News and Notes April 2009
For CHS 57 classmates
Patricia Owens Anderton
Patricia Writes: I married Holland Anderton (CHS55).
The two of us are now
Volunteering at Ft. Moultrie on Sullivan's Island S. C. and have been here
since December 2008, will leave for a couple of months off April and May then
return in June and stay again thru December 2009.
In the past, we have volunteered at
LBJ Ranch in
We both believe that staying active
extends our life and I really hope it works for us.
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The saga of
After one visit in early March, Hope wrote that her
spirits are good but her leg is not.
Hope and Patsy visited when she was in a
804-776-0126, nburch8@verizon.net
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Nancy Boothe Higgins
My experiences at
These courses that would have been so great except they
just did not fit into a schedule until I retired. It left
me with gratitude that I
could take exactly what appealed to me and satisfy an overactive curiosity. The
icing on the cake was the opportunity we had to reconnect at out 50th High
School Reunion. There were so many talented and dedicated members of
our class. If I cannot live in Cradock again, I am happy to be living in
the Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania. Thank You Cradock 57!
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Carolyn Barnett Wright remembers the
good-old days. http://www.fiftiesweb.com/burma1.htm
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Marvin Bowman
Marvin Writes: Last month I
had not yet posted some of the newest four albums of the 1000 or so pictures we
took!
Mary and I are not going anywhere for some months now. We are tired and someone is cutting into my
nest egg. There will be a test on the captions. :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/marvin.bowman?feat=email
Try Marvin’s website.
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Suzie Oliver Trefny
Jimmy Trefny reports that
his sweet wife, Suzie, is getting weaker, but still keeps on going. She just
continues to amaze me. I will keep her Classmates
informed. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Send a card. Suzie
Oliver Trefny;
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Did he say black is not
beautiful? http://thecookshack.blogspot.com/2009/04/black-is-in.html
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Peggy Sims Novack
Peggy Writes: I am busier now than I have ever been in my life with
grandchildren and church. We have seven grandchildren.
We babysit for our 18-month-old grandson, Tanner, every weekday while
my daughter, Natalie, works. We get her 9-year-old son, Tristan, from the
school bus every day. Frequently, our two teen-age granddaughters, Amber
and Kelsey, pop in to use our computer and sometimes spend the night here with
friends.
All grandchildren live nearby, except for Kayla (5) and
Taylor (2). Their parents, Deanna and Danny, live in
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Margaret Sue Gayle Johnson
“Another Lost Classmate Found”
Since 2004, a group of us has been seeking the complete list of 1957
classmates who were there with us at Cradock in the class of 1957. One of the very important players in this
effort is Katherine Leary Smith. “Kat”
is so good at seeking and finding lost Cradock folks, she should be paid for
it! This past month she found Margaret
Sue Gayle Johnson known AKA “Sue Johnson”.
Sue is currently working at Autumn Care Nursing Home in
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Test for Alzheimer’s or
maybe not... http://samboforest.multiply.com/journal/item/33/The_Alzheimers_Test
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Marcella Shaffer Bingham
Marcella Writes: When I received the last issue of News and
Notes, I knew it was about time that I step up to the plate, run up the flag,
come out of the closet, show my colors or...well, you know what I
mean. To explain, I have been uncharacteristically quiet for the
last year because I have been ill.
In
January of 2008, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, bullous pemphigoid,
a condition that Dermatologists call the "blistering skin
disease". Along with skin eruptions, the condition comes with
debilitating fatigue, brain fog, and a severe sensitivity to the
sun. It is not curable, but it can be controlled with antibiotics,
and I will be taking them for the foreseeable future. For about a year,
Tom and I had to plan every outing based on my very limited energy.
P.S. Tom has been so patient and has taken such good care of me, I am so
grateful for his loving support.
For
the last few months, except for the occasional flare up, I have
been doing really well and feeling so much better. My brain has
returned, and I can go out for the day without having to go home and
sleep. This year, I also had to have three leg surgeries
and I am recovering and I am enjoying the pure physical pleasure of
walking around the neighborhood.
I
decided that the year 2009 was my year of returning to health and to a
"normal" life (whatever that is!) I had not written a
single thing for 14 months or done anything creative but have just started
a new short story. Tom and I decided it was time to get out there in the
world and we booked a trip with Grand Circle Travel for a river cruise on the
"Great Rivers of
That
is all for now. I am looking forward to telling everyone about our trip
when we return. I promise after we get home to keep in touch and be an
active participant of this wonderful newsletter. Love to all, Marcella
40653 Via
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Julia
Deceased
Name: SERTIC
SERTIC, Julia
"
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Carolyn Barnett Wright sent this one. Click here: YouTube - Great Dance Routine: James Cagney and Bob Hope
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Joyce Bragg Costa
Joyce Writes: My husband, Jerry has been retired since 2005 after
45 years with the Justice Dept of the Federal Government. He keeps busy from March through November
with his sports officiating (baseball, softball (girl's), kids' baseball and
tournaments, soccer, and he is carded by the state of NJ to umpire women's
lacrosse and various other sports. We
visit my mother-in-law who is 92 years old in an assisted living facility in
My
oldest son, Andrew lives in
My
next is Joanne who is not married but engaged.
She works with a company which makes wedding cakes (designer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K02pwpBl_o
and this is her secondary job. She
graduated from the French Culinary Institute in NYC so she is eventually
interested in starting up her own business.
Meanwhile she can rely on her career as a hairdresser 3 days a
week.
Rosemary
is the third in line and she has a family with 3 girls - 18 years old
(Samantha, who graduates high school in June), 11 year old Emily who plays the
flute and is creative in art, Gianna who is 8 years old and a sweetie who loves
to ride her "quad" like a professional speedster. Rose (that is what we call her) works for a
company where she is head of the International Importing Dept. She sources products overseas (mostly the
Orient) which go into products like Coach leatherwear (pocket books, etc) and
other name brands like Dooney & Bourke, Michael Kors, etc. She travels at least once a year for a few
weeks to Japan,
Linda
is 4th and lives in Glen Rock (northern NJ) with her husband and one daughter,
Fallon. She left UPS where she was a
supervisor for 15 years to have a little family. She enjoys art and interior
decorating. Her husband Gil works for
UPS in IT dept.
Robert
(Bob) lives in Highlands Ranch,
I
enjoy reading the news from Cradock H.S. and getting to know a little bit more
about people that I really did not know that well in school. I always take a ride with my sister when I am
in
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Debra Kay Francis Cross “Sam” McLean
On February 26th our friend and classmate, “Sam” McLean,
AKA Kay Cross, died. She suffered with a
multiplicity of medical problems and the struggle became too much for her,
months shy of her seventieth birthday in late September.
Services were at Snellings Funeral home in Churchland on
March 5th and
Sam’s was a vibrant, outgoing personality. She was
a larger than life presence in her jobs at WAVY-TV and her long time job at
Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing
Sam had a long-time relationship with her good friend,
Joe Lafurno of
Sam’s life choices have given us our good memories of
her. She was loving and joyous about life.
We know her for her delightful spirit, quick intelligence, keen wit and
laughing eyes. It was a rare time when
we found Sam without time to share a good story that brought a smile. Everyone who met her enjoyed her as a
friend. Sam took good care of her family
and friends. It could not be any other way.
She was a special friend.
More than 380 years ago in 1623, John Donne wrote his
epic poem, “Devotions”. The poem that
begins with the phrase, “No man is an island unto himself and ends with...“Do
not send to know for whom the bell tolls...it tolls for thee”. The bell is tolling for us. Farewell Sam, it was good to know you.
Send Expressions of Sympathy
to
The family of Sam McLean,
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Carolyn Barnett
Wright
Carolyn Writes: My brother, Chet, is renting on Cudjoe Key and I enjoyed my time
with Chet during February. We went to
We went to four art shows but
neither of us made any purchases this trip. The weather has been glorious,
mostly in the 70's with a few days close to 80. I am happy to be in
Katherine Powell is coming to visit
on March 16th and we are taking the cruise to The Bahamas on March 20th.
She will be with me until the 31st. She sounds very good on the phone and
I look forward to having time with her this month. There was not new
activity and there was shrinkage of the tumors She had seen the Oncologist
today to review the PET scan and the report was excellent. Katherine has been given three months off of
the chemotherapy and will take another PET scan in June. Our friend and
classmate are very excited and relieved.
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Don Powell tells us: A grenade thrown into a kitchen in
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Deanna Decker Hester
“Happy Birthday to all of
you seventy year olds”
Deanna’s
daughter Emily gave her mom a unique 70th Birthday present earlier
in the year. She wrote 70 things about
my Mother which we are sharing with her classmates
70 Things
About My Mother
1) Her
parents named her Deanna Patricia Decker, and called her Trish.
2) She
received honorable mention when her baby photo was entered in a nationwide
contest.
3) One of
her earliest memories is taking the train to
4) She has
always been a Daddy's girl.
5) My
mother is an only child.
6) Her
cousin Susan, also an only child, has always been like her sister.
7) Susan
even followed Mom on her first date at age 12, sitting in the row behind them
at the movie theater.
8) She got
a Boston Terrier named Junior in 7th grade. He was known as "the
baby," ate ice cream every day, had a yearly birthday celebration, bit the
heels of the last person out the door and strongly disliked my father.
9) She and
her best friend once picked up two sailors on the beach when they were in 8th
grade.
10) She
went to prom with my dad when she was a freshman and he was a junior, after the
boy she really wanted to go with picked someone else. They didn't hit it off.
11) In high
school, she dated a guy named Baxter Berryhill.
Despite having won her over in the end, my dad has a bit of an obsession
with Baxter. We had to dissuade him from including Baxter's yearbook message to
my mom after their break-up in her slide show.
12) She
kept a journal throughout high school. Daddy and I consider it a found
treasure. She's embarrassed by it.
13) She was
the head cheerleader and voted most popular in high school.
14) She was
so homesick her freshman year at Duke that Dad had to practically spoon-feed
her.
15) She was
part of a trial class for women's football at Duke, but when she got knocked
out on the field during their test match, the program got scrapped.
16) She
finished college in three years to marry Daddy and move to
17) She
learned to cook taking a whole foods cooking class in
18) She
also took photography courses in
19) She and
Daddy saved all their money in
20) She is
not the ideal house tenant, having on separate occasions and separate homes,
managed to set fire to the landlady's curtains and had a dog defecate in the
homeowners' swimming pool.
21) She
loves slow and leisurely transportation, in particular trains and transatlantic
boat crossings.
22) Her
idea of heaven is to be lounging on a deck chair of a transatlantic ship, and
have a member of the staff approach her, saying, "bouillon for the
lady?"
23) She was
once in a car accident in
24) She
read The Hobbit while nursing her newborn at night.
25) When
living in
26) She
sent Michelle to an experimental school at the
27) While
living in Spanish Harlem, she had a poodle named
28) She had
a sauna group of women who met once a week in
29) We went
on winter vacations to
30) She
lost the diamond out of her engagement ring in the snow on a sunny day leaving
Stoos.
31) She
once climbed up a mountain in
32) Used to
process massive quantities of elderberries from our backyard in
33) Was
given a tiny, tiny black and white television one of her ESL students repaired
for her when she said she only wished for a TV to watch the Sarajevo Olympics.
34) Got in
the habit of buying fresh flowers at German markets, and still loves to have
them around.
35) Had a
beauty mole above her lip until she had it removed in
36) Had been
gone from the States a longtime when she started teaching again in
37) She
used to drive an old, unreliable Oldsmobile whose A-track played both sides of
our Simon and Garfunkel A-track simultaneously. We still listened to it.
38) She was
our family reader, reading novel after novel after novel, from Tolkien to
Dickens to Bronte, aloud to Daddy and me while we played Chinese Checkers.
39) She's a
raging Duke basketball fan and has scared dogs, children and adults who were
unfortunate enough to be in the room with her during a game on TV.
40) When I
became a vegetarian at age 12, she supported me completely, unquestioningly
cooking vegetarian for me from then on.
41) Had my
best friend from
42) She has
always clipped and saved newspaper articles she thinks might be of interest to
me or to Tony.
43) She won
a chunk of money at a casino in
44) She
lost it all a few weeks later in
45) She had
a brain tumor that was discovered after an unrelated fall down the steps of the
Met in
46) She
asked the surgeon to change the incision he was going to make so she could keep
her hair for my wedding a few months later.
47) In
typical stoic fashion, the first thing she said as she was wheeled out of
surgery was "don't let my mother see me like this."
48) Despite
her surgery, she single-handedly planned and pulled off my wedding just over
three months later.
49) She
loves Tai Chi and Chi Gong, and now takes a sword dance class
50) She
drinks a glass of red wine every day.
51) She
loves the beach, but rarely goes in the water.
52) She has
taught preschool, grade school, ESL, adult literacy, teachers, and children
with learning difficulties.
53) She
shows disapproval by changing the subject.
54) She
bakes Stohlen every Christmas
55) Her
comfort food that she cooks for other people is potato and leek soup.
56) She
visits her mother daily.
57) She
talks to me every day. I am usually the one who calls.
58) She has
more of a social life than her two daughters combined, and is rarely home.
59) She has
always rather taken a trip than had a working car, a dishwasher or nice
furniture.
60) She
loves the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.
61) She has
four grandsons and two granddaughters.
62) She has
inherited the use of nonsense words from her father and is known by more than
one grandchild as the grandmother who says "skoodadootch"
63) Mia
calls her pomegranate Grandma because one of her favorite activities with her
is to get the seeds out of the pomegranate.
64) She got
a digital camera weeks ago, but is afraid to use it. Pressure her.
65) She
seems to have had a technology breakthrough this year and has begun forwarding
e-mails, installing her own phones, reading the Huffington Post on-line and
even commenting on my blog.
66) She
wants to grow blueberries, but we never seem to get around to planting them. We
both regret it every year.
67) She is
thinking about getting a black lab puppy.
68) She and
daddy will have been married for 49 years this summer.
69) She is
eternally curious, adventurous and open-minded, and is currently refreshing her
French with the Rosetta Stone.
70) She
disliked
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Billy Boggs
Billy Writes: “Hi: I'm still alive, and live in Cradock. Billy”
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Dewey Nicholls
Dewey Writes: I just
talked with my brother Dennis, and he relayed some of the best news I have ever
heard - my niece’s cancer is in remission.
Thank God and of course everyone of you for your thoughts, prayers
and well wishes.
Although we may have won the battle, the fighting and war
goes on. The doctors are continuing chemotherapy treatments in the spinal
area and have given Kristy a 50/50 chance of complete recovery; however, there
is always the possibility that the dread disease could return
within the next 5 years. I believe in
prayer and I ask each of you to include my sweet young niece in your
prayers.
Kristy is anxious to return to her job and work, however the doctors are instructing her to go a little easy for now. She is a little weak from this ordeal and must follow orders and go slow and easy for a while.
My brother, Dennis, Kristy’s dad, is 6 years younger than
I am and attended
When I was attending Cradock
my family moved from Lee Hall Apartments, near
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Bill Nance
Bill, our correspondent in Nags Head, sends us emails
with tidbits of wisdom to dispense to 57 folks.
He has become very philosophical.
Last month he shared some of the wisdom of
writer/philosopher/entertainer Mark Twain.
Let Bill know what you think about these. The editor claims no responsibility. Maybe Bill had just finished filing his IRS
1040 form for 2008. 1) “If you do not read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you
do read the newspaper you are misinformed.”
2) “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of
Congress, but then I repeat myself.” 3)
“There is no distinctly native American criminal class...save Congress.” 4 “The
only difference between a taxman and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist
leaves the skin.”
4913S Links Drive, Nags
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Click for a trip
for Country Music Fans http://www.videospider.tv/Videos/Detail/474635102.aspx
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Pat Horan
Since the last publication of News and Notes, Pat
and Deadri Horan traveled to
For those of you who are not up on Mediterranean culture
and history, this African country is one of the oldest settled lands in the
area with a recorded history of nearly 3000 years. The Phoenicians settled
Pat and Deadri immersed themselves in the culture of that
ancient land for ten days, rode camels at the deserts edge, toured the modern
cities, and spent many dinars enjoying themselves with an unconventional
vacation experience.
Since coming home, Pat is back to work, managing his
properties and mastering his favorite sport, Pickelball. He is the senior champ
in Churchland.
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Potpourri from CHS 57
A lunch meeting at the Golden Corral near Chesapeake Mall
on April 10th included Gene White, Ace4gene@yahoo.com Buddy
Wilkins, hwilkins1@verizon.net
Charles Shires, cshires@cox.net Dewey Nichols, dnicholls1@cox.net
and Bernie Kirsch. The Next Golden Corral luncheon will be
Friday, May 8, 2009 at noon...Dutch treat for lunch and conversation. All 57 classmates are welcome to join. There is no program except to come and
gossip. We are planning semi-annual
luncheons for all 57 classmates. A
luncheon will be in June, a date to be announced soon, and then we will meet
again in October as a part of the Come Home to Cradock weekend. If you want to
help promote either of these luncheons send and email to revelerbk@cox.net
News and Notes learned that Donnie is well following a
routine surgical procedure in March. (Editors note: ‘routine
surgical procedures’ happen to others) Recovery was slower than hoped for, because
of a Murphy’s Law type infection that led to sore throats, intestinal distress
and all that brings. The operation was a
success. The boy is well but for a
while, it was one-step forward and one back during recuperation.
Since the last edition of News and Notes some folks that
we knew who were not from Cradock but were our age passed away. Bobby Sher, a blazing fast running back for
If you know a 57 classmate who does not receive “News
and Notes” and would like to receive it, do us a favor, make a copy then send
it to them. It costs your time, an
envelope and $0.42. It will make them
feel good, and you too. Spread the
news. It is expensive to print and mail
to everyone on this list. Email is much
less expensive. You can bring the class
closer together by sharing a copy of our news with your old friends on the list
below. Please make a friend again by
copying the News and Notes and mailing it to a classmate. If you discover that someone on this list has
an email send that information to revelerbk@cox.net
Here are a few folks who do
not use email: Kenny Bass,
2108 Iowa Street, Chesapeake, VA 23323,
757-487-2145; William (Bobby) Allen; 1620
Maple Street; Smithfield, NC 27577;
919-934-3289; Duncan Buchanan, 2816
Anderson Hwy, Powhatan, VA 23139, 804-598-8005; Juanita Gift Cotton, 219 Jacquelyn Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23701,
757-488-8533; Nathan Capps, 112
Lariat Trail, Moyock, NC 27958, 252-435-1078; Carolyn Gerald Collins, 4503 Leeward Drive, Chesapeake, VA 23321;
757-465-0461; Kenny Combs,3340
Golden Oaks Lane, Chesapeake, VA 23321, 757-484-9414; Shelvy Drew Donaldson; 602 Kent Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23702, 757-487-4458; Judy Allman Eanes,5 Warren Dr.
Portsmouth, VA 23701,757-488-2749; Alfred E. Fry,2511 Bugle Dr W; Chesapeake, VA 23321,757-488-8441; Ronald W. Griffin,10 S Colin Dr, Portsmouth, VA 23701; 757-465-7406;
Gene Hoggard, 1512 City Park Ave,
Portsmouth, VA 23701, 757- 488-8575; Leon
Hemmings, 1404 Fox Trail, Edenton, NC 27932-9142, (252) 221-8926; Juanita
Jefferies Killman, 4904 Gardner Lane, Suffolk, VA 23434, 757-925-0961; Mac Kincaid, 30 Early Drive,
Portsmouth, VA 23701, 757-465-0349; Gloria Bass Kincaid, 30 Early Drive,
Portsmouth, VA 23701, 757-465-0349;
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The Cradock Website
Janie Norris Evans is the webmaster of the Cradock
website. http://www.cradock.org/ Janie, a Cradock Class of 1960-graduate is a
dedicated helper, who is creating a treasure for every one of us. She collects Cradock memorabilia, and
displays it on her version of olden days Cradock reality, the wonderful
website.
We recommend to all of you who grew up in Cradock,
Janie’s first website which has many delightful bits of information about your
past http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vancgenealogyrecords/
Janie has linked this site to the Cradock site so you can also reach it from
there. Do not miss this. It is worth the
time you spend. It will lower your pulse
rate and blood pressure. It is cathartic.
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And Finally... now
that you have come this far in this month’s edition of News and Notes, the
editors have selected a treat for all of you who love all kinds of music. This is a fascinating experiment in sound
engineering. It is a composite audio/video of song whereby
additional tracks were laid in by different singers and musicians from
different places around the world. The song itself is that standard "Stand
By Me" originally released in 1955 by The Staple Singers and released
again in 1961 by the Drifters. It is wonderful. (bk) http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741