WI CLASS OF 1959 NEWSLETTER
| Editor: Roleta Smith Meredith | Issue 12 | August 2000 |
Ahhh... Summer
NOTE:Roleta has a list of those attending but will not print the list here. If you need to know who attended, contact Roleta1@aol.com
Mary Elizabeth Weaver Snead
auntmerts@boone.net
I can't begin to tell you how great our 40th reunion was. I had only been to the 20th reunion, so seeing my classmates after so many years was a great thrill for me. I could hardly wait to arrive in Clarksburg. Mrs. Leah Martino was present. She was one of our sponsors. On Friday night as my heart skipped so many beats as the time neared to see my classmates; it was more than wonderful to see everyone.
I think we had close to 65% of our class there. I could be high on that percentage, though. The noise level at the Clarksburg Country Club was very high as each of us let out shouts as we saw our friends come through the doors. It is a good thing we had name tags! After much talking and laughing and even some crying, we settled down to a low roar. It was just better than I could ever possibly imagine. I knew and remembered we were a close class, but it was even more evident when we all got together.
Saturday, we were able to go through WI and remember. It was nice to see our Alma Mater. Saturday night was once again better than I could ever imagine. We had a class picture made which was so much fun to do and then we had a real nice banquet. We had a great toastmaster, Bob Secret, who made a statement that will forever stay in my mind. He said that when we were in school some were held in high esteem and others not so high. But as time goes by each of us has become equal. What a profound statement of truth that was. And I saw and felt that during this reunion. We were just one happy family and were so glad to see each other. The weekend has more meaning for me than even our 20th reunion. I am sure our 45th will mean more than the 40th. We have lost several of our classmates over the years and in 5 years, I am afraid we will lose even more. I had emailed Dottie Spears so many times just counting the months, weeks and then days till we would all be together. She knew how excited I was to get back home. I can only sum up how I feel. It was one of the most rewarding weekends I have had in years. Thanks for letting us share in the news letter. Please let me hear from you. Love, Mary Elizabeth Weaver Snead
Mary Anne Sharpolisky Matheson
gmmatheson@yahoo.com(Gail or Mary Anne Matheson)
**The reunion was just wonderful! I think Judy Capehart should have received a prize for the youngest looking 58 year old in history. She really looked great (even though she didn't remember me.)
Charlie Burkhammer
CBhammer12@aol.com
Fantastic job - again.
My wife and I attended Doug Gray's "after the reunion gathering" at his house on Friday night. (Reunion for the Class of 1960--Charlie's wife graduated in 1960). Also attending were Mike Moore and Bill Fowler who married 1960 graduates. Richard Hanifan also attended. . I think Fred Alvaro went to the reunion also. Max Lantz and Phil Vandevender married 1960 classmates also, but chose not to attend. We had a good time, and the weather was fantastic. Then, I went on the Sat AM tour of WI and RC Byrd. That was interesting. I think they had about 110 classmates in attendance. That is great. My brother-in-law made the name tags of those signed to attend, and only two weren't picked up. I think that class was bigger than ours - maybe 220.
It's interesting that RC Byrd has 1000 students in grades 9-12. That's about the same size as WI when we were there, but RCB is a consolidation of WI and RW, so that shows the general decline in population in Clarksburg. Charlie Burkhammer
from: Corrine Tannenbaum Levy
Krinee1@aol.com
Roleta, I remember you just as you looked at 16. I didn't think many people would remember me because I left in the junior year. I went to Prep school and then on to the the Univ. of Miami. Got married and had two children. I lived through raising a teen-age boy and after all was said and done the stinker became a doctor and has a practice in Philly. I also had a girl. An absolute joy. She was a model, a classically trained opera singer, athlete, bright, a graduate of Emory Univ. in Atlanta. She now lives in Pittsburgh and is head of advertizing and marketing for an internet company. I see her as often as possible. Neither one of them is married nor do they want to be. They're having too much fun.
My husband's business is still in West Virginia. He travels back and forth. As for me, when my daughter was very young I went back into the dance studio and spent many years studying Russian ballet and jazz. Both here and in California. I also played tennis and golf, jogged and did weight training. I guess I spent my life in the studios and the gym. As a result of all this training and stress on my body, I wore out my hips. Not wanting to have an operation I waited and ended up fracturing one hip socket and breaking the other one. I still walked on them both with a cane last winter. I am nuts. When I could no longer function as a human being I gave in and had both hips replaced. I made a very fast recovery and am back to my old self. But the doctor said no more dancing, running,tennis or any stressful activity. I was not too pleased to hear that as I am very active and do not like to sit still. So I am a good girl and I walk, swim,ride my bike and do Pilates. I probably will get back to golf at some time.
My mother died 32 years ago and my father remarried. He is 92 and lives in Boca Raton. Don't know much else to tell. I very rarely go to Clarksburg. My husband is there every week,so he brings me news if there is any. Take care and keep in touch.
from: Rex Zickefoose
rzick@webcombo.net
All is well. I was down for a few months with a broken pelvis ( March into May) but am on my feet and running now. I let a horse get on top of me. A silly accident that could have been prevented.
I worked a few weeks for the census bureau and will train to do another phase with them in July. You meet all kinds of people in that job. A few big dogs and hostile people but most are very nice.
You probably did not know that when we retired from the Navy we adopted two children. One in 88 and another in 91. They take up a good bit of my time. I do the hauling to swim team practice and gymnastics or whatever. You remember how that was. The truth is for the last 10 or 12 years most everything I have done has been kid related. I hardly know how to communicate with an adult.
I love hearing about all of you and do pray when those requests come through. By the way it sounds like the Rector child is going to be OK. I remember Carolyn by the way. She was a good friend. Bye for now RZ
from: Jim Ashley
(WI Class of 1962)
jashley@erols.com
Roleta, another great job on the newsletter........it looks as if you are being overrun by all of us "kids" from the class of '62, however (guess we have never gotten over that hero worship we probably formed on that first scary day of school as we trudged up the hill and saw you guys claiming your spots on the senior stairs). Thank you for your kind thoughts on the marrow donation.......everything went great from my end (no pun intended although the point of extraction is from the top of the pelvis).........my recipient's name, I learned, is Justin........I'll be getting periodic updates on his condition over the next year and I will pass these along as they come through.
from: Jerry and Carolyn Pinella Warne
wrmychsnut@aol.com
Jerry is now in his new wood shop and building furniture as fast as one man can so that we will be ready to do our furniture shows... His shop is very close to Terry's house and it is so nice that they can see each other during the day if need be.... The electric was turned on the first part of June and it is hard to get Jerry out of the shop to rest .... He is determined that we will not miss our shows this summer.. So we have much to be thankful for and now we are working around the clock....Thank you for your interest and to all who sent us emails concerning our fire... We appreciate every one that we received...
from: Karen Moffett Myer Lattin
KMYER@harborside.com
Dear Roleta--
Heartfelt if not punctual thanks for each and every newsletter especially for the Memorial newsletter, a chance to pause and remember our fellows who are no longer with us. I really appreciate you recently publishing the words to "West Virginia Hills." I've been singing one verse and the chorus for years now (only when I'm alone in the car) and now I can sing the whole thing!
News from the former candidate, my husband, Dana Lattin. In the race for County Surveyor, Lattin came in second and Hamilton came in next to last. It's good to be in touch with everyone who submits things to the newsletter--thank you all for sharing. I'll try to do better. Or maybe I'll make up something less boring than my daily life! Roleta, thanks a million.
(WI 1958)
Deewa@aol.com
What a great newsletter this month. Of course, they are all good, but this was just so full of goodies and interest. You are doing a superior job--keep up the good work.
I wish we could get more of the class of '58 online. We are having a reunion Labor Day weekend and are having very poor response. Only 47 signed up to come. We sent out follow up letters hoping to convince some more that it would be so much fun. Our other two were so great, I was surprised that more were not coming.
Mike Moore (WI 59) MMoore4405@aol.com
Vincent Fragomene (WI 59) vfragomene@maximsys.com
Robert McDaniel (WI 59) rgm@U.Arizona.EDU
Nina Meredith Chance (WI 60) NMC@CDRH.FDA.GOV
Bob Teter (WI 60) bteter@netzero.net
Jerry Belt (WI 59) tubelts@home.com
Janet Long Brosius (WI 59) jlbrosius@myfavorite1.com
Mary Elizabeth Weaver Snead (WI 60) auntmerts@boone.net
Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it.
mtmama@iolinc.net
Pictured are 2nd from left Dave McGahan ( WI Class of 1958) and Frank McGahan (WI Class of 1960) 2 young men on the far left and far right are sons of Jim and Sharyn Cottrill (WI Class of 1959) McGahan
Dave and Frank McGahan recently visited Clarksburg for Frankie's 40th Class reunion. While in Clarksburg they visited with cousin Jim McGahan and wife Sharyn Cottrill (1959) McGahan.
David has retired from the Mircowave tower job he held for many years. The traveling has taken its toll on him. He is now living and working with Frank in the construction business. David is single now, has a daughter and I believe 2 granddaughters. Frank is still married to Mary Ellen Fleming and they are the proud parents of 2 sons and one daughter.
They did talk about coming back to Clarksburg in Sept. for Dave's reunion. They said they would see us again then, if everything went well. They both talked of the old times, the fun times, and that they would consider coming back to this area to retire. That would be great. Mike McGahan (1959) would not leave the mountains of California to make the trip.
Do you have a hobby or a profession that you would be willing to describe for the people reading this newsletter? Dave Kuhl answered my question and here it is--
HIS PROFESSION
Dave Kuhl
dbkuhl@juno.com
WI CLASS of 1962
I work for Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries as a senior technical writer. In that capacity, I write instruction manuals and develop procedures and software to make the ships work. It requires a lot of coordination efforts with different groups from the Navy and contractors. It is interesting work and constantly changing. I am never on one project long enough to get bored. Most of the time I have so many projects going that I can't see my desk. We build destroyers, cruisers, aircraft carriers, cruise ships, drill rigs and anything else they drag in.
We overhauled two of the four battleships that were activated in the last decade. We have not built any submarines since the 70's. One drill rig was 800 feet long, displaced 100,000 tons and was capable of drilling in water two miles deep and drilling holes to 25,000 feet. We have a lot of records for world's largest in various categories.
We can't handle the super carriers yet but are expanding our facilities to compete in that arena. The production area is over a square mile and can build several classes of ship on an assembly line basis. It is supposed to be the largest in the free world.
This is one of my projects. The Yorktown was done by a Canadian company on a subcontract. My company will be modifying it to another similar configuration which is supposed to work better. When the first ship of the new mod came back in from sea trails, it suddenly went to 20 knots while sitting at the pier. The engines had to have an emergency shut down. I have not heard what caused that software glitch yet.
WAS IT WINDOWS OR HUMAN ERROR? Last September, the USS Yorktown, a guided-missile cruiser, was conducting maneuvers off Cape Charles, Va., when a technician calibrating a fuel valve entered a zero in the wrong place. Dividing by zero apparently is a no-no; the database crashed. What alarmed critics of the Navy's Smart Ship' 'program is that the failure spread to the ship's entire Windows based local area network, leaving the Yorktown dead in the water for two hours and 45 minutes.
Last year, the Navy selected Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT 4.0 for an automation program intended to reduce the need for sailors. Systems using Windows NT run the Yorktown's engineering, fuel, condition assessment, damage control and communication systems. Before the September incident, the Navy called the Yorktown experiment a success that eliminated the need for 44 en-listed sailors and four officers and saved as much as $2.7 million a year.
After the incident? Navy officials blame the problem on human error and the database system, not Windows NT, and say no- computer system is failure-free. (Navy officials also said future Smart Ships will have backup computers for use during a failure.) "The system responded as it should," says Capt. Charles Hamilton, who oversees the Smart Ship program. "It's our intention to take the Yorktown experience and migrate it to all cruisers and destroyers," a total of 84 ships. ??
Seated left to right -- Fred Alvaro and Sallie Holden Day. Standing left to right Karen Poe Alvaro (Bridgeport HS 1959) Roleta Smith Meredith, Jay Sharp. Photo taken about 1997.
This is a new and hopefully permanent section of the newsletter. Here you will read about things back when (?) , and see pictures of those times. I hope you will contribute pictures and your memories. If you have a scanner, scan any old pictures of 1950's and early 1960's, of Clarksburg, people, or high school chums and send the pictures to me at Roleta1@aol.com. If you don't have a scanner, you may either mail pictures to Judy Daugherty Kimler or me. We will scan them and mail them right back to you. (Need our address? email me, I will provide) Write me any memory ... I don't promise to use all that I receive. Make it easier for both of us, tell me in your e-mail that you are sending the article for the newsletter. Some people think they have no writing ability ... but believe me ... you have a memory, put it down and we will all appreciate it.
(NOTE: I will edit and help you.)
I hope that the following will encourage you to write a memory of WI. Do you remember some thing that happened on the hill? We want to share it with you. Maybe some little memory of yours will jog a memory in someone else and this newsletter will have people sending in their memories to be published. Wouldn't that be wonderful. Thanks John Stealey for a fun memory!
AMERICAN HISTORY UNDER EDWIN J. FREDERICK
written by John Stealey
jstealey@shepherd.edu
Some classmates will recall Mr. Frederick's junior-year United States history class. And, some will recall his presence during the holidays and the summers in the mens' department at Parsons-Souders off Third Street. I particularly remember the organizational structure of his teaching which many will recollect as a listing of presidential administrations, the president's political party, and the major events. The process was:"George Washington, Federalist, Hamilton's financial policy, debt, United States Bank" and so on. (I only wish that a few of my college-level students could do as well.) He also distributed a sheet listing the presidents with odd-ball facts about each. These were items like Washington's wooden false teeth, Buchanan's bachelorhood, and Grover Cleveland's marriage while president.
Officials from the county board office periodically visited teachers' classrooms. "Cactus Jack," as some students called him behind his back because of the absence of hirsute cranial characteristics, certainly wanted to score well with the evaluator as a teacher who motivated his students. He instructed all of us to raise our hand enthusiastically when he asked a routine question in the presence of the board official. If one did not know the answer, one folded down the index finger so that Mr. Frederick would not call on that person.
Some may remember the head-portraits clipped from TIME magazine covers that Mr. Frederick had placed on the top border of the blackboards of the third floor room. On one occasion, he had to leave the room at the beginning of class to go to the office down on the second floor. He told the class to be quiet and read the handout sheet. Of course, this did not occur. The students started talking loudly and engaging in rambunctious behavior. One bright, creative student placed a piece of chewing-gum in the mouth of the Reverend Mr. Billy Graham's portrait and stuck a lit, cellulose, smoking cigarette in the gum. When Mr. Frederick walked down the wooden-floored hall, the class became inordinately silent to see what would happen next. Mr. Frederick quickly spotted the smoking cigarette, which was producing perfect rings by this time, and without pause or a look at the class yelled, "John Criss, get out, out, out, . . . ."
Close your eyes. . . . .And go back. . . . . . . . . .
Before the Internet or the MAC,
Before semi automatics and crack
Before chronic and indo
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo
Way back. . . . . . . . . .
I'm talking about hide and go seek or kick the can at dusk.
Sitting on the porch,
Hot bread and butter.
Eating a 'super doper sandwich' (Dagwood).
Red light, Green light.
Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets,
Penny candy in a brown paper bag.
Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch
Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, y'all!
Mother, May I?
Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds,
Jaw breakers, blow pops, Mary Janes,
Running through the sprinkler (I can't get wet! All right, well don't wet
my hair. . . )
The smell of the sun and licking salty lips. . . .
Wait. . . . . .
Catching lightening bugs in a jar,
Playing sling shot and Red Rover.
When around the corner seemed far away,
And going downtown seemed like going somewhere.
Bedtime, Climbing trees,
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers.
Cops and Robbers,
Cowboys and Indians,
Sitting on the curb,
Jumping down the steps,
Jumping on the bed.
Pillow fights.
Being tickled to death.
Running till you were out of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt,
Being tired from playing . . . . Remember that?
I'm not finished just yet. . .
What about the girl that had the big bubbly handwriting?
Licking the beaters when your mother made a cake.
Didn't that feel good. . . just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!
This is a summer street scene from the late 1950's. It was shot from Main and 3rd st. The court house wall is in the left front. How many of us sat on that wall and watched the world go by? Could one of us be in this picture? I can't see the policeman that well. It might be my father.
Judy Daugherty Kimler
jkimler@ezwv.com
JIACONIS@erols.com
SITES. Some places to see
[a] Athens acropolis and museum,
[b] Holy Meteora where monasteries exist on top of 1,000 foot sheer mountains walls - originally everything had to be hauled up by a rope and net or one had to climb wooden ladders;
[c] Olympia where you can walk the stadium grounds where the men and women competed in numerous track and field events and where the first Olympic games began in 776 BC;
[d] Delphi where the oracles resided and one could ask about the future but one had to correctly interpret what was stated. Delphi was neutral ground - as both friend and foe could worship there;
[e] Mount Olympus is about 9600 feet high and where the gods reside - Visit Mount Olympus and talk to the gods. Do not anger them!
[f] Ephesus, Turkey - an ancient Greco-Roman site in very good condition complete with a amphitheater, concert hall, baths, brothel, library, agora [marketplace], temples, palaces, public toilets, and water works. Nearby are sites where the Virgin Mary stayed during her last days and also of Saint John and Saint Paul;
[g] Mycenae - beehive tomb and remains of Agamemnon's royal palace. It was he that lead the victory that won the Trojan war;
[h] Kalambaka and the plains of Thermoplae - the famous battle where the Persians defeated the Spartans;
[i] Piraeus- port city of Athens where the cruise ships dock and not far from the Straits of Salamis where the Athenians defeated the Persian fleet;
[j] Cape Sounion where the Temple of Poseidon sits on top of a bluff overlooking the Aegean Sea;
[k] Visit the burial grounds of Marathon where a small group of Athenians defeated the Persians and from where a messenger ran 26 miles to Athens to tell of the victory;
[l] Epidaurus is a well preserved ancient amphitheater of 15,000 seats with perfect acoustics for sound transmission. If paper is torn at center stage, one can hear it from any seat; and
[m] Visit the Greek islands such as Crete, Kos, Rhodes, Patmos [where Saint John wrote the Book of Revelations], Santorini [circular arc of land that is the remains of a volcano], and Mykonos. The bigger islands typically have old fortifications, temples, quaint fishing villages, market square, and many local items to purchase.
Boat and airplane transportation is readily available during the tourist season. Only about 10 percent of the 2,000 islands are inhabited. Many locals return to the mainland after the tourist season. I plan to return to one of these quaint fishing villages. I have already bought a Greek fisherman cap - a little fishing and diving for sponges. Almost every site has postcards and illustrated books about the particular location - the government-operated stands if they are at a site have the best prices. In Athens, a must see is the Plaka area, the old town, near many of the tourist hotels. The Plaka has many restaurants and numerous shops of reasonable price items. Bargaining is acceptable and very good items can be obtained.
I also went to Greece to visit some places where perhaps I have some long lost ancient ancestral ties. The Greeks established many colonies throughout the Mediterranean 2600-2800 years ago. They influenced the west 1000-1200 years ago during the Byzantine Empire and again during the period of that followed the dark ages. Returning to the basic and pure original language and thought of Greek philosophy and education inspired the Renaissance. Greece still continues to influence western civilization. During those periods of expansion, there were many travelers, traders, teachers, and emigrations to Western Europe. Several of the colonies are near the present location of small mountain villages where my immediate direct ancestors live and from where they also emigrated to America. It is a small world and perhaps during my visit to Greece, I looked into the eyes of a distant relative, perhaps said hello during my travels, or perhaps bought something in a store that they owned.
Friends:
It is so nice for you to share in this newsletter. I wish more of you would spend a minute or two and tell us about a memory or a current event in your life. We wish to keep in touch. My heartfelt thanks to you who do contribute and to you others -- HELP! Thanks to all who are helping this newsletter stay alive.
Roleta
