Chile68 Gatherings: Beginnings
By Steven Springer*
The first get-together of several Chile68 RPCV's east of the Mississippi appears to have been a small, outdoor cookout at Rich May's Taftsville, VT farm on Sunday, October 3, 1976. Liz Garlo recalled that the May's little house on a hillside had a beautiful overlook of a forest of maples that were in full fall colors. There was a barn where they kept chickens, pigs, cats and goats--two of which Steve Springer roasted, Chilean asado style. Attending were Rich, David Mather, Al and Liz Garlo, Steve and Susan Springer, as well as some other friends. Rich May's recollection is that the impetus for his 1976 event was serendipitous: Lance Willcox came visit Rich the previous year; and since Rich had already discovered that the Springers lived just ten miles away, they all got together for dinner, during which Steve mused, "Wouldn't it be strange if David Mather lived around here, too." It turned out that he did--and just fifteen miles away, in Lyme,NH. Rich had stayed in touch with the Garlos since departing Chile, so he decided to invite all of them for a cookout.
As this group shared their knowledge of the whereabouts of other Chile68'ers, it was apparent that a number either lived in New England or were not that far away--enough to have a bigger get-together in 1978. David reserved a pavilion at a park in Hanover, NH, and Steve did a lamb asado. Then, inspiredby the successful turnout for this event, Al and LIz Garlo made a concerted effort to gather telephone numbers and addresses of many more from our group, culminating in the first reunion for the entire Chile68 group in 1988, held at their summer camp in Deerfield, NH and at the nearby Elm Brook State Park. Al began his tradition of reunion videos here, showing the multitude of children from our group swimming, riding the frog boat and enjoying each other. And although the Garlos would be the last to point this out, it should be noted that they have been working behind the scenes ever since to encourage the rest of our group to make the efforts so that our reunions continue to happen. The 1988 reunion generated even more interest in establishing connections within our group, and Jack Van Olst and Jeff Breiwick worked together to develop a web page in August, 1997, including a comprehensive directory and an appeal for a 30th anniversary reunion. In January, 2015, Jeff and Jack started the Facebook page. Hopefully, these recollections will spur others to remember even more stories and memories of early gatherings.
* Historical notes drew upon the recollections of Liz Garlo, Rich May, Jack Van Olst and Jeff Breiwick.