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!)
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
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.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
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)
*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
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.
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