Welcome
to Christendom's Alumni E-Zine. If you have information that
you would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to
the Grapevine Editor, Tom McFadden, at tmcfaddenjr@yahoo.com
The
Grapevine Online is uploaded on the First Friday of every
month. It will have a couple of sections (when information
is available), namely, Class Notes (your basic information
on alumni babies, weddings, jobs, etc.), Calendar of Events,
and Links to various recent stories about Christendom
College and/or the Alumni of Christendom.
October
7, 2005 edition of The
Grapevine Online
Happy
Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary!
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Links
to Stories / Prior
issues
Class
notes
Shalon
Spring '99 and Mark Riddle '05 were married on August
6, 2005 at St. Mary's church in Nada, TX. They are living
in Front Royal.
Dan Miller (80's) has good news and bad news. The bad
news is that ticket sales are slow for the Huge Cash Raffle
to benefit Holy Cross Academy. But that's good because when
you purchase your ticket, you will have even better odds of
winning thousands of dollars. But winning could be bad, because
you may be tempted to squander all the cash on yourself. But
it could be good, since you will probably donate some of your
winnings to Christendom, send some to Katrina relief (the
hurricane, not the Fedoryka), buy a few gallons of gas - oops,
it's all spent. Just be sure to save $100 for next year's
ticket. (www.holycrossacademy.com
$100/ticket, $15,000 in prizes, 300 tickets max, drawing Oct.
21.) Holy Cross was once again selected by the Catholic High
School Honor Roll (http://www.chshonor.org/)
as one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country.
Our boys defending champion soccer team continues its winning
season, playing on our newly completed soccer field. Remember,
your support of HCA supports the Christendom family - the
school was founded by an alumnus and its mission inspired
by Christendom; a concrete example of "Restoring All
Things in Christ." We know its Kateryna (Fedoryka)
Cuddeback ('89), not Katrina. Just play along.
John
and Leah (Slinger) Halisky are proud to announce the birth
of their baby girl. She was born July 16th at 11:54 am and
weighed 7lbs 2oz..Her name is Amelie Marie. Godparents were
Kipp Slocum '04 and Suzanne Slinger. I would like to
add that she has bulging muscles like her Dad.
Bunny
Martell '04 checks in from Kansas: "Things in Oz
are going very well. I'm teaching 5th and 6th grade full time
and liking it a lot. The school, St. John Vianney Prep School,
is run by the FSSP, contains grades K-12, has about 50 students,
and will probably be needing a new teacher or two next year
(let me know if you're interested and I'll put you in contact
with one of the priests here: bunaboo@hotmail.com).
It is located in Maple Hill, KS, out in the middle of almost
nowhere. Topeka is about 15 minutes away, not that that's
anything to get excited about. But Kansas City is about an
hour and 15 minutes away, and that CAN be exciting.
My hometown, the home of the Jayhawks, Lawrence, KS, is about
45 minutes away (in between Topeka and KC) While I'm drowning
in paperwork (grading), I also have a lot of blessings, such
as living rent-free with a wonderful family in St. Mary's,
about a 15-minute drive from the school, and I go home every
weekend to see my friends, family, and party of the first
part (that would be "boyfriend" for those of you
who for some reason haven't seen "The Quiet Man").
While I don't have any ruby slippers, and Maple Hill is no
Front Royal (thank goodness, hehehe), I'm enjoying my life
here with Toto and the scarecrows (all the witches are banished
from this area). By the way, I still do calligraphy, for those
of you who will be getting married and need someone to address
wedding invites for a good price!"
Mark
and Catherin (McCoy) Raes are pleased to announce the
birth of their daughter Georgia Marguerite. Olivia was thrilled
to finally recieve (after two little brothers) a little sister
on June 13th, 2005. Here are Olivia and Georgia. James and
Matthias didn't want to co-operate for the photo-shoot ; )
Jimmy
"Bald is Beautiful" Blakenship '05 has been
busy since graduation. After graduation in May, he began classes
at the University of Virginia studying French. He took part
in the Summer Language Institute which means that he spent
7 1/2 hours a day in class and went through 4 semesters in
9 weeks. After finishing with UVA he began to pursue the noble
art of carpentry with David Hambleton. His latest news
is that he was accepted into the Institute of Christ the King
(same order as Abbe Michael Stein and David Wallace)
and will be entering to follow God's holy call on October
29th.
Alumni
Ben & Theresa (Ford) Fisher and their son Nicholas
welcomed a new baby boy into their family circle on August
23rd. Zachary Karol Benjamin Fisher arrived at 11:54am, weighing
in at 8lbs even. While his parents are as proud as can be,
Zachary received mixed reviews from his big brother. Nicholas
generally ignores him unless 1) Mommy is holding Zachary or
2) Zachary is anywhere near a favorite plush dinosaur.
Justin
Stover '05 would like everyone to know that he is now
at Harvard, working on a PhD in Classics and attempting to
be a generally subversive element. And, lastly, but of course,
not leastly, he would like to announce that he is engaged
to Nikki Wolff, and will be married on 17 June, 2006.
John
Paul Schafer '03 and Katie Almeter '02 were married this
past June 25th in GA and spent their honeymoon in Rome, where
they had the privilege of meeting the Holy Father! It was
an amazing experience, says Katie. They had obtained Sposi
Novelli tickets and so were seated very close to the Holy
Father, and their side was the only section that he visited
personally (without the popemobile). He greeted John (JP
to you) first. John took his hand and kissed his ring, saying,
"Holy Father, we love you very much and are praying for
you!" --which prompted his Holiness to respond with a
big smile, "Thank you very much, I love you too!"
Katie also spoke with the Pope, and asked him for a favor:
"Holy Father! Please say a special blessing that our
children will become priests and nuns!" --to which he
replied after a good chuckle, "Yes, a special blessing."
They are determined to hold him to it! They'll see what the
future brings! Already, they are expecting their first to
arrive on Easter Sunday (April 16th). Needless to say, theyre
looking
forward to reaping the blessings promised to them!
Bernie
and Carmen (McCoy) Hete have a new daughter, Miriam
Elizabeth (above) born July 15, 2005. Her older sister, Veronica,
is now 2.
Former
queen of Front Royal, Elizabeth Rice '05 is eager to
tell ya'll about what's going on with her: "Hello! Greetings
from the Northern lands. I am up here in St. Paul, MN, absolutely
loving Montessori teacher training and already making plans
for my 'Lil Christendom Montessori School in Front Royal.
The people and information have been both wonderful and inspiring.
I have been blessed with a lovely parish, St. Agnes, whe
re
I've had two Christendomite sightings of John Fier (fellow
'05er) and Gwen Adams ('01). Please keep the prayers coming
as the cold weather cometh.
Capt
John Bowes (97') his wife Gretchen (96') and their two
boys, Dominic and Matthew, are happily back together after
another deployment is support of Operation Iraqi Freedom for
John. We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers as
this time of war is difficult on all military families.
Alexander
Edward Laxton joined his two sisters Olivia (4) and Elizabeth
(2) on September 6th. Ben and Alicia Podlinsek Laxton '01
and family are still in Oklahoma at the Army base Fort Sill,
and everyone is doing just fine. Just three days before Alexander
was born, Ben got some church friends to help us get partially
moved into a house "on post," as the Army has it
(on base, as the Marines have it). The house is a hundred
years old, and built in a more gracious manner than the 1970s
house we were living in out in town. We thank God for His
many blessings to us over the past month, and only wish we
were closer to friends and family who could then enjoy them
with us.
Stephen
and Carolyn Donahue joyfully announce the birth of ZelieLouisa
Mary Donahue (pic on left) on September 12, 2005. She weighed
8 lbs. 5 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. She joins her siblings
Dominick, Bernadette, Theodore, Nathaniel, Augustine, Benedict,
Genevieve, Jacinta, Cornelius, Marcellinus, and Maximilian
at our home south of Dallas. Currently she is in the hospital
for an infection which has required intravenous antibiotics.
Please pray for her speedy recovery.
Ron
and Alex (Doylend) Klassen are happy parents. Sebastian
Timothy Paul Klassen (pictured below) made his grand appearance
into the world (only four days overdue much to the delight
of his parents) on Saturday, 27 August at 12:07 pm. Baby Klassen
weighed in at a chunky 9 lbs. 5 oz. much to the surprise of
his mommy who was expecting an 8 pound peanut. 
Mommy,
Daddy, and Baby Sebastian are all doing great and looking
forward to seeing everyone at Homecoming!!!
At long
last, the Celtic band Scythian (featuring two Fedoryka brothers
– Alex and Daniel) has made it to the hallowed
halls of the Kennedy Center. On Tuesday, November 8 at 6pm
the Lads will be featured on the Millennium Stage. The concert
is free and all ages are welcome. Here’s a chance to
take all your kids to see what two fiddles, a guitar and a
drum kit can do. And in case you didn’t get to hear Scythian
on XM Radio, the Bob Edwards interview is now available at
www.scythianmusic.com.
On
October 3rd, David Wallace, '05, left his new home
in St. Louis, MO, at the St. Francis de Sales Oratory of the
Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest to move to Germany.
His superiors in the Institute have decided to send him to
the candidate house of formation in Bayerisch Gmain, in Bavaria.
His new address will be:
Institut Christus Koenig und Hoherpriester, Konvent Herz Jesu,
Feuerwehrheimstrasse 40, 83457 Bayerisch Gmain, Deutschland.
Please pray for him as he begins down a new path on his vocation
peregrination. (The photo is a view of the Bavarian countryside
as seen from the house.)
On
Sat., Sept. 24, 2005, Laura Williams '05 and James
Ross were joined in holy matrimony at beautiful Old St. Mary's
in DC. Alumni Kateri Schmidt '05, Mollie Tschida '05 and
Adrienne Allesandro '05, as well as other important people
were in the wedding.
Justin
Smith and Molly (Becker) became Mr. and Mrs. Smith on
July 23rd in Sioux Falls, SD. Although they were married on
the hottest day of South Dakota's summer (read 105 degrees)
in the gorgeous, yet unairconditioned Cathedral, there was
nothing that marred their joyous day for them. It was a perfect
day made more beautiful by all of their Christendom friends
who cheerfully traveled out for the wedding, and also by dancing
to the requisite "Constantinople" at Justin's request.
To all those who keep asking: No, we did not have bagpipes,
and yes, we did do the Virginia Reel; twice. To view wedding
photos go to: http://hauschildts.com/beckersmith.html
Alumni
Jason and Christen McCaffrey Manak found out that they
are expecting their first baby, due May 18th.
Sean
and Mary Lou (Foley) Loftus are pleased to announce
the arrival of their first-born: Maureen Elizabeth. She was
born on July 6, 2005, weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz. Daddy says she
is absolutely the most beautiful baby ever! Already she has
such an adorable personality, sleeps through the night, and
gets a big kick out of her crazy Aunt Kate who is the
only one who can make her laugh. The picture of Maureen was
taken at 2 months old.
Elisabeth
(Boever), class of 2000 and Joshua Gideon. Married July
30th, 2005 in Lincoln, NE.
Zach
Akers '05 was seen running through the streets of Scranton,
Pa., a couple of nights back. Apparently, the boyz of St.
Greg's found out that ZAkers was part of a dynasty and that
he is part hillbilly and red-neck. ZAkers denied having any
part of a dynasty but done said that he wuz mighty fond of
pluckin' his banjo and shoutin' out all kind of country and
western songs when possible. The Boyz, under the direction
of Mark Schwerdt '03, planned on chasing him down and
hanging him from the flagpole. It is rumored that the Scranton
police were involved in this little incident. If anyone has
more information, the Grapevine would be interested.
Lesly
Bratt '04 wants everyone to know that everything is fine
with her. She's enjoying working in the Admissions Office
at Christendom and likes to be around her sister, Clare, who
is a freshman. Other than that, she spends her days drinking
kombucha tea and discussing the merits of Emma and
Pride and Prejudice.
Joe
and Rebecca Price O'Herron wanted to brag about how cute
their daughter, Audrey, is. So, here she is.
Alumnus
Greg Settducati (pronounced: Such-a-hottie) won the
"CSR (customer service representative) award" from
the Erie home office for top sales among customer service
reps in the Northern Virginia District.
Meza Twins,
Canice and Amber Massett are recording a new Christmas
CD and will be available very soon. You can look to their
website (which should be ready in the near future) www.ambercandice.com
for more information. The
girls' first CD is going to be comprised of 12 traditional
Christmas songs with harmony done on every song. Based on
their practice sessions, it is going to sound beautiful. They
are being accompanied by a cellist and pianist. The website
will have snippets of songs so one can listen before purchasing
Andy
and Mindy McDonald are pleased to announce the birth of
their third son, Kieran Pius, on September 4. He is pictured
here enjoying himself thoroughly with his two older brothers,
Seth (5) and Dominic (3).
Katy
Jenkins '05 and Adam Hochschild are tired of waiting to
get married: no matter what everyone says, three weeks and
four days (as of this writing) will pass as slowly as the
rest. However, they take consolation in the thought that the
next time the Grapevine comes out, they will be able
to display pictures of their wedding for all to view.
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