| E-Notice |
THIS IS SURRATTS FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2011-12
OF DECEMBER 1, 2011
Hello Hornets:
Here are some items that might be of
interest:
1.
2011 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN HEADS INTO FINAL
MONTH ON RECORD PACE!
With a month to go, our 2011 Annual Campaign continues on a
record-shattering pace! Donors may contribute online at
www.surrattsville.org (by
paypal or credit card), or by mail using the donor form pasted below
(which also is available on the web site).
Thanks to the many generous 2011 donors
listed below, and thanks in advance to our readers considering
contributing to this year's campaign!
2.
FOUNDATION FUNDS AWARDS FOR FACULTY
WINNERS OF ACCREDITATION CHALLENGE.
Last month, the Foundation was proud to fund awards for the faculty
team that won a recent accreditation challenge at the School.
Congratulations to these outstanding Surrattsville educators!
3..
SEARCH THE WEB AND SUPPORT THE
FOUNDATION.
Some of our readers use the
goodsearch.com
web search function to do their web searching, and by doing so
generate automatic contributions by
goodsearch.com to the
Foundation. To use
goodsearch.com
as your search engine and to designate the Foundation as the
beneficiary of donations by
goodsearch.com,
simply by going to
goodsearch.com
and, at the "Choose Your Cause" button enter "Surrattsville
Foundation" (and that will take you to a page that says
"Surrattsville High School Foundation (Baltimore – MD)" (the mailing
address for the Foundation.
Thanks for considering this painless, and
free, way to support the Foundation every time you search the web!
4.
MEMORIES OF SURRATTS CHOIRS.
We received these emails in response to the item in the last
e-Notice about Surrattsville's vocal ensembles:
"I recall that Sandra Willets had us sing
Frackenpohl’s “Prayer” at the end of each concert, especially at the
end of each concert on the European concert tour we did during the
summer of 1970 as “The Surratts Singers,” but I have forgotten the
lyrics. I’d love to buy a CD of the concert referred to in the
last e-Notice. I have a whole album of black and white photos
from that European concert tour. I should scan them and email
them to you as a pdf file since it was such a big event for the
music department back in 1970. There might be some alums who
would like to see them. All the best, Sandra Smith
Simmons (70)"
[Ed. Note: We'd love to have photos,
and audio and video recordings in any media, of Surrattsville's
various musical ensembles, for addition to the Foundation's
archives.]
"Speaking of Charlie Waddell, his dad is
still living in Princeton WV. 98 years young! Greg Laxton
(81)"
"Sandra Willetts is now living in The
Villages in Florida. Regards, Patti Powell Hannum (72)"
5.
UPDATE ON A MUSICAL EDUCATOR.
We received this update on long-time Surrattsville band teacher (and
Class President of the Surrattsville Class of 57, if I recall
correctly) Richard "Butch" Mortimer from Debbie Small Smith (82):
"I wanted to
reach out to all of the Surratts alumni and let them know about the
status of Mr. Mortimer, our famous band teacher for over 20 years.
Mr. Mortimer's daughter lives across the street from me. Less
than two years ago, Mr. Mortimer lost his wife of 48 years to breast
cancer. While his wife was battling cancer and days before her
death, Mr. Mortimer had a stroke. Since then, he has been
living in an assisted living home in Waldorf with daily visits from
his daughter (who is a nurse) and his grandchildren. (My
daughter is a barber and goes to the assisted living home to cut Mr.
Mortimer's hair about every five weeks.) I visited him
recently, and his mind was incredibly sharp but his body just won't
allow him to be independent. The stroke left him completely
paralyzed on his left side and he has a constant feeling of
dizziness that will not allow him to sit up for more than an hour
about two times a day. While I was there visiting with him,
all he wanted to talk about was his family and Surrattsville.
He has so many fun memories and I know he would love to hear from
his former students. I think he knew everyone -- even those
who were not in the band, flags, or color guard. Would you
please reach out to everyone and ask them to send a card or even a
picture of a fond memory with Mr. Mortimer? He has touched so
many lives and paid it forward, and I believe it would really touch
his heart to hear from those he cared so much about. His
address is: Richard Mortimer, 1106 Stone Avenue, Waldorf, MD
20602. Thank you so much! Debbie"
[Ed note: In addition to his extraordinary contributions to
the rich musical history at Surrattsville, Mr. Mortimer also was a
great fifth grade summer band teacher to folks like me in 1964!]
6.
SEEKING INFO ON COACH WILLIAM SMITH.
Mike Shema (65) is seeking contact info on former wrestling coach
and geography teacher Bill Smith. Please send Mike an email at
lvshema@cox.net if you have any
information that might be helpful.
And Mike sent along these inspirational
memories about the impact Coach Smith had on Mike during his time at
Surrattsville: "I was a manager for the wrestling team during
Coach Smith's tenure. I contracted juvenile rheumatoid
arthritis when I was 12 and my time playing organized sports was
done. I have to confess to not taking that very well at all,
and I was a very bitter and sullen young man for a number of years.
I didn't much care about school anymore. It was Mr. Smith who
took me under his wing and made me his "project." I didn't
know a damn thing about wrestling, but he taught me what to look
for. I kept notes on all the guys -- what a boon video must be
to training now! -- and helped them with their diets and hung out
with them when everyone else was gone when they were having a tough
time making weight. Coach Smith gave me a purpose. He
helped me care again. If it wasn't for him, I doubt that I
would have graduated. He was truly a great guy. (I
know there are similar references out there with Coach Jenkins.
I didn't know him because he came along after my class.
However, I have heard some good things about him.) Some
teachers and coaches have that something special; they really care
about the kids. Mike"
[Ed. Note:
Legendary Coach Lew Jenkins was awarded the Foundation's Achievement
Award in 2010. His bio and photo are available on the
Achievement Award pages of the Foundation's web site at
www.surrattsville.org, and his
photo hangs in the new Legacy Hall at the School. It sounds like
Coach Smith had a very similar influence on his students and team
members.]
7.
THE RE-TRIAL OF MARY SURRATT.
Some of our readers may have
noticed that C-Span3 is featuring "The Re-Trial of Mary Surratt."
Here's the summary from the
C-span.org
web site: "The
April 1865 plot to assassinate President Lincoln was planned in part
at a boarding house owned and operated by Mary Surratt. She was
tried by a military tribunal, and sentenced to death and executed. A
group of Chicago lawyers, judges and historians recently re-tried
Mary Surratt as if in a civilian court, and left it to the audience
to decide her guilt or innocence." (The re-trial is available
on youtube.com.)
And some of our readers may have noticed that a photo of Mary
Surratt appears on the cover of the new book "Killing Lincoln."
It appears that Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" stimulated lots
of new interest in the fascinating Mary Surratt story!
8.
REQUEST FOR PRINCIPALS' PHOTOS FOR
LEGACY WALL.
As noted in the last e-Notice, the Foundation is seeking photos of
all of Surrattsville's Principals (since 1907!) to include on the
new, Foundation-sponsored "Legacy Hall" at the School. If you
have any paper copies of photos of Principals that you would be
willing to snail mail to us for scanning and a prompt return to you,
please mail them to Henry Smith, 1 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite
950, Towson, MD 21204. If you have the ability to scan a
digital copy of a Principal's photo – perhaps from your yearbook –
please send me an email at
hsmith@smithdowney.com so I can
tell you if we already have that particular photo. If we
don't, and you could kindly scan the photo and email it to us that
would be great. (Especially if the scan is "high resolution,"
which is better for enlarging to 8 x 10 size for framing.)
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can
provide with this latest Foundation project.
8.
FOLLOW-UP ON ITEM CONCERNING WASHINGTON
POST ARTICLE FEATURING ALUM'S BAY-SAVING EFFORTS.
We received this email from Bruce Wood (70) in response to the item
in the last e-Notice about him being featured in the Washington
Post: "Thanks for the recognition in the e-Notice.
Should any readers be interested in more detail on our efforts, they
can google "Dragon Creek Oysters Bruce Wood." This leads to a
list of urls of programs in which Dragon Creek is involved.
Bruce"
9.
COLLECTED SCHOLARSHIP AND ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD PHOTOS NOW ON WEB SITE.
We're delighted to report that the collected photos of all of the
Foundation's Scholarship recipients and Achievement Award recipients
(since 2000) are now accessible on one page on the web site by
clicking the "Photos" button on the home page (at
www.surrattsville.org).
Many thanks to our tireless volunteer web master, Mike Gifford (84),
for this and for all of his continuing great work on the
Foundation's web site.
[Larger photos, and full bios, of those
outstanding members of the Surrattsville community may be found by
clicking the Scholarship and Achievement Award buttons on the web
site.]
10.
FOUNDATION FACEBOOK PRESENCE CONTINUES
TO GROW.
The Foundation's Facebook Group – called
"Surrattsville Alumni" – continues to grow, and is now approaching
1300 members. This is a great, and free, way for folks to stay
in touch. Similarly, the Class-specific Facebook Groups – that
have names like "Surrattsville 1968," "Surrattsville 1969,"
"Surrattsville 1970," "Surrattsville 1973" and the like --
continue to grow. Please consider joining the Surrattsville
Alumni Group, and your own Class-specific Group, to get the latest
news on alumni events.
11.
BOOMERANGS AVAILABLE.
The Foundation has a limited
supply of yearbooks from 1991, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
If you'd like one of these yearbooks (which are available for $15
including shipping and handling), please send me an email to
hsmith@smithdowney.com.
12.
ALL CLASSES/FACULTY/STAFF DIRECTORIES
AVAILABLE.
Thanks to the herculean work of Pat Becker
Oles (71), the Foundation's 2000 Alumni/Faculty/Staff Directory has
been updated for 2010, and now includes fascinating "what I'm up to"
paragraphs from those who submitted directory information. If
you would like a copy of the Directory, send a $20 check payable to
the Foundation to: Henry Smith, One W. Pennsylvania Avenue,
Suite 950, Towson, MD 21204.
13.
"SURRATTSVILLE ALUMNI" WINDOW STICKERS
AVAILABLE.
Pat Becker Oles (71) also kindly handles
the Foundation's "Surrattsville Alumni" window stickers project.
Pat notes that the stickers are
not the "static cling type,"
that stick to the inside of a window. Instead, they are the
"stick to the outside type," that can stick on a window or bumper,
and use "repositional adhesive" (meaning no sticky residue).
Information about purchasing the stickers can be found on the web
site at
surrattsville.org.
14.
CLASS OF 97 PLANS REUNION.
The Class of 97 is busy
planning its 15 year reunion for mid-summer 2012.
The Class has a web page at
http://shs1997reunion.blogspot.com/2011/05/shs-class-of-1997-2012-15yr-reunion.html.
Please contact Monica Crown at
monicacrown@gmail.com if you
would like information on the event or if you have any contact info
for members of the Class of 97 or their families.
Here's hoping your holiday season is off to a
great start! Henry Smith (71)
MANY THANKS TO
THESE GENEROUS DONORS TO THE 2011 CAMPAIGN!
Patricia Becker Oles
(71)
Steve Profilet
(71)
Bob Marr (71)
Debbie Cox Marr (72)
Thomas V. Mike Miller (60)
Vicky Simontacchi Young (57)
Valerie Parker Allard (73)
Bob Freitas (70)
Linda Dorsey Blum (66)
Coach Lew Jenkins
Helen Bovbjerg Niedung (54)
Melissa Gilcrest (69)
Henry Smith (71)
Donna Rae Sturtevant Smith (70)
Susan Loweth Melton (63)
Judy Gordon Mentlik (65), In memory of
Gloria Grady (65), Linda Soper (65) and my 65 "brother," Richard
Gordon (65)
Patti
Williams Makielski (74), In memory of Kathy Williams Sheppard (76)
Judy Crawley Gibson (71), In memory of
Debbie Bastek (71), "a tough cookie who is gone too soon"
Duke Coleman (53)
Carmen Gines Frotton (65), In memory of
Richard Gordon (65)
Paul Rickett (69)
Gloria Blandford Rickett (71)
Tom and Sally Travis (72)
Lawrence Romjue (57), In memory of Lois
Marie Osgood (57), "26 miles – Santa Catalina"
Richard Grace (81), In memory of Rhonda
Nairn (81)
Mike
Blair (71)
Suzan
Martz Holmquist (62)
Patrick McMenamin (71)
Vicky Simontacchi Young (57)
Lee Hessberg (68)
Lois Barrett Hessberg (70)
Carol Fite Mothershead (65)
Larry Mothershead (65)
Mike Boyle (69)
Jim Casswell
Bonnie Harris
Scott Sonntag (71)
John Shultz (80)
Kelly Shultz (83)
Paul Monaghan (59)
Vicki Forsht Williams (65, and former
faculty), In memory of Eugene Colgan and Marie Grouby
Marie O'Clair, In memory of Marie Grouby
Jean White Monroe (71)
Vera Twigg
Anne Noyes (former faculty)
Pamela Buckingham (68)
Leslie St. Clair (70)
Judy Miller (70)
Donna Mitroff (57), In memory of
Nancy Drevenak Dickinson (59)
David Kraus (65)
Debra Villari
Lee Pascasio
Dan
Bayne (71)
Ron Cunningham, former faculty
David Miller (73)
Mike Miller (70)
Denise Hope (72), In memory of Robin
Danielson (72)
Shawn Craw Blau (71)
Sandra Smith Simmons (70)
Sandra Hardesty Taylor (71)
IN MEMORIAM
DAVE GEBHARDT
(73) died on November 21, 2011. Dave is survived by his wife,
Connie Simpson Gebhardt (75). A remembrance of Dave appears at
http://www.brinsfieldfuneral.com/obituaries/dsp_files/dsp_viewobit.cfm?obit_ID=4134,
and memories of Dave may be posted there,
as well.
Patti Maness Harris (73) shared these fond
memories of Dave: "As
I recall, Dave was "Harvey Hubcap" of "Harvey Hubcap and the Doo Ron
Rons". He was an extremely handsome young man, and always had
that blonde hair swept back and a big smile on his face. He was
indeed the quintessential boy of summer and all the girls were
just crazy about him. I always remember Dave as a very happy,
outgoing guy that everyone just adored. He was always so full
of life and the life of every crowd he was in. Dave was always
surrounded by many people around the halls of Surrattsville because
he had the kind of magnetism that drew people near and he had an
infectious enthusiasm for life and good times. My thoughts and
prayers are with his family. I give thanks for having had the
pleasure of knowing him once upon a time. Patti"
Neal Dawson (73)
shared these fond memories of Dave: "Dave was a great guy and
we all will miss him very deeply. He was a sweet, shining light of
coolness, fun, humor, warmth and graciousness in our class of 73,
and indeed, to all those Hornets from many classes before and after
ours who still remember him fondly. I know everyone has a lot
of great memories of Dave, no doubt, and he leaves us far too young
and soon. Not only do I remember him with many memories from
Surrattsville and the reunions, but also with Harvey and the Hubcaps
in the early 70s. Neal"