Saturday morning Houk Stream was ‘…alive with the sounds of birds singing…children chattering…dogs barking…axes ringing…saws humming…and the Oakwood Boy Scouts were picking up trash in the creek and hauling bags of bottles, cans, and plastic to their cars.  The Oakwood Rotary Club was continuing their ‘clean-up-Centennial Park project’.  Not one ‘honeysuckle’ bush was safe!  ‘It’s an invasive-foreign-plant and will ruin…’ The ‘at-least-it’s-green-and covers-the-ground’ advocates didn’t say a word’.  

Mayor Judy Cook, a ‘Rotarian’, was hard at work.  City Manager Norb Klopsch, also president of Rotary, was obviously chair of the ‘keep the workers happy’ committee. He carried a large grocery sack filled with ‘energy’ bars and bottled water which he distributed to his crew.

Irv Bieser was obviously a pro-cleaner-upper.  He’s had lots of training by working on his river-side-cabin East of Bellbrook.  Dick Cummings was piling-up ‘honeysuckle’ and watching his watch…cause I promised Dot I’d run home and turn-on her computer…she ‘s had some trouble with it…but I’ll come right back.”  Dave Vandenberg, Dick Stevens and John Berthy looked like experts with their ax swinging.

The ‘Lady Rotarians’ were certainly holding their own.  Along with Judy Cook, there was Cindy Garner, and Lindsey Clark. Lindsey carried an illustrated list of wild flowers and was marking the ones she’d identified. Cindy has been one of the ‘prime-movers’ on the entire Centennial Project.  

Walt Fenstermacher and Don Edwards along with Steve Byington were creating a monstrous-sized-pile-of-dead-honeysuckle. Young Oakwood High School members of the ‘Ecology Club’ were helping the Rotarians.  Al Leland was a ‘worker’.  He just had to walk down the hill of his side yard to join the group.

The foundation for the ‘bridge’ is ready and the bridge will be in place soon.  The ‘graffittii’ on the old tennis court wall had been further ‘enhanced’ by Oakwood-Youth. An unprintable four letter word was added to the ‘art’ late Friday evening.

John Gray’s ‘Farm’ has created monster traffic jams on Ridgeway Road!  His ‘daffodil and jonquel’ diorama is indeed a traffic-stopper.  Cameras on tripods are everywhere.  People get out of their cars and stand ‘oh-ing ‘n aw-ing’ .  John has invited spectators to pick flowers if they wish. John is certainly the Life-Time-President of the “Keep Oakwood Beautiful’ committee.   “Thanks, John, for your beautiful Farm!

It’s College Reunion time. Two Oakwood-ites are on their way to their alma-mater – Kenyon College in northern Ohio.  George Lytle said he and Rodney Boren will be joining the ‘graduated-over-fifty-years-ago’ contingency.  “It’s nice the College doesn’t reveal our actual graduation dates.  Kenyon is even sending a car to transport us to and from.

Kay Tormey sent a clipping from her ‘Partners – Good Samaritan Health Foundation’ magazine.  It  was an account by Molly Wall Cammerer of her mother’s   trials getting to ‘Good Sam’ during the ‘blizzard of 1950’. “Mother’s transportation could not get up to our house on Lookout Drive, so Mother, nine months pregnant, put on her high heels, her red coat with the fox fur collar, and walked down the hill to the car. It’s a delightful account and all those who lived through that 1950 storm still relish telling their harrowing tales.

And there it was...The Oakwood Register…in a Georgia classroom!

Toni Winger forwarded us an e mail from her niece, Susan Tonini Howard, who lives in Suwanee, Georgia, outside of Atlanta.  Here is a portion of it:

“Hi there, I hope everyone is doing well in Dayton.  We [Susan and Dan Howard]  were at Nicholas’ school today watching him do his first oral presentation.  They had to pick and research a state.  Nicholas decided to do Maine.  Anyway, one of the other children—Jack Centatempo, was presenting on Ohio.  One of his props was a copy of the Oakwood Register.  He said his mom Roxanne went to Oakwood High School…..  I don’t really know his parents but his dad’s name is Dan.”  Susan is the daughter of Bill Tonini, who also graduated from Oakwood High School. Small world!

Beautiful spring weather provided the perfect backdrop for the first-ever MOMS Group of Oakwood "Spring Fling" held on Saturday night at the Miami Valley Hunt and Polo Club. The event was a celebration of the group's 15th anniversary. The weather allowed the nearly 100 in attendance to mingle on the patio as well as dance the night away indoors.

The Spring Fling committee, chaired by Kelly Hick, Meredith Spitzmiller and Sacha Doyle, worked hard to make this first event a success. Other committee members included Mary Grimes, Vicki Auditore, Carolyn Roberts and Christy Casciello. MOMS Group co-presidents Lindsay Fiesbeck and Angel Perkins rounded out the committee.

The inaugural event was proudly sponsored by Remax Victory Team Kooz, which also gave each attendee a lovely box of chocolates at the end of evening.

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