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Rain,
rain go away. Come again some other day! Okay, enough already with
the wet stuff. I have lots of "news" in this edition and a whole
lot of new readers since I sent out post cards telling of our class website.
So, let's get busy.....
from
Ernie Casteneda
Bullion in
Port Arthur
I LOVE THIS WEBSITE!!!!!!!!! The website gets better and better.
from
Karen Cooper
Cappel in
Prairieville
,
LA
I just got your card and address. It has been a fast moving last few
months. Our son got married in May in
Fort Walton Beach
,
FL.
Now, we are on our way to
Houston
because my husband's sister is have surgery at MD Anderson, June 27. I
will get back to you and maybe we will be able to chat when I can take a breath.
(Karen's husband is
Ogden
Cappel-class of '67. We send our prayers for his sister's
speedy recovery.)
from
Jenny Rhodes
Hamilton in
Lumberton
The website is FABULOUS DARLIN'. Keep up the good work!
from
Beth Anne
Sutherlin Coakley in
Bedford
,
TX
I loved the poem you wrote....so cute! I was always bad in English.
I was estatic if I made a B on a theme. I did good in spelling, though.
Can't wait to check out the new editions to the website. Has any decision
been made about the date of the 40th class reunion next summer?
Looking at miscellaneous pics #4....the picture of Patricia Patrick and one of
the Statons....I think the other boy is Donald DeLee. Anyone else know?
I had to think who Westergaard Nielsen was. Then it clicked that it was
"Wes". MUCH FUN to look at the website each time. THANK
YOU to both you and Mike for all of the work that goes into it. Also, I
loved the nun story!
We are going to
Colorado
in August for 4 days to get away from the
Texas
heat and take a short break after I retire from American Airlines and BEFORE I
go back to teaching. I will send pics...you know... of
Estes
Park
,
Trail Ridge Road
,
Pikes Peak
....and S-C-E-N-E-R-Y!
from
Sharon Lewis
Forrest in
Baytown
Thanks again for what you and Mike are doing!!
from
Paul Fitzner
in Port Neches (class of '61)
What a great web page!
(Paul is the webmaster for SEVERAL class websites and PA school sites.
Check them out listed under WEBSITES OF INTEREST on our home page.)
from
Lyn Frasier Lee
in Port
Neches
Thanks to you both for your great work.
from
Becky Bivens Clarke
in Hitchcock
Got your postcard. Well, it's almost time for that 40th....Scarrrry!
All is well here. We live in Bayou Vista, a little beach community outside
of
Galveston
. We are both retired and loving it. One of my good friends here is
Myrna Sanders. She headlined the Janis Joplin Birthday Bash last year.
She is a really great impersonator!!!! It still freaks me out to think
that Janis' sister, Laura, taught me to play bugle in the Red Hussars!!!!!
(Welcome aboard as a new reader of our class website. Tell your friends
about it.)
from
Steve Redick
in
Bridge
City
Keep it coming. You and Mike are doing a great job.
from
Mike Harmon
in
Beaumont
Thanks for the post card. I'm exploring the website now--great job!
Thanks for keeping in touch.
(Mike was our SENIOR
CLASS PRESIDENT
way back when.)
from
Wayne Ransonette
in
Beaumont
Thanks for the post card. If you need anything, just ask and I will
try to help. Take care.
from
Monty Nolan
in
Helena
,
MT
Great to hear from you and to learn of the Class of '68 website which I have
just visited. It sure did bring back some memories. Keep up the good
work!
from
Chris Bellanger
in Port
Neches
Thank you for sending me the class website... I enjoyed seeing old friends'
faces!
from
Ronnie Moerbe
in
Bridge
City
I wanted you to know that I enjoy the '68 TJ web site and receiving the updates.
Keep up the good work.
from
Carla Castro Hass
in
Nederland
I finally got my post card. Thank you for sending it. I love the web
site. I have never attended a class reunion because my ex-husband was
always negative about us going. As I said, "EX-HUSBAND".
I hope to attend every one of the reunions from now on. Thank you for
welcoming me. I would really like to become more involved. If
you need help with anything, let me know. Feel free to call me at
anytime.
(Carla ASSURED me that I could publish EVERYTHING she wrote in this e-mail. You
go, girlfriend. Spread those wings.)
from
Sherry Clingan
Armentor in
Groves
I love our class website! You and Mike have done an awesome job putting it
together. So much to enjoy. I have had a chance to look at only a fraction of it
- great memories. So very sad to see the deceased classmates.
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I
sent out a poem a couple of weeks ago to give everyone a "heads-up"
about new information & news on the website. Well, not paying
attention, I wrote GUESS
BOOK instead of GUEST
BOOK in the poem (referring to the link on our website home page).
From MAIL
CALL to SUPPORT,
To PHOTOS and BIKERS,
MILITARY to CHOIR
To ANNUAL PICS and HIKERS (okay...that's a lie, but it rhymed).
Even
the GUESS
BOOK
has new signers,
But, I haven't found any whiners.
So,
sit up tall and enjoy it all.
Everyone seems to be having a ball.
But,
don't forget to check out my NEWSLETTER
Because the classmates just seen to get better.
So
it's so long for now, but don't be a stranger.
The "boss" isn't around, so you shouldn't be in danger.
I
received the following humorous e-mail about the mix-up from one of
our newest
viewers, Sherry Clingan Armentor:
I
thought "GUESS"
BOOK was a really neat idea - I thought, OH, we
must send in recent photos and let everyone guess who that old woman or who that
old man is! Now Linda, as a Nun, you should know God works in mysterious
ways! - A
"guess" book , by the "guest"
book at the reunion, with updated photos in it with no names, would be
hilarious. Also, at one of my husband's reunions, the classmates switched name
tags for grins, and you guessed it, many fell for the gag! -
You know, this classmate has a great idea! We might just incorporate
it into our planning for the next reunion.)
By
the way, Mike and I are "butting" heads about the "HEADS UP"
note I send before each new publication. So far, I have won in this
battle, but Mike is the webmaster and should be able to run the show. I
don't want to ruffle his feathers too much. He works too cheap. We
could vote to see if I should continue to send the note out. Mike's thinking is that
the readers are becoming too dependent on the note and don't
take the initiative to check out the website on their own at other times.
Let me know. (Mike, don't you roll your eyes at me!)
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GET
READY TO "BOOGIE"!
Gulf
Coast
Jam
July 21, 2007
Carl Parker Multipurpose Center
(next to Woodrow Wilson Jr. High)
7:30 pm
Southeast
Texas' longest running annual summer concert returns for its 17th year, as the
Gulf Coast Jam is back July 21 for another great night of classic rock 'n roll.
Advanced
tickets go on sale for $18
for all ages. Tickets can be purchased at Museum of the
Gulf
Coast
in
Port Arthur
, A&S Music in
Nederland
, Swicegood Music in
Beaumont
and the Penny Record in
Bridge
City
.
Tickets
will also be available for purchase by credit card at www.boogiekings.com .
The
show is being held at the
Carl
A.
Parker
Multipurpose
Center
on the campus of Lamar State College in
Port Arthur
. The doors open at 7:00 pm with the show starting at 7:30 pm.
Headlining
the 2007 version of the Gulf Coast Jam are the Fabulous Boogie Kings with
special guests G.G. Shinn, Jerry LaCroix, Jivin' Gene Bourgeois and Ken Marvel
and the Swamp Rock Band.
"The
Fabulous Boogie Kings were supposed to retire after the show at last year's Gulf
Coast Jam," said Don Ball of Triangel Concerts. "They received
so many calls and e-mails they decided to delay that for awhile. In fact,
the band just recorded a brand new album."
The
Fabulous Boogie Kings' new CD, "Never Go Away," features 14 tracks
including the title track which is driectly about the Boogie Kings themselves.
Ball
has been the concert promoter behind all 16 previous Gulf Coast Jams over it's
18 year history. The only year without a show in the series was affected
by Hurricane Rita.
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******************************************************************************************************************************************
HURRICANE
AUDREY strikes the gulf coast
In
the early morning hours of June 27, 1957, Hurricane Audrey struck the
Gulf
Coast
near the Texas/Louisiana border with a vengeance.
Nearly
500 people died as others —the survivors — huddled in the Cameron Parish
Courthouse, in trees and in homes. And in the wake of the storm, emergency
responders were left with the visual scars of dead and bloated cattle, floating
human corpses, snakes, nutria rats and alligators.
Hundreds
of people visited the Cameron Courthouse Square for a special program,
“Remembering Hurricane Audrey,” in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of
the deadly storm on Wednesday.
Brigadier
General Robert Joseph LeBlanc spoke to the hundreds who gathered for the event,
highlighting some of the gruesome sights and what was learned from the storm.
“What
we learned from this is that every parish needs to have a plan,” he said.
LeBlanc,
director of the Vermilion Office of Emergency Preparedness, said there were
about 500 causalities with Hurricane Audrey and no mandatory evacuation order.
Comparing Audrey to a storm almost 50 years in the making, LeBlanc pointed out
there were no causalities with Hurricane Rita, which took a similar path as
Audrey in September 2005, and mandatory evacuation orders were in place.
The
brigadier general hopes the area will one day have a seawall in place to protect
the Gulf Coast from storm surge just as Galveston has a seawall. “We provide
50 percent of the fuel to the U.S. in the area, by God that is worth
something,” he said.
LeBlanc
was deployed to the coastal area after Audrey in a search and rescue mission of
sorts.
“The
sights I saw that day while rescuing people, I never want to see again,” he
said. “It was total destruction.”
After
speeches were made and memories relived Wednesday, patrons moved to the large
tent for refreshments and a tour of a number of booths. News file footage from
NBC affiliate KPLC showed local scenes of Audrey’s aftermath, while a second
television showed national coverage of the hurricane.
The
American Press handed out free special editions of the anniversary edition of
the newspaper, while nearby historical photos of the hurricane were on display.
Audrey
is considered the second deadliest hurricane to strike Louisiana — second only
to Hurricane Katrina — and the seventh deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S.
According
to the National Weather Service, Audrey left in her wake $150 million in damages
— equal to $1.3 billion in 2007 dollars.
“While
Audrey was classified as a strong Category 4 hurricane with estimated wind
speeds of about 150 miles per hour, water was the real killer,” Andy Patrick,
meteorologist-in-charge of the NWS forecast office in Lake Charles, La., said.
“Nearly all of the deaths can be attributed to storm surge. Surges in excess
of 12 feet were reported along a 24 mile stretch of Louisiana coast line from
Calcasieu Pass to Grand Cheniere.”
*****************************************************
Hurricane
Audrey still haunts survivors 50 years later
CAMERON
—
An
eerie feeling overcame Paul Justice as he looked upon the Cameron Courthouse
Square for the first time in 50 years.
The
square, filled with people, brought back memories of the death and destruction
left in the wake of Hurricane Audrey on June 27, 1957.
“We
found the bodies of 14 women and children in the attic of a house,” the now
white haired Justice said of the day after the storm made landfall. “As the
waves of water came in, they were trapped. There was no way out.”
Justice
was a 21-year-old Air Force Sergeant stationed in Lake Charles when the Category
4 hurricane hit Cameron. He was one of the many who volunteered to help in the
aftermath of the hurricane. The event took an emotional toll on Justice, who
said he didn’t eat for three days because of what he had witnessed in the
sleepy Louisiana town.
“I
haven’t been here in 50 years as of June 28,” he said. “The devastation
and misery these people were in ... I can still see all the bodies. There was
livestock everywhere. It’s a mess I never want to see again or go through
again.”
Residents
unable to reach the safety of the courthouse during the storm were stopped by
W.F. “Frankie” Henry Jr. and brought to shelter in a two-story house. A
total of 147 people survived in the house, Henry said.
“We
had to open the windows on the first floor to let the water in or the house
would have floated away,” Henry, now a senior, said while seated beneath a
large tent at the courthouse square. “Then we moved upstairs into two
bedrooms. We started writing names down and placing them in (glass) jars; we
didn’t have Ziploc Baggies then, and tied the jars to us. The water rose 12
feet. I think the weight of the people in the house kept it from floating
away.”
The
house remained quiet even though 147 people were “jammed inside” the two
rooms, Henry, 78, said — those riding out Audrey were waiting for the worst
but hoping for a break in the vicious storm.
“The
kids would see houses float by and laugh,” he said. “We let them laugh to
keep them occupied. When more than one house floated by they would try and guess
which would go past first.”
But
it was the next day that sticks in Henry’s memory. The Cameron native
volunteered for civil defense and had the duty of identifying the bodies.
“I
only did that for two days. That was all I could stand,” he said. “There was
an ice house nearby with 300 blocks of ice, and we had no power, that’s where
we kept the bodies.”
Recognizing
some of the deceased proved difficult, however, because many residents did not
have identification on them when they perished. Henry, said many people placed
their wallet in their top pocket as the waters rose above their waist. But as
the water rose even higher, the wallets and the identification were lost.
Memories,
like Justice and Henry’s, of one of the worst natural disasters to hit the
coastal town of Cameron were revisited by survivors and those who heeded the
call for assistance during a special 50th anniversary ceremony Wednesday.
Hundreds of people came from Louisiana and across the U.S. to the Cameron
Courthouse Square to remember the fateful day — June 27, 1957 — when almost
500 people died during the hurricane.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
POST
CARD DRIVE
To
begin with, I mailed out 365 post cards to classmates that I didn't have an
e-mail address. My intention was to get them acquainted with our class
website. So far, I have received 55 post
cards back
with wrong
addresses, no forwarding address, no such person,
no such number, (YOU GET THE DRIFT). Glynn Myers,
(Loretta LaLonde's husband), and I have spent countless hours researching the
internet and I've been calling all over the United States trying to see where in
the heck our classmates think they need to roam! Come back to the
light.....! We "think" we have found 37 addresses of the 52 "lost"
classmates and I have RE-SENT
them. Cross your fingers. Of the cards that weren't
returned, I have managed to finagle, (I
had to actually look up the spelling of that word), 26
new e-mail addresses (MY ORIGINAL GOAL WAS 20!!) Now,
I am starting to get greedy. If you are a new viewer
of this website and haven't sent me your e-mail address,
then please do
so. The post card said "Let me hear
from you." I guess it should have said, "Let me hear from you and
send me an e-mail address!" Hindsight! Oh well. But, with
my new ones, I have e-mail addresses for 274
classmates. Pretty good, eh?
I
could use more help finding addresses for the following:
Godfrey
Charles(PA/Beaumont)
Elaine Hammers Barnes (Houston) husband Robert S.
Mary Jean Ballard Michon (Port Neches)
Lois Root Borel (Lousiana)
Raymond Roy Blakeman, Jr.(Port Arthur)
Martha Cruz Munoz (Silsbee) husband is Donicio R.
Danny J. Abraham (Houston)
Virginia "Ginny" Derouen LeJune (Kountze)-husband Calvin
Marilyn Jackson Williamson (Bridge City)
Rebecca Ann Simon White (Abbeville, LA)
Donald David Monson (Manor, TX)
Joan Moras Nielubowski (Frederick, MD)
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
MISSING
CLASSMATES
The
list on the website of MISSING
CLASSMATES are those that we don't have ANY
address for. Please look the list over and see if you can help by providing clues of their
whereabouts. Any clue can help lead the way to our "wayward"
friends. I would really appreciate it.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Eula's
CARD SHOWER
WHAT
A SUCCESS! Mom received a total of 105 greeting cards and notes!!! 34 of you
participated and I
thank you from the bottom of my
heart. You made an OLD WOMAN happy and also a not-so-young woman happy,
too. A great big hug to my friends who were able to take the time to
participate:
Pat
Trahan, Lynn
Eldridge, Fred Hollier,Jr, Arlene Lang, Linda
Blakley, Linda Langhoff, Susan Byrd, Patricia Patrick, Glenda Patin, Gilsey
Viator, Bart Darby, Laura Meece, Dianna Caillier, Allen Baldridge, Terry
Watson, Sandra Garsea, Charles Cramer, Diane Richmond, Jane Lippincott, Cherlyn
Hebert, Janice Huebel, Sara Little, Tillman Richey, Debbie Borres, Shelley
Dettman, Janice Jones, Barry Boudreaux, Janice Hebert, Bill Richey. Beverly
Copeland, Johnny Montagne, Nancy Decker, Georgia Peterson & David Williams. (Beverly,
Janice, & Linda L. even got their moms to send a card!!)
I
sincerely hope that I didn't leave anyone out.
(Newer viewers
can look in my 05/26/07 NEWSLETTER to see the earlier "SPECIAL
REQUEST" to see what in the world I am talking about.)
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WEBSITE
$$$
CONTRIBUTION
from
Cindy Duplantis
in Horseshoe Bay, TX
"I wanted to drop you a line to say thanks again to you and Mike for all
your hard work on the website. Again, it is really terrific. I'm
including a small donation for the website. Use it however you guys need
it. Thanks again for the updates and the memories. What a great
"touchstone" for all of us.
"(Mike
used a portion of the website fund to buy some new softwear for our
website. Don't ask me what kind or what it is for. He explained and
I just nodded my head as I was reading his e-mail. Has anyone guessed, (or
is it guested), that I
am no MICHAEL DELL?....don't answer that Beverly Copeland!)
Website
contribution checks may be sent to:
Linda
DeCuir McFadden
112 Woodsong
Bridge City, TX 77611
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MEMORABILIA
LINK
Be
sure to check out the SCHOOL MEMORABILIA Link under Class Photos.
Because of a previous oversight, you might not
have seen everything that Mike has added to this section. It is awesome.
He now has an
INDEX to help you choose. Okay Mike.
I am counting. That is one mistake. I've got my eyes on you, buddy
boy.
(I
received a large envelope from a classmate today containing lots of photos to be
added to this section NEXT time, I hope.)
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THANKS
(Get
a pencil and "posted note" BEFORE reading further)
In
the last publication, I requested for everyone to please send in their
information so that I could compare it to my Master Listing of Classmates.
I would like to thank Sharon
Lewis, Charles Cramer, Ernie Casteneda, and Loretta LaLonde
for doing this. Please don't make me have to write to each one of you
individually. I'm too tired. It will take you
seconds. My information is 5 years old. The information
to be updated is:
Full
name
Spouse's full name
Address
City
Phone #
Cell #
Work #
Valid e-mail
Write a
reminder "posted note" right now. I TOLD you to get
one, didn't I? Do it now before you forget. Then, it will
all be over with! "-) It really should be PAINLESS.
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SUPPORT
NEEDED
from
Joe Pinell
in Nederland
"I am going to Houston on the 10th of July for an open heart surgery to
replace a bad valve."
from
Sue Miller (James
Miller's wife) in Bridge City
"Thanks for the beautiful card. It really cheers me up to get cards.
We got good
news. My doctor told us I am in complete
remission! Now, I will have a stem cell transplant to keep me in remission
and /or cure my disease. I am going for blood work on June 27 and a bone
marrow biopsy on the 28th. Then I will get a stabilizing round of chemo,
then get my blood count back up and harvest and freeze the stem cells. I
will stay in the hospital in isolation for 2-3 weeks while my immune system
builds back up. Then we will stay in Houston for about 10 more days when I
am released from the hospital just for precautionary reasons. Thanks
again for the cards, thougths, and prayers. "
(Sue has been battlling Follicular Lymphoma. Even though she still has a
lot to go through, it is great news about her REMISSION! Prayers are being
answered.)
Major
Ross Felker
(husband of classmate Gail Wilson)
(Deployed in the Middle East)
CAOC/STRAT, APO AE 09309
(Please
send me a name and address if you have a family member serving the USA in
our war against terror.)
I
also heard that Marvin
McDowell and Wayne
Ransonette are "retired" due to
disability. You may contact them via e-mail listed in the CLASSMATE
LISTING on the home page. I am sure they would like to hear from old
friends.
Please
cheer these and others up with your kind words. Send me names of those
that we can give support to.
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
We
are saddened to learn about the loss of
yet another classmate who passed away in
2004.
John
DeCluitt, III
1/3/50-3/13/04
May he Rest in Peace. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.
We
lost 7 classmates
in the year 2004!
That year was by far the most tragic for our class.
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Time
to close up shop. You tell me you "love" to read what others
have sent in each publication, but we need you to do your part. MAIL
CALL is still your FAVORITE of my NEWSLETTER, so share with all of us your news
of what is happening in your life. We need I REMEMBER
WHEN stories. And, what happened to the SENIOR MOMENT stories? We
can also use more MILITARY (Ruelle has been promising me photos!),
and Miscellaneous PHOTOS. While you are on the website, look at the
GUEST BOOK. It has several new entries to read. Lastly,
please don't forget to contact a classmate.....JUST
BECAUSE.
Don't
cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
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