St. Margaret Mary Class of 1974 Reunion Page

St. MARGARET MARY CLASS OF 1974

Reunion Page

Hope you can join us for the 50th anniversary of the St. Margaret Mary (SMM) class of 1974! Our class had 102 students in it, and the SMM Planning Committee has been hard at work trying to track each of you down. We are planning to have this reunion June 15 of 2024. There will be a tour of the St. Margaret Mary campus on the Friday before the reunion, on June 14 at 11:00 am. The reunion is scheduled for Saturday evening, June 15, at 7:00, with things winding down at 10:00. We will be meeting at the Blind Squirrel, located at 592 North English Station Road. There will be a minimal fee for each attendee, probably between $35 and $40, to cover the venue rental, two wait staff, and some food. We were trying to arrange for online registration for this, but discovered that there was a relatively large fee for this, so we are planning to collect money the old school way at the Blind Squirrel.

FRIDAY ACTIVITIES

10:00 Tour of St. Margaret Mary

12:00 Mass at St. Margaret Mary

SATURDAY ACTIVITIES

5:00 Mass at St. Margaret Mary

7:00 Reunion at the Blind Squirrel

592 North English Station Rd.

Louisville

MEET THE PLANNING COMMITTEE

Kim Richie

But for college and a brief stint working in Dayton, Ohio in the mid-1980’s, Kim has lived within 1.5 miles of St. Margaret Mary her entire adult life. Kim is the proud mom of a 32 year old daughter who is married and living her best life in Chicago, IL. Kim has worked as a commercial property manager for 40 years and finds herself bouncing the idea of retirement around in her head on an almost daily basis these days. In her spare time, she enjoys being outside, reading, and traveling to new places near and far.

Susan Pontrich (Droppleman)

Susan attended SMM 1st - 7th grade, (unfortunately missing out on the fun of our 8th grade year). Susan graduated from Sacred Heart and UofL. She has been married to her husband, Glenn for 35 years and has two amazing grown children. She retired from GE Appliances holding multiple positions over 30+ years. She lives in Plainview with her husband and their golden retrievers.

Dan Hourigan

After St MM Dan attended Trinity, U of L (Accounting), and Bellarmine (MBA). Out of college he was an auditor at Blue Cross Blue Shield, 8 years as an accountant at Humana when they owned hospitals, and finally 23 years at Vencor/Kindred Healthcare from where Dan retired in 2018. He currently fills his spare time transporting cars for local dealerships. Dan has lived in Louisville his whole life, buying his first house a block from where he grew up then moving to the Highlands where he currently resides.

Dan Hartlage

Dan started attending SMM in fourth grade, the same year his mom began teaching third grade there. Dan attended Trinity High School, then the University of Louisville where he majored in communications. Upon graduating in 1982, he worked at WAVE-TV for three years, then moved to Bowling Green where he was a sportswriter for the BG daily newspaper. He returned to Louisville in 1989 to start a public relations career. He is now the owner of Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations, where he began working in 1990. At some point during all this riveting fun and excitement, Dan got married. He and his wife raised two sons – now 29 and 26 years old. Dan has been single since 2017. His hobbies include officiating high school basketball games and, on occasion, he has been known to do open mic comedy.

Lynn Krekel-Olszewski

After graduating from Waggener High School, Lynn attended the University of Louisville for two years before her job as a restaurant manager took her to Indiana to work in 1980 and she has lived there ever since. She married John at St. Margaret Mary in August 1984, moving to Fort Wayne the following week and lived there for nine years before moving to Columbus, Indiana in 1993. Lynn graduated from Indiana University School of Business and has had several careers over the last 40 years. After 14 years of full time parenting, Lynn returned to the workforce and still works full time managing the Leave of Absence and Workplace Accommodation programs for a national financial services company. Retirement is just around the corner and John and Lynn are looking forward to more time on hobbies and spending time with their three married adult children and one granddaughter.

Bill Brown

Bill, currently resides in Prospect, Kentucky with his wife of 39 years, Karen. After leaving SMM, he went on to Westport and Central High School, ultimately graduating from the University of Kentucky. Bill, recently “semi-retired” from corporate America where his career was in retail information systems support with multiple companies to include Chi Chi’s, Ruby Tuesday, Papa Johns and PPG Paints (Porter and Glidden paint stores). After meeting while waiting tables at Chi Chi’s, Karen and Bill married and went on to have 3 kids and currently have 4 grand kids.

Dan Boone

Dan graduated from Trinity, then Bellarmine, then Auburn University where he got his doctorate degree in clinical psychology. He worked for 17 years at a state-run inpatient psychiatric hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, before returning to the Louisville area in 2004, where he worked as a therapist for the Veterans Administration. He lives in Jeffersonville with his wife of ten years, Linh, who he met by chance on a trip to Viet Nam in 2009. Dan is retired and keeps busy with volunteering in Jeffersonville, too many hobbies to count, and gardening. He also has a podcast on Soundcloud called "Fresh Art," featuring local artists in the Louisville and Southern Indiana areas.

Planning Committee Minutes:

Date: October 23, 2023

Location: Corner Cafe, Lyndon

Present: Kim Richie, Susan Pontrich, Dan Hartlage, Dan Hourigan, Dan Boone

After the hugs, stories, laughter, memories, food, and drink, we actually got some business done. Our main agenda item going forward is to try to reach out and locate class members that are not part of this FB group, using connections, friends of friends, Google searches, and old- fashioned detective work. We are going to try and have the reunion some time in June of 2024. We will need a better idea of how many might attend before we can be more specific on the date, as that will guide the venue selection, which will probably guide the exact date and time of the reunion. Everyone thought it would be a good idea to wear name tags, and as we get a better idea of who might attend, I might make some name tags including a St. Margaret Mary-era photo of the attendees along with the name. Significant others and guests are welcome to attend. We plan to have a soundtrack of popular songs from 1974 as background music (feel free to share some of your favorites to include on the soundtrack). We also thought it would be neat to offer a tour of the SMM campus as part of the festivities. This would probably occur on a day of the week separate from the day of the reunion. In about a month, I will be sharing a list of the classmates we have contacted as well as a list of those we need help in contacting. We are hopeful that some of you may be in contact with these people, or have an idea on how to reach them. Thanks to Kim, Susan, and the Dans for helping out last night! And thanks to Cafe Corner and our waitress Brooke for the excellent service.

Date: December 6, 2023

Location: the Daniel Boone Homestead in Jeffersonville

Present: Lynn Krekel-Olszewski, Bill Brown, Dan Hartlage, Dan Hourigan, Dan Boone

The second meeting of the St. Margret Mary class of 1974 reunion planning committee was another success. We welcomed Bill Brown and Lynn Krekel-Olszewski to the group. Kim and Susan were unable to attend, but were with us in spirit. The most important task was catching up, reminiscing, laughing, and eating. (Compliments to the chef, Dan B’s wife Linh). After we got those pleasantries out of the way, we talked about the reunion. Here’s what’s shaping up.

Our main priority is to continue trying to track classmates down. Our class had 102 students. Thus far, we have either established contact or reached out to 56 of them, leaving 42 that we have not been able to locate. That number is not 46 as four of our classmates have passed away. In addition to the 102 that were in our class, there are ten other people who left in the 6th or 7th grade that we are trying to reach as well. During the meeting, the Dans were able to find three people on the list of 42, so that leaves 39 we have been unable to locate (yet).

We are still shooting for a June date, on a Saturday evening. We will try to get the exact date firmed up in the next six weeks. The Friday before, we will have a tour of the SMM school, church, and campus arranged, with SMM providing a meet up room with refreshments. After that tour, we will try to meet up at a nearby bar/restaurant, Joe’s Older than Dirt. Prior to the reunion gathering on Saturday evening, SMM will have their regular Saturday mass at 5:00 for anyone who would like to attend that.

Lynn suggested that a web page be created that would serve several purposes: 1) to provide updated information on the reunion for classmates who are not on Facebook; 2) to serve as a one stop location for any SMM-era photos and mementos; and 3) to poll classmates on topics needing group input. For example, classmates might vote on a list of proposed venues (Bill suggested Captains Quarters, for example), provide input on the late 60s to mid 70s soundtrack they would like to hear, decide if a 1970s era karaoke would be worth doing, and provide input on the event being catered, and if so, by who.

Does anyone remember the “yearbook” that our 8th grade class came up with? It was created using a grade school sense of humor, a typewriter, and a mimeograph machine. (Ask your kids or grandkids if they know what either of these are!). Lynn has one of these yearbooks and thought it would be fun to update that. We could also use the web page as a repository for updated information that classmates could provide to come up with a 50th anniversary edition of the yearbook.

Lynn also offered to place an announcement of the reunion in the Record as well as local Catholic Church bulletins. We will try to get the web site up and running before those announcements are made, so that people who might see the announcements can have a place to go to get updated information on the reunion. We have a goal to have that web page up and running within the next ten days.

Bill suggested a group photo for everyone who is able to attend the event. Dan B was planning to take photos of all of the festivities and has the equipment (camera, tripod, remote control) for the group photo.

We’re going to shoot for another planning committee meeting in late January. Details to follow.

Date: January 26, 2024

Location: Noche Mexican BBQ in the Highlands

Present: Kim Richie, Susan Pontrich, Bill Brown, Dan Hartlage, Dan Hourigan, Dan Boone

The third meeting of the St. Margaret Mary class of 1974 50th reunion planning committee convened on Friday evening, January 26, at the Noche Mexican BBQ restaurant in the Highlands. Present were Bill Brown, Dan Hartlage, Susan Pontrich, Kim Richie (on the eve of her birthday), and Dan Boone. We had an online poll to see which weekend in June would be best to have the reunion. The weekend of June 14/15 got the most votes, so that is what we're going to go with. St. Margaret Mary will provide a tour of the campus on June 14, probably mid-morning. We won't know the precise time for the tour until a few weeks prior to June 14, as SMM is also hosting their annual parish picnic that weekend, and their office manager will need to check in on who is available that morning to provide the tour and arrange a reception area with light refreshments.

When we selected the June 14/15 date, we did not know that they would be having their parish picnic, but that might be something else to do that weekend as part of the reunion festivities. SMM also has their daily mass that day at noon for anyone who would like to do that. SMM classmates are welcome to meet up at Joe's Older than Dirt in Lyndon later on that Friday evening. The reunion itself will be on Saturday, June 15. We do not have an exact time or venue yet, but our goal is to have it at 7:00. Members of the committee are exploring possible venues now that we have the date. Captains Quarters was suggested, and Bill is going to be looking into that as an option. We are going to try a find a venue that will provide appetizers and finger food along with a bar. Not sure how much that will cost each of us yet, but we will keep you appraised of this going forward.

We still have 38 classmates we have not been able to establish contact with. Towards this end, Lynn Krekel-Olszewski will be putting an announcement in the Record as well as some other local parishes to announce the reunion and provide the web page address for people who might not be on Facebook. In addition, committee members will be reaching out to Catholic high schools in the Louisville area to see if they might be able to put in an announcement in their newsletter. We will be attempting to reach out to the 62 classmates we have established contact with to notify them of the June 14/15 date. Bill Brown was able to locate the Yearbook that was self-published by our 8th grade class, the 8th grade graduation program, and some news clippings of the 8th grade city championship basketball game. These images will be digitalized and uploaded to the SMM web page. If you have any images from those halcyon days of lore, feel free to email them to danieledbo@yahoo.com and I can add them to the web page scrapbook.

Date: March 28, 2024

Location: Brownie's off of Hurstbourne Lane in Plainview

Present: Kim Richie, Lynn Krekel-Olszewski, Bill Brown, Dan Hartlage, Dan Hourigan, Dan Boone

Things are shaping up. The reunion will take place on Saturday, June 15. Dan Hartlage was able to secure a venue, the Blind Squirrel located at 592 North English Station Road just past Middletown in the East End. There is a cost associated with renting that space. The Blind Squirrel will provide to wait staff, a cash bar, plenty of indoor and outdoor space, and a hot buffet of food. We haven't decided on the menu yet, but it will not be a formal, sitdown dinner. Instead, we are looking at a buffet with a variety of h'orderves selections. We are looking into setting up an EventBrite web site that will allow registration and payment, and think that the cost per person will be somewhere between $35 and $40, based upon how many people show up. We will have the space from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm that night. The Blind Squirrel will also allow us to play music. We are thinking of a sound track of popular music from around 1974 and will also try to include requests made by people on the Facebook page. As metioined earlier, there will be a tour of the St. Margaret Mary campus on the Friday prior (June 14), sometime in the mid-morning. We do not have a specific time pinned down for that yet because SMM is having their annual parish picnic that weekend, and the SMM office director needs to see who might be available and at what time that Friday to lead us on the tour. SMM has offered to provide light refreshments in their conference room prior to the tour. You do not need to sign up or register for this. We will provide more information about the time and specific meet up location for this at the end of May or early June.

We would like to have an idea of how many people might attend the reunion. There is a poll at the St. Margaret Mary (Louisville) class of '74 Facebook page that you can go to let us know if you are certain you are coming, if you are not sure, and if you are certain you cannot attend. If you do not have a Facebook account, you can email me at danieledbo@yahoo.com to let us know if you will be able to come. You can also call or text me at 502 905 4671.

As of April 2, 2024, we have been able to reach out to 62 of our class of 102. Four of our classmates are deceased, leaving 36 that we have been unable to reach. Please look at the list of classmates that have not been reached below, and if you know any of them or know how to reach them, please let us know! Thanks in advance.

Finally, thanks to Bill Brown and Barbara Murphy (Chenault) for providing several photos that have been included in the updated scrapbook (see below). If anyone else has any photos or other ephemera they would like to share, you can email it to me at danieledbo@yahoo.com. I would also be glad to come to where you are to pick it up.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Tracking down 102 classmates after 50 years has not been easy! As of January 28, we have been able to track down 62 of them, but could use your help in connecting with the remaining 36 (four of our classmates are deceased). We've had a lot of success finding people through their social media footprint, but there are many who are not on social media or do not use it very often. Below is a list of the classmates what we have not yet been able to contact or reach out to. "Additional Invitees" are classmates who may have left in the 6th or 7th grades. If you can think of a way to reach anyone listed below, please let them know what's going on with this reunion. You can direct them to this web page, the Facebook Group: St. Margaret Mary (Louisville) class of '74, or have them send an email to danieledbo@yahoo.com. Thanks!

CLASSMATES WE NEED HELP FINDING:

Alicia Ellsworth

Betsy Fournier

Beverly Morris

Bridgett Reading

Chris Wise

Dan Shannon

David Allgeier

David Girouard

Doug Wearren

Elizabeth Luking

Eva Oliver