Dave, my old e mail is still good but I prefer to begin using my alumni email which is a lifetime e mail from the University of Texas at Austin. It is aubreywhite@alumni.utexas.net. Also attaching a picture of Shirley and I which was taken this past June in Scotland- the Highlands. A beautiful country. And we certainly lucked out on the weather. We are trying to travel alot  more, primarily with the University of Texas "Flying Longhorns," our alumni group which travels all over the world. We have scheduled two trips for next year. One to Hawaii to visit with our niece and then with the Flying Longhorns to Provence and the French Riviera. Depends on my work load and I am getting some new startup programs. One of these relates to the Military Child and providing an enhanced infrastructure and virtual environment to address issues that the military child faces by transfer of the parent(s) and assignment of parent(s) to combat and non combat zones. I never realized all the issues and I thought I knew them as a former military brat and Father of a military brat. We will collaborate and then partner with the Military Child Education Coalition , non profit organization, which is attempting to develop an enhanced capability for linking counselors, students, parents, communities worldwide in support of the military child.

Abel is doing fine. Still "horsing" around with horses. By the way he really got a good deal on that small ranch of his which is just out side  Bucholtz, Texas. Our Dad is 84 and doing good. I make time to visit with him weekly. I had him in an oustanding  assisted living center in San Antonio after his stroke a few years ago.  He  got to doing so well that he  checked himself out. Still wants his independence and I totally understand that. Also, wants to be near my Mom who passed a few years back this December.

Finally I am still into Longhorn football. I was disappointed that Ohio State beat our team here in Austin. They showed all of us, in Texas, why they are the number one team in the country. By the way their band is also great.

Take care and my best to all,

Aubrey

(Editor's note:  According to Robyn, John is a rather private person, and loathe to talk about himself.  Hence, all of the above is posted at her insistence and under extreme duress for poor old John.  So, gang, it's payback time.  Robyn wants to know what John was like in school, and it's our duty to tell her.  Have we figured out who's gonna wear the pants in this family?)

Illinois?  Why?  I lived in Illinois when I worked for IBM as a Data Processing rep in the late sixties/early seventies.  I retired in Texas in '97 and moved to New Mexico, then Arizona, "double-dipping" the whole way. 

As you may or may not know, my first wife passed away, I remarried eight years ago, so eventually we ended up here.  Melinda was one of our principals in Farmington.  Her dad was 84, a widower and ill, so we needed to move here to help him.  Plus, several close family members lived in the general area and we wanted our (I adopted her) daughter to attend the University of Illinois.  If you haven't looked at out-of-state tuition lately you wouldn't fully understand.  In-state is very expensive, but out of state????

We contacted a good superintendent search firm and ended up here.  It's a small district, rural (about 15 miles north of Champaign in the cornfields) and completely different from anything I've ever done, but I really like it.  Low pressure, constant contact with kids and teachers, they pay me very well and we have a great School Board (which is the best part about the job).  Except for Melinda's dad dying shortly after we got here, it couldn't have worked out any better for us.  Kayla's a U of I freshman. 

At 64 I plan to work another six or seven years, probably right here.  I like the Midwest, but I do miss the Southwest after all those years.  My other two kids and my grand kids live in Farmington, NM, and Durango, Colorado, so I get back there several times a year, sometimes in conjunction with a consulting gig, which my Board allows me to do.  In fact, one of my colleagues and I were in El Paso doing a two day workshop for more than 200 principals and assistant principals just last week.

Actually, the whole thing is patterned after Permian High School in Odessa (they are also the Panthers with that same  stylized "P" for a logo).  We were in the next district over, so we did get thrashed by them early in the season most years and usually ended our season when we won district and bi-district -- which was frequently  -- with a loss to them in the second round of the playoffs.  We never beat Permian, but we did beat several of the other schools in the district, which at one time was called, "The Little Southwest Conference."  That's a reference to the old Southwest Conference which Texas, Arkansas, Rice, Tech, SMU, A&M, TCU, Baylor, etc, and was such a college power until the middle seventies.

I knew all the guys in the movie.  My high school competed against those kids in the year the movie depicted, though I was the principal by then.  One of the coaches from the staff depicted in the movie was actually the head coach that I hired at my last high school, and one of my players from the 70's when I coached, was an assistant on the staff of the 1988 team from the book and the movie.  If you haven't read the book, it's an easy, great read and is very truthful about Texas football.  Warts and all.  By the way, you do know how you get to be an administrator in Texas, don't you?  Two losing seasons and a Master's Degree.  That's almost too true to be funny.  I had never had a losing season, though.  I just got tired of it and all the down sides of what we did to kids to be successful in football.  There were many upsides, of course.

Coaching in a larger city like El Paso -- which has 18 large high schools -- wasn't the same situation the guy in the TV show faces, but it was similar.  There is incredible pressure and there are all kinds of pitfalls if you're not careful.  It got to the extent of people checking your trash cans for alcohol bottles (not a problem for me since I don't drink) and putting For Sale signs in your yard and parking a Mayflower van in the street in front of your house.  I had the for sale sign once.  Dodged the moving van.

Another example, we played our two biggest rivalry games in the Sun Bowl every year, drawing anywhere between 15,000 to 28,000 people to the game.  Isn't that amazing?  Our home field, which looked a lot like the one in the movie, seated 6,500, but that wasn't enough!  Says a lot about night life in El Paso on a Friday night, huh?  We commonly outdrew the UTEP Miners who were pretty awful back then.  But still, it does not compare to the pressure and expectations in one of those towns of 10-12,000 people with one high school "in the "oil patch" where fathers get great jobs in the oil business if they move to Odessa and bring their stud son with them. 

Those kids know the offense and defense in the fifth grade.  By junior high they know who the starters in high school will be!  That's what they're depicting in the TV show.  What they are trying to portray is very, very real...unfortunately.  I did it for 14 years and it was like nothing I could fully describe to you, and we were not that much of a high pressure school.  Pressure, pushy boosters (about 150 of them showed up for booster club every Monday night to see the film and tell us what we did wrong), but not like some places.  The other issue in the book is the racial issue.  That's another whole story out in Redneckville.

Coaching in Texas creates incredible highs, but some very low lows.  You are a celebrity in a very real sense (locally).  Football coaching's a year-round thing at the successful programs like those in the movie/TV show and -- to a somewhat lesser extent -- that was the case at our program at Eastwood High School.  The guy who plays the head coach in the TV show is far too nice a guy!  Most of them are callous and not so nice.

There's another movie called "Varsity Blues" that is the thinly-veiled life story of Gordon Wood, a Texas coaching legend at Brownwood.  Wood was one of those guys the stadium is named after while he's still the coach.  There's a life size statue of him at the main gate to the field.  I'm not kidding. 

Thanks for your note.  Hope you didn't mind the short treatise on Texas football.

Shaw has served as an elementary, middle school and high school principal.  He has been an assistant superintendent of schools since 1997 in New Mexico , Arizona and Nevada .  He is currently the superintendent of the Gifford School District in Gifford , Illinois .   

Montwood High School , a school of more than three thousand students in El Paso , Texas , where Shaw was principal, received the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award for outstanding public schools, as well as being named one of the original Texas Mentor Schools.  The school was known for its numerous innovative programs and high student success rates.  Shaw was a state finalist for Texas Principal of the Year and was named Principal of the Year by several other educational organizations.  He was recently inducted into the Montwood High School Ring of Honor as the charter inductee.  He has been published in various educational journals and was a contributing editor to the book Effective Questioning Techniques by Dr. Ivan G. Hannel.  

Shaw is married to Melinda, a former special education teacher, elementary counselor and middle school administrator.  Their 18-year old daughter, Kayla, attends the University of Illinois studying to be a Speech/Language Pathologist.  

Art’s oldest daughter, Amy, is a special education teacher in Farmington , New Mexico .  Kristy, his middle daughter, is studying to be a music teacher at San Juan College in Farmington .

Yes, I am retired (still), but am busier than a one-armed paper hanger.  I’m keeping company with a very nice man … John and I have known each other for 20+ years.  He and his wife Margaret and my Bob and I were in the same Marriage Encounter sharing group.  Margaret died 7 months before my Bob and we had John for dinner several times a week after Margaret passed.  Well, John decided to ‘help me through’ the worst of it by going out to dinner and generally being there to talk and listen.  We decided life was too short to waste on being alone so we now share his house.  He has 2 married sons and I have 2 married sons and one daughter, as well as 9 grandchildren.  His first grandchild is due April 2007 so he has been a ‘grandpa in training’ with mine.  Our children get along well with each other and are very happy for us.  My sons especially feel like it is the best thing to happen for me.  So life can be good again.   

I can’t ever remarry because I would loose my military retirement benefits, so my family and his family are all OK with it.  I keep busy with stuff around here (as does John) and we routinely take days off (we’re both retired) and go fishing or whatever.  The days fill up before we know it.  We’re planning a fishing trip next Saturday to Padre Island for a week.  I’m excited because I’ve never done that kind of fishing.  My Bob didn’t like to fish and so I never went either.  However, John loves to fish and I’ve discovered I love it too.  I’ve actually gotten quite good at it, too.  J  I knit and crochet heirloom afghans for family and for raffles at church, as well as volunteer in the office at church.  

I have been retired for the past five years and love it. I do attend the local community college part time, trying to earn an AS degree in accounting. Thought I wanted to do taxes part time, but I was cured of the idea. I am keeping my nursing license current if there should be a need to return to that field.

ERIC ROBERTS ('68): EROBERTS.IE72@GTALUMNI.ORG 
SHANNON ROBERTS ('65): CSROBERTS@CFL.RR.COM 
CAROLYN ROBERTS (their mom): MCMROBERTS@JUNO.COM 

JUDY GROSSWILER Roybal ('63): JUDYROYBAL@PEOPLEPC.COM
LEE MEEKER Albers ('62): ALBERSL@EDMONDS.WEDNET.EDU
PETE BRITT ('56): P_P_BRITT@EARTHLINK.NET 
JANE COGGINS ZIBELIN ('60): JANEZIB@AOL.COM 
JOE CONDRILL ('73): JOEOSBPRES@SBCGLOBAL.NET 

I live in Waterloo, Iowa with my wife of 36 years, Barbara (Bradley) Cardamon.  We are both retired public school teachers. 

I taught the visual arts for 30 years at both public high schools in Waterloo.  I was the department head at East High School for 23 years and taught all the two-dimensional arts (drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, graphics) as well as several three-dimensional and crafts courses.  I spent three of those years as a part time District quasi-administrator, managing a state program on staff training.

My wife deserves sainthood, having completed her 30 years of teaching in Special Education, the last 15 or 18 at the Middle School level.  She also taught lower elementary school in Waterloo and Los Angeles.

We have two grown daughters.  Sarah (Cardamon) Richter, wife of Jason Richter, lives in Shoreview, Minnesota with our first grandson, Samuel.  Torrey Beth Cardamon is a career woman living in Chicago.

As far as a blurb goes, my interest in motorcycling goes all the way back to our days in Orleans.  Only there it was a 50 cc Peugeot moped.  Essentially, I rode a motorcycle in college and during some of my various military assignments (when I was stationed long enough to get one, and it made sense).  After I retired from the Army in '91, my wife suggested that I needed a hobby.  At the time, I owned a Honda CB 750, and regularly used to take various motorcycle rider-training classes, here in Northern VA, at NVCC.  In 1992, one of the instructors I had recognized me from previous classes I took and asked me why instead of just taking classes that didn't become a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) instructor and teach them-so I did in 1993.  Since then I've taught pretty much all throughout the northern part of the state. 

Currently, I'm the site coordinator for the MSF rider-training program at Lord Fairfax Community College in Middletown, VA-right where I-81 and I-66 meet.  I teach out there every couple of weekends for the nine months we have classes.  I have 22 other instructors, 17 motorcycles, and more associated equipment than I know what to do with.  We typically run thru 750 students a year, and it's about a $100K a year business for the college.  I mainly do it to keep up my own riding skills (we're not spring chickens anymore), but also to make sure that novice riders start out with the basic physical and mental skills they need to become safe, responsible, riders.  //  LARRY

Hello To All Of You,

Forgive the shotgun email back to you but we are limited to the time on the computer and we have to wait in line to use it.  Hopefully my laptop will arrive soon and I can email away to each of you.  I want to thank you for remembering me at the reunion. I had to take some time and look at all of you in the pictures on the web site.  I wish I could have been there. You really looked like you all were having a great time.  I send my love to you all and you all look marvelous!!!!! Thank you again for wearing my name at the reunion.  God bless you all.  stay in touch. From the Tallil Army and Air Force Base near Nasiriyah, Iraq this is Chuck Wise signing off.

The Trojan Warrior!!!!!!!!!!

Chuck Wise (Class of '64)

Hello To All My OHS Family,  From Tallil Air Base in Nasiriyah, Iraq.  I am wishing you all a happy reunion.  Wish I could be with all of you but I had to do another tour in Iraq. Enjoy yourselves and I will see you next time.  From me and all the Coalition Forces in Iraq, God bless you all!!!!       Chuck Wise '64

Quick bio:  Married to Tom Cottingham nearly 40 years;  2 sons, Tracy
Thomas,IV and Christopher;  2 grandchildren, Quint (Tracy Thomas V) and
Caroline--both perfectly wonderful!!

We've lived in North Carolina, Germany, New York, Alabama and home again
to North Carolina, making life-long friends along the way.  We've been
very fortunate!

Spent my working years as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, working
with sick, injured or developmentally disabled or delayed
children---very rewarding!  Currently volunteering in inner-city
schools working with kindergarten to third graders.  Also very
rewarding!

Tom is a lawyer, and when he's not working, we enjoy traveling,
especially to Europe, but have not made it back to Orleans.  (We're not
proud; we'll go nearly anywhere to see friends or attend reunions!)

Interesting note:  We live three houses away from Pat (Patty Ludwig)
Rodgers a fellow OHS alum!

Will bring photos to the reunion---no scanner and not technically
sophisticated enough to use it anyway!  :-)

See you Friday!

Jeanie

Hi!! thanks so much for the newsy update.  Please take copious notes on the reunion. wish I could be there but it is just not going to work out timewise this year.  Plus I am having another wisdom tooth pulled...the real pain comes with the dental bills in NYC. EEEEKKK!!!  I could come to Va on the Queen Mary for what I pay...love to all, and please don't spare the gossip!  Cynthia Crumlish OHS 1967

DAVE,
BARB MOORE CONTACTED...REGARDING INFO THAT YOU
NEED....MUST ADMIT I WAS A LITTLE LEARY WHEN I FIRST
GAVE MY E MAIL....BUT SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED
BY OLD FRIENDS AND HAVE HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME CATCHING
UP.....SARAH  (SALLIE) MOORE SMITH

David L. de Pauw
Guidance Counselor,
Bitburg American High School

B.S. History/Political Science, 1972
M.A. Teaching of Social Science, 1977
M.A. Educational Psychology, 1987
M.A. Educational Counseling, 1988
Arizona State Certified School Psychometrist, 1986

"It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others... and less trouble." -Mark Twain

Dear David,
Barring some last minute health problem, I'll be there.  I'm not big on
snapshots, but I attached a recent one, although I don't have any of
myself from OHS days, at least not on my computer.  For an update, my
book, a personal memoir about my sister Veronica and me, is scheduled
to come out in May of 2007.  So far the title is "Thick As Thieves"
although there's a chance that Holt, the publishing company, will want
to change it to something a bit less shopworn.  A few passages therein
capture my days at OHS, but most of the France stuff that remained
through countless revisions concerns whoring around Pigalle with Buddy
DePaolo.  I had to cover half a century of two lives so the less
dramatic scenes hit the cutting room floor.  See you in Roanoke.  Chuck
Ralston made reservations for both of us, but if Chuck decides to bring
his wife, I'll just get a room at the Holiday Inn where DePaolo is
staying.

Steve Geng

Dave,

We are in WY working our way back east after a family reunion on the OR
coast.  Tony retired in June and we bought an Airstream so we took off
across the country.  We don't get back til Sept. 10th so will miss the
reunion which is too bad -- should be fun.  Hope to get a recap of
activities.

Hope all is well with you,
Irene

Dear Dave,  

I’m sure looking forward to seeing you in Roanoke next week.  By then the effects of hurricane Ernesto will probably have passed and everything will be cooled down and well watered.    

For years and years you have been the one person responsible for keeping our high school memories intact.  We owe you an enormous debt of gratitude.  

Thank you for organizing another Orléans France American High School Reunion .  

Thank you so very much.  

Your friend,

John

Dave,
Since My last update the following has occurred as I own whiteoakranch now.
New e mail   whiteoakranch@hughes.net  ofc e mail abel.white@us.army.mil
New Address   1355 CR 204, Buckholts, Texas 76518
Home ph.  254 593 9201   cell 254 289 7314
I was inducted into the cowboy hall of fame in march 06, attaching a
picture, not sure that is important.
Sure hope I get to see you and friends from Orleans in Sep 06.
Thanks for all you do.  Aubrey, says hello.  We are both active and doing
good.
Abel

Abel White
Quantum Research International Inc
In Support Of G8 DA FDT &
Whitfill Central Technical Support Facility
ofc  (254) 532-8321 ext 2367
cell (254) 289-7314
fax  (254) 618-7392

Survived the storm (Hurricane Katrina) AND the 1 year anniversary of the storm. See you at the reunion, baring any hurricanes.

Frank R. Plichta is budget director for the Child Care Services Association of Chapel Hill, NC.  CCSA operates a variety of programs Ensuring Affordable, Accessible, High Quality Child Care.  With a $31 million annual budget and 168 employees, CCSA not only directs its efforts to North Carolina but its T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project has been licensed for implementation in twenty-two states.  The Child Care WAGE$® Project is nationally licensed in five states.  For the past six years he telecommutes from his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia .  

After leaving active military service, Frank was employed for six years with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia. His career with Blue Cross was interrupted when he was invited to become the CEO for a home health organization for the purpose of rescuing them from management and financial difficulties.  Following that experience, three of his next four positions as CEO or CFO were similarly designed for organizations undergoing organizational or financial difficulties.  Among the way he founded a non-profit Hospice program for care of the terminally ill.  In 1980, Frank founded and was elected charter president of the Virginia Association of Home Health Agencies, a statewide professional organization.  In 1990 he planned and initiated a for-profit venture in medical laboratory services with first year sales of $1.4 million, as a subsidiary of a non-for-profit hospital, Rex Hospital in Raleigh , North Carolina .  

Frank is a 1964 graduate of the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg , VA and received his master of science in business administration in 1975 from Boston University , Boston , Massachusetts .  He is a Vietnam Veteran, a 1982 graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth , KS , and a retired Lieutenant Colonel , U.S. Army.  

In addition to his worldwide travels, his hobbies include:  stained glass design and fabrication, genealogy, and the collection of antique maps and foreign language dictionaries.  Frank recently returned in March 2006 from his third genealogy trip to Slovakia with visits to Budapest and the Czech Republic .  

Frank and his wife Sharon were married in 1967 in Würzburg , Germany and served in near-by units in Pleiku , Vietnam from 1967-1968.  Sharon was an army nurse at the 71^st Evac Hospital while Frank was assigned to the 4^th Infantry Division.  Both have been active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars for a number of years and each holds office at the district level for the second year in a row.  Sharon is the District Jr. Vice Commander and Frank is the District QM/Adjutant.  

Most recently, Frank has devoted efforts to assisting the following organizations in seeking their organizational credentials as a 501(c)(3) non-profit status from the IRS:  First Night Galax, Inc., Blue Ridge Music Makers Guild, Hispanic Services Organization of Southwestern Virginia, Ani-Stohini/Unami Nation (native American Indian nation) and Chestnut Creek School of the Arts.  

Frank will retire from his current job on September 30, 2006 .

Dear Pat and Mary Green, Dave Thatcher, and OAHS Alumni:

Sorry, guys, but I’m not coming to the ’06 reunion.  Forgive me, but as far as I can tell (from the website), no one else from my particular class (’64) and more importantly, my particular time (’57-‘60) is going to be there.  So I know you’ll understand why I’m skipping the event.  Either way, I know you’re going to have a great time.   

Dave, you asked for a short bio, so here’s a very few words on me and my twin sister Diane (you’ve already got addresses and phone numbers on both of us).   

Both of us finished high school in Tampa , Florida .  Then we went on to college at the University of South Florida, also at Tampa, where Diane graduated in ’68 and Larry in ’71 (after spending 3 years in the US Army -- enlisted --  with the 3rd Armor Division in Hanau, Germany).   

Diane went on to a career in budget and corporate finance, finally spending 20 years with SAIC in Oakridge , TN.   She retired 6 years ago at the age of 54 to a life of golf and travel with her husband, Jim Carter.   

Larry, on the other hand, is only now winding up 30 years as a an architectural woodworker: 15 years were spent in his own shop located in Miami, FL; 3 years in Chicago; 1 year in Hartford; and, finally, the last 11 years in the Boston area, where he currently works for one of Boston’s premier builders.  His wife’s name is Beth, and she has her own advertising research company.  

Larry has been back to Orleans on two different occasions.  The first was when he was a soldier in Germany in 1966: while on leave to Paris, he took a side trip to Orleans, spent a night at the Grand Hotel, walked up to the Kaserne, then walked the back way to St. Jeanne de la Rouelle where he found his old house; he then took a cab ride out to the small village of Averay, where he once again found the house his family had lived in and was invited inside by the current owner to look around.  It was a really neat experience…one he’ll never forget.  On the second trip in 1992, he and Beth were spending two weeks in Europe , drove through Averay on the way to Chenonceau, where we spent the night at a B&B.  While in Averay, he went to the boulangerie next door, bought “une baguette”; ate it all except for a few crumbs, which he then mailed to his mother.   Upon opening the envelope, reading the letter and then finding the contents, she told him she shed a few tears…she so loved that bakery.  

The reason, of course, that I’ve re-connected to all of you, is that my wife and I ran into Pat and Mary Green in Deauville one morning at breakfast, as we awaited the start of our walking tour of Normandy .  And yes, we all had a great time together.  Both Beth and I look forward to visiting France again, and someday taking a barge trip through the Loire valley; any takers?  

All the best,  

Larry Kellam

Cheers, Michelle


Michelle J. Holt
Reservations Manager
Peter Hughes Diving, Inc.
5723 NW 158 St.
Miami Lakes, FL.  33014
Toll Free 800-932-6237
Phone 305-669-9391
Fax 305-669-9475
www.peterhughes.com
michelle@peterhughes.com

Hey, Dave.

Lourdes and I will be coming to the reunion in VA and I thought that I would drop you a line and when you get the chance, update the section where the members Web sites are located.  Our company now produces several products for both law enforcement and the military (mostly special operations).  We are now producing under 'Voice Biometrics' (voice identification, with a stand-off capability, etc.) rather than just the voice stress analyzer.  Lourdes and I had a really great time in El Paso and we are looking forward to this reunion as it seems that there are so many more of the 63-65 folks showing up.  By the way, if you all need donations for the organization, please let me know at the reunion as Lourdes and I would be happy to help out.

Best regards,

Charles (Wayne)

Hello, Dave Thatcher.  I may have been in a class or two with you in Orleans, and I am penning this brief note because I am on your addressee list for information about reunions of former students at the American dependents school there.   During the past several years I have aperiodically received notes from you regarding these events, but because I went to SO MANY schools across the globe, I was no more interested in going to an Orleans reunion than to one in Frankfurt or Yokohama or other places 'round the globe, so you have not received any responses from me. I say the foregoing with no intent to express disinterest in the wonderful people who went to school in Orleans.   I am compelled to write to you this time, however, because the singular charm of your latest warm invitation to anyone who went to school at Foret says a lot about you and your commitment to bringing people together. It just has to be acknowledged!  I think what you are and have been about is wonderful.  I would consider my life well lived if I had spent my avocational hours dedicated to keeping a "family" - I mean the diaspora of military brats' family - together as you have, in encouraging people to "come as they are" and be welcomed at these reunions.

Almost two years ago, two of the trio of Orleans graduates from your class - Chuck Ralston and I (Bill Cardamon being the missing man) -  attended a reunion at the follow-on school we attended after
Orleans,  to wit, the then-named American College in Paris.  Chuck Ralston and I made it to Orleans during that trip back to France, and we found good ole Foret (not so easy since most Orleanais are too "young" to remember the locale of the old American school).  As you may be aware, we almost lost Chuck Ralston this year, a reminder of the need to keep in touch with and take care of each other.  You are already doing that.  Your reunion is in such a beautiful place.  I wish you a successful event.  Best wishes from far away Camp Smith.  Cathy Rodgers

Jean-Claude Petilon joins LeBoeuf Lamb as Senior Counsel. He is dual qualified in French and U.S. law. He established Coudert¹s Africa practice which advised on all aspects of business law and investments across the continent. Mr. Petilon's work is focused on the energy, petroleum, mining, and telecoms sectors, and on the financing of projects in these areas, across French, English and Portuguese-speaking Africa. He acts on behalf of private and state-owned entities, as well as governments, particularly in assisting in sector reforms and in drafting legislation and regulations. Mr. Petilon also advises on international arbitrations, particularly under the rules of the ICC and ICSID, involving Africa.

Mr. Petilon is recognized as an expert in such publications as Chambers Global, European Legal Experts and the International Who's Who guides and Privatization Public Private Partnership Review.

Dear Dave...Your e-mail is so enticing and I suspect you got a very good response.  Just wanted you to know that Alan and I just won't be able to come after all.  We will try for next year, however.  Also, we got together with Bill and Michele McClain, here at our house for dinner, in June, and had a truly wonderful time.  Bill brought pictures from Orleans and OHS, and even though we had never met, it felt just like we'd all always been friends.  His dad and mine practically had the same car (or should I say boat?) while in Orleans.  We shared many common memories of the area and the school.  I'm still kicking myself as the camera sat in the kitchen and I never remembered to pick it up to get some shots of us.  It was great fun, though, and we hope to see them again soon.  I hope you have a wonderful reunion and I will be thinking of all of you.  Best regards, Bonnie (Scarbrough) Stagner  (I was in Orleans, in 1961, at the age of 12, in 7th grade, but back in Georgia by Christmas of 1961.  I ultimately graduated from Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park, CA. in 1967, the same year I married Alan Stagner from CPHS1964.)(PS...I hope you will get pictures to post, and best regards to Mike & Gayle Church, whom I met online through Classmates.com)  

Hi Dave,

Yes, I'll finally be attending my first reunion since 1985.  Am looking
forward to it.

As for me, on June 26 I became the Program Manager for Personnel Security
for the Department of Commerce.  This, after spending 3 1/2 years at FEMA as
a Personnel Security Specialist.  While at FEMA I was deployed to Baton
Rouge, LA for a month right after hurricane Katrina hit last year.  Was a
great experience.  I am still not remarried, though I have a wonderful lady
friend, Vanda, who will be with me at the reunion.

My youngest son, Robert III, graduated from Clemson University on August 12
of this year.  One more to go.

See you in Roanoke in a couple of weeks.

Rob

I getting re-married on Sept 16, so I won't be joining you this year.  My
Sister Val and her husband Eddie will though.  Have a great time!

I'm involved in a new adventure where I'm helping an old friend in a new business situation.   I'm in Phoenix for awhile sorting our issues and will not be able to make it to Virginia.  Thanks for keeping me on the list and keep me in mind for next time.  Please say Hi to all for me especially the folks I was in class with at OHS.  Take care and have a terrific time!  Regards,   Vince

   For YEARS I have wanted to attend such a meeting, BUT I never knew of the reunions until a few years ago.

  JESS FOWLER will be there....we have re-connected after 45+ years--and, we will probably be doing business together as well....

   BUT, I have business plans at the same time as the reunion....sorry about that.  Maybe the next time....

  Sad thing for me is that NO ONE from my group will be there....

I wish everyone the best for the experience.

Richard Benton Ruth (class of 1959)

    Thanks for the invite but I'm involved in a  biker rally every year at that time.  I don't have to worry about how I look, I still look the same I did when I was 18.  Unfortunately, the same I.Q. also.  Have fun.

Dennis Cullington
feel free to call me toll free:  1-800-328-6020 

This is Kay for Mike League replying.  Mike is too busy, I guess.  So, here goes.
Mike has been retired from the Smithsonian Institution since 1993.  Since then, he has traveled a lot with Kay, enjoyed his two grown children and the six grandchildren.
The first great-grandchild, Aimee, will make her entrance in December 2006.  Mike and Kay still live in Bowie, Maryland, where they have been for 40 years.  Because of Kay's health issues, we have been slowed down somewhat, however, Mike always seems ready to attend Orleans Reunions and dance the night away with his old friends.

Mike

So good to hear from you.  This morning I happen to come across the 1985 OHS
pre-reunion and reunion book and spent an hour reading up on everyone.  What
a coincidence I'd get an email from you this afternoon.  Can you believe
over 20 years have passed since that reunion!  I will be in Djerba, Tunisia
on the beach during the next reunion, but if I were living in the states I'd
be there--this time I'll just be there in my thoughts ...   I'll send some
pictures to put in your book and have a great reunion and again, thanks for
keeping us in touch with each other!

Cheers
Terri Lindsey
Paris

Dave, hi.  It's Shirley Butler (nee Williams) and Jumi Butler (both class of '67). Long time no email. How are you doing? I'm sure you're busy as heck getting ready for the reunion. Unfortunately we won't be able to attend. With my MS it's just too darn difficult to travel, with Jumi having to schlep everything and push me around in my chair. But we'll be thinking of you all. Say hi for us.

Still living in wild and sunny Hollywood ,California.. By early morning an avid ultra runner who's completed 10 100-mile races in the mountains, and by day an illustrious book publisher. By night, it's slow down time.. In 2007 I hit 60. How did that happen?

Wish I could attend the reunion.
Bob Adjemian
Class of 65

PS:  Did you hear they're closing Fort Monroe. How could they?

PPS- I'll try to find a picture. Usually, I'm the one who takes the picture - and there lies the problem.

Sadly, I will have to miss this reunion.  I will be relocating from Minnesota to Connecticut during that time to be closer to my family. I just hope and pray this will be my last move until someone puts me “in the big house.”

I will be thinking of you all as you are having that good old time!!!! 

Gaby Knudson  (Miner)

This is just a note to get you thinking past the reunion  :-)

I'm planning a visit to Paris from Nov 22 through Dec 13th.  Myself
and another guy have a reservation for a studio apt for just a bit
over 50 Euros a night for the two of us.  It's in the 15th Arr near
the Ave Emile Zola metro station, which is about 10 blocks SW of the
Eiffel Tower.

If you or others are interested in such a trip, I can help point you to
similar room reservations.  If you check around for cut rate flights,
I've seen them for around $515 R/T from Ohio including all the fees
and add-ons. I'm using frequent flyer miles myself, which makes the
whole thing very easy.

Let me know if you'd like more information.

    - Charlie

--

 Charlie Smith  charlie@elektro.cmhnet.org  1 614-271-1418 
 http://www.elektro.com/charlie/       Columbus Ohio   USA

Dave, I sent a note to the Reunion coordinators telling them I can’t make it this year.  My sister will be visiting from the East Coast for an annual family get together with my aunt and uncle in Estes Park , Colorado .  We will be attending the Long’s Peak Scottish/Irish Highland Festival and combining a “check up on the family” with a really fun week.  I sure will miss coming to the reunion, though; I struggled with this choice for quite a while.  

Since I retired 2 years ago, I’ve been fulfilling some long-time wishes and traveling internationally.  The attached photo was taken upon arrival in Delhi , at the start of 24 days in India and Bhutan .  Both flights to/from Bhutan gave us crystal clear views of Mt. Everest which is a rare occurrence.  And in Ranthambore National Park in India I got to see one of my dream animals, a Bengal Tiger, in the wild a couple of hundred feet away.  Tahiti and Antarctica as destinations have been on my list since I was a kid.  My sister and I took a 10 day cruise through the islands of French Polynesia , complete with snorkeling with sharks, which was a thrill!  And on an 18 day cruise I got to visit Buenas Aires Argentina , Montevideo Uraguay, Rio de Janeiro Brazil and Stanley in the Falkland Islands along with 4 stops in Antarctica (3 times ashore).  Penguins, whales, albatrosses and ice, lots of ice.  My motto seems to be “spend it now, look at the photos later.”  Even with current events and tougher flying restrictions, I have my next trip booked for 2007, Egypt and Jordan .  If anyone wants to come, my group has room for one or two travelers (one more will earn us all a discount).   

I hope you have a great reunion and have a fabulous crowd.  Hi to everyone.  Sue McHenry

Dave,
Thanks for the email. I am sorry I won’t be able to make the Re-union because I have been waiting for Grand Children, and continue to. (Ha Ha). No seriously, I just can’t make it because of other commitments. I know all there will have fun and a great time.  

As a former Sweat -3 I can hardly believe that all this time has passed and that I am now finished working/retired and the main interest I have is my family and as much fishing as I can get in. Here is a photo of this year’s trip to Montana , and here’s to Orleans High School !! ”

George (Known in 1962 as “Bird”)

Dave,

Greetings.  You or whomever takes care of the OHS web page, email list at chesnut-n@slb.com.  I'm still with Schlumberger Limited, but transferred back from Brazil in 2003, and now am living in Houma, La.  Deep south Louisiana, alligator country.  I had such a wonderful time living and working in Brazil, for 4 years, that I got attached to their soccer team, and I was cheering for them during the World Cup.  See attached photo for what I mean.  I didn't have a Brazilian flag to waive, so I used the next best thing, which was a pair of Brazilian panties which I got while living in Rio, when Brazil won the World Cup in 2002.  I would of graduated from OHS in 1968, but when NATO pulled out of France in 67, and they closed Orleans, my father transferred to Paris, France, working at the American Embassy and I ended up graduating High School from the American School of Paris in 1968.

My wife and I, made a trip to France two years ago, and visited Orleans, and went out to Olivet.  My parents still have a home there and spend 6 months of the year in Olivet and the rest of the time in Rome, Georgia.

I met my wife in Paris, she's American, and we have 3 children, Alain (33), Bryan (30) and Elizabeth (27).  I have spent the last 32 years, working with Schlumberger Limited, which is a Oil & Gas Service Company, living and working in 4 different continents, various countries.  3 more years, and I will retire, and move to Oklahoma, and continue to enjoy life at the fullest.

I've got 2 wonderful granddaughters, who live near by, Grace (5) and Ella (2) and another one on the way.  I'm still working, and really enjoying myself.  Age is a state of mind, and I'm having a ball.  My new email address is chesnut@houma.oilfield.slb.com

Cheers,

Norman

Dave, This is a few years old of my husband, Bob Jordan, and me, Jane
Hatch, but we haven't changed all that much...just older; you'll see me in
another shot in the 2000 Federal Census.  I'm afraid that photos, not
bodies, will be in Roanoke, I'm sad to say, unless we can create a
miracle.  And we've had plenty of those this past year.  We fled on the
Saturday before Katrina from our beautiful just remodeled home of 25 years
in St Tammany Parish, LA, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, north
to safety in WI where our married daughter lives.  The house suffered a
tree through its roof, but no flooding, enough damage to the house and the
area to make it too difficult to return - Bob is 77, has had some serious
heart disease, and I've had a disabling (but not fatal, nor 'life's over' )
hemmorrhagic stroke, together causing enough health stress  to need to be
close to family who can watch out for us, so we are fortunately resettled
in a good house in the cornfields south of Madison - 2707 Autumn Lane,
Janesville, WI  53546.  We celebrate 45 years of marriage in September,
like Bev Askegreen and her husband. We've moved around bit in Bob's career
(he is a retired Research Professor of International Relations) - at all
three of the service War Colleges (Army, Carlisle, PA; Air, Montgomery, AL;
Navy, Newport, RI), lived in VA when he was both an administrator and
professor at George Washington University; SUNY Binghamton, Columbia U and
at the U.N.; two years on leave at Fourah Bay College, Freetown, Sierra
Leone, West Africa; U South Carolina; University of New Orleans and at
Tulane University.  Now, in retirement, he is affiliated with the
University of Wisconsin.

In my last year of high school in northern VA, I joined The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.  After beginning at  Brigham Young University,
and in addition to being a gad about with Bob,  I've been a homemaker,
active LDS Church member, Scouter, genealogist, student, sometimes
university college receptionist, bank credit analyst, retail sales person
in a small family-owned (not ours) business and teacher Hospice volunteer,
and census worker in two federal censuses.  Best role after Wife, and Mom
of four, is Gramma to seven and great-gramma to a two-year old who lives
nearby - joy!  I'm a cheerleader stroke support person, and still teach
family history/genealogy how-tos when asked.

I value my memories of OHS - the shared experiences with wonderful
classmates, and the lessons learned - and am sad not to see people again in
Roanoke, but do look forward to seeing photos of a happy time with
participants who can go and a reporting of the weekend's events, and hope
you all have a grand time.

With warm best wishes to all,
Jane HATCH Jordan, OHS 1956-57

Hello Reunionites, 

Ralph and I are unable to make the reunion this year. I’m sending a photo taken this past New Year’s Eve from us; your OHS teacher and perhaps your pediatrician at the military hospital in Orleans. The photo on the mantle is me as a 2^nd/Lt. when I met Ralph while on duty. Ralph examines recruits at the Milwaukee Military Processing Center a couple of times a week, and I cover maternity leaves for School Speech Pathologists, so that keeps us busy and not fully retired. Our 9^th grandchild is on the way. 

How about the next reunion in Chicago??? Easy to get to for all and a fun place. 

Eugenie Olsen

I am terribly disappointed not to be able to attend the 2006 Reunion.  I will be in Nairobi, Kenya visiting our daughter, Melissa, who is a Political and Military Affairs Officer at our US Embassy there.  Bill and I are "semi-retired".  I retired from managing a Rehab Department in 2004 and now work PRN as an Occupational Therapist.  We have found ourselves still in Indiana-that's what Army assignments will do for you!  Our other daughter, Elizabeth, is the S-4 for the Corps of Cadets at West Point---much better than the Iraq assignment. Our flexible schedule has allowed us to sail the Great Lakes on our 27ft trailerable sloop and to visit the girls wherever the Army or State Department sends them and their spouses--has been Germany, China, West Point and now Kenya!  Hope to make the next reunion!

Email: DESIGNSBYNEELY@YAHOO.COM 

   Currently working for Camber Corp., a Huntsville, Alabama company, on contract to the Missile Defense Agency.  I work PATRIOT issues and the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), the replacement for PATRIOT.  Additionally, my wife and I own Bristles & Shears Hair Design located in what is know as the Dulles Corridor.  I've worked for Camber Corporation at the Missile Defense Agency for 10 years and our salon has been in business for 12 years.  Prior to that I spent 24 years as a Field Artillery Officer in the Army.  I was commissioned through the ROTC program at the Univ. of Oklahoma  in 1969.  My primary specialty in the Field Artillery was as a Ballistic Missile Officer.  As such I spent five tours of duty in Germany with the deployed Pershing missile force.  The only time I spent in cannon artillery was my tour in Viet Nam (71-72).  I married another army brat in 1978 and we have two grown sons and three grandchildren, two girls and a boy.

THANK YOU: From Michele McClain, wife of BILL MCCLAIN (64):

I was honored to be able to attend this function with Chuck Wise, OHS'64 and his wife.  When any of our OHS alumni are recognized in such a way, we feel great pride for having them as our special OHS friends.  

                                                             Dianna Vaughan Rolleg  OHS'58                                             (See photo on Class of '64 photo page)

CONGRATULATIONS CHUCK!

On May 15, 2005 , at the 27^th Annual Fraternal Order of Retired Border Patrol Officers Banquet in El Paso , Texas , CHARLES WISE was presented the PURPLE CROSS MEDAL which reads:   

FOR WOUNDS RECEIVED DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS OFFICIAL DUTIES AS A BORDER PATROL AGENT ON APRIL 28^TH, 1973 NEAR CALEXICO , CALIFORNIA       CHARLES WISE       SUSTAINED GUN SHOT WOUNDS WHILE ENGAGED IN A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS.  THROUGHOUT THIS HARROWING ORDEAL,       CHARLES WISE      EXHIBITED EXEMPLARY INNER STRENGTH AND COURAGE, WHICH WERE IN KEEPING WITH THE FINEST TRADITIONS OF AND REFLECT HIGHLY UPON THE U.S. BORDER PATROL.

Rick Negrete's funeral is being handled by White and Day funeral home in Los Angeles.
They have an online memory book at www.lafuneral.com where you can leave comments and memories about Rick for his family.
Go to the website, click on Obituary, then click on Memory Book