| E-Notice |
THIS IS SURRATTS FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2013-8 OF AUGUST 1,
2013
Hello Hornets:
Here are some items that might be of interest:
1. FOUNDATION YOUTUBE CHANNEL FEATURES MULTIPLE
"PROGRAMS." Thanks to the efforts of Foundation Board
member Sandra Smith Simmons (70), the Foundation's new youtube
channel has quite a bit of lively content you might not have seen.
The channel will continue to grow over time. The challenge to
viewers to sing along with the Hornet Fight Song continues to be the
most watched program (with the Foundation overview coming in a close
second), giving proof to Surrattsville's long musical history.
Please become a subscriber, and take a moment to view the "shows" on
the channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SurrattsvilleFDN.
2. MORE AMAZING DRAMA AND OTHER PHOTOS ADDED TO
FACEBOOK GROUP COLLECTION. Recently, members of the
Foundation's Facebook Group, (called "Surrattsville Alumni" on
Facebook) have posted a number of fascinating photos of Charlie
Waddell-directed plays. And thanks to the Foundation's
tireless Archivist/Historian, Shelby Lee Oppermann (79), the large
and absolutely fascinating collection of historical
Surrattsville-themed photos found on the Facebook Group continues
to grow. The collected photos date back over a century and
capture numerous "eras" in the history of the School and various
components of the greater Surrattsville community. Many of the
photos have generated interesting comments by visitors. You
can reach all of the photos by clicking on the Photos tab at the
Surrattsville Alumni Group on Facebook, and then clicking on the
Historical Photos tab. Thanks to Shelby for all of her
extraordinary efforts for the last 14 years to keep the School's
history alive (much of which was literally saved from dumpsters)!
3. SEEKING WEB SITE
DESIGN ASSISTANCE.
The Foundation is seeking a member of the Surrattsville community
with web site design skills to volunteer to assist with some changes
being contemplated for our web site at surrattsville.org.
Please send me an email at
hsmith@smithdowney.com if you'd consider donating your skills to
this effort.
4. ANNAPOLIS CHARITY SEEKS VOLUNTEERS AND SUPPORTERS.
We received this information about Annapolis’ Hospice Cup charity
from Darlene Monaco (71), who serves on its Board: “Hospice Cup is a
charity sailing regatta, raising funds for hospice programs
throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia.
The race is held Saturday, September 21 in Annapolis and finishes
with a shore party with catered faire, full bar, band, silent
auction and awards ceremony.
This year our funds
are supporting Pediatric Hospice Programs, including Chesapeake
Kids, Montgomery Kids, and other hospice members of the Pediatric
Alliance. Our programs not only help children suffering from
terminal illness, but they provide counseling and support for
grieving children and teens who suffer from a loss of a loved one.
We are seeking corporate sponsors and individuals interested in
donating funds and services, guests to attend the Shore Party, as
well as volunteers to help with Event Day activities. Please help
us raise Sails – Awareness – Funds for Hospice. Check us out
at hospicecup.org or contact me
if you want to join us! Darlene
darmonaco@gmail.com”
5. ABA MAGAZINE, AND NETLIX OFFERING, FEATURE MARY
SURRATT AND MENTION SURRATT TAVERN. Some of our
readers may have seen the featured this-date-in-history article –
along with the famous grisly photo of the gallows – by Allen Pusey
in the July ABA Journal entitled "Lincoln Co-Conspirators Hanged."
The article reads as follows: "July 7, 1865: In the
early morning hours of April 15, even as President Lincoln lay dying
from a gunshot wound to the head, local police in Washington, D.C.
arrived at a boardinghouse in the city's Northwest quadrant in
search of John Wilkes Booth. Booth and other Confederate
sympathizers had been known to frequent the white painted-brick
house, as well as a tavern just outside the city, both owned by
widow Mary Surratt. … Teams of law enforcement officers … focused on
the comings and goings at the Surratt House. … An abundance of
circumstantial evidence was found, but a chance meeting helped seal
the suspicion that Surratt was part of the plot. As she was
being led away, a man showed up seeking refuge, clearly in disguise.
Surratt said she didn't know him, but it turned out to be Lewis
Powell – identified as the man who stabbed Secretary of State
Seward. By the time the roundup was done, nine co-conspirators
were arrested, all of whom had some connection to Surratt. … When
the trial proceedings were done and the sentences were handed down
on June 30, four were sentenced to death: Surratt, Powell, Powell's
accomplice, David Herold, and Vice President Johnson's would-be
assassin, George Atzerodt. Pleas for Surratt's life, including
one by five of the sentencing judges, went unheeded by President
Johnson. … Though Surratt continued to profess her innocence,
she and three others were led to a hastily constructed gallows on
the grounds of the Washington Arsenal. After a process that
took barely 20 minutes, Surratt and her former boarders were dead."
[Ed. note: Information about the Surratt House and museum –
which at one time could be glimpsed through the bare winter trees
from the history classes at SHS – can be found at
http://history.pgparks.com/sites_and_museums/Surratt_House_Museum.htm.
And several of our readers pointed out that Netflix now carries
the Tom Hanks' narrated "Killing Lincoln." Your editor
recently watched it expecting lots of Mary Surratt/John Surratt
mentions, but the rather short film only contains several, and no
new information. It does feature Clinton's Surratt House and
Tavern, however. Curiously, the documentary uses the
unfamiliar "Sir – Ott" pronunciation we first encountered in Robert
Redford's "The Conspirator." (Might any of our readers know if
this in fact was the way the name was pronounced in the 1860s, and
the pronunciation somehow changed between then and the 20th
century?) And even more curiously, Netflix must be offering
the "international version" of the DVD, because Southern Maryland
distances are provided in kilometers, and Lincoln's height is given
as 193 centimeters!)
6.
SEEKING TANGLEWOOD CLASS PHOTOS.
Suzanne Register Shaffer is seeking Class photos from Tanglewood
Elementary from 1966-1974. Please contact Suzanne at
quik1_07@yahoo.com if you can scan and email any of those
treasures to her.
7. FOUNDATION CONTINUING WORK ON FALLEN HEROES PLAQUE
FOR LEGACY HALL. As reported previously, thanks to the
efforts of Bob Jeter (64), the Foundation is preparing a Fallen
Heroes plaque to hang in the Legacy Hall that will contain the names
and Class years of Hornets who died while serving the country (or
later from service-related injuries). Please contact Bob at
bobjeter@verizon.net if
you know of any Hornets who should be honored in this way.
[Ed note: Photos of the Legacy Wall can be found on the
Foundation's web site at
www.surrattsville.org.]
8. CLASS OF 64 50
YEAR REUNION. 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. FOUNDATION FACEBOOK PRESENCE CONTINUES TO GROW.
The Foundation's Facebook Group – called "Surrattsville Alumni"
– continues to grow, and is now approaching 1550 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. 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.
10. ANNUAL CHRISTMAS IN APRIL GOLF FUND RAISER.
The Prince George's County Christmas in April chapter, whose
Executive Director is Achievement Award recipient Mary Kucharski
(76), will hold its annual golf outing fund raiser on September 23
at the Andrews AFB course. Information on this great event for
a great cause is available at christmasinaprilpg.org or by calling
301-868-0937.
Here's hoping you found an effective way to stay cool if you
experienced those notable heat indexes last month!
All the best, Henry Smith (71)
MANY THANKS TO THESE EARLY DONORS
TO THE 2013 CAMPAIGN!
- Patricia Becker Oles (71)
- Steve Profilet (71)
- Vicki Forsht Williams (65 and
former faculty), In memory of Eugene Colgan (former faculty) and
Richard Mortimer (57, former faculty)
- Nancy Miller (67)
- Vicky Simontacchi Young (57), In
memory of Richard C. Mortimer (57, former faculty)
- Bob Marr (71)
- Debbie Cox Marr (72)
- Mark Scoville (74), In memory of
Mike Helfrich (74) and Nancy Maddox (74)
- Rick Torrecarion (74), In loving
memory of Patsy Torrecarion (76)
- Linda Dorsey Blum (66)
- Nancy Lapin LoBianco (65), In
memory of Tony Marchetti (65)
- Sandra Smith Simmons (70)
- Duke Coleman (53), In memory of
Donald England (53)
- Lois Barrett Hessberg (70)
- Lee Hessberg (68)
- Donna Rae Sturtevant Smith (70),
In memory of Cliff Hersey (former faculty)
- Henry Smith (71), In memory of
Cliff Hersey (former faculty)
- Sandra Smith Simmons (70)
- Donald Knight (92)
- David Cranford (90)
- Vera Twigg
- Paul Monaghan (59)
- Melissa Gilcrest (69)
- Deborah Caputo Rosen (71)
- Nancy Oursler Maynard (65), In
memory of Cliff Hersey (former faculty)
- Judy Miller (70)
- Mike Blair (71)