Westwind gathers in Oregon and—what?—Lake Michigan?!

westwind

MidWestwind happened on the shore of Lake Michigan in August. Photo by Mike Teskey.

Celebrating a long-standing tradition that began in the early ’60s, Reedies gathered for a weekend in October at Camp Westwind, a spectacular retreat on the Oregon Coast.

Westwind has now inspired a similar gathering in the midwest, known as MidWestwind, which was hosted by Alison Birkmeyer Aske ’93 and her husband, Fred, and son, Julian, on the shore of Lake Michigan in August. David Perry ’73 and Mike Teskey report that it was a great weekend; here are some updates from those who attended.

Alison directed a staged reading of “If I Were You” and Other Elvis Presley Songs at the Greenhouse Theater in Chicago and Paul Miller ’02 had a role in the play. 

Clay Press ’81 enjoyed beach time with his wife and their three boys, who attend public schools Chicago.

Cindy Joe ’08 is still working at Fermilab. She was at the U.S. Particle Accelerator School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in June, and  is back now from her first trip to London.

Gareth Gollrad ’87, who is is alive and well and practicing law in Chicago, had fun kayaking and fishing on the lake.

Sarah Wadsworth ’86 spent a sunny day on the beach with her family. She attended the Sixth International Conference of the Henry James Society in Aberdeen, Scotland, is still teaching at Marquette, and has recently published articles on Emily Dickinson and on Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows. 

Chris Unseth ’92 and his wife, Christiane, enjoyed meeting and talking with Reedies. 

Sara Frank ’96 is still working independently and has taken up writing fiction after a long break. 

Tracy Steindel Ickes ’06 took a break from practicing law to enjoy the weekend with her new husband (and her fellow Reedies).

Megan Geigner MALS ’08 came with her husband, Joel Hobson, and recently took a course in Cologne, visiting Rome on the way.