SGA Reunion

The Benedictine Sisters at the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho, invited all alumni of St. Gertrude's Academy to the Monastery this weekend to celebrate with all graduates of the Catholic high school.  The Sisters opened the school in 1928 and it closed, as a Catholic high school, in 1970.

The weekend celebration began with Mass presided by Father Lyle Konen, C.S.s.R., a 1949 graduate.  Father Gerry Funke, class of 1972, delivered the homily.  The Kopczynski families were well represented at this reunion.  My brother, Allan, and sisters, Carole and Marilyn graduated from SGA.  Connie and Joan attended the same school, but when they graduated it was called Prairie High School.

I was honored to read the 2nd reading from Colossians, when St. Paul encouraged the followers of Jesus to dedicate themselves to thankfulness.  Father Gerry spoke about the Benedictine values that encouraged all students to have a vision and a way to serve the larger community by prayer and work.  The last song, "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," brought back lots more memories of attending mass in the chapel when I was a teenager and more feelings of gratitude for my Catholic education.   Many graduates have moved away from Cottonwood and shared Father Gerry's comment, "it wasn't until I left the Camas Prairie that I realized what a beautiful place this is."

I enjoyed connecting with my classmates from the class of 1964, Eloise Arnzen Riener, Pat Winkes Schmidt, and Sister Barbara Bielenberg.

My sister, Marilyn, enjoyed a special visit with her classmate, Patty Arnzen, class of 1966.

Most people spent time visiting about their grandchildren, the challenges of Facebook and smart phones, and just catching up on all the years since high school.

Former Geometry teacher, Jerrry Wren and cousins, Ed Kopczynski and Wayne Wimer

Cousin Jim Reed and Classmate Pat Nuxoll

Ed's wife Josephine Kopczynski and cousin Debbie Kopczynski Stubbers

Cousin Colleen Kopczynski and her husband, Mel Jackson

My dear friend, Maxine Frei (1966) and her husband Ron Williams

My in-laws, Don and Mary Jean Wessels Arnzen (1958)

I don't have pictures, but I also had a nice visit with Edna Rickman and her son, John.  Hal Rickman taught school at the Academy for several years in the 1960's and Edna and my mom became good friends, sharing their love for quilting.  Marilyn and I visited with former teacher Leo Lapke and his wife and Aggie.    They lived in Spokane for several years with their eight children, and Marilyn remembers the kids, some of whom are working for Catholic Charities now.  

Marilyn's daughter, Karlee, asked her to take a picture of our family home.  A new family is growing up there and making some changes to the outside of the house, but we hope they are experiencing the same joy that we did growing up there.  A former neighbor, Donna Mager, told me she remembers playing in the orchard behind our house, building trails and secret hideaways.  

Marilyn and I attended Mass at St. Mary's this morning.  Their new pastor, Father Paul Wander, announced that he thinks coffee hours after Mass are important and said if people don't sign up he'll keep harping about it until they do.  I remember talking to Mom years ago on the phone and it seemed like she always had something to do with the coffee hour, either making cookies or setting up the tables.  Marilyn said Mom would've liked Father Paul because he talks fast and moves the mass right along.  I always feel so much at home in that Church.  The music always touches me and Marilyn and I both commented on how beautiful the music is every time we visit.  When Mom and Dad were still alive and I would travel to Cottonwood I would tell my friends I was going "home" for the weekend.  Well, Cottonwood doesn't feel like home anymore since they are gone,   but I still have feelings of gratitude for the experience of growing up in a small town, surrounded by Benedictine Sisters and a large extended family.  

Kennedy and Karen in McCall

I think I could live in McCall during the summer.  Karen invited me to spend a few days with her and Kennedy at the Johnson cabin while the parents were white water rafting.  The days were glorious - warm, quiet, filled with delight at the antics of a 16-month old.

We needed no other entertainment - just watching her explore, laugh, and pick huckleberries was enough for us.    She is a little fussy about getting her hands dirty and doesn't like the feeling of sand on her feet.  We filled a little tub with water and she enjoyed dumping water on the ground, but insisted that Grandma Karen keep her feet clean.

We grandmas were impressed she kept her hat on to protect her little face from the sun.  She can say ball and all those balls were a big hit in her little ducky tub.

She has a mouthful of teeth - even a molar!
We filled a baking pan  with pinto beans and dominoes - the beans mostly got spilled on the deck - we thought we could bury the dominoes and she'd have fun finding them, but instead she picked up the beans and put them in other cups or dropped them on the deck.

On Tuesday we loaded the Bob into the back of Zeke's pick up and headed to Ponderosa State Park to do a little hiking.  Karen also loaded buckets and belts just in case we found some huckleberries!



We thought we'd just pick a few along the trail, but we noticed lots of bushes on up the hill so we took Kennedy out of the Bob and sat her on a mossy rock.  She was content as long as Karen gave her a few branches with berries on them.  She'd patiently pick them off and eat them!

We picked enough berries for our dessert on Tuesday night and special huckleberry pancakes this morning.  Kennedy loved the pancakes almost as
much as we did.  I took her for a little walk while Karen did the dishes and she walked right to the center island in their driveway and found some huckleberries growing in her backyard.  We should've asked her first before driving to the State park!








Ann Marie called everyday, but we hoped that she wasn't worried about her sweetheart.  Hopefully she was having way too much fun diving off the rock cliffs along the Salmon River.

I can still hear Kennedy giggle as Karen pushed her in the big swing.  This swing is for big kids, not toddlers, so Grandma had to hold her in, while swinging her.  I wondered if my bungee cord would hold her in tight enough so we could just push her.  It worked and we took turns pushing her in the swing.   The only sad moment happened when we told it was time to quit so we could get her ready for bed!

Karen and I talked long into the night, covered in soft fuzzy blankets, just watching the colors of the sky reflect pinks and blues onto the lake water.  Talks revolved around our childhood, our marriages, our children, life, love, spirituality, positive attitude, heart math, emotional intelligence, and expressing our feelings.  I love being with Karen because she reads a lot and spends hours researching the things that are important to her now and she knows how to share that knowledge.   She's learned how to relax after years of stress working the real estate market in Moscow.  She learned how to smell the roses and no longer feels the need to accomplish something other than noticing creation, expressing gratitude and loving other people.  She's tender with Kennedy, even recognizing how much she misses her Mom and Dad.  She found a picture of them that Kennedy could touch and practice her vocabulary.  Karen and I both suffered many forms of fear over the years and I think she understands why and continues to work on healing that part of her "wiring."  Even though I'm the older sister, I have much to learn from Karen and her outlook on life.  I'm looking forward to hiking with her near Stanley, Idaho, in late August.

I didn't want to leave this morning so Kennedy delighted me with a big wave bye-by.  Karen gets to enjoy her through the weekend when Mom and Dad will be back and Dale and the rest of Johnson boys will be there to enjoy this beautiful place and sweet toddler!

Colin Time

Colin attended Rendezvouz for Kids at East City Park in Moscow this past week and learned how to finger knit and use a sewing machine - the tasks Grandma's are proud of.  Yesterday Duane Anne and Colin drove to Lewiston to meet Anne's sister and brother in law at the Lewiston Airport so Colin spent a little time with me and showed me his long finger knitting creation and the step-by-step process.  We used a flag on a stick to hold the stitches while we created a book bag for use when he goes to the Library.  I have lots of fabric, but Colin spotted the left-ver fleece fabric I used to make his "Perry the Platypus" costume for Halloween last year.

He definite had an idea of the size and he wanted just one strap, not two!  He learned how to safely use a rotary cutter and how to measure the fabric on the cutting grid.  He told he only learned how to push the foot pedal on the sewing machine.  So I told him about ironing the raw edges into the middle of the strap, how to change the stitches to ziz-zag and how to feed the fabric into the machine.  At first he only wanted to push the foot pedal for the strap, but then he wanted to try to feed the fabric for the side stitches of this bag.

He proudly showed off his creation when Mom and Dad returned from a quick trip to Costco.

While we were visiting with Patrick and Mary Pat, Colin busied himself with his finger knitting project and eventually using it as locks of hair!  Then he raided my yarn stash and took several skeins home.  Maybe those projects will occupy him on our long trip to the Oregon Coast.




















I didn't get a picture of Mary Pat and Patrick, but Anne borrowed my IPAD so they could hold it up in the airport - just a way to make them smile as they walked into the terminal.  Patrick, a legendary Ohio Blues Musician, seemed eager to play with a local group later in the day at the Palouse Falls Brewing Company.  Mary Pat shared stories of her vacation with expert photographers and the recent challenges donating Mom Katie's house to Habitat for Humanity.

Patrick singing at Palouse Falls Brewing Co.

Colin - Drummer Extraordinaire!

These events are the magic moments of summer that create life-time memories.

Weekend with the Kuhlmanns

Marilyn invited me to Spokane for the weekend to celebrate Jeremy and Amanda's baby boy to be with the Kuhlmann family.  The guys played golf and the girls got to have breakfast at the Rocket Bakery, shop downtown, and have lunch at Madeleine's.  Amanda and her mom, Susan, helped me pick out dress for the SGA reunion in a couple weeks while Marilyn took her traditional weekend nap.  At 5 o'clock we gathered at Comstock Park for a meal and baby shower celebration.

Judy's special ribbons and blankets

Baby Boy due Sept 25

Dan grilled hot dogs and brats, the women visited, and the men played Yard Darts.  We appreciated the shade and the cooler weather.  Marilyn told us they usually celebrated Jeremy's birthday (July 5) with family gatherings at Comstock Park.  Back in those days they still had the wading pool to cool the kids off.  Don and Dena and John and Cathy Porter joined the Kuhlmann family for this special celebration.  There were several special moments during the gift opening.  Marilyn wrapped up Jeremy's baby book and a mystery package for Amanda to open at the same time.  She loved telling the story of finding the exact same baby book at a yard sale recently and to top it off Susan said she bought the same book when Amanda was born!

If you look close enough you'll see the tears in Amanda's eyes!

Cathy Porter's little Converse shoes were a big hit!

Every couple has special nicknames for their sweethearts and Jeremy and Amanda often call each other "Thing."  Cathy found these shirts at a speciality shop in Florida.  Jeremy's holding a Thing 3 shirt that is not really noticeable in this picture!

Marilyn, the expert shopper, found this Precious Moments figurine at a sidewalk sale at the Owl Southway Pharmacy several years ago when we were together in Lewiston.  She's been saving it all these years.  The figurine is a father helping a son learn the golf swing and the caption is "You always stand behind me."  A perfect motto for this new father to be.

Jeremy spent Sunday morning ensuring family pictures were taken at Cannon Hill Park.  The Kuhlmann kids walked to the park in years gone by and spent many hours over there playing with other neighborhood kids.  Jeremy made sure every little group got special pictures taken.  I was touched by the way they included both Susan's and me in the pictures!

Justin, Isaiah, Raya, and her mom, Susan

The Kuhlmann's (Jeremy hopes to photshop Karlee into the picture)

Amanda and Susan.  I think by this time we'd all given Susan our opinion about her Grandma name.  We helped by searching the Internet for trendy grandma names.  He will be her first grandchild.  Baby Boy Kuhlmann might have a different idea, but we liked Granzie and Nona. 

When the kids began to pack the car I wondered
where they would put all the new clothes, blankets,  boppies,
and toys.  The baby and parents not only got blessed with
lots of gifts, but also prayers and best wishes for lots of sleep
between now and the end of September! I'm honored to be part of
the whole village it'll take to raise this precious child.