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Oklahoma SCS/NRCS Retirees Newsletter October 2010
The Oklahoma SCS/NRCS Retirees met October 15, 2010 at the Hometown Buffet Restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Forty-nine people were in attendance. They were: David Ankle, Mike Barrick, Don & Darlene Bartolina, Otis Bennett, Kenneth & Rebecca Blan, Bob Bumgarner, Steve Chessmore, Everett & Helen Cole, Duane Crider, David Edmonds, Fred & Gayle Fortney, Wayne Fjeseth, Randy & Bonnie Freeland, Jim Frie, Lloyd Garrison, Gayle & Mary Goforth, Sandra Hough, Mavis & Wilene Jones, Otho LaMar, Nick Lambeth, Carl & Jeanne Mackey, Jim McCampbell, Forrest & Louise McClung, Gordon & Minnie Moebius, George Moreland & his guest Evelyn Miller, Nelson Mueller, Glen & Eunice Mullen, John & Joy Pewthers, Stan Rice, Gayland Sandy, Bob & Milly Smith, John & Shirley Spitzer, and Roland & June Willis.
Bobby Smith provided the blessing and everyone enjoyed a buffet meal.
Those attending the meeting for the first time were asked to introduce themselves. They were Duane Crider, DC @ El Reno & David Edmonds, CET @ McAlester AO. Others in attendance were given an opportunity to introduce themselves and their spouse or guest.
Oklahoma President Stan Rice read a list of retirees who have passed or we have learned of since our April 2010 meeting. Those include: Sham Coppinger, WS Planning Staff @ Claremore, 12/3/08; Tommy Gray, SCT @ Walters & Hinton, 5/6/10; Paul Copeland, DC @ Pauls Valley & Waurika, 5/21/10; Lavada Moffatt, widow of Harold Moffatt, Soil Scientist; 6/4/10; Kenneth Risenhoover, DC @ Poteau, 7/8/10; Widow of Walter Wilson, retired WS inspector @ Davis WO & mother of Tom Wilson, SC @ Hobart, 7/12/10; J. C. Waller, SCT @ Clinton FO, 8/10/10; Pat Bogart, DC @ Okmulgee, 10/3/10; Billy Wagner, Retired Soil Scientist, 10/5/10; Newman Hicks, Clinton WS office & SCT @ Blackwell, 10/7/10; Gene Avants, Rush Springs, 9/10/10.
Our newest retiree Duane Crider reported he and wife (Jan) are settling in to retirement life in El Reno. His three grandsons are quite a joy to them and they spend much time together playing soccer, hiking, and fishing. They have purchased a travel trailer and taken two cruises. Jan substitute teaches and Duane serves as an Earth Team Volunteer occasionally. Duane has been a runner for many years and still abides by his favorite acronym NETMED (No Excuses, Three Miles, Every Day).
David Edmonds lives in McAlester but has moved to the lake where he enjoys fishing, hunting, and some target shooting. He does some babysitting of grandchildren but mostly works in his large garden with fruit trees and grapes. 2010 finds Bobby Smith in his fifth year as pastor of First Baptist Church in Wakita, Oklahoma. They spend a lot of time with family, 13 of which went to Maui for 9 days this past summer. Every year he takes the family to Branson to see the Christmas Shows. He and Milly report excellent health and enjoy life to the fullest.
Glen and Eunice Mullen report a full time job enjoying great grandchildren. Nelson Mueller enjoys picking up and hauling valuable items to the recycling centers. He plans to use his “wages” to travel somewhere special like Australia. He also teaches a young men’s Sunday school class and works part time for USDA Rural Development and cutting cedar trees. (Editor’s note: Over the past 15-20 years Oklahoma has become “invaded” by two pests. They are cedar trees and wild hogs. Bring your rifles and chain saws and come on down)!
Nick Lambeth is a member of the Baptist Disaster Assistance Team and continues to be involved in church work and with the American Legion. He serves on the RC&D Cross-Timbers Board and works part time as a driver for a local car dealer on vehicle trades. He still fishes and rides a motorcycle. Mavis and Wilene Jones spend lots of time attending the high school and middle school activities of their grandkids which include basketball, football, soccer, Lacrosse, track, and cross county.
Building a new pond, establishing grass, planting a large garden, and grafting pecan trees keep Roland and June Willis busy these days. They live on an acreage west of Stillwater near Lake Carl Blackwell. Kenneth Blan is trying to grow a few Loblolly Pines and recently visited the Coastal Redwoods in Northwest California. He has an aggressive outlook for his Loblolly Pines! He is active in church and with the Gideons and his local conservation district board. Kenneth finds the toughest part of being retired is “You never get a day off. Not even Holidays”!
Mike Barrick finds himself engulfed in volunteer activities. He is the State Coordinator for the Chainsaw Ministry of the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief Teams. He also is on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Chapter of the Red Cross and Chairman of Deep Fork Community Action. He serves his local Baptist Church with a clothing closet and food pantry. But still, he and his wife (Mary) were able to find time to visit their daughter and son-in-law in Canada and take trips to the Bahamas and Florida.
George Moreland stays busy with livestock and forestry management projects as well as promoting conservation and deer management on his farm. Steve Chessmore has a great deal. His daughter and son-in-law live in Alaska so he has felt “obligated” to visit them at least once each year over the last three years. He recently moved to Oklahoma City to be closer to a new grandson and his parents. Steve still enjoys hunting and camping.
Bray, Oklahoma, which is six miles east of Marlow, has the distinct privilege of being the home to Otho LaMar. He raises Black Angus calves and provides permits for oil companies to dispose of drilling fluids. Stan Rice also works with producers on land application of organic waste, mostly sewage biosolids. He continues to assist the Association of South Central Oklahoma Governments (ASCOG) with Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans. Otis Bennett says he stays busy just walking the dog twice a day.
Carl Mackey says he is just enjoying retirement in Kingfisher where he daily goes to coffee with a group and plays games in the afternoon at the local retiree’s center. He is slowing up on a large garden and plans to downsize in 2011. Randy and Bonnie Freeland took their first cruise in April to the Western Caribbean and a trip to the College World Series in June. After promising Bonnie to “see places she’d never been” when he retired, Bonnie’s patience began to grow thin when all he had to offer was Perkins, Ripley, and Pawnee (Oklahoma).
Helping his son feed cattle, taking care of grand children, and fishing as much as he can with two friends, fill up most days for Gayland Sandy. Jim and Roberta Frie work as volunteers for the Stillwater Medical Center one day a week. They stay busy with grand kids and attending OSU sporting events.
Don Bartolina is employed part time with the Oklahoma County Conservation District and assists with the NRCS Conservation Boot Camp. He still coordinates the National Land and Range Judging Contest. In June, he and Darlene traveled to Europe and had a great time.
Sandra Hough volunteers at her church with the food pantry and also assists a lady with emphysema who can’t get out on her own with shopping, etc. She and Terry work May through September each year at Fun Valley RV Resort in South Fork, Colorado.
James McCampbell still lives in Norman and is on the Greenbelt and Greenway Commission and the Norman Area Land Conservancy District for open space. But he really enjoys serving as Sponsor and Pit Crew for his grandson’s radio control short course truck. Wayne Fjeseth travels three states to see all his grandkids. When he’s home he finds time to fish, hunt, and provide assistance to Westmoore High School. He also assisted with the 2010 Census.
It is always fun to hear what others are doing in their retirement years.
The next meeting of the Oklahoma Retirees Group is scheduled for Friday, April 22, 2011, at the Hometown Buffet on the NW Expressway in Oklahoma City.
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