TJ Class of '68     NEWSLETTER                                                                11/25/07
 

My thoughts about this edition of this NEWSLETTER is that it will be brief.  But, we'll see as it progresses.  I haven't heard much news from classmates in the last two weeks, but I certainly know that everyone is in the thick of things with the holidays upon us.  It has been pretty hectic here at my home, also.   

MAIL CALL

from Sandra Nicks Kelly in Taylorsville, NC
Hello everyone from the now cold NC and still terribly dry NC. I had to write to brag. My grandson, James Dugas, has been named "Player of the Week" for WLTX of Columbia, SC and Wendy's Heisman award nomination. My son, Shan Dugas, made the front page of the newspaper in SC for graphic arts of fighter jets at Shaw Airforce Base. My daughter, Connie Keyser, made supervisor for the factory she works for in Dunkirk, NY. Sorry I just had to brag. I sure enjoy the Newsletter.

(And we enjoy hearing from you and your great family.  Thanks for sharing.  Now, what happened to those pictures of your Marine husband to add to our ARMED FORCES section?)
 

from Beth Anne Sutherlin in Bedford
It is so awsome that "those crazy people from Port Arthur" maintain such a strong connection - a life long connection with people we grew up with.  Do you know how RARE that is? You and MIKE!   THANK YOU BOTH. So - to all you "crazy Port Arhur people" - the magnificent classes of 1968 (also '65, '66, '67, '69, '70, etc) Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless you all.  Look forward to seeing you in 2008 for THE reunion.  

(Mike and I appreciate your kind words and support.)
 

from Christy Dodge Young in Destin, FL
Thought I would send you some updated information.  I got married in July.  I am now Mrs. Dave Young.  I have really enjoyed the NEWSLETTER, so keep up the good work.  I was surprised that you live in Bridge City since that's where my parents live.  Small world. 

(Well, I am glad that Christy sent new info and an e-mail address.  She wasn't on my mailing list.  We love new "customers," huh Mike?)
 

from Casey Arredondo in Groves
Hey gang.  I just went to view the Vietnam Memorial Wall replica at Aldersgate Methodist Church.  It was the 2nd time....first time was when it came to Beaumont to Parkdale Mall.  It was just as solemn as it was then.  They had signs posted saying to keep your voices low.  I did the paper-chalk rubbing of classmates that died in 'Nam, still choaked me up.  A Vietnam vet that was a volunteer there helped me find a name I was looking for and what panel it was on.  We started talking and what he went through over there.  How unfair it was....example (the use of Agent Orange, etc.).  I wish that all of our classmates could see this wall some time or other....to see the names of people they recognize!  Our brave classmates that died, so that we could live in a free country! 

(AMEN!)

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

FLASH BACK

Whether you're a Billy Joel fan or not, you'll probably remember his great song "We Didn't Start the Fire."  Here it is, set to pictures---along with a history flashback of the past half century.  Thanks go to Billy Joel and someone from the University of Chicago for the slick presentation.
Now, CHECK YOUR VOLUME, sit back and enjoy a review of 50 years of history in less than 
5 minutes!   
 
CLICK:  http://home.uchicago.edu/~yli5/Flash/Fire.html 

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

WEBSITE $$$$$ CONTRIBUTIONS

Webb Draughon 
"For our class website.  Fo....Fo....Forty?~~!!!   I see quite a few notes from my grammar school classmates-Leonard Hilliard, Joel Levy, Fred McCarty, David Salter, Peggy Sue, Carol Babin, Judy Thompson, others.  Quite a hoot!  David was always fun, considerate, well-mannered, pleasant=and what made us even more suspicious was the fact that he DISAPPEARED that last year in H.S.  We missed him. 

PS  Mary Margaret and I are looking forward to Aug. 1st for the reunion next summer. 

David Elliott
"This is spur of the moment."  I'm off to Disney World in the morning.  Thanks and much gratitude to both you and Mike for your efforts on the class website. 
 

Checks may be written to:
Linda DeCuir McFadden
112 Woodsong
Bridge City, TX 77611

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

SARAH JANE ROAD (Bring back memories?)

The many legends of Sara Jane Road
By Ashley Sanders
The Port Arthur News
PORT NECHES — As the tales go, Sara Jane Road in Port Neches is haunted by the ghost of Sara Jane and her baby; in other versions the story is about a mother and her baby, named Sara Jane. And that is the where the similarities in this local haunting end.

• One legend has it that while Sara Jane's husband was off fighting in the Civil War, the lonely woman and her child were keeping the home fires burning in their house along the Neches River.

When rumors spread that Union soldiers would soon ravage the area, Sara Jane is believed to have hidden her baby — tucked away in a wicker basket — under a wooden bridge near her home. She then returned to the house where legend says she hanged herself from a Cypress tree in the front yard.

Local residents say they have seen the ghost of Sara Jane haunting the Southeast Texas roadway. Others believe that you can still see a light flickering at night as Sara Jane continues to search for her baby with the help of an oil lantern.

• Another story has a young mother pushing a stroller carrying her baby, Sara Jane, across a bridge when the carriage tips over and the baby is spilled into the rushing waters below. As the mother frantically searches for her baby, she cries out for her child.

Her moans and cries for Sara Jane are allegedly still heard on eerie Southeast Texas nights.

• Very similar to the above story, one tale focuses on a young mother driving a horse-drawn carriage down the roadway at midnight, many years ago.

She had her baby daughter, named Sarah Jane, in a basket beside her. Heavy fog had descended and when she crossed the middle of the bridge the horse spooked and the carriage overturned — throwing the baby into the water. Sara Jane was never found.

The tale goes on to say on Halloween night when it’s dark and foggy you can hear the mother calling, “Sara Jane, Sara Jane”, looking for her baby.

• On a more sinister level, one local legend pegs Sara Jane as a baby murderer. The tale includes the mother throwing her child into the river and being hung at the very site of her crime as a punishment.

• Local author and historian W.T. Block told a newspaper reporter a few years back that Sara Jane was actually his mother, Sarah Jane Sweeney Block. The Port Neches resident also reported that his mother had three children — none of which died in the murky waters of the Neches River. Sarah Jane Sweeney Block, according to her son, lived to be 99-years-old and did not die by the noose. The tale, according to Block, is false as this Sarah Jane lived a ripe, full life.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

ONLY  IN AMERICA:
     Only  in America...do drugstores make  the sick walk all the way to 
the back of the store to get their  prescriptions while healthy people 
can buy cigarettes at the front!

     Only  in America...do people order  double cheeseburgers, large fries 
and a diet coke!
     Only  in America...do banks leave both  doors open and then chain the 
pens to the  counters!
     Only  in America...do we leave cars  worth thousands of dollars in 
the driveway and put our useless junk in the  garage!
     Only  in America...do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in 
packages of  eight
    Only  in America...do they have drive-up  ATM machines with Braille 
lettering!
    EVER  WONDER...
     Why  the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
     Why  women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?
     Why  you never  see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?
     Why  'abbreviated' is such a long word?
     Why  doctors call what they do 'practice'?
     Why  lemon juice is made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing
     liquid made  with real lemons?
     Why  the man who invests all your money is called a  broker?
     Why  the time of day with the slowest traffic is called rush  hour?
     Why  there isn't mouse-flavored cat food?
     Why  Noah didn't swat those two mosquitoes?
     Why  they  sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
     Why  don't sheep shrink when it rains?
     Why  are they called apartments when they are all stuck  together?
********************************************************************************************************************************************************************         
CHRISTMAS CARD IDEA

When you are making out your Christmas Card List this year, please include the following address:

A Recovering American soldier
        c/o
Walter Reed Army Medical   Center
          
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
          
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

(Please send us the name of your "special" military person so that we can share our Christmas message and thanks with them.)
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

CHANGES HERE IN BRIDGE CITY

I mentioned  that things were HECTIC here on the homefront.  Well, my frail 85 year old mother was sick for a week or so at her home and was admitted into St. Mary's Hospital for 5 days.  She had dehydrated, was suffering painfully with sciatica (back and nerve inflammation), severe stomach pains (the same as last spring), went through tons of scans and tests, and even an epideral for the intense back pain  She was released and was home for one day when I had to bring my 91 year old dad with dementia to the emergency room for what I thought might be a mild stroke (ended up a TIA) and found out my sister was in the same emergency room after falling in her garage.  Needless to say, my parents landed on my doorstep, with the intentions of staying here a "week or so" to recouperate.  You guessed it....they are enjoying the stay and MIGHT make it permanent (not set in stone, yet.)  What an HONOR to have the opportunity to be able to care for my parents as they did for me all these 57 years!  My husband, Murphy, has been a gem.  Never blinking, he has fully accepted whatever comes this way!  I guess I got it right 34 years ago when I married him.  God bless you, Murphy, and my sweet parents!

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

SAD NEWS for Class of '67

from George Taylor '67
I just received a call from Kathy Bennett Walters from the class of 67.  She just received a call from the family of Beverly Leonard Vincent ('67) to say that she died today (Friday, November 23). 

Beverly's husband, Gabe Vincent, was awakened on Wednesday night, November 14, 2007, and upon getting out of bed discovered Beverly laying at the bottom of the stairs on the landing unconscious.  It seems that Beverly must have fallen down the entire flight of stairs, but it is unknown what caused this fall.

She was in ICU since that time, and a day or two ago, the hospital requested permission from Gabe to operate on her due to pressure on the brain.  Poor Beverly did not make it.

Visitation will be at the Claybar Funeral Home at 800 Highland, Bridge City, Texas on Monday, November 26th at 7:00PM with services on Tuesday at 10:00 AM.

Beverly and Kathy have been instrumental in locating and maintaining the mailing addresses of our graduates, thus helping us contact our classmates for the reunions every 5 years.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

CONDOLENCES

Sarah Hefty Edwards
(death of her father) 
13370 Chimney Rock Drive
Beaumont, TX 77713
(409)753-3214
sarahedwards@cmaacess.com
 

Lynn Eldridge Gill
(death of her father) 
4908 Stony Ford
Dallas, TX 75287
(972)931-8188
gilll@vnatexas.org
 

Billy Jordan
(death of his oldest sister, Margaret) 
2422 Halifax Place SW  
Decatur, AL 35601
(256)308-0427
jwj6872@aol.com
 

(I got the following e-mail from Billy concerning his sister's death.)

I received word this morning (Monday, November 19),  that my oldest sister, Margaret, passed away.  She had just turned 72 years old and has had Alzheimer's for several years.  She fell at the assisted living facility in Beaumont about five weeks ago and broke her hip.  She got through the surgery okay and my niece  moved her to a private assisted living home in Groves when she left the hospital. She was bedridden and they were doing home physical therapy trying to get her where she could at least get out of bed.  I am not sure what happen this morning as she was doing all right, although depressed.  They are performing an autopsy because she died at the private home and was not under the care of Hospice.  It sounds like she might have had a heart attack.  The assistants at the home say that she woke up and told them that she was "going home today".  They went to help her sit up in the bed and she passed away at that moment.  What is ironic is that our mother passed away a year ago on the Monday before Thanksgiving just like Margaret. 
(I was so glad that Billy informed me of his sister's death.  I am not so sure I would have caught this one in the obituaries.  We are praying for you and your family.)

(Please inform me of any deaths that you feel should be reported in my NEWSLETTER.  I am sure that many are missed that should be included.  Lots of the obituaries never make it to our area newspaper and I don't know of them.  Our classmates are the BEST at sending support to grieving friends. )  

Due to Fred McCarty's untiring pursuit of finding classmates, we have CONFIRMED  three more untimely deaths of 
FELLOW CLASSMATES:

Toni Lee Adams Coleman  10/10/49-7/27/85

Annetta Marie Johnson  6/26/50-12/5/03

Wilford Earl Hightower  7/21/50-unknown date (Missing and legally declared dead)

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE!

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Well, it is cold and raining here this morning.  Finally, some resemblance of winter weather.  I am out the door to take my parents back to Lakeview for their morning at their "OTHER" home.  This ritual lets my dad have some time in his comfort zone of things familiar.  He gets to piddle around in the back yard, pet his cat, and rock in his rocker on the patio.  Mom just goes there to straighten up things that are already STRAIGHTENED!  Then, it is back home to BC where my dad thinks my pet poodle is a cat instead of a dog.  When corrected, he said, "Well, Millie looks like a cat!  I guess she must be a half-breed!"  (What an insult to my registered toy poodle!   Ha!)   On with the circus!

    Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

                                                                                              George Carlin

                                                                        Stay safe and keep in touch,
                                                                        Linda DeCuir McFadden
                                                                        lindasuemcfadden@sbcglobal.net

                                                                        www.tjhs1968.com

 

 
index     back to top