Reunion 2004

Copies of this Group Portrait may still be purchased from the photographer for $27.00.
Anyone interested should contact Dave Spriggs at spriggs@att.net.

Remarks of President John B. Todd to the Alumni
of Newport News High School Class of 1964,
on the Occasion of Their Fortieth Year Reunion,
October 23, 2004

August 2004 - John and Bev Todd on vacation
on the Black Sea in Constanta.

Hello everyone. I certainly wish that my wife and I could be
with you tonight to enjoy this wonderful event. When Dave first suggested that I write down a few remarks to be read at the reunion,
my first thought was that it would be rather presumptuous of me
to think that my thoughts would be of any interest to you after all
these years. Anyway, with Dave’s help, I got over that concern,
and since I have a captive audience, why not? At reunions, it
seems that the first thing people ask, is “How have you been
and what have you been doing all these years”, so that seems
like a reasonable place to start with some comments. After
graduating with the great NNHS Class of 64 (everyone cheer),
I spent four years at William and Mary and received both my
degree in chemistry and my draft notice in 1968 – actually my
draft notice came first! As you will recall, Vietnam was at its peak,
so I decided to join the Navy, versus being drafted into the Army,
and attended Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. I received my commission in 1969 and was selected
to attend flight school in Pensacola, Florida. To make a long
story short, I received my Navy Wings in late 1970, married a wonderful Texas girl named Beverly in 1971, fathered a son
named John in 1974, and served in the Navy as a Naval Aviator
until 1977. Compared to the excitement and fright of Carrier
aviation in the South China Sea during the Vietnam era, my life
since that period has been relatively sedate. After leaving
the service, I went to work for Chicago based Nalco Chemical Company in 1978, and haven’t looked back since. Today,
after many assignments with Nalco, I am still employed and
living with my wife in Anchorage, AK, where I work at the
Prudhoe Bay Oil Field on the northern coast of Alaska. Yes,
it is getting cold and dark in Prudhoe, and as Dave reads
this note, I am very likely sitting at my desk in the giant
Alaskan oilfield adjacent to the Arctic Ocean, thinking of this
event in Virginia and all of you.

Enough on that subject, let’s get to some people who are really important, and that, of course, would be our former teachers and mentors, who are with us tonight. If they could please stand,
I think a huge roar of Typhoon appreciation would be in order!
(GUESTS STAND AND APPLAUSE)
When I looked at the list of former faculty who were coming
the reunion, I was amazed at the memories that came flooding
back, even after 40 years. Of course there is Mr. Etheridge, our Principal, who so skillfully directed the various activities
of the high school during our senior year, and who further
enhanced the already near mystical reputation of NNHS.
Then, there are our senior class sponsors, Miss Kanter and
Mr. Reed, whose time and effort was so unselfishly spent
helping guide us along through all the events of our final year
in high school. And who could ever forget Mr. Wilson, likely the greatest band director ever to be part of the NNHS family.
Think of how many titles and competitions his students won
just during our tenure as Typhoons – truly amazing. I don’t want to leave anyone out, because I have great memories of all,
Mr. Taylor, Coach Mitchell, Mr. Harvey, and for sure Mr. Loving.
As if it were yesterday, I remember the final exam in Mr. Loving’s geometry class. I really enjoyed his class and was confident
that I was going to ace the final. Instead, I was unable to solve
the “proof” that was the last and most important part of the test.
To make matters worse, David Rosenwasser came up to me
after the test and was excited at how easy the proof was to solve!
I ended up with a “C” on the final and a “B” for the course, instead
of the solid “A” I had going into the final. I think Mr. Loving felt
worse than I did, and he actually apologized for having to give
me a “B”. I will never forget that seemingly minor event,
or the empathy that he showed towards me.

Finally, I need to reminisce a little about the great 1964 NNHS basketball team, guided so adeptly by Coach Mitchell.
No doubt about it - this was a great team, and I thought Chris Ellis
was the finest basketball player that I had ever seen. My most
vivid memory of that basketball season was at the State
semi-finals in Richmond. I don’t remember who we were playing,
but it was a very close game all the way to the end, when
Jimmy Rama hit a short jump shot in the final few seconds to win
the game and advance us to the finals against Hampton. I think everyone knew that if we lost that semi-final game, Hampton,
a team that we had already beaten twice in tough games
during the regular season, would be the state champion.
As I recall, the state final was almost a letdown after the heart
stopping excitement of the semi-final game, as the powerful
Typhoons played up to their potential and pretty well dominated Hampton in the championship game, winning by almost 20 points.
Yes, they were a dominant basketball team, and our senior year
was an exceptional sports year for NNHS. Not to diminish the accomplishment of the '64 basketball team, but let’s not forget
about the '64 Track Team under the guidance of the legendary
Mr. Julie Conn and Mr. Charlie Nuttycombe, as this team was
both the indoor and outdoor State Champion in Track and Field.
Sorry, I just had to throw that in.

In closing, I wish I were in Virginia with you tonight to celebrate
and renew old friendships. Some of my best memories are of you people in this room and the years we spent together at NNHS. Nevertheless, if I had but one wish, it would not be to attend this celebration, rather it would be that a new NNHS would rise up
on the Peninsula, and that it would be endowed with all the glory, traditions and achievements of the Newport News High School
that we knew; the one that has become a part of our very being.
Finally, I would submit to you that the people in this room tonight
have it within their power politically to make this dream a reality. Please think about it as you enjoy a wonderful evening
of camaraderie and celebration. You are most certainly
in my thoughts.

Wishing you all the best,

John Todd
President, NNHS Class of 1964

The 40th reunion of the Great Typhoon Family, Class of 1964, went off without any problems on October 22 and 23, 2004
at the Omni hotel in Newport News, VA. Friday night's
casual buffet was well attended by some 90 people. (I lost count early in the night so my figures could be a little off.)
We dined on an outstanding buffet as chosen by the reunion committee, chaired by Dave Spriggs. Music was provided
by collections of songs on CD, and we danced and talked
the night away. The hi-light of the evening however was the "slide show" presentation again put together by Dave Spriggs that ran continuously during the entire night - pictures
of all our favorite places, events and of course, teachers.
The show is hard to explain, but everyone who was there
was just transfixed to the screen.

Saturday night was also an overflow crowd of over 150.
The food was a terrific full buffet, including this great cake decorated like the front of the NNHS building on Huntington Avenue, and it tasted just as good. But the greatest part
of the night was the program. Dave Spriggs and yours truly, Tom Flax, were the co-emcees. We had J. William Etheridge, our principal, speak, Coach Warren Mitchell spoke, and we presented the 1964 undefeated championship basketball
team members in attendance. Then it was when Wayne Taylor (a former teacher and alum) spoke about his brother Billy, that just got everyone all teary eyed. When he
presented Coach Mitchell with the game ball from the championship season, well, there were not many dry
eyes in the house. Then there was our esteemed band director, Mr. James Wilson, trying to get those
band members who were at the function to sell band
candy to help send the band to the Winchester Apple
Blossom Music Festival...but Dave Spriggs had to tell
him that the school was closed for 30 years, there was no band, and therefore no need for the band candy, except
to hand it out to all in attendance. Everyone had a big laugh.

We missed all of you guys that could not attend, and
hopefully we will see you next time. In 2 years we will
have a turn "60" party. Make your plans now.

For those of you in the Class of 1964 who did not attend
the function, you can still feel a part of the event. There
were goodie bags handed out. They contained a soft sided cooler, coffee mug, notepad and school magnet. (See the pictures on the top of the front page of the website.)
If you would like to have one, here is what you need to do...please send a $10.00 donation to cover shipping and handling to NNHS 64, % Tom Flax, 2413 Adair Court, Virginia Beach, VA 23456..and I will send it out to you.
We also have extra coffee mugs and school magnets for anyone who would like one. The mugs would need
a donation of $5.00, and the magnets would need
a donation of $2.00 (for the magnets, a SASE
would be nice).

I hope everyone in the big Typhoon family will continue
to be safe and well as we go though the next years until
we can meet again.

TYPHOONS FOREVER

Tom Flax, NNHS Class of 1964, 10/25/04

Thanks, Tommy!



	The following Classmates have contributed to the Class Treasury and encourage their Classmates to follow their example. We thank them for their generosity:
	Anonymous #1 of VA Anonymous #2 of VA Katherine Agee Glenny of VA Randy Bearor of VA David Block of Washington, D.C. Brooks Bloxom of NC Lee Bull of VA Becky Cash Blakemore of DE Jane Coltrain Leonard of VA Marty Credle Dabbs of TN Herminio Cuervo of FL Richard Curtis of AL Melba Deas Wood of VA Ralph Farmer of WA Tom Flax of VA Charles Forrest of VA Alice Fowler Edwards of VA Becky Goolsby McCallum of VA Ronni Green Cristol of MD Ken Henderson of MD Steve Klein of MS	Betty Sue Lanier Rough of VA Joel Lewis of VA Sue Miller Dearnley of VA Jim Moore of VA Nancy Mitchell Wynne of MD Jeanette Parrish Houston of VA Margaret "Cookie" Phillips Tyndall of VA Cheryl Pless Ramsey of VA Jean Poole Burton of RI Carolyn "Peaches" Price Taylor of VA Dyanne Pritchett Lathan of VA David Rosenwasser of NY Dave Spriggs of VA Ray Staton of VA John Todd of AK Jay Warren of VA Jim Watson of AZ Sandi Williams Patrick of VA H. P. Lucas ('65) of VA (A very special "Thank You" to H. P. for his donation. He is the first to donate from another NNHS Class.)
	- Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 03/08/04 - 10/27/04 Thanks, Dave!