Downers Grove Links

Several websites contain up-to-date info about what's going on in Downers. Thought the following might be of interest to you:

http://downersgrove.patch.com
www.downers.us
www.mysuburbanlife.com

I'm sure there are more; if you're aware of any, please send the web addresses, so we can update this post. Thank You!

Frank Fusco's Son a True Razorback

Evan Fusco Learned to Appreciate the 'Wider World' at the University of Arkansas ....

While many children dream of becoming astronauts and president of the United States, Evan Fusco knew from age 10 that he wanted to practice medicine and become a doctor. Now, working as an emergency room physician at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, MO, Fusco, who is a life member of the Arkansas Alumni Association, reflects on his time at the University of Arkansas and appreciates the experiences and people who helped guide him at the beginning of his medical journey.

When it came time to graduate from Mountain Home High School, he knew many friends who were planning to attend the University of Arkansas. While college can be costly, Fusco knew he could receive in-state tuition if he, too, attended school in Fayetteville.

Enrolling in August 1985, he enjoyed the big college campus and the variety of options that were made available to students. Knowing that the university had a reputation for great academics, he enrolled in the honors program and pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in natural sciences, saying, “I wanted to have a broad science background.”

While studying wasn’t always his favorite aspect of college, he did enjoy his classes and was provided the opportunity to conduct hands-on lab research within the honors program. “I met some really interesting faculty members through the program,” he remembered. One staff member who left an impression on Fusco was former university president, Ray Thornton. “He participated in some of my honors classes, had an open office and I grew to respect him in his role,” he said.

In the four years he spent on campus, he not only learned what was important inside the classroom, but outside the classroom as well. A member of Phi Kappa Tau, Alpha Chi Sigma and a resident assistant his freshman year on the chemical engineering floor of his residence hall, Fusco became exposed to a diverse group of people. Growing up, his exposure to diverse groups of people was almost non-existent; however, once he arrived at the university, all of that changed.

“The University of Arkansas allowed me to appreciate the wider world,” he said. Being a student on campus allowed him to gain exposure to various groups of diverse people, saying, “It really stirred an interest in me and I matured because of that exposure.”

Since graduating in 1989, Fusco went on to attend medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock; enlisted and obtained the rank of major in the U.S. Army National Guard where he gained “hands-on medical experience” in the nine years he was in the service; graduated from his residency in emergency medicine at Louisiana State University Medical School in New Orleans; and has gone to work in various hospitals throughout the world as an emergency medicine physician.

Since 2000, Fusco has maintained a residence in Nixa, MO, and works at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in Springfield. Between August 2010 and February 2011, he and his family traveled to New Zealand and Australia, where he worked as an emergency medicine consultant. Spending time in Alaska, New Zealand and Australia, Fusco has learned to appreciate a country’s culture and its people. On a trip to Spain with his wife, Tamara, he was amazed at the idea of a siesta, saying how unique it was that business owners take a few hours out of the afternoon, each day, to step away from the routine of work and make time for themselves.

Through all of his travels, whether they are for business or leisure, Fusco has always found a way to bring the university with him by calling the Hogs. “I’ve called the Hogs all over the world,” he said. He has made his pride known vocally in Munich, Sydney, Turkey, Hong Kong, Florence and South America, even calling the Hogs in front of the famous “Il Porcellino” statue in some cities.

Twenty-two years since graduating from the university, Fusco continues to show his support through his membership with the Arkansas Alumni Association. “I will be a graduate of the University of Arkansas all of my life. By being a member, I want to remain involved and connected. It’s the responsible thing to do,” he said. Although his career makes for difficult hours at times, he hopes to become more involved with the Springfield Alumni Chapter by attending watch parties and volunteering for events that would allow for his wife and children to get involved.

“As a graduate, you want to see things continue to grow and advance. You want to have opportunities that let people contribute…If you feel that personal connection, give back and stay connected to your university.”

Larry Christy has Passed Away

John Spencer received this e-mail from Dan Moravec, and he, in turn, forwarded it on to me. While we thank Dan for the info, it's getting harder and harder to reprint these notices about our classmates. Our deepest sympathy, of course, goes out to Larry's family and his friends.

"Hey John,
Can you pass this message on to who ever writes the obits for the class of 57.
Larry Christy passed away Oct. 29,2011 from liver cancer. He battled it for about 5 months. He had a wife Annette, and he had 3 children,Mark,Jeffery and Kelly.
He lived in Easley SC. for 28 years about 10 miles from Pat and I.He was 72 years old.

Thanks John,

Dan Moravec
116 Hampton Rd. Liberty,SC.
email sandnguy@aol.com

We had a lot of great times together and I'll really miss him,We seen each other almost everyday."

We've Lost Connie Seda Conklin

I just received the following e-mail from Bill Conklin -- what a sad notification.

"Hi Judy - Just wanted to let you know that Connie passed away on 9/1/11 after a long illness. She had cancer and emphysema, and finally suffered a stroke that proved to be fatal.

Services were private.

Bill Conklin"

The following picture was submitted by Lynne Rutherford Ramsey as a blog tribute to Connie.


I'm sure Bill would like to hear from anyone who wishes to send condolences to Connie's family. If you need his address, just holler.

Hurricane Irene a Problem for Jim and Gwyne VanSlyke

I received the following e-mail from Jim VanSlyke this evening:

"After 4 days in our cabin up in the Piedmont, we received a call that power had been restored after being out just 48 hours. That is much quicker than usual. Usually, it takes 7-10 days. I think power was restored so quickly because our neighborhood was one big safety hazard. Cars couldn't get out and walking was dangerous. Anyway, we packed up, left the cabin and drove home last night. The house seems fine while the yard is a bit of a disaster. Because power was out 48 hours, Gwyne will be spending the day cleaning out fridge and freezer while I "play" in the yard. It will be interesting to see what the tidal surge left in the yard. All in all, not so bad. Take care."

I should mention Jim and Gwyne live in Virginia Beach and were in Dallas visiting their daughter when the earthquake hit the east coast; they arrived back home just in time to welcome Irene.

Any of the rest of you 57ers have any storm reports you'd like to share with the rest of us?

We Shall Have Weather, Whether ot Not

As I sit in my air-conditioned house with outside temps once again approaching 100' with humidity to match, I feel the need to comment on the weather we've all experienced so far this year. Since last fall, we've experienced one of the hardest winters we've had in many years. Good grief --- it's July 4th week-end, and folks are still skiing at Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes in the Sierra on the remaining snow from the hundreds of inches that fell. Ray Vybiral and Jeanne Edwards sent me pics of their late winter Wisconsin snows --- in May! And just this week, Jeanne sent pics and a newspaper article about the tornados in her "neighborhood". The rivers in the upper midwest are flooding due to the late season snow-melt in Montana and Wyoming --- and Canada. The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers have already caused unimaginable flood damage --- and the Missouri is now on its way to the Mississippi with even more flood waters.

The weather extremes have been mind-boggling:
Missouri has been hit with a record number of big tornados, hitting this state from west (Joplin) to east (St Louis) with destruction in many cities and towns in between. This picture of what was Joplin was submitted by Margi Bassnett Burtin, who passed thru Joplin on her way to Texas. Here in the SW corner of the Show-Me state, we've escaped the really severe weather, but we did have 27 inches of rain in less than a month, which brought Table Rock Lake to new flood levels twice in that month, and, as a result, caused severe flood damage in the entire White River basin. 3 years ago, we were told the lake experienced "the 100-year flood" --- well, guess what? This year, we had 2 more 100-year floods, both of which surpassed that of 3 years ago; and now it's a heat wave and drought.
Texas is experiencing a devastating drought thruout the state as are other areas of the south; fires in New Mexico and Arizona are destroying hundreds of thousands of acres and thousands of homes and businesses. The severe storms in the Chicago area this past week are, once again, unheard of, yet happening. The extreme heat in much of the country is causing power outages and threatening the lives of the elderly and poor, many of whom have no a/c or even fans.

I could probably go on and on, but I need to get off my soapbox. I can't imagine anyone saying, after all these terrible weather phenomena, that climate change doesn't exist.

Downers Hit by Tornado

In all my years, I don't think I can ever remember DG being hit by a tornado. I remember my mom and dad speaking of a twister going right up Main Street when they were very young, but never in my lifetime have I ever heard of this ---- until now. I received the following from Norma Deardorff Plummer on June 28:

"To you former Downers Grove residents out there -- I don't know if you are aware that a tornado went through Downers Grove last Tuesday night. We didn't have any problems on our property but there were trees down all over town. DG South HS took a big hit. John and I weren't even aware there was a big storm coming until my daughter Beth called from Oak Park as their tornado sirens had gone off. Ours never did because the tornado hadn't been recognized. Downers and Mt. Prospect were the hardest hit. Check out information on line if you're interested in further details. The town will be weeks removing all the downed trees. No human casualties have been reported."

Norma followed up with another e-mail:

"Further to my earlier email, this website gives you some interesting information. We don't live in the path (being a north sider) but still, a little too close for comfort and two of our neighbors lost big trees. One fell on the power lines but, for some reason the lines didn't come down and we were only without electricity for a few seconds. Others on the south side (including classmate Alanna Aselin Lauchle) were without power for almost two days. Thankfully the temperature has remained in the 70s."

If you're interested in visiting the website Norma mentioned above, which shows the path of this EF-1 twister, click on the title of this post.