Est. March 31, 2000 40,557 Previous Hits June 2, 2003 Editor:Tommy Towery http://www.leealumni.com Class of 1964 Page Hits This Issue e-mail ttowery@memphis.edu Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly , Joy Rubins Morris, Cherri Polly Massey, Paula Spencer Kephart, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran, Collins (CE) Wynn Staff Photographers: Fred & Lynn Sanders Contributers: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 |
From Our Mailbox Barbara Seely Cooper Class of '64 Naples, Florida (Paradise!) I have been much in thought since I "mis-recalled" being involved with the painting of General Lee in the gym/cafeteria. Of course I remember Bob Bertoldi and his talent...I can visualize the still life he painted with a pepper mill in it, and also I can recall his design for wallpaper. Boy, do I need help with regaining storage space in the old memory, if I can remember that kind of stuff. I believe what Dawn Bettenhausen and I worked on was a large paper replica of the Lee insignia for the football team to tear through at a game. Does anyone else recall that? My memory says that it took some doing to "punch" through the paper, so those of us who worked on it were mortified. My sincere respect and apologies to Bob!! Soon I would like to contribute to the "how I got to where I live today" stories. Meanwhile, it has been fun to see the stories of all the other graduates who ended up in different locations than they expected. ___________________________________ Barb Biggs Knott Class of '66 I am always saddened to hear about a classmate's passing or the passing of a classmate's family member. It just reminds me how precious life and family are. I cherish all my memories of my school years in Alabama, especially at Lee. I was saddened to hear about Principle Hamilton's death. He was always a fair and generous man during my years at Lee. I enjoy reading about all the adventures we have had and the places everyone has ended up since leaving Lee. Everyone keep the stories coming. I look forward to them every week. _______________________________________ Subject: Condolences Chip Smoak I want to offer my condolences to you Tommy and to all those who have lost family and friends recently. That is the best that any of us can do. That and be willing to listen if someone who is bereaved wants to talk. Thankfully, God comforts and gives strength. To the bereaved I suggest that you remember the good times. The times when the departed did something special or made you laugh or showed how much they cared for you. You may even want to write these memories down and add to them from time to time. I have heard that a person does not really die as long as there is someone who keeps their memory alive. I find this to be true. My late father once made the observation that he never felt so alone as he did when his father passed away. I came to understand the validity of this when he passed away. Even if you never ask them for advice, it is comforting to know that you have a parent to whom you can go for advice if you ever feel the need. It is lonely when that reliable source of advice is taken from you. It is then that the importance of this role impacts you because that is when you assume the weight of being this source of wisdom for your children and sometimes other family members. ___________________________________ Subject: Lee Generals Jane Parks Tommy, according to Principal Cecil Fain, Lee was named for Lee Highway, the short stretch of Highway 72 between Oakwood Avenue and Maysville Road. Lee was never Robert E. Lee High School; that school is in Montgomery. Lee Highway may have extended past Maysville Road -- can't really be sure. Now it's called Alan Shepard Highway. Anyway, Generals, Lee's Traveller, etc. came about because students and faculty wanted the school's name associated with General Lee. Along the same line of thought, did Woody Beck come up with the nameplate "Lee's Traveller"? (Editor's Note: Yes it was Woody that came up with the name.) ___________________________ Eddie Burton Class of '66 J.R., I respected you when you were a student at Lee and I'm sure you are a very good lawyer but I'm sorry to say it is you Sir who does not understand. The Civil War had nothing to do with slavery. It was about economics. The North was afraid that the Southern states were going to start spreading out west and become more economically powerful than they. We all know money is power and that's the way it was in the 1850's and 60's. Slavery was used as a rallying point for the North to give their action some kind of cause. I'm sure you don't agree with me but we as gentlemen can disagree and still respect each other. ________________________________ Walt Thomas Class of '64 - Not Lee I didn't actually graduate from LHS due to being bodily forced to move to California for junior and senior years, but returned to HSV in early 70's. Harold Shepard told me about this site and I spent hours going over the past issues. What I find amazing is my old friend CE Wynn's abilities of total recall.....especially when in some instances he (we) couldn't even remember what happened just a few minutes before. Great site. _________________________________ Subject: Thanks! Carolyn McCutcheon Hanks Class of '64 Friends, I'd like to share some good news with you, as you've been supporting me in all my bad news lately. I had the CT's done May 15th and yesterday my doctor said all the tumors but a few have vanished. The ones left are less than a centimeter. I don't think most of you knew that I had numerous tumors(over 30) in both lungs, so this is truly a miracle. I want to thank you for all your support and prayers. This truly is what God is all about;"Love"!I can't tell you how happy Dean and I are. We plan to do a little traveling now. Have to have more scans in two months. And I'm taking a new drug called Arimidex. The doctor is hoping that this will take care of the rest of the tumors left. Thank you again for being there for Dean and me. _________________________________ Subject: Ken Martz Ron Brand Ronald.Brand@usaka.smdc.army.mil Class of '66 Does anyone have Ken's email address? He was one of my best friends through Rison and Lee. Kerry, Carl and Glen Scheers lived right across the street (Oakwood) from him and I lived right across the steet from the Scheers. Kudos on the website, I enjoy it a lot. _______________________________ |
My High School Job - Machinest Apprentice, Hayes International by Ron Blaise Class of '65 I was a VIE student in those days. Hayes was an Aero- Space company in the old Lincoln Mill (HIC) building and I, along with another guy from Huntsville High were their only student workers. We worked from 1:00 in the afternoon till 4:00 every day and just about every week end too. I loved that old building, specially since there were so many people working there and half of them were girls! I never told the cute ones I was a high school student and boy did I have a ball! Probably one of the reasons my brother Don graduated a year ahead of me, but hey, I wouldn't have changed it for the world. The work was fun and every now and then I would skip work and go on an "outing" with one of my cute co-workers. My boss knew what was going on, but he was such a sleaze he didn't care as long as I made up the time I missed. I had finally found something I was good at and along with more education later lead to what I do now (Tool Engineering). I went on to work in that building with Boeing for several years after graduating and time off for good behavior with the Navy. Those were some of the best years of my life. I won the Northern District VIE Mechanical Job project contest in 64 and placed second in the state contest too. Got to go to UAT for that one, but that's another story about what a bunch of 17 year old boy's can get into when there ain't no adults around! See you around old friends. ___________________________________________ Some Other Classmates Write About Jobs: Mark Bentley Class of '66 Job Name Manager of the Putt-Putt on the Parkway I got very good at putting after two years and I was playing grownups for a $100.00 a game and winning and my mother was worried that I was selling drugs. Nope...Just playing alot of Putt-Putt ______________________________________ Larry Seaver Class Year Other Job Name Hall's Phillipps 66 Andrew Jackson Way I worked for Albert Hall (State House Rep.)for $.50 an hour. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. Albert taught Harry Renfroe and me a lot. ________________________________________ Butch Cryder Class Year Other Job Name Usher/Projectionist at Lyric Theatre Kept the balcony closed for personal use. _______________________________________ Cecilia LeVan Watson Class Year Other Job Name Miracle City I worked in the toy department at Miracle City. On Sunday most of the store workers were teens. There was a blue law that stores were to close on Sunday or only open after church. Wow, times have changed. ____________________________________________ |
Isn't it strange how things work out sometimes. If it weren't for luck I'd still be delivering pizza for Terry's. I've often said I would rather be lucky than good and I surely have been. In 1990 and 1991 while stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina near the end of my military career, I came to know a Reserve officer on active duty who was in the construction business in South Alabama. He and I would often talk about life after the military and he came to know that I would soon retire. Since I had spent my life as a military vagabond, I was fond of telling my colleagues I had no particular plans after retirement because my wife had a good job (Delta Air Lines). However, my friend, Bud, convinced me to come south to Baldwin County, Alabama (Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fairhope, Point Clear, etc) and join him in forming a corporation to build speculative residential housing. I agreed since it did not matter where Judy and I lived (her career was very mobile) and it was close to her childhood homes in New Orleans and Montgomery. We formed a company called Yarbrough and Wynn, Inc and located in Robertsdale about 25 miles up from the Gulf on Alabama Highway 59. We were general partners: I managed the administrative side of things while Bud actually built the houses. Because they were a natural fit we also operated Maid Service and Carpet Cleaning businesses as subsidiary activities of the corporation. The construction business was a real shock to me and I lasted a year or so until I couldn't take it anymore and dissolved the corporation. The actual construction and business operation were very enjoyable - I just could not accept the fact that I had to continually go to the bank signing for loans. Every week or so it seemed, I was going to get another $20,000 or $30,000 draw against a construction loan. To me the numbers were getting quite large - enough to honestly keep me awake at night worrying. By that time I had worked hard enough and long enough to be financially stable (not secure but stable) and I could not see putting my family in jeopardy just so I could build a few houses. So, Bud and I parted company. Now, the lucky part. I was on my way to Fairhope one day in 1993 when I happened to drive through the little town of Silverhill and spotted a wonderful old house for sale. I thought it was lovely - old style construction with a big porch. I was captivated and immediately bought it - even before Judy had a chance to see it (she was still based in Birmingham at the time). She fell in love with the place as soon as she drove up - it was exactly as we had each described our wishes. We had often visited the beach area, considered the situation, and decided we did not want to live there - it's a great place to visit but there are just too many vacationers, snowbirds, and pass through tourists plus way too much traffic. Besides it is only a 20 minute drive to the beach and we can go home to Silverhill whenever we want. A friend of mine who actually lives in one of the Phoenix condos describes the situation as waking each Saturday morning and finding 400 strangers in your front yard - all your neighbors are transients; wealthy transients to be sure but transients none the less. We have spent the years since '93 finishing a remodeling job begun by the previous owner and are very happy with the results. It turns out our home was originally built in 1905 as one of the charter buildings of an immigrant Swedish farming community. Our town of 600 souls is a great place to live; in fact the town motto is: "Silverhill-A Good Place To Live". We have about 160 children, a couple of hundred dogs, several thousand squirrels, and one traffic light. We are on Alabama Highway 104 between Robertsdale and Fairhope about equi-distance from Pensacola and Mobile 15 minutes east of Mobile Bay and 20 minutes north of the Gulf. Those of you who are interested in American history may find our Town web site worth a visit - www.rootsweb.com/~alcsilve. Silverhill is truly a unique, one of a kind place and Judy is quite proud the community tolerates me. If you do visit the site please make sure you look at our before (1905) and after (2003) photos at www.rootsweb.com/~alcsilve/yesterdayslide.html. I think we'll stay here. Come see us. ______________________________________________ |
We Are Fami-LEE! |
Est. March 31, 2000 40,557 Previous Hits June 2, 2003 Editor:Tommy Towery http://www.leealumni.com Class of 1964 Page Hits This Issue e-mail ttowery@memphis.edu Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly , Joy Rubins Morris, Cherri Polly Massey, Paula Spencer Kephart, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran, Collins (CE) Wynn Staff Photographers: Fred & Lynn Sanders Contributers: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 |
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
I keep remembering one thing when I think about the loss of Mr. Hamilton. At the Y2K reunion when we were all sitting around and he walked in, he smiled and nodded at a lot of us like he still knew us. I thought, what an act! And a little while later he walked up to our table and said "Hi Tommy, are you still living in Memphis?" You could have knocked me over with a feather. What an amazing man. We feature some photos from the Atlanta Mini- Reunion and the true tale of Jessie James' brother Frank and his Huntsville connection. By the way, over half of you believe that Jessie really did rob the bank in Huntsville. Read on. T. Tommy _____________________________________ |
Point your Mouse at the building. Last Week's Mystery Building Ernestine Lockhart Lee Class of '67 The Mystery Building is the Hutchens Building (Corner of Washington and Clinton). I recognized the Hutchens emblem on the sign. The Hutchens had the best toy department in town (located in the basement). My Dad was working there when I was born and was still with the Hutchens Company well after I had graduated from Lee High School. (Actually it is the corner of Jefferson and Clinton - TT) __________________________________ |
Frank James after acquittal Frank James Was Tried In Huntsville The James-Younger Gang Come Ride With Us Muscle Shoals, Alabama by Phillip Steel On March 11, 1881, US. Army Engineer Paymaster Alexander G. Smith pick up the government payroll as usual at the Florence, Alabama, bank and started back to their camp on Bluewater Creek some 15 miles up the canal from Florence. Following the canal tow-path, he was approached by three men from Florence. These men were later identifled as being Jesse James, who had been living in Nashvillle as John Davis Howard, Frank James, also living in Nachville under the name of Ben Woodson, and "Wild Bill" Ryan, who used the alias of Tom Hill. Drawing their guns, the party relieved Smith of his saddle bags, his personal watch, and $221 from his purse. The saddle bag contained $500 in gold, $4,500 in $50 bills, $20 bills, and smaller currency. They tied Smith and forced him to accompany them until midnight, at which time they returned his watch, overcoat, and $21 cash and then released him. On March 26, Bill Ryan stopped in the White's Creek Store and Saloon near Nashville to take shelter from a heavy storm. He became drunk; and disorderly and soon was arrested and taken to the Nashville jail. When Jesse and Frank learned of Ryan's arrest, and fearing what he might tell authorities, Jesse left Nashville with his family for KansasCity, and Frank took his family to Virginia. Twelve months later, Jesse James was killed in St. Joseph. The following October, Frank James surrendered to Missouri Governor Tom Crittenden. On April 17, 1884, Frank was brought to Huntsville, Alabama, to stand trial for the Muscle Shoals paymaster robbery. Represented by four of the South's best attomeys -- Pope Walker, Richard Walker, R.S. Sloan, and James Newman -- Frank was found not guilty, although seven of the twenty witnesses had positively identified him as being one of the three robbers. _____________________________________ Paula Spencer Kephart Tommy, the story in our family(my mother's side) is that 'ole Jesse' is related to the Barley or Elrod side of the family. Cannot verify, of course, because both sides are mostly Cherokee Indians, but the story is that he was related somehow. It is interesting, because my grandmother's name was Jessie. Coincidence, I believe not, after I talked with the family historian. Interesting that you chose him for a story. ____________________________________ Aaron Potts I go to the Lee WEB page a lot. I saw in your article that you were not certain about Jessie James Robbing the First National Bank in Huntsville. About a year ago we took a trip out west and visited a lot of places exploring the "Old West". A couple of places we visited were the home of Jessie James and the house where he was shot. He was referred to as Mr. Howard while he lived in the house where he died. The bullet hole in the wall is still there. We also visited his birthplace in Missouri. In one of the houses, (can't remember which one) there was displayed a letter that Jessie wrote to his mother and he told her he was in the Huntsville Jail and was okay except for his leg that he had injured. The letter didn't say exactly how he hurt his leg. It could have been from the jump to the pool or it could have been when he was captured. I hope this will make you feel better in your belief that Jessie James did in fact come to Huntsville, and was in their Jail. If he robbed the bank, that is another question!! _________________________________ |
The Story Behind The Coke Poll by Tommy Towery Class of '64 I told you a couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on the uses of Coke bottles which will be published in the next issue of Old Huntsville. In it I eluded to the fact that they were sometimes used to hold other liquids besides Coke. I decided to use my Classmates as an audience to prove that theory true and a whopping 75% of my male Classmates admitted that they had peed in a Coke bottle sometime in their life. These are the same ones that were refilled with Coke later in the circle of bottle life and we once again drank from them. Thanks for the proof. I'll publish the article here after Old Huntsville publishes it. Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly Class of '64 As for the Coke poll -- I never thought I'd accuse T.M.I.E. of being a chavinist! So I won't! Even though I admit that I neither had the urge to jump into the pool at the YMCA sans clothing, spit off the top of the ferris wheel, nor pee into a Coke bottle, I must tell you that I know at least one young lady who could do it as well as any guy probably could! I think there are many things we girls never entertained because they just didn't look like fun, but some of the things you guys did I certainly wasn't oblivious to. I was probably the biggest tomboy you'd ever want to meet until the age of 13. Actually, the Coke bottle-peeing talent is one which I would have envied, but never would have tried! Certainly would have made long trips easier. Too bad you excluded the girls from the poll. Might have been interesting to see those results. _______________________________________ |
Front L-R Toni Ivey , Linda Collingsworth Provost, Sally Dawley Stroud; Back L-R Randy Goodpasture, John Drummond, Tom Provost, Rainer Klauss Partying Through the Monsoon: The Atlanta Mini-Mini-Reunion by Rainer Klauss Class of '64 John Andrew Augustine Drummond knows how to do this reunion business right: he brought two chicks with him, Sally Dawley Stroud and Toni Ivey, cheerleading members of the class of 1965. Although we didn't know it then, once those three joined Tom and Linda Provost, Randy Goodpasture, and me at the Provost's lovely home on the Chattahoochee River, the party was complete. Sad to say, no one else came to this mini-reunion. Bad weather (it seems like we've had 39 straight days of rain down here in Atlanta), other commitments, and lack of interest kept everyone else away, I guess. At least we had representatives from the first three graduating classes, and we passed on what information, stories, and gossip we could about others. Highlights of the evening: the fun we had trying to get a group picture made, and Sally's harrowing tale of fleeing Charleston from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Toni got the award for traveling the farthest distance to the reunion; she lives in Portland, Oregon. Additional Notes By Tom Provost Though we were few in number, we were a "Hot" group. We had a great time!! Although Sally Dawly came from Charleston, SC, she was surprisingly not the farthest away. And you would have thought it would be Toni Ivey from Portland, OR. But then there was Randy Goodpasture who was pretty "spacey". So he took the prize. Actually, we had a great evening and everyone bailed about 12:30 am. Reiner will send you the "official" review of the evening. I've attached those photos that would get passed the censors. ____________________________________________ |
How I Ended Up In Silverhill, Alabama by Collins (CE) Wynn Class of '64 |
Above L-R Toni Ivey and Sally Dawley Stroud (front); Randy Goodpasture, John Drummond (back) Below L-R Toni Ivey, Sally Dawley Stroud, and Rainer Klauss |
When I read Collins' writeup, I could not help but think about his proximity to Flora-Bama, so I made it the topic of this week's poll. If any of you might just happen to have a tale about the place to share with the rest of us, we'd be happy to print it. _______________________________________________________ |
More Pre-Lee Photos - East Clinton, One More Time Okay Classmates, here's three more photos to jog your memories. Can you tell me who they are, and for a bonus round, tell me why the girl's photo was torn in half and had to be taped back together? I sure can't remember why, and I can't identify her, but to be honest, I do know who the two boys are...do you? ____________________________________________ |
