12/23/08 - Christmas cheer from Dick Greminger

I LOVE IT!!!!!!. This country is not going to die in a nuclear bang but in a politically correct whimper. I remember I learned about Christmas, the nativity and all the carols at Horace Greeley's annual school Christmas Pageant in the auditorium. No one was offended.

This one blew me away!!!!! If you haven't already seen it....enjoy!!!!  *****Dick, By the way Merry Christmas  

12/22/08 - Especially at Christmas we remember Hugo Winterhalter (Aug 15, 1909 - Sep 17. 1973)

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]
Easy listening arranger and composer, Winterhalter was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Mount St. Mary's near Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1931, where he played saxophone for the orchestra and sang in tow of the choirs. He later studied violin and reed instruments at the New England Conservatory of Music. After graduating, he taught school for several years before turning professional during the mid 1930s, serving as a sideman and arranger for Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Raymond Scott, Claude Thornhill and others.

Winterhalter also arranged and conducted sessions for singers including Dinah Shore and Billy Eckstine, and in 1948 he was named musical director at MGM Records. After a two-year stint with the record label, he moved to Columbia Records, where he scored a hit with his orchestral reading of "Blue Christmas."

In 1950, Winterhalter signed on with RCA Victor, where he arranged sessions for artists including Perry Como, Eddie Fisher and the Ames Brothers; he also recorded several instrumental albums, among them 1952's Great Music Themes of Television, one of the first collections of TV theme songs ever recorded. Winterhalter also notched a series of chart hits, including "Blue Tango," "Vanessa," "The Little Shoemaker" and "Song of The Barefoot Contessa"; with pianist Eddie Heywood, he reached the number two spot with 1956's "Canadian Sunset."

He remained with RCA until 1963, at which time he moved to Kapp; that same year, he also penned the main title theme for the film, Diamond Head. At Kapp he recorded a handful of albums including The Best of '64 and its follow-up, The Big Hits of 1965, before leaving the label to work on Broadway. He later worked in television as well, and continued recording the occasional LP for various budget labels.

Winterhalter died from cancer, in Greenwich, Connecticut on 17 September 1973.    (click to view a few of his album covers)

12/20/08 - A Christmas letter from Judy & Rodger Donahue

Dear friends and family,
If you were on your roof top any time this year you’ve already heard that Rodger’s   (click here)

11/30/08 - email from Grace Coward

I just wanted to give you a very pleasant update. I just became a grandmother yesterday morning. My daughter Liz and son-in-law Kevin are the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy. His name is Max and he weighed in at 8 lbs 8oz. His official name is Maximilian James Cannon. Needless to say I am in "Grandma Heaven".

11/22/08 - HGHS football memorabilia on display at the Chappaqua Library - click on link below http://tinyurl.com/neqrlph

10/30/08 - Email from Dave Benedict

10/13/08 - An Urgent Plea from the Editor

I want to ask all my former classmates to do me a favor. Please telegram Henry Paulson, C/O The US Treasury, and ask him to send me, Bill, 4 million dollars. It will really make me feel better and help the economy from tanking. I got into financial trouble through no fault of my own. Last summer I bought a battery operated electric drill, on sale for $39.00, and when I got home I discovered I already had one. I put it up for sale on Ebay for $150.00 and there have been no takers. Also, over the summer I bought a cat carrying case at a garage sale for $15.00. It is a real cool case and I needed it because the cat was not eating enough and I was going to take him to the vet. However, the cat ran off. (Iam's cat food sales are down). I  tried to take it back to the sellers but they just looked at me as if I had psoriasis. I then put the case up for sale on Ebay for $250.00 but there are no takers. Normally, this would not bother me but I notice some changes in my buying habits. Today I passed up a deal at Wal-Mart – 2 CDs for $10 (Hank Williams and Fats Domino). Wal-Mart is one of our country’s largest employers and if they start letting people go we will have a lot of mad and hungry people in the parking lots. Also, I have delayed cutting my hair. Normally I tip my stylist and she uses the money to eat out at Wendy’s. She has cut back and you can imagine where that leads to. Yesterday I saw coupons in the newspaper for deals at Wendy’s. They are in trouble.

I want you to understand that this 4 million dollars is just a loan and it will be paid back in full and then some. I have a friend in England and we are going to do a currency swap. I will use the English pounds to live in Italy and gamble at Monte Carlo and invest in the recovering world stock markets. With the profits I make I will reverse the swap in 3 years and pay back the loan with interest.

So please, write to Henry Paulson on my behalf. Ask for something for yourself too.
The Editor, B Miller

10/01/08 - A book about Ed Barlow has been written)

Lawrence Meyers, a 1984 graduate of Horace Greeley HS has just written a new book - Teacher of The Year / The Mystery and Legacy of Edwin Barlow. 

It can be ordered at www.misterbarlow.com.

09/16/08 - Photos from Bob

Bob sends us a few pictures taken during his annual visit to his Wayne, Maine cabin. While there this past August he visited Debby Wedgwood Marshall in Little Deer Isle, Maine and Betty Ann and John Mahoney in Northport, Maine.

08/20/08 - Bill observes Northern Gannets in the Cape Breton Highlands

We were aboard a zodiac off the Cape Breton Highlands at Pleasant Bay.  A pod of  pilot whales worked together near the boat.  Some whales swim to the bottom and stir up the fish and others skim along the surface gobbling them up. Overhead many gulls and a few gannets circled, waiting for the stray fish.  Suddenly a gannet would dive, hitting the water straight down at about 60 mph.  The gannet willfully dislocates its shoulders just before impact to prevent breaking its wings. They can dive up to 10 feet deep into the water chasing a fish.  The gulls are happy to catch a surface fish.

(1st photo - a gannet, amidst a flock of gulls, begins its dive)

(2nd photo - the gannet having dislocated its shoulders is entering the water at high speed)

(photos taken by Quoddy Link Marine)

08/18/08 - Judy buys an alarm clock

Yesterday while Rodger went to Barnes and Noble I went to Big Lots! and bought an alarm clock for 5.00. Why I need an alarm clock in my new and most wonderful retired life we won't get into and I lost Rodger in this epiphany when he said why'd you spend five dollars? I had an alarm clock...... one from the dollar store but it is gone. It must have fallen off my night stand and anything on the floor is Chelsea's..... anyway he wanted to leave for the Book Sale at 7:30, forgetting that Evansville is an hour behind us and I wanted to get up at six to get ready. No alarm. I saw this one in the clearance shelves and it was not only an alarm clock it has the day of the month and the day of the week on it in flip over pieces too. WOW! Can you imagine the thrill of rolling over and opening you eyes in the morning and knowing what day of the week it was and what date of the month?????? Oh, utter delight right?
So last night I put a AA battery in it and set the time. I thought how does it know what time 11:00 is? AM or PM? I don't want this thing changing the day of the week at noon? I looked for instructions.... none. Hmmmmmmm.
I set the alarm for 11:15 and it went off so it must be set for pm,right? So far so good. It has three buttons on top and when I pushed on one the alarm stopped dinging. This is going to be so cool.
This morning when I woke up it said the right time, 7:30 but it still said Sat. 9 in the other two windows. Hmmmmmmm. Didn't change at midnight. Must not know it was pm and supposed to change. When I can't figure what is wrong I'm a button pusher so I pushed the top middle button . It flipped itself to 10. Then I hit the third button and it flipped to Sun. Holy Mackerel, it's manual. I gotta hit the buttons, when either I go to bed or wake up. How could I be so stupid as to think it did it itself? How would it know it was a thirty day month or a thirty one? This clock is as dumb as I am. We were meant for each other.
Since at my age there is a better chance that I won't wake up, as go to bed, I'll hit the buttons as I go to bed. That way I'll know what day it is when I wake up, right? If I don't wake up I probably won't care what day of the week it is. How could I be so dumb to think a 5 dollar clock would know the time and date?
And better yet hitting those buttons can count as 1 thing I did that day.... two if I'm really lazy.

08/01/08 - Belated posting of email exchange between Van and Susie.  The color may be hard to read but Van always sends emails in turquoise.  It must be a state of mind.)

On 5/10/08 Carol to Susie:
HAPPY MOM'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOMS...
LOVE VAN
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On 6/27/2008 Susie to Carol:
How are you doing up north..thanks for the card. Sad time. Susie
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On 6/28/08 Carol to Susie:
I hope you are getting stronger each day without your Mom....I know it's a huge loss.
I had a heart attack 5/16 caused by stress called Cardiomyopathy.....they told me that the move was very stressful and I need to slow down...being a type AAA personality adds to it!!!
Have a wonderful summer... Van
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On 6/29/2008 Susie to Carol:
Oh Van take care of yourself please. It was a big move after all these years in one place. How are you now? Where did this happen? Fill me in.

Really miss Mom after 100 years and 10 months. Sharp as a tack till the end. Fell. Hospital treat old people so poorly. Filled her full of morphine, made her so crazy and wore her out. Hope she is peaceful now. The last 6 months have been hard. Caretakers, marketing, paperwork etc etc but you never count on the end. Kids really helped and she was the come back kid. We’ll take her ashes back to Westchester in the fall. Family plot is in Somers with all the Purdy relatives. Take care Susie
If you had a June Bday I forgot it but not you!!! (-:
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On 6/29/08 Carol to Susie:
Sooo good to hear from you...ummm my bday is in September...Abby made you all sing to me at the reunion!!! Such fun..
Susie...do you want your Mom's passing posted on the HGHS website....all of our class LOVED your Mom and I'm sure would like to keep her and your family in their prayers...if not, just tell me...
My heart attack was 5/16 and I was medivaced to Spokane and operated on that same night...Poor Bruce was a wreck....I am trying to take it easy but it's not easy...my son is furious that I moved and thinks I'm spending HIS inheritance....he has a $2million home in Armonk and I live in my first home ever...go figure....he reminds me of my brother....greedy greedy...
I'm am going to visit Pam and her family in Naples on 7/8 for a week...really looking forward to it...I think Bruce is going to enjoy the peace and quiet for a week!!!! He has a window washing business and is super busy after the long Winter and almost non-existant spring we had...
Hope those fires are no where near you.
I think of you often Susie..please know that....
Van
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On 6/29/08 Susie to Carol

Van – Well if I had thought for a minute of course it is Sept because BA and I came to your 60th.
The fires are around Big Sur...that beautiful CA area below Carmel and Monterey. Magnificent there. The coast line just dives off into the Pacific and the water is like Hawaii.
So what do you have to do now...I’m guessing you got help quick and are fine now. How did you know you were having a heart attack? They say often women do not know.
It’s ok to put Mom’s passing on the web site. I had not thought of it. Since she first took ill in December it has been so crazy that I never got around to sending a blurb about going to Brian's B-day in Feb in Phoenix. Bette and Steve went too. Pete O’Neil was there and Gail Robinson Messenger. Brian's whole gang just love him- 5 boys. Lyn was so nice to host us all. Bette is now on the Cape with Lyn Sarver. I think you know that Michael passed away after the reunion.

When Mom turned 100 our village newspaper called to interview her---nothing doing she said...but they did have a picture of her at 100 because we have a party in town for everyone over 90 and she was there. They asked her for an interview at 101 and she said maybe...she missed the party by 2 days and 101 by 2 months. She really looked more like 79...cooked dinner for us up till December...anyway I’ve attached the blurb.
Lindy and I spent today trying to clean out some of her clothes and odds and ends.
Your trip to Fla sounds like fun. Feel better. Susie

07/16/08 - Bob writes

I went to Barcelona this April to do a piece for Road & Track magazine. It's on page 112 of this month's issue (Aug ’08), which is on the stands now with a big "10 Hottest Cars per Gallon" on the cover.
 
Doing stuff for Road & Track is always fun. Not least because they pay the airfare and expenses. This trip was especially good because I love Barcelona. And the F-1 racing team I was covering, Scuderia Toro Rosso, decided that they only had enough money to test for two days instead of the four they'd originally planned. It was too late to change my tickets; staying two days would have cost more than four. So I was stuck in Barcelona for two days with nothing to do. Then, Sebastien Bourdais, the race driver I was doing the piece on, wadded their one and only race car into the wall and they went home on their first day. Leaving me with another day in Barcelona with nothing to do. Damn.

I have to confess that one item on my expense account was called "dinner" when it was really just an hors d'ouvre. There is a very special Spanish ham, like prosciutto, but sweeter, smokier, called Jamon Jabugo. In autumn, the piggies run free in the Spanish oak forest and gobble up acorns, happily unaware that they will, after a couple of years aging, be sold as Jabugo Jamon (pronounced haboogo hamoan). Restaurants of course have big markups but still. . . I had around three ounces at a price I worked out to be $161 a pound. Very tasty.

07/05/08 - Nick Bowen, HG class of '60 and Dave's brother, sends us some memories from the '50's  -

Bill - my old neighbor, and the funniest guy I ever knew. I saw your bit in Dave Williams' recent newsletter, and offer the following remembrances of the class of '57:

Getting picked on by my brother's friends. When not getting picked on, I tagged along with my brother and Hans Courtial (only because Mom made them take me).

I went with David and one of his friends to see the movie "Rock Around The Clock." I felt tough as nails when the movie was over and we left the theater.

You joined us for supper one night when Mom made Welsh Rarebit. You called it "Washed Rabbit" and we laughed about that for years afterward.

I had just started playing the guitar, and was all eyes and inspired ears when Tom Powers played in school talent shows.

I went to Gettysburg College and joined the same fraternity as Doug Norton and Jerry Krohn. They didn't pick on me, but were great friends and helped me adjust to college life.

Thanks for the opportunity to share,  Nick

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(Some info about Nick)

Nick is retired and lives in North Carolina with his wife Pat. They have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Nick and Dave get together for weddings, funerals, and the occasional beach vacation together. But they haven't seen each other for a couple of years now.

Nick worked as a computer systems analyst, first in the Air Force, then with Chase Manhattan Bank, and then with two insurance companies working with their claim systems. He was with his last company for 20 years. When they chose to downsize, outsource and offshore, Nick retired.

Nick reports “we're in the second year of drought in North Carolina. The lawn died last year and weeds grew in its place. Now they're dead, too. At least I don't have to mow anymore. We have water conservation restrictions - can't wash the car or the house, can water the lawn (weeds) one day a week. Any time we're waiting for the water to heat up we collect it in a bucket. And it's hot and humid”.

07/01/08 - Susie's mother, Ruth, passed away on May 29, 2008, two months shy of her 101st birthday. Please click here to read a brief obituary.

04/29/08 - An email exchange about the Chappaqua Police Force that leads inexorably to the Great Chappaqua Train Station Pilferage of 1952 - Read More

04/19/08 - Carol's daughter Pam with Dan Marino - Click Here

03/24/08 - Kathryn Judd's Easter Bunnies - recipe available upon request - (picture)

03/17/08 - Howard Junker's daily guide to life in San Francisco.  It's a nice way to start the day:  http://zyzzyvaspeaks.blogspot.com/

03/06/08 - In Lunenburg, after a prolonged cold spell, the ocean freezes up at the edges -(picture)

03/04/08 - email from Bob about coming to America - Click Here

02/27/07 - A poem and an email exchange between Judy Donahue & Bill - Click Here

02/13/08 - email exchange between Tom Powers & Bill - Click Here

02/11/08 - Pete has sent pictures of two memorable Chappaqua house - Click Here

02/01/08 - Disappearing grey seal pups  - by Bill - Click Here

01/28/08 - Email from Judy

I didn't get a chance to ask anyone if they remembered Drivers Ed? Was it just my imagination or did the car have a truck clutch in it  ...Read More

01/28/08 - Email from Carol

Hi Hi HI from the State of Washington....I have finally settled into my new home with Bruce McKenna...We drove from Tarrytown to Albion, WA in less than 6 days and I was a good girl all the way... Read More