Can You Help Find Some Alums?

Spring is finally here -- at least according to the calendar.

That means the Alumni board will soon be trying to get in touch with everyone.

President Andrew tells us that there are quite a few folks that the association doesn't know how to reach. We've uploaded a list of names. Click here to see it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2xth7cz3xdq4f0k/New%20Doc.pdf

Just hit 'download' after the page loads and the documents should open.

If you know anyone on the list, or know someone who might be of help, reach out to them and see if they would like to be contacted by the association. Ask them to send their contact information to:


           Little Valley Alumni Association
           P.O. Box 162
           Little Valley, N.Y. 14755

Sad News: Laura Mae Mitchell, Class Of '43, Dies

Gale Goodrich See passes along word that her mother -- Laura Mae Mitchell -- died this fall. She was 88.

As the attached obituary says, Mrs. Mitchell was a member of the LVCS Class of '43. She had lived in Las Vegas for more than five decades, but often came back to L.V. -- including for the 2013 Alumni Dinner.

Gale tells us her mother "really loved the Alumni and her class." There's an online version of her obituary posted here.

Sad News: Laurie Keenen Urbanski Dies

Laurie Keenen Urbanski -- daughter of Tom and Juanita Keenen; sister of Ann, Matt, Bernie, Charlie and Kevin; and a member of the Class of '75 -- died on July 30 after a long illness. She would have turned 56 on Aug. 3.

As the obituary in the Olean Times Herald notes, along with her mother, siblings and husband Dennis, Laurie is survived by "two sons, Jason (Holly Edwards) Urbanski and Jordan (Amanda Spaulding) Urbanski, both of Salamanca; [and] one grandson, Cole Urbanski of Salamanca."

According to the newspaper, "a memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday (Aug. 10, 2013) in [Salamanca's] Our Lady of Peace Parish with the Rev. Patrick Melfi officiating."

LISTEN: Ira Joe Fisher's Remarks At The 2013 Dinner

As promised, here's the audio of Ira Joe Fisher's very well received remarks at this year's dinner.

A couple notes:

-- The sound "fades in" as Kevin Andrew is introducing Joey. It takes 4-5 seconds to reach full volume.

-- If you'd like to share this with others, send them the link to this post or click the "share" button (the little arrow next to "like") in the box below for other ways to spread the sound around.

Enjoy:

WATCH THIS SPACE: For Audio Of Ira Joe's Remarks

The 2013 dinner is in the history books. This blogger is now back at his home base in Virginia and will aim to have the audio of Ira Joe Fisher's well-received remarks posted later this week. It was good to see everyone!

2013 Dinner Invitations Are Out

In case you haven't gotten yours yet or aren't on the Alumni Association's mailing list, here are the key details about this year's dinner and how to reserve your seat.

-- Date: Saturday, June 22.
-- Location: The gym at the LVCS building.
-- Times: The school will open at 4 p.m. for those who want to look around. The social hour starts at 5 p.m. (reminder: there's no alcohol being served). The dinner starts at 6 p.m.
-- The meals: Either stuffed chicken breast or Swiss steak. They come with garlic roasted potatoes and green beans.
-- The cost: $19 per person for the dinners.
-- The dues: $5 per alum.
-- Keynote speaker: Ira Joe Fisher, class of '65 (he's also going to be reading some of his poetry at the LV Memorial Library on Sunday the 23rd at 1 p.m. ET).
-- Where to send your reservation:
           Little Valley Alumni Association
           P.O. Box 162
           Little Valley, N.Y. 14755-0162
-- What information you need to provide:
           Your name
           Your class year
           Name of any guest you're bringing
           Which meal you want (the chicken is #1; the Swiss steak is #2). Be sure to order
                for your guest or guests too if you're bringing anyone.
-- Checks should be made payable to:
           LVCS Alumni Association
-- Be sure your check:
           Covers the cost of each dinner ($19 per).
           Includes your $5 dues.
-- You can also include in your check:
           Donations to the
                 Little Valley Central School Alumni Association General Fund
                       or
                 The Memmott-Langhans Scholarship Fund
           Just include a note about how much you'd like to give, and to which fund. Then add
                  that amount to the total on your check.

We'll see you on the 22nd!

Ira Joe Fisher Will Return As 2013 Dinner Speaker

Ira Joe "Joey" Fisher, Class of '65, will make a return appearance as the Alumni Dinner's keynote speaker at this year's get-together, President Kevin Andrew tells us.

Those who were at the dinner in 2007 will surely remember his speech that year. We expect to hear more tales of the good old days.

The dinner is set for June 22 and will again be in the school gym. On Sunday the 23rd, Joey's due to give a reading from his latest book of poetry (update at 9:50 p.m., the reading will be at the L.V. Library).

Kevin also reports that Alumni Association officers are starting to move the trophies, banners, photos and other school memorabilia that they've collected into a room at the school -- where everyone will hopefully be able to see it this June.

Alumni Association Will Have A Room At The School

President Kevin Andrew gets in touch to say that the CLVCS school board has approved the Alumni Association's request for a room at the school building in LV. So there will be a home for the memorabilia that the association has accumulated.

Also, Kevin says the trophies will be going back into the case on the school's first floor.

Meanwhile, here's an update (as of May 2019) on the association's current officers and board members:

President---- Kevin Andrew 716-628-8643
Secretary---- Nancy Paschen Shinners
Treasurer---- Susan Ellis Koch 716-938-6014

Board members: Linda Bryant Milks, Karen Holtz Taft, Nell Fellows, Sherry Nichols Charlesworth, France's Harvey Walters & Karel Beeles Hamilton. 

Recipes Needed For LV Library's New Cookbook

A message from Gretchen Taft, the Little Valley librarian, about a worthy cause:

"As you know, Patchwork Pantry was put together for the Little Valley Centennial celebration in 1976. Chris Huntington designed the cover, Pam Frenz created the Centennial Seal and LVCS art teacher Linda Freaney printed the category captions.

"I don't know how many of the Ladies of the Cook Book Committee were LV graduates. The committee included Rhea Ford, Donna Liskow, Velma Liskow, Rhea Campbell, Willow Ford and Marie Glow.

"The proceeds from the sale went to the Library for its building fund. That money made a big difference toward our ability to build at our present location. Later, when the books from our first printing were about to run out, we opted to invest in a second printing. It was a big decision to go with it, but we're glad we did. We not only brought in money, we were able to provide gifts for other non-profits in the village. And, of course, there is nothing better that leafing through and remembering the contributors.

"I'm often told that cooks in our area go to it to find the right thing for a special occasion. Not to mention that I always have a wedding shower gift handy!

"Most everyone I talk to agrees that community cookbooks are the greatest; the recipes are tried and true and the kinks have been ironed out.

"So we're starting a new cookbook project. We need lots of recipes. We're asking for new recipes, not for repeats of those in Patchwork Pantry. We're also asking for recipes from former residents, alumni, their families and their deceased friends and relatives. If they're giving us recipes from these relatives, we'd like them to mention the names."

Everyone should know where the libary is. But in case you haven't been in town lately, it's at 110 Rock City, right across from the UniMart and just before the bridge if you're coming in to town from the Salamanca side. The email address for the Libary is memliblv@atlanticbb.net. The phone number is 716-938-6301.

2012 Dinner: Big Turnout, Good Time

More than 200 LVCS alums -- one of the biggest turnouts in years -- gathered Saturday in the school gym for the 2012 Alumni Dinner.

Highlights of the evening included being able to wander the old halls again (though they certainly don't look old, thanks to all the work done on the building in recent years), Jeri Parkhurst Harris's singing, the Class of 1962's generous donation to the Memmott-Langhans Scholarship fund and brother Jim Memmott's keynote address.

He took us through some of his LVCS memories, speculated about how 58-year-old Hazel the rabbit might be doing today in the wilds of Cattaraugus County, and brought things around to today and the kids who attend classes up at the CLVCS campus.

A recording of Jim's remarks (starting with an introduction by President Kevin Andrew) is posted online here and we're embedding an audio player below if you'd like to listen right now. Just click the "play" button and it should work.