THIS IS E-NOTICE 2000-4 OF NOVEMBER 16, 2000

Hello Hornets:

I hope this finds you looking forward to a pleasant Thanksgiving holiday.  Here are some items that might be of interest to you.

1.  A BLESSED EVENT.  Denise Hope (72) left for China on October 30 to adopt her second child, Faith Mei‑Mei Taylor, age 10 months.  Her first child, Hope Mei‑Lin Taylor, will turn 5 the day she returns from China with Faith.  (A note from Denise: Hey Phil Miller (72)... do I finally win the classmate with the youngest child award, or have you and your lovely wife had another child?)  Congratulations, Denise, and best wishes!

2.  RECONNECTIONS.  Bea Cassidy (51) reports that many of us are enjoying renewed contacts since the Reunion in June.  This week, one of my classmates visited Miami and we went over to St. Pete to visit with another classmate.  We really appreciate reaping additional rewards from the hard work of the Reunion Committee.

3.  A NICE REUNION IDEA. Stacy Jones (84) has a nice little business that might be of some interest to those of you organizing Class-specific reunion events.  Stacy creates live memory books on CD or diskette for class reunions (as well as weddings and other special occasions).  She recently did one for the Class of 1990's reunion.  Stacy acquires a yearbook from the particular Class, takes photos and information from the yearbook and the Reunion event, and incorporates them all into a nice whole.  Stacy can be reached at SJones7383@aol.com.

4.  MORE REMINISCENCES.  Phil Chovan (59) shared this tidbit: Henry: There were a few of us who remember Mr. Narys contributions as Vice Principal of Surratts  with our names on chairs in his office so Mr. Pryde wouldnt clutter his office with young male types of dubious delinquencies.  As to the deaths of the three seniors that Helen referred to, word had it that they had skipped school to go duck hunting on a terribly cold day, the boat capsized and all three were thrown into the frigid water with hip wader boots on, which quickly filled with water, drowning them.  These were the days before critical stress debriefings and grief counselors, Ms. McFadden notwithstanding, so we just did what we had to do by using family, church and friends.

5.  GET WELL WISHES.  We wanted to send heartfelt get well wishes to Dwight Reed (80), who currently is undergoing aggressive treatment for a rather rare form of cancer.  In the words of Dwights wife Michelle, if anyone can prevail, Dwight will!  (Dwight can be reached at dmreed38@hotmail.com.). 

6.  THANKS FROM JUDY.  Judy Hardesty Repass (65) sent a long this nice note thanking many of you for sponsoring her in the recent ALS walk: Thank You Surrattsville Alumni: I am very grateful to all of you for your generous contributions and support for my Walk to DFeet ALS on the Mall.  My mission is to promote ALS advocacy and awareness.  Thank you Hornets!

7.  IN MEMORIAM.  I am sorry to have to report that Lee Red Oliver (52) passed away on October 29.  Red had been living in Manning, South Carolina.  Charlie Cooper (52) reports that he talked to Red just days before his death and that they spent about an hour talking about the impact Mr. Pryde had on them.  Charlie recalled that both he and Red said over and over how Mr. Pryde encouraged both of them to complete high school.  Charlie added that Red was a great influence on Charlies life, and that during Charlies final year at Surratts, Red and Thomas Jenkins drove him to and from Surratts and various School activities, because he lived beyond the bus route and had no other way of getting around.

I am also sorry to have to report that Karen Coblentz (81) passed away on November 11.  The viewing is on Friday the 17th from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Brinsfield‑Echols Funeral Home located at 30195 Three Notch Rd, Charlotte Hall.  Funeral services are on Saturday the 18th at St. Nicholas Lutheran Church in Huntingtown.

8.  FOUNDATION BOARD MEETING.  The next meeting of the Surratts Foundation Board is December 7.  All interested parties are invited to attend.  Please send me an e-mail if youd like more information.

9.  PHOTO BOOKS.  How about those fabulous Photo Books which our Photo Book Coordinator, Gill Thompson Harry (71) was able to squeeze out of the Photo Book company!  Thanks to Gills hard work, not just some, but many, many of the wonderful candids you sent in were included in the Book, as well as that great group shot from the roof that was Gills idea.  Many thanks, Gill!  If you ordered a Photo Book and havent received it, you might want to leave the company an email at http://www.photomemorybooks.com/order.htm.  Those of you who would like to order a Photo Book might still be able to do so at this web site, also.

10.  ALUMNI DIRECTORY.  Our printer has duplicated the cover for our Directory and our Directory Coordinator, Leslie St. Clair Smith (70), is about to ship them the final text for the Directory, so those of you who ordered Directories should be receiving them very soon.  Thanks, Leslie!

11.  FOUNDATION WEB SITE.  If you haven't checked out the cool photos that Bill Thomas (77), our Web Master, has placed on the Foundation's web site at www.surrattsville.org, you might want to do so.  Thanks, Bill, for a beautiful job!

Remember, in the words of Rosa England Bolen (45), reunion is a lovely word!

All the best!   Henry Smith (71), hsmith@smithdowney.com