Flashback to '76

Thomascean Brandon was Cook County Extension Adviser, Home Economics. She earned a bachelor's degree from Jackson State in Mississippi in 1955, and had been in her Cook County position since 1973.

Her career up to that date also included being a Home Economics Teacher for two years and a Youth Adviser for four years.

Looking forward to seeing lots of former co-workers and friends tomorrow at the Summer Reunion! There should be about 30 of us in all.

Don't Miss Out on the Summer Reunion

The Summer Reunion for IEAFCS Life Members and friends is July 30th at American Harvest Eatery in Springfield. Everyone received information from Sharon Kuhns on June 29th.This a photo of our group last year.

There are three days left to get your reservation in. We have around 25 people attending so far. Please let Jananne Finck know by July  24th if you will be able to join us. Her e-mail is in the message you received.

If you need additional information, send a note to ieafcslife@gmail.com and I will forward it to you. Hope to see you there!

Flashback to '76

Arlene Bond was Greene County Extension Adviser, Home Economics. She had an Associate of Arts degree from Rend Lake College and a B.S. from Southern Illinois University in 1972. A previous position was supervisor of CHEP in Jackson County for two years. Arlene had been in Greene County since 1975. Anyone know where she is now?

Don't forget that the Summer Reunion is coming up on July 30th. Reservations are needed by July 24 to Jananne Finck. Everyone has received a reminder. More details here in a few days!

Flashback to '76

Cheryl  Bielema was Whiteside County, Associate Adviser, Home Economics in 1976. She had a B. S. from Illinois State University earned in 1967. After  teaching Home Economics for four years, Cheryl had been in Whiteside County since 1973.

We know that Cheryl went on to earn Master's and Doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois. She also spent several years working in the area of Instructional Design and Development both at the U of I and University of Missouri--St. Louis.




 Here is a more recent photo of Cheryl. And here is a link to her "Linked In" page if you would like to know more about her recent activities.  https://www.linkedin.com/pub/cheryl-bielema/1b/56/5b


Hope you received your invitation to the IEAFCS Summer Reunion and have the date of July 30th marked on your calendar. More on this next time.


  

Flashback to '76

Mildred Benz was the Jackson County Senior Extension Adviser-Youth in 1976. She had a bachelors and masters degree from Southern Illinois University. She began work in Jackson County in 1945.

"Milly" as most everyone called her, was never in a Home Economics position, but she was a member of NAEHE and IAEHE. She held many leadership positions in the Illinois Extension Advisers Youth organization; including state president. She was a national committee chairman as well.

In addition to her long career in Extension, she had also been a teacher for 10 years!

Southern Region Enjoys the Day at Kentucky Lake

Kathy and Joe Harrison invited the Southern Region IEAFCS group to their cabin on Kentucky Lake for the June meeting. She and Joe (with the help of a few of our members) hosted us with a delightful lunch, a great opportunity to visit and catch up on all the news, and a very scenic pontoon boat ride on the lake.

Rain threatened, but didn't dampen any plans. In the photo one can see that Joyce Pyatt and Milly Kaiser are assisting Kathy with getting back into dock.                                

Those who attended were Patti Faughn and husband Mike, Lois Smith, Joyce Pyatt and husband Paul, Ruby Lingle and husband Rick, Janet Burnett, Carol Schlitt and husband Glennon, Martha Winter, Kathy Harrison and husband Joe, Milly Kaiser, Martha Speir, and Joy Richey.The guys were out in another boat when this photo was taken.

Thanks to Joe and Rick for the delicious pork loin and ribs and to Kathy, Martha W., and Milly for all the great side dishes. Also thanks to Kathy for keeping that cabin all those years when she (and the rest of us) were all too busy working to enjoy it. It was a fun day!

PS--American Pharoah won The Triple Crown of horse racing. It was the first one in 37 years.  As one of our Derby group members mentioned, it must have been the good luck we brought to him at the Derby!!

Kentucky Derby Trip--Day 4

After a leisurely breakfast at our hotel on Sunday, we left for the trip home. There was one more interesting stop to make.

In French Lick, Indiana we stopped at the French Lick Resort Complex. First we saw the French Lick Springs Hotel. The balconies reminded us a bit of the Grand Hotel at  Mackinaw Island!  It was first built in 1845, burned in 1897, but was re-built even bigger and grander. The attraction of the area is the healing properties of the sulfur springs that are nearby.

It hadn't been that long since breakfast, but we enjoyed a very nice brunch at the Grand Colonnade Restaurant in the Hotel. As always, there is no shortage of good food on our trips. We walked around the  hotel and admired the architecture. It is very grand! 

Here we are in the lobby area of the hotel. It was huge and can accommodate the large crowds that come there for the casino, golfing, sulfur springs, etc. They had hosted people attending the Derby also--even that far away from Louisville. And there had been a big Kentucky Derby party!

  

We couldn't leave town without stopping at the West Baden Hotel which is just a mile away from the Springs Hotel. This hotel was built in 1902, and until 1955 it was considered the largest free span dome in the world. That distinction now belongs to the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This hotel is considered one of the best mainland US resorts. I, for one, was not aware of all that French Lick had to offer. It is not that far from south/central Illinois.

From there it was homeward bound. Everyone agreed they had a great experience, and that they could now make a check mark next to this item on their bucket list.

Thanks once again to Carol for planning this great trip for us!