HI Pamela... is there a "Nancy" Champaign in your family tree? Good to meet you... I appreciate your efforts on behalf of CHS... I was in the class of '56...

12/12/2015 8:41PM

Hi,

Yes, She was my older sister that passed in 1990. Nice to meet you. The Central Bears are toughies, the majority seem to already be in hibernation for the winter. But if they are out there I will find them. smile emoticon You probably never met our twin brothers? They are Adams ,61. Matter of fact they are the culprits that got me into being the Admin. of the the South Bend Central page. They are the geniuses that are setting up the South Bend Schools into the ClassCreator software program. Since you said you are class of '56 will you please go to: www.southbendcentral.com

and follow the directions and get your kind self joined into your class (Free, no advertising, hacking . spam or misguided water balloons. Let me know if you have and problems creating your profile etc.

12/12/2015 11:21PM

Nancy was my first "real' girl friend at Muessel school...I remember well the trips to Inglewood Pl. and the agony of "going steady..." I have thought of her often and am sorry she passed at such a young age... I hope she had a loving and happy life...

12/13/2015 10:49AM

What a wonderful memory you have shared with me. Thank you. Nancy married Bill Dunfee and they had a son Wm. (Chip) Nancy and Bill divorced two yrs. later. Chip was 16 when she passed. Chip is married now, living in Vegas with three great kids.

Do you remember our twin brothers, Jim and Jack?

12/13/2015 12:04PM

I don't recall Jim and Jack... I do remember Bill and the Dunfee Family...Jude, Bill, Bruce and Chris(tine)... There may have been a younger child as well... They lived in house at the top of the Angela hill, which I still admire... As I recall, Nancy ended up at Adams... I do remember that she and Bill had a high school romance... I left the area after college and lived in Hawaii for 40+ years and 10 in Panama where I worked for the Smithsonian... Still troubled at Nancy's way too early passing...

Me too. She had a rough life mentally and physically (smoker - emphysema). Sadly we all think she died of a broken heart. She was my big sister for so many years, not so much after she turned 40 or so - she was changing with her health and physical problems about that time. She passed peacefully but I still miss her soooo much. She turned into a beautiful woman that turned heads all the time. She was always well dressed....I don't remember her wearing jeans. smile emoticon

Pam thanks so much for sharing... first loves always live on in one's memories... she was lovely when I knew her... but back then it was saddle shoes, "bobby sox," skirt and sweater... One Christmas, I did buy her a light blue cashmere sweater which pretty much wiped out my Christmas budget... but...sigh... I was smitten... she was beautiful girl...

12/13/2015 1:50PM

... btw...My oldest sister (12 years) dated Jack Champaigne... sort of a family history with your family...

You mean Jack that lived on LaSalle, or my brother Jack? u r sister was 12 yrs older th?

...older than me... I am not sure which Jack, but he would have been 12 years older than I... so 89 now?

That had to be my Uncle Jack! Oh wow, I have to relay this to my brothers, they have quite a Family tree on Ancestry that they are working currently. We have GREAT stories about Uncle Jack.

My sisters name was Pat (Patricia)... we lived on Leland Ave. in the old Chapin Historic district...

And my Grandma and Uncle Jack etc. lived on LaSalle. Her house was the lot right next to Chapin on the NE side (corner)

I was thinking that you might want to post on the James Madison School page... like Muessel, they were a major feed for CHS...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/43035468767/?ref=bookmarks It is a fairly active group...

James Madison Elementary School

231 members

12/13/2015 9:33PM

Thanks for the invite. At present I am helping with the building of the southbendcentral site, the southbendadams site and the southbendriley site for all years at all the schools. I am out scouting for members to the classes, for their email, their phone, any infor for contact. As soon as I have a moment I will do that. TKS.

Actually... that is why I mentioned the JM site... there is probably a treasure trove of potential members there...

11:54AM

...some thoughts about your older sister...originally posted on the Muessel FB page...

Part 2 My first year at Muessel was somewhat of a blur. James Madison had been almost a private school drawing students from the city’s earliest neighborhoods on each side of the river. The Chapin Park Historical District with its late 19th century architecture and brick paved streets is just up the hill from Madison. The Riverside Historic district winds along the St. Joe with Northshore Blvd. on the opposite side. Many of the homes were built in the late 1800’s. At the turn of the century these homes were occupied by professionals, the captains of industry, retired judges, mayors and architects. The architecture, now protected, is an eclectic mix of Queen Anne, Renaissance, Stick, Gabled, Tudor and Four Square. Once you crossed Portage the neighborhoods changed. The newer homes were mostly bungalows on small lots and close together. The homes closely around Muessel were occupied to a large extent by a mix of blue and white collar workers. The exception were the neighborhoods north on Portage which included the Woodlawn area bounded by Portage on one side and Riverside Drive on the other. Most of the kids from this area matriculated to Muessel from Marquette Elementary School. The trip to school was quite different than the tranquil walk through Leeper Park to James Madison. Portage was a rather heavily traveled bus route. When I reached Portage, I proceeded past the Rex Pharmacy, Tip Top Bakery to the intersection at California Ave. This is where I first met Rosie the crossing guard, a diminutive pretty woman always smiling and friendly. In later years, I wondered if the Beatles had known her would they have written a song about her… as they did about “Lovely Rita… Rita, Rita Meter Maid.” I walked my bike through the intersection and crossed to the other side of Portage near the Sweet Shop and continued down California to Muessel. Unexplored territory… everything and everyone was new. Some of the boys were members of “jacket clubs,” something that, as I recall, was not permitted at Madison or many other junior high schools. The two clubs I remember were the “Sad Sacks” and the “Dimwits,” which as I look back, were appropriately named for adolescent teenage boys. The jackets were dark navy blue corduroy emblazoned with images of Sad Sack and Denny Dimwit. Denny Dimwit was a character in the Winnie Winkle cartoon. Sad Sack was the lead character in Sad Sack Comics. I eventually became a Sad Sack. After you were invited to join you were required to go through an “initiation” which consisted of the older members paddling you at the club meetings. As I look back, it seems like an entirely stupid rite of passage. For reasons still not clear, you were permitted to stuff towels in your pants to soften the blows. After initiation you were permitted to buy a jacket. A new jacket was too expensive for most of us and a search took place for a cheaper used jacket. You were also expected to buy a silver medallion that you proudly wore around your neck… that is… until you found the girl who would become your “steady.” My first “steady” at Muessel was Nancy Champagne who lived on Inglewood Pl . in the Woodlawn area. (Are you there, Nancy?) She wore the medallion proudly, but only for short periods of time given the fickle nature of adolescent love and “breakups.” The medallion went back and forth between us like a volleyball. The breakup was usually initiated by a note passed in class, in the hallway, or messenger friend. This was always a heart breaking event which occurred for reasons I can’t recall or imagine at this point in life. So it goes… V neck sweaters and tapered pants were the style of the day. Hayrides were a favorite sport at the time and ranked far higher than the school sponsored dances.