12/30/05 - NNHS Newsletter “Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d,
(Traditional Hanukkah blessing) |
Dear Friends and Schoolmates,
Today is the fifth full day of Hanukkah. I hope you're having a wonderful time!
BIRTHDAYS:
NEWBIES:
1.
JoAnn Houston Parrott ('61) of NC - 12/30/05 - "NNHS Mailing List":
Hi Carol,
My name is JoAnn Houston Parrott. I
graduated from NNHS in 1961.
I was informed of your site by my cousin
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Thank you for the time you put into this
informative site.
JoAnn Parrott
JoAnn! I didn't realize that you were Barbara's cousin! So good to hear from you! I'll be delighted to add you, both to the hidden mailing list, and to the posted Alumni Page: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/alumni-list.html Send me your birthday, and I'll add you there, too: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Happy-Birthday.html And don't forget to check out the Band pages: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/band.html Welcome aboard! And Happy New Year! |
From Bill Campbell ('54) of VA - 12/2/05 - "Picture":
From Kathy Clark ('63) of VA -
12/29/05 - "My visit with Wally Stieffen":
Carol,
Of course I will find out when
the Ferris Wheel was built. That was a given. I just didn't specify it
in what I sent yesterday. We will all know more about the Park than we
knew there was to know when we're done! |
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Also, I had a typo in my last
mail; I said the card were 1940s vintage - and of course, I meant the
cars. Hopefully, other non-typists will see that D lives next to S on the
middle row of keys and it was fancy fingering that caused 'cars' to read as
'card'! OOOPS! I try to catch all the typos that come my way, but I guess I was distracted and missed that one - SORRY! I fixed it now. No one will ever know.......... http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/12-29-05-NNHS-4th-Day-of-Hanukkah.html |
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Buckroe Beach and Amusement Park | |||
I also had a chat with ![]() WONDERFUL!!! Thanks so much, Kathy! Oh - and keep reading! Happy New Year! |
From Barbara Houston ('68) of Northern VA - 12/29/05:
Carol -
Could you add me to your birthday list? I was born on June 20, 1950. Microwaves were science fiction back then!
Thanks, Isn't it weird to think of all those things which were developed during our lifetimes?!? Thanks, Barbara! I added your birthday to the page: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Happy-Birthday.html Happy New Year! Y'all keep those birthdays coming! |
From Allen Foster ('58) of
VA - 12/29/05:
Carol,
I have forwarded
your newsletter to an old fraternity brother, Tommy Oliver, who
graduated from Great Bridge the same legendary year of '58.
He is the Athletic
Director at Hickory High School and is Mickey Marcella ('54 - of VA)
and Bud Porter's equal in local high school athletic history and
trivia. During our Christmas Holiday lunch, which is a another good reason
to revisit the 50's and 60's, I told him that NNHS
lives on thru your efforts.
Happy New Year!
Allen
Well, bless your sweet
heart, Allen! You completely floored me; thank you so much for your
kind words!
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From Steve Silsby (Ferguson HS - '72) of
NC - 12/29/05 - "Dale Parsons / WGH":
Hi Carol,
Best Mariner greetings to all from Steve
Silsby, FHS class of '72 (sort of)
Dale Parsons ('69 - of HI)
recently updated his WGH website (http://www.alohanews.com/wgh.htm).
On the air-checks page he relates the story of hanging out in the WGH
Showmobile at Casey Chevrolet for hours at a time around 1965.
That really struck home for me. I grew up less than a mile away from
there and did much the same thing just a few years later. Just like Dale,
I started going inside to learn what I could of the DJ craft. I'd barge
in (politely) on Larry O'Brien's evening show and watch him queue-up the
singles, load the jingle and commercial carts., make announcements and
keep the log. I've included a couple of photos I took at the time. Both
are of Larry O'Brien in 1968.
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OH, WOWZERS!!! What treasures! I'll be adding them to our own WGH page soon! http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/wgh.html Thanks so much, Steve! |
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1968 - Larry O'Brien | ||||
I had never heard the Hawaiian carol "Mele Kalikimaka" until December 23'rd this year. I was sitting in a dentist chair getting a filling when it came on the office radio/intercom. I liked the song so much I concentrated on memorizing the lyrics as I lay in the chair. I was able to get the last two lines of each stanza, but the rest evaporated from my weak brain. Then the next day Dale sends the full lyrics of the song for Carol to share in the newsletter! Thanks, Dale!
What a small and interesting world this is.
Bye for now,
Steve
"Doncha love it?!?" I was trying to figure out how it was possible that you'd never heard Bing Crosby singing ,"Mele Kalikimaka" before. Then I remembered talking with my #1 daughter-in-law a few days ago, who told me she's never seen (or heard of) the 1983 classic, A Christmas Story (aka, "You'll shoot your eye out, Kid!") by Jean Shepherd. Thanks, Steve! Happy New Year! By the way, you never collected your prize for making Page Hit #40,000. By a curious non-coincidence, I haven't yet made it, but I was thinking of white thread with white and pale blue ribbons, perhaps? |
From One of "My"
Famous
Marines who served in the Pacific Theater during WWII,
Herb
Hice of MI -
12/29/05
- AND -
From Helen Flax Kierstead ('58) of Ontario -
12/30/05 - "Happy New Year":
Click on the website
below and get ready to celebrate.
Herbie Herbie, that is so adorable! I opened it right through the strains of "Maoz Tsur", which made for an interesting effect with that cute little teddy bear whizzing around. He must have Energizer batteries, too! Thanks so much, Herbie! And thank you, Helen! Happy New Year! |
From
Jean Poole Burton ('64) of RI - 12/29/05 - "Thank you...":
for all the beautiful Christmas
newsletters and music.
You're welcome! I'm glad you liked them, Jean; they were a real joy to make! We just returned this evening from NN where we had a fabulous time with family. We arrived at my mom's on Wednesday evening, daughter Becky arrived on Friday from NY by train, son Chuck arrived by car Friday afternoon, brother Al and his wife Betty arrived by plane on Saturday a.m. I cooked up a feast...took me three days with
visiting in between...had Poole Christmas on the 24th and Burton Christmas
on the 25th at John's sister's ( Drove all day today in rain! Home sweet home. Much to be thankful for. Love and joy, Jeanb What a marvelous, blessed Christmas you had! Thanks for sharing it with us, Lady! Happy New Year! |
From Bill Black ('66) of GA - 12/30/05 - "Life in LaFreakin'Grange":
From Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 12/30/05
- "Buckroe Ferris Wheel":
From Joan Ownby Mathieson ('58) of VA - 12/30/05:
Hello Carol;
before the year is out I want to thank you
for the newsletter. I was in
the class of 58 at NNHS and gone from there
before any of your class arrived, but I still enjoy reading about all of
you and about old familiar places and things. Those were the years! I
started dating a Hampton boy the summer after my 10th grade year. He was
off to college that next fall, but we dated through out the college years
and married and have had a good life. We have three wonderful sons.
Speaking of the Space Park......my
husband's parents lived in Riverdale and we use to take our little boys to
play at that park when we were in Hampton during the 60's since it was not
far from Riverdale - just down Mercury Boulevard from there.
And back in the 50's our
"parking" place was
Peterson's Yacht Basin (which
we called "Blueberry Hill"; our song) since I lived in the
East End area and that wasn't far from my
home. We went boating and water skiing out of that basin in the summer,
and I swam and played on that beach at
Stuart Gardens Apartments all the time. Lots of my friends lived
in those apartments.
The yacht basin was still a big
favorite in the early and mid-sixties, though I personally was partial to
the Scenic Overlook on
Chesapeake Avenue, where we used to watch the submarine races.
Oh, no, wait a minute! What am I saying?!?
I, of course, had no personal knowledge of any of those places!
Oh, no, indeed! I was a perfect little angel,
Anyhow, I didn't mean to start down memory
lane! I just wanted to say thank you for all your time and energy devoted
to the "65 newsletter, and for sharing it with me.
Joan Ownby Mathieson
Oh, Joan, strolling down memory lane is the very reason we've all gathered together here! Thanks so much for sharing yours! Happy New Year, Pretty Lady! |
From Bob Allen ('51) of VA -
12/30/05 - "not NNHS...but a good story from a former employee...she
is approximately 64 yrs old":
To Bob Allen ('51) of VA from "V" - 12/28/05 - "forgot to tell you":
I was talking to your Doug on here the other day on the IM, and
he was telling me about his reunion next summer, etc., etc., and I told
him a little bit about mine, etc., and also that I had a letter from my
6th grade teacher. I do not think I told you about it.
When we were in grammar school, we had a small four- room school house -
for 6 grades - so some of the grades were split up. Anyway, we had this
great teacher. He was 30 then.. and single - Mr. Blickenderfer.
We all loved him, girls and boys. He was a good teacher, and back then
they were all into discipline. I remember that he had John Courtney
(the sheriff's son) make him a big wooden paddle. It had a long handle
and then a wide board on the end - with holes in it. And then guess who
was the first to get whacked with it?? John, the sheriff's son! It got
used - and he did it in front of the class - and it worked. Parents did
NOT argue about it, either, and as we discussed before, if you got into
trouble in school, you got a double whammy when you got home. So over
the years we have all discussed it - and laughed..
This teacher was also very dedicated and looked out for all of us. Curt, my "x" husband, had rheumatic fever when we were in 6th grade, and this teacher, Mr. B., took Curt's homework to his house everyday - for 3 months. He helped him and gave him tests. Curt's Grandma lived with them at that time, and she too helped as a tutor. Mr. B. went every day, and then Mrs. Diffenderfer would cook him dinner, and he ate with them EVERY evening. Curt passed the grade and had NO problems in school ever! I do not remember that there was ever anyone who did not like this teacher.... At our 45th reunion we again discussed him. We who lived in town then were the only ones who had him for a teacher. When we all went to 7th grade and they consolidated the township, we had kids to come in our class from the country sides, and they never had him; he was just the 6th grade teacher. A few years ago, one of the classmates of mine looked this teacher up in the white pages on the computer. He knew he was out west, and possibly in N.M. He found him, as there was only ONE David Blickenderfer - ha! I got his address and I typed him up a long letter, telling him who I was and things I remembered about him, and last week I got an answer - with a photo. He is 80 years old! He's In good health, never had children. He married a school teacher and he said they had hundreds of children...as teachers. She still teaches piano and has 15 students. He has a cat or two that he feeds outdoors and he does some yard work as well as some housework. He remembered that he had tried to teach one (particular) girl to
play the trumpet, but was NOT successful. (He does not know that she has
passed away.) He wrote a really nice letter and I plan to write back to
him again and to stay in touch. I will ask him to try to come back east
for our 50-year reunion! I am passing the address around and hopefully
others will write. John is going to write. They were all troublemakers -
ha! BUT John agrees now that it was the BEST thing to happen to all of
us. We did not have repeated bullying on the playgrounds in those days.
The teachers eliminated it. The lady teachers went to the men teachers
for discipline help in those days, so we all stayed in line !!!
Knew
you would enjoy this story; just forgot that I had not mentioned it. I
got the letter last week and we were busy.....
And we enjoy this story, too, Bob, of the way things used to be. It's yet another reminder of the importance of finding the people who have played such an important role in our lives - particularly our teachers - and thanking them. Thanks for sharing it with us! |
Happy Hanukkah
and Happy New Year! Y'all stay happy
- and 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
"I only have two kinds of days: happy and hysterically happy."
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Maoz Tsur
Maoz Tsur
yesuati lekha naeh leshabeah, tikon bet tefilati vesham todah nezebeah. Leet tahkin matbeah, mitzar hamnabeah az egmor beshir mizmor hanukat hamizbeah. az egmor beshir mizmor hanukat hamizbeah. |
Rock of Ages
let our song Praise Thy saving power; Thou amidst the raging foes Wast our sheltt'ring tower. Furious they assailed us, But Thine arm availed us, And Thy word broke their sword When our own strength failed us. And Thy word broke their sword When our own strength failed us. |
“Maoz Tsur” midi courtesy of http://www.jr.co.il/music/midi/jewish.htm - 12/24/05
"Maoz Tsur"
lyrics (and available sheet music) transcribed from
http://www.leedscarroll.com/Misc/ChanukahMusic.html - 12/29/05
(My deepest apologies if I mutilated the transcription.)
Image of Jerusalem's Temple Institute's Solid Gold Menorah courtesy of http://www.templeinstitute.org/vessels_gallery_11.htm - 12/29/05
Hanukkah Image (©2006 Adam Rhine) used to form Divider Lines courtesy of http://www.hebrewart.com/images.htm - 12/29/05
Menorah clip art used to form Divider Lines courtesy of http://www.wisegorilla.com/images/jewish/ - 12/29/05
Anchor clip art
courtesy of Steve Silsby (FHS - '72) of NC - 12/14/05
Thanks, Steve!
Tiny Angel clip art courtesy of http://www.mybestweb.com/special-angel.htm - 08/14/05