10/16/2000

From all of us:  Many thanks to Nancy and Jim, Marilyn and C.W. for doing all the leg work to enable us to get together for the Illinois Homecoming weekend, October, 2000.  Great fellowship, weather, food, football and lots of happy memories!  Go Illini!

Jerry Felmely suggests that the photos be captioned.  Good idea.  Will proceed as time permits.  RAW

Please Note:  This web site is a "Works in Progress".  Check back often to see changes.  Let's get some material rolling in!  P.S.  Received some photos from Joan Sharp-Henning and Nancy & Jim Bronson 10/28/2000.  Check back often.  They will be up in a few days.

RAW

**********************************
From Donnie & Al Goettig, October 18, 2000
Hi -

        Did receive the msg.

        Hope you get some pictures from others pretty quick.

        We almost got down to see you in June but it just didn't work out.
Donnie and I flew back to Pana to close up Mom's house.  After we got
packed up and ready to go, our Ryder truck reservation was upon us and
there wasn't time for social activities.  The truck ride to Calif was
interesting :-|

        Mom came out last Nov. and is living in an assisted living
facility.  She's reasonably happy but still has trouble with not being able
to drive. (she lost her license last Oct on her 95th birthday.)

        Look's like you're still having lots of fun with your web pages --
I haven't tried that yet.  Hope the maintenance and upkeep will keep you
out of the taverns.

        Donnie & Al
*************************************

10/21/2000
 

We really enjoyed the weekend with all the Phi Delts.
Will try to locate some old pictures to send.
The web site was a great idea!!!!!

C.W. Losch

*****************

I visited the web page. Outstanding, keep up good work. I enjoyed the visit
at homecoming. The golf outing was especially good. Next year we need more
Phi's for golf
.
Chuck Smith

********************

I think the web page is just super. Just a quick note that I got it,and I got
back my pictures today. will get them to you one way or another. What a great
week-end.

Jim Bronson
 

*******************************************************************************************
10/22/2000

I too graduated from the U of I, College of Dentistry and lived near the Chicago
Medical Center south of Cook County Hospital for 4 years.  Returned to
Rockford  and practiced general dentistry for 28 years, and hung up the old
hand-piece 14 years ago.  Came down here to Green Valley, AZ in 1990 as
a "snow-bird", and in 1995 sold our home in Illinois and now a permanent
resident of Arizona.  Have been active in Phi Delt Alumni Club here in
GV for the entire 10 years.  Have been communicating almost daily with
Gerry Felmley (the blue flame), who lives in Tucson, and is VERY active
in Alumni in GV and Tucson & active chapter at the U. of AZ.  To keep
busy in retirement, I have obtained a Real Estate Brokers license and
enjoy keeping up on the market here in GV & Tucson.

Dan Nielsen

***************************************************************************************

Hope you all had a greeaat Thanksgiving.  Very
best wishes for the coming Holidays.

Cheers.
 

Yours in the Bond,  Flame

*********************************************************************

11/30/2000

Subject:
        309 Gang
   Date:
        Thu, 30 Nov 2000 11:11:34 -0700
   From:
        Don Peterson <summitgold@earthlink.net>

Dick:

Sure good to see your name again.  Please post this for me on the message
board.

Man!  Sure is good to see the names of youse guys.  I was planning to get to
the Tucson dealie that the Blue Flame was putting together.  Slight
interruption though.  Due to my faulty selection of parents, I had an
angioplasty in early October,  and elected to have a five points by-pass on
Nov. 3. to get it done right.  Still feel a little like a fork lift went
through my chest after about three weeks, but healing fast.  Cardiac re-hab
starts in Vail about Dec. 13.  Its 36 sessons that takes it just beyond the
Tucson trip.  One of these days I'll catch up with the Flame and others.

Keep the notes coming - great job the Wham has done on the web site.

Don Peterson

**************************************************************************
12/17/2000

Hi Dick,
         I have seen the 309 page, thanks to Jerry Felmley's notification.  It's really neat and I enjoyed my tour.  I didn't have time to submit information at that time but here it is.
                 Robert L. Kabel (Bob)
                 wife: Barbara
                 500 E. Marylyn Ave.  Apt. I-147
                 State College, PA 16801
                 r8k@psu.edu
         I retired several years ago.  Since then I have remained professionally active in accreditation and in the coauthoring and publishing of a textbook "Sources and Control of Air Pollution."
         Barbara and I are in good health.  Both of our kids and their families live in Washington state.  About five years ago, Barbara and I bought a small condo in downtown Seattle.  You may recall that she grew up
out there and we met when I was in Graduate School at the University of Washington.  So now we live a bicoastal existence, 75% in our little college town and 25% in the buzz of the city.
         Are you still flying?
         Regards,
Bob

********************************************************************

12/18/2000        Knowing that this may make some of you envious, in the spirit of brotherhood and truthfulness, I am happy to report that Santa came early to Henderson, KY this year, and a sleigh full of delicious caramel corn was delivered.  Thanks a bunch to Marlinyn and C.W.  To all of you -  have a great holiday!  RAW

************************************************************************
January 5, 2001: Jerry Felmley -

I believe my earlier note has done its job.  I have heard from Phis in the West and Southwest and I'm providing  them with info about FD activities in Phoenix, Tucson and Green Valley.

Please delete the existing note.  I'll provide a brief summary of planned AZ Phi activities in mid-Feb for late inbound snowbirds.

Hope your Holidays were great fun.  This has certainly been the mildest winter in the past ten years -- ole jetstream stayed well north of Southern AZ and we had just great weather. Today, 5 January, temp spread was 46-72.  I note SLIGHTLY lower numbers in the ranges for most mid-West locations.

Cheers to all.  YitB,  Flame

**************************************************************************************

Mail message

From: JJCatalyst@webtv.net (JERRY FELMLEY)

Date: Tue, Apr 17, 2001,To: JJCatalyst@webtv.net

Subject: The Golden Legion Boys ...

Dick -

I'm providing some text and a couple of photos from our recent mini-Reunion of ILH's '54 Pledge Class. The "Arizona Four" are now living full-time in Southern Arizona since Ron and Judy Heiligenstein relocated from Vis ... con ... sin. Those two had previously been spending long winters in Tucson, but always returned to the Cheese State after the cows defrosted.

The "Arizona Four" of Illinois Eta's '54 Pledge Class held a mini-Reunion recently in Tucson and Green Valley, Arizona. Tle Phis of Green Valley hosted us at their Founders Day Dinner on 15 March (nice timing since that is the birth date of Robert Morrison) and we were formally inducted into Ile Golden Legion. It was just over 50 years since our initiation at Illinois Eta on 25 February 1951.

Four Illini at Green Valley is NOT that unusual. Dr. Dan "THE Real Estate Man" Nielsen and Jerry "Flame" Felmley are members of, and past officers of, the GV Alum Club. Also, Chapter Grand members, Ed Taze and Bill McCoy, initiated at "309" in February '22 were longtime Alum Club members at Green Valley.

It's well worth noting that the latter two Illini played a prominent role in the establishment by Phi Delt General Headquarters of 'Me Palladian Awards for senior Phis beyond Golden Legion. Ed and Bill were honored by Tucson's Alum Club, along with two other 70-year Phis, at Founders Day in 1992. The obvious youthful exhuberance and Fraternity motivation of the four very senior Phis at that event resulted in creation of the Palladian series of awards, at five-year intervals, through the 75th year which is now The Diamond Legion Member year.

The four new Golden Legionnaires followed Founders Day with a very grand cocktail party at the almost brand new "Heeg Hut" that Ron and Judy had moved into in late December. Ron's tremendous collection of antique, first-edition beer steins has it's own Display Room - as in floor-to-ceiling display - of over a hundred steins! That visitation alone is worth a trip to Tucson for Illini Phis.

Then we commenced a long " 'til later" dinner at Tucson's nostalgic Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch and Resort. HdS was an almost secret hideaway, in the 1920's, for many Hollywood stars long before Palm Springs and Las Vegas became the "in spots" for Tinseltown's crowd. The gals hoped for a showing by Clark Gable's ghost, which has been reported seen many times walking the propety, but no luck. Ditto for the guys, who looked for Carol Lombard's vision - not even a whisper.

However, as the nearby photos show, we all had a great weekend and will look forward to another gathering at least during our 55th year ... if not sooner.

Caption for the four-Phi shot:
Proud and happy new Golden Legion Phis at Green Valley Founders Day 15 March 2001. From the left - "Flame," Ken Miller, Ron Heiligenstein, and Dan Nielsen.
 

Caption for diner party photo:
Hacienda del Sol waiters knew something was up, but they had trouble with all the "50's speak" passing back and forth across our table. From the left - "Flame," Dan Nielsen, Alice Nielsen, Diane Miller, Judy Heiligenstein (seated), Joan Burch Sharp Henning, Ron Heiligenstein (seated) and Ken Miller. (NOTE: it's been 50 years since our first days at "309" and Ken and Ron STILL are holding hands in public places!)

I believe I've covered the waterfront, Dick, but feedback if you need more data.

Cheers. Yours in the Bond, Flame

************

 Sad news about accidental death of Bill Wilson!

***********
April 13, 2003
Brrrrrother Wham -

We had a kind of "Farewell Happy Hour and Dinner" last evening for the 309 Snowbirds who have been wintering in Tucson.  Had a dozen participants, including Heegs, Browns, Shepherds, Koehlers, Ken Miller, Joan BS Henning, THE Ern (YES, he flew in from Barrington just for the Tucson event!) and The Flame.  Good tales from the past and Joan brought her TRUNK-FULL of vintage photos ... I'm sure that's why Uncle
Milty felt compelled to send attached shot from an '02 football game.
Picture of Event
Photos of cocktails at Heeg Hut and dinner at Bob McMahon's Steak House are now being processed.  I'll send them along with captions and
comments.
                           Cheers,  Flame

***************************************

6/30/2003
Sad News!  Gene Ator, class of 1954 died Friday, June 27, 2003, - complications of leukemia.  Condolences to wife Linda and family!

**********************************************************************************************

From Norm Racine:
September 9, 2004
T.J. Coffman
T.J. passed away yesterday after a long battle with the ravages of
diabetes. Funeral service at Central Congregational Church in Galesburg,
Saturday 10am. Funeral Director is Hinchliff-Pearson Funeral Home
309/343-2101. Anderson Florist 342-8121. Donations to The T.J. Coffman
Scholarship Fund for Rotary Exchange Students. A good Brother with an
unforgettable and uniquely likeable personality will be missed.

****************************************************************************************************

From: "JERRY FELMLEY" <JJCatalyst@webtv.net>
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2004 10:43 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: T.J. Coffman
 Dick -

 Thanks for relaying the sad news about T.J.  I've sent it along to my
 '54 Phis' list.
 _____

 Local Illini are gathering for suds and dawgs tomorrow as UCLA visits
 UI.  Time zone differences become almost painful at this time of year
 ... only reeaally serious students of foozeball start sucking brews at
 0900!!   Well,
 THE Brew Adams is always an exception ....

 UA Actives and Tucson Ph Alums observe a
 more relaxed schedule ... Tailgates start at 1700 and kickoff against
 Utah is at 1900.
 (RV'ers will have already been in place since
 1000 official opening time of Mall Slots.)

 Have a good weekend.

*****************************************************************************

From: "JERRY FELMLEY" <JJCatalyst@webtv.net <mailto:JJCatalyst@webtv.net
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2004 3:43 PM
Subject: Joan is going, going ...

 Brrrrothers All -

 Just had a head-up from Joan B.S. Henning. After much procrastination
 she's decided to just do it and relocate to TN to be closer to her
 daughter ... and Illinois sisters.

 She's sold her Tucson townhome ... after just a few days on the market
 ... and is about to close on her new TN home. Her daughter will handle
 the details while Joan finishes here. Joan had made a tentative new
 home selection on an earlier trip to TN so buying a slightly smaller
 home/condo was easy to accomplish.

 She's moving right along with packing well underway and an inspection
 TOMORROW in order to close here before the end of the month.

 I asked about her Scrapbooks. You'll all be glad to know she IS taking
 them ... in a separate moving van ... and anticipates having to add on
 to her new place in order to have adequate storage space.

 Those of us she's "leaving behind" will try for
 a "Farewell Joan" before her departure. I'll pass a post-mortem to
 Brrrrother Wham.

 Joan's Travel Plan is for her Dallas son to fly to Tucson and drive with
 her to Dallas. Then her TN daughter or another son will join her there
 to drive to TN. New address/phone info later.

 I told Joan we'd move her into "Snowbird
 Category" for future Tucson Phi Phunctions.
 I reminded her, "If THE Ern can make the trip
 YOU certainly can."

 She attempted to hand-off her Hostess Role by ID'ng a new Tucson
 resident who was a Kappa friend of Joan's at Illinois. I said we'd
 appoint
 Ern as Hostess before letting an interloper join one of our 309 Gang
 events.

 BTW, Brew and Lynda and I have made plans for another join-up when they
 return to Coronado Island in January. We'll get Doug and Betty Koehler
 on board too. Any of you who will be in San Diego 7-11 January 2005
 please advise. Mo is better!!

 Hope all is well.
 

 Cheers, Flame

 p.s. I alerted many of you to the USS TUCSON
 Homecoming Party in Honolulu on 7 December.
 I've worked with UA's Vacation Travel for a combined air/lodging
 Package. There are 22
 booked Tucson participants flying over on the 4th and returning on the
 9th with five nights at Marriott's Waikiki Beach Resort or The Royal
 Hawaiian Hotel venue for Homecoming.

 IF ANY of you might be interested in signing on
 now please advise ASAP. The UA Package option expires on 20 October
 with Final Payment due that day. Prices for air and lodging range from
 $2200 - $2700 PER COUPLE based on level of hotel room chosen.

 However, a few blocked Ocean View rooms are available at Marriott and
 I'll hold them until 15 November. COMBINED UA air/lodging will NOT BE
 available after 20 October, but separate air and lodging might be
 attractive.

 The "price of admission" to Homecoming is a one-year membership in our
 USS TUCSON 770 Club booster group ... $25 ... beeeg tab!!!
 

***********************************************************************

11/09/2004

Brrrrothers All -

Joan B.S. Henning is now in Tennessee at the following address:
_____

JOAN HENNING
103 Alton Park Lane
Franklin TN 37069
615.595.9845
_____

Ron and Judy and I had schedule conflicts on her departure date so Joan
waved goodby to just her son, John, at Tucson Intl.  She had decided
late in her planning NOT to drive with John to Dallas and then on to
Franklin.

Something about John's lead foot and "He never stops for a piss-call!"
Joan didn't think she could make it non-piss from TUS to DFW.  Sooo.
instead of modifying the plumbing in her SUV, she chose to fly.

We have some large shoes to fill in our local
alum social ranks.  Anyone knowing of a big footed Chi O headed for
Tucson please advise.

Charlie (aka Chuck) Shepherd responded to my COA e-note with
confirmation he'll be here in March and April.  Uncle Milty will overlap
for
a longer Snowbird visit ... their new/old Tucson
home is about through renovation.  Heegs and Dan and Alice Neilsen will
be around so we'll plan a Phi Phunction '05 whenever we can determine
when "when" is.

In the meantime Brew and Lynda will be back in San Diego for January on
Coronado.  I'll see them and Koehlers between 07-11 when I fly over for
a 'Zonie visit.

Hope all is well.  Have a grand holidays.
 
 

                         Muted Cheers,  Flame
 

p.s.  Toby Keith is headlining this year's New Year's Eve bash in
Nashville.  Joan says he IS NOT the reason she moved.

**************************************************************
February 5, 2005
From Jerry Felmley:

Brrrrrothers All ... and Joan and Jeff -

Today's AZ RED Star has a very nice story about "The Heeg" (Conrad, John
Huff, Jeff ... that's Ron Heiligenstein ILH54 Pledge Mate) which I'm
forwarding in "printer friendly" format.

The article includes a good photo of Ron holding a stein given to him by
his mother just before he left to begin classes at UI ... she MUST HAVE
known that Illinois Phis had a draft or two in the '50s.

Some of you already have seen Ron's huge collection of first-edition
steins displayed in his and Judy's home north of Tucson. In a very fine
custom showroom ... with floor to ceiling exhibition shelves. The
subtitle of the Star's Accent Article is "Passions" ... an excellent
word for Ron's 30-years pursuit of collecting.

Cheers, Jerry
 

STORY:
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/printDS/59852.php

The Arizona Daily Star
Published: 02.05.2005

The stein way: You can pour your heart into this collection, but never beer
By Doug Kreutz
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Stein collecting

Desert Beer Stein Collectors: Group members meet formally three times a year. E-mail don_scheer@hotmail.com or call 219-4472 for information.

Stein Collectors International: Visit the group's Web site - www.steincollectors.org - for information on steins and collectors.
 

There is one thing Tucsonan Ron Heiligenstein won't do with the colorful, finely crafted beer steins in his collection: drink beer out of them.

"If you drink out of them, you have to wash them. And if you wash a stein, you could chip it under the faucet," says Heiligenstein, who has been collecting steins for 32 years.

He's a member of the Desert Beer Stein Collectors, a group dedicated to the art, history and gemütlichkeit - congeniality - expressed in the ornate German drinking vessels.

"These are an art form," Heiligenstein says as he shows off a variety of steins belonging to members of the group. "They were never really made for utilitarian purposes."

Reeling off a concise short course in steins, he notes that the word itself is a bit of a misnomer.

"The word stein, in German, means stone," says Heiligenstein, whose own name means holy stone. "Early steins were stoneware, which is steinzeug in German. Americans shortened it to stein."

To qualify as a stein, a vessel must have a handle, a lid and a thumb lift.

"Without a lid, it's a mug," Heiligenstein says.

Why the lid?

Heiligenstein says lids came into use centuries ago, when it was thought that bubonic plague was transmitted by flies. The lids were to keep flies out of the steins.

"Also, from a practical standpoint, the taste of beer changes with exposure to air," and lids limit the exposure, Heiligenstein says.

He says most steins are made of porcelain, but some are stoneware and others are pottery.

"The lids are always made of pewter," he adds.

Styles range from blue-gray salt-glazed stoneware steins to so-called "character steins" depicting people or animals.

Most high-quality, collectible steins are from Germany, but some collections also include steins from the United States and other countries.

Heiligenstein got his first steins from his mother, who presented them to him when he went off to college. Years later, during a trip to Munich, Germany, he came across steins similar to the ones his mother gave him - and he began collecting in earnest.

His collection, inspired by an avid interest in European history, is now focused on a type called regimental steins. Produced between 1890 and 1914, these elaborate vessels were associated with German regiments and are inscribed with the names of their original owners.

Collectors cite several reasons for their fascination with steins.

"They're just such gorgeous things," says Spencer Wessling, president of the Desert Beer Stein Collectors. "You hold them in your hand and look at the history there, and the workmanship. It's beautiful."

Wessling says the group, made up of about 40 families, is affiliated with Stein Collectors International, with some 1,600 members in 28 chapters in the United States and Germany.

One goal of the group is to educate would-be collectors about the history of steins and how to recognize value.

Wessling says there's a big difference between cheap "tourist steins" and high-quality collectible pieces.

"There are so many reproductions out there now, and a lot of them are sold as authentic," he says.

Rarity, quality of workmanship, historical context and overall condition are some of the qualities of a collectible stein, Wessling says.

Heiligenstein says that "the best way to avoid being fooled about the value of a stein is to educate yourself."

"A novice stein collector needs to accumulate knowledge," Heiligenstein says. "Join Stein Collectors International. Go to the Web site (www.steincollectors.org) for information."

Wessling notes that the best steins - especially those produced in the so-called "golden age of drinking vessels" from 1880 to 1920 - are expensive.

Collectors typically pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for top-quality items. Individual steins have sold for as much as $25,000, Wessling says.

"But we don't dwell on the money," he says. "You don't buy steins as an investment. You buy them because they're rare and beautiful and full of history."

? Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192.
 

*************************************************************