Tuesday, May 30, 2006

The Alumni Banquet

Updated, and moved to the top:

A little coordinating here.......

to reiterate, the Alumni Banquet will be held 10 June.

I've been to several, and they are fun.
The food is better than I expected.
There is a great chance you'll see friends you haven't seen in years.

Today I got a note from BMG that she and Ferdy will attend together.
I know several others have to be planning to attend.
It would be great if the class of '65 had a good contingent to represent us there!

If you plan on attending, how about leaving a comment on this post, so that others can be looking out for you......to save seating and make sure the class of '65 can get together as a group?

Hawkeye, you're attending this year, correct?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Updated, 30 May:
This came today from Bob White, addressed to most of us:

A quick note, date 6/10/06. Time 6:00 PM place CGHS, call me for tickets, $14.00 each, $16.00 at the door. I need to know [via e-mail] by thur 6/1/06

So, you have very little time. Email, or grab the phone.....make the call!

Mr. Legan

BoMarGirl sent me Mr. Legan's email address, and I contacted him.
I got a wonderful reply, then sent Mr. Legan my phone number.
This weekend he called, and we spent almost an hour on the phone, sharing memories and catching up on almost 50 years of life.

I don't remember how many individual classes the class of '65 was broken into for Sixth Grade....was it four?
Did all of us occupy the old "Spitting radiators, Middle Building" that year?

Whatever......
a chunk of us were Mr. Legan's first Co-Ed class at CG.
There's an explanation for that:
The year before us, the only space available for Mr. Legan's class was in the old tunnel near the Boys Locker Room, in the new Gymnasium area.
The powers that be were worried about the proximity to that Locker Room, and decided an all male class would avoid a bunch of complications.

Here's a thumbnail of his history:
He taught at CG for 7 years, then went to Franklin, where he taught Algebra and Math for 16 years, until 1980.
From 1980 until 1995 he taught various levels of Math and Social Studies at a school in West Virgina, where he had inherited a farm. During this time, he also raised cattle on a small scale!

He met his first sweetheart while attending Franklin College, and later married her. They were married 43 years. Her death left him wondering whether life was worth living for quite a period of time.

He finally met and fell in love with another Hoosier Girl, (0ddly, both his wives were from New Albany). They were married in 2006.
She is a Nurse. She plans on retiring at the end of the year, then together they plan on doin' a bunch of travelling.

Mr. Legan has 3 sons and a daughter, ranging in age from 38 to 46.
His daughter, (a teacher!), lives less than an hour from me, and I've challenged him to call me when he comes to visit so Sara Jean and I can drive there and take him to dinner.

When I reflect on my favorite teachers, Mr. Legan stands out.
He was fair. He had a positive attitude. He actually taught!
Our phone conversation was a delight........he related how many other professions get a chance to see their finished product: the worker on an assembly line gets to see the car he helped build being driven by it's purchaser on the street. In talking with BMG and myself, Mr. Legan has gotten a glimpse at his "finished product".

Obviously, I hope he is pleased.

O.J. TALES

BoMarGirl

O.J. TALES
Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Following are some O.J. "Tales" that I think y'all should know.


CHRISTMAS SHOPPING WITH O.J., ET AL

Each year at Christmas time, O.J., Mr. V. and John Clements would go downtown Indianapolis to shop for their wives' gifts. Tradition had it that before the shopping began they would have a "few" drinks. Well, each year the gifts were very interesting and the wives never knew what to expect for Christmas. Some the of gifts were VERY nice and some were VERY dumb.


O.J. AND THE BROWN COUNTY OPEN

The Brown County Open was held at Brown County Country Club and O.J. and "the guys" participated every year. One year, the Brown County Country Club decided to make some improvements and they put in a new swimming pool and fixed things up very nice. They planned a Grand Opening with festivities on Saturday before the Brown County Open that year. O.J. and "the guys" decided it would be a good idea to go down to the Club the night before, climbed the fence, went swimming in the new pool and just generally made a mess of things. O.J. and "the guys" were never invited back to the Brown County Open again. He was "persona non grade" at the Club from then on.

BUT that didn't stop O.J. He and "the guys" continued their own yearly golf tournament each year, still calling it "The Brown County Open" no matter the location of the golf course.


O.J. AND THE CHICKENS

O.J. has a terrible fear of chickens and birds. One year around graduation time, a student brought in 2 chickens to school in a gym bag. Just as the student was about to open the gym bag and release the chickens in the hall (Dr. George Frampton, Assistant Principal at the time) came around the corner and saw what was about to happen. So, the chickens were placed in the gym bag in George Frampton's office. Jerry Dunn (Principal at the time) knew very well that O.J. was scared to death of the things and opened the gym bag, let the chickens out, left them in George's office and shut the door. The chickens caused quite a racket and flopped and flew around. Whenever they would settle down, Jerry would go by the door and beat on it and liven things up a bit. O.J. was VERY uncomfortable and upset with the whole thing. Seems no one knew (or would) get the chickens out of the Main Office or what to do with them other than torture O.J.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Mr. Sloop

Thinking of the planned get-together in October, what are your thoughts on gently roasting O.J.? A few silly gifts, a few more silly stories etc?

I don't know ANY funny O.J. stories. My only contact with him in HS was in Algebra class and to this day seeing him makes my stomach churn, I break out in a sweat and begin to look for a way out of the room! I was not good at algebra and would rather have a root canal rather than remember the time I spent in that class. It wasn't his fault; I just hated algebra.

However, I'm sure others have fond memories of him and silly things that happened while he was coaching or teaching. I'm sure my uncles have a few stories, hopefully GP rated. They all played basketball together at Union so surely there are a few stories we can use to roast him.

What are your thoughts?

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Vandy's Kids

Vandy's Kids

just wanted to share i have been talking with william legan, teacher from cg elem and i believe middle school. mr legan rode to school with teacher reece stewart while at cg. mr legan left cg for franklin schools due to being closer to work. re-married and doing well.

125 or so have purchased tickets to alumni, seems to be slowing dying. i am one of the babies of the attendees, we have good time and share old memories while enjoying a little program and entertainment.

dvd will be shown at banquet highlighting WRT and CGS photos from years past. jiffy whip, meridian drive inn and aunt molly. who remembers aunt molly dresslar? i would guess you would be near 70 + if you remember her. i will loan JT the copy to show at your next gathering, dvd about 20 minutes and professionally done.
keep the faith hatchet

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Did You Belong?

I moved this back to the top because I had a question or two to add -- PT

Let's talk about cliques.
There are cliques in every gathering of people.
CGHS certainly had 'em.
I always thought they were destructive, and tried to avoid being part of one.

Jocks....
Eggheads......
Hoods........
and then......"Other".

Gals, please comment on the clique subdivisions you experienced.....I know there were groupings for the gals too, but I wouldn't assume to identify them!

When did you begin to feel the pressure to be part of a clique?
For me, it was late in Grade School, and I didn't like the pressure.
I had friends from classes above and below us that fell into all the above groups. I didn't want my friends to be all from one of the above categories.


I think I was successful. By rubbing elbows with all the sub-groups, I was able to better keep my finger on the pulse of what was going on in school, and I could fall back on friends from the individual groups to "watch my six"........ help keep me out of trouble.

For all of us, peer pressure was huge. For some it was worse than others. I'm sure there are a thousand stories to be told......the big question is, CAN they, WILL they be told?
Do you have a story you can relate without hurting feelings?
I've previously admitted to being ashamed for treating a classmate poorly.......
one of the wonderful things about our mini-re's is that I was able to personally apologize for being an *##@+$%........!

I look forward to your views and comments.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Brisket

Did I tell ya how much I enjoyed seeing everyone? What a Blast! I don't think I had that much fun at our Prom or was as tired after !!!

Brisket : This may be more information than anyone wants, but this is how I make brisket. I'm so glad y'all liked it.There are as many recipes for brisket as there are people. The one we like best is taken from the Cheyenne Frontier Days “Daddy of ‘Em All” Cookbook.

http://bbq.about.com/cs/brisket/a/aa122599.htm
This article clarifies a few things to know about brisket. The Indy butchers thought I wanted corned beef brisket. Nope. Get fresh brisket.

In Indy, I could only find the fancy-cut, trimmed, flat-part of the brisket.

In Texas, we aren’t that fancy; I get the biggest one that will fit in my oven (they shrink btw), trim most of the fat but leave about ½ inch on top. When it’s done and cooled, I just scrape off the fat. Some people leave it on, they say they like the taste. I think they are nuts

• Preheat oven to 450 F
• Place brisket on three layers of heavy-duty foil, fat side up.
• Rub both sides generously with Bronco Buster Rub (recipe below)

(**This part is my idea
• Splash about ½ to 1 C of Claude’s Brisket Marinade Sauce
• Add about that much water
• Sprinkle a good amount of Worchester Powder on top
• Add some Emeril's Southwestern seasoning if you have it **)

Seal each layer of foil tightly and separately (very important)
• Place in a 9x13 (or larger) pan and place in the oven on a cookie sheet ,, makes it easier to lift out later

Reduce oven temp to 275 F and let it bake for 8-12 hours. I usually put it in the oven after supper so it is ready by breakfast or a little after -- running an oven in the daytime is not a good thing in Texas. Plus it makes it the house smell so good by morning.

• Let it rest for 30 min or so, then cut against the grain for ¼ inch slices (I have NEVER been able to do this part. It just falls apart and looks like a mess but it doesn't seem to matter)
• Make a criss-cross pattern of the BBQ sauce of your choice (we like Masters Original) as much or as little as you like.

• I usually pour some of the baking juices over the sliced meat too. The rest of the juice can be tossed or saved to season soup.
• Wrap it back up and keep it in a warm oven or refrigerate until needed.Lift it to the serving dish with a large spatula

• Brisket freezes well and leftovers are great in vegetable soup

Now for the rub. I make up 3-4 recipes of this and keep it on hand--ya just never know when ya need to cook up a brisket! This stuff can also fix freezer burned meat,,, just treat the meat like it's brisket and it put it in a pita pocket. WA LA

Broncho Buster Rub
1 clove of garlic (optional & I omit it)
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon dried sage
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground oregano
¼ teaspoon red pepper
¼ teaspoon pepper

Friday, May 12, 2006

vandys kids

jeff beck, cghs67' invite to post from dave read and john teike. wish to share cgs / wrt info

cghs alumni banquet june 10 6-10 pm cghs cafeteria. $14 advance for Jug's catered meal, piano/banjo entertainment/door prizes/tours and yes fellowship. expected attendance 200 mostly us past age 50. difficulty getting younger classes to participate. i have worked with committee to put together a professionaly edited dvd of WRT and CGS from old photos belonging to the committee. 15-20 minutes of history including meridian drive inn, jiffy whip etc. alumni committee hopes to sell a few copies to support of scholarshp account. $1K give to a CGHS senior with parent or grandparent who graduaated from CGS.

working with cghs history teacher obtaining photos, letter sweaters etc. of cgs items. items are stored in secured area at hs with glass display case purchased to display items on a rotating bases. we have obtained over $2k in grants to purchased acid free folders etc. for preservation.'
no trophies please. looking for photo's of bee hive and hamptons along with BEACON light that was once located near home of your classmate Reggie Morris (i think Reggie was 65'). collected items date back to 1888 when first cghs graduation was held( 4 folks). items are placed in files of every decade.

WRT news

township flag designed by cghs student
new township gov't center on stone crossing road
sr 135 filling fast south of outdoorsman with businesses and homes
9 homestead farms remain in wrt
mallow winery opened west of sr144 on whiteland road
banta store still operation during warmer months

thanks for listening, enjoy reading updates from your Blog. i stop by and see Vandy occassionaly as my mother was first cgs nurse and worked with vandy. mom is 93, still in own home, drives well and yes even has a small garden. vandy still plays poker with cg group.

1962 class jsut hosted gathering in nashville in.
1986 class planning reunion soon
1966 class difficult to gather for alumni banquet, glad to see 65' active.

i have new cghs alumni directory if you need to find someone, let me know. 15K graduates identified.

cghs basketball program hosts during Christmas break a reconigition of former bb players at halftime, about 40 attended first event last year. keep the faith jeff beck

maple grove elementary soon to be destroyed, new school to open in fall off whiteland road. hs will take over maple grove with new construction.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Closing out the Mini-re.....

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Purple Tabby has left the building.

PT stopped by Casa Greybeard on her way to the Lone Star State.
She arrived yesterday afternoon.
After catching her breath from her drive, we took a chance on our newly opened attraction, "The China Buffet".......
I can report, it was more than satisfactory.

After a tour of "Smallville", we came home as dusk was falling.
Were your ears burning?
If you were at the Mini-re, your name came up and we said wonderful things about you!

At Midnight, it was obvious to Sara Jean and I that PT had had a long day.
We pointed her in the direction of her den.

She overslept her appointed wake-up time, and I was glad.
A bright-eyed PT emerged from her lair and jumped in the shower.
Coffee and more talk followed, including discussion of dropping by the "National Quilting Museum".....a PT passion.
But PT is homesick........she misses her CinC house, and her own bed.
We reviewed the road atlas and discussed a more direct route home.

So for the Greybeard household, the Mini-re is finally over.
Wonderful memories abound from such a short period!

Hawkeye is making plans for the Alumni Banquet......
Indy Echo and her better half are making initial plans for the October Mini-re.

You missed more than you can know if you weren't with us in Nashville.....
Get your calendar out now and make a note for October.......
I can promise, you'll be glad you did.

I'm sure Indy Echo will be posting prospective dates here soon!

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Do you remember the Gypsies??

As we have all been going back in time and visiting old friends and renewing old aquaintances, remembering old things of our childhood.
I remember something from the "Valley" that I thought of off and on over the years.
Do you remember the gypsies on Smith Valley road every summer. On the right hand side on the way to Highway 37 by the little creek, just over the bridge?
I always liked playing in that particular creek, as it had a deep hole, (probably all of two or three feet) to catch the bigger ones. Again, probably all of about 6 or 8 inches. But back then, they were whales.
We were still very young and one Spring day you would be driving by and poof, there they were by the creek. The had their wonderful brightly painted horse drawn wagon and about a zillion little dark haired kiddies running around.
We never heard from them and they seemed to mind their own business and after a few weeks, poof, they were gone again. Then one Spring, they never came back. We never saw them come or go. They just appeared.

I used to ride my bike by to try and catch a glimpse of them, they had bright colored clothes and lots more hanging from a line. They had a fire and their horse nearby, and a dog or two.
Don't know if they were true gypsies from Romania, but they gave that appearance to me. Or maybe they were Basque on their way to the mtns. to raise sheep. But then again, I had quite an imagination.
I always thought that this was one of the most wonderful and mysterious things of my childhood.

Many years later, while visiting and later living in the mtns. of Colorado, while four wheeling, we would come across a group of Basque sheep herders and stop and talked with them on more than one occasion. They always remembered us. They would stay in Colorado until the end of summer, then move their sheep on into Utah for the winter. They had this tiny little camper pulled by horses and dogs to chase the sheep, everything done on horseback. One year they had 4,000 sheep and the following year, they had 8,000, what a sight to see, 8000 sheep crossing the mountains. Then one year, there they were again, this time with a new pickup truck. I guess sheep herding really does pay. The waved us down to share with us. I still have their pictures somewhere.

I often wonder to this day, whatever happened to those mysterious people by our little creek.
Why didn't we take pictures back then?