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“Eloise” Compton, Wayne's mother, died Dec. 16 of age-related causes at age 84. A celebration of life will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Junction City United Methodist Church. She was born April 11, 1923, in Edmonston, Md., to Francis and Elsie Eaton Costa. She married Ralph Compton on Jan. 3, 1940, in Eugene.

She attended Edmonston High School in Maryland. She was a homemaker.Survivors include four sons, Wayne of Junction City, Lee of Medford, Neil of Eugene and Paul; two daughters, Mary Denny of Eugene and Carol Buzalsky of Puyallup, Wash.; 18 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. Her husband and two sons, Roy and George, died previously. Arrangements by Conger-Morris Funeral Home, Central Point.

Dear Classmates:

Recently I enrolled in a novel writing course. The method is to learn how to write a novel by writing a novel. The first step is to select a genre. I chose "Coming of Age". Nancy has posted a couple of my pieces about growing up in Springfield in the fifties and early sixties. For research purposes I would love to receive stories from my classmates in the same (but not limited to) vein.

If you have a story about any aspect of growing up I would love to hear from you. Don't worry about your writing style. If you can include the general facts of the story that will suffice. Or, if you know how to use your computer as a recorder, send the file to me in mp3 format. If you still use a cassette recorder I will accept tapes too.

Anyone who sends me a story will be given the strictest confidence. If you must use names, please make them up. When I file the story the senders name will be deleted so there will be no connection between the story teller and the story.

The subject matter can be broad. It can include how a teacher had an effect on you and it can include something that happened to you in the few years after graduation.

Here are a couple of examples:

It was Mr. Mortenson, a SHS English teacher, who originally planted the bug in my head that I should try writing. It's taken me a few years and some gentle prodding but I'm getting there.

In my mid twenties I spent one summer hitchhiking around the country, sleeping under picnic tables in rest areas, on benches in parks, under bridges and you name it. I met all kinds of people. I went on a wild ride across northern Nevada with three ex-convicts. One guy pointed a gun at me and threatened to kill me. I have other stories from that adventure. So I would like to hear your stories.

My email address is homeboybill@suddenlink.net

My mailing address is: Bill Edington

                                            117 N. 3^rd Street #603
                                            Muskogee, Ok 74401
   Your Classmate, Bill

Linda writes "I have started working under a wonderful portrait artist. Right now I am just drawing. I laugh because when I come home John always asks me what I did that day. So far, my answer is I drew another ironstone pitcher. I am hopeful he will let me paint in the coming year. Actually, drawing is what I need to concentrate on for a while since I never wanted to take the time to learn that part of art. I just always wanted to slap paint on. I figured it was time to learn some basics. Anyway, you can look up his work if interested at www.HenryWingate.com .

I hope you find a new year filled with wonderful new adventures and projects."

Have you been wondering what Sharon has been doing since coming back from China? I know many of you enjoyed reading her emails during that period of time she spent with the Peace Corps. Sharon lives in Missouri, and recently, She and her husband built a retirement home.

She writes "It's freezing here from the first really good cold spell we've had in several years. I spent 7 hours today working on the landscape plans and order forms for the native MO wildflowers I'll plant in April. I put in 100+ native MO bushes, trees, grasses and vines in October, circled each of them with chicken wire to protect them from rabbits, and Gary helped me lay chip paths through the front yard, which will be all wildflowers, no lawn.

We moved into this house the first of July and I love it - can literally walk everywhere - to the market, the farmers market, the bank, post office, library, YMCA, shops and the Amtrak station. We live in Kirkwood, MO, a suburb established in 1865, one of the first commuter suburbs. The train station is an old Queen Anne style, lovingly maintained for over 100 years, used to take workers and professionals into St. Louis in the 19th century.

Our house is small, two bedrooms and baths upstairs with a small open living-kitchen area and a walk-out basement on a narrow lot with a small front yard and a small, sloping back yard with a few trees and a municipal creek along the eastern boundary. A practical retirement house with energy saving features, but not solar heating. We do have ground source heating and 8" specially insulated walls, so it's draft free and comfortable.

I drove to Seattle with a friend Dec. 16 - 20 who is moving there. Her husband can't make long car trips because of his health and she wanted company. So we had a splendid drive from Missouri thru Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and a corner of Oregon on the way across the Columbia and through the Yakima valley and over Snoqualmie Pass. We were lucky with the weather, between storms and snowpack all the way. I'd never been over Snoqualmie Pass, or on I-84 from Ontario to LeGrande, two of the most beautiful mountain drives in a week of them.

Happy New Year to Everyone"