08

I thought surely that I would be able to issue another Newsletter yesterday, but it just didn't happen - OOOPS!

SOOOO - Happy Belated Birthday to Chip Clark ('65) of Northern VA who turned 57 yesterday! I didn't forget;
I just never caught up to myself. Sorry, Chip - hope it was as delightful as you are! Okay, everyone, all together, now:
"A Very Merry Unbirthday to you, a Very Merry Unbirthday to you!..."

1. Marc Snyder ('65) of NC - courtesy of Janice McCain Rose ('65) of VA who spotted him on Classmates.com,
and Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA who invited him to join us. Welcome, Marc - and thanks, Janice and Dave!

Hey, Carol,
Just a quick note to say hello and send you a copy of my summer newsletter. Thank you
for adding my web site to my name in your newsletters or Alumni listing. That was so nice of you.
You do such a great job! And you raised 4 boys! I raised 2 boys! - that was all I could handle!
Thanks, Nancy

Thanks, Nancy! I really enjoyed your newsletter. Here's the site again, in case any of y'all missed it:

And now it's your turn for an "OOOPS", Nancy - or maybe it's still mine. I may have made a typo
somewhere. But I raised SIX boys (ages 33 to 20) - and a girl! WILD GIGGLES!!

Here are hundreds and thousands of pictures of them if you care to peek - but beware the evil side bar!

Oh - that reminds me! I have a newsflash of my own! My #2 son, Brent, and his wife Bethany, and their four children -
the youngest two of whom we've never seen - moved from Springfield, OR to Joliet, IL on Monday! I may get to meet
those little squirts yet! Brent's a Senior District Executive with the Boy Scouts of America (all six of our sons are Eagle
Scouts). They are delighted to be back in Illinois. Four of my other sons and my other four grandchildren are all in
mid-Illinois near St. Louis. (My #6 son, Dale, is serving a two-year Spanish-speaking LDS mission in Carlsbad, CA,
and my 17-year old daughter, Adrienne, is here with us in Fayetteville.)

Hi Carol - Dave got the right movie (thank goodness-it was driving me crazy). I remember that they put some kind of a tarp
over the whole diner so it would look like night (I guess). What is even more amazing is that I remember this bit of trivia -
why I don't know. Thanks.

Thank you, Jo Ann. I personally LOVE trivia!

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/blue-star-diner.html

From Joe Madagan ('57) of FL - 08/19/04

Once again, Captain Dave comes through for the crew. Glad that I remembered the movie being
filmed there when Brian Beachum suggested the Blue Star Diner as a favorite Stomping Ground.
Jo Ann Stewart and I can now stop racking our brains for the name of the movie!!! It really is not
"Old Timers" disease, just some of the symptoms.

Giggles! Thanks, Joe! It certainly can't be "Old Timers" disease, Joe; we're all still just kids!

From Tom Norris (HHS - '73) of VA - 08/19/04:

Hey Carol .... add this to your 'small world' category. Kathleen Pilgrim Clark ('63 of VA) was a neighbor
of mine back in the 60s .... and her mom was my 3rd grade teacher at Robert Sugden Elementary in Hampton!
Matter of fact .... the day JFK was assassinated I was in her Mom's class. I remember her twin brothers
Pat and Perry (HHS 66) .... somehow Kathy escaped Krabba Country for lure of the the gold and blue :-)
Same time frame .... Brian Beachum ('72 of VA) lived just a few doors down on the same street (Worster Ave.).
The world just keeps on gettin' smaller!
Got the '36 Beacon tonight .... seller lives on Piez Avenue in Hilton! I'll send you a scan soon. Drove past the
'new' Monty's and resisted the temptation of a juicy, greasy cheeseburger .... we're getting a Sonic in Smithfield
very soon and I think I will have my fill!
Great newsletters .... later!

Thanks, Tom - I LOVE those small world stories!

I just noticed you're not yet appearing on our Birthday Page. As you're the baby of the group - not to mention "Da Babe" -
"that just ain't right"!

From Dee Hodges Bartram ('66) of VA - 08/19/04:

I can certainly relate to what the people in Florida are going through. We have lived in our house in Poquoson,
VA for 24 years and this is the first time that water came into it. We had 31 inches of water in the garage and
6 inches in the house. It was devastating to us because we had already had a pretty tough few months with
our son being paralyzed by a staff infection in October, 2002 (by the grace of God he made it through surgery
and is now walking), then I gave birth to my grandson February 24, 2003 (I was a surrogate for my daughter,
but you know that), then Isabel on September 18, 2003. My husband and I had talked about taking up the tile
in the foyer, hallway, kitchen and utility room, but felt we could not do it ourselves. We also wanted to take up
the carpet downstairs and sand and restain the floors. Again, we felt we could not to it ourselves. However, after
Isabel, we found out we could because we had no other alternative! My son helped and together we took out walls,
took up tile floors that were over linoleum, which was over hardwood! I never thought our hands and backs could
do it but when you don't have money (didn't receive insurance money for 3 months), you find you can do a lot
yourselves in order to make your house safe to live in. We had to remove wet insulation, carpet, floors and walls.
My husband devised a plan and we worked from daylight till midnight for two weeks to dry the house. My
neighbors are still in FEMA trailers. We were truly blessed with being able to get through this (even though we
are still not finished with the steps inside the house) without hurting ourselves. You find inner strength that you
never thought you had. Plus, you also find help where you never thought you would. Other states and our own
city came through with food, cleaning items, clothes, etc. I cried with I saw our local middle school gym full of these
items. I took what I needed and then went home to find items I could donate to help others.
While it was a horrible time, I believe it was a spiritual time. I know I felt that we had truly been blessed with the
help we received from others and that we were able to reach out and help others as well. I will never take anyone
or anything for granted again as you may not have that person or that cherished belonging when you wake up
the next day.

With the remnants of Charley on Saturday, the water was two feet from my house (I took pictures but have not
had them developed). Behind us is a farm but the water is down the street, which causes us to have tidal water
come into the drainage ditch beside our house. Needless to say, I am looking around for a nice rancher on high
ground even though this may never happen again in my lifetime.

YOW, Dee! I can't even comment on this - I'm shaking too hard. I did post it, however:

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Isabel.html - Scroll 1/4 down the page for the newly added Poquoson section to see
Dee's two chilling images.

Thanks so much or sharing this with us, Dee. Our hearts and prayers are with you still!

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Charley.html

I'm so glad you're enjoying the site! And if truth be known, I don't always manage to keep it up - witness today's title!
And when I do, you can pretty much figure it's at the sacrifice of something else. And as I started teaching early morning
New Testament Seminary to 12 adorable rowdy teenagers again this week, that sacrifice at this moment would be - - -
my housework - EEEK!!! What a disaster! Maybe I can fix that today. And maybe the millennium will come today, too....

You raise an interesting point. "All who are involved with the site" - that would be all of y'all. You may have just as much -
or as little - input as you'd like. Some of you like to contribute, and some of you would rather keep a low profile. That's
entirely up to each of you. But never think you need a special invitation to share your comments and memories. We're all
waiting to hear from you!

And just a reminder - if you DON'T wish to be published, PLEASE point that out to me in your notes! Good judgment
has never been one of my strong characteristics, and I have in the past committed several gaffes of unbelievable proportion.
But I am cute. WILD GIGGLES!

At Joe Madagan's suggestion, I added David Brinkley and Colin Powell to "Famous Soldiers":

Hi Carol, I just got home after a week in NN; went down for my mother's 82nd birthday,
which was a great success. My mother also has cancer, which was diagnosed in February
and we really did not have much hope that she would see this birthday, so we are thrilled
that she was able to go out to lunch and church and enjoy her day. While there I learned
about Beverly Miller's mother (we lived across the street from each other in high school)
and our mothers still live there on the same street. Anyway I had a nice long chat with Beverly.
Mom and I visited with Mrs. Miller and Bev for a short while. Beverly actually introduced me
back in l963 or l962 to my husband's family...Two of his sisters, Betty Burton Gary '65 and
Lynda Burton Midkiff '64 attended NNHS. My family had moved into this new neighborhood,
Birdella, ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN, and I was very unhappy! Beverly was very outgoing
and friendly and really made me feel at home in the neighborhood and later on gave me a ride
to school! Also, thanks to this web site, I e-mailed another old friend, Elizabeth Teddar
Nunnally, and we got together Friday night for dinner at the Crab Shack and practically closed
the place..I got in trouble with Mom for being out so late! Some things never change! I would
have called her but I thought she would be in bed! Elizabeth and I had a wonderful time and
promised each other to do it again soon. So hugs to you for such a great service you are
providing to all of us. Love, Jean

Thanks, Jean. I'm always encouraged when I hear of sad news tempered by fun and joyous events!
And I'm delighted to know that I may have played a small role in that.

Jean also sent us three images of her '51 Dodge Black Bomber for "Our Old Cars". While
I was there I added three old pictures of my own. Keep scrolling down - you'll find them all!

Joe Madagan ('57) of FL, Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA, Brian Beachum ('72) of VA and I spent a goodly portion
of yesterday playing memory games which resulted in a new addition to "Our Old Stomping Grounds". Because of the
way it evolved, I included the time stamps of the correspondence on the new page. That was great fun, Guys - thanks!

News
Since the groundbreaking in the fall, much progress has been made on construction
of the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Click on the links below to read the updates and view pictures of the construction site.

April-June Pictures

July Pictures

Oooh! Goose-pimply giggles! I hope including this didn't violate some huge no-no! If so, someone please
alert me and I'll remove it. It was just so interesting I wanted to pass it on to all of y'all! Thanks again, Joe!

From Thelma Spade Roberts ('57) of VA - newly arrived home from CA - 08/20/04:

Amen to that, Thelma - and welcome home! Wait a minute! My home's not IN Virginia at the moment!
Sigh. Oh, well - I'm CLOSE! GIGGLES!

Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA found a marvelous 1930 postcard of dear old NNHS yesterday, and I redesigned
the page in its honor this morning:

That was very exciting, Dave! I really appreciate your sharing that with us. Thanks so much!

That'll do us for today. Y'all enjoy your weekend - and take care of each other..