Updates

Jerry passed away on January 4, 2004, after a valiant six-month battle against a brain tumor. He was 58. Jerry was most recently a special education teacher at Pinole Valley High School. An instructional media major at San Francisco State University, Jerry worked in the audio-visual industry until he turned to teaching in the mid 1990s. He was writing a novel based on his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer teacher in Liberia. After Peace Corps service, Jerry and his wife Ginny continued to travel extensively and had visited countries as diverse as Mexico, England, Ireland, Haiti, Africa and Thailand, as well as many places throughout the U.S. Born in Traverse City, Michigan, Jerry grew up in San Bernardino California and attended high school in Southern California. Published in the Oakland Tribune on 1/9/2004.

Allan

It has been a while since I checked the Group 23 site. I have gone through the individual names, and was saddened to hear that three of my good friends, Greg Kimberlain, Charlie Klutz, and Joe Wiley, are dead. These are people that I had intended to maintain contact with.

I do maintain some contact with Steve and Rick. I hope to have them as my crew when I build my log cabin on Butterfly Lake next summer (2003). I am a lawyer during the workweek, and a homesteader on the weekends.

Pat & Bob continue in the education field in the Erie PA area. After learning at BWI that Home Ec was not her cup of tea, Pat went to Pitt and got a MLS and has been the elementary librarian in Girard School District for the last 27 years. Her school of 900 K-4 students was renovated 2 years ago and she has a new beautiful library with a computer lab attached. She is also the network administrator contact person for her school. She mentions techno stress almost daily. She often wonders if computers are a blessing. Bob was a librarian in the Millcreek for 20 years, mostly in a 6, 7 & 8 middle school. After 5 years as a elementary librarian he was down sized to a 7th grade social studies teacher ( in the school he was the librarian ). He has been enjoying teaching American history from Jamestown Colony to 1900. We enjoy gardening and travel to islands that have snorkeling. Yes, it is time we are beginning to look for some place to retire (to a second career) to a place that is warm or as Pat says, "where the palm trees blow, the bougainvillea blooms and the little fishes swim in the sea."

I've even been back there a few times since. I'm a linguist specializing in African languages.

We were married at that time we entered the Peace Corps and while in Liberia I had my only child. After the training on the Virgin Islands, I went upcountry to Sanniquellie in Nimba Co. to learn Gio and do more teaching while Peter stayed in Monrovia and trained with the law professors. Afterwards we lived in Monrovia and I worked at BW Harris and Cathedral School while Peter taught at U of Liberia. Since then, both Peter and I have continued teaching. I've worked at ELS Language Centers, an intensive English Program, for almost 25 years and Peter has worked at Oklahoma City University Law School. Our Liberian son, is grown, married, and a post-doc at U. of Washington in Seattle. TIME HAS PASSED RAPIDLY FOR US. Who would have believed it would be our 30th anniversary.

It feels funny thinking about the Peace Corps after so many years. Immediately after finishing I kept in contact with a few people for a while - both other RPCV's and some Liberians, but over time I just lost contact with most. I've had some contact within the last couple of years with some of the people whom I met in Liberia, both American and Liberian, but not with anyone within Group 23. Please keep me posted, I would be curious as to what some of the people are up to.

As an aside, my wife and I just took a twenty-fifth anniversary trip to St. Martin in the Caribbean - it's just a stone's throw from St. Croix in the USVI. It did bring back some memories of St. Croix.

Though I've been following your e-mails the last couple of years I've never written in but this is too much of a coincidence to pass up without comment. That there should be PCV's in the next generation from us is not remarkable, but that they'd be in the same country at the same time is stacking up the coincidences. My daughter Susan is now a PCV in Morocco, having arrived in August and sworn in in October. Susan will be at some kind of regional or group in-service soon and she said she'll try to find out where Lori is and eventually contact her. Small world.

Orlene

Orlene called me after she received my letter. Here is a summary of what I remember from what she told me.

During training in St. Croix, Orlene realized she did not want to continue training in Liberia, so she left the program. However, she loved St. Croix, so she stayed there for two years teaching math. Orlene now teaches math at Boston Latin Academy and she also owns a vacation rental in Antigua, which she visits several times a year.

She was interested to learn about our Liberian experiences and find out what friends she had met at training were doing now.

After our training in St. Croix and Mobile, I taught math from 1971 through 1972 at the high school in Greenville, Sinoe County. I have such fond and vivid memories of times with my students and with the other volunteers: learning from each other and enjoying close friendships, walking about town, going to the beach, canoeing on the Sinoe River, riding the Vespa to the air strip to pick up the mail on Saturdays, hikes in the bush, Charlies, ...

Barbara

I was in Buchanan on the coast as a volunteer in Liberia. We volunteers felt a little spoiled at times since we had so many amenities that were not available to the volunteers up country. Lamco had a little Swedish community there--with a very interesting and expensive supermarket and a restaurant! We could escape and be in another world if we wanted and could afford it. I lived in a Fanti fishing area right on the beach. It was so interesting to watch them work on their canoes and nets and the fish was wonderful. But, thanks to many of the volunteers up country we had a place to stay if we wanted to visit and we were able to share in their experiences too.

After I left the Peace Corps, I married and my husband and I went back to Monrovia for five and a half years. It was a memorable and enjoyable time and we made many more friends we are still in touch with, but who have also left Liberia. I have lost track of the Peace Corps volunteers from our group though. Larry was the only one I "ran into" in Monrovia after leaving the Peace Corps, but do not know where he might be now.

My husband worked with the Liberian Corporate/Maritime program until 1992--so we heard all the sad news about the people and the country..

It's been interesting to see where those from our group are and what they're doing. I was really surprised to hear that Tren and I were in Reston, Va. at the same time and didn't know we worked in buildings across the street from each other. He was at the Geological Survey and I was with Sperry (Unisys)!

Kathleen sent the following: It is good of you to renew acquaintances and facilitate others' doing so as well. We did not know all the people in Group 23 because we trained at Texas Southern University and met the Caribbean group in Mobile shortly before leaving for Liberia. I'll send more information eventually. Our life has been busy with family needs since our recent retirement and move from New Orleans. I do plan to be active with the Mississippi group a number of whom I met at a gathering in Jackson last year.

Woody first sent in the following: Janice & I are in Aberdeen, MD. She has retired once (teaching)...now tutoring. I'm at the Maryland State Department of Education. (26yrs). We have 2 kids, Benji is 33 & Grace 34, 2 grandchildren, Solomon-13/Alexis-8. We were in Gbarnga at Gboveh High School and later moved to St. Theresa Convent in Monrovia. Janice and I continued in education. She taught High School English and social studies and African History at the Community College,.retired for 5 yrs. and decided she needed to get involved in the educational reform movement and jumped headlong into Middle School.

Janice later filled us in with the following: When we returned I was home for about six months. Then I taught Middle School for three years in Bel Air, (15 miles from Aberdeen in a small community called Hickory), then High School geography in Aberdeen, my home for 3 years. Later, History, U.S. History, World History and African American History as well as Language Arts in Havre de Grace, Md. (about 3 miles from Aberdeen). I stayed there until I retired in 1996. While at the high school, I worked at the college in the evenings teaching African/American History. I loved it. I had been working part-time as Administrator of the Bible College. I graduated WWWM School of Ministerial Training and Bible. This was in New Castle, Delaware. When I retired I went to work there full time. I loved it. I worked there 2 1/2 years. Then I came home. I did not work for a year. Then Sylvan Learning Center and Baltimore City. Now, I am trying to get back at the college or Baltimore County. Presently, I am tutoring at Sylvan Learning Center in Bel Air, Md. four nights a week. 3:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. usually. I love my job. I only have two or three students an hour. The last year and a half, I taught Middle School in Baltimore City. It was rough to say the least. Much has changed.

Woody has been with the Maryland State Department of Education since we returned. He had taught in Baltimore County but that was before we left to go to Tennessee, where he graduated and later taught at MeHarry Medical College and Texas, then Liberia. Woody has also gone on mission trips. What a great learning experience! He has traveled all over the USA with his job doing workshops.

We also have a radio program two days a week until we can get sponsors. I have another plan in the work involving students, churches, and citizens.

Through my church, Victory Christian Fellowship in New Castle, Del., we went on many missions trips. We have been to Nigeria numerous times, traveled to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Europe, Japan, Hawaii, and a few other places. It has been great. I am ready to go again. If I could I would join Peace Corps all over again and may when Woody retires.

Ben (Benji) is an ordained minister, works with the youth in the Rock Church in Baltimore. He also ministers at the prisons. Woody and I are also, ordained and Woody teaches Bible every Friday for three hours in Baltimore County, Towson, Md.

Grace, our daughter (adopted in Liberia) will be 34 in October. She lives in California. Has lived in Virginia, San Antonio, Texas, Guam. Californian now for 3 years. She graduated from college with honors. She is still attending. Grace has a son, Solomon 13 and Gabrielle Alexis 9 years old. They were all home this summer for two weeks. It was fun but very busy. They went all over. New York, Virginia, New Jersey and everywhere they wanted. They had a good time.

We have had many foster children. They were good to have, always a challenge. All are adults and on their own. We had three other girls here with us from Liberia, also.

I have been the President of out local branch of the NAACP. Woody also was once president here. I am running for the same office again. I am also writing 3 books. (Woody laughs at this.) In any case, I hope to be finished by the middle of 2002. Will let you know.

Memories of Liberia remain vivid. If you had not reminded me of the 30-year anniversary, I frankly would not have known. In many ways, it seems like only yesterday, although I certainly had no gray hair then.

My life as a lawyer in suburban Detroit could not be further from life as a Peace Corps teacher.

I also have fine memories of the time I spent in Liberia. Our oldest daughter who was born at ELWA Hospital had her 28th birthday in September is proof of that. Jamie died in 1983 of Malignant Melanoma a year after she was diagnosed with cancer. We have two wonderful daughters (Cari, 28; Lori, 21) who are both active in volunteer programs. Lori is considering joining the Peace Corps as part of her Masters International Program next year.

In the small world department; Cari, who lives in Montana, was in a meeting dealing with Americorps and Volunteer Montana and struck up a conversation with a young man who happened to be John's son, Josh. We moved into John and Jean's place in Monrovia for our third PC year.

A second generation of our family is a PCV. Lori, our youngest daughter is in Morocco. She is a conservation management volunteer assigned to a village of 200 people that is located in a National Park in the NE Atlas Mountains. She started her in-country training in February 02 and has been a PCV since April 02. We recently got some pictures from her that shows her home and village. The mud, stick, dung, fern house brought back memories. However, I believe our accommodations in Kakata were much more modern than what she is experiencing 30 years later. No electricity, no running water, dirt floor and sleeping on a mat. I sometimes feel I am reliving my PC experience through her. She loves what she's doing. She is having a wonderful experience despite the frustrations similar to what we all experienced. She is fairly fluent in Arabic and continues to be tutored so that helps a great deal as she works with the people in her village and surrounding villages.

Our oldest daughter, Cari continues to live in Missoula, MT. She's the director of Development for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Missoula. Cari will be going to South Africa for a month in February 03 to work on a volunteer project to build schools. She hopes to connect with Lori in East Africa while she is on the continent.

Susan and I are still in marketing/advertising. We continue to live in NW Indiana near South Bend.

After I left Liberia, I made a switch to geology and went to the Univ. of Montana for a couple or years and finished up at the Univ. of Chicago. Until 1995, I worked on the properties of geological materials at high pressures/temperatures at the USGS in Reston, VA. During that time, I got married and divorced. In '95, my division at the USGS downsized by 25%, the end of my geology career. About that time, Cindy and I got serious; I made a switch to programming; and we moved to Urbana, IL for 3 years. Much too flat and isolated! Two years ago, we packed up and moved here to Portland. We're real happy here -- good friends and neighbors.

Glenna Judd passed away in the late 70's. I believe she was the oldest member of our group...and a good librarian (in Harper at the High School) to boot!

Webmaster's comment: Our training roster lists Glenna's age as 65 when we started training.

Greg

One sad note: In the K-R section the first name is Greg, who must be Greg Kimberlain. I kept in touch with Greg for a while after our Completion of Service. He settled into the San Francisco Bay area where I visited him once at his place in Berkeley. He moved; I lost touch.

You may recall that all PCVs and RPCVs were honored by the Beyond War group. I went to the presentation ceremony to receive my award. There they showed a video of a ceremony in San Francisco. In a camera pan of the audience I thought I saw Greg and determined to reestablish contact. I recalled that he worked for the Social Security Office in SF and called. I spoke with the woman who had been his supervisor. Indeed I had not seen Greg in that crowd because she told me that he had died a couple years earlier (in the 80s).

Greg served in Careysburg, not far from Monrovia. There is a picture of Greg sitting alone on a wall on the long narrow photo labeled Liberian Cultural Center on the Training Photo page.

I wrote a letter to a relative of Charles from his old hometown and received the sad news that Charles had died on November 22, 1984.

Lyn & I served in Voinjama for 2 1/2 years between Jan '71 and June '73. We both taught at Voinjama High School. In June'73 we found out my Dad had cancer and came home quickly, not to return until the summer of '87. Our son Jallah, was born in December of '73. Noah was born in October '79. Noah graduated from college in May. Jallah and his wife and year old son live in Silverthorne Colorado where he works on a crew building log mansions. I taught and did youth work for the first 12 years after returning. Then I got my Masters at Antioch New England and worked for our local Community College where I now serve as director of the Workforce Development Institute. Lyn got an MSW, served as head of our county Office for Aging, worked as a hospital administrator and then went back to school in the early 90's to become a family practice Physician Assistant. We returned to Liberia in '87 with our kids and spent six weeks traveling in Liberia and other parts of West Africa. I also went back four years ago with the election monitoring team. I have been very active in Friends of Liberia and pledge to be a shameless proselytizer on behalf of FOL just short of obnoxious. We travel a lot and spend whatever time we can at a log cabin in the Adirondack Mountains where we fish for trout and hike and read.

I'm glad you found me. Thanks for tracking people down. The "cyber-reunion" sounds great. I'm not sure I'd be able to make a long trip.

I was a teaching math and science in a junior high school in Totota for the 2 years I was there.

I served in Bomi Hills and later taught at Cuttington College (74-76). I have been in Foreign Service now for the last 20 years. I served in Sierra Leone from 87-89 and re-visited Liberia. It is very different now (as you can imagine) but the people still have the same spark and love of life. Hopefully, peace will soon return and our many friends can begin to put their lives back together again. I am currently headed to our Embassy in Honduras.

I was assigned to Cuttington College where I taught biology for 3 years. I was rather reclusive, priding myself on hardly ever going down to Monrovia. I often went on bush hikes on weekends to explore and collect specimens for biology lab. I was rumored to be a diamond hunter by people who saw me passing through their villages on my travels. Never found any diamonds but got some good crayfish.

I taught a number of biology courses, served on faculty committees, dealing with student misdemeanors, planning student faculty soccer matches and advising students on courses and majors. I chaperoned the Cuttington choir on their yearly tours around Liberia, collected textiles and played flute and recorder with students and faculty groups. Quiet weekends were rare, but were always welcomed.

I traveled quite a bit with Mary Ellen from Shelloe. We went to Nigeria, Senegal and Mali. I also went to Ghana and Kenya.

On return to the US, I sold lampshades in a department store, working beside Penn of "Penn and Teller," then as a professional worker for the Girls Scouts in Western Massachusetts and San Francisco. I married another former PC volunteer. We settled in the San Francisco area. I returned to school and got an engineering degree during a spell as housewife. We have one daughter and one grandson. I currently work as a senior engineer and safety inspector for the state of California.

My time in Liberia was spent teaching at the newly formed College of Business and Public Administration at the University of Liberia in Monrovia. My tenure there began rather inauspiciously as I visited the Dean's office before in-country training to try to get information to allow me to prepare for the courses I would be teaching. I was told by the Dean's secretary and then by the Dean himself, that they had not known that I would be coming and all courses for the March term had been assigned--nothing for me to do!! As it turned out my arrival was a blessing as the Fulbright teacher decided to leave and everyone had to scramble to pick up his course load.

During my two years there I taught Econometrics, Statistics, Government and Business, and Management. Students honored me by asking that I become the advisor to the Economics and Management Student Association. We did some trips to various companies, including Firestone at Harbel. I did some traveling around West Africa, but never made it to the game parks in East Africa. I delayed my departure from Liberia by a half year to finish work on and see into print the College's first Bulletin.

I've lost touch with virtually all my students. Some of my them have done well: One is the current President of LPMC (Liberia Produce Marketing Company), another is a banker and former head of the Liberia central bank and the third, who I spoke with a few months ago as he was in the States as a delegate to a YMCA conference, became Minister of Agriculture in the Doe government.

As for me, my first job upon returning was a three year stint as Project Manager, then Vice President of a development firm in Quincy, MA. I then began my quarter century association with Northeastern University in Boston. As Assistant Dean I directed the undergraduate business program for most of this time. Currently I am beginning my third year as Director of the Full-time MBA Programs. I've been with the Boston Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteer organization virtually since its inception and am currently on the membership committee, about to produce the new membership directory. The malaria that tried to spoil my 1972 vacation in Senegal and Mali has never returned.

I live in Quincy and share the house, I designed and had built, with a neurotic (aren't they all) Dalmatian named Maximilian von Ramseier. I'm a two minute walk (Max does it 17 seconds if there is a squirrel leading) to Quincy Bay and have view of Boston and the harbor from the front of the house, views of the Town River from the back.

By the way, an RPCV will begin as a student in the new MBA class starting in March 2001. The PC experience is a definite plus for a candidate for our program.

My, how fast time flies!!! I can hardly believe it is already 31 years!!! Lots has happened since the time I spent in Liberia. After 1 1/2 years in Liberia, I relocated to ZAIRE where I worked in a fly-in village, as an agriculture specialist. I had an awesome experience. I completed the term out and volunteered for an additional year. Since returning stateside, I recruited for Peace Corps for several years, out of the New Orleans office. I moved back to my home city, Miami, Florida where I taught school for over 20 years (teaching high school Marine Biology, Biology and Chemistry). I am now back in New Orleans, where I am Foreign Missions Director for my church and a missionary. I married a former Peace Corps volunteer (PC INDIA) who is now a minister. I have traveled to more than 50 foreign countries (doing things that Missionaries do!) I am also finishing up my Doctor of Divinity degree. I find myself more outside of the U.S. than in. I am enjoying every minute of it!! I think my time spent in Africa prepared me for what was to come. While in Liberia, I lived in TCHIEN (Zwedru) where I taught at the Assembly of God school, up on the hill. Charlie and Jim were there with me in Tchien. Sad to hear that Charlie passed away. My family adopted a Liberian girl, Francis, who is now an adult, with a child of her own. She is doing great. I would love to hear from other members of the Texas Southern Group. Again...its wonderful to be in touch with those who were there!!!! Its like finding old family again!

Among many wonderful memories, the best are of the warm, generous and happy people in Liberia. I have always felt I learned more from them about living than I taught them about science, etc. while in Tugbake (Maryland County -- upcountry from Harper).

When I returned from PC, I worked as a chemist for a pharmaceutical company, Burroughs Wellcome, then went to grad school in Physiology and Pharmacology at Duke. Now, I am Director of Global Health at Research Triangle Institute International, a non-profit research organization with headquarters in North Carolina. It is a wonderful job and I am quite privileged to work with interesting and committed folks in global health organizations around the world. My primary work is in forming public-private partnerships to develop new drugs for tuberculosis-- as project director of a contract from the National Institutes of Health. I am managing the development of a promising new drug for a global, non-profit group we formed that is now funded by the Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and others. -- the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development http://www.tballiance.org. Married Blake -- who had tried to join me in Liberia, but was waiting when I returned. Two daughters -- one at Wesleyan U. in CT and another in high school. So, life is good - and busy. Thanks for a great job keeping us all in touch!!!!

Jim responded to my e-mail: I'm glad you found me. I'm in Santa Rosa (California). What are your plans? A reunion? That would be great. I can't say I remember most of the people in our group, but I would enjoy meeting them again.

I taught for one year in Dolostown and then two years in Sanniquellie. I spent 3 extra months in Monrovia in an office job and then spent a few weeks "leaving". They were 3+ wonderful years. I traveled to Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and Europe on the way home.

In Ethiopia I visited my oldest friend who was a PC Volunteer there. Haile Selassi was in the middle of being overthrown while I was there. I was glad to leave. My friend transferred to Liberia for his second year!

Dolostown is about one mile from Roberts Field and one mile from Harbel, where Firestone workers lived. We walked through the rubber trees to get to the market. A fascinating experience was to walk through that forest during the two week dry spell in the rainy season, I think it was in July. The pods with seeds on the trees would pop! It was like having popcorn made all around you, not that I could see the pods or seeds falling but you would hear this pop, pop, pop sounds all around you for a few days or a week.

I came back to Chicago and taught math for 3 years in a private, Catholic school. It closed and I became an air traffic controller for 1.5 years. It was boring. I then got into computer programming and have held various positions in Information Systems for the last 22 years.

I married Suzanne in 1983. We have a 12 year old son and a 15 year old daughter. I have become very active with youth sports in Skokie, Illinois. They include American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and basketball. If only I knew as much about those sports and how to coach and referee back in 1971!

Suzanne and I traveled twice to see her brother who works in Asia. In 1984 we visited him in Bangladesh. We also went to Nepal and Thailand on that trip. Last year our whole family visited him and his family in Jakarta, Indonesia. We made it to Bali on that trip.

Linda

My husband Nick (Group 15) and I celebrated our 30th anniversary in November. Getting married in Liberia was quite an event for us. After leaving Liberia we wandered around through Africa, then Europe and stopped for a year to teach in Aberdeen, Scotland. After coming back to the states I went back to school and earned a B.A. in art. I spent the next 8 years teaching junior high and then high school mathematics. I returned once again to school and earned a masters and then a Ph.D. in mathematics. I am now a mathematics professor at San Jose State University. My Peace Corps tour was, and I am sure will remain, one of the best experiences of my life.

Comment from Dennis: "Linda omitted an important piece of information in her note: She and Nick were married in MY living room in Monrovia. (I take as much credit as I can for a great marriage of two marvelous people.)"

How strange it is to read the names of all the wonderful people who were in Group 23.

I taught French and Arithmetic/Math at the school in Karloken. Don't look too hard, but Karloken is up-country from Harper; it usually took over an hour with the money-bus, in good weather, to get down and back over the week-end.

The "Bauernhaus" was where I lived - I called it that because it was snow white and I had painted blue peasant patterns around the windows.

After returning home to Mill Valley, I also returned to teaching at Vallecito Jr. High in San Rafael. I taught Spanish, German, French, Algebra, Remedial Math, and Mechanical Drawing (wrote my own scope & sequence). The latter course developed into a two year course, and those students who wished to continue were allowed to skip the first year Mechanical Drawing in High School. The same privilege was granted to my Algebra students ---- guess I was and am still pretty proud of them.

Before being layed off due to declining enrollment and school closures, we had sold our house and moved to Sebastopol, near Santa Rosa. I worked a number of years as a programmer specializing in DBase, and when the company filed for Chapter 11, I found a job as a full time bookkeeper and translator, working for a golf architect. After eight years, I felt it was time to retire, and we have now lived at Panorama City in Lacey, Washington, since 1996 - a wonderful, open space community, with green belts around every house, lifelong care, a C&R of 150 beds, and a resident population of about 900 souls, where the rule is: "Don't complain, volunteer instead!" (Sorry, I just made this up).

Anybody that feels like visiting and getting to know the area, is most welcome. My e-mail is Mdlnynkrs@aol.com - call first!

Thank you so much for your working on bringing together Liberia Group 23. I'm retired from the Cleveland Municipal School District (Valley View Elementary which is now a closed school building) in July 2003.

I turn (yikes) 65 in February and - Enchallah (Arabic for God willing) - will be in Las Vegas to celebrate Feb. 6 through the 9th.

Life is actually very good to me. I currently am "working" seasonal and part-time with HR Block and Nowak Tour and Travel. As a tour manager with Nowak, I accompany schools visiting DC and local cities around the Ohio area (Pittsburgh, Columbus, Toronto). It's a great opportunity. Fun and I really love the American History Museum in DC.

Liberia Group 23 Updates

If you are a Group 23 member and do not find your name on this page, or if your name is on this page and you want something added or changed, just send me an email.

This is the information on each person’s page as of Jan. 21, 2006.

Jerry

Orlene

Barbara

Greg

Linda