The Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ

TOM VANDESTADT CALLED AS NEW PASTOR
AT CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
SUNDAY, JUNE 10TH
From the Minutes by Clerk David Ross

Moderator, John Moore called the meeting to order at 11:51 A.M. and distributed copies of the church's personnel policy, the Pastor's job description, and the compensation package to be offered to the Pastoral candidate if he is elected.

On behalf of the Pastoral Search committee, Dennis Murphy presented the name of the Reverend Thomas J. Vandestadt and moved that he be elected as our new Pastor.

A count of members confirmed that a quorum sufficient to elect a Pastor was present. Paper ballots were distributed, collected, and tallied by John Moore and David Ross. The result was an affirmative vote of fifty-six(56) to zero (0), and the Reverend Vandestadt was duly elected. John Moore announced the results.

Tom returned and enthusiastically accepted the call. His wife, Robin Chapman, and daughter Alex, plan to arrive in Austin in mid-July, with Tom himself arriving a few weeks later. A spontaneous chorus of "Blessed Be the Tie That Binds" ensued..

WELCOME, SUMMER INTERIMS

On July 1, John Towery, Minister Emeritus of this church, and Cecile Ervin Adam, student, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, will assume their duties. They will serve as Interim Pastor and Interim Intern, respectively. We look forward to working with them in this transition period. Cecile will be in the office T, W, T, and F, 9 am to Noon. Rev. Towery will be in the office on Wednesday morning.

W E L C O M E N E W M E M B E R S

We are happy to introduce two new members received on Sunday, June 10. Rev. Wilmer Brown and Heulin Brown, his wife. The Browns reside at 12245 Chelsea Glen Place, Austin 78753. Telephone: 459-7607.

Rev. Brown is the Associate Conference Minister, South Central Conference, United Church of Christ.

INTRODUCING ANOTHER NEW MEMBER

Lindsey Masters, pictured here with Dr. Victor H. Appel, as they joined efforts on church work day, Saturday, June 16, painting the outside door of the pastor's office. Lindsey, our newest member, united with our church on Sunday, June 17. She is married to Rickey Masters, member, grandson of John & Eleanor Towery.Rickey & Lindsey reside at 5118 Waterbrook, Austin 78723.

Telephone: 927-8322

A MESSAGE FROM OUR INTERIM INTERN

Greetings! Thank you for the wonderful opporunity to serve as your intern this summer. I have just completed my second year at Austin Seminary and look forward to graduation next May. One course requirement for graduation at Austin Seminary is the Supervised Practice of Ministry. The internship you are providing allows me to immerse myself into the subtleties and nuances of the practice of ministry while learning from my church family as I complete this requirement. Doesn't get much better than that!

You all will be the best teachers. John Towery will be my supervisor as he serves as the Interim Pastor for the church this summer. I am so looking forward to learning from his wealth of experience and knowledge. Rich Thompson will direct the first two weeks of my internship. I always learn so much from Rich. And in August I will get to work with our new pastor, Tom VandeStadt, for a short while as an intern. Am I blessed or what! Vic Appel, Sharon Brown, Tommie Pinkard, David Ross and Ben White will serve as the Lay Support Committee who will, in the words of Austin Seminary, "encourage, advise, challenge, support and share candidly" with me my progress as an intern. I will try to do my part maintaining office hours and becoming involved in all facets of ministry in the church.

Most of you know me fairly well, but some of you may not. The essentials - last October I married David Adam. He is a good Catholic boy, so we only get to see him here at church occasionally. I have two daughters, Annie and Laura, and a six-year -old grandson Chance who you will get to meet this summer. I never intended to become a minister. I taught health law, specializing in the areas of patients' rights, legal issues in AIDS and mental health law. In the late 90's I began doing direct patient care volunteer work at a small AIDS hospice in Houston., It was a life altering experience. While I enjoyed all aspects of caring for the hospice residents, the most rewarding and fascinating work was "being present" with individuals as they reconciled themselves with their lives and with their dying. Being with them on that journey was such an amazing and profound gift. As odd as this may seem, they provided such hope as they conquered their demons, forgave themselves their transgressions, lived through their anger, cried with their loved ones and, ultimately, found peace. Because of the hope they gave me, I chose to spend the rest of my life as a chaplain to the dying and critically ill and their families. And I enrolled in seminary so that I will have the background to serve them well. As the summer unrolls, I will share some of my hospice experiences with you.

I hope to be of service to the church as I learn this summer. One of the issues that I am eager to explore with all of you is how to be of service to the population right outside our door - the homeless - with all the ambiguities and struggles such service presents. This church has a rich history of commitment, care and service to others. I know we will find creative solutions.

It is time for me to quit writing and get to work. I look forward to working with Rich, John, Louise and all of you. Keep me honest!

STAFF SCENES

PIANIST, FLORENCE CASTLE, began playing for our church in 1939 for twelve years. After a hiatus of thirty-eight years playing in MethodIst churches, she returned to us twelve years ago. Our gratitude is extended to her for long and faithful service.

NEW EMPLOYEES are nursery, pre-school childcare workers, Therese Adams and Melany Tovar. Our new custodian is Jonathan Kanetsky.

OUTGOING INTERIM PASTOR
Rich Thompson is shown with Ian Ross ,Kate & Jeff Lemley, Julia Adams, Travis & Sarah Moore, Olivia & Ava Deisler, during Children's Time. (sorry no web pictures)

JULY DATES TO NOTE:
July (1st week) - Church Directory to be mailed
July 5 7 pm - Board of Deacons
July 10 - 7 pm - Board of Trustees
July 27 - 7 pm - Board of Christian Education

A NOTE FROM LISA KIRCH
Postmarked: Republik Osterreich, May 22, 2001

Dear Everyone,
Sat through 2 hours of Mass on purpose in Augustinian Church because music was Mozart and Haydn, with really good soloists, orchestra, organist and choir. I thought especially of Nodie and Florence. Wish y'all were here.

PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for August Newsletter: August 19th

****From the Fun & Fellowship Committee:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!

 

INDOOR FRIED CHICKEN PICNIC POTLUCK, SUNDAY, JULY 22

Everyone is Invited!

Please sign up in the Fellowship Room so we know how much chicken to order and indicate what side dish you will bring. We hope that our new pastor's wife and daughter, Robin and Alex, will be joining us.

JOIN US!

RECOGNIZING LABORERS ON WORK DAY, SATURDAY, JUNE 16
Special thanks to:
Lindsey Masters, David Ross, Vic Appel, Mark McCoy, Craig Headley, Savanna Sharpe and John Moore

Our refurbished church nursery was first used by Jillian Tomasek, pictured in the lap of her grandmother, Mary, with mother, Sally and grand-father, Jim looking on. (Sorry, no picture)

HAPPPY JULY BIRTHDAYS TO:
1 - John R. Gage2 - Enid Ross
4 - Kay Lewis
5 - Ellen Ryan
7 - Sarah Murphy Sennour?
David Pinkard
8 - Julia Adams
11 - Kaitlyn Lemley
16 - Jean Appel
17 - Andy Ross
19 - Joseph T. McMillan, Jr.
23 - Gary Barrett, Chester Rosson
26 - Eric Deisler
28 - Doyal Pinkard, Andrea Putz
31 - Lillie Kate Webb

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PASTOR EMERITUS John Towery

If someone told me that I would spend almost 30 years in a church, retire and live in the same community, and then become what almost no one has heard of "an interim for an interim" I would have laughed at them. Yet here we are. It will be brief, and much of the work will be done by Cecile Adam under my supervision. In a way it is a quiet time, the major decisions have been made. We all await the arrival of our new pastor and his family. It is a good time to relax (always a good idea in a Texas summer). Let us ask our selves who we are, what is our faith, what is our commitment, and what is our source of strength. Let us look forward to the next month and a half in the hope and knowledge that many exciting challenges and opportunities lie ahead of us.

 

On Friday evening, after registering, the first event was a reception honoring Bill & Gail Royster and Will & Hulen Brown. Bill recently retired as Interim Associate Conference Minister and Will is the new Associate Conference Minister. After a very tasty dinner (no food is better than New Orleans cuisine!), there was a worship service organized around the theme of "Music - Food for the Soul," highlighted by performances by an outstanding jazz band. Your musical education just isn't complete if you haven't heard a Dixieland version of the "Gloria Patri "! An offering of over $1,600 went to support the Council of Conference Ministries. At the end of the service, our youth delegates distributed handkerchiefs to all delegates, and we all formed a "Second Line" to the accompaniment of "When the Saints Go Marchin' In." What is a "second line?" To the best of my understanding, it's the second part of a traditional New Orleans funeral service. After a slow and dirge-like processional (the "first line"), all the members of the funeral party dance with abandon to a joyous, upbeat refrain, waving umbrellas and handkerchiefs, in celebration of the life of the departed soul, who is now in a better place. With two to three hundred delegates dancing and singing at the top of our lungs, it's hard to imagine any of the Hilton's other guests getting much sleep that night!

Saturday began with another worship service, which continued the musical theme of the previous evening with performances by the Youth Choir of the Teche Ministries - highlighted by an inspiring solo version of "Steal Away to Jesus" sung by an angelic seven year old girl. Speakers gave presentations on ethnic ministries of both African American and German E & R churches. Another generous offering was given to support SCC Youth Ministry Events. Dr. Mark Miller, Conference Minister, gave the "State of the Conference" Address, illustrated by a PowerPoint presentation and capped off with a slide show to the accompaniment of "Joy To the World" by Three Dog Night. Our own Dennis Murphy, Conference Treasurer, presented the 2001-2002 conference budget. There was also a presentation on the Amistad Project, headquartered in New Orleans. What followed was one of the most profound and moving religious address I, for one, have ever heard, given by Rev. Dr. Susan Smith, pastor of the Advent United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio. Her keynote address was entitled "Outreach/Inreach...Being the Church," and she literally "reached out" by abandoning the podium and walking through the crowd, several times personally engaging people in the audience. Her message was that much Christian outreach is, all too often, "reaching down" to persons we perceive as less blessed or fortunate than ourselves. She admonished us first to "reach in" and deal with our own weakness and brokenness, and then "reach out" with humility to others who share our afflictions. Her powerful words and urgent delivery had a deep effecyt on all her hearers. For once, the old cliché came true, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It left me with a st rong desire to go out and get a copy of her recent book, From Calvary to Victory: Lenten Reflections for Individuals and Groups, published by United Church Press.

During lunch, new pastors were recognized and milestone events were celebrated for a number of clergy persons, including our own Rev. John Towery, who was affirmed for the 50th anniversary of his ordination! A keynote address was delivered by Rev. Robert Chase, Executive Director of the UCC Office of Communications. His speech "Timeless Message, Instant Response" emphasized the need for churches to exploit emerging communication technology, such as the Internet, in accomplishing our ministries. There were several brief presentations concerning the Slumber Falls Camp, Partners in Education and CUE seminaries. Afterwards, delegates could select from among four workshops on Education, Evangelism, Stewardship and Communication. I attended the interesting workshop on Christian education, led by Nancy Marek and Candy Pendleton, which focused on the need for planning and aligning the CE program with the faith priorities of the congregation. At the end of the day, we all boarded buses for a cruise of dining and music aboard the Cajun Queen Ricer Boat.

On Sunday, delegates took buses to Dillard University where a general assembly was held at the Dillard University Chapel. Youth reports were heard, elections were held, the budget was adopted ;and plans were laid for the 2002 annual meeting. There were no resolutions, other than one recognizing the splendid work of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee, chaired by Lynn Slagle. At the worship service that followed, Dr. Susan Smith delivered the sermon, communion was observed and an offering was taken to support the SCC Pastor's Fund.

I'd like to thank the members of our church for electing me their conference delegate. I had a grand time and greatly enjoyed the opportunity to meet for the first time so many wonderful people who were representing churches throughout the conference.

* * * *

Report by Youth Delegate, Jake Burlinson

Most of the other youth as I noticed as I looked around were sitting together. I found later on that most of the two or three groups of them at each table were from the same church. So all together, the fifty or so of us were only from roughly 4 or 5 churches. I represented one of those. The next smallest church represented brought with them about 6 or 7 youth delegates. They were from a church not too far outside Austin. Most of the youth came from churches in Houston and the surrounding area.

Afterwards, all the youth got together and went out to the Arboretum to do a work project. We arrived at roughly 12:00 pm that day and met this sort of middle-aged bald guy in a faded Hawaiian shirt who I figure was the head of the Arboretum. He divided us up into four separate groups consisting of 8, 7, 13, and the other roughly 27 kids. The first group of 8 got the task of using power tools and paintbrushes to fix, mend, and beautify the fence. The second group of 7 got the task of clipping the long weeds lying on the outside of the trail that were growing among the desired plants the Arboretum wanted. The third group was assigned the job of using clippers to clip the strings and vines growing on the inside of the trail. And finally, the group of 27, my group, was assigned the job of shoveling mulch. Our group's task was to lay mulch as a ground cover over about a mile and a quarter worth of the trail. We all loaded up and headed on back to the hotel for a badly needed shower and just as much needed nap.

While there, we boarded the Cajun Queen, which provided dinner for us and gave us a cruise on the river.

P E R S O N A L S

by Catherine Hubbs

We have a new minister! He is Rev. Thomas J. Vandestadt. His attorney wife is Robin Chapman, and his eight-year-old daughter is Alex. Sixteen months of intensive work by the Pastoral Search Committee, the good offices of Rev. Rollin Russell, who knew both Tom and us and introduced us to each other, a secret Sunday in New Braunfels, when Tom preached before the Committee, and their unanimous approval all culminated in the weekend of June 9-10, when Tom and his family came to Austin. On Saturday evening they were taken to a reception at the home of Frances and John Alford, where everyone had an opportunity to meet and talk with them. On Sunday morning Tom preached in the Congregational Church of Austin and was unanimously accepted by our members as our new pastor. The only words coming to Catherine's mind as she writes this are words which she believes Marconi quoted when he typed the first telegraph message: "What hath God wrought!" We hope we live up to this challenge and are eager to begin. We thank all the hard-working members of the Pastoral Search Committee: Dennis Murphy, Chair, Sharon Brown, John Burlinson, Paul Deisler, Lynne Lemley, Tommie Pinkard, Karl Putz, and Suzanne VanderPoel.

Meantime there are no adequate words to express our thanks to Rich and Jane. They have entered fully into the life of our congregation, sharing work, play, joys, and concerns and opening us to the new ministry ahead. Louise Whitworth, who has worked with Rich daily, puts it best when she writes:

Rev. Richard Austin Thompson, Interim Minister, whose care and oversight of all facets of our congregational life has given us new and fresh insight into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, comes to the end of his service with us at the end of June.

We have been the recipient of his creative and unique approach to worship; his guidance and enthusiasm in the work of the various committees and boards of the church. He has inspired us and given us a renewed sense of mission as we go forward from this interim period, preparing to welcome new leadership.

We are appreciative of his invaluable experience and assistance as we planned and brought to fruition our Centennial Celebration, a significant milestone in the life of our church. As he leaves us, after serving as our Interim Pastor for the past 5 1/2 months, our prayers and best wishes go with him and his wife Jane. This is not goodbye, as we anticipate occasions in the future when their busy schedule allows for some time, again, to be among this community of faith.

God Speed, Rich and Jane.

Our church is so fortunate! Thank you from us all.

On June 1 many of us had the opportunity of gathering together at church with Nodie Murphy for a good old-fashioned camp hymn sing. We met for a fried chicken supper in the basement newly renovated by the Building and Grounds Committee. There were new curtains made by Sara Ross, and the photographs and memorabilia put up under the direction of Lisa Kirch during the centennial celebration shone in our new lighting. Filled with fried chicken and Nodie's great spice cake, we trooped upstairs to the sanctuary, where we sang everybody's favorites until we were hoarse. As we left for home, we were impressed by the outside lighting. The patio was brightly lit by a lamp mounted at second-floor level which floods the arcade and increases safety.

There was a recent period during which Bob Fulton, electrician from Kanetsky Electric Inc., was a regular Congregational Church staff member. At the direction of the Building & Grounds Committee and with funds voted by the congregation, he has rewired almost the entire building markedly reducing the risk of fire from seventy five-year-old wiring. There are fewer, but better placed and brighter, lights in the chancel, and there are more lights outside and in the alley. These complement the lighting added by George Mitchell of Bevo and University Co-op which have lit up the Renaissance Market area, making it safer at night. There have been other changes. Have you seen Louise's newly relocated office next to Rich's? And the new rugs? Tommie Pinkard, Vic Appel, Mary Sinclair, and Suzanne Vanderpool all helped move everything from the old office to the new while Louise was on vacation. Admire the new rugs and carpet which Tommie procured. Julia Deisler deserves a big vote of thanks for the church nursery renovation in which the Board of Christian Education also helped. Hope you didn't hurt your back doing all that, Julia!

After school was out, Bob Fulton was sometimes accompanied by sixteen-year-old Jonathan Kanetsky, son of the vice-president of the electric company. In the course of conversation with Rich, Jonathan discovered that we needed a custodian. He applied, has already begun to work, and has accomplished a great deal in a short time. He hopes to continue working after school during the school year. Rich introduced him to the congregation on June 10. Thank you, Jonathan!

We rejoice with Jane and Rich Thompson. Jane reports that her son's twins are now out of ICU and nursing well on their own. John Moore tells us that his mother is having a good recovery from an appendectomy though she can't compete with Jeffrey Lemley's recovery speed. Sally Tomasek's mother is also recovering well from her knee replacement, but Cecile asks for our prayers for her father and mother. Her father is caring at home for her mother, who is becoming increasingly delusional.

Rizer informs us that on June 9 they picked up daughter Dot from the airport and drove directly to El Rancho for lunch because she claims that Albuquerque does not have Tex-Mex food. (Catherine remembers firey hot green salsa in Albuquerque. Evidently that's New Mex-Mex food or salsa straight from the nether regions.) She stayed for three days and even had a game of cribbage with Hildegard. Rizer says they regarded the stay as a complete success as they took her to the plane for her return.

Michael Ross, recently came for a reunion of all the band students who played under the direction of Verda Harrington while they were at Anderson High School. Michael stayed for the weekend and sang in the choir as we greeted Tom VandeStadt. Thanks, Michael! Debbie Appel-Knowlton also came for the same reunion and ended up by staying till Father's Day. Now that the baby's birthday is getting closer she may not be able to travel to Texas as often. She had been in the percussion section at Anderson. There was a banquet at the Renaissance with movies, pictures, and slides, which lasted on into the night, and evidently a good time a\was had by all. The next day she and her parents went to Kerrville for a reunion with her brother Gregg's family, and she was in church to greet us all on June 17. We were glad to see you, Debbie!

We are enjoying making the acquaintance of our new members, Savanna Sharpe and Corliss Gasparri. They immediately made themselves helpful during the centennial banquet. Savanna comes originally from Mountain Home, Arkansas and grew up in Denton. She graduated from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos and has lived in Central Texas since 1983. She is employed by Greystar, a full service real estate company which specializes in developing and managing apartment homes. She says she loves outdoor sports like skiing, swimming, and running, but she does come indoors to read. Her mother, who often comes to church with her, has Huntington's disease, which she describes as a genetic degenerative neurological disease, and Savanna is actively working to promote awareness of it as a help in finding a cure. Welcome, Savanna! We're glad you're with us!

Corliss comes originally from South Bend, Indiana and went to school in Indianapolis. She began college at the University of Indiana but completed it in Austin at the University of Texas with a BBA in Accounting. Her 1999 Master of Divinity degree comes from the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where she overlapped with John Gage. Right now she's putting both business and ministry together in her job as Business Manager of the Wesley Foundation, the Methodist campus ministry to U.T. But she hopes for ordination from the United Church of Christ as chaplain or pastor. She is a commissioned Stephen Minister and was involved in one-on-one crisis ministry at her previous church. She has an active mission background: repair and construction work with Hands on Housing, Habitat for Humanity, and the Tennessee Housing Project. (Her dog Spirit is a native Tennesseean.) Last year she was in El Salvador, where she and a group of college students did construction work for a school and orphanage and ministered to children whose families were living in the city dump. Breast cancer has not seemed to slow her down. She is successfully undergoing chemotherapy and expects to have surgery in the near future. Welcome, Corliss! We're impressed with all your mission experience and hope that you can put your breast cancer behind you with your coming operation. Our prayers are with you.

We recently heard from Marilyn Pickens that her daughter Larissa is still working for Ten Speed Press in Berkeley, California. She has recently changed

her job there from production and design to primarily design and has the fun of doing transfers of artists' paintings to ink colors for printing and working with postger layouts, including wine country posters. She likes working on kids' books best. Her mother, Marilyn, like others in our congregation, works at Huntington-Surrey School, which serves eighty students in grades 9-12. Catherine was interested to hear that the house where the school formerly met has been sold from under them and that they are now sharing space with the Hyde Park Methodist Church at 4001 Speedway, an arrangement that she says seems to be of advantage to both parties.

We were delighted to hear from Kay Lewis of the publication of her late husband's book. It is entitled Between Cross and Resurrection, a Theology of Holy Saturday, by Alan Lewis, published by Eerdmans. It was written as Alan was dying of cancer and has been widely acclaimed. T. F. Torrance, Edinburgh theologian who won the Templeton Prize for Religion some years ago, evidently began his review with: "This is the most remarkable and moving book I have ever read." The Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is having a service at 11:00 a.m. on September 11 to celebrate Alan's life and work, followed by a luncheon to showcase the book. Kay hopes some of us from the Congregational Church will be able to come.

Her son Mark has just graduated from college with a BA in Biology and Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations summa cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He also received a merit scholarship from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston which will take care of his tuition and student fees each year. Congratulations, Mark! What a wonderful achievement!

After hearing from Karl Putz about Andrea's award for her research, Catherine asked them for an explanation of what it was about. The title didn't help her out much: "Biological Activated Carbon: Understanding the Role of Cometabolism in Extending Service and Improving Process Performance." But the explanation is intriguing. She says: "In other words, I clean up polluted drinking water and ground water using activated carbon (an adsorbant) and bacteria (which biodegrade the pollutants)." Any research which can make reuseable one of our most precious, and increasingly scarce, resources is definitely worth an award. Congratulations again, Andrea!

Clark Hubbs maintains that water will be the gold of the twenty-first century. He was recently asked to attend a southwest district meeting of the National Park Service in Odessa, Texas to go over with them the priorities for research and action on desert fish in the Chihuahuan Desert park lands within the United States.

Don brown is another member who was recently asked for his planning expertise ;by a foundation in Guatemala City which intends to establish there two new private universities, one where Indian people live and one near the ocean. During the week there he also had a chance to stop in Antigua and reports that it is fascinating and beautiful. He flew home to vote for Tom VandeStadt and then was off to Atlanta for a three-day Southern Regional Education Board meeting. Caught up on your sleep yet, Don?

Louise Whitworth took a ten-day vacation with her husband in Colorado and Oklahoma. Seeing her put in eight-hour work days ahead of time, we wondered if she would be too tired to enjoy it, but she and Lavoy evidently had a wonderful time. Her husband said he thought it was one of the best trips they had ever taken. That's rewarding, Louise! Anyway, on May 26 they left for Denver where they met Louise's sister Virginia and her daughter. Virginia is widowed, and her friend, Carmel Austin, who works for Enterprise, is an excellent driver. So they parked Louise's car and went off with Carmel as driver. A highlight of the trip was Mt. Evans, where they had dinner at 10,000 feet. None of them, including Lavoy, seems to have had any trouble from the altitude. Years ago they had seen a grave where Buffalo Bill Cody is reportedly buried. At that location, one tombstone read: William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and the other Louisa M. Cody, wife. This trip they saw another, just outside of Denver. (He really got around!) Interestingly, Louise was a Cody before she became a Whitworth, and her middle initial is M.! There is a family connection to "Buffalo Bill." They were entranced by a beautiful amphitheater located in the midst of massive red rock boulders, named Red Rock Park. (This geological phenomenon happened some 300 million years ago.) Many famous solo musicians, orchestras, bands and personages, have performed there where it is said the acoustics are unbelievable from center stage to the outer edge of the amphitheater. And finally in Oklahoma they had a family reunion: one brother and two sisters. Thanks for sharing it with us, Louise. An added note: Louise's and Lavoy's daughter Ann, a coloratura, is singing in Great Britain presently. More next time about this.

Pat Oakes hated to miss the VandeStadts' visit to Austin, but the opportunity of a family reunion around a concert held by her brother Robert and his family was too much to resist. Pat says that Robert's home in Pacific Palisades has been in progress for nearly four years and that his studio served as a chamber concert hall for 165 attendees! Talk about home theaters! The whole family worked together to make things ready. They even put down the last bit of unfinished flooring, but everything was done in time, and Pat, her brother, his family, their parents, and youngest sister Sara all had a wonderful reunion.

Marilyn Gaddis and George Carruthers have been traveling everywhere and telling Catherine about it just too late to get it into the "Personals." But finally she can report to you that Marilyn and George left for St. Louis April 5 to participate in Marilyn's cousin's performance as conductor of Mendelssohn's Elijah. They rehearsed Saturday and Sunday afternoon, and on Sunday night, April 8, they put on the concert. It was held in a little church. The evening was humid. And the air-conditioning was inadequate. But Marilyn's husband pronounced the concert wonderful. Marilyn met new cousins and shared memories with others.

Next they flew to Idaho Fall, ID to visit George's older sister and also saw George's two nephews. There again typical Austin temperatures, for which they were unprepared, followed them. But George's Stalag Luft III reunion in Houston was a success though the number of survivors is dwindling. They visited George Ranch, Galveston, and NASA while they were there and brought home with them the pilot who had flown George overseas.

Sara and Dave Ross managed to mix a camping trip ;and wedding over the Memorial Day weekend because they were unwilling to give up either one. Sara consulted the Texas Parks and Wildlife web site to find the camping spot closest to the Woodlands, chosen by her niece for the wedding. It was Huntsville State Park in the Davy Crocket National Forest. Son Mike flew in for the wedding but declined to camp out. However he did join them for a while on Saturday and hiked with them on Sunday. Meanwhile Sara and Dave managed to have their cake and eat it too (wedding cake, that is). They got a niece married off, camped out, and saw four species of woodpeckers. Way to go!

Suzanne VanderPoel spent Memorial Day weekend at Port Aransas, attending a family reunion of her mother's side of the family at her brother's place on the island. A good reunion. One of her memories is of five little boys, ages fourteen months to eight years old.

Tommie and Doyal chose Padua and Venice, Italy. It was an Elderhostel tour of art and architecture of the Veneto and also a family reunion since Doyal's sister and her husband left their mountaintop in North Carolina to join them. Remembering how Tommie's doctor made her cancel last year's tour, Tommie stayed as far away from doctors as possible, and all went well except for a heat wave and a head full of mosquito bites which Doyal brought back. Is that what happens when you ride boats on Venice's canals? They don't tell you about that in the travelogues! They saw a lot of sixth century mosaics and frescoes dating back to before the Renaissance. The Byzantine influence was evident in the amount of gold displayed. Did you bring back pictures, we hope?

Ellen and Paul Deisler spent a month in England and Scotland, seeing parts of England they had never seen before and visiting Scotland for the first time. They had a good excuse: a reunion luncheon May 10 in London at Shell Centre for Shell retirees who had worked for Compañia Shell de Venezuela. That proved to be very enjoyable. They visited with old friends and stayed in London just over a week. Then they headed north by car, ending up in Inverness, Scotland. (You mean you drove on the left side, Paul? Neither Clark nor Catherine have any desire to try!) Then they spent a week on a barge named the Spirit of Loch Ness on the Caledonian Canal from Inverness to Ft. William and back. Paul says the Loch Ness Monster was unaccommodating but they did find a pub with the Scottish name of Clachnaharry. Did you try going back to look for the monster after the pub? The final few days were spent around Inverness, on trips to the West Coast, the Isle of Skye, and the Aberdeen area. They also visited some ancestral sites: for Ellen, Bardwell (Ellen's maiden name) in fen country and Meldrum House near Aberdeen. For Paul, they went to Foulis Castle (pronounced "fowls") near Inverness, the seat of Clan Munro (Paul's mother's clan). Sounds wonderful. We hope you took pictures.

"HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!"

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