Wellston Flashlight

FLASHLIGHT

WELHISCO ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

March, 2007

WELHISCO

Don Taylor ('61)
Announces retirement,
beginning February 28,

after 46 years in the
surveying profession.
He & wife Janet Ruff ('64), will vacation in Southwest Florida the whole month of March.

Savannah Nicole
Mike Saffley '64 and Karin Carter '65 welcomed their newest grandchild on 12/14/06

"Missing Classmates"
Help us find them.

HAPPY
ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!

WELLSTON’S OWN COMEDIAN

Corbett Monica (‘47)

   He grew up on Manhattan's Upper East Side before moving to Wellston in 1943 at the age of 13.
   Four years later, Monica took advantage of St Louis' numerous clubs and began his standup career. After a marriage and
divorce that yielded a son and was a
source of comedic material, he entered
the US Army and entertained at USO clubs.
   From 1962 to 1965, He played Larry on the sitcom "The Joey Bishop Show".

   1970: Acted in the film "The Grass-hopper" along with Jacqeline Bissett, Jim Brown and Joseph Cotten
   1972: Appeared in the ABC comedy TV-movie "Call Her Mom" starring Connie Stevens
   1984: Starred in the Woody Allen film "Broadway Danny Rose"
   1986: Appeared in the Cinemax comedy special "But Seriously Folks" along with Shecky Greene and Jan Murray.
   Corbett Monica worked the standup comedy circuit for over 40 years, opening for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin.
   His frequent stints with Frank Sinatra made him a virtual member of the Rat Pack.
   He frequently guest hosted NBC's "The Tonight Show".
   He appeared on the "The Ed Sullivan Show" 18 times.
   A true veteran comedian, he was adept at reading an audience and tailoring his
jokes to suit them.

More about Corbett Monica click HERE:

Iwo Jima

Flags of Our Fathers & Our Classmates Gold Stars.. ..........."And so another star has been added to the flag of our Wellston High School, a gold star, in memory of this boy who became a man overnight."- - - by Miss Julia Griswold, a teacher at Wellston since 1908. She wrote this for the Journal in 1945. This time it was for the obituary of Haydn Purviance '43. Miss Griswold lost over 22 young students to the wars. Complete Obit with Picture is here:
http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~welhisco/haydn_obit.html
More: http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~welhisco/

BUD WATSON '60 SPEECH NOW AVAILABLE:

So many alumni have requested Bud's speech be posted online for those who were unable to hear him at Reunion 2006's dinner. We're happy to inform you it is now available on line. Please click here: Bud's Speech October 21, 2006

FLASHLIGHT

Page 2

March, 2007

1947 Paper Queen & King

2
Jim Faulconer & Betty Van Cloostere '49

Reprints from OLD FLASHLIGHTS:
From March 1, 1951:
Sophomores Crown Paper King & Queen

Lloyd Anderson and Matilda Brophy were crowned King and Queen
of Paper at the annual Sophomore Paper Dance last Friday night.
The coronation and dance took place in the school cafeteria. Fay Smith, Sue Schleuter, Norman Bauer, and Robert Taylor were the other candidates for the honor. The king and queen are chosen by the amount of paper they collect. The Sophomore class has sponsored a paper drive and dance every year for the past six years for the purpose of raising money for their treasury. The cafeteria was decorated in blue and white crepe paper, hanging from the ceiling and the side walls. The backdrop was made up of a darker blue, with glittering letters spelling out "Paper King and Queen of 1951". Matilda and Lloyd received crowns of paper and artificial ermine (cotton). The maids, Faye and Sue, each received a paper corsage and the boys received white paper boutonnieres.
The drive has in recent years become a means of helping to finance the Junior-Senior Prom. Ken Guinther announced that $90 worth of paper was collected in the drive.

AVAILABLE: PRINTABLE COPY
We know a lot of the alumni print copies of the Flashlight so the can share with friends and/or siblings. The Internet copy does NOT print well. If you’d like a printable copy please email us:
[email protected] . We'll email a printable copy.

1958 Paper Queen & King

Barbara Cook '60 & Larry Turner '60

Coolest link of the Month!
ST. LOUIS WALK OF FAME
The Inductees in order by year of Birth!
How many do you know?
Many will be a surprise!
Click Here!

1967 Paper Queen and King

Queen Sharon Briggs '69 , King Jerry Burkett '69

FLASHLIGHT

Page 3

March, 2007

Where in the World is Gene Kelly? (Class of '53)
Check out the link taking you to the missing alumni list in your class. They may not even know they are missing!! If there’s someone on the list whom you might know the whereabouts of (dead or alive) please email us the information or have them contact us. As you will see there’s only a few classes who have a lot missing. Most classes had someone who took the initiative to keep their class list current. This is not an easy task to undertake but does make it easier for the reunion committee. Check all the classes. There might be someone’s brother, sister, aunt, uncle, parents or even neighbors on the list. The list spans 30 years. MISSING ALUMNI

Classmates Remembered

Charlie Oellermann '48
Passed 1/27/07 Heart Attack

Jean Thomason '46
Passed 2/1/07

Harry Cary '49
Passed 2/16/07

Classmate Remembered: I am very sorry to hear about Harry Cary. He was in my class of '49. He was a nice person. It is so sad he had to deal with throat cancer. That is just not fair at all. So many people are suffering. I am sure Harry's family has suffered along with him, and I would hope they can rely on happy memories of better days.
Joan (Thoss) Stoyanoff - class '49

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

What fun reading the Flashlight. It brings back lots of good memories. We were unable to attend the reunion due to another commitment so it is nice to see the pictures and read about old friends. Thanks for your time and efforts in putting this together. Ruth (Douglas) Steele – class of '53

FLASHLIGHT

Page 4

March, 2007

Bill Eggert '55

WHAT AM I DOING NOW?
We welcome contributions each month, send in your story, or perhaps a story about a favorite teacher or classmate that made a difference in your life whom is no longer with us. We will try to honor one selected short story of general interest each month: This Months feature story is:

Bill Eggert, class of '55, retired from the Air Force before starting his new career (of 27 years) at the Kennedy Space Center. He writes: " When I was recently asked to contribute an article to the Flashlight covering my life and travels during my 23.5 years in the Air Force, I felt deeply honored.
   I was excited and enthusiastic about the project because I have so many slides and photos to help illustrate the story.
Then, a slight touch of panic set in, not because of the lack of material, just the opposite, I have over 8,000 slides and volumes of photo albums to sort through and narrow down to use in this story.
   My name is Bill Eggert, WELHISCO class of 1955 and this is the rest of the story . . .
     Click here for "The Rest of the Story"

Snowbirds meet for lunch in Florida

Back Row: Colleen Oliphant, Patsy Tiernan, Joan Endejan Front Row: Barbara Sittner, Dottie Holland and Alma Jane Hunter, Not Pictured: Faye Smith (left to go sea fishing) and JoAnn Williams (photographer)

Women will go to extremes meeting good friends for lunch. JoAnn Williams ('60) drove from Destin to pick up Colleen Oliphant '51, in Gulf Breeze, FL then they drove to Gulf Shores, AL meeting the snowbirds for lunch. Barbara Sittner ('51), Patsy Tiernan, Alma Jane Hunter & Faye Smith ('53), Dottie Holland ('54) and Joan Endejan who attend Mercy High but lived in Wellston. They had a great lunch while reminiscing over their wonderful years at good old Welhisco and remarking how age hasn't taken the toll on any of them. Colleen said beside being a lot of fun it was was also great therapy meeting and rehashing school memories. The ladies still live in the St Louis area, (except Colleen), and have remained friends since school.

Florida Golfers
Bill Judd (middle) and Cletus Taylor (Right) are waiting to be picked up for a day on the links while the ladies have lunch. The snowbirds migrate south in January, staying till March. They'd love to meet up with others who do the same. Contact any of the above for more info.

FLASHLIGHT

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March, 2007

Editors
Sandy Gibbons(’57)
Bill Voos (’48)
JoAnn Williams (’60)

Circulation Editor & Web Master
Bob Haefner (’49)

Trustees
Larry Brown (’63)
Wanda Cornman (’60)
JoAnn Williams (’60)

WELLSTON HIGH SCHOOL
WHS Reunion
P.O. Box 81
Washington, MO 63090

Phone 636-978-5771
Fax 636-696-4693
E-mail
[email protected]

LET'S GO TROJANS!

We’re on the Web!

http://freepages.school-alumni.rootsweb.com/~welhisco/

BuzzBooks available!

Click on Book
to order

BIG 8x11
41 pages

Contact living WHS Grads, plus a list of those no longer with us. Alumni 2006 Reunion List, and a lot more!
$7.00 Supplies low

All proceeds go to
the WHS-Reunion Fund

HAPPY
ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!

    Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney.
     "Did you see the paper?" asked Gallagher. "They say I died!!"
     "Yes, I saw it!" replied Finney. "Where ye callin' from?"

    Paddy was in New York. He was patiently waiting and watching the traffic cop on a busy street crossing. The cop stopped the flow of traffic and shouted, "Okay, pedestrians." Then he'd allow the traffic to pass.   He'd done this several times, and Paddy still stood on the sidewalk. After the cop had shouted, "Pedestrians!" for the tenth time, Paddy went over to him and said, "Is it not about time ye let the Catholics across?"

Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, "Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman." "Oh yeah?" said Charlie, "And how did this one end?" "When it was over," Mike replied, "She came to me on her hands and knees. "Really," said Charles, "Now that's a switch! What did she say?" She said, "Come out from under that bed, you little chicken."

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
AN OLD IRISH VERSE ~ (AND ALUMNI PRAYER)

Lots of changes & updating going on!!
Those without computers or email addresses can now access Flashlight Newsletters. All they have to do is use one of their children’s (or grandchild’s) computers or go to their local library logging on to the WHS website. There’s no reason why everyone can’t keep up with all school news now.

Send in Your Story! Let us know where you’ve been and what you’ve done with your life. Everyone loves a good story – what better reading then about someone you know!!
Need some Hints? . .Make a list similar to this. Send it to your classmates for ideas. Click here for sample story ideas ca 1940s..then make yours!

FLASHLIGHT

Page 6

March,2007

Your WHS Reunion Committee

Trustees of the WHS Reunion Fund and Committee Members

JoAnn Williams '60 Trustee

Wanda Cornman '60 Trustee

Larry Brown '63 Trustee



Bill Voos '48 Editor	Sandy Gibbons '57 Editor Flashlight	Jim Shaw '45 Buzz Book	Betty A. Smith '47 Buzz Book
			Just push the Button! WHS Reunion Committee eMail your suggestions, stories, and photos, or just say hello!
Donna Hagan '68 Production	Carol Beeman '60 Classmates Remembered List	Bob Haefner '49 Webmaster