Thursday, April 30, 2015

371Buffs+




In his recent comment, Scott Clayton rightfully observed that "we need to take some 'baby steps' and do some mini-reunions." Well, it seems that an impromptu opportunity has popped up!

On Sunday evening, May 3,  7:30, at Gold Bar Espresso, 3141 S McClintock Dr, Tempe, AZ (480) 839-3082, three (3) of our esteemed classmates will be jammin' on some jazz tunes!  Sal Cafiero and Rusty Falk perform together regularly, as part of the band, "Jazzola," and they've persuaded Jeff Cole to make the trip from Tucson to join them for this very special performance. Folks, that's what I'd call a critical mass!

I hope lots of other 71 buffs can take this in. I know of a few who have already declared their intent!
Enjoy!!!


http://goldbarespresso.org/live-music


UPDATE!  Photos from the performance and evening:
Jeff Cole on keyboard

Sal Cafiero on drums


Rusty Falk on vibes


The most 71 Buffs in one place in some time! From back, left, Rusty Falk, Tom Ditsworth, Stephen Cole (leaning over), Tom Hascall Cole, Mike Hudnall, Sal Cafiero, Don Hull and Jeff Cole.

WAIT, There's more!
Word has it that there will be another performance this coming Sunday, May 10, same time and same place!  What class and what a Class!

ANOTHER UPDATE:

 A nicely produced video file made by our own Duane Ernst, of the Jazzola performance on May 10, 2015:

From The Class of 1971 here is Sal Cafiero, Jeff Cole, Rusty Falk and more..... "Jazzola"

Outstanding!  We'll have to watch for announcements of future performances!
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015

So How?

So, we've addressed "why." Next question: "How?"


How can we bring about real interaction among our members? How can we overcome the inertia of fallow or even non-existent relationships? How many ways can this same question be posed without saying it the same way twice?


All right, all right. No, I don't think step-by-step prescriptive approach is best for this.




In fact, it seems that we're having some success in achieving the goals of "why" already, through a sort of, kind of trial and error, playing with today's social media tools. The Facebook group has continued to grow, although more slowly, with 58 members currently showing. We've reached some non-Facebook folks with this blog, and by encouraging them to spread the word to the people they know. Some people have been more active than others, but, the interaction on line has been pretty good!  Some of the group has undertaken to find some of their old friends using other social sites, and even by networking otherwise (even using such ancient methods as the telephone and ...yes, by pen and paper).  It's building!

If we can leverage this into more folks participating in  the conversation, I believe we might start formulating a plan for getting together in real time and space...the final frontier.


I propose that we try to keep the conversations alive and try to add participants any way we can. Subscribe to this blog through your e-mail address!  Subscribe for a friend! Join the Facebook group, or at least check the page once in a while:

https://www.facebook.com/THSclassof1971

If you have a Facebook account, please join our group.  It's fun, and as a long-time, stalwart denigrator of Facebook, it pains me to say so.

Another suggestion is to "follow" this blog by entering your e-mail address at the upper right of the post, where it says to. Of course, there are hundreds of cybercriminals who are salivating and rubbing their hands together feverishly as they wait for you to do so.  Believe me, nobody gets more irritated than I do about junk emails. If I learn that this blog is bringing any about, it will be promptly discontinued.

It would be nice is someone besides Laurel would offer a published comment, too. I'm not complaining; just sayin'.

When our expansion of membership looks as though it's really slowing, then we should think about the next next step. To those who may be thinking ahead: please share your thoughts!

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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The Passing of Much-Beloved Gus Knoche

  • Gus Knoche was someone who touched most of us in the THS Class of 1971 in some way. He taught algebra and geometry, and was a sports statistician, among many other things. He made things fun. We'll miss him.

  • His obituary can be found at:

  • August Knoche Obituary

His longstanding contributions in teaching, performing statistical data accumulation and analysis for sports, and playing tenor sax in the Mesa City Band were indicative of his dedication to things he loved, and exemplify the oft-noted intertwining of music and mathematics in people's souls. 

Our condolences to those who were close to him.




  • Gary Burger I will never forget that the signals in baseball games were given by Knoche - not Coach Younger. Back of his clipboard for bunt, the scorecard “sheet” for steal. I don’t think any opposing team ever picked up on it. We were not a bunch of super smart guys, so this simplicity was necessary. The number of hours Knoche put in at games to keep the stats have to number in the thousands. Thank you, Gus.

    Sent from Windows Mail
    7 hrs · Like · 1
  • Phil Lundberg Thanks, Pat
    7 hrs · Like
  • Patrick Fleming Thanks for recalling that, Gary! And thanks, Gus.
    7 hrs · Like
  • Elaine Burgoyne LeVan Thank you Pat for finding the obituary.
    4 hrs · Like
  • Donald Hull Thanks for this Pat. I had gus for junior yr alg 3 and 4. if u struggled with it hed sure help ya thru it, great Man!


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