| E-Notice |
THIS IS SURRATTS FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2012-10
OF OCTOBER 1, 2012
Hello Hornets:
Here are some items that might be of
interest:
1.
2012 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF.
With this e-Notice, the Foundation is commencing this year's annual
campaign. We're hoping that many of you who might have been
inspired to contribute in the past, but have not done so, might
consider making a contribution to this year's campaign.
Contributions can be made on-line at
the Foundation' web site at
www.surrattsville.org.
Just look for the "Donate" button at the bottom right of the home
page. And of course contributions are welcome by mail, and a
donor form is pasted below.
Remember: the Foundation has no
overhead, so every contribution dollar goes directly to supporting
the great kids at Surratts. And no contribution is too small
(or too large) to make a difference.
(Of course, the Foundation does not share any
information about its donors -- or its e-Notice subscribers -- with
anyone for any purpose, nor does the Foundation do any solicitations
of any kind other than these e-Notice announcements about these
annual campaigns.)
Many thanks to those very generous early 2012
annual campaign donors listed below, and thanks to all of our
readers for considering participating in this year's campaign!
2.
FOUNDATION MAKES GRANT TO NURSE'S OFFICE.
Last month, the Foundation was
proud to provide a grant to the nurse's office at the School to
supplement the rather limited County budget for various medical
supplies. (In past years, the nurse's office routinely ran-out
of important supplies before the end of each school year.) The
Foundation thanks school nurse Qiana Monts, RN, BSW for bringing
this need to the attention of the Foundation.
3.
REPORT ON CLASS OF 82 REUNION
AND RELATED SMALL WORLD STORY.
We received this interesting report from Renee Mills DeLuca (82):
"Just wanted to let you know the Class of 82 had a very nice reunion
in Washington D.C. in June this year. Following the Class event, my
high school best friends and I went to the beach to recreate our
graduation trip boardwalk photo! We spent a couple of days in
Rehobeth catching up--and decided we need to do it more than once
every 30 years! Our kids were highly amused by our photo. (That
photo is now on the Foundation's web site at
www.surrattsville.org, and
features, left to right: Shelley Miley Miller, Lynn Ball DiGiovine,
Michelle Merchant Brown, Lisa Grace Stoudt, and Renee Mills DeLuca.)
In other news, my daughter, Alienna Arnold,
recently started her freshman year at Tulane University in New
Orleans, where she was greeted by Hurricane Isaac! What a start for
her! One of my best friends from Clinton, Beth Brown Grandt, lives
in Baton Rouge and offered to shelter her if needed.
Fortunately Ali was safe in the dorms. Beth didn't graduate from
SHS, but did go to Surrattsville Elementary and Junior High schools.
What a wonderful thing, to have someone from my hometown offer to
help out this many years later! It's a testament to the friendships
we made in our wonderful town! Beth and I did get to have dinner
together last May when we were there for orientation--she looks
wonderful, still has her beautiful red hair, and now two lively
young sons! Beth reports that her mom, and older siblings, sister
Tracy and brother Kevin, are all doing well. Renee"
4.
ANOTHER CLASS RING FINDS ITS WAY HOME.
This topic just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.
Specifically, in what is getting to be a pattern even too weird for
a quantum physics explanation, lost Surrattsville class rings – most
all of them from the Class of 71 – continue to wander back home to
their owners. The latest example occurred when a very nice
person googled "Surrattsville" and somehow found her way to Darlene
Monaco (71). Darlene confirmed that we were the Surrattsville
in question, and that the "James Spradling" inscription on the Class
of 71 ring found by that nice googler indeed described Darlene's
Class of 71 classmate (and Foundation Board member) Jim "Butch"
Spradling.
Darlene connected the ring finder with Butch,
and we soon received this report from Butch: "I talked to
Donnie Ashford (husband of Jan Ashford, the ring finder) today. The
found ring is on its way back to me! Donnie's mother-in-law
was a housekeeper at the Tradewinds Hotel in Tulsa in 1972 and found
the ring there at that time. I was there for an OU/TU football game
in 1972 and stayed at the Tradewinds. She gave it to the
management, who returned it to her after 90 days since nobody
claimed it. Jan's mother gave her the ring, and she had been
trying to find its owner since 1986. Jan did a web search on
"Surrattsville" a few months back and somehow came up with Darlene's
name. She contacted her and, well, all I can say is there is
something to say about the internet age. Thanks to you all! This
is amazing. Butch"
[Ed note: If anyone's counting, it has
been 40 years since that ring started its slow road back to Butch.
And this is something like the fourth or fifth Class of 71 ring to
come home after many years, one recent one from the sand of a beach
in Florida! And the Foundation still has one returned,
unclaimed Class of 71 ring in inventory, a girl's ring with the
initials "DMT" inside.]
5.
MORE SURRATTSVILLE HISTORY.
Our latest item in our continuing series of Surrattsville history
items is the following fascinating undated article that provides
some insight into the segregated education system that prevailed in
Prince George's County before the civil rights movement. (This
article is likely to be of particular interest to those of us who
spent (or began) our school careers in this segregated environment
and have always felt that this important, local historical topic
received insufficient emphasis in our formal history curriculum.)
"Historic School Site Now Legion Home.
It was on June 14, 1955 when representatives of Clinton American
Legion Post 259 submitted the highest bid of $4,300 for a surplus
school being auctioned by the Board of Education on the courthouse
steps in Upper Marlboro. The two room building, with a
temporary metal addition, was built on one acre of land that the
Board of Education had acquired from the Surratt Farm on August 10,
1878 for the sum of $100. The school had been using the site
for several years prior to its acquisition by the board.
Herein is woven a tale of quiet History in
Clinton – an early site for a Negro school in conjunction with a
small Negro church, whose congregation had received permission to
build just west of the school. The boundaries of the school
site were described partially as from the "center of the main road
from Robeystown to Surrattsville" which today is known as Piscataway
Road.
Unfortunately, the church congregation did
not acquire its site and eventually, after the building had been
abandoned, the structure was demolished when the new Post Office was
erected. The abutting properties enabled the patrons to
utilize the entire area for functions and for the children.
Until after World War II, the Negro Church of Methodist Persuasion,
the Episcopal Church, and the Catholic Church were the three
churches in the heart of Clinton. After the Clinton Grove
School was built and opened in 1955, the children were sent there
for classes.
… The Legion site was on the extreme west
boundary of the Surratt 287-acre farm. Of historic
significance, it had been part of the grant of 7,000 acres made by
Charles Calvert, Third Lord Baltimore, to Colonel Henry Darnoll and
patented in 1701 under the name of "His Lordship's Kindness." In
fact, much of the heart of "Old Clinton" was included in the
7,000-acre grant.
Robeystown, located just east of the estate
of more than 900 acres owned by Pliney Bryan, paternal relative of
Senator Thomas V. Miller, Sr. and on which the library and Cosca
Park exists today, ceased as of October 10, 1878 when the U.S. Post
Office Department changed the name Clinton and returned its office
to the former crossroads at Surrattsville. Yet, it had its
moment, as on the deed of August 10, 1878 for the school site,
Robeystown had been mentioned as a point of reference.
Historically, in the turmoil of social and
racial problems of the Civil War era, it is refreshing to know that
a school site had been provided from the Surratt farm and later, the
owner, Ms. Elizabeth Addison, sold the site for school purposes.
This school was demolished in 1926 when local funds were raised,
matched by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald's funds, and the two-room
school resulted. The building was added to by the Board of
Education in 1950 and then auctioned off in 1955.
Oh yes, the water for the early school was
obtained from the Surratt House pump and reached by a right-of-way
legally provided in the deed by Mrs. Addison. The right-of-way
was officially expunged once the school had its own well.
This is a rich history of a small Negro
school that got started unofficially in the sixties of the
nineteenth century, officially recognized after 1878, to now become
the active Post of the dynamic community organization, the American
Legion Post #259. Past Commander, Thomas S. Gwynn, Jr."
[Ed. Note: Has anyone seen a
comprehensive history of the pre-civil rights movement/pre-Brown v.
Board of Ed segregated school system in Prince George's County?
If none exists, that likely would be a fascinating senior research
topic for a current Surratts student.]
6.
INFORMATION ON "THE PRAYER".
Following-up on items in previous e-Notices about the song routinely
sung by Surratts choirs in the 1970s (and perhaps beyond), we
received this interesting musical email from Jackie Toth McPeake
(76): "Hope
this finds you well and enjoying some crisp, fall weather. I
am terribly late with this, but waking up on September 11 alive and
safe moved me to get myself in gear. "The Prayer" resonates with me
on this day in history. Others might be humming it this
morning, as well. So, here it is:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3782206549788.2140359.1115696164&type=1&l=b72dfb97a5.
Would you be
kind enough to distribute this in however manner you see fit?
It was through the hard work and diligence of Evan Vutsinas (76)
that we have a copy of "The Prayer" at all. With warmest
regards, Jackie"
7.
HORNET APPEARS AT STRATHMORE.
Marcia Norcia Phillips (70)
passed along this article from the Gazette newspaper: "Prince
George’s Native Set for Strathmore Concert - Singer, songwriter and
longtime bass guitarist Eric Scott will perform some of the songs
from his latest albums at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Mansion at
Strathmore in Bethesda. A Clinton native, Scott released his fourth
CD, “Where the Water Runs Deepest,” on May 22 at a sold-out show at
Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis. One of the songs he will sing from
the album is “Take Me Home,” which he describes as a “playful,
flirty, tongue-in-cheek tune” that has “quickly become a crowd
favorite.” Also on the list is “Break Me Open,” a song about
the opening of old wounds and facing the ghosts of the past in order
to heal, along with “Mama Let Yo Hair Down,” with its
reggae-inspired beat. Playing with Scott on bass will be John
Thomakos on drums and Dan Leonard and Bennett Scher on guitars.
Scott says he will also sing songs from his three other CDs,
including “Red,” which he released in 2007. Scott has
performed in five Bandhouse Gig tributes, including the most recent,
a Stevie Wonder concert at the Fillmore Silver Spring in July.
He also has
worked as a session and touring bassist for more than 10 years,
performing with artists such as B.B. King, Ray Charles and Jimmy
Buffett. Scott graduated from Surrattsville High School in
1981 and currently lives in North Beach in Calvert County."
Congratulations to
Eric on his Strathmore concert, his many recent musical successes,
and this very nice press!
[Ed. note:
Yet another musical star from the fertile launching grounds of SHS!]
8.
CLASS OF 64 GETS EARLY START ON 50 YEAR
REUNION.
And we received this announcement about the Class of 64's upcoming
golden event: "The Class of
1964 is planning a 50th reunion in Ocean City for late September
2014. It might seem a long way off, but we all know how fast
time goes by. We need to firm up a place, reserve a block of
rooms to set aside, and determine how much space we will need.
Please email Ginger Trapanotto,
gingersnap699@gmail.com
or Phil Foster,
fosterphilip6@gmail.com
if you (alone or with a guest) are interested in attending.
Also, if you know the whereabouts of any former classmate, please
ask him/her to email one of us or you can forward the information to
us. We appreciate any help you can provide and the "committee"
is looking forward to re-visiting the 60s with everyone."
9.
"CLASS OF 71 TURNS 60" EVENT.
The Class of 71 is planning a "Class of 71 Turns 60" gathering for
July 25-July 29, 2013. If you are a Class of 71 member and
would like to be placed on the list for information about this
gathering, please send me an email at
hsmith@smithdowney.com.
10.
FOUNDATION FACEBOOK PRESENCE CONTINUES TO
GROW.
The Foundation's Facebook Group – called
"Surrattsville Alumni" – continues to grow, and now has almost 1420
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 1979" and the like -- continue to
grow. I've noticed that these Facebook Groups are becoming an
increasingly active way for folks to share memories and news updates
of interest to the Surrattsville community. Please consider
joining the Surrattsville Alumni Group, and your own Class-specific
Group.
Here's hoping your Fall season is off to a
great start! Henry Smith (71)
In Memoriam
DEBORAH
ANNE BRIDGETT (69) of Crofton Maryland died on Friday, August 31,
2012 at her home. She was 60. After leaving Surrattsville, Debi
continued her education at Prince George’s Community College, and
she graduated in 1973. She began a career in nursing and worked 37
years at Prince George’s Hospital Center. On August 10, 1974
she married James W. Bridgett. They had two daughters Katherine and
Megan. In addition to her husband, Debi is survived by her
daughters; Katherine Litwin her husband Aaron Litwin and Megan Bango
and her husband David Bango; Grandchildren, Ryan and Ian Litwin;
Adam Bango; Parents, John and Audrey Smalley; Brothers, Robert W.
Ehrhardt Jr. and John Smalley Jr.; and Sister; Patricia Douglass.
She was preceded in death by her father Robert W. Ehrhardt.
Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, P.O.
Box 22718 Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718 and/or Wounded Warrior
Project Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517 Topeka, Kansas
66675.
MANY THANKS TO THESE
EARLY DONORS TO THE 2012 CAMPAIGN!
Patricia Becker
Oles (71)
Steve Profilet (71)
Bob Marr (71)
Debbie Cox Marr (72)
Elizabeth Lee Gleisberg May
(78), In memory of loving parents Ray and Dorothy Gleisberg
Sandra Smith Simmons (70)
Donna Rae Sturtevant Smith (70), In
memory of Lt. Col. Benjamin Norcia (USAF, Ret), long-time
Surrattsville substitute teacher, and Mary A. Norcia
Henry Smith
(71), In memory of Lt. Col. Benjamin Norcia (USAF, Ret), long-time
Surrattsville substitute teacher, and Mary A. Norcia
Tom Shultz
(71), In memory of Earl and Charlotte Shultz
Duke Coleman (53),
In memory of Donald England (53)
Kurt Aktug (88)
Linda Dorsey
Blum (66)
Coach Lew Jenkins (former faculty)
Lawrence Romjue,
In memory of Lois Marie Osgood (57), "Rubber ball," "bouncy-bouncy,
"bouncy-bouncy," "Bobby Vee"
Tom and Sally Travis (72)
Valerie
Mercier (73)
Vicky Simontacchi Young (57)
Vera Twigg
Melissa Gilcrest (69)
Thomas V. Mike Miller (60)
Judy Gordon
(65), On the occasion of the 65 Hornets turning 65!
Judy Gordon
(65), In memory of Linda Soper Mayes (65), Tom Saylor (65), Bill
Talbert (65) and Vern Kennedy (64)
Stu Young (77), in honor of
his son Patrick on his graduation from Calvert High School
J.
Paul Rickett (69)
Gloria Blandford Rickett (71)
Helen Bovbjerg
Niedung (54), in memory of Myra Rigor Selvadurai (54)
Philip
Holmes (65)
Richard Grace (81), In memory of Dr. Rony Rafael C.
Lee
Lois Barrett Hessberg (70)
Lee Hessberg (68)