Our May Newsletter item on the life and good works of classmate Sara Daniels Lambing prompted Elaine Nimon Cooper to dig out some old photos of Sara to share with us. We’ve posted the photos on our class website, www.woodwardclassof61.com, for all to see, and – ta-da! –to take The Great Woodward Class of 61 Photo Challenge. Complete details are on the home page, but here’s the scoop: We want to see how many of our classmates you can identify in the photo of Mr. Landwear’s 5th grade class at Bond Hill Elementary. Take the challenge now!

But let’s not stop there. If you have an elementary school photo with Woodward Class of 61 classmates in it, please share a scanned copy with us for another round of The Great Woodward Class of 61 Photo Challenge. And good luck!

Some sad news to share: Two of our classmates died recently – John Hulick on July 10 and Dennis Klepper on May 15. Find out more on our class Deaths page on the website.

From satellites to sailing. Larry Cunningham responded to our call for photos and personal updates, and, you know, it seems like some things never change. Here’s a picture of Larry from page 70 of the 1960 Woodward Treasures, with a caption reading, “Larry Cunningham works on a model satellite.” Science Club. 

Fast forward to June 2008, when we received this photo from Larry, still working on things:

Larry wrote: “I am the historian for TASI; we are building a large outrigger sailing canoe from the Mariana Islands. This is the largest one built in over 200 years.”

Now that’s intriguing. So I asked Larry, who lives in Guam, for some additional details, as well as an update. Here’s what he had to say: “I've lived in Guam for 40 years.  I came to Guam in 1968 as a contract teacher, taught 25 years in public secondary school here and retired in 1993. I have been at the University of Guam since 1994 but only the last two years have I been full time. I teach Guam History and Traditional Micronesian Seafaring. TASI means Sea in the local language (Chamorro).  TASI (Traditions About Seafaring Islands) is a non-profit group that promotes traditional navigation and seafaring.”

Larry holds an EdD and, officially, is a research associate at the Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center, and Assistant Professor of History, University of Guam, and faculty advisor for the Traditional Seafaring Society. He’s authored or co-authored a number of books and has received numerous awards, including the Governor’s Literary Arts Award, Ancient Order of the Chamorri, Who's Who Among America's Teachers and other recognition.

As for family, Larry said he married his high school sweetheart, Cheryl Faith Napier, a Wyoming High School grad, in 1964. “We have one daughter (a teacher) and one two-year-old grandchild, Alana. My main outside interest is the seafaring.”

Larry extends this invitation: “If you’re coming through Guam, let me know. Larry Elliott from the class of 1961 has visited me twice.”

I’d say Larry has earned a big bulldog bark of  “Well, done!”

That’s all for now, campers. Remember to share your photos and updates!

Yours in the piney Northwest,
Bill Curry
Mercer Island WA