Billy Martin’s tavern near Yankee Stadium may never be the same again.
On Sept. 21, after watching a Yankees home stand against the Tampa Bay Rays, eight former Red Deerians who have stuck together since high school descended on the Bronx pub to bide their time while time while waiting for post-game traffic to calm down.
Baseball in the Bronx, watching Sister Act on Broadway, shopping for designers’ newest lines of clothes and chowing down on authentic Italian pizza are just a few of the highlights from a trip organized by the lifelong friends, who all turned 50 this year.
Three of the crew of 11 women, who graduated together from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School, were unable to make the trip.
The eight who did get to go returned home after spending every cent of an investment fund they created to cover the costs of the trip, including rental of the 3,000-square-foot condo from which they launched their assault on the Big Apple.
Shelley McGregor, who now lives in Calgary, says she and the rest of the “Red Deer Girls” share a bond that has never been broken, in part because they have always made a point of being honest with each other.
There was nothing in particular that drew them together, says McGregor, daughter of former Red Deer mayor Roy McGregor, who died earlier this year. Their mutual friendship just happened.
The ongoing relationship started forming when McGregor made friends with Brenda Hucal (nee Simonsen) while they were attending kindergarten at St. Leonard’s on the Hill. The two gathered more friends over the years and worked their way together through Red Deer’s public school system. They stayed in touch after high school, even as various members moved to other cities and towns to build lives with their new families, says McGregor.
The group began to organize formal get-togethers about 15 years ago, when they decided to have a girls-only weekend. It became an annual affair, rotating between households.
“We get together quite a bit. But the one official girls’ weekend is at one person’s house and that person’s family gets kicked out for the weekend. They have to fend for themselves. All the guys in our lives all know about girls’ weekend.”
The group used a simple vote to decide on New York City as the destination for their 50th birthday celebration. They’re already laying plans to make another trip to a yet undecided location when they turn 55.
Together for the New York trip were McGregor, Hukal, Heather Jones (nee Power), Jo Brookes (Clark), Liz Veitch (Woodward), Lori Clauson (Schmale), Nancy Miller (Schultz) and Pam Krause. Unable to attend were Terry Jensen (Schultz), Lynn Heimsoth (Anderson) and Deb Noyes.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com
— copyright Red Deer Advocate