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55TH REUNION HERE WE COME!

All together now…Let’s have a Boboski for our 55th Reunion!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014

7:00 COCKTAIL PARTY DOUBLE TREE INN, 4727 CONCORD PIKE (Cash Bar)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11

P. S. duPONT HIGH SCHOOL
10:00 OPTIONAL BUS TOUR – “Wilmington Then & Now”* — CANCELLED, sorry for any inconvenience.
11:30 CLASS PHOTO ON STEPS*
11:45 TOUR OF SCHOOL
12:30 SUB & SODA LUNCH IN CAFETERIA*
6:00 CASH BAR – WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB (Coat & Tie required)
7:00 BUFFET DINNER – WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB (Coat & Tie required)
*Separate costs for optional bus tour and lunch. We estimate $5 for each.
Class Photo will be a separate cost and ordered through Dick Dubroff.

***TIME TO SEND IN YOUR MONEY***

The reunion committee would appreciate receiving your check to cover the cost of dinner as soon as possible. Checks should be made payable to P. S. duPont Class of ’59 and mailed to:
Bob Rickards
11 Benton Court
Wilmington, DE 19810
Phone Bob if you have any questions 302-475-5803 or email to rbrdtr@aol.com

Rooms at the Doubletree Hotel have been reserved ($109.00 plus tax) for our out of town classmates. For reservations, go to http://www.doubletree.hilton/wilmington.com, or phone 1-800-222-8733 or 302-478-6000.

Be well, be safe, be giving!

Jürgen Thewes Annual Thanksgiving Wishes

Dear Former Classmates,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Edeltraud and I do hope that you all are in the best of health and that you will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with your families and friends. It is your most important holiday, we understand, and on this occasion most of you will be able to return home. Have a wonderful family reunion and happy hours.

55 years ago, when I was hosted by the Harry C. Watson family during my AFS exchange year, we had been invited by the Watsons’ relatives on a farm in Maryland where we enjoyed a fantastic Thanksgiving meal. I hadn’t experienced anything like that, and I hadn’t tasted meat of a turkey at all. The turkey was a real big one, its meat and stuffing just delicious. Even today I’m very grateful for that Thanksgiving holiday. In 1993 when we visited the United States for the second time I succeeded in finding that farm again. 34 years had gone by. However, Doug Watson’s uncle recognised me at once. He looked at me and instinctively said ‘Oh, you were the boy staying with the Watsons!’ An unforgettable moment in my life. By those relatives we learned where to find my former host brother Doug Watson and his sisters, Nancy and Gail. Already in 1992 we had searched for them, but without success. In 1993, just a day before we had to leave the United States again, Edeltraud and I met Gail and her husband Don for the first time after that long period of time. What a wonderful reunion! And that’s the reason we returned every year. Of course, we had met Trudy and my second host mother, Mrs. Anne Said, in 1992 already.

This year was an extremely busy one: A lot of friends celebrated their 70th birthday, our nephew Thomas married and had an unforgettable wedding celebration. Our niece Sabine acquired a new home pretty close to us. Our travel highlights were not only trips to Austria to live at our second home for a while, but we also experienced new forms of traveling. A combined flight and cruise led us to the Canary Islands and to Madeira. Aboard a gigantic cruise liner with 1800 passengers we started at Tenerife, were taken to Funchal on Madeira, then back to the Canary Islands. It turned out to be excursions into the world of volcanoes. After docking, buses took us into the interior of the island to watch gigantic craters or calderas. Lovely vegetation was everywhere, banana trees, all sorts of flowers and fruit. We enjoyed the cruise ship AIDAsol — nice, our cabin, and very nice hours aboard. 8 days of highly interesting sightseeing and decent weather.

Meanwhile, I’m in charge of our former teacher’s wife. That takes a lot of time and requires continuous administrative work. Fortunately, a former schoolmate and I try to manage the heritage.

At his end of May, we started for another trip to southern Italy. This time it was a combined flight and bus trip to Bari on the Adriatic Sea from where we were taken to Alberobello in Puglia (name of the province situated in the ‘heel’ of Italy). That small town is world heritage because of special kind of houses. They are built in a circle by stone plates without any mortar. Their roofs are cones (false vaults). In former times you might have considered them pretty primitive, but today they are tourist attractions. We then started for exploration of the province which is famous for its millions of olive trees. You may find walnut, cherry and almond trees as well. As to the highlights of that country, we visited wonderful cathedrals and castles. One of the outstanding monuments was Castel del Monte, an octagon which had been erected by Emperor Frederick II of Suebia in the 13th century. Having been placed on a hill, it is overlooking the landscape for about 20 miles. Not less impressive were the Romanesque cathedrals with outstanding sculptural works. I should have had much more time for photographing, but today you ask yourself ‘What for are you doing this?’

Well, during July and October we went down south to Austria again. There we enjoyed ‘Indian summer’. But the trip is quite a distance (725 miles) not to be covered in one day any longer; i. e., you have to stay some place for the night. We are always happy after our return not having been involved in long traffic jams or even accidents.

At home it’s time for clearing up our garden. That takes a lot of time, and the weather is not favourable right now. To summarize, I’ve got little time to do some writing. I do regret that I’m not able to constantly keep up contact with you.

Finally, Edeltraud and I want to send you ‘Season’s Greetings’ and all good wishes for the year to come. Perhaps we’ll make it for the 55th class reunion next year. We do hope to see you then.

With our warmest regards,

E. + J.Thewes

——

News from Juergen and Edeltraud Thewes

Dear former Classmates,

It’s so great to have you keeping contact with all of us! Thanks a lot for enclosing Edeltraud and myself in your round robin letter and the invitation for 2014. To summarise our thoughts about it: In case we’ll be still alive and in acceptable shape, i.e. in good health, we would like to participate in that great event again. For us the time of the year you’ll plan our meeting will not be very favourable because of short days and mostly undecent weather, since we plan to continue our sightseeing in the U.S.. Another aspect will be whether I’ll be able to rent a car or not. In some European countries you won’t be able to do that when you are older than 70 years by now.

To give you a quickly on our past months: In March Prague again with a wonderful cultural program (operas, a symphony concert, sightseeing). A three weeks’ stay at our vacation home in Carinthia, Austria, followed in April. At the end of May a week’s flight trip from Hamburg to Dublin and a sightseeing tour across the center of Ireland with great landscapes and early Christian settlements like Clonmacnoise or Enalough. In June we had 10 days on the Baltic Sea in Northwest Mecklenburg (one of the new federal states in East Germany) exploring former no-go area of the German Democratic Republic very close to the German – German border. Besides we went sightseeing at old villages with their very old brick-built churches.

In July we had booked a ten days’ bus trip to Scotland via Europoort (Rotterdam, Netherlands). The car ferry took us across the North Sea to Hull on the mouth of the Humber in the middle of England. We then started a sightseeing tour via Glasgow, the Caledonian lochs like Loch Ness, went north to the northern tip of Scotland (Thurso). From there our bus took us to the Orkney Islands via ferry to see Stone Age settlements (Skara Brae, Ring of Brodnar) and their capital Kirkwall.
Via Inverness, Edinburgh, and York we returned to Hull to get the car ferry to the Netherlands again. It was the greatest trip we ever made. Such lovely country with cosy little villages! We were lucky to have had an almost rainless period.

We had to stay home for some time to look after our site in August. Our garden needed care.  However, at the end of that month we again went down south to Austria. On our way we stopped at Nuremberg to visit the exhibition of ‘The younger Albrecht Duerer’, one of the most famous European artists who had lived during the transition between Middle Ages and Renaissance. His works are 500 years old and of inestimable value. Approximately 265,000 visitors admired Duerer’s art to draw, to paint, to cut copper- and woodplates.

Finally, we are home again. Don, please excuse me for being so late in answering your survey. Marlene and Fred, I wanted you to participate in this answer to Don, because you always kept us informed. We very well estimate your work for us! Edeltraud and I do hope that you and your beloved spouses are in good health. As you know we are exchanging news with Trudy regularly. At the moment the Delaware Saengerbund celebrated its annual October festival with potato salad, fried sausages, and a lot of German beer.

Thanks for your efforts to keep the Class of ’59 together. Have a great time and please say hello to all classmates you will reach in the future.

With many regards and good wishes

Juergen and Edeltraud Thewes