12/12/00 South Dakota 57701
12/18/00 Minnesota 55387
12/23/00 Wisconsin 53563
1/8/01 Iowa 52136
1/16/01 Indiana 47331
1/24/01 Michigan 48165
1/29/01 Ohio 44094
2/6/01 Kentucky 40759
3/1/01 Mississippi 39426
2/13/01Tennessee 37160
South Dakota 57701 Due 12/13/00
Owney arrived in Rapid City on Tuesday, December 12. He was very glad to be in our warm school because the weather outside went below zero for the first time in 705 days in our city. We think the mail bags helped keep the real Owney warm too. Owney was a guest dog at our Christmas Sing rehearsal. He was hugged and held by all of Mrs. Dupre's second graders.
We also sent teams of four kids to share him with the other 2nd grade classes, all 3rds, and all 4ths. (Boys and girls in those classes remembered
Owney from the last two years.) One person showed Owney and all his pins and metals. Another showed a map we have colored of places we have received
postcards from and a picture of the real Owney from the Internet. The third person showed our photograph album that holds all our Owney postcards and pictures received this year. The fourth person showed Owney's mailbag and the folder with the list of students for us to sign. Over 700 people have already had Owney visit them this year!
We attached a Mr. Rushmore key chain to Owney and celebrated with a party of apple juice and gingerbread kid cookies. We enjoyed watching the video
about Owney, and Owney really enjoyed being the center of attention at Grandview. We wanted to keep him longer, but we know that a Minnesota classroom is anxious to have him visit too.
Mrs. Dupré took Owney to the post office and mailed his box on Dec. 13. He should be in MN by the 18th. We'll try to get our postcards sent out in early January after the Christmas rush.
Minnesota 55387 Due 12/18/00
12/18/00 Hello everyone!
Well, we're in our 17th straight day of below normal temperatures, the students never went outside last week because the windchill never went above zero all week, this week looks to be the same, and it's a snowstorm outside. Typical Minnesota.
Owney has arrived, and we're spending the day with him. I'll be mailing him to Wisconsin after school, hopefully they will have their day with him and he can be in Iowa right after break.
It has been wonderful being able to track him via the emails you have sent-particularly knowing when he was on the way to us-wonderful work keeping him on time!!
Happy Holidays
Leslie
Wisconsin 53563 Due 12/22/00 or 1/2/01
December 24,2000
Owney arrived in Wisconsin in the snowiest December in history. Since we were on Christmas break, Owney was sent to Mrs. Schrank’s house so he wouldn’t be alone for Christmas and New Years. Mrs. Schrank’s second graders came to her house on Wednesday, Dec. 27th for her annual Christmas Breakfast. The boys and girls were so excited to meet Owney. He ate breakfast with us, listened to the kids play the piano and got petted a lot!! We returned to school on Thursday, January 4th. A newspaper reporter and a photographer were there to meet Owney. We told them the story about Owney and watched the video. We added our pin of Wisconsin and a small cheesehead to Owney’s vest. After we all signed the log book, we worked on our postcards. We enjoyed Owney all day and boxed him up at the end of the day to send him to Iowa. We were certainly surprised to see the great newspaper story in the Janesville Gazette on Sunday, January 7th. There was a huge color picture of Owney sitting on a desk with about 6 students working around him. The article told all about Owney and included many comments from the children about our experience with him in our classroom. Though it was very cold and snowy in Wisconsin, Owney certainly warmed our hearts. Thanks for the visit!!
Mrs. Schrank’s second grade
Milton, Wisconsin
Iowa 52136 Due 1/8/01
Greetings from Iowa!
Owney arrived right on schedule, January 8. It was great to see him again with all his momentoes. Old students in the class love to tell the new students about Owney. We read the book by Lynn Hall again and watched the Animal Planet video that we were unable to watch last year when it was on. It answered many of the questions the students had about Owney's life.
Now, we are gathering Iowa facts that the students think are important and will send our postcards out shortly. What a fun project! The student's love to
have their pictures taken with Owney!!!
Indiana 47331 Due 1/12/01
1/16/01 Dear Friends,
I arrived in Indiana and was welcomed with Hoosier Hospitality. The students had their favorite stuffed animals waiting to greet me. They spent the morning making covered bridges for a 500 car race. I found out that there are 32 covered bridges in Indiana. Mrs. Newton took me past the one in their park, on the way to the post office. I think it looks a lot like a BIG dog house. The races were fun to watch. I wanted to chase the cars, but then I remembered that dogs shouldn't chase cars. Basketball is a big sport here. We also spent time in the gym shooting hoops. I especially liked coming back to the room to watch some of Air Bud - a real dog who played basketball. We ate puppy chow, Jello race cars, and popcorn. Indiana grows lots of popcorn. It is almost as good as puppy chow. The kids gave me Indy 500 socks to keep my front paws warm for the journey to Michigan. They said that they hope I get shoes - like Air Bud- for my back paws along the way. Friends from my last 2 visits came to say hi. I would love to stay for a few more days, but my nose is itching for new adventures. Michigan, here I come.
Your canine buddy,
Owney
Michigan 48165 Due 1/18/01
1/24/01 Dear Friends,
I really enjoyed my visit with Ms. Andrikides' (ander-key-dees) Kindergartners. The are so smart! They all know how to read, and they were even trying to teach me to read! I even got to go to lunch, art, library, and see the playground while I was here. I learned all about Michigan, and Ms. Andrikides helped me get all of the Michigan facts onto postcards. Ms. Andrikides read a story about Michigan called M is for Mitten. When she took me to the post-office Tuesday afternoon the postal worker insisted on giving me a new box. (My old one had more tape than cardboard!) She wanted to make sure I was safe and sound on my journey to Ohio. This was my third year visiting Dolsen so it was nice to see all of my old friends. It sure is cold here though, it was only 29 degrees while I was here. I am looking forward to visiting Florida! Good thing I had my racing socks on from Indiana! Hugs to everyone I have visited and I look forward to meeting those I haven't yet!
Love, Owney
ps. My journal has just about 900 signatures in it!
Angela Andrikides
Kindergarten Teacher
Dolsen Elementary School
Room B114
South Lyon Community Schools
Ohio 44094 Due 1/23/01
1/29/01 We received Owney last Thursday, and are preparing to send him on before the end of the day today. Sorry we didn't make the turn around quicker, but we'll send him overnight UPS to try to make up some time. He's been in 5 classes, and another class will see him this morning.
More pictures and stories later today.
Beverly Elliott
Kirtland Local School District
Kirtland, OH
Kentucky 40759 Due 1/29/01
2/6/01 Owney is in Kentucky right now. We were out of school when he arrived, due to the flu. We got him today, and I will send him on tomorrow. Sorry about getting him so late!
Rita
Mississippi 39426 Due 2/2/01
3/1/01 Hi Owney friends,
I think Owney got lost in one of those Mardi Gras parades last week, but he finally made it to Mississippi just in time for Dr.Suess' birthday. Our librarian had a birthday party for Dr.Suess on Friday and we were invited. We listened to Dr.Suess stories and then we had cupcakes. Owney had a great time. We made his picture sitting beside the birthday cake. The picture is attached.(if I did it right :-) )
It was very bad weather here Friday. We sent Owney on his way to Florida just in time because Saturday we got 10 inches of rain. There was some minor flooding in our town.
We gave Owney a magnolia sachet. When the rest of the classes open his box, it should smell like a spring day in Mississippi. Hope you enjoy.
Mrs.Carolynn
Tennessee 37160 Due 2/7/01
2/13/01 Owney arrived here yesterday in Shelbyville, Tennessee, the Walking Horse Capital of the World, at lunchtime in the rain. We included him in some our Valentines things. In fact, we pinned a Valentine pin on him and then sent him on to Alabama. The kids really appreciated seeing him. They loved the tape. Thanks for including it.
I love this program. It really allows me to include things in some organized manner that I would not have time for otherwise. I really thank you for all of your hard work!
The students will finish addressing those postcards sometime today and we'll get those out to the teachers.
Betsy
