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![]() 10/31/05 - NNHS Newsletter Happy Halloween! |
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Dear Friends and Schoolmates,
Don't even start with me
about the Evils of Halloween. I already told you that (assuming I
remembered them)
we'd be celebrating all holidays together, whether we personally and
individually observed them or not. Not that
I'm a crabby old woman or anything...
You may have noticed that
there was no Newsletter published on Saturday. That's because I took the
day off
and did absolutely nothing constructive of any sort. I just sat around and
watched "Bonanza" reruns on TV Land,
and took a nap or two, and went to a birthday party in the evening.
LA-LA-LA!
You know, I've been just a
leelte bit excited this week, and in the process made not only several
egregious
errors (the fact that no one called me on them is surely a sign of your
remarkable patience with me), but some
glaring omissions - such as all of last week's birthdays! I am so
sorry!
A Very Merry Un-Birthday to
Mark Friedman ('65) of VA on 10/24/05;
Bobby Turpin
('58) of VA on 10/25/05;
Terry Hunsucker ('65) of KY on 10/26/05; and to
Nancy
Bigger Alligood ('56) of VA on 10/28/05.
http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Happy-Birthday.html
Let's resume our magical tour of Our Old Stomping Grounds. You'll remember the cast of characters:
If I
haven't made it clear - and the childlike expressions on our faces haven't amply
demonstrated the joy
that we felt - I'd just like to once again thank all those who made this magical
time possible. I'm not sure
that I even know all those responsible, as I do so dislike checking into details
on something as enchanting
as this was, but I do know that these people deserve a special thanks: Kathy
Pilgrim Clark ('63 of VA)
for suggesting it originally; Chip Clark ('65 of Northern VA) for
apparently encouraging this in such a way
that brought it into fruition; Dave and Pam Smith Arnold (both '65 of VA)
for arranging for the
transportation; Dave Arnold for driving us; Pam Smith Arnold
and Mike Miller ('65 of NC) for convincing
the Pinkerton guards at Huntington Hall into not only letting us in, but for
giving us a guided tour "within
these sacred walls" once more; the Pinkerton guards themselves,
Captain Paul Lilly and Officer
Taniesha Holmes for their courteous accommodation of us, and Mr. Michael
McPherson, whom we did
not meet, but who granted us permission for the tour of the building: Fred
Rose (of VA) for his good
natured taking of countless photographs on the myriad cameras which were handed
to him, and most
especially to Dave Spriggs ('64 of VA) for his matchless expertise,
knowledge, and recall in narrating
and pointing out to us the cherished places of our youth and the former homes of
our friends.
This was an amazing
opportunity for all who were privileged to be a part of it, an unforgettable
delight,
truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and if our exuberance at times spilled
over the top, it was merely an
indication of our deep appreciation and gratitude to the sacrifices made by
those who loved us enough
to arrange it for us. On occasion I may be prone to exaggeration, but I am
not stretching anything when
I say to one and all, thank you, from the very depths of my being.
From Janice McCain Rose ('65) of VA - 10/24/05:
From Eleanor Buckley Nowitzky ('59) of NC - 10/28/05:
Thanks, Eleanor! These images are just fabulous!
Wait a minute. I just noticed that there is an
hour's discrepancy between the time stamp
on Janice's camera and the one on Eleanor's camera. This is going to short
circuit my brain cells.
Somebody save me, please!!! (No, I'm NOT joking....)
From Jamey Douglas Bacon ('66) of VA - 10/28/05:
From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 10/28/05 - "Billy Crosley":
Billy lives in Baltimore. I spoke
with him prior to the 64/40 reunion, but he was unable to attend. I have his address. phone, and e-mail. If anyone wants to contact him, let me know, and I will pass the info to him. Of course anyone is free to search the on-line phone directories for Crosley in Baltimore. Thank you, Captain. I knew that you'd know how to find him. |
From Jean Poole Burton ('64) of RI - 10/29/05 - "Thank you for the song..."
I also love "I'll Be Seeing You in All
the Old Familiar Places"...I will never forget when Bette Middler
sang it to Johnny Carson on his last show...big ole crocodile
tears... AHA! Just as I suspected, Jean! We share very similar tastes! And that is one of my very favorite songs - and one of the first to have been placed on the site five years ago. While you're waiting for me to use it in a Newsletter, you may always hear it and review all the wonderful lyrics here: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/reunion-page.html http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/reunion2000.html http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/satnoon2000.html - It was chosen for obvious reasons - to me, anyway! Thanks, Lady! It was all great fun, wasn't it? |
From Paul Dobie ('66) of CO (currently deployed in Afghanistan) -
10/28/05:
Thanks for all the fabulous images, Paul! And have a great holiday visit; you've certainly earned it!
And we'll try to locate all those missing girls for you!
For those of y'all who are
prone to losing things, Paul's mailing address over in the lands dark and dusty
is:
AMC AFSBn-AF
Attn: Paul Dobie
APO AE 09354
From Fred Field ('45) of CA - 10/29/05 - "catching up":
Hello Carol, Sat. Oct. 29, 05
I'm just today getting back to full
capability with my Internet provider. I somehow got disconnected from
Juno back in early Sept. A local PC tech. was able to get me back to
e-mail capability using some kind of "band-aid" fix which allowed me to
send and receive e-mail, but not get on the internet. I finally got fully
restored today.
EEEEK!!!
Now that's a scary story worthy of Halloween!
I'm so sorry to hear that! Few people (hopefully!) can empathize
with you to the extent that I can!
I know I have a lot of reading to catch up
on. Do you have a list of any stories already published from the CD I
sent? I remember that the Ethel Gildersleeve one got published
just before I lost touch (did that also get into the Gildersleeve segment
of the archives?).
Well, I thought it did, but I don't see it here, so that's another fine blooper I'll need to address........ http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/faculty.html http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/staff.html http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Gildersleeve.html
There were a couple of Halloween stories,
one by Dr. Kent Miller - I need to let him know how to look it up.
Also the Dr. Charles Wicke story if that has been used yet.
Yes, Sir, Dr. Miller's story was posted on 10/21/05: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/10-21-05-NNHS-Im-in-the-Mood-for-Love.html
It prompted an immediate response from
http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/10-24-05-NNHS-California-Girls.html
Dr. Wicke's story is scheduled for the
very near future, and your Halloween tale is included today:- as our
Halloween treat
I'll bet you had a gala reunion.
We did indeed, Fred!
Thank you! When Jimmy Dick ('65) had to cancel his trip up
from FL because of that nasty Wilma, I thought of you missing your
reunion, and back to 2003 when that heinous
Isabel forced the postponement of the 40-Year Reunion of the Class
of 1963 with the result that so many plans were changed, and those
thoughts are just so heartbreaking. Mine was the first I have missed since we started in 1990. It is probably too late now to travel this year (I always drive). I'm now thinking about late April or perhaps May. Sometime between when the weather brightens but before school ends.
That sounds super! Virginia is so
glorious in the spring!
First thing I did when I got full
capability again was to check the NNHS65 web site. Great
to see that your repairs all held up.
Fraternal best wishes, Fred fwfield@juno.com
Oh, yes! Blessedly they have! Thanks so much, Fred - and welcome back to the world wide web! |
From Fred Field ('45) of CA - 08/2005:
THE TAME HALLOWEEN
by
Halloween came along unexpectedly fast that October of 1943. In prior years there was always something planned - a Boy Scout Troop 17 party - maybe a group of guys agreeing to get involved in some mischief - or simply going up on Washington Ave. to see kids parading around on the sidewalk in costumes and makeup. Trick or Treat was then more of a vague term than something to do. Also we were right in the heat of World War II and candy was a very rare treat. And anyway, wartime need to be serious took the bright edge off of classic Halloween thoughts. In our years up until then we had all heard tales of Halloween pranks done in previous generations. The legendary ones would be difficult to top - but they did provide a precedent on what could pass as a serious and clever prank (as opposed to sheer vandalism). I got a late start. I found my friend, the late Eugene "Bozo" Carson (graduated in 1949 after a few years off) in front of Turner's Drugstore (later Boulevard Pharmacy), corner of Buxton and Blair. The usual rowdy crowd (who called themselves Turners' Cowboys) were all gone - probably off involved in some devilment. We felt very left out. The only thing we could think of was to wander around and see if any opportunity would present itself. Rusty old tricks like hanging someone's gate in a tree were not appealing. Soaping up car windows was out of the question because soap was a scarce wartime commodity. A further self-imposed constraint was that we were not going to do anything that gave a victim real grief. Somewhere along Chesapeake Ave. we decided to give it all up and go see if anyone was back in front of Turner's. As we reached the intersection of Buxton and Chesapeake something caught my eye. Across the street at the SE corner of Buxton Hospital (later Mary Immaculate) was a brick pillar with a globed light on top. For some reason there was an orange bulb inside the globe and the combination made a fair representation of a pumpkin. We decided to decorate the globe and make it more representative of the occasion. A quick trip to my house on Pear Ave. and into the tool shed behind, yielded a small can of black paint and a tiny brush. Back at the globe I chose the artist role. Bozo stood on the corner as lookout. No one came during the few minutes needed. When we left, there was a distinctive and unmistakable Halloween pumpkin grinning down from the top of the brick pillar. We went home after agreeing that we would not mention the deed to anyone. The next night we both showed up in front of Turner's and waited for someone to mention our pumpkin prank. No one did. We discretely slipped around the corner and had a look. Still lit up and grinning prominently! Bozo suggested that maybe more time was needed. Weeks went by - and then months. One night it occurred to us that the globe may have been cleaned off. So still another investigation, but revealing only the still-grinning pumpkin. We were puzzled but we still didn't tell a soul. Exactly a year later, Bozo and I found ourselves in front of Turner's. This was the night after Halloween and some of the Cowboys were bragging about escapades of the night before. Cautiously I extended some bait: "Say, someone painted a pumpkin face on that light on the corner of Buxton Hospital." One of the older kids turned and with an annoyed expression said, "Oh that's been there for five or six years." I used to take a lot of solitary walks along the seawall. When I would come home on leave from the Navy (1946 and 1947) I would always take my ritual walk and check the pumpkin face. It was gradually fading but still recognizable if you knew what to look for. Later I visited my art work on the three summer vacations from Va. Tech. In 1954 I moved to California. I forgot all about the pumpkin face until about 1956 when I visited Newport News. During my nostalgic walk along the seawall I remembered the pumpkin face and I crossed Chesapeake Ave. to see if anything remained. The painted eyes, nose and mouth were finally gone! But then something inspired me to look on the back side of the globe. There I found some discernable remnants of black paint - faint, but clearly grinning at my return. Good deeds sometimes go unrewarded. And clever acts may even go unnoticed, as did ours. Until now. An afterthought: At some time in the eternity since the above took place, the southernmost block of Buxton Ave. was realigned - probably to make room for hospital expansion. As a result the hospital is no longer on the corner. But maybe they left that brick pillar unmoved, and perhaps something on top is patiently waiting for a return of the creator. WILD GIGGLES!!! That's priceless! Thanks, Fred! |
From Me ('65) of NC - 10/31/05:
Today's Newsletter was so long and image-laden, I scooped out the entire middle and placed it on tomorrow's Newsletter, so if you're wondering, "Wha' happened to my letter?!?", check back then! It'll all be there - and then some! |
Y'all take care of each other! TYPHOONS FOREVER!
Love to all, Carol
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NNHS CLASS OF '65 WEB SITE:
http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com
PERSONAL WEB SITE:
http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/cluckmeat
==============================================
"Spooky
Halloween Music" midi courtesy of
http://pws.gamewood.net/~byoung/midis/midi.htm
a site previously located for us by Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 10/23/05
Thanks, Dave!
All Animated Halloween clip art courtesy of http://www.halloween-clipart.com/index.html - 10/30/05
Animated Boy Rolling on the Floor Laughing clip art courtesy of http://www.animationfactory.com - 04/06/05
Animated
Cheering Smiley
clip art courtesy of Al Farber ('64) of GA - 08/18/05
Thanks, Al!