The *WeCaTon* - West Carrollton (Ohio) H.S. Alumni News (unofficial)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Bonnie's Latest Post, April 17, 2015

---Here I sit, on my Tennessee mountainside. I hear birds singing, even

though the sky is dark.overcast, and foreboding. So we might get one of

those spring storms, for which East Tennessee is so famous. I love storms

and watch them in awe, but I don't want anyone to be hurt nor sustain

property damage. It's now April 17 and it will be 76 today, about 44%

humidity---dreamy (for me), and nothing like trying to breathe in steamy

Florida, where it's constantly like trying to inhale pork chop gravy, it's

so humid.

Here we go with our usual opening list of forwarders, who include 1954's

FREDA P. FLETCHER; 1960

's C. SUE MCCLOUD, WM. E. "BUDDY" STOVER; 1956's R. GWINN LACY; 1957's

ERCELL P. PHIL

LIPS; 1958's BILL R. HOWA RD ; 1960's DELORES K. "DEDE" FAHRNEY, WM. E.

BUDDY" STOV ER, C. SUE MCCLOUD 1962 's RUSSELL L. "RUSTY" ELLIOTT, 1964's W.

THOS. GODBY. We also got an e-mail update on 1957's RANDALL W. PARKS, so

thank you, Randy. Our e-mail lost list is down to nothing now, and it is not

because we don't have any. It's because, following at least six rejects, I

then deleted the addresses from the send list, in order to cut back on the

time spent for that. But I still want all those people back on the list. So

if you have info on them, I will appreciate getting it.

Naturally, I also thank all you lovely, wonderful, WC readers who make this

bulletin possible by sending your news, continuing to read, and always

conveying so many wonderful words of support, thanks, and appreciation.

Those people are 1954's FREDA P. FLETCHER; JANICE L. WIREMAN (Homecoming

Queen); 1956's RALPH D. WILSON; 1957's NEIL H SIZER, ERCELL P. PHILLIPS,

HOWARD O. TYS

ON, RANDALL W. PARKS; 1958's RONALD D. "TOM" FEE, BILL R. HOWARD; 1959'S

SHIRLEY R. PARKS (Homecoming Queen), GARY E. BARNES (WeCaTon's Chief Field

Reporter, also the one who named this bulletin) ; 1960's EULA FAYE BAILEY;

1961's JACK L. GODBY, RICHARD L. DOLL, DAL

LAS K. MATHIS; 1962's THOS. J. GAULDIN; 1963's SHIRLEY A RANKIN; 1964's

LINDA S. MAYO.

Freda reported she and her husband will be celebrating his 80th birthday,

come July 9. They plan to be in Virginia with other family members, at that

time. Of course, prior to that birthday, Freda is going to have her own

special day on May 12, when she will turn 79. Just in case you're all

wondering, by the way, we have no reservations about revealing ages in THIS

group! Everyone knows already, just how old we all are. We went to school

together, remember? Also, when you really think about it, what's the point

in lying about your age, anyway? We can lie all we want, it won't do any

good. We're as old as we are, and no way around it. So congratulations and

happy birthday wishes to Freda, somewhat ahead of time, I hope, (and then

Larry). We should all be so lucky! Speaking of birthdays, from darling JACK

.GODBY, 1961, I received a belated wish. Thank you so much, my dear.

From 1956's JOS. F. SNELL came an invitation to drive down to his

neighborhood (about 40 miles from me in Greeneville) so we can have dinner

together at one of my all-time favorite eateries, The Gondolier, which is

right there in Greeneville. Well, we're going to do that, Joe, I promise. It

has been way too long since I've been to that place and I love it!

RICHARD L. DOLL, 1961, wrote to say his parents retired to New Port Richey.

The town caught his eye in the last bulletin, because fellow teacher, DAVID

E. COLLINS, moved there, too. I think I also wrote of the fact 1961's SANDRA

S. MAYO also lives there. In fact, I'm aware we have lots of lots of WC

alumni who live either part-time or full-time in Florida. Richard also

correctly noted that Florida city as being a sort of hideaway in the

1920s-1930s era for celebrities who wanted to escape the spotlight. What

with the modern strain of papparazzi, I'd guess that's now impossible.

Richard tried all the questions on my little trivia quiz, too. He reported

his results. Of course, that served to jog my memory in saying I'd put all

the answers in this bulletin, else I'd have forgotten. So here we go:

1.) The original names of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are Donatello,

Leonardo, Michaelangelo (am I spelling that correctly?), and Raffaele. (I've

heard the modern version is allowing use of nicknames for them (Donnie, Leo,

Mikey, and Raf).

2.) The seven deadly sins, as listed in The Bible, are avarice, envy,

gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, and vanity.

While 5 of them are obvious, I've discovered many people don't recognize the

terms, avarice nor sloth. Avarice was the term for greed in Biblical times,

and is today sometimes used in sentences which incorporate the term,

avaricious." As for sloth, that was Biblical-times term for laziness. These

days, however, people don't use it at all, and it mostly applies to the

animal, the sloth, whom we see in zoos (---and that animal DOES epitomize

laziness and slow, lumbering movement).

3.) The Seven Dwarfs---my all-time, lifelong favorite in terms of trivia

questions---are Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy.

Invariably, if people can name 6 of them, the one they always miss is

Bashful.

4.) The eight reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid,

Donner, and Blitzen (just as in the famous poem. No, Rudolph was not one of

the right reindeer.

5.) Finally, the most difficult of all the questions was to name the nine,

sitting, Supreme Court Justices. They are Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Steven G.

Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena G. Kagan, Anthony M. Kennedy, Chief

Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Antonin G. Scalia, Sondra M. Sotomayor, and

Clarence W. Thomas. (I hope you all had fun with all these. I've always

rather enjoyed trivia.)

As much as I always hate this, I want to go ahead and get the unpleasant

news behind us, although I'm well aware, as the weeks pass, I may receive

more. On March 9, we lost 1964's KENNETH R. WRIGHT, who was a victim of

cancer. This was reported to me in time for the last bulletin, by classmate,

LINDA S. MAYO. I somehow did manage to omit it in my last bulletin. For that

I apologize. Also, Linda reported the April 14 death of yet another of her

classmates, SAUNDRA L. HOWARD, also a cancer victim. This class has been hit

especially hard in recent months. Let's hope they don't have anymore for a

very long while (or any class, for that matter) . Linda also reported the

death of 1963's MICHAEL K. FANNIN, on April 16, but I have no details on

that one. Thank you, Linda.

Of course, everyone is well aware of the death of 1956's ANITA RAE MASON on

April 4. I, myself, was instantly aware of this one, of course, as Anita was

my sister-in-law, having been married for 4 1/2 years to my brother-in-law,

Ralph J. Osterman, the widower of my sister, 1956's JUDY ANN RISNER, Anita's

Lifelong best friend. Anita was also the elder sister of 1957's SARAH M.

JACKIE" MASON, too Words of condolence came from several alumni, who

included 1956's R. GWINN LACY, RALPH D. WILSON, 1958's RONALD "TOM" FEE,

1960's V. JEAN WARD (Miami Shores Kid, last 2 years at Carlisle HS), WM. O.

WALKER, 1961's NANCY A. HALL, 1963's LEE JEAN JORDAN, and 1969's MICHAEL J.

LOTSPAIH. I also continued to get condolence messages for the loss of cousin

JUDITH L. SAMUELS, with whom I was closer than I can ever describe (March 9)

and I still miss her sorely every day of my life. Those came from 1960's

PHILLIP D. HOWARD, EULA FAYE BAILEY, V. JEAN WARD, 1961's NANCY J. ERT,

DALLAS K. MATHIS, 1967's MARIAN K. HUSSEY. Many thanks to all of you. I wish

I were doing better with losing Judy, but honestly, I'm not. At least, not

so far. She was such an integral, close part of my life, every day (!), for

7 decades. We told each other every, single detail of our lives, from the

time we were very small. Her death has been a crushing loss for me. I

honestly feel as though a part of me is now missing. Thank you, again.

No, we aren't yet through the deaths. Classmate THOS. L. WOLF, JR., reported

the death of neighbor and 1955 class member, BARBARA J. THOMAS, the spouse

of 1953's ELMER D. MARRIOTT. She died April 4, Tom wrote, following a

lengthy illness. Also reporting this death was 1956's R. GWINN LACY. We

extend condolences to Elmer, the family, and all close friends. Thank you,

Tom and Gwinn.

The next big shocker came to me on Easter Sunday, with an e-mail from 1961's

NANCY A. HALL, who informed me she'd just buried her husband on April 1.

Retired Lutheran Pastor Larry W. Matthews was a victim of a strain of cancer

called Burkitt's lymphoma, Nancy wrote. He had just been diagnosed last

December. She said there were 25 other pastors in attendance at Larry's

service, among all other attendees. She and Larry had resided in Rockford,

Illinois, and I'm sure Nancy will remain there, as I'm certain she had one

daughter, who lives nearby. We all send you sincerest condolences for your

loss, Nancy. Thank you for letting us know.

On April 14, we lost 1962's MARY ANN DUNCAN, who was the spouse of her

classmate, RUSSEL L. "RUSTY" ELLIOTT. She'd been battling a very aggressive

form of cancer for several months, with her husband at her side. Rusty kept

us all all informed of all changes and her general status, throughout. We

all thank you for that, Rusty, and you know we're all heartbroken for your

loss. Marry Ann was also the younger sibling of my classmate, 1960's WM. D.

DUNCAN, to whom we also extend condolences.

When word went out of Mary's death, there were yet more messages of

condolence and regret, which came to me, for you, Rusty.. Those came from

1958's VINCENT A. BRODBECK (and his longtime SO, Brenda K. Heiser), 1960's

EULA FAYE BAILEY, 1961's P. LYNNETTE GARRETT, 1962's THOS. J. GAULDIN, 1963

s GAYLE E. LESHER, NORMA E. SPEELMAN, 1970;s RITA G. JUSTICE. But probably

the most accurate assessment of all, came from 1964's SUE LAYNE "SUZI"

SPEELMAN, who wrote, "OMG! What a beautiful woman, such a loss!" You are so

right, Suzi, and I know Rusty thanks all of you.

Next came quite a blast from the past, when I had a long and windy exchange

with old friend, V. JEAN WARD, who moved to the Chautauqua area following

the end of our sophomore year. But for many a year before that, she and I

and late cousin Judy were literally inseparable, living just a few doors

apart on Miami Shores Drive. We did lots of fun rehashing about all, "the

good, ol' days," in magical Miami Shores. Especially amusing is the story of

the two guys (one from Patterson Co-op, who had a huge crush on Jean, but

who didn't?) and his name was Johnny. The other guy's name was Marty. They'd

both come all the way to MS from Dayton so Johnny could see Jean. No, I don

t recall how they met.

But we'd all skip rocks across the river and giggle a lot and do all the

stuff 15-year-olds (or so) did in those days, NOT to be compared with what

they do THESE days, mind you! Anyway, many years later, as I went through

old photos, I kept thinking that Marty kid had a familiar look to him, but I

couldn't figure out why. Eventually, the light went off in my head, as I

realized this kid we'd known as Martino Charles "Marty" Estevez had grown up

to become the famed actor, Martin Sheen. I often wonder if he'd ever

remember any of us. Who knows? It's a great story, a true story, and Jean

and I shared a good e-mail laugh about it. Jean now lives in Franklin,

Tennessee, with her husband, Larry D. Rhule.

Also during this bulletin period, I had a fun exchange with 1959's SHIRLEY R

PARKS and her spouse, 1957's NEIL H. SIZER. We were kibitzing about health

as we age, the puzzle of how genetics work, and why one child is healthy

while a sibling is not, etc. This led to a story about the fact my own

father died in a fistfight at nearly 88 years old, which HE started, by the

way. So we managed to turn the whole thing into something which reflected

good humor and a great story. So it was amusing and cordial.

From 1961's DALLAS K. MATHIS came a response to the trivia quiz, also. He

didn't do too badly. He also reported he maintains intermittent contact with

some of his former classmates and band members who include W. DUANE

BRIDENBAUGH, JACK L. GODBY (Drum Major), CAROL J. MUMMA, and KAY L. SCHMOLL.

That's great, Dallas, and as all readers know, I'm all for maintaining

contact with our school friends and attending the get-togethers, whenever

possible. We all need to do that, as we are losing far too many of our

alumni, far too quickly.

Does anybody out there know a Herb or Ed Jackson, who could be WC alumni? I

don't recognize either name, but I think they're much younger. Anyway, 1954

s FREDA P. FLETCHER mentioned both names, saying she thinks they were

mid-60s grads. We always kibitz about the old Miami Shores memories, of

course, and all the fun we had. Other familiar names she mentioned were WM.

R. "BILL" DORSEY, SR.,

RUSSELL H. HARVILLE, JAS. N. "SMITTY" SMITH, and ROY W. FITZ. I remember

all of them, but Roy was, I think, the elder brother of ROGER D. FITZ. I

recall Roger having been married to MARILYN L. STRALEY, at one time, but

Marilyn died. In fact, I believe all those girls are now deceased. The

three other sisters were SHIRLEY, CAROLYN, and HELEN. We lived on the same

street with them for years and years and years. Good memories in ol' Miami

Shores, huh, Freda? At one time, we even had a horse-drawn, ice cream truck.

No wonder all the kids from the other neighborhoods came over there, all

the time!

We've got a correction, readers! I reported in the last one on 1963's

SHIRLEY ANN RANKIN and her broken right shoulder. But the thing is, it wasn

t the right one, it was the left one. Sorry about that, Shirley. But she

says her recovery is fast-paced and coming along well. She hopes to be back

to normal by the time she and her husband return to Florida in September to

resume their tourist-seasonal positions with Disney World. Well, we're all

glad you're healing well, Shirley.

As have so many over the past 2-3 years, Shirley also questioned if I'd

heard anything from FRANCES L. PEFFLY, 1963. Sadly, I haven't, Shirley. It's

as though Fran dropped off the face of the earth, about 3 years ago. I've

had queries about her from 1963's SANDRA K. MINIX, LEE JEAN JORDAN, CONNIE K

STREETE, 1964's P. LYNNETTE HAWVERMALE, and several others whose names don

t come to mind, as I type. So I really can't answer, but wish I could. I

sure do miss what used to be very regular visit intervals from Fran and her

daughter, Kelly Ann Moore. They were often accompanied by Fran's son, Jonny

A. Moore, Jr., whom we're now sure has passed away. So if anyone hears

anything from Fran, do let us know. She has a legion of people who would

like to contact her.

Before I forget, my big news for 2015 is that I'm dumping cable TV service.

I'm really miffed with their greediness and, "forced channel choices," and

have been doing a lot of studying and reading on the options available. So

here's what I'm doing. I'm buying one of those new, state-of-the-art,

technological antennas with all the gadgets, having it installed in the most

advantageous spot in or on my house (by a professional whom I've known ever

since living here), then will open a ROKU account to which one can add as

many as 9 televisions. The cost is $8.10 a month + tax. I may open a

second ROKU account, too, as my house is humongous and I have 16 (!)

televisions connected to cable

When they demanded a cable box for each set (last year in November), it

would've doubled my already- egregious cable bill. So I added just the key

locations. But it's $7 + tax for each box, so do the math. I'm not paying

that!! I'll have to have the Internet for ROKU, but I'd keep that, anyway,

so I can't make that a part of the cost. My cable bill is now $146 per

month. When I'm finished with everything, it will drop to a mere $18, if I

have TWO of the ROKU accounts. If not, it will be just $9. I can't wait

and I plan to do this within 30 days of this writing. (It's now April 21,

by the way.) I'll keep you all posted. My sources indicate people are

dumping cable, left and right, for the same reasons I'm doing it. If that's

true, it's a shame, as it will cost jobs. But no one with whom I've spoken,

is pleased with the way cable TV has come to be structured, and it's the

same thing wish DISH Network. So I'm done!

We had a blip from 1960's DAVID A. BLAIR, in reference to our aforementioned

(in the last bulletin) senior class play, "Fog Island." Dave wrote,

(correctly, I'm sure) that class play lists (of the actors) were listed in

order of appearance, rather than as, "the stars." Okay, Dave, thanks for

reminding me of that. I had deluded myself, all these years, feeling as

though I and my playbill husband, LARRY M. PENDLEY, were truly the stars. Aw

shucks! Another myth shattered!

Of course, I replied, and when he wrote back, he reminded me of, "the kiss,"

at the close of the play. It was between Dave and classmate, SHIRLEY J.

TUDOR, and raised a few eyebrows, at the time. (It was the fall of 1959,

remember, so nothing like it is, now.) I invited Dave to visit, along with

wife Marlene (of whom I'm also very fond). I hope one day you'll take me up

on that, Marlene and Dave.

There was also a blip from 1958's football jock and super-hunk, LANDO F.

STEELE, who seems to be doing well and in good health. Was there any female

in the entire school, who did NOT have a crush on Lando? If so, I say you

re tellin' a big fib! Stay healthy and safe, Lando! We all love

you---STILL!!

From 1970's RITA G. JUSTICE came news of her visiting her daughter in

Southern California, and no doubt, she's sure enjoying that. It was April

12 and she said she'd be there 6 weeks, so I don't know if she's returned or

not. But whatever the case, Rita, I hope you had a great time. She and I

also had an exchange about the incredible dangers of tobacco and alcohol use

Both of them kill so many people. I am also always befuddled by people

using the phrase, "alcohol and drugs." Surely, we all know alcohol IS a

drug. I suppose the reason it is separated is because it's legal. But still

it's a drug, nevertheless.

From 1954 homecoming queen, JANICE L. WIREMAN, came a reminiscent e-mail,

regarding the night she was crowned, walking through the batons with

football captain JACK W. PUMMILL. She said she was freezing to death that

night, it was so cold. Her beautiful, little flower girl, whom I'll bet

many of us recall, died in a house fire the following March. Her name was

Yvonne Green, and she lived right across the street from Janice, who wrote

how she loved the little girl. How tragic, Janice! But how wonderful you

remember her so fondly, after all these years. So how about we just dedicate

this edition of the bulletin to the memory of little Yvonne Green? We all

should be remembered so fondly and for so long!

From 1964's W. THOS. GODBY came an invitation to join him on a website

called Linkedin. I sincerely thank you for thinking of me, Tom. However, I

don't participate in the social websites, and yes, I know I am living in the

Dark Ages. But honestly, I actually hope to hold onto the Dark Ages for as

long as I can. There is much in this, "new world," of which I do not wish to

be a part. I harken back to the 1950s, just as often as I can. Ha!

Tom has spent his life in the car business, which is dear to my heart. I,

myself, did the car business as a side interest in Florida, for 17 years. I

learned so much about it and I still call upon that education, each time I

purchase a vehicle. I also did Harley-Davidsons, but that was much more fun

and personal. Tom's business is in Plant City, Florida, and is called

Universal Auto Sales (owned by Godby Enterprises, Inc.) I know we all wish

you continued success and good health, Tom.

On April 19, I received an e-mail from 1958's BILL R. HOWARD. It seems some

members of that class, who also include DAVID L. HOWARD and W. BAILEY

HAWKINS would like for the 1958 class to now have an annual get-together of

its own. Now, this is in addition to the regular, WC alumni weekend in

October, of course. In his text, Bill writes that he and Bailey and Dave

are not very good planners, and they'd like a lot of input and help from

other 1958-ers. They're tentatively looking at June 27, apparently, for the

first of these gatherings, but nothing is written in stone. So I'm thinking

a good starting point for the 1958 folks is to contact Bill ( WHoward333@aol

com ) and you can all move forward from there. Naturally, I know we all

want to support all gatherings of all years for any WC group. As my late

husband often said, "I've never seen any high school, in all my life, where

so many people kept in touch with their classmates to the extent West

Carrollton does!" Then, he'd shake his head in awe. I know many of you got

to know him, over the years. Well, he was sure right about that! I do hope

that never changes.

This is WAY too soon to send another bulletin. However, I'm seeing the news

is picking up, and to my amazement, incredibly, we seem to be adding more

readers with every bulletin period, and this bulletin is already so long, it

s going to take forever to read it. So I'm very hesitant to hold it in

queue for another 3-4 weeks. This is already the third bulletin for 2015

and it's only April. I don't want to bore you all to tears nor overwhelm

you with all this reading.

But having written all that, I see no other option than to go ahead and send

this, even though it's not yet even 4 weeks until the last one. But your

responses have been absolutely wonderful, lots of volume, and lots of news.

So thank you so much and as we close, let us all fondly remember little

Yvonne Green, our 1954 homecoming flower girl, shall we?. As I sign off on

yet another installment, I leave each of you with my usual wish for glowing

health, personal safety, great happiness, peaceful serenity, spiritual

harmony, and boundless prosperity.

- posted by Mikey @ 1:02 PM