this Friday and more of you at the class party Saturday night!

Dave

Hi Everyone,

I am sorry that I cannot make it to the reunion on the 27th. It would be great to see everyone. So in the spirit of letting everyone know what I am up to, here goes, briefly.

After college I went straight to graduate school in biochemistry and received a PhD in 1998 from Michigan State University. It took me nearly six years to get my PhD due to the amount of extra curricular activities I partook in; namely ultimate Frisbee, Bells Amber Ale, concerts, and general socializing. I also met my future wife, Laurence, while I was in graduate school. Laurence also has a PhD in biochemistry and she is from a town near Toulon, France. As a result, we go to southern France for a couple of weeks a year. Good food and good drinking makes for a tough life. Near the end of our time in East Lansing, Laurence and I got married in 1999. We then began our journey around the country getting additional scientific training prior to our current positions. We lived in Seattle for a little under a year since the person I was working with decided to move his laboratory to San Diego. So we moved to San Diego.

In San Diego, I worked at a company that is now closed, and Laurence worked as the Scripps Research Institute. We lived in Encinitas, CA, which is a fabulous town. The biggest challenge out there is traffic, and it is horrid, but the fish tacos and sun make up for a great deal of traffic. We also had our first kid out there, Alex, who is now 7 ½. After 2 ½ years in San Diego I decided I wanted to get an academic job rather than work in industry. I applied for a number of assistant professor positions at universities around the country and I was lucky to be in a hot field at the right time. As a result of this we moved to Kansas City to take positions at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. If you are curious about the Institute and what our lab does here’s a link, we are science geeks, no doubt about it (http://www.stowers-institute.org/labs/Washburnlab.asp). Kansas City is quite a change from southern CA, but in fact we like it more. Much less frenetic, people are nicer, and we don’t spend 2 hours in the car everyday. In Kansas City, we had our 2nd son, Rafael, who is now 3 ½. They are both nuts and want to play just about every sport imaginable, although Rafael has a tendency to make up his own rules.

Here is a recent picture of all of us. Hopefully the two of them get their hair from their mom’s side of the family.

Hope all of you are doing well.

Best regards,

Mike

Update from Russell Baccaglini

Hi all,

Wow, 20 years I can’t believe it! I was not even 20 years old the last time I was at SPA. I broke out the year book and it brought back great memories (after I spent about 5 minutes laughing at the cover picture … I still can’t believe they printed that). As a late comer to SPA and an east coast boy, I am really grateful for all the friends and good times I had. Let’s just say there was not much of a comparison to Henry Sibley High School in Eagan. Of course, Dave had to remind me of French class. After how difficult the third year of French was I can’t believe I was stupid enough to take year four … and if you were in my class I am sure you would agree … with how stupid I was. Thank goodness for math and science (which equals geek).

I booked an airline flight so I am committed and am looking forward to the weekend.

If you’re interested, here is what I have been up to since SPA. I went to college at Columbia University in New York City. That was a great time and a blur … more like an alcohol induced haze with enough studying to graduate in four years. I went to work at Price Waterhouse as a management consultant after college. About 2 years after IBM bought the management consulting division of PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2002 I finally realized traveling every week … week after week … year after year really sucks. I even spent a year and a half managing a project at Thomson West in Eagan around 2003 (you can kick me at the reunion for not contacting you if you like … work just seemed to be too important at the time). In 2004 my father was in the process of easing into retirement as a financial advisor for Thrivent Financial. I woke up one morning and decided to make the career change and join him. It was rough to start over, but it was worth it and things have been great after the first year or two.

I attended the summer of 1991 Paul Simon concert in Central Park when I was in college. One of the 750,000 people there was my wife, Jola. Of course she was just someone I was sandwiched like a sardine with on the great lawn of the park at the time. We have been together ever since. Here is a recent picture of the kids. From the left Anna (13), Mary (17), Paul (4), and Emily (6).

Jola came to the USA from Poland just about a year before we met. I’m not sure if my French or Polish is worse. That said it has been great to get the perspective of someone who was not born in the USA. Let’s just say we are really fortunate. We live in beautiful New Jersey ... surprise surprise:). Here is a somewhat recent picture of the family on vacation.

I am really looking forward to catching up with everyone. Feel free to send me a email to catch up if you like at rjaep@optonline.net.

Class Photo of Chris Cheney

Chris had some trouble uploading his own "senior picture" from '88 off the yearbook site, so I'm helping him out. While I don't remember Chris with this 'do, I remember others who did have this rockin' look.

Last week to return your RSVP

Hi again,

The RSVP is due back to the alumni office by Friday, September 12th.

If you haven't done so already. please take a moment to return the card. Even if you can not attend, consider sending along a note to classmates.

I can't wait to see everyone!

Dave

Yearbook Yourself

http://www.yearbookyourself.com/
A co-worker found this site, and in light of our upcoming party, I thought I'd share it with you. It's a riot. Here I am from 1983!

Art Exhibit and Reunion Invites

Hello again,

Well, we've brought the blog into the gutter and clearly I started it. While we're here, let's share some stories about those nasty lower gym foyer restrooms....

Actually, let's not. We have a little bit of business to take care of.

If there's any confusion about Rich Barlow's art exhibit, the reception with Rich is Friday, September 26th from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Time permitting, Rich plans to devote some Q&A time for our class at 6:30 p.m. (Did I get this right?) This will somewhat depend on the turnout and demand for Rich's attention as the reception is an all school activity. Running simultaneous with the art reception will be tours of the Randolph Campus if you want to see what has changed or find your old lockers. The All School Dinner Party begins at 6:00 p.m. with the buffet dinner beginning at 7:00 p.m. There is a cost for the dinner party ($35), but you can come to the art reception and tour campus free of charge. There is some overlap with the timing of the event, but I believe you can take it all in and not feel rushed.

If you are not able to come Friday, the art exhibit will be open on the Randolph Campus Saturday, September 27th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We'd love a great turnout to the Friday evening reception, but you can still check out the art on Saturday. Also occurring on campus Saturday is the doubles tennis tournament starting at 9:30 a.m., a Sculpture Installation at noon, Girl's Varsity Soccer at 1 p.m. and Boy's Varsity Soccer at 3 p.m. Our class party is that evening beginning at 8 p.m.

Finally, check you mail box for the invitations! The RSVP' s are due back no later than Friday, September 12th. That's only three weeks folks. There's always a little give on these things, but the count is important to make sure we have enough food. Please don't procrastinate on this.

Thanks again for supporting the blog and your excitement about the reunion. On behalf of the Reunion Planning committee, we're looking forward to seeing you all soon and a very memorable weekend!

Your friend,

Dave

now you've done it

Hey Dave,

Thanks for bringing the level of discourse down & getting the crowd all warmed up for me. I knew that someday I'd find a use for this image:



I suppose I ought to add my two "what's up with me" cents to justify adding some "being a smartass" cents.

I live in the Willamette Valley where we've cornered the market on natural beauty but have a very high unemployment rate. I'm very lucky to have a mindnumbingly boring job in the software industry in a town full of baristas, bartenders, and waitrons with master's degrees. I'm about ninety minutes away from the ocean, the mountains, or annoying hipsters (Portland). My 11-year-old daughter starts middle school in a couple of weeks.

I always thought that the Blogger account "random question" feature was a bit lame - they're trying just a little too hard to be clever and funny and never quite hit the mark. However, the question that they gave me when I signed up actually got me remembering stuff...so much stuff, in fact, that it exceeded the character limit!

Random Question:
When your science teacher smashed a frozen rose with a hammer, did you warm the petals to bring them back to life?

We never performed such heavy metaphorical acts in our science classes. However, I do remember:

• Every boy in Ms. Keeling's Life Sciences class shifting uncomfortably in his seat when a girl whose identity I mercifully conceal (not I!) asked, "Is semen nutritious?"


• Intentionally blowing up light bulbs with Amy to stave off the boredom of some experiment that was cutting into our precious locker-decorating time.


• J.J. Toupeé saying "Whatever you do, don't inhale the gas" seconds before Christopher failed to waft and instead huffed the N20 streaming out of our beaker.


• Eric A. dropping burning splints through the hole in the closet down into the biology classroom below. An impressive amount of time and number of splints elapsed before the teacher from that classroom burst into ours. No, I was not the lookout. By saying nothing, I was merely maintaining my, uh, journalistic neutrality.


• Hans and Spencer air-guitaring their way into Merle's classroom, singing "Ph-ph-ph-physics! Da-nuh-nuh!" to the tune of Def Leppard's "Foolin'."


• Mr. Ertl encouraging us to fondle, lick, and otherwise abuse mighty rocks. That's a piece of Schist! Aww, noooo, it's Gneiss! Uh-huh-huh, you said "Greywacke."

Alrighty, I'm gonna go get my weekend on, but I'll be back soon with a funny photo or three.

TTFN
The ghost of Miss McLouden

The time I thought I "killed" Gerard

This story makes me laugh every time I remember it. It borders on "bathroom humor" so don't bother reading this post if that offends or disgusts you.

....

Anybody still here?


....

Gerard and I played on the wildly successful SPA freshmen basketball team together. Well, mostly he played and I practiced and held down the end of the bench. The gyms on campus were full, so we huffed it daily to a gym on the St. Cate's campus. If you've played organized basketball, you might be familiar with the Jump Stop drill. Players each have a ball and move up and down the court in a series of straight lines. At the coach's whistle, you alternate between ordinary dribbling and jump stops. A jump stop is like a standing broad jump where you attempt to land on both feet simultaneously. It's a strategic way of stopping your dribble because you can legally choose which is your pivot foot. Otherwise, the foot to land first is your pivot foot. Thus, we practiced jump stops.

One nondescript afternoon, Gerard was immediately behind me. I remember dribbling a few feet ahead, when suddenly Gerard began yelping and screaming! I whirled fully expecting to see Gerard's leg twisted into some unnatural position, or his arm bent the wrong way. Instead, Gerard was waving his arms madly in front of his face and yelling "Dave! Jesus!"

What really happened?

Who knows what was served at lunch that day. More likely, I can't recall what food my mother prepared the night before, but something had died and "turned to the dark side" in the nether regions of my bowels. On that particular day, apparently a section of my gastrointestinal system occupied it's own plane of hell. The jarring force of landing consecutive jump stops overcame my sphinctal-muscular system and I, knowingly or not, created a death cloud of sorts in my wake. Gerard was the unfortunate soul in line behind me. It wasn't exactly a miracle to be investigated by the Vatican, but it was enough to break up a jump stop drill.

I'm glad I didn't prematurely end Gerard's athletic career and I'm glad they didn't need to evacuate the building. I regret the unfortunate circumstances and that I didn't set any official school records that day.

I wish there was a moral to this story. Sorry Gerard.

Dave

What a small world!

I just had to share what a small world it is. I went to pick up a race packet for the YWCA Women's Triathlon and who do I run into? Lesley Johnson now Crosby. She was also doing the race and mentioned she had run into Ann Wilson now Courington at the Lifetime race in July. So I started searching for Ann, not knowing her married name and found her in the race results. After searching the Eagan phone book (do I sound like a stalker yet?) and using Mapquest it turns out she lives less than 3 miles from my house. Too wild. It was exciting to see her. It brought back so many memories. I'm looking forward to catching up at the reunion.

interesting...

Maybe everyone isn't cost conscious...But considering our class' track record for showing up for reunion type events, I was not so sure charging people for the class party would boost the turnout.

Two things happened since I had that thought.
1) SPA offered a supplement to the class party...(I helped a teeny bit with the planning and found this out).
2) I got invited to the Armstrong Senior High 20 year reunion (a separate story). Classmembers there were charged $65 per person for an evening with a cash bar at the local Holiday Inn Express.

Suddenly the bargain hunter in me saw things differently. The SPA class party is a very good deal for a cool looking place. As a minivan owner, I can't talk to the "hipness" of anything. But Cafe Lurcat looks upscale, is surrounded by fun places to just walk around (a park and the sculpture garden), and I am pretty sure I recall that the evening comes with some hors d'ouvres and at least one complimentary beverage (what does a drink downtown go for now days? Seems like $25 is a steal!).

That's just the class specific event on Saturday.

The evening before we can check out the art work of classmate Rich Barlow and walk around through school (heck maybe even pilfer a ball of clay and throw a piece on a wheel) for free! The all school dinner is just $35 (for a full meal, an adult beverage (possibly two?), and childcare provided).

This is not an exhaustive list (check the full schedule of events that has or will soon arrive by regular mail) but we have a weekend of fun available to us for less than a single night, at least compared to one other school's reunion.

Hope you can make it.

Out here in Boston

Hello to everyone-it is really great to see so many names from the past, and hear what everybody has been doing. Thanks to everybody who has organized the reunion and gotten this blog going! I'm sorry I won't be able to make it back to Minnesota for the reunion-I'll have to block out my vacation time better in the future. Really hard to believe 20 years have gone by already-seems like not too long ago that I was busy playing locker ball, hackysack, and generally getting into trouble...

So, I'm out here in Boston where I came after SPA and never really left. I went to Brandeis and then medical school at BU. After four years of that I decided to give something else to try, and was actually studying music for a while before going back to finish medical training. The best part about the training was meeting my future wife Emily. After we finished, we moved into Boston where she did a fellowship in kidney disease. I practiced medicine for awhile, but have gradually migrated away from that, and am now doing work in clinical trials and writing for EBSCO publishing which has a medical division here in Boston. Emily and I were married in 2006, and the best thing of all has been the birth of our daughter Anna who just turned one year old this month. it does make me realize I'm approaching 40 when it is painful to crawl around on the floor chasing her...

anyways, the reunion sound like a great time-sorry again I'm going to miss it, I will hopefully plan to see everybody at future reunions if not sooner

Matt
matthewbrier@yahoo.com

Bars Online

Hello all. It's great to see your names and read your stories.



Attached is a family photo that just barely missed the cut for the Christmas card last year. This blog gives me the chance to share it! Nothing but class, I know.

Anyway, pictured is my bride Ava of 9 years and our daughters Jenna 7 and Megan 5.8767 (future math major, like her old man...). We live in Victoria MN, and have been here for 6 or 7 years after stints in Austin Texas (same time as Pat) and Albuquerque New Mexico. It has been great to be back in MN. After swearing off the northern climate during a fit of naive hostility, we have made great new friends, connected with old ones, and found a great quality of life.

Update on me... Like Dave Salchow, I too suffered the wrath of math with Mr Driscoll (sp?). I didn't have the hutspa to whip chalk at him, rather, I bottled up my rage and humiliation and muddled onward like a good Minnesotan, ah, um (25 cents please). A some point, dumb-kid performance turned to a strength and I started to get it. That success led to math, physics, and engineering in undergrad and eventually business school. I'm currently a Business Development Manager at MTS Systems in Eden Prairie. We make testing systems. Basically, we make big stuff that breaks big stuff. Customers include Boeing, NASA, BMW, Ferrari, and others. Yes, we get paid to break stuff, often expensive stuff, ... and yes, I'm still five at heart. I manage start-up endeavors and attend to other forward-looking opportunities. I must credit the creative thinking emphasis at SPA, as I rely on the perspectives and thoughts we were taught every day.

Travel in this and other jobs has taken me to about 15 countries, including a one year stay in Korea. Although time away from home is hard, I consider the experiences to be a great source of personal wealth. Ava is a huge supporter and makes it work at home.

On the personal side, I have retained my interest and participation in outdoor activities. Water skiing continues to be a mainstay and I have enjoyed passing the knowledge to Ava and Jenna. It has been a busy year as I have also tried my hand at boat building and competed in my first triathlon.



I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

Dan
dan.barsness@mts.com

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Privacy

For those of you concerned about privacy, which hopefully is all of us, you can establish an e-mail account especially for this blog. (Credit - Alex G. for the idea.) Simply establish a Gmail account with Google and give yourself a memorable username such as DaveSPA1988 or WantT0BeLikeDave1988. (Who wouldn't want that last one? It's a great gift idea.) Sent me a message using your new account, and I'll get you a fresh invitation to the blog and delete your old account. You will need to remember this account and your password to contribute to the blog.

Finally, please remember this blog is readable and searchable to anybody on the web. So please contribute accordingly. For example, I'm not certain I'd like some of my high school exploits to come up when some body's doing a background check on me. (I've never been to Mr. Buckheit's house.) Feel free to mention classmates, just do so in good taste or use first name last initial. (Darren G. You must tell the story about why I think of you every time I eat chocolate pudding.)

I hope you find this helpful and everyone is enjoying a glorious weekend!

Your friend,

Dave

Can't wait to see you guys!!!!!

Ahhhhhh High School Memories...sitting in the courtyard...the salad bar...learning to throw a pot...Senior Speeches....Senior Music...Madrigal Dinners...Pop Concerts...Fall Plays...Spring Musicals...Volleyball games...Physics...English...Reading Shakespeare...Listening to the USA Win Olympic Gold in Hockey...going to camp in the winter...ok I'll stop now just in case some of you have post traumatic stress syndrome kicking in.
I can't wait for the reunion!!! There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't use something I learned at SPA.
I've been in New York now for 12 years...my title is the Senior Producer of Special Projects & Live Events...I work at WABC-TV the ABC affliate in the Big Apple. What that means is I produce our coverage for most of our big events...think Oscar Coverage...Superbowls...it also means I do half hour documentaries and whatever may come up ... think Backstage at Cirque de Solei or NYC Half Marathon...
Not married and no kids...yet...
I don't get back to St. Paul though not as often as I'd like to...can't wait to see all of you!

Invitations are coming soon!

August 1, 2008

Dear Class of 1988,

Reunion-Homecoming Weekend is September 26-28, 2008. The SPA Class of 1988 party is Saturday, September 27, 8 p.m. at Bar Lurcat mezzanine level. Your classmates Andrew Arashiba, Rich Barlow, Chris Cheney, Dan Deuel, Fred Kaemmer, Kat McKenzie, Amy Myrbo, Jennifer O'Brien, and David Salchow have formed a planning committee to organize a wonderful 20-year class reunion party and would love to see you at the event. Mark the date on your calendar; plan to attend; encourage your classmates to meet you at class party and the other weekend activities, especially a Friday evening art reception with alumni artist Rich Barlow.

Watch your mail for the Reunion-Homecoming Weekend 2008 invitation which will arrive soon. In the interim, peruse the Reunion-Homecoming Weekend schedule outline on the reverse side of this letter. Visit www.spa.edu/alumni after August 15 to register online for Reunion-Homecoming activities, to see updates and to view a list of who’s registered. If you have questions regarding your class reunion party or the weekend’s activities, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 651-696-1308 or ddean@spa.edu, or visit the class blog spot http://spa1988.blogspot.com to add your voice to the enthusiastic reunion chatter.

Your class reunion committee members and I look forward to seeing you in a few months.

Sincerely,
Daymond Dean ’85
Alumni/ae Relations Director

UPDATED SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Reunion-Homecoming Weekend 2008
General Activities

Friday, September 26, 2008
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Alumni/ae Welcome and Registration
9 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. Visit a class
12 p.m. - 2 p.m. Tour of the Goodrich Campus
2:10 p.m. Lower School Assembly
3 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Kids’ Carnival for your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc.
3:30 p.m. Boys’ varsity football
5 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Registration and check-in
5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Art reception with artist Richard Barlow ’88 Exhibit “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” runs September 2 through September 27, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Tours of the Randolph Campus
6 p.m. - 9 p.m. All-School Dinner Party for All alumni/ae, and current and former faculty/staff, sponsored by the Alumni/ae Council. Spouse or significant other welcome. Complimentary child care for children ages 3-10

Saturday, September 27, 2008
9:30 a.m. Doubles Tennis Tournament Sign up with another alum, student or friend for this fun round robin tournament.
10 a.m. Girls’ varsity diving
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Heritage Brunch for alumni/ae who graduated 50 or more years ago
12 p.m. Sculpture Installation, Winter Solitude by Harold “Tuck” Langland ’57
1 p.m. Girls’ swimming
1 p.m. Girls’ varsity
1:40 p.m. Boys’ and Girls’ varsity cross country meet,
3 p.m. Boys’ varsity

Evening Class Reunion Parties (class of ’88: Bar Lurcat in Loring Park/Minneapolis at @ 8pm)

Fair Art Thou

Remember the Madrigals?

As my siblings and I clean out my mother's house, we're discovering all sorts of treasures from the past. This was a long-forgotten surprise that is just too funny to keep to myself – Fred, Cat and I singing our hearts out about lost loves (or whatever) – Shakespeare-style. Too bad I didn't find other gems from this event.

Hello Everyone!

Thanks Jennifer for emailing and calling. No you are not a stalker. This is my first blog ever so I hope I do this right. To everyone else I'm looking forward to September. I am currently living in Inver Grove Heights with my husband, Clarence and my two boys, Jake (4 1/2) and Trevor (2). I teach first and second grade at Barton Open in the Mpls. Public Schools as well as train teachers over the summer in Responsive Classroom. For fun I compete in triathlons, teach aerobics and just hang out with Clarence and the kids. Yes my married name is White. I happened to find someone with the same last name. I love hearing what all of you are doing. It's fascinating. Dana, I want to get on your newsletter list. Hope all is well. I hope to see many of you in September!
Dawn

Other Homecoming Events - Friday, Sept 26

Daymond Dean provided the following schedule of other Homecoming events during reunion weekend. Please follow up with Daymond if you'd like to attend:

9 a.m.-2:15 p.m.

Visit a class and participate with students in the day’s lesson. No homework to worry about! List your subject(s) of interest and time(s) availability. We will do our best to accommodate your wishes. You will receive a confirmation call. Class Visit check-in at Summit Center Lobby, Randolph Campus

12-2 p.m.

Tour of the Goodrich Campus; meet in living room and stay for special Homecoming assembly.

2:10 p.m.

Lower School Assembly, Goodrich Campus; join K-5 students and faculty for an outdoor Homecoming assembly

3:30 p.m.

Boys’ Varsity Football vs. DeLaSalle Islanders, Lang Field (3:30 p.m.)

3-6:30 p.m.

Kids’ Carnival – Bring your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews for fun, games and treats, near the baseball field, south of Drake Arena

5:00 p.m.-6:45 p.m.

Registration and check-in, Summit Center lobby, Randolph Campus (After 6:45 p.m. check-in at Dining Hall)

5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Art reception for artist Richard Barlow ’88, Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus

5:30 – 7 p.m.

Tours of the Randolph Campus; meet in Summit Center Lobby, Randolph Campus

6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

All-School Dinner Party for All alumni/ae, current and former faculty/staff — The Alumni/ae Council invites alumni/ae and faculty to reconnect and “fill in the gap” of years gone by. The All-School Reunion Dinner begins with a social at 6 p.m. in the Summit Center Lobby and transitions to a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. in the Dining Hall, Randolph Campus Dining Hall, $35 cost includes buffet dinner and two beverage tickets. Cash bar available; please bring I.D. All current and former faculty and staff members are invited to attend the dinner at no charge compliments of the Alumni/ae Council. Spouse or significant other welcome. Dress is casual. Complimentary child care for children ages 3-10.

Pop the Champagne!

Thanks Dave for your help in getting me onto the Blogosphere (it seems at least for me that the most gratifying accomplishments involve the help of friends).

Thanks everyone who has contributed to motivating me to use this Blog thingamajig. I tried it early but had no luck. Figuring it wouldn't get much use outside the reunion planning committee I didn't worry about it. Looking back a few weeks later I was blown away by the number of users and their great contributions.

Rather than spend the next 20 years typing up the last 20 years (I should have applied myself in those typing classes), I will try to build some momentum to attend the reunion by providing the following juicy teaser: Last week I came close to purchasing a third wedding ring. Feel free to ask for details/clarification in September!

Cheers!

Cheney

Dana Nelson

Hi SPA folks. I am so excited about this reunion, and really glad about this blog so we can see each other's faces, and read what everybody's doing. Gina I was hoping you'd be coming, and that picture or you and your daughter is precious. I've been swimming almost every day for a whole month (I am so proud of myself) and so am often thinking about the SPA swim team, and sharing a lane with your big sister Erica. Anne Moore I can't wait to read your book!! Just reading your comments about your book tour and the photo with that bay watch model is so funny! Our class of 88 has a good sense of humor. I am living in Lima. For a long time I was volunteering in different countries (Nicaragua, Guatemala, Philippines, Ethiopia...) I am still working overseas, but as a pastor in the Peruvian Lutheran Church. Tom Ososki is my husband. He's a stay at home dad (I think the only one in all of South America. Please let us know if you hear of any others.) Tana our daughter is 5 and goes to a school in Lima that reminds me of SPA, (Liberal Arts college preg school, with lots of music/orf and art, students of all faith backgrounds...). Anthony is 1. We'll live here until the summer of 2011, unless we renew our contract to 8 or 12 years. See you in September. -Dana

Losing my (blog) viginity

Now after getting your attention with my oh so salacious title I will proceed to bore you to death with details of my life that you will wish you can forget. Did I mix tenses there? I hope Dave doesn't invite any of our English teachers to the blog. Anyway, Kevin Stenson here. Dave has clearly put so much effort into this that I figured I should ante up with a post as well.

After leaving SPA I went to Bates College (with Fred Kaemmer) followed by graduate school in physics at Wisconsin-Madison. After being a post-doc for a few years at Vanderbilt (Nashville) and Colorado, I am now an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado - Boulder. I have to admit Boulder is not a bad place to live with skiing at Vail only a 2 hour drive away (once you know how to beat the traffic).

The last two summers I have spent much of my time in Geneva, Switzerland, working on getting our experiment ready for the turn on of the Large Hadron Collider this fall. Geneva is on the French/Swiss border and the collider actually is an underground ring 15 miles around. My French has not improved much since Dave taught me the drug vocabulary he learned in French class. I can read most of the menu now so I know when I am ordering horse (pretty much like cow) and I can laugh at people accidentally getting liver. I am currently living in the basement of a house owned by a German woman so in the evenings I get to watch German satellite TV. Although I finished 3rd year German at SPA that knowledge has mostly evaporated. As a result, I have watched more soccer the last two weeks than I believed possible. Also one of the stations seems to have a thing for old professional wrestling events, especially Wrestlemania, which makes me think of Dave every time. Oh and last night I had Le Big Mac Extra Value Meal and for the drink I got a draft beer (no extra charge). With the McFlurry desert the total was about $13 but that's still about the cheapest meal around.

I guess I will wrap up this post and save some anecdotes for another time. I would like to thank the reunion committee for setting this up. Adding this post was definitely more fun than failing to get my code to run correctly. Unfortunately, I will probably not make it to the reunion but I do enjoy reading the blog posts.

Kevin

Rich Barlow – Homecoming Alumni Artist Reception

The 2008 Reunion-Homecoming Weekend is September 26-28. This year’s alumni/ae artist is class of '88s own talented Rich Barlow. Prior to the All-School Dinner, Friday, Sept 26, there is an art reception for Rich in the Harry M. Drake Gallery, Randolph Campus. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. and flows into the all-school dinner reception. The dinner begins after the reception at 7 p.m.

20th Reunion at Bar Lurcat

Hello classmates,

A quick update from the planning crew. After touring a number of locations (i.e. bar hopping), we have reserved the mezzanine area in uber-cool Bar Lurcat in Loring Park (Mpls) for the reunion on Saturday, September 27 starting around 7 or 8pm. An invitation will be sent out eventually with specifics. Otherwise, check out Lurcat online.

It's been terrific to read everyone's "what I did in the last 20 years" report. We're hoping that as many of you as possible can come, so please spread the news to all the alums you're still in touch with.

When I learned SPA was the right place for me

Thank you for every one's support of the blog! I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the all entries. I have my own Pamela Anderson story .... but that's a different blog.

I want to share my story of the day I knew I belonged at SPA. It wasn't an inspirational moment of academic or athletic achievement (still waiting for those.) I believe it was a confluence of the space/time continuum or a divine intervention, but it was probably just dumb luck.

For those that do not know, I did not attend the Lower School, but started SPA in the Seventh Grade. The adjustment from public to private education was a struggle for me in general, but nowhere more so than math classes. In the Eighth Grade, I was in Mr. Drechsel's math class. I think it was the lower class tract, which we affectionately termed "dumb math." I wasn't Mr. Drechsel's favorite student and the feeling was mutual. He would call on me daily to solve problems on the chalk board in front of the class. Often, I couldn't solve the problem. I realize now it was a growing experience and the process was more important than finding the correct solution. However, I distinctly remember being humiliated on most days and sent back to my desk simmering with anger or fighting back tears, depending on my mood.

One day, the humiliation overcame me to the point I needed to vent, and it wouldn't wait until after class. I was just sent back to my desk and the class was to work a problem individually, so the room was silent There was a small sliver of chalk on my desk in front of me. Against my better judgement, I grabbed the chalk and whipped it at Mr. Drechsel with all my might! The next few seconds were in slow motion as the chalk flew true, end over end horizontally. It drilled Mr. Drechsel on his forehead, right between his eyes. The next split second (the bargaining phase) I thought, "Maybe the old man's nerve endings are detached and didn't feel it?" No such luck:

"WHO THREW THAT! I WANT TO KNOW WHO THREW THAT!" as he shot out of his chair to his feet. I never knew he could move that quickly. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, "OR DID IT FALL FROM THE CEILING?"

Almost as one, the class responded affirmatively, "That's what happened. It just fell. Strangest thing I ever saw."

Surely, somebody saw me throw the chalk. Yet nobody ratted me out. Amazing! You can imagine my relief.

That's when I felt accepted, not by faculty, staff, or administration, but by my classmates. That was far more important to me. With the help of my friends, I could deal with the authorities and challenges at SPA. That's when I learned SPA was the right place for me.

Dave

20 Years--It Can't Be So

The last time that I spoke to some of you was at our 10 year reunion where I had brought my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife.

So here's a story of fated love: A mutual contact set me up with this woman who went to SPA and graduated a few years ahead of us (1986). That's pretty much all that I knew about her. Well, given my experience with girls at SPA, I thought that there was no way that this would work out. We talked on the phone and I mustered up the courage to ask her out. YES!!!! A girl from SPA said yes to a date with me :-). Due to a mix up and not having my correct phone number, the first date almost didn't happen. On the first date we discovered that we had both gone to Horace Mann elementary school and had the same awful teacher after which we both transferred to Webster Magnet school. We even rode the same school bus. I later remembered that she was the mean bus patrol who made me sit at the front of the bus for throwing the one and only spitball in my life. We both also went to UW-Madison. We knew that we both went to SPA so we talked about teachers, classmates, etc. It was like we shared all of this together, yet in parallel. After the 2nd date, I remember telling a close friend that this was the girl I was going to marry. Do any of you remember Melissa Weisman?

Well, we have been married for 9 years and have a beautiful daughter Annabelle who is 7. She spends endless hours doing Project Runway fashion shows with her Barbie dolls, playing the piano, and making mom and dad very happy. I never imagined how much fun it would be being a parent!

...On to the career: I own my own IT Consulting firm and travel full-time for work to Rochester, MN where I provide Business Intelligence consulting services to the Mayo Clinic. The work is fascinating and the people at Mayo are truly "Minnesota Nice."

Being at Mayo, one might think that the motivation to be very health-conscious is strong. However, I can no longer see what color belt I am wearing. The good news is that I can still see the tips of my shoes. :-)

I can't wait to catch up with all of you at our reunion. Please try to make it.

P.S. Dave Salchow and I are still living in the 80's--we are going to the George Michael concert in July at the Xcel. He and I share an appreciation of fine Oldie's music!

-Rick Epstein

Attempt 2

Hi folks,

I was perusing the SPA blogosphere and it turns out that my first attempt was a rather miserable failure, declining to appear in these esteemed virtual pages. So.. back on the horse.

Thanks again to Dave and the others for settting up this blog. It really is great to hear from people again. Unfortunately I don't make it back to MN much and will not be able to make it to reunion. Would have loved to go back home and to see old friends.

My life in a nutshell.. My apologies to Dave, but unfortunately these little summaries can sound like a resume. Partly due to the realities of time. And partly due to the fact that... whatever happens in Boulder stays in Boulder, so to speak.

I met my wife, Jennifer, at Carleton right before graduation. Move to Los Angeles to start at UCLA in Chemistry. Transferred to U of Texas and lived there with Jen and had a buncha fun in a very cool (albeit hot as hell) town. Did a postdoc there. Moved back to Los Angeles to help startup a fiber optics company. DId that for a couple of years. Got a job back in academia which I find much more fun. So I came to McGill University in 2003. The things that keep me up at night (other than kids) are looking at nanogoo with really big lasers. Lotsa fun and games.

We are loving live in Montreal. We have two boys, Rohan (3.5) and Nico (1.5). Rohan was born to be a banker and Nico was born to be a surfer. you can tell it from birth! Mostly we spend time hanging with the kids, trying to do the foodie thing with kids (not so easy) and trying to get the kids to rawk out to Dinosaur Jr. and the Pixies. Nico seems to dig it - but as before, the surfer thing..

All told, things are great but intense. It seems such is life in one's thirties.

Pat

Thanks for doing this...

It is great to read about everyone after all this time.

I have not returned to the Twin Cities for any length of time since high school, but have visited at least a couple of times a year because my mother and my sister and her family still live in Minnesota. I went to Brown undergrad, took a year off, and went to Penn for med school, then moved to Pittsburgh for residency.

My husband Phillip and I met in college, have been married 11 years, and live in Pittsburgh, PA where we work as academic physicians for Pitt.

We spend the rest of the time chasing around our kids...I too am the proud parent of a future Jedi named Oscar who is going to be 5 in June. I also have 2 daughters, Elena is 7 and Maria will be 2 this summer.

Will try to make it to the reunion, would love to reconnect.

Michele Dorfsman

Hey kids!

I'll admit right now I forgot how funny Dave Salchow can be.

I'm so unlikely to make the reunion I can't even believe it—not only will I be in Minneapolis twice already over the summer but every weekend in September is booked already—but am excited to read more about what you-all are up to.

As for me, I'm based in Chicago, where I active and art and write. I've published a fair number of books, but my recent one, an anti-corporate treatise aimed at reinvigorating democracy and independent culture and called Unmarketable, was recently read by Pamela Anderson in a bikini at her Malibu beach home. I also just did an activist/self-publishing project in Cambodia that was amazing and wonderful and thrilling and dangerous and lovely, but still, nothing's ever made me laugh as hard or for as many consecutive days as this picture. (I'd post it here but it just can't compete with peoples' cute kid pictures. Not even Pam!)

Mostly, everything else about me is probably the same since the last time you saw me, at the 10-year reunion, and the time before that, in 1988. Including my manner of dress and my haircut. Actually, wait: the hair's cuter now. I guess I have learned something!

Hope to read more soon,
aem

Hi!

Hi Everyone,

I love this blog idea. I didn't realize that our upcoming reunion is this fall. Time flies!

I live in the Bay Area, California. I've been here for about 11 years. I'm married with two little kids. Henna just turned 1 year and my son Shawn is 3 1/2 years old. I love living in California. You can't beat the weather. My family still lives in Minnesota, so I'm always visiting...

I work in high tech in Human Resources. I graduated from St. Olaf and then received my graduate degree in Industrial Relations from University of MN. I'm currently Director of Human Resources at Intuit, inc.

Can you send more information on our reunion?

Thanks.
Reema Singh (new last name is Batnagar)

What's Dave been doin'?

Hello and thank you for supporting this blog and our forthcoming reunion!

One of the purposes of this blog is to re-connect, so I guess I'll start with myself. Here a short recap of my post SPA years and I'll try not to make it read like a resume.

Along with several fellow alums, I got a degree from the local U of MN in 1993. I went to the business school and majored in accounting. I started out as an auditor and stayed an auditor working for several places in different capacities. Currently, I'm working for the Lockheed Martin Corporation in Eagan, MN. I haven't found an employer I really like, which is nurturing and inspiring my entrepreneurial spirit. I really enjoy the customer service aspects of my job. I still find that doing for others are my most rewarding experiences. I think of myself as being in training for opening my own consulting shop.

This summer, my wife Krista and I will celebrate 12 years of marriage. Krista works in the Aging and Elderly services industry in an information and referral capacity. We have two children. Kirk is seven years old and in the first grade and has his first loose tooth. Connor is four and is a big pre-schooler and wants to be a Jedi when he grow up. The boys get their looks from their mother. We live in suburbia, Twin Cities.

I'm attaching some recent and not so recent photos for your viewing and ridicule. No, I'm not hiding another person under my shirt; I've actually gotten that big.

OK. I stuck my neck out. Who's next?

Dave

Spartans Rule!!!

Hey guys just wanted to say I'm looking forward to the reunion in the fall. Since High School I"ve moved around quite a bit but finally settled in New York. I"m looking forward to coming back to see fall in St. Paul. Let me know if there is anything I can do from out here - also if anyone has a list of the people we absolutely can't find send it to me - I can use some of my media resources to track some folks down.

Thanks for all the work that's going into the planning!!!

Cat

Catherine "Cathy" McKenzie

How to join the blog

Anyone on the world wide web can read this blog.

If you would like to join and write to this blog, please send your e-mail address to me: davidsalchow@yahoo.com

I'll enter your e-mail address into the blog and an invitation will be generated and sent. Accept the invitation and you're in!

I'm sorry for the extra steps, but this is necessary to keep unknown people from possibly disrupting our blog (especially if they went to Breck!)

Dave

Welcome!

Welcome former classmates!

I've created this blog to begin generating interest and excitement about our upcoming 20 year reunion. Your reunion committee will be reconnecting with as many alumni/ae as we possible can and also working to select a site for our class party. We are especially interested in ideas about a location. The SPA alumni counsel has provided us a budget of $500, so we clearly are looking for efficient ways to locate the party and stretch the budget as far as possible. More details about the reunion will be forthcoming shortly as spring is upon us.

Your reunion committee consists of:

Rich Barlow
Fred Kaemmer
Chris Cheney
Dan Deuel
Jennifer Bastyr (O'Brien)
David Salchow

The purpose of this blog is to share your memories, tell us a little about your current life, or anything you think will be of interest. I'd like this blog to be open to anyone who attended SPA with us for any period of time; not just fellow graduates. I'd also love to here from classmates who came a few years before or after.

I'm new to blogging, so I'll need to work out the administration and security, such as how to keep out the spammers. Bear with me and I'll hammer out the details in the coming weeks!

Again, welcome to the blog. I'm excited about its possibilities and look forward to re-connecting with as many of you as possible. Please feel free to contact me directly at davidsalchow@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,

Dave