Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

MEMPHIS - Okay, before we get too deep into this issue I have to make you aware of one thing. Next week's issue will be coming out early, probably late Thursday night. By Saturday when some of you will read it, I will be in New Orleans for the Memphis - Tulane football game. If you wait until next Monday (October 29th) I will be cruising on the Carnival Cruise Ship Fantasy out of there, headed for Cozumel. Then the issue that will be coming out the next week probably won't hit the streets until the following Sunday, but I'll let you know more next week.

Please include your class year with your e-mails.

T. Tommy

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My Visit To

Von Braun's Office

by Steve Shipe

Whitesburg Jr High

Class of 1968

I enclosed a handout I got from Werner Von Braun when my family visited him at his office at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville during the Summer of 1965. My father was working on the program there and got an invitation to bring his family during the work week. I remember us going to a small office building there and waiting while Von Braun was still in a meeting across the hall from his office. Finally, his Secretary let us into his office. There was a row of models against the back wall of various rockets, with the Saturn V being so big, a hole had to be cut through the ceiling tiles. A table with some large coffee urns ran at a right angle from these and I nearly burned myself on them. When Von Braun arrived, there was some conversation, most of which I have forgotten. He asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, as I was about 12 at that time. "An artist," I said. "No, he wants to be an Engineer," my father stressed. "We need artists, too," was Werner's comeback reply.

Perhaps others remember visiting the small museum of space flight artifacts at the Arsenal. Back then, there weren't many, as they were still being used. A few rocket models, some full-sized rockets, a pressure suit and an air bearing are some I recall.

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Paula Garrison

Wife of Late Mike Garrison

Class of '65

Tommy I am not sure if you have finished the Newsletter for the week but we just received a call that Paula Garrison passed away today in Huntsville. Paula was Mike Garrison's (1965) wife and Max Garrison's (1966) sister-in-law.

We lost Mike about three years ago, then their oldest son Matt less than a year later. Max of course passed away about a year before Mike.

Paula had been diagnosed with lung cancer about 18 months ago and had been responding to treatments. She and Becky Garrison took a trip Germany in September and Paula became ill shortly after returning to Huntsville. She could not gain strength and was diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized last week.

Paula graduated from Hazel Green in 1966.

Arrangements have not been made as of Friday night October 19.

Thank you for posting this.

Dink Hollingsworth

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Bruce W. Fowler, Ph. D., Class of '66 - Most Distinguished Editor. The mystery dogs are "tricky" in that incorporated in the base of each dogs is a simple bar magnet. The poles of the magnet are at the front and back of the dog, and I believe were uniformly aligned in all dogs so that when the dogs were aligned nose to nose or tail to tail, they attracted each other, but nose to tail they repelled.

In retrospect, the dogs' manufacturer took advantage of the new (then) and inexpensive artificial magnets made of an alloy of Aluminum, Nickel, and Cobalt (AlNiCo) that had a much stronger field strength than most "natural" magnets used previously. These AlNiCo magnets had been developed as a side line of military/NASA research as part of the Containment/ Space Race competition with the Soviets.

Neat mystery. It reminds me of all (I think) occasions in my life when I have gotten into trouble around magnets.

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Subject:The Tribute

Dink and Marty Hollingsworth

Class of '65

Thank you for sharing the concert information. Marty and I have not seen the concert but heard about it.

Your article was a reminder of a day gone by. Marty and I both had the early albums and by 1967 we were in Germany and the Beatles dominated not only AFN (Armed Forces Network) but the local stations as well. There were few English stations but Radio Luxembourg covered Germany and France with a good signal.

Our best memory was a great band called the Zara's from Madrid, Spain that toured the NCO Clubs through out Europe and it was standing room only when they would make it back to our club. You could close your eyes when they did their versions of the Beatles and the Bee Gee's and it was almost perfect. I made a three hour reel-to-reel tape of them but no longer have a tape deck but will hold onto it for that day when I convert to CD.

Hope I will not be too old to enjoy.

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Subject:Lee High School

Dink Hollingsworth

Class of '65

I rarely make it back to Huntsville but had to been in town this past week. After an appointment I drove by Lee High and once there, could not resist going in. There were not many cars and once I signed in I learned school was out for Fall Break.

I met the current Registrar Ms. Jordan and she told me to just spend as much time as I wanted, that there was a lot of maintenance work going on, stripping floors, painting some rooms etc.

So much was the same but there were also so many physical changes, the largest being the addition of A/C many years ago. It was my first stroll since May or June 1965.

The facility shows it's age which I think dates to 1957 or 58. I came to Lee in the Fall of 1959 and I think the building was no more than two years old at that time.

Ms. Jordan is very excited with the proposed new building somewhere on Meridan Street.

The old building might be just that if it were not for this weekly email letter.

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