The *WeCaTon* - West Carrollton (Ohio) H.S. Alumni News (unofficial)
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
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---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
L.
.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. Ciao!
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