eNotice 2000-02

THIS IS E-NOTICE 2000-2 OF SEPTEMBER 27, 2000

Hello Hornets!

I thought we needed some upbeat news after last weeks sad news.

1. BLASTS FROM THE PAST. Since publishing the short piece about Charlie Cooper (52)s very generous endowment of the Foundations Principals/Faculty Memorial Fund in honor of John Pryde, Ive been told many wonderful John Pryde stories. (Did you know Mr. Pryde sold the County the land on which they built the New School? In a sense, it really was his School!)

Heres a particularly neat story I heard from Carolyn Carrico Summers (51): I remember when Mr. Pryde first came to Clinton. He came alone. He had a room in the house next door to my house, and he lived there a long time. Shortly after his arrival in Clinton, he came to my house for a welcoming visit, and my mother made me come into the living room and meet the new principal. I was really very shy about it. Later he moved into his "big" house not far from Surrattsville. And another note from the past: My Class of 1951 graduated in Mr. Pryde's front yard. It was a lovely evening.

And heres a very heartwarming, and Im sure difficult, story that Rosa England Bolen (45) was kind enough to share with me: Your E‑mail about the Principal/Faculty Memorial Fund set up in honor of John Pryde touched off a flood of memories. Mr. Pryde was very close to our hearts also. Thought you'd be interested. My mother, Mariam England, worked as Mr. Pryde's secretary at one time. (All four of us children attended Surrattsville all the way through.) John Pryde's nephew Jim Shawley was attending school at Surrattsville during the '51‑52 school year and was a close friend of my only brother, Donald England. Both were juniors. On Thanksgiving eve Donald and Jim drove to Coalport, PA (Jim's hometown). They arrived safely and were on their way to the local hamburger hangout when the car skidded on black ice and crashed into a bridge abutment. Donald was killed instantly. Jim survived but was hospitalized in PA. and never returned to Clinton. Our family kept contact for awhile but then lost touch. In 1998, I decided to try and find Jim. I had always wanted to see where the accident happened. I made a trip to PA., made lots of calls, found a relative, and finally found Jim in N.C. (Real joy for me). He does not have any recollection of the accident or ensuing weeks of hospitalization. He recently learned from his own class reunion in PA just how badly he was hurt back then. Now I'd like to see if anyone might remember him from his time at Surrattsville. I am not sure if he was there the year before or not. (With a 7 year age difference, I was married and had two children at the time all this happened so was not that aware of my brother's school life.) John Pryde wrote a beautiful tribute to my brother that he sent to the family. He was a wonderfully kind and understanding man. Although his own nephew was hurt so badly, he was of tremendous support to my parents. Since the kids were out from school for Thanksgiving vacation and couldn't be contacted, the school arranged for buses to bring the kids to the funeral. That was a terrible time for Surrattsville. The following February 3 boys from the school drowned. We were told that all of their pictures were in some hall of the school, but I have never taken the opportunity to check it out. (Rosa is the great‑grandmother, grandmother, and sister of attendees mentioned in the e‑mail from Karen Blankenship Beach included in our post-Reunion wrap-up e-Notice.)

2. CONGRATULATIONS JUDGE NEGRON! Victor Negron (71) was recently sworn in, in a beautiful ceremony, as a Texas District Court Judge (by the same Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice that you see swearing in W as Governor in the newsreel footage). The citizens of Texas are awfully lucky to have Victor dispensing justice down there! (Victor who managed to squeeze a staccato Surrattsville-High-School-Clinton-Maryland-Home-Of-The-Fighting-Hornets into his acceptance speech acknowledges that he owes a lot of his wisdom to having had Vicki Forsht Williams (65) as his 11^th grade English teacher.)

3. ATTENTION MOTORCYCLISTS. This Friday, September 29, Surratts own PPMC is leading a ride to the York Harley-Davidson plant for its HUGE annual open house and Fairgrounds show. Well stage for the ride at 10 a.m. in front of Hereford High School, north of the Baltimore beltway. (Take I-695 to I-83 North, take I-83 ten miles or so to Exit 27, Mt. Carmel Road and go to the right (East). Take Mt. Carmel Road a mile or so until it ends and make a left on York Road. Go 1/4 mile to Hereford High School.) I hope some of you two or four wheelers will be able to play hookie from work and join us!

4. TOO TRUE! This from Butch Spradling (71): What a difference 30 years makes!!!

1970: Long Hair

2000: Longing for hair

1970: The perfect high

2000: The perfect high yield mutual fund

1970: Keg

2000: EKG

1970: Acid Rock

2000: Acid Reflux

1970: Moving to California because it's cool

2000: Moving to California because it's warm

1970: Watching John Glenn's historic flight with your parents

2000: Watching John Glenn's historic flight with your kids

1970: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Elizabeth Taylor

2000: Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Elizabeth Taylor

1970: Paar

2000: AARP

1970: The Grateful Dead

2000: Dr. Kevorkian

1970: Getting out to a new, hip joint

2000: Getting a new hip joint

1970: Rolling Stones

2000: Kidney stones

1970: Being called into the principal's office

2000: Calling the principal's office

1970: Parents begging you to get your hair cut

2000: Children begging you to get their heads shaved

1970: Passing the driver's test

2000: Passing the vision test

1970: Whatever

2000: Depends

5. HORNET GOES NASHVILLE. Dave Casey (85) invites all you country music fans to visit a website he created at www.angelfire.com/country/carlenecarterhunt.

6. INSPIRATION FROM JUDY HARDESTY REPASS (65). Heres an email from Judy Hardesty Repass (65), forwarded to me by Vicki Forsht Williams (65, and former faculty and yours trulys GREAT 11^th grade English teacher):

Dear Henry: I am forwarding this email from one of my classmates of 1965. She is a remarkable woman (as her email shows) and I would love to see other alumni support her. She comes to all of our class reunions with her husband and nurse, and her classmates stand in awe of her courage, spirit, and determination. Thanks for sharing it. Vicki

Hello Hornets!

This is Judy Hardesty Repass. As most of you know, I'm a ventilator‑dependent quadriplegic with ALS. I was stricken with this disease in January 1975, not even ten years after we graduated, at the age of 27. My doctor said I had only two years to live. I'm a fighter, not a quitter, and have been fighting this insidious disease for nearly 26 years. I have the support of my husband of 33 years, Charlie, and my nurses, who are excellent caregivers and are devoted to me. I am very fortunate to have excellent catastrophic health insurance, which few ALS victims have. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) strikes approximately 30,000 Americans There is no specific age or sex of ALS victims. The cause is unknown, and there is no cure. It renders its victim completely paralyzed over a short period of time leaving them unable speak. Breathing becomes difficult. As the disease systematically destroys a person's body, it leaves the mind totally unaffected. I am writing now to ask for your help. On October 29, the National Capital Area Chapter of The ALS Association is holding a Walk to D 'Feet ALS. It is three 1‑mile loops around the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC I plan to roll the course, along with some of my nurses, and hope that you will consider sponsoring me in my effort. A contribution of any amount ‑large or small ‑ will be used to support ALS research and patient services. We are looking forward to a terrific time, and hope to make the walk an amazing success! I am committed to doing whatever it takes to help others living with ALS, as well as support the promising research aimed toward finding the cause and cure. I hope you will be too. Please make your check payable to The ALS Association and mail to me at the address below. 6251 Mildred Place, La Plata, MD 20646. Here's hoping that contributions from this Walk to D'Feet ALS will bring an end to this disease that has taken so many of my friends, PALS, people with ALS. Thank you, Judy, HeyJudy@aol.com

7. RECONNECTIONS. Im starting to hear some cool stories about friendships that were reconnected at the Y2K Reunion. Please continue to share these with me, and let me know if I can share them in future e-Notices.

8. FOUNDATION DONATIONS. Its still not too late to become a Charter Donor to the Foundation. Remember: no amount is too small $5 will buy a lot of stamps!

All the best to you and yours! Henry Smith (71), hsmith@smithdowney.com