50th REUNION PICTURES!

For two, all-too-brief evenings it was 1954 again. What a hoot! There we were….together again. Our bright, shiny, acne-free faces sharing memories…….straining to read the name tags……and calling each other by the wrong names. OK..so it wasn’t perfect…….BUT IT SURE WAS CLOSE TO IT!

After the dessert Saturday night the entertainment was a total surprise AND it was FANTASTIC! Ellouise Diggle did a standup routine that was absolutely Las Vegas nightclub quality! That’s probably where she’ll be appearing next.

Then, the biggest surprise of the evening…………….Sir Winston Churchill arrived and talked to the class for about 15 minutes…..giving his inside view of WW2.

At the very end…just like Superman in reverse…. Sir Winston removed his bowler hat…..and thick glasses….and reverted back to…………………………..Neil Jones!

A truly outstanding performance by Neil, which was a total surprise to everyone except a few….who knew that Neil had been performing as Sir Winston…at college campuses all over the country….to great reviews!

(Ellouise is also a pro. She’s been on the “story telling” circuit for years.)

Then, the dance music began……and the young whippersnappers of 1954 boog-a-loooood…………til dawn. What a party! What a night!

AND….The PICTURES

are starting to arrive!

Mitzi Minor and Jimmy Cook

Jennie Forehand, Nancy Grayson, Mary Sandra Shulken Costner, Marie Beatty Robinson and Anna Lynn Smith-Peterson Kearse

Pat Gaudet, Jerry Gaudet, Jennie Forehand, Bill Huntley, Bonnie Huntley and Peggy Bedsol Gandy

June Yarborough Alexander and daughter

Martin Hill

Ann RIch Hobson, Jennie Meador Forehand, Peggy Bedsol Gandy, Betsy Villas White, Ellouise Diggle Shoettler

(sitting) Jane Hoke Bultman

Bonnie Huntely, Bill Huntley and Nancy Gibson Smith

Jennie Meador Forhand and Anna Lynn Smith-Peterson Kearse

David and Ruth Sherer

Charles and Donna Sweitzer

Ellouise Diggle Shoettler, Mary Norton Kratt, Beverely Harkey Kearns and Diana Carpenter White

Sylvia Dunn Cross, Shirlene McGill Yeargins and Betsy Villas White

Becky and Warren Sparrow

John Talbutt

Guy and Francy Soule

Judy Walker Cooley, Sophie Leventis Trakas, Nancy Grayson and Mary Sue Barnette

Obie Oakley and Maxcyne Motte Yaworsky

Beverly Smith Garmon, Shirley McClannahan Maynor, Betty Rose Templeton Palomba and Tootie Bryum Nisbet

Mitzi Minor Roper, June Yarborough Alexander, Marlene Rich Beaty, Jackie Hart Lookabill

Robin and Bobby Ellis

Gene and Judy VanCuren, John and Ann Ballard and Vivian and Linsy Farris

Pat and Johnny Culp and Charlie and Jean Willis

Ann Rich Hobson and Bonson Hobson

Pat Sustar McSwain and Nancy Hartis Byers

Harold Cullingford,Jackie Hart Lookabill and Don Nance

Carol Broadwell Welch

Diana Carpenter White and Ivan White

Mary Psomadakis Renfroe and Marie Beatty Robinson

Carolyn Minogue Meacham, Jennie Margaret Meador Forehand, Betsy Villas White and Jane Hoke Bultman

Sylvia Dunn Cross, Ed Myers and Shirlene McGill Yeargins

Gene and Barbara Moore (NOTE: Gene is the guy who provided the CD’s!)

Alton and Bonnie Widenhouse, Shelton and Sandra Lineberger Patterson

Barbara McCall Bennett and Frank Bennett

Barbara McCall Bennett and Frank Bennett

Karol Broadwell Welch, Alma Burton Stevenson and Alton Widenhouse

Maxcyne Motte Yaworsky and June Yarborough Alexander

Mamie Goodwin Baucom

“Big Old Saturday Date Night”at Kilgo’s Korner. (He’s not Jimmy Kilgo, but he played him……that magic Saturday evening!)

Myers and Gaudet receive awards

Ed Myers and Jerry Gaudet were honored for their contributions to the success of the reunion. Obie Oakley, committee chairman presented both with plaques.

(Editor’s note: Your humble webmaster was highly honored. However, the sheepish grin on his face reveals that he is very aware that Jerry, Obie, and every member of the committee is much more deserving of recognition than he. However, please refer to me in the future as: “Award winning, humble, webmaster.” -Ed)

It’s Time for some additional CLASS SUPERLATIVES!

….and I’d like to start the nominations with Jennie Margaret Meador Forehand as the OFFICIAL CLASS PHOTOGRAPHER. Jennie is one of our most successful members. As State Senator and member of the Maryland Legislature for over 26 years, she still has time to maintain her massive collection of photographs of our days of growing up in the Queen City. I hope you got to see her awesome collection that was on display in the hotel. Armed with a digital camera, she documented much of the historical events of our 50th.

Thanks, Jennie!

Jennie and Mr. Gault

Coach Edelman, Alton Widenhouse, Don Nance

Jennie and Mr. Privette

Becky Lampley, Betty Rose Templeton and Shirley McClanahan

Jackie Hart Lookabill, Betty Cunningham and Betty Pressley

Martin Hill and Jerry Gaudet

Mary Psomadakis Renfroe and Cal Reneau

Johnny Thomason and Bobby Wells

Tommy West and Vic Brawley

Harry and Martha Ferguson

Katie and Bill Robinson

Bobby Wells, Alton Widenhouse, Harold Cullingford and Jay Summey

Herb Jacobowitz and Jim Dellinger

Darrell Avery and John Ballard

Linda Garmon Huggins

Earl and Rebecca Beckham

CHS’54 grads enjoy the scenery, as Warren Sparrow led a spectacular guided bus tour of Charlotte. The highlight was……..

watching the construction crews tearing down the skyscrapers….to restore uptown Charlotte to the way it was in 1954.

Obie Oakley and Linda Garmon Huggins

Herb and Kay McKinnell

Paul Patton , Cal Reneau, Don Nance and John Ballard

Lewis Robinson and Jim Brown

Jim and Barbara Presson Forrest

Beverly Harkey Kearns and Von Kearns

Jeanette Berryhill Bryant

Gene Van Curen, Bonson Hobson and Edgar Smith

Dottie Cammer Parker and Joel Parker

Linsy and Vivian Farris

Nancy Gibson Smith, Mamie Goodwin Baucom, Tootie Bryum Nisbet, Betty Rose Templeton Palomba and Shirley McClannahan Maynor.

UPDATED LIST OF MISSING CLASSMATES

Jerry Gaudet has compiled this list of “missing classmates.”

Help us find them!

If you can help us locate any of these 47 CHS’54 Classmates for whom we have no contact information, please report to jerry.gaudet@juno.com

Mary Etta Alexander Ritch

James Morris Allen

Charles William Allen

Sarah Ellen Beck Yandle

Paul Everette Biles

Rebecca May Brogden

Nancy Elizabeth Brookes Lawing

Ronald Lewis Brown

Ruth Brown Braswell

Carl Jackson Campbell

Agnes Anne Caudell

Danny Carver Cole

Donald Bundy Cooke

Joan Marlene Dalton Garrick

Lois Elinor Dempsey

Anne Gorden Finger

John Furr

Sue Elizabeth Griffin Price

Carl Guest

Janie Frances Gurley

Frederick Earl Howard

Nancy Eunice Karnes

John Thomas Keller

Kathleen Virginia Kesler

Jeanne Holland King Kumm

Walter Stokes Kisiah

Doy Kenneth Lim

Ronald Richard Little

Gary Lutteral

Lettie Carder Massey

Sarah Lillian McWhirter Martin

Fred Arthur Merrill, Jr.

Esther Lorraine Newell

Nelda Codelle Price

Elezabeth Ann Purvis

Helen Bryan Ray Therrell

Sylvia Ann Reese Plyler

Daniel Snowhill Richards, III

Rosemary Sessoms

Betty Ann Sloan

W. I. Micheal Thompson

Wade Edward Turner, Jr.

Bruce Lawrence Wallace

Yvonne Wentz

Shirley Ann Williams

Elizabeth Ann Wilson

Jerry Lee Wood

CLASS OF 55 LIST OF MISSING CLASSMATES

If you can help the class of 55 find any of their friends whose addresses their committe can’t locate, email Frank Clontz at: jclontz1@carolina.rr.com

Adkins, Margaret Ann

Alexander, Lawrence Eric

Arant, John Edwin

Austin, Clarence H.

Austin, Freida Kathryn

Barnes, Charlene Anita

Bolch, Mary Patricia

Brown, Martha Roberta

Burgess, Thomas N. Jr.

Cahoon, Robert Leroy

Caldwell, Carolyn Ann

Carpenter, Jackie Wayne

Cary, Shirley Ann

Christenbury, Joyce

Cooke, Ruth Anne

Davis, William Pike

Driggers, Johnny Lauder

Edge, Chester M.

Edwards, Susan Miller

Gibson, Roger Cromwell

Godfrey, Thomas Herbert

Goulding, Graydon Riger

Gregory, William Walter

Griffin, Richard Sheldon

Gurley, Fay Janette

Hamilton, James Robert

Hayes, Charlotte

Hill, Bonnie White

Holder, Ethel Joanne

Hopkins, Barbara Anne

Kenerly, Elizabeth Jane

Kilday, James Paul

Kinghorn, Wilson H

Kiser, Walter Robert

Laws, Marla Kay

Lemmond, Giles Morris

Leu, Mary Ellen

Linker, Walter Steve

Litaker, Robert Eugene

Martin, Charles Franklin

Mayer, Julia Ann

Mayse, Lillian Query

McCraken, Lois Juanita

McCubbin, Judith Anne

McGinn, Jean Patricia

McLaughlin, Patricia Ann

Medlin, Henry Franklin

Miller, Clyde Wilford

Miller, Grace Deanne

Morgan, James Edward

Morris, Ray Vaughn

Moses, Patsy Elouise

Moss, William Arthur

Motley, Barbara Lane

Motley, Vance A

Mullany, Joseph Martin

Myers, Catherine

Newell, Joyce Jean

Norman, Sue Esther

Odom, Joyce Ann

Overstreat, Mary Lou

Pearson, Glen Everett

Peralta, Hugo Efrain

Pittman, Patricia Ann

Plyer, Edward S.

Porter, William F

Powell, Frances Ann

Powell, Larry Gordon

Price, William Walter

Quay, Mary Barnes

Quickel, Jacob Craig

Ranson, Sybil Jane

Redmond, Larry R. (Rev.)

Rhyne, Jenny Barbara

Rogers, Phyllis Jean

Ross, Audrey Emmaline

Savage, Franklin

Simerson, Mary Athlene

Simpson, Sylvia Cordelia

Smith, Betty Jean

Smith, Janet Alicia

Smith, Ruth Ann

Spears, Sue Carolyn

Stalls, David

Steinacher, Julius Michael

Strader, Elisabeth Jane

Thornburg, Gloria Charleen

Travis, Rodney Nelson

Trexler, John Walter

Ussery, Alice Marie

Wallace, Maxie Jo

Webb, Charles Edward

Wells, Gail

Weyant, Cynthia Ann

Williams, Audrey Carolyn

Williams, Jimmy Larry

Wilson, Edward Eckoles, Jr

Wilson, Robert Edwin

Wood, Marlene

Yemm, Barbara Ann

Yount, Mary Anita

Warren Sparrow. Emergency Room Check in tips

A CASE OF EMERGENCY

This is a tale with an unusual twist. It begins in a place we

all dread: The Emergency Room.

How I hate The Emergency Room. The operative word for this

deadly place is “wait.” The lucky ones arrive at the ER by ambulance. They

aretreated first. They are the chosen ones. Everybody else waits. Then

there are the extra-special ones. They arrive by helicopter. Let me tell you,

those cats are the pick of the emergency-room litter. The rest of us?

Waiters.

The next time you wait in an emergency room, perhaps you should

consider doing what one of our local heroes did last week. May I

caution you about an important detail: This plan will not work in towns which

have only one emergency room. Here is what happened:

Suffering from a substance-abuse malady, a man sought treatment

at the Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital Emergency Room. This is a

top-flight trauma center, one which sports a snazzy black and gold

helicopter. Like most folks, our hero arrived at the ER in a private

automobile. Once inside, he was told to wait. So, he waited. The

longer he waited, the more distressed he became. Sound familiar?

He watched as the ER staff flitted about, talking on cell

phones and doing things for people brought in by ambulance. Left out of the

Baptist ER loop for hours, the man saw an opportunity to change things.

At the entrance to the ER sat an unattended truck with its engine humming.

Our hero bolted from the Baptist ER, hopped behind the wheel and

drove to another emergency room a mile away. His plan worked. Of

course he was treated quickly. He had arrived at the second ER in an ambulance.

Paul Harvey, eat your heart out.

-Warren Sparrow

Life AFTER the 50th

While we’re waiting for more pictures from the 50th event to arrive…..although I don’t think there will be many more……here are some pictures that I call “Life after the 50th”

Jennie Margaret just sent this one in from Ogden Utah…….where she and her husband Bill met up with Maxyne Mott and husband Dr. Raymond Yaworksy for some serious hiking!

ANOTHER REUNION

….for Warren Sparrow. Jennie Margaret (Senator Forehand) writes to say that she and her husband Bill will be getting together with Warren and Becky when the Sparrows come to Annapolis, MD for the reunion of the USS Wasp…….the ship Warren served on during his service to our nation.

The USS WASP

October 1, 2004…..This note from Warren:

Ed,

You and the Class of 1954 need to know what a wonderful time Becky and I had in Annapolis during the 61st annual reunion of the USS Wasp. Thanks to Jennie Margaret and Bill Forehand, we had a magical time. They met us at the Capitol, giving us an inside look at the complex. She showed us the room where George Washington resigned his general’s commission in order to be a civilian president. She took us through the tunnel that connects the legislative building to the Capitol. Bill and she also treated us to lunch in downtown Annapolis. It was a remarkable tour.

Jennie’s accomplishments cannot be overstated. She has served more than 24 years in the Maryland legislature, first in its House of Delegates and now as a State Senator. Believe it or not, she gives a lot of credit to Obie Oakley for her success. He encouraged her to use yard signs in her first campaign. She took his advice. The rest is history.

-Warren Sparrow

WASP UPDATE

From Warren Sparrow

Ed:

Thank you for your generous comments about the Wasp and me. The picture you have on the web is not the Wasp of 1959-62 (my years). The one you are showing is the “new” Wasp, commissioned in the late 1980’s. Becky and I toured the new Wasp in 1990 when it was in Norfolk.

There have been nine or ten Wasps in the US Navy, beginning with the first one in the Revolutionary War. One was sunk at Guadalcanal.

CV-7 circa 1940

The one I served on was its successor. At the time it was being built, my Wasp was named Oriskany. FDR changed the name when the Wasp was sunk at Guadalcanal. It was a morale thing. My Wasp roamed the Pacific during the later stages of World War II.

CVS-18

Its pilots were highly decorated. The Wasp did not escape without serious casualties. A bomb penetrated the flight deck and the hanger deck, exploding in the mess hall. Many sailors were killed. But, the ship fought on, carrying out attacks on Japan.

Even though the Wasp you show on the web looks like an aircraft carrier it is not an aircraft carrier. It is a transport-command ship assigned to the amphibious forces. It has no catapults and no arresting wires, the standard gear for any self-respecting carrier. Only vertical takeoff planes can use the flight deck. So, Dan Rather was wrong again. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it may very well be a goose.

The new Wasp has a different role. It carriers troops. When they go ashore the ship becomes one of the largest hospital ships in the US Navy.

It also has a James Bond feature. The stern of the Wasp can be opened so amphibious craft can putter into the rear of the ship onto a ramp and then drive inside. What a hoot.

Whatever its new capabilites, the present Wasp cannot hold a candle to the Mighty Stinger, Old No. 18. The two ships are the same size. They have flight decks. There is where the similarities end. The Mighty Stinger could go much faster, probably 30 per cent faster.

Nevertheless, all of us associated with the old Wasp are delighted to see the new Wasp. The fact that Congress authorized the new one is evidence that the nation understands the contributions of all the ships which bore the name Wasp. This is one time that common sense and reason trumped political correctness.

Hope all is well. Keep paddling.

Warren

WASP UPDATE by Warren Sparrow

ANOTHER REUNION

….for Warren Sparrow. Jennie Margaret (Senator Forehand) writes to say that she and her husband Bill will be getting together with Warren and Becky when the Sparrows come to Annapolis, MD for the reunion of the USS Wasp…….the ship Warren served on during his service to our nation.

The USS WASP

October 1, 2004…..This note from Warren:

Ed,

You and the Class of 1954 need to know what a wonderful time Becky and I had in Annapolis during the 61st annual reunion of the USS Wasp. Thanks to Jennie Margaret and Bill Forehand, we had a magical time. They met us at the Capitol, giving us an inside look at the complex. She showed us the room where George Washington resigned his general’s commission in order to be a civilian president. She took us through the tunnel that connects the legislative building to the Capitol. Bill and she also treated us to lunch in downtown Annapolis. It was a remarkable tour.

Jennie’s accomplishments cannot be overstated. She has served more than 24 years in the Maryland legislature, first in its House of Delegates and now as a State Senator. Believe it or not, she gives a lot of credit to Obie Oakley for her success. He encouraged her to use yard signs in her first campaign. She took his advice. The rest is history.

-Warren Sparrow

WASP UPDATE

From Warren Sparrow

Ed:
Thank you for your generous comments about the Wasp and me. The picture you have on the web is not the Wasp of 1959-62 (my years). The one you are showing is the “new” Wasp, commissioned in the late 1980’s. Becky and I toured the new Wasp in 1990 when it was in Norfolk.

There have been nine or ten Wasps in the US Navy, beginning with the first one in the Revolutionary War. One was sunk at Guadalcanal.

CV-7 circa 1940

The one I served on was its successor. At the time it was being built, my Wasp was named Oriskany. FDR changed the name when the Wasp was sunk at Guadalcanal. It was a morale thing. My Wasp roamed the Pacific during the later stages of World War II.

CVS-18

Its pilots were highly decorated. The Wasp did not escape without serious casualties. A bomb penetrated the flight deck and the hanger deck, exploding in the mess hall. Many sailors were killed. But, the ship fought on, carrying out attacks on Japan.

Even though the Wasp you show on the web looks like an aircraft carrier it is not an aircraft carrier. It is a transport-command ship assigned to the amphibious forces. It has no catapults and no arresting wires, the standard gear for any self-respecting carrier. Only vertical takeoff planes can use the flight deck. So, Dan Rather was wrong again. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it may very well be a goose.

The new Wasp has a different role. It carriers troops. When they go ashore the ship becomes one of the largest hospital ships in the US Navy.
It also has a James Bond feature. The stern of the Wasp can be opened so amphibious craft can putter into the rear of the ship onto a ramp and then drive inside. What a hoot.

Whatever its new capabilites, the present Wasp cannot hold a candle to the Mighty Stinger, Old No. 18. The two ships are the same size. They have flight decks. There is where the similarities end. The Mighty Stinger could go much faster, probably 30 per cent faster.

Nevertheless, all of us associated with the old Wasp are delighted to see the new Wasp. The fact that Congress authorized the new one is evidence that the nation understands the contributions of all the ships which bore the name Wasp. This is one time that common sense and reason trumped political correctness.

Hope all is well. Keep paddling.

Warren

Class of 55

Thanks to the internet…and this website…I’m starting to hear from old friends who were NOT even members of the class of ‘54. For example, Frank Clontz (CHS ‘55) whom a lot of you remember for his daily piano concerts at the Parker-Gardner Music Store…..and Len (“someday I’m going to own a radio station”) Phillips…also class of ‘55…..and now founder and owner of WAGL in Lancaster.

Frank and Len are part of the committee planning the 50th reunion of the Class of ‘55 next June….and they’re starting work on a website too!

The site is under construction, but it already looks GREAT! (Your humble, award winning, webmaster is beginning to get a little jealous.)

Here’s the address:

CLASS OF 55 WEBSITE

Check it out. Hopefully their event will be as enjoyable and memorable as ours was!

Incidentally, Frank wrote a nice piece of nostalgia that the Observer published a couple of years ago…that I’ve taken the liberty of reproducing on this site. It’s called “A Walk Around Town” and you’ll find it under “archives.”

By the way….I found a pretty good history of CHS……on Garringer High’s website. Click on “History of CHS”…..under archives….and take a look.