12

I'm not really satisfied with this midi, but I was unable to find another more to my liking. To hear the song performed by Jim Corbett and Chris Caswell, click here:

From One of my Famous Marines - Herb Hice of MI, who served in the Pacific Theater during WWII - 12/11/06 - "Dear Carol, For you, Your Family and all your Classmates !!!":

To all of y'all - Herbie sent this picture to me in my Christmas card this year - along with one of the beautiful wooden sleds you see pictured! It's now hanging in my living room on the antique Hoosier cabinet top next to the Christmas tree. I proudly show it to all visitors, and they are suitably impressed!

Thanks so much, Sweetie! You brighten my life continuously!

Merry Christmas!

Oh, Lady, you really know how to yank my chains! Even after all these years, I never, ever go into stores this time of year without those memories of The Way It Was, Way Back Then, Way Back There flooding over me! Nothing will ever equal that magic in my mind!

'Tis the season...

Christmas, Winter Solstice, Channukah, Mean Gheimreidh, Alban Arthan, Kwaanza, Saturnalia... probably other things I don't even know about.

The NH State Employees Association has been doing Operation Santa Claus for 60 years. We get names, genders, ages, sizes of children from social workers (public and private agencies), religious organizations, etc. Most agencies collect in November; I've worked for 8 NH state agencies-- but this one does it differently-- every payday someone in your section comes around and asks for a dollar or two or three or four or five if you can spare it, and the money is saved up-- $26 or $52 or $78 or $104 or even $130 per employee-- for Operation Santa Claus. The goal is that each child gets two beautifully wrapped boxes-- one with toys, one with clothes. So one year my "section" (7 people that year; my present section is 21 people) "adopted" three little girls, 5, 7, and 9, daughters of a widowed low-income dad. They each got one box with a (gorgeous) doll, a board game, a stuffed animal, an art kit, an electronic game, a craft kit, a slinky, 3 age-appropriate books, and play-dough in it. The second box contained a warm flannel nightie, a pair of jammies or a blanket sleeper, a package of panties, a set of long johns, leggings, socks, tights, jeans, slacks, tee-shirt, camis, turtleneck, sweater, a bright velour dress (blue and red for the two little blondes, green for their red- haired sister), hair ribbons, fleece jacket (we knew they'd get a heavy/ski jacket or coat from Coats for Kids), velour or "velvet" indoor/outdoor slippers, snow boots, and snow pants.

This year has been similar-- seems like people want to make sure these kids have good holidays!

We had a food drive, also, with wonderful results, for the food pantries . The average employee brought in 6 items, and I don't mean 3 for $1 pasta-- it was heavy on canned shelf-stable hams, canned white meat chicken, tuna, salmon, peanut butter, healthy cereal, crackers, family-sized canned soups, chili, beef stew. And the agency where I work now-- just under 400 people-- under IAWP, NH chapter International Association of Workforce Professionals-- collected things-- clothes, toiletries, books, games, snacks, DVDs, CDs, phone cards, etc for a NH National Guard unit-- 155 people-- in Iraq. We expected to get maybe 20 big boxes of stuff. We got 120, and then had to ask for donations to mail them all-- and immediately got $1200 in donations for shipping costs.

The message as I see it? Most people are good, and if you ask them to do good, they will. Religion doesn't matter. Race doesn't matter. Ethnicity doesn't matter. Language doesn't matter. Good people are good people, and they try to do good.

Domi

Colleen Ann Domitilla O'Brien, NNHS '64

We've been celebrating Christmas with great abandon this year. We'll begin celebrating Hanukkah on Saturday, December 16. On Tuesday, December 26, we'll be observing Boxing Day, rather than Kwanzaa this year, but we'll link back to our prior coverage of it:

I know absolutely nothing about three of those holidays you noted (Mean Gheimreidh, Alban Arthan, and Saturnalia), but I've reserved Friday, December 22, for a study of Winter Solstice. As you are the only Druid I know, if you could guide me through that as you did with Samhain, I would really appreciate it.

And if those other three are of sufficient importance that I should rearrange things, please let me know as quickly as possible, so that I do not become too locked into place - thanks!

I enjoyed hearing about your spirit of giving, Domi - and I quite agree with you! Good people do good things. It always brings feelings of warmth when we hear of the sharing spirits of others! Thanks again - and enjoy your holidays!

Christmas cards

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

From Carolyn Simpson Knight ('56) of VA - 12/11/06 - "Memorial Endowed Scholarships at CNU":

I’ve been asked by Allan Hanrahan (NNHS ‘55) and his wife Renee Koskinas Hanrahan (NNHS ‘56) to send you the following information on Memorial Endowed Scholarships at Christopher Newport University. The scholarships were established in honor of two NNHS educators who were quite instrumental in our lives, and these scholarships will continue to assist CNU students in their educational endeavors. Contributions can be made at any time by NNHS Alumni and any others who would like to make a donation to honor the memories of Coach Conn and Miss Gildersleeve.

"NNHS Alumni will be interested to know that there are memorial endowed scholarships at Christopher Newport University in the names of Ethel M. Gildersleeve and Julius Conn.

Anyone interested in contributing to either scholarship is invited to contact Lucy Latchum, Director of Major and Planned giving, at (757) 594-7702 or llatchum@cnu.edu.“

Thanks, Carol. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

This information is now posted on their individual pages so it will always be readily available:

Mrs. Marie Suttle was a 3rd grade teacher at the new Thomas Jefferson Elementary School. She is at the Newport Nursing Home on Warwick Boulevard, NN, VA. Great teacher, alert most of the time but bedridden. I'm sure she would like cards.

OHHH, I'm certain that she would love hearing from her former students - and any others who would care to remember her at this time! Thank you so much, Johnny! That's very thoughtful of you! Please give our love to Gwen!

From Hunter Todd ('57) of TX - 12/11/06 - "Merry Christmas from WorldFest-Houston Film Festival":

And my apologies for totally redesigning your Christmas card. This version bears about as much resemblance to your original as I do to Marilyn Monroe, but I could do no more...

Hmmm. Okay, Lady, there was that cute, little, sweet, little girl's image, and I thought to myself, "Oh, this is going to be so cute and light!"

Then I read it again, and thought that despite the fact it was obviously written to express only one meaning, it could easily be interpreted in a couple of others as well.

Reunion information is ALWAYS posted very near the top on the front page, and on the Reunion Page section:

Henceforth, it will be repeated here, lest you forget:

The NNHS Class of 1957
will hold its Holiday Party on Thursday, December 14, 2006 at the Omni Hotel,
Newport News, VA.

Forms and reservations were due
by Monday, December 4, 2006.

The NNHS Class of 1958
will hold its Holiday Party on Thursday, December 14, 2006 at Port Anne Club House, Williamsburg, VA at 5:30 PM.
Map and Directions to Port Anne Community: http://www.widomaker.com/
%7Eportanne/directions.htm

Reservations are due
by Monday, December 11, 2006.

The NNHS Class of 1962
will hold its 45-Year Reunion on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, September 21, 22 and 23, 2007 at the Point Plaza Suites, 950 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Newport News, VA 23601.

Suites will be available that will include breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

Visit Brenda's 1962 Web Page:
http://geocities.com/typhoonmom1/

AND CHECK THIS WEB PAGE FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION - 11/27/06:

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/reunion-62-planning-mtgs.html

The NNHS Class of 1957
is planning its 50-Year Class Reunion,
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,
September 7, 8 and 9, 2007
at the Omni Hotel in Newport News, VA.

More details to follow!

The NNHS Class of 1958
is planning its 50th Anniversary Reunion,
Friday and Saturday, May 16 -17, 2008.

The Noble Gathering

More details to follow!

From One of my Famous Marines - Herb Hice of MI, who served in the Pacific Theater during WWII - 12/07/06 - "Dear Carol, Some Cute Animal Pix" (#5 in a series of 20):

The holly green, the ivy green
The prettiest picture you've ever seen
Is Christmas in Killarney
With all of the folks at home

It's nice, you know, to kiss your beau
While cuddling under the mistletoe
And Santa Claus you know, of course
Is one of the boys from home

The door is always open
The neighbors pay a call
And Father John before he's gone
Will bless the house and all

How grand it feels to click your heels
And join in the fun of the jigs and reels
I'm handing you no blarney
The likes you've never known
Is Christmas in Killarney
With all of the folks at home

Animated Cheering Smiley and YE-HAA Typhoon clip art courtesy of Al Farber ('64) of GA - 08/18/05
Thanks, Al!

Animated Tiny Birthday Cake clip art courtesy of Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA - 08/31/05
Thanks, Sarah Sugah!

Image of Marilyn Monroe scanned from book in Webmistress' collection - 11/09/05