If you remember the debates started in the guestbook last year sometime after Mr. Walcott's death. I am at fault there as I had the audacity to challenge the traditional SDA interpretation of genesis and its continued belief in a short chronology paradigm which is antithetical to all available scientific data. From the many differing opinions coming from those discussions you started the open forum. Thus, it appeared to me that the guest book is the "place to get away from it all" (whatever that means) and the forum is for "discussion and debate." Now we cannot discuss and debate any longer on this website. If those people who just want to get away from it all want something to read maybe they could restrict themselves to the guest book if the "heat" of debate and differing opinions are to much for their blood pressure.

You took a risk and I applaud you for taking it. I wonder if some have not matured from the academy mentality that governed our lives long ago. The good thing about the open forum is that we all were part of the SDA subculture and thus we can criticize and comment on it from the inside and I thought that was valuable. But, it appears that debate once again shakes some people up. I hope none of these people are entering or are going to enter the area of science. We debate all the time.

Sincerely

Good question and more then happy to answer.

The website was first put online by Paul Bauer. He created and hosted it on Geocities. But it was his website.

Paul then turned it over to me. I then moved it from Geocites to the current servers at JVLnet.com in Janesville Wisconsin. (45 minutes from my house) These are high speed servers with data backups and great support.

The reason for this was so that I could make use of CGI/Pearl functions that Geocities did not offer. This is what makes the Guestbook, Message Center, Aumni polls and other functions work

The domain is registered to me as is the account with JVLnet.

It is done this way to not only protect the PVA Alumni Assc. from any liability for the website but also, it is was the fastest and most simple way of getting the trransfer done.

If this was not clear to those that sent in donations, I would be more the happy to refund their donation(s) as I could see where this might be a concern.

As for the item that is missing from the Message Center. This is/was my idea to remove it. The topics that it contained and the ability of those topics did not lend themselves to the website.

Many people over the past years have indicated to me that this website is a way to get away from it all.

In my rush to expand the website and to offer something different, I lost sight of this.

Thus the open forums have been removed.

Should anyone wish to talk to me about this please email me at webmaster@pvaalumni.com.

I do not want to clutter the Guestbook with conversations about the workings of this website, but leave it for more fun issues and items.

Thanks

Tim

Thanks Doug for the kind words and e-mail post card!

My new toy is the Olympus C-5050 (5 million megapixel) digital camera.  I love it.  It has two slots for memory cards and I can take over 300 pictures at a high resolution with the cards I have.  Additionally, the batteries seem to go forever unlike some of the other digital cameras I've used.  The downside, in the last month and a half I've taken over a thousand pictures I need to go through and see which ones I want to print out.  I have a lot of different software I use to manipulate my pictures, but the best I've found for real quick work of my photos is Thumbsplus 6 (www.cerious.com).  I go quickly through and crop my pictures to 4 X 6 then run  "digital camera clean up"  on them.  This seems to give it a real rich color.  Sometimes I lighten or darken using the gamma setting but thats about it.  Of course if you really want to rework your pictures I use Adobe or Ulead Photoshop.  Well thats probably more than you wanted to know!

Dr Steve is on the faculty at Southern teaching ethics and other esoteric subjects.

Paul

Dorothy,

  I read your inquiry about PVA's personal blackout in 1965.  I didn't remember anything about it but when I was talking to my folks (Lyle and Helen Hamel) this week about the recent power outage within the US my father commented about PVA's time of no electricity.  He said we were away from the school when it happened and when we drove on the campus they noticed all the lights were out everywhere and thought it was very strange.  He thought the power was off for 3-4 days throughout the NE? but PVA had a diesel generator which kept (some) power on campus and then a line was taken to the faculty circle so houses could be hooked up and keep things going.  If it was limited power he didn't say.

  Has anyone commented on the Friday afternoon when a boy's dorm room was set on fire?  My father was cutting Mr. Harkins hair at my dad's home when the fire siren sounded so Mr. Harkins had 1/2 of a cut as they went on up to the campus to check things out.  I remember hearing about it (I was probably in 6th grade at the time) and sitting at the back of the girl's dorm chapel on the boy's side with my mother that Friday evening for vespers and wondering who the boy was or maybe he was there in attendance and I figured out who he was.

Yeah I was lucky, the power was out in my town for less than an hour.  Just long enough so I couldn't draw any money from the ATM at the time I had gone into town.  Power came back on shortly after I started opening my Coleman Camper so I could use the gas stove and battery powered lights, TV, etc.  It needed airing any way so it wasn't a great loss.  Have to go back out and fold it down this afternoon though before the snobbier neighbors accuse me of living in it. 

From what I have gathered from friends around the North East it was a very strange and spotty thing.  Greater over all area effected but not quite as total a blackout as November 9, 1965.  Any other original students or faculty out there remember that night of fun at the then new school?

Everyone survive the power outage okay?

Finally got Dad on the phone - he said that his biggest crisis was the loss of several gallons of ice cream!

I went through the pictures that were posted for your reunion. What were some of the stats on your reunion? How many people came as a % of the total that graduated etc.

Where are you and your family living at this time?

Thank you,

Don't miss the first forum note from a faculty member

in the thread called "Police Invade Girls Worship," at

http://www.pvaalumni.com/anyboard9/openforum/posts/403.html#403

None other than PVA's 

First Pastor and Bible Teacher ('65-'67) Bill Richardson

Tim,

Sorry to break the no pictures rule but I am afraid that people who might want to know about this won't find it on the back pages.  I just got it in the mail today.  The Raymond S. Jennings Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established at AUC.

Howdy,

Just finished up posting a new Alumni Poll for you all to mess with. So jump in there and let your vote be counted!

In the next week I will be putting together the next release of the Alumni Email List. Please send your additions or changes in as soon as you can.

For those in states getting beat up by bad weather this year I have something for you.

Free emailed weather alerts. To your email box, cell phone or pager. I can also send out Amber Alerts and Civil Emergency/Attack Warnings if you wish. Cell phones and pagers must be able to receive Internet Text Email.

Goto http://www.trsweather.com/email and sign up for the FREE service.

You can also email me with your state/county information to:

webmaster@trsweather.com  Subject: Free Alerts for PVA Alumni

Now you know what I have been up to and where I have been the past month or so...   

Tim

Welcome Tom!

Glad you signed in so quickly.  I see from your website you have already met both of us decidedly liberal regulars in the forums over back.  You will probably meet the rest of the regulars if you find your way back there.

Hello Everyone,

I graduated in 1967.  I would like to hear from classmates and friends.

Tom

The class of 78 reunion was a lot of fun thanks to some planning from Helen Kuntz who was great in coordinating our night out at the "Old Mill". Wish more of our class could have been there hopefully at our next PVA reunion we can have a bigger turnout -I know we all enjoyed getting together after 25 yrs and reminiscing - If anyone has photos from our group shot at the Old Mill it would be great if you could post it on the site - If anyone has a photo file they could e:mail me I would appreciate it.

Hope everyone had a great Independence Day Weekend!  Things have been awfully quiet here lately.  Many of you at Campmeetings, I presume.  There were some interesting appearances made by a very gray and bearded "James White." at the SNEC campgrounds -- complete with a "Maine-iac" accent.

Yeah, let's hear about that reunion!

http://www.pvaalumni.com/anyboard9/openforum/posts/332.html#416

I would like to hear about the 1978 reunion, please let us that missed it, know how it went. 

 I heard everyone had a great time.

Tim,

I came back on and still couldn't make it work, so I began to experiment with what might be the problem.  I knew I had java and cookies turned on.  I decided to check my internet security "firewall".  I temporarily disabled it and voila', now I'm able to type here in the message field.  That might be something you need to place somewhere on the website, letting people know that if they have a "firewall" internet security program running, it needs to be disabled or at least set to a low security level.

Hello All,

Just thought I would drop by and see what's going on in PVA Alumni-Land.  I tried to post from home last night, but couldn't make it work on this new Guestbook, but it seems to work this morning from work.

Dennis, how does it seem to be back East.

Dave Lawrence "67

lawde13@cableone.net

Mike Douglas has set up a way to pay your registration fee's for the 1978 class reunion this summer. Thanks Mike!

https://www.cartserver.com/sc/securepage.cgi?farmtek.net/pva25_pay.htm

Tim

 Does anyone know what happened to Harold Bookstaver? He and I kept in touch for about 10 years after graduation. Please let me know if you know of his whereabouts!

Tks!

  Does anyone remember Harris Pine Mills? Oh, how I hated the place!!! One day I thought that the white glue drum was off but it was WIDE OPEN!!! I got to clean up the sticky mess!!! I'll take my teaching any day to that!!! YUCK!!!

  Does anyone remember Harris Pine Mills? Oh, how I hated the place!!! One day I thought that the white glue drum was off but it was WIDE OPEN!!! I got to clean up the sticky mess!!! I'll take my teaching any day to that!!! YUCK!!!

Thanks Doug.  One of these days I'll figure out how to do that stuff myself. 

This is my (and Mark Sargeant's) birth mom, Elzaida Mackey Frost Beck, from this past Mothers' Day.  She's currently in a nursing home in Vermont.  This was the first time I was ever able to visit her on Mothers' Day.  When I saw Doug's picture back in one of the forums I asked if he'd be willing to post it up here 'cause I thought it was the kind of thing more people should see and I said I'd post mine too, but then I didn't know how to size it. 

Actually I think this would make a nice topic for a new forum, maybe call it Mothers of Invention.  I mean , really, they had to be inventive to raise the likes of us.  :-)  How about some more pics of you guys with your moms?  Surely Doug and I can't be the only ones with such things (pictures I mean, not mothers).  :-)

If that works, we could start a fathers' one too.  Didn't come up with a name for it yet. 

And Tim, if this actually takes off, then I reckon the thing to do would be to put links up here to pics in the back so as not to slow down the page? 

I'm glad to hear that David.

Dennis asked me to resize and upload this gem of a picture for him.

His caption: "Here's the one of my birth mom and me."

My school kids were just WILD Friday!!! A holiday weekend gets them WIRED!!! Contrary to Doug's note Denise and I are in contact daily and have been for 20 years! She is one AWESOME LADY and I just know that she thinks the same of me! I so appreciate her daily emails and support which is mutual!

  School again Tuesday!!! I just love it!!! I  teach at the high school level. There is always something for me to learn as well as my students!

Libby was such a fun person to be in school with at Pine Tree Academy! She was always bright and cheery in class! What a loss to so many!

  My heartfelt sympathies go out to her family!

David

PVA Class of 1983 20 year Reunion
June 28, 2003 starting at 1pm
Location:  Wayne and Kristie Stevenson's, Lunenberg, MA

For Information Contact:Juli Hamm Unternaehrer
                                          julia.unternaehrer@yale.edu

Address:  854 Edgewood Ave. New Haven, CT 06515

Sarah:

"The Bearded One," our new pastor, mentioned that you had posted a message so I logged in this afternoon to check.  It has been a long time since I heard about/from you.  I will keep Paul in my prayers.  Camp Meeting doesn't seem the same without Jeannie, you, and Debbie and a bunch of friends all congregated two rows from the upper bathrooms.  My daughter Karen was married on March 23 in the Markham Woods Church.  She currently lives in Longwood but is moving into Orlando by the end of the month.  Which church do you attend?  We are coming to Florida next week for the FLA graduation.

Members of the Class of '78 are invited to attend a 25 year reunion
celebration to take place on

Saturday, June 21st at 7pm at the Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster, Ma.
 

Please fill out registration form and mail it with a check for $30 per
person attending.

 Make check payable to:
               
                        Pioneer Valley Academy Alumni Assoc
                        800 Main St. #246
                        Holden, Ma. 01520

Name_____________________________________________________________________
Guest(s)_________________________________________________________________
__
Mailing
Address_____________________________________________________________
Telephone
#________________________________________________________________
Email
Address_______________________________________________________________

Menu options will be posted on the alumni website and emailed to those
who have provided us with email addresses.  You will be asked to check
off your choices and send them to me at that time.  Your prompt response
to this invitation, as well as menu selection is greatly appreciated.

                Sincerely,
                                Your Reunion Coordinator
                                 Helen Browning Kuntz '79

I alwasy enjoy reading the various postings and catching up on some of the news of friends. Keep posting. Of course, I must add my own news.

Paul and I moved to Florida for his health 5 years ago. As most of you know, he battled and won the fight against leukemia. But he is now in another battle. Between radiation and cGHVD in the lungs, he is losing lung function and is on oxegen frequently. As of the end of January, he has been put on a lung transplant list. We are waiting for a call to got a new lung.

God has blessed with answered prayers in the past and I know He will again. Please pray for us. Not just for Paul, but for me and our children.

John, glad it started working for you. I made some last minute changes that should make this all a little more user friendly.

You do not need to register to view or enter a message in the guestbook.

You do need to use your password if you registered your name here or in the message center or you wish to protect your name from others using it and to be able to edit the messages you post.

Makes since I think, but it takes a while to sink in, I still scratch my head from time to time due to the many options that can be set for each forum.

But as with any new toy, dont read the docs and learn as you go. If all else fails, read the docs.....

Tim

Dennis, I went in and looked at your posting and found some html coding in it that caused it to look as it did. Not sure how or why is was there. *pre* (replace * with <>) I removed the code and the format looks ok now.

Did you choose a different font maybe?  I will try to track it down.

Thanks

Tim

OK Tim, need your help here.

See what happens when I try to get newsy?  :-)

I cannot post replies on the open forum page. I "re-registered" and I receive an error message that my info is rejected. However, there is no help on how to correct the supposed error. That system has become really messed up in my view. Is there anyway you can "reset" me to a ground zero state so I can re-register? Or is this the result of me doing some unknown, no no.

Attention Class of '78,

This  is the 25th Anniversary of your graduation from PVA.  There has
been some interest expressed in holding a Class of '78 reunion.  I have
been asked to coordinate it and am willing...providing I can get enough
interest and assistance.  Tim Shriver will help get the word out via email and the website.

There is not enough time to futz around with different dates and options,
but I'm sure I can put something nice together for you. We'll keep it
real simple. Here is my proposal....

• First weekend of campmeeting.
• Buffet and entertainment at the Old Mill or other nice/affordable
  restaurant in the area on Saturday evening. 
• Everyone pays their own way.
• I'll need help collecting emails, addresses and phone numbers.

I'll post details on the PVA website & email update, will only do
snail-mailing if absolutely necessary.

I may need volunteers to make phone calls to classmates or other tasks
that need doing.

I will need everyone to send me a prepaid registration, costs to be
announced once I've figured them out.

'Stasia (Helen Browning) Kuntz '79

Mahvelous!

Thanks Tim, that really is much easier on the eyes.

Class of 78: It's been 25 years! Kris VanAllen, light a fire under our respective behinds and let's get a 25 year reunion organized as you mentioned last Fall!

Eileen is treated here in S. Calif in Santa Monica. I just talked with her on the phone and it was great to reconnect with a friend. She will be here in May and I will be driving out to see her during one of the scheduled treatments. Her morale is good but she was very upset when the scan found new lesions. I hope all of you remember her in your thoughts and prayers. I will give an update after my visit. Lets see its been 29 yrs since I last saw her, which was graduation for the class of 1974.

As you can probably see is that I have changed the script used for the Alumni Guestbook. The prior entries into the Guestbook have been archived. I would encourage re-posting of important items.

The new Guestbook has a bunch of new items. you can alter the font size/color, you may edit your entry within 24 hours of posting it, you can invite (send an email) to join in the talks and you can alert me of any issues within the guestbook.

It should also help prevent some crawlers (spam seekers) from getting information from the posting.

As with anything new problems may pop up. Please email me (alert) if you run into something while using the new script.

Thanks

Tim

Sad to report

Notice in this morning's(April 10, 2003)Hartford Courant.

    "Raymond Spencer Jennings (PVA 1967)of Orlando, Fla. died March 22 in Orlando.  He was 53.
    He was born in Middletown (CT) and raised in Clinton (CT).  For the past 30 years, he was a resident of central Florida.  He was self-employed as a renovating contractor with his partner and longtime companion, John A. Mertz III, who survives him.
    He is also survived by his parents, Clifford Milton and Caroline Spencer Jennings of Holly Hill, Fla.; two sisters, Mary Jane Rhodes of Atltamonte Springs, Fla. and Melissa Jennings Spencer of Simpsonville, S.C.
    A memorial service will be held Sunday (April 13) at the Swan Funeral Home, 80 E. Main St., Clinton(CT)."

    Those of us who knew Ray at PVA know that he was a kind, sensitive and joy soul.  This must also be a very difficult time for his parents.  This is the second son they have had to lay to rest.  Ray's older brother died just after completing his freshman year at AUC.  No matter what your views on Ray's life choices, I hope you will pray for these dear folks.

(Tim, I hope you do not mind my having posted this to both Guestbook formats.  You may edit appropriately when you archive.)

Seeing if the change I made in posters name took Didnt notice that it was limited.

We had thundersnow here, rain sleet snow all within an hour. Sort of wild.

Tim

Hi All!

Just waiting for an early dismissal from school (I'm the sub), wonder if it is really snowing anywhere in this state.

One problem Tim my whole name is too long for posting here.  But so far none of the other Dorothy's I knew at the old school have shown up so I guess I'm ok.

If all goes well with this I will archive the old Guestbook and install this as the active guestbook sometime next week.

I am also going through the website top to bottom tweaking it some and optimizing the directory setups on the server. So you might find something offline for an hour or so while I am doing this, but the website as a whole should remain up. Just parts of it will be offline for short periods of time.

Thanks

Tim

Tim,

This looks good.  Thanks for a great job and have a great weekend y'all.

Val

Tim,

<h1>Good Job</h1>

<p>

<h2>Just testing this out to see if it works</h>

<p>

<b>Thanks,</b>

<h3>Paul</h3>

Still working on it some and testing it. Waiting for folks to give it a good thrashing and see how it does.

Tim