Breakfast Club, June 6, 2009

Janice West Callanan, Gateway Class of 1965, left, pictured with Becky Richards-Maley, represented her late sister, our classmate Donna West Campbell, at the Gators Class of '67 Breakfast Club meeting on Saturday, June 6, 2009.

The Breakfast Club got started during our 40th Reunion Weekend in 2007 so that out-of-town classmates with no family in the area wouldn't have to eat breakfast alone. We had so much fun at breakfast that Saturday, we did it again the next morning.

Naturally, we kept the tradition going for our 60th Birthday Weekend in 2009. In this picture, all eyes are on Ellie Claitman O'Day as she relates a true story from her fascinating life in the arts scene in British Columbia. Listeners are Lois Batchen Birchall to Ellie's right (only the back of her head is visible), Mike Cima to Ellie's left, Phil Billings across from Ellie and Mike Fisher, husband of Peggy Loughner Fisher, behind Phil.

Here's a better view of Lois Batchen Birchall, left, and Denise Thompson Matthews, below.




Eileen Ruffner Baca, Donna Fisher Wiley and Kathy Casper Faix appear to have finished their breakfasts but not their conversation.

Before coming to the birthday reunion, Ellie Claitman, whose professional name is Ellie O'Day, hadn't looked at a 1967 Portavian (Gateway yearbook) in 42 years. She had torn out and kept a few pages that were meaningful to her (like the Talent Troupe pages).

In this photo, Ellie studies the Portavian to refresh her memory with help from Mike Cima. At the table behind them are Dana Comito Narey, Nancy Casper Faix (face not visible), Becky Richards-Maley, Donna Fisher Wiley and Eileen Ruffner Baca.

The 12 classmates, who had breakfast at Denny's Restaurant on Route 22 near the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, where most of the out-of-towners stayed, posed for this group photo, taken by Peggy Loughner Fisher's husband, Mike Fisher.

Pictured are (front row, left to right) Denise Thompson Matthews, Eileen Ruffner Baca, Peggy Loughner Fisher, Donna Fisher Wiley (in green), Ellie Claitman O'Day, Lois Batchen Birchall and Alana Miltak Baranick. Second row: Mike Cima, Dana Comito Narey, Phil Billings, Becky Richards-Maley and Kathy Casper Faix.

We've still got photos from the Saturday birthday party and Sunday Breakfast Club to post on this blog. But we ("we" = "Alana Miltak Baranick") don't have pictures from the Saturday morning golf outing or the Saturday afternoon event at St. Michael Catholic Church in Pitcairn.

Peggy Loughner Fisher, who is a professional photographer, took pictures at St. Michael's that she will include on a DVD that she's putting together. More to share about that in an upcoming post.

If you have pictures to share, please let us know.