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Mr.
Larry Wendell Armstrong Currently residing in Annapolis, MD
Newport News High School, Class of 1953, Student Body President
English, History, French, Golf Team Coach, |
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| 1953 Anchor, p. 26 | 1953 Anchor, p. 110 |
Friday, September 29, 1961
Issue of the Beacon |
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Courtesy of Tom Norris (HHS -
'73) of VA - 01/13/05 Thanks, Tom! |
Courtesy of Tom Norris (HHS -
'73) of VA - 01/13/05 Thanks, Tom! |
Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64)
of VA - 01/31/08 WOWZERS! Thanks, Dave! |
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| 1962 Anchor, p. 24 | 1962 Anchor, p. 70 | 1962 Anchor, p. 121 | 1963 Anchor, p. 45 |
| 11/12/04 | 11/13/04 | 11/12/04 | |
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| 1963 Anchor, p. 129 | |||
| 11/12/04 | |||
Most of my
memories of my F-Period French 1-2 class during my freshman year ('61-'62) do
not bear repeating
It was a very diverse group, from eighth to eleventh graders. I know that Billy
Feather ('64), Jeannie Collier ('65), Albert Dorner ('66),
Ginny Sue Goolsby ('63), and Danielle Garrick ('63) were in that class.
I’m pretty sure that Rose Woodard ('65)
was in there as well, and possibly Sammy Fox ('66) and Susie Overton ('63) back
when we called her Estelle.
I was completely in awe of Dani because as projected valedictorian of the Class
of ’63,
I figured she was the most brilliant person I’d ever met, and I felt
particularly stupid in that class.
One day she overwhelmed me by telling me that she envied me – me!!! –
because I had the most beautiful hair she’d ever seen – a compliment I still
remember more than 40 years later.
Billy Feather ('64) and I sat up front, right at Mr. Armstrong’s feet.
That second picture shown above was taken in our class.
Billy Feather’s mission in life was to make me blush, which is still a very
readily accomplished goal, lo,
these many years later, so you can imagine how easy it was when I was only 14.
I remember Mr. Armstrong exhorting us to “pense en Francais”, which I managed to
accomplish twice in my life – once
while I was sleeping and dreamed an entire dream “en Francais”, and once at Old
Dominion, after I began taking German –
a fine time for that skill to kick in, I must say.. I remember reading Dumas and
being stunned that I could comprehend an
entire novel written in a language other than my own, but that was probably in
Mrs. Clark’s 3-4 class the next year.
I remember Mr. Armstrong’s usual retort to every problem was, “C’est domage”
(which it was),
and I remember learning our first French sentence – “J’entre dans la salle de
classe”.
I remember one of our earliest assignments was to write a paper which we had to
read aloud to the class, describing ourselves -
completely “en Francais”. That was such an agonizing, mortifying experience for
somebody as shy as I was (yea, verily!),
that it not only caused me to lose sleep then, but to have nightmares which
persisted for over twenty years.
I remember learning a French Christmas carol which I had never heard up until
that time – “Il Est Nee, La Divine Enfant”,
but there again, that was probably the following year.
- Carol Buckley Harty ('65) of NC - 11/12/04
J'entre dans la salle de classe.
Je regard autour de moi.
Je dis bonjour au mon professeur et mes eleves. (?)
Je prend ma place.
and then something about a crayon and papier and le livre!
- Albert Dorner ('66) of VA - 11/12/04
WOW! What a phenomenal memory after more than forty years! Thanks,
Albert!
Hi, Carol:
Thanks for creating the page for former teacher, Mr. Larry W. Armstrong.
Larry was probably considered the original "Adonis" by working as a Life Guard
and Swimming Instructor
at the World War II Memorial Municipal Swimming Pool.
My sister Nancy Van Orden ('61) of FL and Judi Hawley Whitestone ('61) of VA
still talk about how handsome Larry was
back in 1953 when he was their swimming instructor. He was a real gentleman and
a fine athlete for the TYPHOON.
Always,
Adonis
- Joe Madagan
('57) of FL - 11/15/04
Thanks, Joe! I remember when Mr. Armstrong walked on stage during
assemblies,
there was a very audible swoon from the girls all over the auditorium.
Carol,
Do I have
a Larry Armstrong story for you...
It happened before we moved to the islands and that has been 14 years ago.
John and I were staying on our sailboat in Annapolis when we decided to get a
bite at McGarvey's restaurant.
As we were seated and I looked across the restaurant and noticed a familiar face
behind the bar.
I could not believe it.......it was Larry Armstrong!
I knew he wouldn't remember me, but I knew he would remember my Dad so I went
over to say hello to him.
He was still a "hunk" may I say!
I was right, he didn't recognize me, but when I told him I was Ernie Shaffer's
daughter
you should have seen the look on his face!
He was still adorable.....as he asked me not to tell anyone working in the
bar/restaurant
that he was a high school English teacher way back when....I made the promise.
It seems Larry was the head bartender and we saw him many times after that first
encounter.
On our recent visits we did not see him.
- Brownie Shaffer Haracivet ('62) of the Virgin Islands - 11/19/04
WOWZERS! Thanks, Brownie!
I, too, had Mr.
Armstrong for French when I was an eighth grader in the class with Albert Dorner
('66), Sammy Fox ('66),
et al. My memories go back a bit further, however.
I had Mr. Armstrong as my swimming instructor when I was in the fourth grade. At
the time I was very near-sighted, but didn't
realize it. Since I couldn't see the water very well, I refused to jump in water
over my head and Mr. Armstrong failed me! (I have
since learned to swim - not like a fish, but enough to enjoy the sport).
I have another connection to Mr. Armstrong. As a young boy, he lived on Oak
Avenue. When his family moved out of that
house, my family moved in and I lived there for 10 years. Only when we were
discussing our histories in French class did this
connection become apparent. I also felt a "little" special because I had a good
idea about his younger years
- at least the house he lived in and the neighborhood he frequented!
He has always been one of my favorite teachers and I think of him whenever I
hear French being spoken -
especially if it is not spoken well!
-
Shirley Eanes Matthews ('66) of VA - 02/11/05
Thanks, Shirley! It's good to hear from you! That was a fun class, wasn't it?!?
Re: Larry Armstrong. Had no idea that Larry was a teacher at NNHS. He came and went after I was no longer a student there. Now this is a guy to really look up to, which I had to do because I must have been 7 or 8 years old when I first met him. He taught me how to swim at the WWII Memorial Pool. I was not a slow learner but pretended to be because he was the most handsome man I had ever seen, except for my Daddy! Two years of lessons and then the diving board. Daredevil me pretended to be just the opposite, that way he spent more time with me. Didn't know what a crush was then, but realized later that was what it had to be. Sorry for being such a pest, Larry.
- Sepi Dinwiddie
Prichard ('58) of NC - 07/16/07
Thanks, Sepi!
Hi, Carol:
Well, after reading the
See You in September
newsletter and the
comments by Sepi Dinwiddie Prichard ('58) of NC about Larry Armstrong ('53 - of
MD), one can readily see that my sister Nancy Madagan Van Orden ('61) of FL and
Judi Hawley Whitestone ('61) of VA were not the only ones struck by the handsome
form of their Life Guard and Swimming Instructor at the Municipal Pool in
Newport News.
Marvin Turley was the Head Life Guard back then, and Larry Armstrong and Ronnie
Jenkins were the two life guards and swimming instructors at the pool. Ronnie
recently won a 70 mile bicycle race here in Florida, so you can tell that he has
not slacked off in his physical training since retiring as a Colonel in the U.S.
Air Force. Larry Armstrong is now a restaurateur in Annapolis, Maryland.
- Joe Madagan
('57) of FL - 07/17/07
Thanks, Joe!