The *WeCaTon* - West Carrollton (Ohio) H.S. Alumni News (unofficial)
Monday, February 09, 2015
Bonnie's Latest News from WCHS Mid Century Classes
---Well, it's now January 20 and the last bulletin was sent January 10.
So
let's see how we do with this one. Remember, I warned you, I can't get
one
done every month, but I'll try hard for 6 to 8, each year, and that's
a
reasonable goal. We'll stick to protocol and list forwarders first:
1954's
FREDA P. FLETCHER;
1956's RALPH D. WILSON, ANN C. WEIDLE;1957's ERCELL P. PHILLIPS; 1958's
BILL
R. HOWARD
, RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, LORNA D. TROUTMAN; 1959's JOE E. STOMPS;
1960's
RICHARD S. HOLT, DELORES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY, WM E. "BUDDY" STOVER, DAVID
A.
BLAIR, EULA FAYE
BAILEY; 1961's PAUL R. BEARDSLEY, P. LYNNETTE GARRETT, GARY R. FRANK, JACK
L
GODB
Y, CONNIE K. STREETE, SANDRA E. BROCK; 1970's INDY JO GRISSOM; 1988's JAS.
T
MCGUIRE
As regards our e-mail lost, I've gotten no updates, unfortunately,
which
would've taken any of them off the elimination list. I'm very fearful
several of these alumni are actually deceased and no one knows about it.
If
you know anything, please let me know. If you have an updated e-mail,
please
let me know about that, too. Therefore, I've deleted all the
following
alumni, albeit very reluctantly; 1945's NORMA J. BROWN (deceased), DONALD
R.
THROCKMORTON; 1953's ELMER D. MARRIOTT; 1954's PATRICE B. GAUGH;
1955's
BARBARA J. THOMAS; and 1960's BEVERLY J. HAAS. Any updated
information
would be welcomed.
Among those who have kept us posted is 1956's ANN C. WEIDLE, who took
the
time to notify me of her new e-mail address, postal address, and the
change
of her surname from Brown to Axetell, in line with her recent
remarriage.
She remains in residence in Foley, Alabama. Thanks so much, Ann.
It became instantly apparent I wasn't the only one who had fond memories
of
my Little Miami riverbank (on both sides of the river, by the way) and
the
many years of fun times in South Moraine Platte behind the old Indian
River
Fruit Market. The mention of that area brought forth a flood of
responses,
as well as lots more names from that neighborhood. First checking in with
a
comment was 1959's CAROLYN E. EUBANK. She remembered the ROSE family,
the
THACKER family (1960's LONNIE M.?), 1954's C. ELAINE BARKER, and
Carolyn's
own sister, SHIRLEY, who had died of cancer 20 years ago. That was such
a
sad memory and I didn't even know. But thanks for all that, Carolyn.
Then there was my old pal and dearly-beloved friend, 1961's JOHN W.
OBERLIES
JR., class president and longtime member of the South Moraine Platte
gang.
He also recalled many of the names---CROY, GILLETTE, THACKER, and
EUBANK.
But more humorously, he reminded me of a great, great story which I'd
all
but forgotten, until he related it again, after all these decades. I
love
this one! Many of you, I
am sure, will remember the fire in the late 1950s, which burned down
Woody
s Little Farm.
As it happens, John's parents' home and the home of 1960's CHARLES V.
CARTER
sat side by side and shared a joint driveway. The step-father of Charles
was
Carl R. Roberson (now long since dead), and he was hired in the
clean-up
crew for the fire. Well, here he came, up that joint driveway, the
truck
bed filled with all the burnt beer from the fire. Carl temporarily dumped
it
at the head of the driveway. Of course, all the neighborhood guys,
especially John and Charles, stole all the burned beer they could get
in
their hands (and pockets and jeans and pants and whatever). So the
eventual
clean-up was far fewer bottle of burnt beer than was the original dump.
As
John put it, "The beer tasted just awful, of course, but we were so proud
of
ourselves." He wanted to know if you remember that, Charles. I know
very
well, you do. He also alluded to a pass-through-Indiana visit from Murl
E.
Huffman and how fun it was to reminisce with him. John said MEH was
far
younger, then, "only 94." Thanks, John, what a fun e-mail!
Also checking in was 1956's Rev. Dr. R. GWINN LACY. He provided the
geographic location of the Little Miami River, and of course, I knew he
was
correct. But in my Miami Shores youth, we always did call the river by
that
name, simply because that was, "the littlest width," and dozens of we
old
Miami Shores Kids often swam back and forth across that river. I did
it
many times, myself. Gwinn also wrote kind words about my late sister and
his
classmate, JUDY ANN RISNER. On February 26, it will be 7 years since
her
death and I can scarcely believe that. He sent best regards, also, to
my
now-sister-in-law, ANITA RAE MASON, who is very ill. He expressed
great
sorrow, also, about all those we've lost, and I know I feel a pang with
each
and every single one of those I report, even if I didn't know them at
all.
We all jointly comprise that big quilt of humanity which makes WC so
unique,
and is also a part of the reason we all seem to be so
closely-knit. Thanks,
Gwinn.
There was also a note from 1963's NORMA ELYN SPEELMAN, who lived in one
our
most frequented residences there behind Indian River, or at least the
side
yard. She mentioned the WALKER twins, also THACKER, 1963's BEVERLY K.
LIGHT,
JERRY T. EUBANK, and THOS. M. BEACHLER. Pretty good line-up, Elyn,
and
thanks.
There were the usual, wonderful notes of thanks and appreciation from
a
number of you, each of which I fondly treasure. They include 1954's
Rev.
JOHN E. CROY, 1956's RALPH D. WILSON, 1957's SHIRLE
Y ANN HILE, 1958's LORNA D. TROUTMAN, RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, 1961's JACK
L.
GODBY, 1963
's LEE JEAN HELLER, 1970's INDY JO GRISSOM, 1978's LARRY W. HENDERSON
(current alumni prez). My thanks to all of you, and once again,
we're
adding readers, which I still can't believe, after it's now nearly 15
years
(come October), since this, "accidental bulletin," began.
Let's welcome aboard a slug of new people, most from 1956, and most
attributable to the efforts of one 1956 class member, RALPH D. WILSON.
Those
people include CHAS. M. CLICK, ORIEN W. DODDS, JR., JOYCE ANN GAREY,
DONNA
MAE HINTON (who was already there, unbeknownst to me), JACK L. STOTTS,
R.
GWINN LACY, J. DONALD RUHKAMP (also already there, unbeknownst to me),
SHEL
BY ANN STOKES, and MARJORIE A. YATES. (Margie, where is your brother,
who
was my classmate, 1960's DONALD YATES?) These were all a result of the
sad
news of the death of one of their class members, ROSETTA PRUETT, on
January
10. Thanks, Ralph.
We've also added 1978's KEVIN L. WHITWORTH, through the efforts of
1964's
RICKEY A. BUSCH. As soon as I saw the Whitworth name, I was reminded of
1952
s LESTER L. WHITWORTH, and learned Kevin is his son, as I'd thought
he
might be. So welcome to you, too, Kevin, and thanks, Rick.
Thank you so much, PAMELA K. SHIPLEY, for your invite to the FaceBook
thing.
But it's just not for me. We've been all through that, and I'm none too
sure
I'll ever be getting involved in any of those high-profile social
websites.
They're just not my cup of tea, and the last thing I want or need is
yet
another layer of . communication. I'm a person who still hand-writes
people
stamps and postally mails items, still have my landline, and in addition
to
all that, I've got 9 e-mail addresses, and two cell phone lines. After
my
brief bout with FaceBook, it became instantly apparent to me, I could
never
be a part of it. I'm way too much of a 1950s Miami Shores Kid and old,
WC
Pirate. But thanks so much for asking.
On January 12, I spoke to my brother-in-law, who informed me he'd
been
contacted that day by 1981's TODD R. CARROLL, who informed him of the
sad
news of the Jan. 10 death of his mother, who is 1956 class member,
ROSETTA
PRUETT. She and I had a delightful visit in October, after her move back
to
the area, following many years in Arizona. I had no idea she was even
ill,
at the time. Apparently, neither did she, but she was a victim of cancer
and
by the time it was discovered, it was too late for her. I later
learned
there was to be no service, per her wishes. We extend condolences to
Todd
and all of Rosetta's family. Thank you for letting us know, Todd.
Okay, I'm back. It's now February 6 and lots has happened since my
last
entries. The big thing was a frozen water pipe and I had to have my
entire
house replumbed. Now, that's done and they're working on the
drainage
system while they were at it. So I had them re-do my gray water
drain. (For
those of you who are familiar with RVs, you'll know just want I
mean. My
vintage home was built in the 1950s, and was outfitted with a black
water
and a gray water drain. But if you're unfamiliar with RVs, you may not
know
what I mean. In any case, everything will be all new, and I'm
delighted.)
As of today, we're coming to a close with that work and I'll soon be able
to
enjoy it all.
Okay, back to our Pirate news! Every now and again, I go through and
update
my particulars on some of you. Such was the case, just recently, with
1954's
FREDA P. FLETCHER. We've got everything all corrected now, and
current. She
had more addresses than a fleeing felon. Ha! Thanks, Freda.
From 1963's LEE JEAN JORDAN came a wonderful e-mail, reminiscing about
the
wonderful times and the great world of the 1950s. Things began a
noticeable
about-face, as early as 1961, and I vividly recall wondering, way back
then,
where our world was going. Little did I know! Like so many of us, Lee
Jean
has roots which go way back in WC history. She worked 4 years at
Woody's
Arctic Bar with Mrs. Wolfe, mother of 1959's COE S. WOLFE, 1960's MILTON
R.
WOLFE, and 1963's JOHN R. WOLFE. She has also worked in the hospice
field
and at the WC Fire Dept., for 24 years. She remains active in line
dancing,
and says anyone is welcome who's at Yellow Rose in WC on Saturday nights
at
9:30. The more, the merrier and every is welcome to join in the
fun. Thanks
Lee Jean, lots of good memories!
From 1958's BILL R. HOWARD came photos of him and lifelong friend, RONALD
D.
"TOM" FEE, and they were taken 60 years apart. How wonderful to have
a
nurtured friendship for that many decades. He (Bill) referred to them
as,
two old geezers." Somehow, I still don't think of so many of us 1950s
and
early 1960s people as being old, even though I know we are. The
Howards,
along with daughter Laura, visited the Fees in Zephyrhills, Florida,
in
January. That's wonderful, They even checked out the facility there
for
skydiving, although Bill opted out of actually doing it, he wrote.
Probably
a good thing!
On January 13, we all received the horrible news about the illness of
1962's
MARY ANN DUNCAN, who is the longtime spouse of her classmate, RUSSELL
L.
RUSTY" ELLIOTT. She is also the sister of my 1960 classmate, WM. D.
DUNCAN.
To say everyone took this news very hard would surely be a huge
understatement. Many words of encouragement and support flowed in for
Mary.
People called, sent her cards, and sent encouraging e-mails. Among
those
who made such gestures were 1958's HARRIETTE E. DOGGETT, LORNA D.
TROUTMAN,
1960's MICHAEL S. WEST, 1962's SUE LAYNE SPEELMAN, 1963's TERRIE A.
STOLTZ,
1971's RODNEY R. GABBARD, and likely many, many more of whom I'm
unaware.
But I know we're all banding together to support Mary and let her know
we're
all pulling for her and Rusty.
On February 1, I received word from 1959's NORMAN E. SANFORD, about
the
January 27 death of BARBARA H. "BOBBYE" HAGGERTY, wife of WC's
iconic,
longtime, marching band director, HARRY C. HAGGERTY. Their residence is
in
Tucson, Arizona. I did not know Mrs. Haggerty, but heard only the very
best
things about her from many alumni who were close to them. They included
Norm
of course, and 1970's INDY JO SUMNER and VICKIE JO GILBERT, who gave them
a
going-away party when they moved to Arizona, as well as 1961's JACK L.
GODBY
who was the drum major, as was Norm. As with Mary's situation, I know
there
were many others with similar feelings, of whom I'm unaware.
Also going through a cancer treatment program is Pastor Larry W.
Matthews,
Ret., and he is the spouse of 1961's NANCY A. HALL. At this writing,
Larry
is currently hospitalized for some advanced type of chemo
treatments. Nancy
has reported it seems to be working. We're all happy for that, Nancy,
and
do convey our very best wishes to Larry. Nancy recently had a birthday,
too
and sent me thank-you e-mail for her card.
While I am on sad topics, I may as well get through this, also. My
cousin,
JUDITH L. SAMUELS, with whom I've been close for my entire life, is now
in
hospice care at home. She has no idea how long she has, but has more
or
less told me she knows she will soon die, and has asked me to write
her
obituary. This was overwhelming for me, and I'm still trying to deal with
it
and not doing well, I must admit. If this really happens, I will be
a
basket case. Writing her obituary will be all but impossible for me, but
I
am going to do it because she has asked me. Somehow, some way, I will
get
through it.
It was wonderful for me to read of the reconnection of 1954's JOHN E.
CROY
and VICTOR C. NOEL, who were best buds in high school and shared many
adventures. John told me they exchanged e-mail and it was so fun to
hear
from him again. I'm thrilled about that. John will send a CD of his book
to
any who may want it. Thanks, John.
Recently, I heard from 1986's KEITH A. SIMS. He wrote he's missing a
couple
yearbooks and asked if I might have them. They're 1979 and
1980. Does
anyone out there have extras of these two? Also, I still accept, buy,
beg,
borrow, steal, garage-sale, estate-sale, whatever, any and all yearbooks
of
any years. So if you see any, get them. Yes, I do have extras of
some
years. But those weren't among them. If you have them, let me know,
and
you can contact Keith.
A thank-you came from 1958'S LORNA D. TROUTMAN for her birthday card and
she
also requested a photo of what she called my, "snow-covered
mountain."
However, I was unable to accommodate her, as we have yet to see a
single
flake of snow, here on my mountain. Sorry, Lorna.
Okay, let's try to get some upbeat words into this one. I'm sorry for
all
the sad news, this time. But as I have previously written on many
occasions
in the nearly-15 years I've done these bulletins, I've learned people
want
to know these things, even though they're not pleasant nor fun to
read. So
that's why I will continue to report them.
From 1958's LANDO F. STEELE came wishes for a Happy New Year. He said
he's
doing well and still working out at the gym and in pretty fair
health. That
s always great to hear. There was also a note or two from 1960's MICHAEL
S.
WEST. He described my last bulletin as a novel. Ha! I guess they're
all
like that, really. He wrote of a trip to Murfreesboro to see their
grandson,
and on the upside, Sally had but two more treatments to complete her
cancer
regimen. We hope all went well, Mike.
In a real bit of interesting trivia, Mike sent statistics for the blog.
On
that day (Jan. 22), he wrote there had so far been 15 views. The prior
day
was 11 views. The prior month was 904 views. The total views were a
staggering 38,435! I thought that was amazing. The blog was
originally
begun by NANCY J. ERTEL, 1961, and Mike has maintained it, ever
since. I'd
say it's a hit. Mike also wrote of something called a, "virtual
cemetery,"
which is apparently maintained by RICHARD S. HOLT, also 1960, and I'm
making
the assumption he posts all WC passings on this site.
Also checking in with some interesting WC trivia was 1958's RONALD D.
"TOM"
FEE, who is one of my fellow Miami Shores Kids. Like me (and most other
WC
kids), he bemoans the passing of our own Woody's Supermarket. Tom
wrote
that, at one time, Woody had more Yellow Page advertising than anyone in
the
entire state. No doubt, Tom, no doubt. He also wrote of the original,
Woody
s produce tent, from the 1940s, where he had his chalk board out front
with
the specials written on it. Well, Tom, I still remember that, too. I
was
but 4 years old when my parents first started going there, too, buying
the
produce. I had very curly hair and Woody nearly always patted me on
the
head, talked about my curly hair, and gave me a beautiful, fuzzy
peach. I
suspect we all have a story or two about Woody.
From 1963's SHIRLEY ANN RANKIN came a bit of a razzing about my,
"Elvis
orders," in the last one of my bulletins. Of course, I expected
that.
Shirley is among those who, in the past 6 months or so, has requested
news
on her classmate, FRANCES L. PEFFLY. There are several who have asked
about
her and they include SANDRA K. MINIX, TERRIE A. STOLTZ, and 1961's P.
LYNNETTE GARRETT. I wish I had an answer for all of you, but alas, I
haven
t heard a word!
A wonderful occasion occurred this past summer for 1957's SHIRLEY ANN
HILE
and her spouse, Jack E. Richards. They celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary and it sounds as if the event drew quite a crowd. The
celebration was held on June 29 at Miamisburg First Church of God in
the
picnic area and Shirley reported attendance was around 130
people. That's
quite impressive.
Among the attendees were people many of us know, of course, and they
included our iconic civics teacher, MURL E. HUFFMAN, who never seems to
miss
anything WC-oriented, "my crush teacher in all my high school years," JAS.
C
JOHNSON, and his wife (that lucky girl!), Ada M., and 1952's DONNA A.
SMITH
(now Courtney). I'm sure there were many others, too. Shirley says they
had
5 popcorn flavors and Jack came up with the idea of scoops of ice cream
from
The Ice Cream Trolley. Shirley's sister (but which one?) decided on
a
special anniversary cake, which was designed by Loretta Shackleton
Van
Norman. It all sounds like quite a blowout, Shirley, just as it should
have
been. Thank you so much for the great report.
Okay, gang, the Fifth Annual Texas Hold 'Em Tournament is upcoming on
February 28 and will again be held at Treasure Island Supper Club in
Moraine
City. The first 50 folks who pay the registration fee will be
participating
I sure hope I get this bulletin distributed in time to give people
a
chance to do that. My thanks to 1988's JAS. T. MCGUIRE for keeping us up
to
date on these events, in coordination with the WC Football Alumni
Club.
Okay, gang, I'm sort of wobbling through this next piece of news, but
am
going to include it, as it came to me from classmate THOS. L. WOLF,
JR. As
nearly as I can determine, there may not be any alumni of WC in this,
but
perhaps there are. First, Tom wrote of the pre-Christmas death of
Dick
Ripley, and said a memorial was held in Lebanon. Tom wrote Dick isn't
an
alumnus, but that his second marriage was a bridge between two
families
named Ripley and Daugherty. He wrote there were 11 in the combined
family
and that one family member, Alice Ripley, appeared many times on
Broadway.
They all came to WC in the mid-1970s. I knew none of them, but Tom
felt
many of you might remember them.
He also wrote of the recent death of Virgil R. Wickert II, in The
Villages,
Florida, who is survived by his second wife and caretaker, Sandra A.
Neither of them were WC alumni, either. However, the way I'm reading
it,
Virgil's four children were all WC alumni, but I don't have their
names.
Thanks so much for that report, Tom.
Okay, we've once again reached the close of all e-mails. I'm running
full
speed ahead for 2015, as this is already my second bulletin distribution
for
this year and it's only February 7. So I know I'm spoiling all of you,
and
it's a very bad habit. Ha! No, I can't maintain this pace, that's for
sure
but I'm going to take full advantage while I'm moving along at this
rate.
So now, we'll get current on some personal contacts.
The last time I spoke with 1958's BRUCE E. CHENOWETH, he told me he
was
heading to Florida for a visit with his sister-in-law, and he would
be
accompanied by longtime companion, 1971's PATTY JO WHEELBARGER. I
haven't
yet heard if their trip was completed nor any details, but I'm sure I
will.
Also contacting me was EULA FAYE BAILEY, 1960, and we spoke of many
things,
as we always do. Both of us share such fond memories of our long and
close
friendship with another classmate, so well-known, BEVERLY A. BOWMAN, who
was
also my step-sister for 9 years, along with her siblings, LARRY A., the
late
NANCY L., and DANIEL L. She's rarely out and about these days, and
coping
with her own set of health issues, as are so many of us in this age
group.
There was a pleasant, wonderful conversation with 1958's HARRIETTE E.
DOGGETT, the older sister of my dear high school friend, the late W.
SUSAN
DOGGETT, who was also Bruce's first wife. Harriette is just like she was
in
high school, and what you see (and hear) is exactly what you get. She
was
quite the strong and foreboding young girl in school. Believe me, she
still
is, and tough as nails. She's coming through her own health issues,
too.
Aren't we all?
CHAS, A. HIGH, JR., continues to power through his health crises, also,
and
stays doggedly devoted to the care of his wife of nearly-46 years,
Carolyn,
who is wheelchair-bound from repeated strokes and has lost the sight in
one
eye. I believe Charlie has now had about 22-23 heart procedures,
himself.
He told me he thinks he's alive only through determination and
will. I
believe him.
The last time I spoke with Pamela J. Carter, she told me 1960's CHAS.
V.
CARTER was likely going to go to Florida during this winter and spend a
few
of the cold weeks with his maternal uncle, who is 1959's JERRY L.
WEBB. I
haven't yet gotten the update on that, so I don't know if he did or did
not
go.
When last I spoke with 1958's LANDO F. STEELE, he said he'd recently
attended several of those Tuesday breakfasts with WC alumni, and I know
some
of the regular attendees include not only Lando, but also Bruce and
also
their football icon, FLOYD R. "BUBBLES" WILLIAMS, JR. As most of us are
now
aware, he doesn't wish to be addressed any longer by his fabled
nickname,
but as I once told him, "You've got be aware of the fact you made
that
nickname famous among all of us, that's how we all know you, and when
fellow
WC people say it to you, it's done with fond affection and great memories
of
your incredible football feats in high school." Every word of that is
true,
too. I believe another fairly regular attendee is 1959's GARY E. BARNES,
as
well a couple other 1958 class members, VINCENT A. BRODBECK (another
football icon) and BILL R. HOWARD, the record-holder of the fastest pair
of
feet in the history of WC track records, and maybe even in the state of
Ohio
I remember that, too, and boy!! He really was that fast. I do
believe
DAVID L. HOWARD also attendes. So keep up those breakfasts, all you
guys,
and have a great time of it.
There was also a call recently from my birthday twin, 1960's DEVONA
S.
TAYLOR, and we got current on lots of stuff, in general. She's doing
all
right. Where are you, JO ANN K. STEMLEY? Still in Florida? Call me! Or
I'm
going to call you. Did I mention a thank-you from another classmate,
LINDA
L. SHANK? She was also thanking me for a birthday greeting and she has
a
birthday twin, too. It's SHIRLEY JAY TUDOR. Our class has yet a third
set
of birthday twins, too, in the persons of GERALD A. FULLER and WM. O.
WALKER
Come to think of it, the 1960 class has yet another distinction. We
have
8 couples from our own class, who married each other. I wonder how
many
single WC classes have that many, or if any WC class has more?
Okay, readers, we've come to the close of another WeCaTon. Again, I
deeply
thank each of you for your dedication to reading these, even taking the
time
to add more readers, contributing all your news, and most of all, for
seeming to truly enjoy them. I appreciate that part, I think, more
than
anything else. But do remember, without your input, there will be no
WeCaTons, so it's very important. I'm humbled by your expressions of
enjoyment and appreciation, and it's exactly what keeps me pounding
these
type-writer keys---ok, keyboard! I'm a 1950s kid, what do you
expect? My
typing teacher ANN SPANGENBERG
would be so proud! I can still do about 80 words per minute, with
accuracy!
So I leave you all with my usual wishes for glowing health, personal
safety
great happiness, peaceful serenity, spiritual harmony, and great
prosperity
Ciao!
