Tuesday, February 15, 2011


......LHS News......
Originally sent February 14

Last Call if you want to get a recipe in the Museum of the Great Plains Anniversary Cookbook. To celebrate the Museums 50th Anniversary, will be out [planned] in July. They want old family favorites...grandma's, Aunt Nellies, Uncle Bob's....old recipes for most part, maybe unusual recipes not so common now, or old recipes for staples like beans, cornbread, BBQ, stew, chili's, cobblers, and a little story or history of the recipe if it has any. Can send directly to Marilyn (Lewis) Smith - rsou@aol.com - or send to me & I will forward. NOTE.......need them NO LATER than February 17.

Susan (Hankins) Ellington
has out 2 pages - in PDF format - about the 55th Reunion of the class of 1956. Lot of activities planned for this June 10-11-12, 2011. I would suggest the easiest and best thing to do is to contact Susan via email or phone & ask her to email the info to you... IF... you did not get it and want to know about the reunion. Susan: or call: (505) 662-0435. Sounds fun & hope to be able to attend some of it myself!

From the eMail bag.......many comments about last news and other......

Mike Harris, '59, asking about the Goofus Dancers prompted several replies and a picture (above).
A picture of the dancers appears on page 98 of the 1959 Lore.

"The dancers are Ella Price, Kay Holsey, Johnna Gordon, and Stella Price. Johnna's mother, Jean Gordon, helped us with the idea. She had done it or seen it at OU. We had burlap sacks with bright colored faces painted on them with iridescent paint so that they showed up under the lights. We extended our arms over our head so that the face was over our head and down to our waist. Then we had men's coats that extended from our waists to below our knees. I believe we borrowed band members white buc shoes. I can hum the tune, but do not know the name of it. It was a funny skit and we had fun doing it."
Kay (Holsey) Strickland, '59

Preston McPhail dug into his photograph archives and produced the picture he had taken for the Lore. (below). It is the four mentioned above but don't know who is who?

"I remember the Goofus Dancers. The Phil Harris recording as I recall. But the outfits as I remember them were the bags over the heads and arms (held upward to hold the bag) but is was the chest and bellies of the dancers that were painted with faces. I too laughed myself silly up in the balcony among the many "great unwashed."
Joe Boyd, '59

"I remember the "then" picture of Howard Council very well. In those days he was making belts and wallets for all the guys in FFA. He was always a very nice guy. Good to see him getting the recognition he deserves. I still have a belt that he made. And, I can still wear it."
Bobby Spradlin, '55

I know Bobby and he DOES stay in great shape! Disgusting! hahahahhahahhaha

"Maybe I'm the last one to discover this fantastic book, "Empire of the Summer Moon" about Quanah Parker. His granddaughter was my 5th grade teacher at Will Rogers Elementary School. It is a wonderful history of the Comanche Chief. It is very interesting to read a book and know exactly where parts of it took place. Parker's Star House, the Mountains, Cache, Ft. Sill. At one point the writer references "An amusement park" no longer there which has to be Craterville Park. My family on my mother's side used to have family reunions at Craterville Park. I have one picture of the Blake and Parks families taken when my cousin Naomi (Parks) Schraner and I were infants and Naomi's brother, Wayne Parks, '60, wasn't born yet. The picture had to have been taken in 1941. I highly recommend "Empire of the Summer Moon". It isn't for the faint hearted being graphic about the hardships of life then and the reality of the conflicts between the Indians and the white man but it is well written and I found it so interesting I didn't want to put it down."
Jovita (Reinwand) Weeks, '59

Fran (Jacks) Wehner, '64, continues to receive honors and regognition for her photography work. This past week she was presented the 'Artist of the Year-2010' award by the City of Lawton Arts and Humanities Council. Lawton Mayor Fred Fitch (brother of '59 classmate Carlana (Fitch) Murray) helped present the award honoring Fran's decades of contributions as a professional photographer, painter, jewelry artist, photography teacher, and mentor to dozens of aspiring artists. She was presented a lovely hand-made pottery bowl made especially for this presentation by another local artist, Patty Ferguson. I understand that Patty has a gift shop/studio in Medicine Park area and Frans' work can be seen at:

www.photosbyfran.com

A note from '59 classmate and Washington School alumni Raymond Butler, that he & wife Carolyn (Durham), '60, have just celebrated their Golden 50th Anniversary! Quite an accomplishment this day and time. Major Congrats!
Raymond also add this....."delighted to hear George Karty is still around. George was a great artist at Washington [school] and inspired me to get into art."

Received another comment about George Karty. This from Bobby Newton, '60:
.." I can honestly tell you that George Karty was the toughest person I ever knew. Didn't know him well, but he boxed Golden Gloves when he was in high school, I believe 147 pounds. The event was held at Ft. Sill. I do not remember who George fought or who won, but it was the most awesome fight I have ever seen, bar or professional. He and the other fighter stood, flat footed for three minute rounds, hitting each other as hard as they could, as fast as they could for the entire 9 minutes. The crowd came apart. I can still see it today and think of it often. He was some kind of fighter."
Bobby

btw....Bobby's mom - Wynona Newton - taught 4th grade at Washington School many, many years. Occasionally would go to her house after school and bake cookies! I owe learning the multiplication tables to her. She told us to go home & learn whatever numbers x whatever number....we were scared not to!!!! Now if I can just remember them!!??

Belva (Hollingshead) Williams - would have been '59 but moved - sent a great picture with these comments.....
..."this is a picture taken at Lincoln Elementary in the spring of 1952 (5th grade). I was there for only 6 weeks. This was a school play (musical). It was probably 5th and 6th graders. So the [future]classes of '58 and '59. That was cool about George Karty. I remember him from Jr. High. Very athletic, as I recall." (photo above).
Belva
Maybe some will recognize classmates.

"Saturday [Jan 15]the Oklahoma City Philharmonic began their program with Brahms Academic Festival Overture. Anyone who was in the LHS band in ’54-’55 would have been awash in memory because it was the band’s contest piece that year. It seemed we rehearsed at least a portion of it during every rehearsal from the spring of ’54 through the spring of ’55. The purpose of all that work was to win contests and – it just recently occurred to me – that the purpose of winning contests was to get the band director a better job; which it did. After four years as a high school director, he became director of bands at the University of Houston. A few years ago he retired from that job.
A friend told me that transcriptions of serious orchestra works are no longer available for bands. Pity. Since there are only four or five high school orchestras in Oklahoma, the majority of instrumental music students do not have the opportunity to play ‘good’ music.
John Waller

Don't normally mention but I just happen to know some February birthdays (and sure there are others).....
Alice Aurrell; Larry Campbell; Shirley Brittain; moi!

Does anyone else remember - in grade school - we brought a shoe box to school and covered it with crepe paper, cut-out hearts, lace paper doilies. Some glued those candy hearts with messages (Be Mine, Luv U) on them - man, those hearts tasted terrible! Still do! Cut a slot in top and we sat them in the room with our name on box and kids would deposit their Valentines in them! Such fun - at least at the time!

Wishing you love, hearts, flowers, and LOTS of chocolate on this
Valentines Day ~ 2011! S.W.A.K.! xoxoxoxxoooxxoox.........Georgia

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