The 50th Reunion is over and a New Year is upon us! All of the donations from the summer have given us a headstart in keeping the Mead73 website viable so that we can save and add memorabilia to the site, and allow communication between classmates (private and public). Thank you to all who've contributed to sustaining the site. We've renewed it for another year!
One additional way we can stay connected is to announce informal get-togethers for those who live in the PNW or in other regions where classmates are living near each other. Not everyone will be able to join the actual event/get-together--but we would hope to post some pictures of folks on the website for others to see.
Get-Together at Big Barn Brewing, Greenbluff-September 14, 2024
Lots of good visiting, great weather, music, beverages and food! We had 25 attend, and had a wonderful time! We missed seeing other classmates...next time! Hope to do something like this again! Always open to ideas for other get-together visits or events (golf, coffee, picnics, lunch, dinner, etc!). Enjoy the photos! Thanks to Diane for recommending Big Barn, and Linda and Pam for sharing their photos.
From left to right front row (sort of!): Tom Ward, Pam Glover, Kathy Rogers, McLaughlin (Lewis), Tom Mateer, Diane Brower (Gemmill), Linda Tesch (Stern), Jeff Stern, Doug Townsend, Terry McAleer
From left to right back area: Eric Deniston, Vyanna Havens, Wayne Gunning, Jerry White, Riley Van Leuven, Anita Rogers (Utley), Debbie Martin, Cheryl Mateer, Doug True
Not pictured, but there! Mike McKenna, Gerry Gemmill, Carol Mateer, George Piukkula, Carrie McAleer (Terry's wife) and Jonnie's husband Gary, who took the photo above! Thank you!
Pam Glover, Vyanna Havens, Gerry Gemmill
Doug True, Terry McAleer, Jeff Stern, Linda Tesch (Stern), Diane Brower (Gemmill)
Gerry Gemmill, Wayne Gunning
Debbie Martin, Anita Rogers (Utley)
Jonnie McLaughlin (Lewis), Carrie and Terry McAleer
Wrestling notebook: Mead set to honor longtime coach Cash Stone
Article by Madison McCord for The Spokesman-Review
As Mead wrestling chases its third state championship in as many years, the team will take time to look back and honor the man who started the Panthers program.
Longtime Mead wrestling coach Cash Stone will be added to the school’s hall of fame during an induction ceremony on Thursday – Stone’s 89th birthday – when the Panthers host Ridgeline in a Greater Spokane League dual at 7 p.m.
Stone coached the Panthers from 1959 until his retirement in 1997. He is also a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Washington State Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Inland Empire Coaches Hall of Fame.
“Cash and Ken Pelo at Rogers are the godfathers of wrestling in Spokane and they did all the hard work to get the sport to the level it is at now,” Mead Athletic Director John Barrington said. “Whoever is in charge of the program at Mead has an expectation to go above and beyond both on the mats and off them because of what coach Stone started.”
During his time in charge of the program, the Panthers won 10 individual state titles, two state team titles and 13 GSL titles.
“Coach still comes into the wrestling room a few times a year, dressed in this old Mead singlet, does some wall sits and helps (current coach Phil) McLean out with practice,” Barrington said. “I don’t know that all 90 of the kids in that room know who he is, but the top dogs do because he’s so ingrained into this team’s identity and their parents know who he is and what he means.”