Message Forum

To those who took the photos and creasted the presientation gets a big thank you!! I know it took a lot of time, but it was fun to see them and to see if I recognized anyone. (Very few...)

Trish Henderson

03/31/20 09:21 PM

#55

Kathie Procopio (Goodman)

I am writing to respond to Jerre Jo's recommendation of a podcast with Dr. Ben Carson and Patricia Durham's commentary about that. While I know that Jerre's motivation was to provide some solace and support to all of us in the Class of 1962 at this very challenging time, I find the choice to air the views of a cabinet secretary in the Donald Trump administration to be more of a distraction than a comfort.

We as a group hold very indivdual philosophies about political life, religion, societal issues in general. Dr. Carson is not only Secretary of HUD in a very divisive administration, he also is a former Republican Presidential candidate. Therefore, his views are not entirely objective. His discussion about the value of home ownership at the present time is off point when we are coping with the most serious pandemic since the plague. Fursthermore I find it insensitive for him to promote home ownership when many in our country cannot afford to buy their own home.

The suggestion that Jerre made, that we might have a dialogue as a class about appropriate messages to post on this website. I would be interested to hear from other alumni/alumnae about what types of material they would like for us to discuss or share online.

Kathie Procopio Goodman

04/01/20 11:08 AM

#56

Strode Weaver

Thank you Kathie and Patricia for your suggestions that we try our best to keep the class web site and shared communication as apolitical as possible to avoid adding to the stress that all of us are facing in these tough times. I would rather see messages that share those little personal joys that make our days bearable.

So I will start. Here is the story that Judy and I received in the mail from our third grade granddaughter in the Seattle area: (as written): This is a story that is varry silly! - The Silly dragon - There is a dragon in a cave. That People think is scary but rilly the dragon is silly! He has a pet monkey that he tekals all the time! the dragon's name is Bob. the monkey's name is monkey. Bob only eats spagatii. Of corse monkey eats only spagatii too. Oh Ya I forgot to tell you that thare is no gravaty in Bob's and monkey's cave. oh so how do thay walk? Oh silly theay don't walk the flote. Oh Bye I gess that was the end. Hope you find something every single day to put a smile on you face and feel good about. Wishing all good health. Strode Weaver

04/02/20 02:06 AM

#57

Mike Huston

My dear Jerre, thank you for suggesting the item by Dr. Ben Carson to provide facts and encouragement to others. I am certain that his words were of great value to many of us.

If I were to emphasize anything that Dr. Carson said it would be the ". . . Godly principles of loving your fellow man, (and) caring about your neighbor . . ." In my words, find a need and then fill that need. There are many ways to help others if only by donating to local food pantries, Mobile Meals, or safe houses for women. Donations can also be made with our time in teaching or tutoring students remotely or assisting teachers in their online effort since this method is new to most of them.

If you would like to share anything in the future on any subject, please do so whether it is about politics, Persian cats or your favorite pickle recipe. Do not feel that you should muzzle yourself if a few are not interested in a particular subject. Surely each of us is wise enough to select the words that are of interest for ourselves without being directed otherwise.

I appreciate all of the work that you have done for the Class of 1962 over the years. Your effort has far exceeded what many of us have done. I look forward to reading anything that you care to share in the future. We may find that we have even more in common than we realized.

04/02/20 10:53 AM

#58

Linda Knowles (White)

Thank you, Mike Houston. I have been wanting to respond, but have struggled with finding words, you managed to say what I have been feeling. I am not a political animal, but am confident that I am able read and make decisions about issues, peoples standings on issues etc.

Personally, I would prefer the aforementioned “pickle recipe” idea, but I am willing to read what others have to say. I don’t have to agree or disagree, I can just go use my time looking for the pickle recipe! Jerry has been the glue holding us all together. What a job she has done.

This post is a first for me, but just had to put in my two cents.

Linda Knowles White

04/02/20 12:56 PM

#59

Linda Peacher (Rhodes)

Thank you for your post, Mike. I am in total agreement with everything you said. Jerre, you have done such an outstanding job keeping our class connected. I certainly appreciate it. This is my first post too, but I too feel as Mike does.

Linda Peacher Rhodes

04/03/20 09:02 AM

#60

David Tieman

I find the best FB groups to be those that have administrators that keep the threads on topic. The topic at this site (and this email list) is WGHS 1962. I enjoy information about my classmates and their reminiscences of or updates on those years in WG. I do not think that this is the place for sharing other information. I believe that before posting, the poster should ask, Why is this being sent specifically to WGHS '62? If you want to solicit donations for a WGHS 62 scholarship fund, this is a good place to do it; if you want to solicit donation for Alzheimer's research, this is probably not the place to do it. If you want to recommend something written by a classmate, have at it; if you want to recommend something because you think it is generally interesting or important, do it elsewhere.

My 2 cents.

dave

04/03/20 11:26 AM

#61

Nancy Self (Lindisfarne)

Dear All - Hi - This is my first post too!! done giving enormous thanks to Jerre for keeping us all in touch so heroically over the long haul. I'm with Mike in this conversation. Pace Dave, the epidemic has changed everything radically, and is absolutely relevant to us as the class of 1962 because - hey - unfortunately we're now all oldies and all at risk.

Right now I'm writing from home in Oxford in the UK, but for the past two years, my partner, Jonathan and I have been back living in the States looking after my lovely step-father. With the coming of the epidemic, we've been trying to make sense of what has been happening in both countries. Jonathan has been writing regular columns for The Ecologist, with a readership which is about half and half, Brits and Americans. His 'Ventilator-Gate' has just appeared . I suggest that If you're going to read one thing on the virus today, you might have a look at this. It is relevant to all of us in both countries and, of course, around the globe.

Take care of yourselves and keep safe. xxNancy (Self) Lindisfarne

'If you are vulnerable, like me, the information in this article may be terrifying. But this information is crucial if you and those you love are to stay safe.'

https://theecologist.org/2020/apr/03/ventilator-gate

04/08/20 10:06 AM

#62

Kathie Procopio (Goodman)

Thank you, Nancy Self Lindisfarne, for the very powerful--and factual--article written by your partner, Jonathan Peale. And many thanks to Strode and Judy Weaver for deciding that a post about a charming story written by their granddaughter is uplifting to all of us. This pandemic is frigntening, overwhelming and numbing, all at the same time. Sheltering in place here in NY is very difficult, but necessary. The side effects can include deep anxiety, panic at times about difficulty in finding necessary items and impatience with those who are closest to us. This place for posting is not meant to raise conflict among our diverse classmates. While most of us don't regularly log in or post, the one good thing about this crisis is that it can pull us together--with all of our associations.

10/15/20 11:45 AM

#63

John Ross Pope

The locking system on my car makes this “pinging” sound when it goes on or off and curiously enough it is the same “pinging” sound which my mobile phone makes when there is a message or WhatsApp, or email. It sounded yesterday to tell me that a mail had arrived from none-other than Webster Groves High School. It is some alumni web board which I do not even remember sighing up for but there it was posting a “happy trails to you” memorial message of someone who had passed on, etc, etc, etc…. So the files draws in the back of my brain all fly open and smack against my frontal lobe dumping troves of memory burps of times very much gone bye – almost 60 years.

I graduated in’62 and “escaped” to Chicago, Switzerland, Fort Knox , Washington DC, Phoenix, New York, Brazil, and now Chile (10 years away from WG and 50 from the USA) – all new adventures curbing any recollections I could have had of what was supposed to be so called formidable years. Somethings have stuck now that I try to dig deeper, to reminisce on what was.

Fortnightly’s (so very de regueur!), sock-hops, Miss Rep (music and singing still a huge part of my life, swimming (still in waterbodies all over the world). And two teachers: one women who always mono-chromed her clothes – everything always the same color, top to bottom and strangely enough used to shave away the hairs on her arms, and another, an English teacher who accused me of plagiarism in a short story I had written – call in my parents to unjustly reprimand me (what a twit he was!).

There are just three people which whom I am still in contact. Two have escaped to Oregon and one to Texas. I wonder how I use to get home from school when book bags or backpacks still had not been invented. I try to remember the route home, how long it took to walk, what did I do if it rained or snowed, did I have a friend to walk with – pieces of “treasure” which stay squashed in the back of the file.

I have no real reason to revisit WG or STL, since there is no family remaining in that area – strange to think “no more family” after it having been almost a household word for so many years. But c’est la vive.

So WGHS still exists and still continues and hopefully still produces formidable entities for the future. I guess I am who I am because I am an a “Statesman”

10/16/20 10:55 AM

#64

Mike Mills

My pinging chime went off too. I re-read all the old posts about Webster Groves. Walter Weir's, the odd rocks at the colorful Pevely fountain, etc. I remember the hoods hung out in front of Kagels drug store. I also recall when they put the "electric eye" in the doors at Bettendorf's supermarket across from Walter Weir's. We were about 10. We'd bike up there and go in and out, back and forth, until the manager would run us off. It didn't hurt that Danny Wilder's mother worked in the bakery and would sneak us treats. And thanks to several of you for bring up the Dairy Swirl, or "John's", where we drove through and parked eight or nine times all Friday night. Remember also those proms? Awkward at first and then they got better. John says he doesn't quite remember how he got back and forth to school. I do. Walking and then bikes to Goodall and Hixson. Then one old car and then another to Webster High, sometimes picking up Jim Jones and Buddy Kreitz, if a car was running and we could make the early phone connections. I also remember the barber shop at Lockwood and Gore, down at the bottom of the stairway from the upper parking lot. A person had to get his flat top there. And the pool at 40 acres. A bunch of us would sneak in there at night when Tom Zorumski was the night watchman.
I went to Washington U for undergrad and graduate school. Then I worked for almost 30 years in DC for the Federal Government as a psychologist. I've been living in New Hampshire for 20 years. My younger sister had moved here in 1970 with several friends from Webster to live in a commune in Vermont (remember that era?) She stayed in the area and the rest of my family migrated here over the years. I've been back to Webster a few times over the years. A lot looks the same including my old house at 463 Florence Ave. Mike Mills

01/06/21 09:43 AM

#65

Helen Murrill (Richards)

I have just finished perusing the messages in the Forum and I am glad I did. Most were informative and elucidating and I love hearing from so many of you. I have fond memories of my time at Webby G. H.S. and I've been able to connect with several of you on Facebook, emails, phone calls, and snail mail.

I pray that you are all staying well during this pandemic ~ wear your masks, stay safe and don't travel. I'm dreading the results of people traveling during the Holidays. San Antonio's numbers are off the charts. I'm tired of staying home, but I certainly don't want Covid either. We've had two members of our church die from this wretched disease within a week of each other.

A few of you know this, but my stupid, dumb breast cancer (that's actually a name for a Facebook support group!) came back last February. I had surgery to remove the tumor, then four chemo sessions, three weeks apart, in June, July and August. Yes, I kicked cancer to the curb, again!

Steve (class of '61) and I still live in San Antonio, Texas (I would never have believed we'd become Texans!). Well, we still consider ourselves Missouri natives and don't care for the saying down here ~ "I may not have been born in Texas, but got here as soon as I could." Maybe Don Beeler feels differently; he lives in San Antonio too. One of our daughters and her family live in Springfield and we used to visit frequently ~ maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas of 2021?

Thanks for your patience in reading my ramblings.

04/12/21 10:29 AM

#66

John Ross Pope

Lynn Bemis Hoffman:

Lynn, good luck. It is just a cup of tea. I have done it 3 times, transforming myself into somewhat of a bionic man – S5 to L2. Truly no problem. Up and walking the day after the interventions, biking a fortnight later, but no equestrian sport =( . The best “no more” is no more pain and no more drugs. The worst no more” is no money (for a new car, swimming pool, tennis court, trip to Tahiti) – just kidding, the insurance covered it all, Yea! Be of good cheer.

05/21/21 04:32 PM

#67

John Ross Pope

I have just received a mail regarding the 60th anniversary of our WGHS class from “Jerre / Eric Bacon”.

As related in a past posting, I have been absent from STL since leaving high school, 50 years of which, residing in Brazil and now in Chile. The same day the 60^th Reunion Survey arrived the BBC telecasted worldwide their special report on the US police force with the worst record for civilian deaths, basically among the black community, in Saint Louis.: https://youtu.be/G-tK2n5Zgww

It was too hard to believe that the racial issue still permeates so violently within the Saint Louis population. Yes, 60 years ago, I grew up in a segregated environment, but that was long ago and not what I expect now to still be so prevalent.

The mail sent out wanted input as to the what-where-how this date should be celebrated, suggesting perhaps organized get-togethers or even a contribution made to the high school or to another charitable organization in name of the class.

I would like to recommend that whatever available funds that there might be, that they be donated to BLACK LIVES MATTER in solidarity and support of our class -- that just maybe changes can happen.

05/26/21 11:36 AM

#68

John Ross Pope

The web page is too full of insipid ads which only clutter and curtail an easy use. I am too old to be interesting in buying sexy underwear.

06/03/21 06:55 PM

#69

Eileen Taylor (Palsgrove)

May I please have my email address changed from eileenpalsgrove@comcast.net to eileenpalsgrove@icloud.com? I rarely go through the motions of connecting with my old comcast account but I would like to catch up with all of you. Here is my short version: I am a widow of almost 5 years after a wonderful 52 year marriage to my college sweetheart. From my 5 children (3 adopted), I have 7 grandchildren. 4 grandchildren are married. My 8th great grandchild was born two weeks ago and #9 is expected in September. I work as the Global Missions Coordinator for my church and still supervise student teachers for Trinity International University.

06/05/21 06:09 PM

#70

Jerre Wright (May)

Eileen Palsgrove - email update completed.....Jerre

08/03/21 03:38 PM

#71

Susan Reheis (Laccarino)

For all those who might enjoy a trip down memory lane, the 1966 documentary, "Growing up in Webster Groves," can be found at the following site: archive.org/details/sixteeninwebstergroves

Enjoy! Sue Reheis Iaccarino

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