Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly, Joy Rubins Morris, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran, Collins (CE) Wynn, Eddie Sykes, Don Wynn, Paula Spencer Kephart, Cherri Polly Massey
Contributors: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 and Others
Been working in storage again this week and am finding some treasures. Yes, I think I did keep everything. I found some special things from my Lee days and will be sharing them with all of you in the near future. One thing that I was especially happy to find was a complete set of the frist two years of Lee's Traveller, including the first ever issues.
Please include your name and class year with your e-mail to me.
T. Tommy
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This Week's
Lee-Bay Items
From Our
Mailbox
Last Week's
Lee-Bay Item
Married Classmates
Vern Lucas, Class of ‘64
and
Joan Graybill, Class of ’64
by Elaine Lucas Hubbard
Class of ’66
Rainer Klaus wrote an article last month about my brother Vern’s (Vern Lucas, Class of ‘64) homebuilt airplane and Rainer’s visit with Vern and his wife Joan (Joan Graybill, Class of ’64) at their home at Reynold’s Plantation near Greensboro, GA.
Carolyn Burgess Featheringill asked in another April issue about highlighting those of us who had married either fellow classmates or Lee High grads from other years in the '64-'66 timeframe.
I think it would be interesting, and fun, to recognize in some way our married classmates at the reunion in August.
To me, Vern and Joan epitomize the classic term “married high-school sweethearts”. They have been very happily wed since August 28, 1966 – 39 years this summer. They have two great kids, Valerie and David. Valerie is a teacher in Snellville, GA, married for 16 years to engineer Mark Reeves and mother to “Popso” Vern and Grandma Joan’s grandkids, Elizabeth and Jack Reeves, ages 7 and 5, respectively. Son David is a mechanic (from airplanes to motorcycles) who lives and works in the same North Georgia area where Vern and Joan live, so all of them are close and see each other often.
I am obviously partial to my brother and sister-in-law in their role as high school sweethearts, but I’ve have over 40 years to observe, and be part of, their special relationship. We three spent four years in the band together, experiencing many bus trips to football games and band contests, as well as traveling on the infamous Orange Bowl bus trip in December 1963. (Unlike my brother, however, I do remember the treacherous hike down the Dug Hill side of Hwy. 431 the night we began our long trip to Miami – but, oh well, I AM younger than he is.)
Last May, when our nephew Mark Hutson (Class of ’04) graduated from Lee High School, we took a picture on the front porch of my sister’s house in Five Points to commemorate connections to our alma mater. In the photo, there is not only Vern, Joan, Mark and me, but my sister, Angela Lucas, Class of ’78; stepson Perry Hubbard, Class of ’88; and Mark’s girlfriend, Sarah Hereford, who will graduate this May in the Class of 2005. We go back a long, long way and get together as Fami-Lee as often as possible. We’re still traveling our life road together, my brother and I, along with our fun and energetic spouses who have their own unique connections to Lee High, living, loving and laughing all the way.
I’ve attached a couple of pictures of Vern and Joan – one a shot of the newlyweds on their wedding day in 1966 and another more recent photo of the couple that I consider the quintessential high-school sweethearts.
We’re all planning to attend the reunion in August and hope to see all of our ’64-’65-’66 classmates there, too.
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Cars, Cars, Cars
Part 2
By Collins (CE) Wynn
Class of ‘64
When I was a kid of 12 or 13 I would sit out in our driveway down on Oakwood Avenue in our ’56 Ford for hours on end imagining myself “seeing the USA in my Chevrolet” so to speak. I took these trips all over America sitting still in that Ford steadily shifting gears with my arm around my imaginary girlfiend, Sandra Dee. It was where I learned the really cool shifting technique for going from 1st to 2nd gear. I do not know why it seemed cool to turn my head to the left just as the gearshift was going up into second but I did so then and sometimes even now I have to restrain myself from doing the same when I’m out driving my little 5 speed t-top Nissan around down here. I guess it’s just a guy thing-I’ve never noticed a girl do that.
Speaking of gearshifts, somebody whose name escapes me rotated their three-speed column from the right side over to the left so that the shifting action was in the opposite direction. Just as with kids today, we’d pretty much do anything to be different or to be noticed.
Of course, no car story I write can be complete without the infamous “Blue Goose”; Jim (Goose) Shelton’s Dad’s 1954 (I think) 2 Door White Over Blue Mercury. We sure had a good time or two in that car and I probably have told far too many stories about the “goose gang” by now including some about Woody’s Drive In.
Although these two cars came a little after high school, I’m going to mention them anyway because Tony Thompson and I are both involved. Tony had a yellow 1965 GTO and I had a teal blue one – the only difference between the two other than the color was that Tony’s had a posi-traction rear which supposedly made his just a little faster getting off the line. Both cars would top out at probably (because I was never foolish enough to find out) about 130 mph – way too fast for any reasonable use. One unusual feature of both cars that might serve you well in a trivia contest was that the ignition switch (the key) was located up high in the dash on the LEFT hand side of the steering column. Without looking I think these cars were 390hp from a 389 cubic inch engine. I seem to recall Chevrolet had a Chey Super Sport known as a SS396. These were all big, fast, and dangerous vehicles especially in the hands of 18 year old boys.
I have long since said my goodbyes to a 1965 Pontiac GTO, a 1968 Pontiac LeMans, 1976 Red Ford Pinto (yes, a Pinto); a 1972 Ford Station Wagon; a 1946 Ford Sedan; a 1974 Harley Davidson Motorcycle; a 1985 Mazda RX-7; a 1986 Mazda RX-7; a 1995 Ford Van; a 1996 Toyota Pick Up; a 1989 Nissan Pulsar; a 1987 Honda Civic; a 1987 Mazda Pick Up; a 1962 Volkswagen Convertible; a 1958 Oldsmobile Sedan; a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix; and a 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 plus others not memorable enough to mention.
It is only now that I am approaching 60 years of age that I have finally learned not to lust after inanimate objects.
Who asked us to "See the USA in our Chevorlet"? What was the name of the show that opened with this invitation and what signature body jesture was used at the end of the show? Click on the emblem above for a hint.
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Here is a collection of items being sold as a group on e-Bay this week. Surely some of you can tell us what they are, or at least what they were used for. This should stump a few of you.
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Subject:Looking for David Hoppe, Class of '66
Kent Bushart
Class of '65
This is my new email address. If anyone has heard from or knows how to get in touch with David Hoppe, Class of 66, let me know.
From: Long Beach, MS
E-mail: jkbushart@cableone.net
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Subject:Cars
Andrea Gray Roberson
Class of '66
When I turned 16, I got a 1959 Light Blue Rambler Stationwagon. That car was soooo big but we could get around 10 people in it and have a GREAT time driving from Shoney's to Jerry's Drive-In. We were always looking for our boyfriends but when we found them we would pretend that we did not see them!!!!????(I cannot understand why we did that). It had push buttons and the drive button always fell out when I pushed it. My dad showed me how to fix it but if there was lots of boys around, I would always say I did not know how and get them to help!!!! The best place for this was Hardee's on Highway 72. My dad would give me $5.00 a week for gas and NEVER give me more, so everyone would give me maybe 25 cents and we could ride all night.
When we had our school homecoming parade downtown, I drove my BLUE RAMBLER. I think there was about 15 people hanging out the side and back windows. What a good time. That was just good clean fun and I am sorry that life cannot be that way anymore.
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Subject:Teachers' addresses
Sarajane Steigerwald Tarter
Class of '65
Will you ask our fellow classmates if they have addresses of any of our teachers? If so, they can send them to me at starter@hiwaay.net.
We want to invite them to our Saturday night reunion function.
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Subject:Condolences
Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly
Class of '64
I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Pat Grubis. She was a very sweet person, and I know she'll be missed by many. Our condolences to all the family members. You are all in my prayers.
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DEFINITIONS
1. THINGY (thing-ee) n.
Female......Any part under a car's hood.
Male..........The strap fastener on a woman's bra.
2. VULNERABLE (vul-ne-ra-bel) adj.
Female.....Fully opening up one's self emotionally to another.
Male......... Playing football without a cup.
3. COMMUNICATION (ko-myoo-ni-kay-shon) n..
Female......The open sharing of thoughts and feelings with one's partner.
Male...........Leaving a note before taking off on a fishing trip with the boys.
Don Blaise, Class of '64 - This weeks Lee-Bay item is a device we use to use to insert into the top of a metal oilcan that would pierce the top of the can so the oil could be poured into the motor block. Since many of us back then drove automobiles that could also be used for mosquito control having several quarts of oil and one of those devices in the trunk was an absolute necessity.
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Collins (CE) Wynn, Class of ‘64 - Anyone who is a graduate of the “Red Ace Training School for Boys” at the corner of Humes Avenue and 5th Street near Mike Smith’s house will be a sure winner on this weeks Lee-BAY item. (For the uninformed, that would be the Red Ace Service Station.) We’ve talked about “bulk” oil before and this gadget is two steps up from that. It is a nozzle that was used to puncture the top of metal oil cans and then serve as a spout while pouring oil into an engine. It was a “state of the art” gadget at the time. I recall you had to sit the can on the ground and use considerable downward force to get the sharp point to penetrate the can. When you were finished all you had to do was whack it smartly against the side of a garbage can to get the used can off. If not seated well these things could leak a lot of oil when pouring.
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Vern Lucas, Class of '64 - This week's Lee-Bay item is an oil filler. It was used to pierce the top of the old quart oil cans and dispense the oil into the engine. When I work at Lehman Williams' dad's Texaco Station on Andrew Jackson Way I used one to pour oil into customer's engines. Any addition of oil was accomplished after cleaning the windshield, checked the fluid levels and making sure the tires where full and, of course, filling the gas tank. Back then 'Real men and woman' didn't pump gas!
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Chip Smoak, Class of '66 - I used oil spouts like the one pictured many a time and tried to keep one in the trunk. The trick of course was to not let it touch anything else after using or oil would get on whatever it touched.
