Donald Foley:  

Hi Former Calumet Classmates, Hope life has been very good to you and your family these past 48 years since all of us flipped our tassels, tossed our caps, and left good ole Calumet High behind (May 1964 for me). Upon graduating, my parents gave me a red 1957 Chevie as my graduation gift, which I used to start work at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube and earn college money during the summer of 1964. I entered IU, Glen Park in the fall, but only attended four weeks before withdrawing. I just wasn't ready to do all the studies again, seemed very restless and lost, and was trying to find a sense of direction in my life. While attending IU, GlenPark I had some classes with Don Shourd, Ira Taylor and others I don't recall at this time from the "64" Calumet class. After I quit college, I got a job at Inland Steel and tried to enjoy life as best I could and find out what I wanted to do with my life! But that didn't last but 1 year when Uncle Sam (US Army) came calling in 11/65. I volunteered for the Marines at the Chicago Army Processing Center, where Allan Anderson, Lonnie Adams, Lee Berdine and Ken Collmar, who were drafted with me, decided to stay with the US Army. They went to Ft Leonard Wood, MO for basic training and onto Germany for their tour of duty. I went to San Diego, CA for my basic training and became a "Hollywood Marine". After advanced infantry training, I was stationed at Camp Pendleton (40 miles north of San Diego near Oceanside) from 3/66 to 10/66. In November 1966 I got orders for Guam where I was sent and wound up being assigned to a Marine security com-pany where I served through 10/67. It was during this tour I met a wonderful young island lady named (Elenita Fernandez (aka Elly), who became my wife and has been for 44 years as of 9/14/2012. Guam was normally an 18 month duty station, but I had less than 1 yr to go in the Marine Corps when I was sent to Guam. When I look back over the years and how I wound up being sent to Guam, it seems like it was pre-destined for me to go to Guam to meet my wife! I really enjoyed my duty on Guam and the fellow Marines I served with on island. It was a growing up time for me and a very exciting period in my life. I found the island to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth as there was so much brightness and sunshine, palm trees, white sand beaches, crystal blue/green water, spectacular cliff and ocean views, a relaxing casual lifestyle, huge fiesta/wedding/christening parties, great fishing/water sports, and very congenial and hospitable local people. It was quite different from where I grew up and what I was used to seeing. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! When my military service with the Marines ended (discharged at Treasure Island, CA), I returned to Indiana in late 1967 just before the snow and cold weather started. I began working and preparing to enter IU, Glen Park again, but using my GI bill this time, which I did from Sept 1968 to May 1970. During this time, I ran into Bob Rumba after his military service and Martin Ligocki at IU Glen Park. My wife and I ran into Karen Bank/her fiance a few times at Freddys Steakhouse in Hessville. It was during this time, I saw Linda Chapman, Vickie Brown, Larry Lockhart, Ron Carretti and Russell Ross. I also saw Doug Stricklett and Sam Cogdill, after their military service and before Sam had his fatal motorcycle accident. After doing 2 years at IU, Glen Park and spending 3 cold winters in Indiana, my wife and I decided to try life on Guam for just one year, which turned into 14 big ones, late 1970 to mid-1984. Living on Guam, going to college, and working for the local govt helped me to meet lots of wonderful local people and allowed me to enjoy the local culture, various parties and fiestas, beautiful white sand beaches, casual lifestyle, and the island's overall natural beauty. During this time, I used my GI Bill while attending the University of Guam, earning my bachelors degree in May 1973 and my masters in May 1983 in Business Management. While this was going on, my wife and I managed to have two sons and one daughter (Richard Keith, Donald Craig, and Maria Nicole). We lived off-island twice during this time, late 1973 to early 1974 in Gardena, CA (LA area) and early 1979 to late 1980 in Dublin, CA (east bay across from SF). Living in these two CA areas let me meet many of my wife's extended family members who had moved to the mainland to try a different lifestyle or to serve in the different branches of the military. During this time I worked 10 years for the Govt of Guam, ending my service with the Office of the Lt. Governor in May 1981. Since our children were growing up and we wanted to expose them to the mainland, I started working for the federal gov't (DoD) in 6/81. My family and I relocated to the mainland 7/1/84, landing in San Francisco and settling in Elk Grove, CA (10 miles south of Sacramento) as my wife had relatives in the area. We stayed there for 23 years watching our three children grow up, playing sports in the community and high school, and starting their careers and families. We've been blessed with two grandchildren, Ryan Jacob and Naomi Paloma Foley. It was during this time we started visiting the national parks and other vacation areas primarily in the western part of the US, such as Yosemite, Sequoia, Redwoods, Big Sur and coastline, (California); Brice, Zion, Redlands, Cedar Break (Utah), Yellowstone, Great Tetons, and Glacier (Montana), Jackson Hole (Wyoming), Great Smokey Mountains (Tenn.), Grand Canyon (Arizona), Sun Valley/Cour de' Lane (Idaho), Crater Lake and coastline (Oregon), Royal Gorge and Pikes Peak Plateau (Colorado), Miami/ Tampa/Clearwater/Cape Canaveral/Orlando and Atlantic coastline (Florida), Seattle/Mt. Rainier/San Juan Islands (Washington),Victoria/Butchart Gardens (Vancouver Island/Canada), Grand Caymen/Cozumel/Jamaica (western Carribbean), and Hawaiian Islands (Oahu/Maui/Kuaui). During this time, we enjoyed going to South Lake Tahoe, Reno and Las Vegas to take in concerts, have dinner, and partake in "owning a piece of the rock" at the casinos (more like life-time deposits). We have been fortunate to see Tom Jones, Englebert Humperdink, Temptations, 5th Dimension, Smokey Robinson, Kenny G, Cher, Righteous Brothers, BJ Thomas, George Strait, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Wynonna Judd, Vince Gill, George...Expand for more