Walt Whitman
High School
Class of 1969
Leland Gamson
| I Reside: | Marion, IN USA |
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| Spouse/Partner: | Bonnie |
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| My Homepage: |
www.lelandpgamson.com lelandpgamson@gmail.com |
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| My Children: | Among our canine children, only Apricot, age 19, is alive. The others have joined, "the animals in Heaven More… |
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| Occupation(s): | Retired VA Social Worker, currently writing and involved in Methodist ministry |
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| Military Service: | USAR for 23 years,Indiana Guard Reserve for nine  |
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Leland's Latest Interactions
Howie's fondness for people was always apparent. I visited his fur store once, to catch up with him. He was the same likeable jolly guy, he was in school. He didn't mind that I had no interest in animal furs. You will be missed Howie, rest in peace.
Leland Gamson
Thank you so much, Sharon, for sharing this article about our fellow class mate, John. "There is no greater love than this, that one should lay down his for his friends".
Leland Gamson
In third grade Tom moved to Bannockburn, and we became close friends. We would compete, in his house, to see who could build the highest wood block tower, before it came tumbling down. When our world expanded, we biked to Glen Echo shopping center. We enjoyed finding bottles, to cash in at High's (now a Seven Eleven). We rarely failed to find enough glass bottles to exchange for ice cream cones. At two scoops for a nickel, our expeditions were self funded. If we found larger bottles, we would buy Superman comics for a dime. By the time the comics went for 15 cents, we outgrew them. That didn't stop us from checking out the Chris Reeve's Superman movies, together in our early adulthood. Yes, we agreed that Christopher Reeve's, got the "real Superman" character, right. After all, we were experts on Superman.
As we progressed through elementary school, we were exposed to a broader world. I have fresh memories of Tom taking a keen interest in the Greeks, Romans, Vikings and the Mercury space flights. I still remember argueing with him, about who contributes more to space flight, the astronauts or rocket engineers. We would frequently spend the night at each other's house. We both got along well with each other's siblings. Tom saw the Twilight Zone, for the first time at the Gamson house. He agreed that it was more than just a modern "scarry show", as it had a Spiritual theme.
At twelve, I got a poodle puppy, Flip. He followed us on our romps through Bannockburn. Now, we were three, and Tom and I would take turns "speaking" for Flip. We agreed Flip was the cutest dog on the planet. At Whitman, we were both active participants in the John Peter Altgeld Society. We listened to, and asked questions of, a wide variety of speakers. We grappled with concepts, such as World Federalism, gender roles, the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, the threat of totalitarianism, and the purpose of higher education. In 1964 and 1966, we voluntered in the campaigns of Royce Hanson and Spellman for Congress. The latter was an early "peace" candidate.
Both of us went to college in the Midwest, to experience a different region of the US. Tom went to Grinnel in Iowa, majoring in math. He taught math for a year, in a private high school. This surprised me, because he was an introvert. When he discovered that most his students did not share his enthuaism for math, he became an actuary. For a few years, he lived in Bannockburn, and communited by bike, to his office at the OPM. After I left the the D.C. area, I would meet him for lunch, when back in town. We solved the world's problems, as we did, when members of the John Peter Altgeld Society. When in early middle age, I took my wife, Bonnie, to see Tom's boyhood home and meet his mother. Tom lived in an apartment on Capitol Hill for years and years. It was there that he died. He never told me about his cancer.
Randy Alcorn, wrote a book simply entitled, "Heaven". He says that there are extroverts, who will spend eternity, in the inner court of Elohim's Celestial Kingdom. They will thrive in a place with bright colors and music, enjoying the company of multitudes. Others, who are by nature introverts, will be at home in the most outer parts of Heaven. There, their home is one of blissfull solitude. They are content with the company of just a few. Tom is among the latter. Tom, give my regards to your mother, father and, our forever cute, dog pal, Flip.
Leland Gamson
Ellen and I went through Bannockburn Elementary School, Pyle and Whitman together. She was inner directedand many things in our cosmos delighted her merry, creative soul. It was always a joy to reconnect with Ellen at reunions as it interconnected the past with the present.
Barbara was a jolly soul who always greeted each of her friends as if we were special. Even in high school, she came across, to me at least, more as an adult than as an adolescent.
Barbara was a jolly soul who always greeted each of her friends as if we were special. She always came across, to me at least, as more of an adult, than as an adolescent.
Dean,
You don't have to be a rocket scientist
To know we're glad your off our missing list.
Among my fondest memories of our high school days are Chris's Saturday night parties at her home. Under the supervision of her late mother, the parties were both wholesome and fun. Once i asked her if I could bring my older brother with me as he was home on break from Beloit College. She said that was a good idea as "it will make the party more sophisticated". I will always remember Chris as being comfortable with herself and with others. I look foreward to a great Viking renunion party in the World To Come.
Message from class mascot Whitman, Walt (see SAGA and 1989 up date if you forgot who I am). Being 216 dog years old, I have decided to give up independent living and move in with class mate Leland P. Gamson. I chose him as he already has a poodle pack. We announce that he has written five children's books with Sojourn Publishing, and now available on Amazon. They are: "Why Can't Dogs Talk", "If Your Dog Were A Human", "Lokael: The Donkey Who Carried Jesus", "Samson At the Olympics", and "Where Is Grandpa?". More books are in the works.
