FLASHLIGHT
62nd Edition
First issue         November, 1920

      WELHISCO ALUMNI NEWSLETTER 

                                 March,April 2012


WELHISCO

Trojan Head designed by  
Kermit Ruyle '47

Reminder
6 Months until

 Reunion 2012
Oct 5,-6,-& 7th

 




 

Prices good through July 1, 2012


Oct 5th - Friday Mixer
St. Charles
Convention Center
3 – 8:00 pm
Light Appetizers
Cost: $35.00 (pp*)

Oct 6th - Saturday - Dinner/Dance
St. Charles Convention Center
6 – 7 pm
Cash Bar
7 – 11 pm
Dinner/Dance
Cost: $70.00 (pp*)

Oct 7th - Sunday Picnic
St. Peters
Cultural Arts Room
11 – 3:30
Bring a lunch & drink
Cost: 3.00 (pp*)

(*per person)

(Buzzbook included with Saturday's event)
 


View Guest and events attending



2012  Member List

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MR. AVIATION
pILOT pAUL vANCE '38

Paul Vance was studying to become a chemistry teacher when one of his professors, W.A. Buckner, at Southeast Missouri State University asked him if he would like to fly. His reply was ‘Yeah’ but he couldn’t afford the $15 to take the physical to get accepted. Buckner was in charge of the Civilian Pilot Training Program helping train civilians to fly. He kindly donated the money to get Paul enrolled so he could earn his pilot’s license.  He even gave Vance a job cleaning the dorms on campus.

In 1942 Vance graduated SEMO with a degree in education, his pilot’s license and his Ground School Instructors license. He went on to become a chemistry teacher in Jackson, MO. His teaching career lasted one semester before the skies were calling him back again. He enlisted in the Navy as a pilot where he flew as a transport pilot and flight instructor for more than four years during World War II. He remained in the reserves for another 19 years.   

When the war ended he attended graduate school at St. Louis University and accepted the position of director of aviation for the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce. During his tenure, Paul helped turn St. Louis from a river and train town to a worldwide aviation hub.

Vance logged more than 23,000 hours of flight-time during a flying career that spans seventy plus years. He has flown with many legendary people including Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle and Barry Goldwater, all whom called Mr. Vance their longtime friend and peer.

Business and commercial people alike, both in the St. Louis region and all across the world, have fond memories of Mr. Vance when he was the Chief Sales Engineer for Monsanto Corporation's Aviation Fluids Division which was set-up to market the non-flammable hydraulic fluid 'Skydrol.'

Mr. Vance developed a certain but unusual method of proving to his potential buyers that Skydrol was safe to pilots and technicians that might come into contact with this revolutionary aviation fluid - he would drink some during a sales call! Looking at how fit and debonair Mr. Vance looks today, he might be onto something that the chemical engineers at Monsanto never realized....Skydrol is an elixir for longevity and health. This was amazing, since before, if anyone got this purple fluid on their skin it would burn, and if dripped onto a painted surface of an aircraft, it appeared to have the properties similar to a paint stripper. When Mr. Vance was asked if it burned going down, he looked with a mischievousness glint in his eye and just grinned.

His memories and artifacts collected over this long and prestigious career are now proudly displayed at the old Fredericktown Railroad Depot which has been the home of the Vance Aviation and Transportation Museum for more than a decade.  Paul Vance Fredericktown Regional Airport, I.D. H88" is picturesquely nestled among the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, about 100 miles south of St. Louis.


 

FLASHLIGHT

PAGE 2

MARCH/APRIL, 2012

ALUMNI NEWS AND COMMENTS

I enjoyed reading Sandy (Gibbons) LaRouche driving instruction/adventure story. It hit home because a now-deceased friend and classmate, Jack Crawford '48, taught driver training classes for a number of years at Ferguson (now McCluer) High School and told me hair-raising stories of being driven across median strips and four lane boulevard dividers by some of his less-adept students. It sounded like he deserved hazard pay.

 
I also recall some interesting, experiences when I was teaching my wife and three daughters to drive, but they were nothing like Jack's.
                                 

My father decided that he was going to give me a driving lesson. When he got into the passenger seat he immediately went from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. I never saw anything like it. He yelled at me the entire time.
 "You're overcorrecting."  "You're overcorrecting."
 
 I decided then and there that I would take driving lessons.
 
 My driving instructor was a very nice man. He NEVER yelled at me. He hit the brake on his side of the car only once during my lessons He knew before I did that I was ready to take the drivers' test. The lessons were $8 each.
 
 It was some of the best money I ever spent.  Bea McBride '66 (1544 Ogden Avenue) 
                                         

   NEW GRANDBABY ARRIVES

Gary Huffstutter ’62 and Donna Hagan ’68 announces the arrival of their 5th grandchild, their son’s 3rd child. Alexander Charles was born at 6:56 p.m. on 2-9-2012, 7lbs. 15oz., 21 inches long..

              

 

Janet Warful '67 welcomes her granddaughter, Larsson Elli-Marie into the world on February 17th. Larsson weighed in at 6 lbs 11 oz, 19" long.
 
 Grandchild brings much joy into their lives
                                      
                                        WEDDING BELLS RING

It was announced on FaceBook the marriage of Don Tate '72 and Janice Cook '72 on March 30th. The happy couple spent their honeymoon in Los Vegas. Don and Janice dated while in high school but went their separate ways after school. After many years, they reunited approximately 7 years ago. They now reside in St. Peters, MO.

ANNUAL NORTE DAME REUNIONS WILL CONTINUE

Cheryl Horne '61 (1565 Valle) has replaced Jerry Sullivan as director and took over the Norte Dame grade school database so reunions will continue.

If you attended Norte Dame grade school and have never received an invitation to their reunions please contact Cheryl so your name can be added to the database. The reunions are a lot of fun.  

                      
 [email protected] or call (314) 429-2861. 

Respect tradition---but never let it destroy a new thought.

 

FLASHLIGHT

PAGE 3                                                                        MARCH/APRIL, 2012

HILLSDALE BOY MOVES WEST

If you had a spare $900,000, you could have become the owner of a small Wyoming town that was auctioned off April 5, 2012. After more than 30 years of residing in the unincorporated community, town "mayor" Don Sammons says it's finally time to move on. The town was sold to an unidentified man from Vietnam

Its owner for the last 20 years, Don Sammons, served with the U.S. Army as a radio operator in 1968-69.  After meeting the buyer, an emotional Sammons said it was hard for him to grasp the irony of the situation. "I think it's funny how things come full circle," he said.

"Don, 'The Mayor', retired after 20 wonderful years in his town," Sammons wrote on the website for his business, the Buford Trading Post, a gas station and store. "This entire, income producing, town is for sale; the house, the Trading Post, the former school house, along with all the history of this very unique place."  It got its name from a Civil war general.

Buford, located between Cheyenne and Laramie, was first founded in the 1860s and was once home to an estimated 2,000 residents before the Transcontinental Railroad was rerouted.

Sammons moved to Buford with his family in 1980. In 1992, he bought the Buford Trading Post and has continued to preside as Buford's unofficial "mayor." Over the years, members of Sammons' family gradually moved away until he was finally left as the only resident.

The new owner will get a gas station and convenience store, a schoolhouse from 1905, a cabin, a garage, 10 acres, and a three-bedroom home at 8,000 feet altitude -- overlooking the trucks and cars on the nearby interstate on one side and the distant snowcapped mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado on the other.  Along with the other-mentioned items, he also becomes proprietor of his very own ZIP code, 82052..

As workers boarded up the windows of the convenience store behind her, Rozetta Weston, a broker with a Cheyenne real estate auction company that represented the buyer, said the buyer was excited to own a "piece of the United States." But she declined to discuss the buyer's future plans for Buford. The trading post had been visited by roughly 1,000 customers per day.

Weston said the buyer and a companion arrived in Wyoming -- their first trip to the United States -- on Monday, touring Cheyenne and the University of Wyoming at Laramie before the auction.

Williams & Williams Co. of Tulsa, Okla., conducted the auction on a sunny, windy day outside the trading post, which has been closed since Dec. 31. The number of bidders was not released.

Dozens of people, including some of the 125 residents who live in remote areas and get their mail at the outdoor post office boxes on the property, showed up for the event. Officials with Williams & Williams stood out in their business suits among the locals dressed in jeans and western attire.

Inside the convenience store, most of the candy, snacks, pop, beer and all the Marlboro cigarettes had been sold off already. Bags of charcoal, whistles made from animal antlers and dozens of T-shirts proclaiming Buford as the smallest town in the United States remained unsold.

Wearing a weather beaten cowboy hat, Gary Crawford, who lives about 4.5 miles northeast of the trading post -- "Post Office Box 7" -- said the trading post is important to the surrounding residents who mostly live on widely scattered ranches. "At different times, this has been a community gathering place where you caught up with your neighbors and shoot the breeze, learn what's going on, who is around," Crawford said.  

If you want to have the last word---apologize

 

FLASHLIGHT

 PAGE 4                                                                           MARCH/APRIL, 2012

Classmates Remembered List
Rest in Peace

Our Wellston Trojan
Memorial

Glenda Holtzman '53 passed away October 30, 2001 from a staph infection she contracted after having a heart attack. Glenda was a stay-at-home mom until her 2 children were raised then she went to work as a activity director/receptionist at a nursing home. Glenda lived on Derby Avenue.

Janette Helling '45 passed away February 9, 2012 from hypertension complications. Janette proudly helped others as a Registered Nurse for 30 yrs. Jan and her husband of 62 years, Ray, were blessed with the ability to live in several states until retiring in Arizona. Jan and her husband believed in philanthropy, touching many lives through Camp Fire Girls, Boy Scouts, their church and supporting underprivileged youth both in the USA and Mexico. Janette served as Welhisco Queen in 1945.  Janette lived on Delaware Ave.

Johnny Bon '69 passed away February 26, 2012. John worked with his son out of St. Peters, MO running Bon Paving for over 25 years. He also worked in the casino business at different times throughout his life, but he was best known for his complete admiration for his family. His tender heart and unconditional love were felt by all who knew him.

John lived on Wellston Place

Tom Schultz '69 passed away April 2, 2012 from a heart attack. Tom spent several years in the Army which sent him to a culinary school where he became an excellent cook. He had been chosen to cook for the captain and officers of a couple of the ships he had been on. Tom received many commendations from the military officers for his superb cooking. After the military, He worked as a chef for a nursing home his family owned and operated in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

Tom’s last job was working for a local Hospital in the supply. Tom’s diabetes got the best of him, and he finally had to retire on disability as the result of losing a big toe, and complications with that. 
T
om lived on Etzel Avenue

Condolences to:

Lynn Southard in the passing of her husband, Johnny Bon '69 2/28/12
 Terry '63, Mary Ann '65, Sue '66 and Dan Bon in the death of their brother, John 2/28/12
 Jerry '65 and Loretta '68 Southard in the passing of their brother-in-law, Johnny Bon 2/28/12
 Stanley Burkett '67
in the sudden death of his daughter, Cindy Lee 3/14/12.
 Janet '50 and Joan '64 Thompson in the death of their cousin, Tom Schultz 4/2/12

To add to your leisure time, do things when they need to be done.

 

FLASHLIGHT

 PAGE 5                                                                          MARCH/APRIL, 2012

MARCH BIRTHDAYS

Mar 1 Bowles, Richard '43
Grooms, Jackie '55
Mar 14 Dawes, Shirley '65 Mar 24 Eads, Betty '46
Mar 2 Zeltmann, Darlene '63 Mar 15 Bahr, Art '43
Polk, Barbara '59
Mar 26 Duncan, Ted '48
Mar 4 Coates, Bob '52 Mar 18 Chiesa, Americo '64 Mar 29 Creceilus, Mary Ann '60
Mar 7 Steinhoff, Pat '57
Miner, Pat '62
Mar 19 Cole, Marie '52
Bayliss, David '58
Mar 31 Broeker, Ralph '55
Mar 8 Ridgeway, Larry '57        
           

APRIL BIRTHDAYS

Apr 2 Moss, Casey '45
Erwin, Pygmy '52
Leach, Barbara '70
 
Apr 8 Steinkuehler, Fred '57 Apr 19

Apr 21
Patriquin, Jack '45

Walker, Ron '59
Apr3 Bray, Reitha '62
Hart, Judy '65
Apr 9 Cloyd, Harvey '57 Apr 25 Gelven, Bonnie '54
Anderson, Virginia '54
Apr 4 Bonstell,, Sharon '62 Apr 14 Tschudin, Betty Jean '53
Brockman, Mary Lee '54
 
Apr 26 Hagan, Donna '68
Apr 5 Moore, Ruby Jean '44
 
Apr 15 Hawkins, Patricia '61 Apr 28 Stopke, Richard '42
Apr 7 Bonney, Sam '42
Paler, Judy '64
Apr 16 Burkhardt, Earl '44 Apr 30 Eyster, Vernetta '41
Dudley, Sandy '60
           

REUNION 2012 UPDATE

The Friday Mixer and Saturday Night Dinner/Dance will be held at the St. Charles Convention Center. The picnic is being moved back to the St. Peters Cultural Arts Room located in St Peters city Hall (5200 Mexico Road) which is the same place it was held in 2006. It is easily accessible, has plenty of parking and is enclosed for inclement weather. The room will hold 325 people. Weather permitting, the park can be used too.
 
 Jimmy Bennett '65 is in charge of music for Reunion 2012. He has chosen a disc jockey who plays 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s music at the dinner/dance Saturday night.  If there's a special song you would like to hear let us know so we can pass the request to the DJ and hopefully your song can be played. 
 
 Rooms are available at the
Embassy Suites at a very reasonable rate.

 
  Single rate Double rate Triple rate Quad rate
King bed $114.00 $119.00 $124.00 $134.00
Double bed 119.00 119.00 129.00 139.00

Hotel room rates are subjected to the prevailing state and local taxes in effect at the time of check-in. Currently the rate is 14.42%

Guests can either sign up online or call 1-800-317-6396 or 636-946-5544 and ask for Reservations. You need to ask for The Welhisco Alumni Room Block when making reservations. 
Special pricing will be available until September 5th or until the group block is sold out, whichever comes first

To see who has already signed up to attend Reunion 2012 click the Here.  They are waiting for your name to appear on the list next.

Have questions about Reunion 2012? Call 636-696-4693.

There is a time to let things happen---and a time to make things happen.

 

FLASHLIGHT

  Page 6

MARCH/APRIL, 2012

YEARS GONE BY
By Joyce (Perkins) Sudbeck '53 
1853 Irving Avenue

I ran across this picture of all the girls in my Wellsmar Elementary 5th grade class, among my “years gone by” treasures.

 Memories of some faces are vague, others vivid. These pretty little faces might spark a memory or two for you. That is to say, if you that were in my 5th grade class, lived in the girls’ neighborhoods, or just knew them from around school. The world of Wellsmar Elementary was a small world, at best.

 Mrs. Hanebrink was our 5th grade teacher. She was certainly one of the prettiest teachers and the sweetest. I found it a real pleasure to attend her classes.

 From left to right in the back row:

Barbara McMorris - my lifelong best friend who lived at 1850 Kienlen
Ruth Thompson - although quiet - she was so very kind and helpful
Rexine Lewis - intelligent, gregarious - daughter of Brother Lewis, who was pastor of the local Baptist Church
Lucille Trett - sweet, ladylike - died in a tragic auto accident on Hwy. 67 between Cherokee Pass and Greenville leaving a husband and two daughters
Anna Mae Puckett - amiable, and rather quiet
Louise Miller - she was always a friend when you needed one
Edna Markwardt
- lived on Audrey Ave.- married a minister and raised twins
Elaine Lemonds
- athletic, very personable - moved to Kennett, MO shortly after fifth grade - we remained good friends for several years thereafter

 From left to right in the front row:
Evelyn Barker
- lived on the corner of Kienlen & Audrey - has passed away - she was a lot of fun to be with
Joyce Perkins
- yes, this would be me
Darlene Haley
- beautiful olive skin, shiny hair, and very white teeth
Nancy Laneman
- a pure bundle of energy and a barrel of fun
Darlene Green
- who could forget the girl who played piano by ear – I can still hear the boogie-woogie rhythm of her left hand as she played “Darktown Strutter’s Ball” - she was cute as a button
Ola Mae Fain - a surprisingly mature young lady and classically pretty
Betty Smith
- if I remember correctly, she could tap dance up a storm

 Notice that all the girls are wearing skirts/dresses. I seriously doubt you would find one fifth-grade girl, anywhere today in a dress, or a skirt and blouse. We all look like little ladies, didn’t we?

 Our gravel playground, in the background, did not offer a lot of structured play equipment for us to enjoy at recess. We played mostly dodgeball, catch, tag, and there may have been a basketball hoop somewhere. I don’t remember.

 If there was a hoop, the girls didn’t readily partake in that sport, as I’m sure the boys wouldn’t have wanted to share their hoop with us. Fifth grade was a little before the boys and girls began to be aware of each other. As you can see, even our class pictures were taken separately.

 Quality instruction (teaching) was apparent at Wellsmar as we were quite well prepared when we left there for Evergreen Ave. - Wellston Jr. High School. Our teachers may not have all had the sweetness of Mrs. Hanebrink, but they seemed very dedicated to the teaching profession, as I remember.

 I thought you might want to take a look at the 5th grade girls from back around 1945-1946. I know I always enjoy reminiscing.

 Next issue, I am hoping to post the 5th grade boys. Are you ready for that?

Giving opens the way---for receiving.

 

FLASHLIGHT

     Page 7                                                                               MARCH/APRIL, 2012

Junior High (Facts and Fantasies)
by: Roger Noon '62 | FLASHLIGHT REPORTER
(6418 Mount Avenue)

     Recently looking at a composite picture of the Junior High graduating class of 1958, there are 84 students on the page. Of that 84, 47 became the High School graduating class of 1962. There are three who can be identified as graduating later than 1962. It means that about 60% of those students completed the WHS education system. It also means the balance of the students either left the system to attend other schools or dropped out along the way.  

          That may reflect a time of flux for people and families moving into and out of the community for any number of reasons.  Going to “work” at an early age was also another enticement so as to get a jump on others entering the work force later. The military option was also an inducement.   A College education was considered important, but it seemed to be more for the academic “elite”.

          I don’t know how this would compare with other classes, but for those of you who have a composite picture of your Junior High graduating year, it might make an interesting comparison to see if this was typical or an aberration.

          Interesting about that year was the student graduate speakers were not chosen by academics, but by competition.  I don’t remember how many competed, but I do remember one poem selected was “I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to earth, I know not where, etc…”

          The competition resulted in the selection of one female and one male. What makes the choices more than interesting is that both those students were voted “Class Clowns” in their Senior Year and went on to church careers as a secretary for a number of years and a pastor! Who could have predicted it!

          As opposed to elementary school when boys aggravate girls by pulling their hair or teasing them and the response is to be kicked or being “told on” with the nearest available teacher, Junior High begins the matter of dealing with “love”.  Girl Hater Clubs or Boy Hater Clubs become passé and interest in the other sex becomes an awkward learning experience.

          I can recall almost every” new” girl who came to class was “checked out” by the guys a well as every “new” guy by the girls. There were so many that I fell for, I can’t begin to count! Guys would try to stake out their claim with the new girl. Usually, the most popular boy at the time had the best advantage.  The rest of us could only dream what it might be like!

          “And they call it puppy love…” so the song goes and so it was!  Struggling through how to dance and getting up the nerve to ask a girl for a date took a lot of physical and emotional energy as well as courage. How did guys ever learn how to dance? I learned from my older cousin in Ferguson. 

Then, once a relationship got going (I never really knew how they got started, but they did) parents would have to fight their kids for the phone. You could always hide in the nearby closet talking to a girlfriend or a boyfriend for endless amounts of time (what did we talk about?).  There was always that question “Do you think he/she likes me?” “What did they say about me?”  So much anxiety, but a necessary step on the road to maturity.   Roger Noon ‘62

Tomorrow---is often the busiest day of the week.


 

FLASHLIGHT

PAGE 8                                                                              MARCH/APRIL, 2012

Editors
Bill Voos (’48)
Sandy (Gibbons) LaRouche ’57
JoAnn (Williams) Croce ’60
Bea McBride '66

President
Mary Kay (Parker) Morse '56

Secretary/Treasurer
Jim Shaw '45

Trustees
Joe Hunter '54
Gloria (Schwenk) Turner '59
Larry Turner '60
JoAnn (Williams) Croce '60
Phyllis (Crouch) Russom '62

Buzz Book
Pat (Miner) Slatton '62

ClassMates Remembered
Carol (Beeman) Hathaway '60

WELLSTON HIGH SCHOOL
WHS Alumni Club
P.O. Box 774
O'Fallon, MO 63366

Phone  636-696-4693

E-mail

[email protected]

LET'S GO TROJANS!
 

Email address are available online:



Reconnect to your class friends and neighborhood playmates.
If you would like to be listed send us a note!
 


JOKES FOUND ON THE INTERNET

                               
                                 HONEY:


An elderly lady was invited to an old friend’s home for dinner one evening. She was impressed by the way her lady friend preceded every request to her husband with endearing terms such as: Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, etc. The couple had been married almost 70 years and, clearly, they were still very much in love.

While the husband was in the living room, her lady friend leaned over to her hostess to say, 'I think it's wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your husband all those loving names'.

The elderly lady hung her head. 'I have to tell you the truth,' she said, 'his name slipped my mind about 10 years ago and I'm scared to death to ask the cranky old goat what his name is
.'

                          **************************
                     
                   WORDS WOMEN USE

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' ... that will bring on a 'whatever').

(8) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

 

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!!  [email protected]



 04/07/2012 11:45:42 AM