Twelve Missing days since last posting: The intervening time was invested in rounding up all the information to prepare the reunon packet for mailing. That included trips to the printer, printing envelopes, printing special stamps, and making one more pass to see that addresses are as correct as we can determine. Well, I guess that was pretty boring, wasn’t it? The good news is that the committee meets Monday to sign, stamp, and seal the formal invitation to our reunion. Look for it in your mailbox by the end of the week, and if it does not arrive, contact jeff-54@satx.rr.com. It is a happy occasion to see that outgoing headed your way. The sad part is that a dozen or so will contact to say that they have misplaced the information and please resend it.

Error and Apology: I am uncertain how I managed it, but Jay Weidenfeld pointed out that Blog 5 was password protected. I have fixed that, and if you really want to go back to read it, scroll down to read it.

Benefits and memories: One of the benefits of keeping the data base is that I get calls from various classmates somewhat regularly, and there is a good opportunity to catch up. Yesterday Carolyn Taylor Cochram and I had good opportunity to revive an old memory. Vic Damone, the crooner, was in town, maybe stationed here at Fort Sam. Either he came out to Jefferson for an assembly (my memory) or he was downtown at Joske’s for a Teena Texas contest when Texas Nowotny was competing. As Carolyn tells it, she and three friends were sitting right down front, four of them occupying three chairs, so it was a bit crowded. Vic spotted the girls and asked Carolyn to come up on stage and reluctantly Carolyn did. With his arm around her, he sang Embraceable You. Carolyn claims she was mortified when he finished the song and kissed her on the cheek, but the rumor around Jeff is that she did not wash her cheek for a week. Does anyone recall the Teena Texas contests? It was a girl thing, so I don’t know much about it, but maybe someone can comment on it.

Registering for classes: Who remembers the large sheets that listed all the classes offered and the teachers, laid out by period? (Excuse the poor grammar—the classes were in an array and the teachers were not laid out by period.) Someone brought a schedule to a previous reunion (maybe it was Carolyn Pope), and we will have that copy in the hospitality room. What I remember is that we mapped out the classes we wanted, the teachers, and the period. When the bell rang, everyone went bounding or running or hurrying out to get the right class before it filled up. The teachers closed the classes when full, but I always thought they saved a few spaces back for their favorite students.

One of the keys to a successful plan was snagging a class that was close to the cafeteria just before lunch to avoid the line. And in the cafeteria, there were choices—going through the line to get “a healthy lunch” or rushing to one of the two islands to get a durned awful burger that probably was made of horse meat. Ben Williams and Jim McNeel both worked in the burger island. Does anyone recall who else might have worked there?

And here is what Jeff looked like on the drawing board:

Note the fancy dome on top!

Time gets away. I had not intended to take  a week between posting. But a lot of reunion details have popped up, including a trip to the hotel to check out the hospitality room, a trip to the ballroom, and a visit with the caterers. Going along downtown were Dorothy Crawford (her nickname is TAS by the way), Esther Nelson, Susie Terrell, Kay Gregory, and Louise Rawlins. Now getting the registration form and schedule events ready for the printer is taking priority.

Today, I want to finish with the lost list, add something about the renovation of Alamo Stadium, and dredge up a memory or two.

Alamo Stadium: It was finished in 1940—so it was still pretty new when we went to the games! And it has not been updated in seventy-plus years until a $35 million renovation began last year. Seating 23,000, it is the largest high school stadium in Texas, though the new configuration will reduce it to 19,000 and also add use as a soccer playing field. Here are a couple of websites if you want to see photos and read more details:

http://alamostadium.weebly.com/ (you may have to cut and paste to reach the webpage.)

http://alamostadium.weebly.com/ (this is someone else’s blog)

To learn more, just Google “Alamo Stadium renovations”.

Last of the Lost list:

Faith Caplan                                 Shirley Highsmith

Irene Carver                                 Robert Hurst

Judy Cox                                       Mary Lou Ibarra

Patricia Crossler                          Ann Keller

Billie Ann Cuidon                        Emma Ramos

Bertha Dominguez                     Doris Roland

Rosie Esperanza                         Betty Jean Smith

Yvonne Foster                            Gloria Torres

Carol Gober                                Kay Van Gorder

Memories: In 1954, Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile. No one thought it possible! Betty Furness was advertising on Westinghouse Studio One TV. Marlon Brando and Grand Kelly won Oscars for “On the Waterfron” and “Country Girl.”

And at Jefferson: The senior play was “Stage Door;” At graduation we had a class movie at the Olmos Theater. It was “With a Song in My Heart,” the Jane Froman story starring Susan Hayward. I think it was supposed to inspire us to go do great things, but I think it actually inspired an afternoon off, with most of the guys skipping it.

Does anyone remember the Class Day program and does anyone remember who performed. I seem to recall that that Florence Boston and Bill Benton sang a duet. Florence went to New York seeking fame and fortune. She is still there and known as Meredith Kelly.

What do you all remember?

Updating the past: Here are two views of the Municipal Auditorium undergoing rehab, and to be re-named the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. The photos are a bit blurry, but maybe they will whet your appetite to see it up close and personal. The photo on the right depicts tiered balconies reminiscent of European opera houses and theaters.

The Tobin Center opens in September this year. The structure behind the familiar dome is called a screen and will shield some upward construction. On the back side, there will be an outdoor theater with terraces down to the river.

If you have been away from San Antonio for recent years, there is so much happening here. Some years ago, in the name of flood control, the US Army Corps of Engineers straightened the meandering San Antonio river south of town, then cemented the banks. Now the job to un-do that effort is pretty much completed, and we have thirteen miles of walkways and bike ways from downtown to the Mission reach—remember the San Jose, Espada, Concepcion, and Capistrano. There is an attempt to have these missions named a world heritage site.

Jeff memories: Who remembers Mrs. Hicks and her rose garden? Who remembers Shorty the gardener? Jeff kept a gardener for many years till Shorty or his successor retired. When Jeff went in for funding to hire a replacement, any number of other schools requested the same, so naturally, Shorty’s position was eliminated.

Does anyone remember how the various clubs would hold socials after school? Someone would hop in a car and drive down to Culebra and return to school with a five-gallon can of tamales, served along with cokes.

Who remembers Mr. Sprott explaining how to calculate how long it takes for a train leaving a station heading west at 50 miles an hour to meet a train heading east travelling at 60 miles an hour. If anyone sends the correct answer, I will tell you how far apart the stations were when they started out.

Lost classmates: Here is the last of the missing classmates.

Helen Ballard

Arnold Barnett

Betty Ann Barras

Bertha Benavidez

Sylvia Bennett

Kay Bowers

Marvelia Bowers

Dolores Bratton

Nancy Brode

Mildred Brown

Barbara Byers

If some of these were previously listed, its because my system for tracking failed me.

So far, we have one classmate found—or, pending verification, deceased. I don’t want to end on this note, but the durn blog has started to double space above and now has stopped and I cannot figure it out.  So I am going to dinner. 

And a Happy Valentine’s day to all.

First a correction:  Yesterday, I mentioned that if you want to play golf, contact Larry Byrd with the email address.  Word came back that they want to play, not organize. So don’t contact Larry. Larry (actually Larry’s wife/scribe) said someone here in San Antonio may be organizing.  If I find out who is doing that, I will broadcast the info.

Memory time—Teachers are human too.

Mrs. Davis—the chemistry teacher,  remember her? If you were ever in her class, you probably will remember her forever. Here is a recollection from outside the classroom. One day, during class, I was walking on the outside, covered arcade or gallery on the east side of the auditorium. Just outside the doors into the long hallway that goes down to the cafeteria, the cement flor of the arcade was about 18 inches above ground level.

Now I cannot tell you why I was walking down that corridor and not in class, but there I found Mrs. Davis. She was sitting on the cement with legs and feet on the ground. Now if you have ever sat 18 inches off the ground, you know that your knees are raised to about chin level. And there sat Mrs. Davis, knees high and legs spread out like a man’s (no knees together here) having a smoke. She was speechless and visibly embarrassed to be found in that position. Thinking of nothing better to do, I said “Hello, Mrs. Davis,” and continued on.

Reunion time: Let’s talk a bit more about the hospitality room in the hotel. A group from the committee is going down next week to see it and make plans for our reunion. It is a large room that has its own door out to the river walk. Just outside the room is a covered terrace. If the weather is nice, we can take chairs out there to chat and watch the barges pass by. Kay (Matteson) Gregory will display memorabilia in that room and Sue (Elo) Settles is planning a variety of munchies. Our intent is to have a classmate in the room whenever it is open so that we will not have to lock it up during the day. Patsy (Hatch) Patterson is working on a schedule. If you wish to take the post of host/hostess for a bit, please contact Patsy at paptjp@aol.com Hours for the room will be posted later.

Here are photos we might call “Cruisin’ on the River”—the San Antonio river, taken by Patsy Hatch from a river barge at our last reunion in 2011.

Not far from our hotel                                             Arneson River Theater

Art under the bridge

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