Greetings Maroon Devils,
I am publishing three days early this month because on the 20th
Margaret and I will be roaming in the sand dunes at Myrtle Beach. You know
how it is when folks our age go to the beach! The bathing suits stay home and comfortable walking shoes are packed in the
bags along with some good reading material. We have not been to the beach together since we married five years ago and we
are looking forward to a short sabbatical—a four-day, three-night get-a way at one of the south’s most popular
tourists attractions. If any of you happen to find yourself in the area between Wednesday and Sunday give
me a call on my cell phone at 864-230-4962, and perhaps we can break some bread together. Other than roam
on the beach, walk-a-bout town, catch a show, sleep and read, we plan to eat some good sea food at Calabash where we are meeting
Syvone Eason Goodman (LEHS Class of 60 and an old Beaverdam friend) and my first cousin, Barbara Pack Holcombe (LEHS Class
of 61) for lunch on Thursday. We will return Saturday afternoon as Margaret has to play the organ and piano
for church Sunday morning.
What better way to start a newsletter than by
talking about the weather? For
sure, classmate John Price up in Madison, CT does not have a corner on all of the cold weather this winter. Classmate Jo Ann Chandley Elliott in Candler,
NC (that’s half way between Canton and Asheville folks for those of you who might have forgotten) says she wishes it
would snow several inches if it going to snow rather than leave just a dusting of the stuff on the ground every other day
which only makes driving hazardous. Jo Ann still teaches part time at the local Tech College in Asheville and has too many
teacher work days where students have been absent from class because of bad weather up in the hills surrounding Asheville.
However, after a low of 20 degrees here in Greenville last evening
(2/5) today is bright and sunny with the temperature sitting at 62 degrees. Go figure.
• • • Bits & Pieces of Maroon Devil News • • •
Classmate Gary Scott Announces Retirement…
Gary Scott who lives in
Charlotte, NC and is
still engaged in the corporate world of banking, and who says he is working on his final project for BB&T, is at long
last announcing his retirement. Gary sent an e-mail stating, I have set my retirement for
May 31st, and as soon as I can sell my Condo, I'm heading for the `Hills’. Gary is returning to Asheville
where he says, according to his personal bio, he can spend more time with his “sweetie”. Gary, retirement will be the biggest and best project you ever achieved. (gscott@bbandt.com)
Maroon Devil Classmate, Charlie Pruitt of Metro Atlanta, GA
sends New Year greetings to all his classmates
and wishes for everyone to be aware he has a new e-mail address. You may now reach Charlie at (cpruett33@att.net).
I received a nice phone call from Classmate Brian
Roberts who lives in Tulsa Oklahoma. Many of you will
remember Brian from the 10th grade. Brian did not graduate with us because his family left Asheville in the summer of 56 and moved to Miami, Florida. Brian told me he was so home sick for his friends in the
mountains he ran away from home in the 11th grade and started hitchhiking to Asheville. He got as far as Jacksonville and realized
he was only making matters worse so he crossed the highway and stared hitchhiking back down Highway #1 where his parents welcomed
him home. Like Shirley McDonald Hedrick who was looking
for LEHS and David Millard year books, Brian too was hoping to find some year books to replace the books he lost years ago.
I was able to copy and send to both Brian and Shirley the 1954/55 David Millard “Bagpipe” year book—the
year the Class of 58 were ninth graders at David Millard. If anyone has 56-58 annuals from LEHS they wish
to share with Shirley or Brian please let this editor know.
Classmate Don Printz and his wife, Debbie, will be in Greenville in March attending a three day seminar
sponsored by the Presbyterian Church PCA who have recently opened a new seminary in Taylor’s, SC, just up the road a
piece. Both Margaret and I are Presbyterians and knowing such, Don extended an invitation for us to join him and Debbie at
the seminar. I have enrolled in a care-giving class for the month of March and will not be able to attend the seminar with
Don and Debbie but we will try to break some bread with them at one of Greenville’s many great restaurants
when they are in town.
Gathering with the Class of 57… Three members of the Class of 58 joined twelve members of the Class of 57 for dinner
at TGI Fridays in Biltmore on Tuesday, January 27. Along with Class of 58 members George Holmes and
Elaine McPherson with husband, Cliff Cole, Margaret and I enjoyed a wonderful evening “catching-up and reconnecting
“with former LEHS Maroons whom we knew from “back then”. Those Class
of 57 Maroons in attendance were host, Cliff Mashburn, Keith Nelon, Diane Chambers Pemberton, Charles Pfaff, Dawn
Early Vaughn, William “Bill” Clark & wife Barbara, Betty Burnette Collins,
Peggy Guest Totherow, Gordon Roberts, David Messer, Jamie Mulvey, and Eleanor Buckner Grant. Diane Chambers Pemberton recently
moved to Mars Hill, NC after living in Greenville, SC for a year. While Diane lived in Greenville, Margaret and I enjoyed having lunch with her on a couple of
occasions.
It was great to see and
talk with George Holmes whom I had not seen since the 99 millennium reunion. George, who spends winters
in Cullowhee, NC told me he was unable to attend our 50th class reunion
because he spent last summer remodeling his 150 year old house in Hudson, Michigan.
George recalled traveling all the way to Oregon after graduating from high school with Gus Donnelly and Skip
Redmond. Gus owned a nifty little 1931 Ford “Hot-Rod” coupe and George said they took turns ridding in the rumble
seat all the way to Oregon where they worked a little now and then and mostly “hung out” for the summer. (Morgan
Pritchard, do you still remember what a rumble seat is?) (SHOMAN32@aol.com)
Speaking of Morgan
Pritchard, Morgan said he traded his turquoise and white “55 chevy” we all saw at the reunion parked
in front of the school for another red pickup truck. What is that old saying about not taking the country
out of the boy or the boy out of the country? Well, you know what I mean.
• • • Thanks
Jo Ann Chandley Elliott & Becky Denton Lawrence • • •
Jo
Ann and Becky recently mailed articles to me from The Asheville Citizen Time’s written by Visiting Our
Past news paper columnist, Rob Neufeld. The article, Joseph Rice, Legendary Bison Killer, Settled on Bull Creek,
was written about my g.g.g.g grand father, Joseph Marion Rice (1765-1850) about whom I had also written. Reading about my fore bearer from another perspective was very interesting indeed. Yet, more interesting was the fact
Neufeld quoted three times from my book, Bits of Beaverdam, A History of A Valley and Its People. I was honored to
learn a writer of notoriety used my humble material to write and publish his widely read material. My book is a history of
Beaverdam Valley and its people and the Rice Family is featured prominently in the book. (RNueufeld@charter.net)
E-mails from classmates, Anne Cole Keast, Lynette Kelly Ames, Jennie Lazenby Padgett,
Jo Ann Chandley Elliott, Shirley McDonald Hedrick, Tom Hatcher, George Holmes, Elaine McPherson Cole, Paul
Sheldrick, Francis Bruce Williamson, Morgan Pritchard, George Couch, Gary Scott, Vera Mitchell, Sally McCanless, Ken Cooper,
Becky Atkinson Lawrence, Suzanne Jacobs Gershen, Patsy Farmer Jones, Roslyn Cooley Lewis, Bob Sevier, Tom Tomlin, Jane Harrell,
Jack Romine, Sandy Sezer Rau, John Price, Loretta Jarvis Sanders, Don Printz and phone calls from Ken Cooper, Jo Ann Dalton
Vaughn, Brian Roberts and Barbara Hall Marsh offering encouragement and support are always greatly appreciated. Keep
them coming folks. I would like to add, if you receive the newsletter by US Mail and enjoy reading it, please let your sender
know how much you appreciate his/her effort. We have eleven (11) classmate volunteers sending 44 newsletters to those who
do not have e-mail or PCs.
• • • An Expression
of Gratitude from Cissy Brown Hampton • • •
Dear Classmates,
I would like to thank each of you for your prayers, personal notes, cards and
e-mails expressing your condolences. They have warmed my heart and those of my family. Tom realized the importance of the class reunion and felt deeply the moments he had with those of
you he talked with. He had just learned of his disease and had his first radiation treatment two days prior
to the reunion. As we all know there was
not enough time to spend with each of you. I thank the committee for all their hard work and Rex for his
commitment to the reunion and to his continuing to keep us all “together”. The reunion proved
to be more important than many of us may have realized. We touch each other’s
lives at points in time never realizing what might have been had we never met nor what may lie ahead at any given moment.
My profound thanks and bless each of you. Cissy Hampton (Josephine Loretta Brown Hampton) 1958 (thampton@portbridge.com)
•
• • Remember Classmate Melvin Gaddy • • •
A long time friend from the LEHS Class of 1960, Syvone Eason Goodman of Wilmington, NC sent an e-mail informing
me the son of classmate Melvin Gaddy Sr., Melvin Gaddy Jr., passed away on December 16, 2008. Melvin Jr. lived in Greenville, SC and was born in 1962. He was only 46 at the time of his passing. Classmate Melvin Sr. died
in 1983 from a brain aneurysm at age 43. Melvin Sr. was working with the 25th reunion planning committee at the
time of his untimely death and the reunion directory was dedicated to his memory. Syvone found Melvin Jr’s photo on
Facebook and said he strongly resembles his Dad. She has communicated with Melvin III who also lives
in Greenville. Melvin Sr. was greatly responsible for building the business,
Tops For Shoes, located on the corner of Lexington
and College Streets in Asheville. The majority of males from the class of 58 will remember Melvin’s
“pea green” 1940 Ford Coupe. It was hot! (syvone@earthlink.net)
• • • Regional Class Gatherings • • •
I’m happy to report one more member of the Class of 58 has stepped forward and is willing to put forth
the effort to gather LEHS Alumni in her region of the country. Shirley McDonald Hedrick, who lives in Knoxville,
Tennessee, has the names of LEHS Alumni from the Classes of 1957 through 1960 who live within a short driving
distance of Knoxville. Shirley is planning to contact those classmates about a gathering.
Thanks Shirley! We
now have four geographic areas holding gatherings or are planning to hold gatherings. The “Fab Four” is still
gathering in the Dallas area of Texas and hopefully will increase their ranks soon to include others.
Sally McCanless is working with some of the Asheville Alumni to have regular gatherings, and our Alumni gathering for
the Upstate area of SC now includes 16 Maroon Devils from the Classes of 57 through 61. A February 14th,
Valentine breakfast is planned for the Upstate Devils. Including spouses, there will be 22 Maroons attending the breakfast.
(A report of that gathering will follow at the end of the newsletter as today is 2/10.) Please contact Rex Redmon, your editor,
if you are willing to rendezvous a gathering and you will be furnished a list of names of former Maroon Devils who live in
your area. The list of names is taken from the 1999 Millennium reunion directory. Barbara Hall Morris called to remind me to include the Low country of SC in my regional planning. Barbara
lives in Smoaks, SC and unfortunately, there are not that many classmates or former
Alumni living in the Low Country as the down-state area of SC is known. However a short list of those few Maroon Devils living
in the Low Country is available for anyone interested in gathering Maroons from that part of the world.
• • • Upstate Maroon Alumni Gather to Reconnect
• • •
Eleven Alumni from LEHS who live in the Upstate from the Classes of 57-60 shared a
Valentine Breakfast at one of Greenville’s most popular morning gathering spots on Saturday the
14th. Alumni who reconnected at the The Country Ham House were Kay Nelson Strange (57) and husband,
J.C.; Kaye Reinhardt Walker (57), and daughter Paula Walker; Jo Anne Dalton Vaughn (58); Jennie Lazenby Padgett (58), and
husband Al; Sidney Mitchell (58), and wife Vera; Morgan Pritchad (58), and wife Jerri; Margaret and me; Bill Gardner (59);
Bo DeLoach (59), and wife Patti; Larry Mucci (59), and Mrs. Mucci; and Kathryn Algary
(60).
Anne Ingle Boone (57) and Becky Denton Lawrence (58) were ill with
bad colds and had to cancel at the last minute. We received regrets from Patty Blanton Conrad (57); Pat Alexander Abee (61),
and husband Jerry (62); Ken Cooper (58); and B.L. Coleman (58), all who were unable to attend this particular gathering.
Everyone
brought a Valentine gift for some one of the same gender and after pigging out on some of the finest country ham, eggs, grits
and hot coffee in the Carolinas, twenty people took turns selecting a gift. I will leave it to your imagination
as to which gift Morgan Pritchard took home. Bill Gardner drew the winning number for the door prize—a
small stuffed Maroon Devil. Everyone attending our Valentine Gathering had a wonderful time. It was fun catching up with Bo
DeLoach, Kay Nelson, Kay Reinhardt, Kathryn Algary, Larry Mucci and Bill Gardner. Our gathering lasted
a good two and a half hours.
The Upstate Alumni group decided to plan three more events this year for the LEHS Alumni living in
the Upstate. Tentatively on May 30th we plan to gather at Al and Jennie Lazenby Padgett’s house in Spartanburg for a back yard picnic/cookout followed with a similar event in the Fall at the home of Sidney and
Vera Mitchell in Greenville. Early December will find us gathered at a favorite watering hole and eatery
for a Christmas party and meal. Of course there will have to be some planning lunches along the way as at least ten Alumni
have volunteered to lend a hand with planning the festivities.
You too can have events in your area of the country. All it takes is a little
initiative, imagination and a desire to reconnect with former LEHS Alumni. Last months newsletter listed some geographic regions
with classmate names listed in those regions. The regions only need a leader—who will come forth in those regions?
• • • Class of 58 Four Day-Three Night
Getaway for Autumn • • •
An announcement of a suggested Class of 58 four day-three night getaway in Asheville in the Autumn
of 2009 appeared in the January issue of Maroon and Black Threads did create some interest in such
an event. I personally heard from nine (9) classmates scattered across the country who definitely were
interested in attending such an event. However, nine people (18 with spouses) do not make a gathering of this magnitude possible.
I was hoping for at least fifty (50) classmates to respond. So, for the benefit of the 211 of you who read the newsletter
last month, I want to again solicit your interest for such an event. I am repeating the article printed
in January’s newsletter and I would like for everyone to respond, yea or nay—regardless of which LEHS Class you
attended. I am reprinting the article to refresh your memory.
Please respond today to redhrex13@aol.com or (864) 284-6360!!!
If,
and I use the word, if, very cautiously, If there were any complaints with regard to our 50th Class Reunion, those complains were, “There was simply not enough time to visit”. “The weekend passed by
so quickly”. “I wish we had more time to visit with each other”. Those are statements I have read over and
over, time and time, again and again.
What if? What if you had the opportunity to visit with your classmates again, and not too far in the distant future?
With the passing of classmates Pat Owens and Tom Hampton since our 50th Reunion, my wheels got to turning. Why wait five years before we gather again? At least, give those classmates
who wish to see each other again, before 5 years passes, an opportunity to do so and see how many will be interested. (If only 9 are interested
so be it, we will wait til 2013).
Here is the proposal for your consideration! I have contacted
the Crown Plaza Resort in Asheville (Formerly
The Holiday Inn Resort behind Westgate). I asked The Crown Plaza for a price on a Four Day and Three Night “Getaway” beginning on a weekday night (including
Sunday night) and ending on a weekday night. For instance, Sunday night thru Wednesday morning, or Monday night through Thursday
morning, or Tuesday night through Friday morning. That is Four Days and three night’s folks of “reconnecting”.
•The cost for a single person is $533.13 including breakfast
and dinner each day.
•For couples the cost $649.26 including breakfast and dinner each day.
•For those living in Asheville and
want to share breakfast and dinner with everyone, the total costs would be $116.13 for a single person and $232.26 for couples
for three days, or $12.90 for breakfast and $25.82 for dinner. Menu is available upon request.
The prices do include gratuity
and food tax but does not include room tax.
I am not suggesting a reunion format at all, but a common place and time for everyone interested
to reconnect as a class and be together in a setting where we will have plenty of time and opportunity to visit for as long
as we like. What say you?
The Crown Plaza has gathering rooms, a nine hole golf course, tennis courts, swimming pool, exercise
rooms, and they are only fifteen minutes from down town Asheville. I am looking at September of 09. If we choose October, when the leaves are in full color, the cost
would be $10.00 more per night per person for occupancy only. Food costs remain the same for those only wanting to have meals.
We can arrange for tours as well.
There you have it. A Four Day, Three Night opportunity to gather
again as classmates and “catch up” with those classmates you missed last September. How many
of you are interested and how many would attend? Please let me know your feelings about such a gathering right away.
If you are reading this newsletter please respond to me now with regard to the above information!!! Redhrex13@aol.com or phone me at 864-284-6360.
And with that bit of information I will bring this month’s newsletter to a close. Send an e-mail!
Let your classmates know what you have been doing that is exciting since we gathered in September. Even though they could
not gather with us last Fall, Sandy Setzer Rau and Anne Cole Keast wrote to say hello and offer encouragement to keep the
news letter going until they can gather with us at a later date.
As I mentioned earlier, the Class of 58 website had 254 hits
(as of 2/17) since January 20 when I published Issue #I of 2009. Until March, take care and
do a good deed for someone! Remember those classmates in prayer whose health is poor as there are several. Also pray for our
country that it may soon recover from the recession which we face and also for its leaders as they attempt to reconcile all
the challenges our nation faces, both at home and abroad.
Cheers…Rex
The Maroon
Devil Long may he live!!!!
