We have made some very hefty changes to the “nuts & bolts” operation of the website today, which should make the site more responsive, easier to maintain, and generally more professional.

The site had been operating rather clumsily, with pages hard-coded for presentation. This type of operation makes it extremely error-prone to update any information, because each classmate had several different files that had to be addressed to make even minor changes. But we’re still learning how to do things, and we believe we’re getting better every day.

As of today, ALL information concerning any classmate is being pulled directly from one database, regardless of where or how the information is presented on the web page. This will make maintenance chores and data integrity much more accurate and efficient. Information added, changed or deleted in the database is instantly reflected wherever and whenever it is called for anywhere on the site.

As I usually do, I’m asking for input from any of our visitors who might experience any difficulties on the site, and for any suggestions you might have to make the site more responsive to your wishes and needs.

Thanks for your support.

We have added the ability to search for and retrieve information on a specific classmate – so if you’re looking for someone in particular and don’t want to negotiate through the menus to find them, just select the “Search” menu item.

The search page allows you to start typing the name of the person you’re looking for, and an auto-complete function will begin showing all of the possible matches after you have entered at least two letters. Capitalization is NOT an issue, but spaces and other punctuation are. You can search by last/married name, maiden name, first name, or anything in-between and the search function should direct you to the correct person. One note – names are indexed with last, married, maiden name first like this example –
Hadfield, Diane
Miller, Diane Hadfield

A search for “ian” would show the names of all classmates with that letter combination somewhere in their name, whether it is in the last name, first name or whatever. A search for “Hadfield, Diane” would also work – but “Diane Hadfield” will fail as soon as you enter the space following “Diane”. So – if you’re not sure of the last name, but remember the first, enter the first name only and check out the results. Find the one you’re looking for and just click on the name – you will see their information in a pop-up window very quickly.

Give it a try – I think you’ll like the results.  And as always – if you see an error or encounter a problem, please let me know.

If you’d like to keep up-to-date on all the happenings with the class, don’t forget to Subscribe to Blog via Email right over there. Then, whenever new content is posted on the “News” page you’ll receive an email in your inbox alerting you.

And don’t forget – we’d like to hear your thoughts about any post here, or your thoughts in general, so Comment whenever you would like. The first time you make a comment it will be reviewed before appearing on the page, but once we determine you are not a spammer, your comments will be automatically approved from then on.

[dropcap]There[/dropcap] may have been times when I have misspelled your name, forgotten your spouse’s name, or made other errors that, on a personal basis, have seemed terribly negligent, irresponsible, or unprofessional. If I have made those types of errors on ANY of your information that is displayed in these pages, please forgive me, and please let me know of the error so that it can be corrected.

I make every attempt to get things right, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. I am not a professional web designer, nor have I ever had any training in typing or page-layout. I am a retired US Army Infantryman who types with one finger from each hand, and I make errors on a regular basis. I also live a good distance from Collinsville, and have very limited opportunities to socialize or do the things that would improve the accuracy of my memory. I do not intend to hurt any feelings or cause anyone to be upset. My intention is to make this site a welcome place for each of you to visit for current information, and for you to enjoy the memories that these pages hopefully recall.

If I have made errors, please let me know. And please know that any errors were unintentional, and are deeply regretted.

Still working on getting all of the photos I have received up on the web. We have been a little “swamped” here in South Carolina in the last few days, and have been a bit preoccupied – but I’ll get them all up as quickly as I can. In the meantime, if you have photos from the reunion (or others) that you’d like to share, send them on to me!

I’ve been notified by two classmates, both using an iPad to access the site, that names and photos are not matching up properly on both the “Deceased” page and the “Autobiographies” page – and perhaps others.  I am not seeing the problem on my MSDos PC running Windows 10, so perhaps this is a problem associated only with Apple products. If any of you are experiencing similar problems with the site, please contact me and let me know what type of device you are using, where you notice the problem, and if you know it, the version number of the software running on your device. Bear with me – I’ll try to get this fixed as rapidly as I can.

This problem is being reported on Apple iPad Air and iPad Mini devices (so far). The site appears to work fine on other Apple devices, as well as Android, Windows, etc. If you discover a problem on ANY device please let me know. Thanks.

Our new look has now gone “live” and we’re moving forward. I still have TONS of work to do – a few thousand photos that have to be revisited to make them appropriate for the way the site works, lots of modifications to the underlying database, and the list goes on.

Please bear with me as I ease the site into full compliance – it will take quite a while for me to get it done. But I’ll be adding new content, revising old content, and making improvements (hopefully) as time goes on. One of the first orders of business will be to attend our reunion, get some photos and other content while I’m there, and share it all with everyone who will not be in Collinsville that weekend.

I sincerely hope you like and enjoy the new look and responsiveness of the site. I’ve put quite a few hours into trying to make it the best I could, and I’ll continue those efforts well into the future. If you see any problems with the site make sure you let me know – either with the site’s contact form or by any other method you choose. Thank you for your patience.

Glen England – Webmaster

As we attend our final formal Class Reunion, it is only fitting that we also make big changes here at the site. Our look is new, and hopefully more responsive to our users and visitors. We’ve worked long and hard trying to make this site the best that there can be – but inevitably there may be a few problems.

If you have difficulty navigating around the site, find portions that don’t seem to work as you think they should, or find factual and/or grammatical errors in any of the information we present here, please contact us and let us know. We’ll do everything we can to make things right. One caveat – I am neither a professional programmer, nor do I employ anyone who would match that description. But I will do everything I can to figure out the cause of a problem and find a solution for it.

Under the “Classmate Info” menu you’ll find a new, tabbed interface that will provide multiple “tabs” of information concerning a classmate. Some tabs may hold autobiographies, others obituaries, and others some additional information about that particular classmate. It should make “checking up” on an old friend a bit easier.

This particular page of the site is being powered by WordPress – and admittedly it is a system that I am not familiar with. The capabilities that it brings to the site make it’s use worth whatever effort it may take to learn – but I’m an old dog, so give me some time to work with it….. please.

Tell us what you think – leave a comment here or use our contact form.

Welcome……. and enjoy.