Vicki Vermilya Chamberlin

My journey from High School has been a long road. When it was time to graduate, the last thing I wanted was more school. Instead, I chose to join the working world and get a job. This worked quite well, until I came to the realization that even though I had a decent position in banking, I wasn’t able to get significant promotions since I didn’t have a college degree. Hmmmm. Hindsight.

I opted to join the Marine Corp with the intention of utilizing the GI Bill for future educational purposes.
After my stint in the Corp, I returned to Colorado and went back to work for a financial institution, where I also met my husband. The organization we both worked for had some “rules” on relatives working for the same organization, and we were anticipating some flak. However, not long after we married, we decided to make a move from the Denver area and went to Casper Wyoming. Little did we know that this would be the first of 24 moves through Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, California ( almost Oregon) and Arizona.
From Casper, we migrated back to the Eastern Plans of Colorado, and at that time, my husband decided to change from a career in banking to that of Public Administration necessitating he get his Masters Degree.

From there, we moved to the Western Slope of Colorado – timing is everything, as we were just moving into our new home when he found we was accepted to the University of Denver for their MPA program. He had to commute from the Western Slope of Colorado to the University of Denver. I will never forget at the time he was working on his thesis I had just shattered my ankle and had to keep my foot elevated higher than my heart. Try typing a thesis in this position – quite a site. At this time, I was working and going to school at night.
Fortunately, I had a solid banking background and was able to secure employment with no problems. While on the Western Slope, I was the Executive Director for a public/private partnership with my board of directors being members from the County and various towns within the County. I spent a lot of time working on receiving grant monies for business startups and worked with various business entities on their business plans and often packaging SBA loans and providing start up funds for businesses which also provided employment opportunities. This program did receive national recognition for the innovation at the time.

As we moved from the Western Slope of Colorado, we went to Kansas. With my husbands job, we had to live in the town where he worked, and I often commuted to work. Since we were just outside of St. Joseph Missouri, I ended up working for a Bank in Kansas City and achieved numerous promotions within the organization. At this time financial institutions were doing a lot of merging and acquisitions and I moved to another Bank in the capacity of Senior Vice President in charge of several areas. Once again, I was working on achieving my degree from William Jewell College. This was put on hold when we moved from this area to Santa Monica CA.

We were in CA for seven years, and had four housing moves, one of which was due to our home being one of the 1,000 homes which were destroyed in the Northridge earthquake.

While in this area, I was a Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for a Bank, and working through UCLA to complete my Bachelors Degree. At this time, I also seriously considered making a career move from Banking to Financial Services with the thought that as my husbands position changed, I would simply move my client base with me in my own investment company. Working towards that end, I received my securities licenses and insurance licenses and went through a two year training program with a company with the intent of completing the training and going independent. This was good planning, as with my Bachelors Degree ( finally) in hand and my licenses as well as a book of business, we again moved, back to the Kansas City Area.

It was much easier to go from Missouri to California (except for the cost of living) than from California back to Missouri. When we arrived back in the mid-west, it was winter, cold, snowy and an adjustment to the system, but it worked out once we found housing and I got my business re-established.
I found that with my moves, most of my clients didn’t care, as I had an 800 number, and made regular visits through the years to meet with them for portfolio reviews and the referrals kept coming.
We worked really hard to end up in Arizona, as that was where we were targeting for retirement. It worked! My husbands next career move brought us to Surprise.

In 2001, I decided to sell my business . The hours were long and demanding with little if any time off. Due to 9-11, the transition took longer than anticipated, as many of my clients were nervous about the markets and I stayed on for a bit to ease them into their new environment. W e had our house built in 2001 ( the third one) and started working on “retirement”. It was always a goal of ours to have an early retirement and enjoy life. It does seem strange though to being in the same house for several years now. We were really good at packing/moving and change.

2009 was a difficult year for us. I had been diagnosed after more than a year of test after test with a GIST. I was finally scheduled for surgery where my esophagus was removed and reconstructed. A good portion of this year was spent in and out of the hospital. Fortunately, for the last couple of years, I have remained No Evidence of Disease, and hopefully will stay that way!

We spend a lot of time traveling, seeing the world and the United States. We will often take off on a road trip as we want to see what is down that particular path. We also stay involved in local activities. I am not sure where the days, weeks, months, years go, but they zip by and we often wonder how we had time to work.
It is hard to believe that we have been married for 35 years. Seems like only yesterday. David is a great guy and I am fortunate that our paths crossed when they did.

At this juncture, it will be interesting to see what my old high school mates are doing today.

History of FCHS

Two Editorials from 5-9-69 Spilled Ink

These articles were written by Juniors (Class of 1970) in the June Issue of 1969 Spilled Ink.
Click on article to enlarge. 

1969 Sarcastic Article About School Repairs

 

Click to enlarge and read this article.  It's a bit sarcastic, and I must admit that I think I wrote it.  It's a good case study in the idealistic rebellion and immaturity of high school when we try to make complex issues a simple black and white!  Gail

A Brother In Viet Nam--1968 Student Poem

This poem was in the December 1968 Spilled Ink.  Does anyone know who wrote it?  It isn't recorded in the paper.

A Mysterious Picture in the Snow--Spilled Ink 1968

I thought this was an interesting story when we put it in the Spilled Ink, and it still intrigues me today. It appeared in the December 13, 1968 issue. Click on it to enlarge and read.

Do You Remember What Our Senior Class Gift Was?

If you guessed a new candy booth, then you are right!
If you click on the article and read it, you'll notice that the finances for the gift were raised in an unusual way! Do any of you have a candy booth story to share? If so, please leave a comment or email Gail and she'll put it on the blog!

Fort Collins High School--Now the CSU Center for the Arts

The beautiful old brick building we once called our alma mater has taken on a transformation. Originally built in 1926, it finally closed its doors as a high school in 1995. But instead of being torn down or crumbling into ruin, it was purchased by CSU. After $45 million renovations and additions, it was opened as the CSU Center for the Performing Arts in 2007.

The contractor who did the work said it was one of the most complex projects he'd done. CSU wanted to salvage as much of the original materials as possible, and they used the original seating in the theater, hardwood flooring from the gym, some stair banisters and linoleum flooring, as well as tons of other building materials. One of the girl's bathrooms remains the same as when we walked the halls of FCHS--same green tile.

It was a bit sad to tour the facility at the 40 year reunion and realize that our high school is, in some ways, gone forever. But in other ways, CSU's use of the building allows it's beauty and some of our memories to live on.

Picture to right: Andy Warhol Tomato Soup art now stands in front of the old FCHS building.

If you'd like to read more about the remodeling of the old Fort Collins High School, go to the site below.
http://colorado.construction.com/features/archive/2009/0902_covera.asp

Forty-One Year Old News Briefs from Spilled Ink

Dance--Clubs--Assembly--Music--Repairs--ROTC

Click on this page to enlarge.

Music, Cars, and TV from 1969

1969 Student Poll--Open Campus, Underground Newspaper, Dress Code

Click on to enlarge

Summary of FCHS Lambkin Sports 1968 and 1969

Click to enlarge article.

Herberta (Herbie) Conley Woslager--A woman of many trades and 17 Grandchildren!

In 1969 I went to California with my family where my father's brothers had bought a pest control company. Many family members joined them to work the business. There, in San Dimas, California, I met Chuck Robinson, the 'Car Guy' who became my first husband.

For the next 14 years I drove really nice cars, learned to completely rebuild an engine, was involved in local stock-car racing and lived in California, Wyoming, Colorado, California, Wyoming, California, Colorado, Wyoming . . . Well, the grass WAS suppose to be greener on the other side of that hill!

Living in all of these places, diversified my earning skills. I have built water-pik motors, spot-welded stainless steele cabinets, made frisbies for Whamo, did the electrical wiring on air-conditioning units, worked consruction as an electrition's helper and ended this episode of my life working in the County Clerk and Recorders office. Our daughter Melanie was born on 1970, son Jim in 1973 and our baby Theresa in 1975. I went back to school in 1980, decided the really great cars were not worth it in 1982 and divorced in 1983. (I do kind of miss the cars.)



I married my second husband, Jerry, in 1987. He had two daughters he was raising, Jerri Ann and Brandy, so we started with five children and added Jason, our child together. (Jason is a medic in the Army now stationed at Walter Reed.)

Jerry and I lived in Flagstaff, Arizona for seven years and then Helena, Montana where I worked as a veterans advocate for the state for 13 years. Five years ago my oldest son and daughter moved to Colorado Springs with their families. We joined them. I am now Medical Records Coordinator for Pikes Peak Mental Health.

I have seventeen grandchildren ranging from 20 to 9 months. There are seven girls and ten boys. Grandma is the most fun thing I have ever done! I do, however, have to shop for Christmas year round!

I sell AVON to build my retirement funds and will continue with this business after I 'officially' retire. My husband and I intend to travel as much as we can when that time comes. (Feed my retirement account by buying AVON on-line at www.youravon.com/hwoslager!)

I read a lot, as I always have, work Sudoku and crossword puzzles, do some gardening and spend as much time with my family as I can.

I expect the next forty years to be awesome!

Stacy (Boehlke) Heikes--Nurse, Mom, Biker and Fiddler

I loved being in high school at FCHS in the 60's, and being in the old building at our 40th reunion just naturally wakens all those memories of the intervening years. Here's my story.

After high school, I went out east to Wellesley College for a couple years, but returned to CO to get my RN degree from CU in 1974. I had met Lloyd Heikes, our classmate, in Orchestra at Lesher Jr High, and we sort of hung out in the same crowd (just as friends) all through high school. But he was very persistent, and convinced me to marry him in 1975. In fact, two of my sisters married guys on the cross country team as well; Patty to Terry Hurley, and Mary to Bill Wierman. There must have been something about those runners...

picture below: 1987

Lloyd and I traveled around a bit after dental school, but after considering lots of locations, settled on Greeley, CO in 1982. We love it here; open, friendly, somewhat diverse, and not as snooty as Fort Collins!

We have 3 precious children. Andrew is 28, and works as an investment analyst for CitiGroup in NYC. He's very social and outgoing, and loves to try new things and meet new people. Katie is 26, and heads the department of Historic Preservation for the City of Pittsburgh. She loves old buildings and wants to save them all; she takes her job very seriously. She's married to Phil, an interpretive ranger for the NPS and a great guy. Thomas is 21, and is in his senior year at CU Boulder, majoring in Architectural Design. He's good at it, but would rather be climbing something. He's quiet and thoughtful.

Isn't it cool how these kids all turn out to be so unique? And in this empty nest, it is especially nice to have Lloyd at my side.

I practiced nursing for quite a few years, and then quit to raise kids. But 12 years ago, I joined Lloyd in starting up his private practice, after many years working in a public health setting. So now I manage the office and try hard not to tell him what to do (too much). It's surprisingly satisfying work, and I know more about teeth that I ever thought I needed to.

I love to sing, to ride my road bike, to read, to play competitive volleyball (at 5'3", I don't block much). And in the last 5 years, I've gotten serious about fiddling, and I am hooked! Thank you, Mr. McNeal, for encouraging that violin playing way back in junior high. And I get to break in every one of Lloyd's violins as he finishes another one. I'm even in a little band that plays gigs every now and then. Just goes to show it's never to late to try something new.

Back just out of high school, I thought I had things pretty well figured out, but now after all these years, I've realized that I really don't have any big answers. Just when we think we understand it, life changes again. Two years ago, my sweet sister Mary died very suddenly of a cerebral aneurysm. She's gone, and we miss her dearly. We never get to know what is up ahead for us; we just get to know today. I guess what it comes down to for me is to just try to live life fully, wholeheartedly, with kindness; to try to keep my mind open to new ideas, and my eyes open so that I can really SEE the gifts that surround me daily. I think my life work is gratitude.

Climbing the Tower at last....40 years after high school!

It was such a treat to get reacquainted with some of our classmates at the reunion. And after having reached the pinnacle (literally) of my Lambkin life this summer, in the tower, it's hard to imagine how I could possibly top that. But I guess we'll just have to wait for our 50th to find out. See you there!

Did Boosters Lack Femininity?

Did booster and Cheerleading uniforms cause Girls to lose their femininity on Fridays? Did FCHS students show little support for sporting events? That's what these people wrote in this March 1967 Spilled Ink:

I found this rather amusing...how about you?
Click on article to enlarge.

Laurie Taylor--Businesswoman and Entrepreneur

It was wonderful seeing so many people at the 40^th Reunion. During my presentation I wanted to give everyone a sense of just how special the year 1969 was – not just because we graduated from high school and started along the paths of our futures, but because we lived it and may not have recognized just how special it was as a turning point for so many aspects of our world.

I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in Parks and Recreation and later received my MBA from there also. I spent 14 years in that field, 8 of it in Aurora, Colorado and 6 years as the Recreation Superintendent for the City of Loveland. I was fired from that career in 1986 and ran into a good friend, Sherri Leopard. We had become good friends when I was the editor of the Colorado Parks and Recreation Magazine and she became one of the writers. Both of us were looking for a way to put food on our table and we just started finding work, helping businesses promote themselves. That very shaky start eventually become the launching point for our marketing communications company, Leopard Communications, that we grew to over 100 employees and up to $12M in sales.

I have taken that experience and created my own company called FlashPoint! My passion is helping business owners ‘stay ahead of their growth curve’. I work with CEOs of companies with fewer than 500 employees and help them understand how to manage growth effectively and efficiently. I use a model called the 7 Stages of Growth that was developed by another business partner of mine, James Fischer that I joined forces with when I left Leopard. I helped James publish his book “Navigating the Growth Curve” and we worked with hundreds of CEOs to bring the growth curve model to their businesses.

Today, as a Speaker, Trainer and Business Growth Specialist, I love helping business owners predict how growth will impact them, stay focused on the right things at the right time, and adapt their leadership skills to what the company needs at any given stage of growth. If interested here is a link to my website http://www.igniteyourbiz.com.

Dave and I live in Westminster, CO with our two dogs Classy and Dixie. We lived for 8 years east of Berthoud, CO on 35 acres and three years ago moved back into town. Today Dave works for CH2M Hill and is the mechanical engineer on the water treatment plant that is being built in Santa Fe, NM. I travel back and forth between Westminster and Santa Fe. Dave’s son Jason and wife Crystal have two children, Hagen and Abigail (see attached photo) and live in Newton, KS.

Grandson Hagen, 6 years old, raises chickens, horses, cats and dogs on their 40 acres and is becoming quite the farmer. (see proud Grandpa with Abi) Dave and I love playing golf and riding our Harley’s. He has a Road King and I have a Softtail Deluxe (it’s my 12^th motorcycle!). Our third bike is a Can Am Spyder, a 3 wheel roadster that will allow me to continue to ride when I’m 85 years old! My brother, Kevin and wife Mary, still live in Ft. Collins.

My sister Chris and her husband, Mike recently moved from California to Durango after 20 years. Their daughter, Heather and husband, Danny recently bought a Closet Plus business in Durango, promoting everyone to move away from CA and back to CO. I’m delighted we are all in the same state again after so many years. We get together as often as possible. (see attached photo with the 3 Ts) Family and a great group of friends are an important part of Dave’s and my life.

I look forward to seeing our class get together for our 45^th Reunion. Stay in touch and if you know of other classmates, send them to this blog so they can let us know where they are.

Laurie Taylor

Gail (Burton) Purath--a Nomadic Lifestyle

If you could sum up my life in one word, it might be “nomadic.” I lived in twenty-one locations in six states before my family moved to Ft. Collins in 1964. But my itinerant lifestyle didn’t end there—my husband made sure of that…

I met my husband and best friend, Michael Purath (a '68 Poudre grad) when I was 16 and we both were working at Kings Food Host. We were married in 1970, and in 1972 he took a semester off from college and was drafted! Thus began his military career and my continuing nomadic lifestyle.

For the next 22 years we picked up and laid down roots over twenty times (in nine states and Germany), averaging a different home every 20 months. Our son Kipp was born at Ft. Sill, OK in 1973 and our daughter Nicole was born two years later at Ft. Knox, KY.

In 1974, I realized that something important was missing in my life. As I searched for answers, I was overwhelmed by the love of Christ. I know that "Bible-believing Christian" means different things to different people, and I’m shocked by some of the negative things done in that name. But I guess it still is the best way to describe me because I know I don't have all the answers but I believe the Bible does.

After 22 years in the Army, Michael retired as a LTC, but our transient lifestyle still didn't end. Since that time we’ve done short term mission trips to Turkey, Bulgaria, the Bahamas and Peru, worked for a couple of years at a church in Ft. Collins, and earned our masters degrees from a seminary in SC. It was fun to go to school after the age of 50. We lived part of the time in a single-wide mobile home near campus, and I mentored young college and seminary women which was really a great experience.

In 2005, we moved to Budapest, Hungary where we did Christian work until June 2009 when we returned to the States (10 days before the 40 year reunion). We aren’t sure if we’ll be going back to Hungary in the future (we already miss it), but we feel like we are supposed to be in the States for awhile.

Our son Kipp is married, has two little boys and is a pastor in VA. Our daughter Nicole is the wife of a mechanical engineer and the mother of three little girls and a little boy. Her family lives 5 minutes from our present location in NC.

My favorite things include doing just about anything with my husband, hanging out with our grandchildren (ages 7, 5, 3, 2 months, 10 months), refinishing old trunks, writing, studying the Bible, shopping for bargains, eating out, and doing things with women friends. I've written and developed curriculum for ministry purposes for many years, and I maintain several blogs, one for our church, a couple of travel blogs, and a family blog. 

I love to travel and I am especially intrigued by Eastern Europe. It was so interesting to connect with Branka at the reunion and find out she comes from one of my favorite countries to visit--Croatia.

Well, that’s my story in a nutshell. Now please send in your bio, so I can hear your story!

This post updated 4-2010

Branka (Yevjevich) McLaughlin--from Publishing to Chinese Medicine!

The 40^th Fort Collins High School reunion was an interesting experience. I just assumed, (in error) that our generation was never supposed to get older than say, 30ish, even that seemed old at sixteen. I regret not having made an effort in high school to get to know more of my classmates – at the reunion, some of the people I talked to felt the same. In order not to have future regrets, here goes.

For me, coming from a foreign country accompanied with the baggage of a different culture, high school was tough. At home, my family spoke Serbo-Croatian and as with every teen, being different wasn’t exactly a desirable trait. I still keep up with my native language, e-mailing or talking to my cousins in Croatia on a regular basis. I managed to graduate without too much trauma and went on to college where I met my future husband, Neil McLaughlin. We share the same sense of humor, which has helped us conquer 35 years of marriage and raise two kids. Having two children has been a blessing and certainly a humbling experience -- there’s nothing quite like children to make a person feel inadequate.

Our son, Kevan, is 26; and our daughter, Katie, is now 17 (the picture is of the four of us at Kevan’s wedding, Oct 2008). Kevan is a tax law attorney, married and living in the San Diego area. As Katie plans to study genetic research/engineering, we still have a ways to go. . .

Over the last 30 years I have worked in the technical publishing business. Now that Katie is a senior in high school, I decided to make a career leap. Years ago I became a vegetarian, approaching the issue of health through more holistic methods. According to my family, I woke up one morning and decided to study Chinese medicine. THAT is not true, the idea had been occupying my mind for years. With the aches and pains that come with getting older, including the problems of an aging parent, it became more of a motivator. We live on a small ‘ranchette’ south of Denver. So commuting to Boulder 2-3 times a week to work and learn the ups and downs of Chinese medicine at a Chinese clinic has been an indescribable experience. As I work on patients, I don’t have the guts to tell anyone my ghastly fear of needles and ‘are they crazy for letting me work on them’. My teacher thinks I have potential as he thinks everyone has potential, so I plug away.

Besides going to all our daughter’s athletic/school events, my husband and I ride our horses in long distances races. Over the years my mare and I have traveled to different endurance races in different states. Some of my friends are really hardcore athletes, forcing me to be much less whiny when faced with being tired, hungry, wet, cold, hot, sore, hurt, irritated, etc. For a couch potato this is a real accomplishment – sometimes we do well and sometimes not so much, or worse. I am aiming for a 5-day ride in October at the Grand Canyon. This is certainly optimistic on my part as keeping 3 horses in condition is always a challenge.

Now days my husband and I are trying to simplify our lives, wanting and needing less, translated into purging our accumulation of stuff. There you have it, my sense of humor prevails, I am amused, bemused, and intrigued by everyone and everything, and still a work in progress.

1968 Fort Collins High School Cross Country Schedule and Team members

Click to enlarge.

Janan (Wickersham) Lockman--from teaching to running her own business, mother of two

After I graduated from FCHS in 1969. I attended college at UNC in Greeley. I received a teaching degree in Special Education and Preschool in 1973.

In March of 1973 I married a fellow classmate, Dale Lockman. We were married for 30 years before we were divorced.

During the time we were married. We had two daughters. The oldest one is Amy. She graduated from FCHS, also. She got a bachelors degree from Regis in business administration. She currently works as head of the commercial loan division of a Home State Bank in Loveland. Our other daughter is Joy. She graduated from Poudre. She is a CNA. She has been working at Poudre Valley Hospital as a Ward Clerk/CNA for over

5 years. Both of our daughters are married. However, neither one of them want to have children. So, I guess we will never have the pleasure of spoiling grandchildren.

Dale started to work for his family business as soon as we graduated. He continues to work for L & L Accoustical 40 years later. He hopes to retire in the next couple of years and enjoy traveling and working on one of many hobbies he pursues.

After I graduated from UNC I taught in a preschool for 1 year. Then I started a day care and did that for 7 years until our youngest was in 1st grade. I then started to work in a physicians office. I have continued to work in the medical field for the past 27 years.

Eight years ago I started my own billing business for therapists. Four of the eight years I worked in a physicians office part time and at home part time. The first two and a half years I did my business full time from home. The last year and a half I work only out of my home. I now have 18 therapists I do billing for. It keeps me really busy.

I have also, had the pleasure of working on the Class reunion committee for the last two reunions. I has been fun to get to know classmates again.

CLASSMATE BIOGRAPHIES NEEDED

Please send in your biographies! This blog will be interesting only if you all participate. The most interesting aspect of the blog is hearing your stories! Feel free to make them as simple as you'd like--you can write them out or simply make them bullet points. I'll scan in your senior photo from the year book, but send in some recent photos of yourself (and your family) as well! I'm interested in hearing from classmates who couldn't attend the reunion as well as those who did.
Thanks, Gail

1966-67 Lambkin Pathfinder

I've been scanning personal items lately and came across this 66-67 Lambkin Pathfinder from our sophomore year. I found some of the pages especially interesting. Click on the individual pages to enlarge for easy reading.

School Flag and Song.

Lambkin Code of Conduct.

Note the price of Lunch!

Notice the Social Etiquette for a dance.

I recently heard that FCHS made it's way on one of David Letterman's Top Ten Lists. It was a list for the strangest school mascots!