Memories That You May Enjoy

Check it Out

Received an email this week from our website coordinator that had a link to Newsman's Memphis which showed an interesting slide show about Memphis during the1900's with a lot of the photos taken during the 1950's. It took me back a lot of years to some great memories of the old hometown. Hope it does the same for you.

We have permission to share this from the website which is run by June West. Her Mom, June Waddell, went to Bruce Elementary, Bellevue Middle and Central HS and graduated around 1942.

Enjoy it here.

Billy Schaefer

LIFE HAS ITS UPS AND DOWNS

Just about the time when things are really upbeat and you can't wait until you spread the news to our class, LIFE has its way of letting you know that things can change..

Let me share two items that reached me:

THE GOOD NEWS...
Good news turned up about our classmate Jerry Peters which was a big honor for Jerry and I'd to share it with you

...AND THE BAD
While writing this up for our website, a second call came through letting me know what I always hate to hear – that one of our classmates – Bill Maxwell – passed away suddenly. See the details by checking on this link. Bill was a terrific guy and he will be missed.

Sorry to always be the one to pass on news like this, but felt you'd want to know.

Billy Schaefer

Central Class of 1956 Still the Tops!!

Byline: Memphis, TN (October 21 and 22, 2011)
 
The Warriors of ’56 outdid themselves with a Friday golf tournament, a Friday night social and a Saturday night bash!
 
Richard Harwood arranged for a beautiful, sunny day and a fine golf outing at Cherokee Valley Club Golf Course. Some good scores and some not-so-good scores added up to a fun day by most everyone. A hot dog and a beer capped the outing!
 
Friday night was hosted by Marlene Belz at the Audubon Square Condominium clubhouse, a comfortable setting where everyone could catch up on the latest news from his or her ’56 classmates. Sandra Loskovitz Beatus (Treasurer) and Sophie Theodore met each class member upon arrival. As at every class reunion, Carolyn Welch Hale, Betty Farris Russell, and Barbara Rauscher Walters dressed up the room to lend a warm ambiance to the laughter and conversation. The feasting table was loaded with appetizers and desserts brought in by class members. Richard Vollmer, party Chairman, supervised the liquid refreshments, Phil Sherman and Ramsay Wall organized the tables and chairs, and Ralph Davis tickled the keys to a sing-along chorus.

Tom Bell flew in from California, Bryan Simon from Texas, and Jim Wiley from Arizona. The Carrells (Charlotte and Finis) and the Griggs (Betty Fay and Don) drove in from the east, and Curtis Horton drove up from Alabama. (Think they all correctly figured that they might be missing something…or maybe be talked about in their absence?)
 
Elvis is alive! At least it seemed so at the Graceland Car Museum on Saturday night. Chairmen, Phil Sherman and Ralph Davis, booked a lively multi-piece band to play and sing the songs that we remember most. There was plenty of BBQ and BS! Surrounded by Elvis’s vintage car collection, the dance floor percolated with the gyrations of a bunch of 70-somethings. Looking good, too!

A highlight of the evening was recognition of the tireless devotion to our class meetings by, Joy Allenberg Wilk. Joy, with lots of help from roommate, Larry, has unselfishly devoted her time, many times over, to take on the, often, frustrating task of herding our reunion committee. So how did we show our appreciation? We gave her back some of that time...in the form of a wristwatch! Thank you, Joy, thank you. Have we said THANK YOU?

Several classmates asked “How about next year? Or the year after”? A couple of suggestions have been bantered about:

One is to have monthly Dutch-treat lunches at a restaurant with a private (or semi-private) room. Email notices would be put out a couple of weeks in advance – respond YES or NO. Attend when you can. Someone (or two) must volunteer to arrange the location and send the email.

Another suggestion was to have another “social” like Friday night’s 55th Reunion party at Audubon Square. This type gathering takes a lot more planning, requiring several dependable volunteers.

What do you think? What would you prefer? Are you willing to volunteer your time to organize or “serve”?
 
Stay friendly…and healthy,
 
Your class recorder
Billy Schaefer 

PS: Take a look here at "Your Classmates in Action!”
Slides of your 55th Class Reunion

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Who would question that when the Central High Class
of 1956 assembles, everyone has a good time?

The 54th Mini-Reunion on Saturday night, September 25, brought out a million smiles and heaps of conversation. And, oh yeh, a chorus of melodic voices bump’n to the piano tunes of our own, Ralph Davis! The desserts flowed like the Mississippi River down below, on a beautiful sunset-scorched sky. Larry Fury was busy slurping out the margaritas (making sure that none of the spillage got wasted).

The usual crew of planners, decorators, servers, garbage collectors and greeters were at their best - you know ‘em: Joy, Betty, Carolyn, Natalie, Barbara, and a few others who worked incognito. Thanks abounded for a get-it-done group of volunteers!

The festive lobby of the River Towers at South Bluffs, provided by Frances Hunter and Frank Adams, was a great spot to renew old friendships. The one theme that ricocheted around the room was that this is a very nice group of people. How fortunate to enjoy their company!

1 + 54 = 55, which means that next year’s reunion has a special ring. It can only happen with your support. Won’t you join the Planning Committee now and set the tone for a walloping celebration in 2011?

Stay healthy and keep smiling,
Your Planning Committee

We had a Great Party !!!!!!!!!!!

Look forward to seeing you all at our next gathering....
Your (overworked and underpaid) Planning Committee

P.S. This mail is being sent to only those classmates who have email access.
If there is anyone you know who does not use email, please invite him/her
to join us. We love snail-mail, too.

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In an email from your reporter....

Dear Gail,
So happy that we found you and that you are no longer “lost”! Attached are a couple of Central High 1956 lists that you will probably enjoy reviewing. Be sure that your personal information is correct. (I did not hear you say whether your spouse is still living – if you want to add his name.) As I mentioned, you will be getting email notices of any Central ‘56 happenings.

Please check our website – you will love going through some great memories.

Take care and send any interesting information you have or come across about other classmates.

Yippee! Gail Whitfield Nethery, you are found!

Check out earlier newsletters here

A Change in Reporting Classmate Deaths

The growing number of losses among classmates has often lent a sad note to these newsletters.That's why we changed the newsletter (home page) to concentrate more on the living side of our class.We'll still report the sadder side to you in other pages where the bad news is shown. It was our thinking that while we all want to know what is going on with our classmates, we don't want to dwell on the bad news either. It's much more enjoyable to hear good news about everyone.

P. S. Remember to keep checking our website: www.memphiscentralhigh56.com from time to time

Class of 1956 Reunion Committee

Joy Allenberg Wilk, Charles Askew, Kathie Bailey Cavette, Joann Baker Parker, Ann Ball Frost, Marlene Belz Libby, Jerry "Moose" Bruce, Ruth Burrow Peters, Don Cavette, John Crews, Marcia Davidson Moskovitz, Ralph Davis, Betty Farris Russell, Larry Fury, Myrna Gold Drake, Tom Gerdes, Ralph Gray, Jack Hoelscher, Mary Ann Kimbrough Vollmer, Natalie Lewis Rosenberg, Sandra Loskovitz Beatus, Janie McCune Deupree, Pat Parker Maxwell, Sandy Peiser Lipman, Marcia Pinstein Weiss, Barbara Rauscher Walters, Billy Schaefer, Phil Sherman, Ed Simmons, Sophie Theodore, Ramsay Wall, Carolyn Welch Hale