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News and Notes April 2009

For CHS 57 classmates

Patricia Owens Anderton

 

            Patricia Writes: I married Holland Anderton (CHS55).  Holland and I have been busy since 1999, living in our motor home and volunteering at State and National Parks from the east coast to the west coast.

 

            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 Texas, Brantley Lake State Park in Carlsbad New Mexico and Various State Parks In Florida.

 

            Holland and I check the Cradock web site often and we are particularly interested in hearing from and about former classmates.

 

            Holland and I have six children, 5 girls and 1 boy, the last child, ranging in age from 51 to 31 years of age. From those we are proud to say we have 13 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Holland jokes with everyone that we stay on the road volunteering because of them.

 

            We both believe that staying active extends our life and I really hope it works for us.

  

568 Marsh Hen Lane Fernandina Beach, FL  32034 904-206-2371 GenoAndo@aol.com

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Nancy Swisher Burch

 

            The saga of Nancy’s broken tibia was reported in the March issue of News and Notes.  Since then Nancy has encountered far too many health problems.  She was visited by her pals, Patsy Payne Marshal and Hope Saunders Slaughter, several times during her recuperation and she is still in recovery.  The docs who operated on her leg last February 23rd told her that she should stay off the leg for at least three months and she is now just shy of two months in a hospital bed.

 

            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 Yorktown health care center.  Hope’s comment was, “What a great way to celebrate 'Spring'.  I must remind her there will be no dancing on the tables.”

 

            This week we learned that Nancy’s leg was mending well, but the medical problems since the disastrous February fall have been coming as fast as she can handle them.  Since she first got home she has had pneumonia, then gout, then she fell from the walker and was transported back to the hospital, then had a bout with a mysterious nerve ending disease over her body, then blood clots in her lung and leg.  When she returned to the hospital last week, she was initially diagnosed with highly infectious dysentery that thankfully was a false alarm.  Upon arriving at home this past Sunday, she found that her blood sugar was dangerously low.

 

            The upshot of this litany of bad news is that Nancy’s broken leg is healing.  She will be back to MCV on April 9th for a release to put weight on the leg.  The Blood Clots will dissolve soon enough.  She has lost twenty-five pounds along the way, and she is miserable being in a hospital bed with husband, Charlie, working tirelessly to treat her maladies.

 

            Send Nancy a card to commiserate with her. She has not opened her email in a month because she cannot make it upstairs to her computer.  

 

1764 General Puller Highway, Deltaville, VA 23043

804-776-0126, nburch8@verizon.net

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Nancy Boothe Higgins

 

            Nancy Writes:  I have retired from the West Goshen Township Planning Commission, after 16 years: I will be retiring as Judge of Elections on December 31, 2009; November will be the last election I will officiate.  I am involved in a seminar as the closing of two years of Chinese History at West Chester University this Spring Semester.  I have not decided what historical tack I will take next.  I have several ideas on the back burner for articles and books...the time may be right. 

 

            My experiences at West Chester have been utterly glorious--the faculty and the students have included me in everything; I think immediately of the dust and dirt I accumulated doing fields studies for Archaeology in 95-degree temperatures in spots, without a tree to rest under.  I resisted the urge of joining the folks who decided they would go for a little swim at lunchtime, I did not have a change of clothes with me and I wanted to finish my tasks for the day.  The next day one of the guys in the crew brought a beach umbrella for me to work under because he decided it was too hot for a senior citizen to work under only a straw hat and long sleeves.  It has taken two years for me to lose the tan I received in those three weeks. I would not have missed it for anything.   We started out following the path of the British as they marched toward Philadelphia--sure we would find artifacts of war, instead, we found evidence of an Indian presence, fishing before they adapted  to use of bows and arrows--they were catching fish with spears then they sun dried their catch to take with them for winter time.  We devised a method of washing bucket loads of soil to capture bones and bits in screen pouches I sewed on my best sewing machine using plastic coated screen and it did not kill my sewing machine.  And we were able to study under microscope the diets of these early inhabitants and miscellaneous features of early Indian hunting and gathering. I took these courses to fill in the blanks I wanted to pursue.

 

            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!

 

1321 Mary Jane Lane, West Chester, PA 19380, 610-696-3898 nbootheh@juno.com

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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.

 

40 Lundee Court, Aiken, SC 29803-5702, 803-397-9992 bowman@gforcecable.com

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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; 108 Baum Bay Drive, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 252-480-0878 JTrefny@apex123.com

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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 Beaufort, SC.  Previously, they lived in China Lake, CA, where Danny was a Marine test pilot for 3 years.  My husband, Nathan does not fly so I had to make many trips by myself.  At the present, Danny is in Iraq and has been there since the first of September.  He is expected home in April 2009!  We are taking Deanna and her family on a Disney cruise in April.  We already took Natalie's family on one when Tristan was five.  It was so much fun that Natalie has booked her own Disney cruise so she and her family will be with us.  Nathan has Parkinson's Disease and is coping with it really well right now.  As far as I know, my health is all right.  It is always good hearing the news from our classmates. Thank you so much. 

 

33325 Chincoteague Road, Wallops Island, VA 23337pnnovack@verizon.net

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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 Portsmouth as a Medical Secretary. Last year she saw our classmate Ronnie Maynard many times because his mother stayed for a brief period in the nursing home.  Her long working career included stints in the Navy Yard and long periods as District Circulation Manager with both the Daily Press and The Virginian Pilot.  She and her husband live in Suffolk in the quaint community of Carrollton.  Give her a call or send her a note and welcome her back to the class of 57.  She has been gone a long time.  Sue remembers Maryellen West from high school, another lost classmate but she has not seen Maryellen since graduation.

 

 

23454 Pinecrest Lane, Carrollton, VA 23314, 757-238-7024 

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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 Europe".  We leave March 21st, fly to Vienna, board the river boat, and for 14 days cruise from the Danube, to the Main to the Rhine with day excursions in the German cities along the rivers and the back home from Amsterdam. 

 

    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 Jalapa, Murrieta, CA 92562 951-696-1995 marcella_bingham@msn.com

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Julia Ann Viverette Sertic

            Our classmate Ann Viverette from CHS 57 died, May 29, 2005.   Annie’s sister Barbara Leigh Fidler told us that Annie had asthma and her death was unexpected. 

            We had searched for her for months before the 50th reunion without results.   On March 13th, Katherine Leary Smith, with the assistance of our Cradock webmaster, Janie Norris Evans found her sister.  Katherine searched the local library for Annie’s father’s obituary and through that located her sister in Tampa who relayed the bad news. Janie located her obituary on-line.  Her daughter, Loria A Cross, lives in Florida at 7102 S. Desoto Street, Tampa, Florida 33616-2104.  Annie’s Obituary follows.

 

Tampa Tribune, The (FL) - June 9, 2005

 

Deceased Name: SERTIC

SERTIC, Julia "Annie," 66, died May 29, 2005, at home. She is survived by her daughter, Lori Cross; grandson, Jason Cross; sister, Barbara Fidler; niece, Cheryl Curren; and nephew, Alan Lopeman. The family would like to receive friends in a celebration of her life 1-4 p.m. Saturday, June 11, 2005, at 7102 S. DeSoto St., Tampa, her daughter's home. "I love you, Mom."

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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 Pennsylvania at least twice a month.  My own mother and father passed away in 1982 so I usually visit my family in Virginia every summer.  My sisters and my brother get together for a week and have a good time visiting and seeing all of our other relatives.

 

            My oldest son, Andrew lives in Northern Virginia and has a wife and two children (boy and a girl). He works for the Dept. of State in Wash, D.C. and has done some traveling with his job (Moscow, Hong Kong, Canada, England, and places within the U.S.  His wife Jessica is an ESL teacher for elementary grades but has been at home for the last three years with the children.  She plans to return to teaching in September. 

 

            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, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan and into mainland China to visit their factories.  She lives here in NJ so these are the grandchildren I care for during the day. 

 

            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, Colorado (a part of Littleton) and has a wife Christine and a daughter Ella (4 years old). He works for a company, Raytheon in the United States Antarctica Program.  He just returned around Thanksgiving after 2 months in Antarctica (South Pole) with the National Science Foundation getting their computer systems and satellite phone system updated and working more efficiently.  It was quite an experience for him and he also got to stop in New Zealand for a few days on the trip down and on the return trip.  I do not get to see them very often, but I am planning a trip around April 15 to Denver to see them and their new home for the first time. I really do not like flying but I will do it anyway.

 

            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 Portsmouth to Cradock to see the old school and (I remember when it was called the new school) and we were moving into it our sophomore year.  I recall all the fond memories of my years in the band and favorite teachers, Mr. Linzey, Mr. Niemeyer, Mr. Sindlinger, Mr. Carter and Mrs. Pannell.

 

11 Michael Street, Piscataway, NJ 08854, 732 -261-4254 joy1938@yahoo.com

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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 Donnie Whitesell and Bernie Kirsch attended to pay the last respects for the class of 57.  There was at last a hint of spring in the air after the coldest of recent winter days.    A group of family, friends, former and co-workers attended services by Rev. Ernest L. Trueblood, who aptly described Sam as “quite a gal” who showed the same face to all.  Trueblood told us, she was a “professional shopper”, an out-spoken commentator on life, a sun-worshiper, liked a good steak, loved the color pink, and became a friend for a life.

 

            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 Authority where she retired as an Executive Secretary.  Everyone knew and respected Sam at work.  She managed a working-girl career through to retirement and raised a family along the way.  She made many friends and acquaintances.  She was a pleasure to know. 

 

            Sam had a long-time relationship with her good friend, Joe Lafurno of Portsmouth.  For nearly forty-years, she and Joe enjoyed each other.  They golfed, traveled, and lived the high life.  She was a delight to Joe and his friends. Joe was there with her at the end.

           

            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, 4724 Race Street, Portsmouth, VA 23707, 757-399-8142

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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 Key West several times and one evening we attended a reception for the marine artist Wyland at his gallery on Duval Street.  It was interesting to meet Wyland and watch him paint for the guests.  Chet had met him several times, even in Hawaii, and has good rapport with the owners of the gallery.  Two nights before, Jimmy Buffet showed up at Margaretville unexpectedly and gave a concert.  I wish we had been in Key West that night. 

 

            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 Florida and I have really enjoyed having four weeks in the Keys, a very laid-back experience.

 

            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.   

 

8300 Pasadena Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL 33024, 954-432-6599, barnettewright@yahoo.com

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Don Powell tells us:  A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

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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 Chicago with her parents.

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 New York with him.

17) She learned to cook taking a whole foods cooking class in New York. Her children love her food, but her southern mother thinks she serves her green beans raw.

18) She also took photography courses in New York, exhibited in shows and is a brilliant photographer.

19) She and Daddy saved all their money in New York for life theater and music – once even having to beg for subway fare to get home after eating at a restaurant and using every last cent. While Dad begged for change dressed in his finest, mom ran into a classmate from Duke in the Subway and was able to borrow subway fare.

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 Bulgaria, decades before the fall of the iron curtain. She has an old Bulgarian woman and her honey salve to thank for the lack of scars from all the glass that had been embedded in her face.

24) She read The Hobbit while nursing her newborn at night.

25) When living in New York with Daddy and Michelle, was able to get ready for a camping trip in 30 minutes. She also backpacked through New England and Nova Scotia for a month.

26) She sent Michelle to an experimental school at the Columbia Teachers' College where she had gotten her masters. The kids had free reign, sang a lot and read a lot, but didn't learn much math.

27) While living in Spanish Harlem, she had a poodle named Tabasco, who would stand on his hind legs at all the stoplights.

28) She had a sauna group of women who met once a week in Germany for years. They are still close friends.

29) We went on winter vacations to Switzerland with two of the sauna group families, to a little village called Stoos, whose only mode of transportation was horse-drawn sleighs, skis and sleds.

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 Switzerland, holding onto a metal chain with my sister during a massive thunderstorm.

32) Used to process massive quantities of elderberries from our backyard in Germany. She still talks about the purple stains everywhere.

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 Lynchburg. I loved it because it resembled a ladybug.

36) Had been gone from the States a longtime when she started teaching again in Lynchburg. She put a kid in time-out for saying, "butt" and could not understand the students' outrage.

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 Germany come live with us for a year in 11th grade.

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 Mississippi, where she had gone to teach a teacher's training course.

44) She lost it all a few weeks later in Berlin, when she was pick-pocketed on a bus in front of the Reichstag.

45) She had a brain tumor that was discovered after an unrelated fall down the steps of the Met in New York.

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 Lynchburg when she first moved here, but now has the most wonderful circle of friends. Thank you.

 

1607 Rivermont Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24503, 434-845-6116, deckerhester@aol.com

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Billy Boggs

 

            Billy Writes: “Hi: I'm still alive, and live in Cradock. Billy”

 

23 Aylwin Road, Portsmouth, VA 23702, 757-399-0988, billyboggs@cox.net

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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 Deep Creek High School.  My older brother, Ed, graduated from Wilson and of course I made it out of Cradock with the rest of you.

 

When I was attending Cradock my family moved from Lee Hall Apartments, near Frederick Boulevard, to near the railroad tracks by the Super 17 and Suburban Rulane and Raynor's Grocery store/bar and grill.  Whenever my brothers and I attend local sports events we would never go when ours schools were playing each other.  We went when either of the three schools were playing Norview, Princess Anne, Salem or all of us would go watch Great Bridge play - isn't that cute??? 

 

3332 Bruin Drive, Chesapeake, VA  23321, 757-484-4805, dnicholls1@cox.net

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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 Head, NC 27959. Cell: 252-256-3025 bnance@embarqmail.com

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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 Tunisia in North Africa and back on a 17-day vacation and exploratory trip into a third world country that Pat reported was delightful and full of new experiences.

           

            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 Carthage in the “way-back” time and more than a thousand years later Hannibal led his minions using elephants as pack animals, across the sea through Spain and across the Alps to attack the early Romans.  You cinema fans may remember, General George Patton portrayed by Oscar winning actor, George C. Scott, performed a dream sequence soliloquy about the ancient battlefields in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains in Tunis.

 

            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.      

 

5500 Springwood Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23703, 757-484-4450 horanhome@cox.net

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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 Wilson in the fifties, went on to graduate from the University of Miami and UVA Law School and practice Law for his career. Allen Whittier and Smythe Wood who played against Cradock and were both on the 1956 Norview state championship football team both died last month. 

           

           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; Earlene Hodges Lassiter, 413 Cynthia Lane; Vienna, VA 22180; 703-938-0953, Arlene Johnston Lindsay, 111 Elmhurst Court, Portsmouth, VA 23701, 757-465-4103, Mobile: 757-373-7621; Patsy Payne Marshall;252 Idlewood Avenue; Portsmouth, VA 23707, 757-397-6382; Kay Cross (Sam) McLean , 4724 Race Street , Portsmouth, VA 23707, 757-399-8142; Sharon Hough Meyers, 2200 Azalea Drive; Grants Pass, OR 97526; 541-474-4460; Phillip Monahan, 1513 City Park Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23701; 757-488-6856; Curtis Lee Nelson, 6513 Portsmouth Blvd.; Portsmouth, VA  23701, 757-488-1717; Pat Malone Outten, 419 Bobby Jones Drive Portsmouth, VA 23701, 757-488-1774 Home, 757-439-0109 Cell; Barbara Gilbert Parsons, 3844 White Chapel Arch, Chesapeake, VA 23321; Bettie Jozwick Ridgeway, 11 S. Fairview Circle, Portsmouth, VA 23702, 757-393-4862; Merry Smith Schneider, 900 Old Combee Rd; Lakeland, FL 33805-9508, 863-603-0137; Lynn Root, 2849 Lambert Trail, Chesapeake, VA 23323, 757-487-4773; Richard Rush,4555 Bryce Drive, Evansville, IN  47714, 812-476-5512, Carl Vance; P. O. Box 3996 , Portsmouth, VA 23701; Jewell Rary Wall, 601 Normandy Street, Portsmouth, VA 23701, 757-487-6985; Jesse Wiggins, 38 Loxley Road, Portsmouth, VA 23702,757-487-2953.

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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