GHS Renuion Last Dance

The Granby Affair I went to the Granby affair, The birds and the beasts were there, The big baboon by the sight of his spoon Was lamenting his loss of hair The drunk fell off the floor, And sat on her big, big rump; Her date took hint and out they went, And that was the end of the drunk, The drunk, the drunk, the drunk, The drunk, the drunk, the drunk.

UPDATE -- GHS 1963 -- 50th Reunion April 20, 2013

Below is the info about making reservations to stay at the Holiday Inn Virginia Beach – Norfolk Hotel & Conference Center.  All the info concerning the reunion & form will be in the snail mail late October.

Holiday Inn Virginia Beach – Norfolk Hotel & Conference Center, www.HIVaBeachNorfolk.com, 5655 Greenwich road, Virginia Beach, VA 23462

For classmates making their reservations, you may call the hotel directly, phone 1-757-499-4400, (toll free 800-567-3856) or Worldwide 1-800-465-4329

Identify yourself as being with the  GHS 50th (1963) Class reunion and use code GHR

Room rate is $99.00 per night (the rate is subject to a 13% sales tax plus $1.00 per room tax in effect at time of check-in). 

Hotel check-in time is after 3:00 p.m. and check-out time is 12:00.  The rates are good for Friday & Saturday nights.

Reservations for hotel by attendees must be received on or before March 20, 2013.

If there should be any problems with reservations, please contact Susanne Dashiell Demma, ghs1963reunion@msn.com ,

There are several other hotels close by and that info will be in the snail mail.

We are looking forward to April 20, 2013.

GHS class of 1963 MIA

The following are "among the missing" from the Granby High School class of 1963:

CHARLOTTE ALICE

E GAY ALLEN

JUDY (JADE) P AMICK (FULGENZI)

BARBARA ANDERSON (MYERS)

ANNA LEE BALKUM

LUCILLE ROSALIND BAUGH

LAWRENCE JEWEL BENNETT

CHRISTINE BOTTOMS (NIEHAUS)

MELVIN LEE BROCK

PATRICIA ANN BRYANT

NANCT LEE BRYANT

JERRY BUECK

SUZANNE BARDING BYRNE

EDSWARD JOHN CAMP

MARGARET CHAMBERS

JANET LOOUIS COLLINS

EVE LORRAINE COOK

JOYCE MAE DENTON

RICHARD BARRIE DODSON

JEANNE MAGUERITE EBLIN

JANICE PAIE ELLIOTT

DIANE MARGARET EVANS

PETER FLAX

JO ANN FLOWERS

JEAN MARIE FOSTER

SAM FURGUSON

TERRENCE ROGER GALLAGHER

DONALD W GOLDSMITH

BARBARA JEAN GOODMAN

WILLIAM MORRIS HALL

KENNETH HAMBY

WAYNE WILLIAM HARRIS

WILLIAMROGERS HARRISON

LINDA KAY HERRON

DORETA MARIE HODGES

JOHN HARNBOKE

MARH ELIZABETH HAUGHAN

DORETA MARIE HODGES

RICHARD ALAN HOFLER

JO ANNE HORNER

THOMAS PAUL HUNTER

DOROTHY ELSIE INGRAM

JOHN GOWARE JARVIS

LINDA SUE JOHNSON

RICHARD JUNDY JOHNSON

SUSAN LANE JOHNSTON (KING)

ELIZABETH ARLENE JONES

JOANNA ELIZABETH JONES

ROBERT H JOYNER

SUSAN ELIZABETH KAPOSTA

KAREL BETTE KING

RICHARD ANTHONY KOLENTUS

MARGARET PEGGY LANDERS

MARGARET A LAWSON (STEELE)

ROBERT MACLAUGHLIN

ROBERTA JUNE MAGILL

MOREY MASON

ZEFREY JUANITA MASSENGILL

MARY STEWART MATHIAS

ELIZABETH ELLEN MATRONI

RICHARD L MOORE

PATTI SUE MORGAN

SHERRI MORRISON (MORR)

PATRICIA DIANNE NEILSON

DIANE BOBETTA NELSON

ROBERT NICHOLS

NOLO MARIE NISEWANER

JOAN FRANCIS O’BRIEN

JOAN FANCES O’BRIEN

LINDA GAIL OLSON

MELODI MARCOUT PARKER

ROBERT HENRY PARKER

PATRICIA DIANNE PATTERSON (KEMP)

LOIS VIVIAN PERRY

MARY ROSE PIERCE

DAVID WAYNE PRITCHARD

LIBBY SUE PROPES

JIMMY REANNY

JULIA ANNE RIGGAN

PATRICIA ANN RENFROS

VIRGINIA REYHOLDS

JAMES PAUL RICKS

DONNA ROSS

BARBARA KERRILL SAPPINGTON

CAROL JUNE SAUNDERS

GEORGE THOMAS SAWYER

ROBERT LEE SCOTT

FRANCES MARGARET SELBY

SHELIA SHARP

JAMES EARL SHADWICK

FRANCES ELLEN SHAWN

ALLAN WESLEY SMITH

BILL JAMES SMITH

DOROTHY RUTH SMITH

ELBERT FEFFRESS SMITH, JR

NOEL F SMITH

JOSEPH WAYNE STAUFFER

ALICE JOYCE STEWART

GLORIA JEAN STEWART

JOAN NORMA STEWART

FRANCES RAY STONER

LINDA LEE SWAN

ANN SWISHER

ELIZABETH N TAZWELL

LIDA LOU THARRINGTON

KATHLEEN DONNA THOMASSEN

DAVID LEO THOMPSON

MARLENE KATHRYN TILLBERT

WILLIAM DAVID TODD

SHERRY TOLEY

CAROLYN ANN TOMBLIN

CRA VIRGINIA TOWE

KAY TROUGH (AUGUSTON)

JOANN TUBBS

ANDREW TYNELL

ELIZABETH DIANE UNSWORTH

JOSEPH VENTURA

JOHN HOWARD WALLACE

SUZANNE WEAVER

ELAINE CROSBIE WELLS

JACQUELINE WHITE (DIENER)

ESTELLE ELAINE WHITMAN

GEORGIANNA CONSTANT WILLIS

PAT WOODRUFF

 ghs1963reunion@msn.com  

Granby High School Class of 1963 Reunion Set for April 20, 2013

Mark your calendars, the Granby High School 50th reunion will take place Saturday, April 20, 2013 at the Holiday Inn on Greenwich Road. www.hivabeachnorfolk.com

Many Ocean View Elementary School students eventually bobbed and weaved their way to and through GHS. This is the chance of a lifetime to renew old acquaintances.

The cost of the rooms & reunion will be emailed out within the month. Additional reservation information will be emailed about six months before the reunion. A block of Holiday Inn rooms has been set aside with a special rate.

The committee will be calling the classmates that do not have emails to let them know about the date.

ghs1963reunion@msn.com

Granby High School Class of 1963 Coming up on 50 Years

The Granby High School class of 1963 is looking for "missing" classmates for its Golden Anniversary Celebration next year. A time and place has yet to be determined, however, details will be soon available. If you are among the missing...and want to be found, use the email address: ghs1963reunion@msn.com

Memories of OVES while attending Northside Junior High School

Cleaning out my mother's attic this Fall, I discovered this gem of a hand-written scrawl. Apparently the purpose was to serve as a script for an introduction for one of my classes. I don't remember whether my poor little mind survived the presentation or not.

(click on picture to enlarge or read the moden day transcription below)

On my first day at school [,] my best friend and I started to come home at recess. We thought school was out. Another time when we were walking home [this time school was really out for the day], some bigger boys [actually I think it was only one boy, a slightly mentally challenged boy who wore a razor blade around his neck…his name is indelibly inked in my mind] started to chase us and I wanted to run to get away from them. My friend [funny that I do not remember his name] said we shouldn’t run--that we should play dead and they would pass us by. We dropped to the ground and tried to play dead, but it did not work [surprise, surprise]. The boys stopped and roughed us up, so we learned it was better to run away [and to live to run another day].

In the Second Grade [,] my class was split up and I entered another class [I don’t remember that…oh well]. This is where Gary Rudolph came into our class [changed from “came into my life”…what was I thinking]. Gary kind of took over and was our ringleader and was pretty good at thinking up pranks [I guess I handed the class crown over to him in second grade].

Since the Fourth Grade [odd that I capitalized grade levels…as if it was an important institution like Congress or Senate] our class of boys have [oops wrong verb tense] made about one trip a month to the Principal’s [must be a proper noun because I put it in caps] office. One time it was for shooting off paper caps in the library; once because someone was striking matches [in class]; once for throwing water bombs out the window at other kids; once for throwing food at each other in the lunch room [I cannot believe this only happened once]; once for locking a [safety] patrol in the maid’s closet where he remained from one o’clock to three o’clock [;] and once for shooting a firecracker off in the [class] room. One year we got in a snowball fight with a teacher. These are just a few of the pranks we played.

In the Sixth Grade we formed a gang at recess where we would get together and charge other groups of children and run them down [This was our version of Red Rover, Red Rover, Run the Kiddies Over]. When we were in a good mood [,] we would take prisoners and rough them up. (We were almost always in a good mood.) It got so [that] if any of the kids saw us [,] they would scram no matter what they were doing.

On the last day of school [,] [now that should have been in all caps] we pushed a barrel of trash down the stairs at a [Safety] Patrol and the trash went every where. I think the Principal was happy to ged [get] rid of us because we had a nice graduation party.

We left Ocean View [Elementary School] for Northside [Junior High School] where our old class was broken up. The only old classmates from Ocean View who were with me in Northside were two girls [obviously I was not impressed sufficiently to remember the names] and Randy McSpadden who was changed to another class after about a week. Tom Blackwell [now there is a name out of the past] and I became friends and helped each other in the five classes we were in together. This year I have Tom in all my classes and I have two other old classmates, Gary Rudolph and Randy McSpadden [in other classes].

This just about brings my life story up to date. [For some odd reason I deleted the next sentence from my discourse: “I’m going to try very hard to get good grades in all my classes so I can go on to the Ninth Grade in February.”] I have enjoyed my year at Northside Junior High School, but I’m wondering how I’ll do in High School where things will be tougher. I haven’t decided what I’d like to be when I grow up. My parents would like to send me to college, but I don’t know if my poor little mind can take it.

Well as things turned out; I did end up graduating from College, albeit about eleven years after graduating from Granby High School, doing a stent in the Army, and working for a couple of newspapers in Maryland and Baltimore. Ocean View now also goes by the name Ocean View Maritime School, since it is the only elementary school in Norfolk to have a saltwater laboratory. Northside has been made politically correct by being renamed Northside Middle School. Ocean View classes now range from kindergarten to fifth grade…and as far as I know, our class was the absolute last Seventh Grade class to ever graduate from a Norfolk or Virginia elementary school.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Summer of 2010 Six Students Get Together at Harrison's Pier

Six Ocean View Elementary School students (and their mates) enjoy a reunion and a good meal on the renovated Harrison's Pier this past summer.

The longest pier in North America, however, is now called The Ocean View Pier and OVES is now known as Ocean View Maritime Academy. Thank goodness the students kept their first names...and remain Linda, Linda, Ajia, Rita (sitting left to right) and Brad (standing middle) and Dan (standing far to the right...as usual).

My how things (and people) change.

Another Mini Reunion (!) (?)

The summer of 2007: All the OV elementary school classmates of 19XX (no that's not 1920) that were willing and able...made it down to Greenie's Deck on Ocean View Beach to exchange tall tales and consume favorite beverages. It was a great day to enjoy the air and the gift of gab that all posses.

Mini Reunion in Ocean View

Rita and Brad create a mini reunion at the site of many, many, mini reunions, The Granby North. Joining the OVES students are Dusty [the one with the beard] and Patsy [the one wearing her glasses].

New Paint Job

I cannot say that I am happy with this new color on OVES. It's always been painted white.

20 MAR 2005 Mini-Gathering in Ocean View

Linda Boyd, Linda Harrison, and Rita Brown had a great visit with each other this past beautiful Sunday. What an glorious beginning of Spring! They had a real talk-fest --- so much woman talk that no one finished the fantastic desserts....if you can believe that! The two Lindas looked marvelous and all had a wonderful chance to catch up on each other's lives. Ajia, was missed! Linda B had gotten your message so she knew you weren't coming, but Lovely Rita had left home early Friday so she missed it. Maybe next time Ajia or some of the guys can join in for a chocolate fix. Actually, Rita was the only one who had chocolate with a Mocha Cheesecake while the others opted for a humongous bowl of apple pie with ice cream! Almost ate it all, they did.

Of course, a few pictures were taken before they had food all over their faces. As much the e-mails keep us close and our relationships alive, nothing beats a good old face-to-face eating meeting.

An Obituary

Sadly I post an obituary from the Norfolk newspaper concerning the death of the husband of Linda Boyd Gaskins of our class:

Curtis Lee Gaskins, Chesapeake
Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005
(c) The Virginian-Pilot

Curtis Lee Gaskins, 61, went home to be with his Lord Feb. 8, 2005, in
Norfolk. Born in New Bern, N.C., he was the son of Bertha F. Gaskins and the
late George C. Gaskins. Curtis was a current member of Centerville Baptist
Church, Chesapeake, and had served on the building committees for numerous
other churches in Norfolk and Chesapeake. He had been involved in the
construction business for more than 40 years and was the owner of C.L.
Gaskins General Contractor for 20 years. Curtis will be remembered for his
generous nature, the ability to make others laugh and the love for his wife,
children, grandchildren and canine grandpups. Survivors include his loving
wife of 40 years, Linda Boyd Gaskins; his son, David Gaskins and wife
Michelle; two daughters, Kim Dove and husband Tim and Judy Old and husband
Ron, all of Chesapeake; two sisters, Sonja Provencial and husband Don and
Betty Holton and husband Dallas, all of New Bern, N.C.; five grandchildren,
Marshall, Courtney, Wade, Dillon and Wyatt. The funeral will be conducted at
2 p.m. Friday at Oman Funeral Home & Crematory, Great Bridge Chapel, 653
Cedar Road, Chesapeake. The Rev. David Shelton will officiate. The interment
will follow in Chesapeake Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends
from 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial
donations may be made to the Centerville Baptist Church Building Fund, 908
S. Centerville Turnpike, Chesapeake, VA 23322. Friends are invited to sign
the guest book online at www.omanfh.com .

Six of us from the class made a donation to the church building fund and two of us and our spouses were able to attend the services. We are all saddened.

Eating High of the Hog at The Granby North

Mini-meet December 4, 2004 in Ocean View. Dan and Ajia meet for a breakfast at the Granby North and then take a walk along the Ocean View Beach. Both were in Norfolk, visiting their mothers over the weekend. We included Rita and Dusty in a telephone conversation while waiting for the food to arrive. Bradford was also telephoned, but he failed to respond...maybe he was at a car show that week.

Two OVers Bid Goodbye to the United Red States!

The following picture and post is from Rita Brown Rhodes. The event was actually a 90th Birthday party for my mother, but Rita took advantage of the photo opportunity to address our mutual concerns over the State of the Union.

Rita was/is my friend from OV School and Granby HS. A trio of my sister's friends from Granby [The Rat Pack] also made the Hula Hula Birthday Party...and one of them was hitting on me. Jeepers!!



Dear OV Gang:

This is hard to write but you'll find out sooner or later .............

Having been upset over the recent Presidential Elections, Dan and I have found solace together in running away to Hawaii on a special cruise! (Thanks for the info, Ajia.) Sandy and Dusty are okay with it, because they finally got tired of all the constant whining about Ralph Nader, Bill Clinton, and the Swift Boats Veterans. We'll return when we can face life again or in four years ~~~ whichever comes first! ~~~

Luau Rita & Dan-Ho

Granby High School Class Reunion

Seems the Granby High School Class of 1964 is going to have a reunion October 8-9, 2004. I don't think I'll be attending...after all I went to Summer School so that I could graduate in June 1963, as opposed to January of 1964.

Quite frankly, I'm still quite glad that Ocean View Elementary School took students in February. That's the only way that I'd been able to start school at the age of five-years-old. Goodness knows, I couldn't have gotten in early because of my immature intelligence. Not me. Not then.

Fifth Grade Class Picture

[from right to left, first two columns]
Gerldine Coston, Gary Rudolph, John Nottingham, Brad Williams, Glen Hume, Linda Boyd, Jerry Van Sabastian, Horace Jordan, Donna Caldwell, and Hattie Ray.

[right to left third and fourth columns]
Jackie Rhines, Luther Jennings, Claudia Thomas, Rita Brown, Ajia Sakakini, Randy McSpadden, David Jackson, Richard Mayo, Kenneth Charest, and James (Cubby) Wolf.

[right to left last two columns]
Linda Harrison (of The Pier Fame), Andy Walker, Kathleen Parker, Blake Weston, Barbara Stoots, Daniel (Danny) Coleman, and Pam Harrison (Linda and Brenda Harrison's Cuz).

[standing]
Mrs. Burt.

Mini Reunion in Annapolis

The weather outside was frightful.

It rained all day yesterday. It began as soon as Sandy and I got on our front porch to go to Annapolis for a mini-reunion of the OVers. It rained all the way down and all the way back. We had a good time with my ole/old classmates from Ocean View, Northside [Oops sorry Rita, I forgot about your side-stepping of Northside] Junior High School, and Granby High School.

Sandy and I met Ajia at her workplace and went over to The Chart House to wait for Rita and Dusty and to eat dinner. Although the food was good, a lot of things were overpriced...and the waiter was a bit of a snob. When Dusty refused to have "jumbo crab lumps" added to his Halibut, the waiter repeated Dusty's order "...and dry Halibut?"

We went to Ajia's house (she has a beautiful new house on a deadend, not too far from Annapolis) afterwords for coffee and dessert, chatted a bit and returned home around 11:15 PM. One funny moment at Ajia's; our son Brendan called and asked where we were because he "forgot"...and then he asked when we might return. Ha !! The tables turn.

Duck and Cover

Does anyone remember "Duck and Cover"? I remember practicing my ducking and covering at Ocean View Elementary School during the 1950's. I also recall that there was even a film and catchy jingle that explained what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. "Duck and cover. Duck and cover. Stay down 'till the clouds roll over", or something like that.



It seems to me, however, that with the huge row of windows on one side of the classroom and the lack of cover that the old metal and wood desk provided, "duck and cover" needed a third catch phrase: "pray." I also remember that we used to playfully say, "In the event of a nuclear attack, put your head between your knees, gab your legs with both hands, and kiss your butt good bye."

My fondest "nuclear" recollection, however, was the time that I volunteered to be a victim for a mock nuclear attack. It took place on a Saturday on and around school property and since I only lived a couple of blocks away from the school, I volunteered.

The school was built to serve as an emergency hospital during national and natural disasters, so the Ocean View School setting was very appropriate.

Upon "reporting for duty," I was assigned a tag indicating that I would suffer two broken legs during the attack. Thrilled that I would survive the holocaust, I ran straight for the sand dunes behind the school and climbed the tallest chinquapin tree I could find. There I splayed myself among the boughs...to await my discovery by the rescue team.

To my dismay, my concealment was exposed and I was required to jump from the tree to the sand below. Didn't they know I had two broken legs? Well it was jump or be forgotten. I jumped down. NOW they put me on a stretcher and carried me to the school.

I thought I had it made, chilling with the guys in the evaluation room. Then some big dude popped off a table, came over to me, grabbed my tag, read my tag, and snatched it from around my neck. He handed me his. "You're dead," he said and he was too big and I was too young to argue. Upon the review and evaluation of my premature death by the staff, I was sent upstairs to the morgue while Bluto stayed on the ground floor with his shattered limbs.

I don't recall who was up there with me on the second floor, but I do remember that I knew him and that he was a good friend. We whiled away the rest of the day drawing on the blackboard and making the best of our corporal situation. After a while I tied my tag to my big toe, laid out across some desks, and wondered if the next time I ran into Bluto...would I let him kill me or would I duck and cover and pray?

Do You Remember Your First Car?

This is a series of e-mails about our first car or lack of car:

Rita B Says:

This gives me the opportunity to wax nostalgic about my first car --- a '53 Chevy sedan. A really "hot" car painted two tones of unmentionable brown! I bought it for $300 from a neighbor who let me pay by the week until the "Brown Bomb" was all mine. By today's standards it was a classic P.O.S. The furthest thing from a "guy magnet" I could get. The floor was so rusted that I could see the road rushing past when I drove. I had to be careful where I stepped, but the freedom that car gave me was worth all its ugliness. At least I knew my friends loved me and not my car. Sometimes I could only afford 25 cents in gasoline, which, back then, was enough for many trips around town. No one today would drive a car like that old Chevrolet! (I probably win for in this group for having the worst car in high school.)

Gary R Says:

A 1946 Cadillac Fleetwood 4 door. Huge V-8 engine with a sloppy and primitive transmission. It had a power radio antenna, three heaters, and four cigar lighters. It was painted battleship grey (appropriately so) and ran great. No rust and no dents. The interior was tan mohair and painted-on wood grain on the dash and window trims. The chrome grille and molding were like new. My second car was a 1956 Buick Roadmaster (also a 4 door and loaded) and it too was in "like new" condition. I never cared for "mainstream" cars like '57 Chevys, etc. The Roadmaster is still my favorite car.

Dan C Says:

Lucky you.

I walked, hitch-hiked, and rode the bus back and forth to school* ..... Well, mostly the bus to school.... Good ole Mason Creek bus line or I walked to Granby Street from Atwood & Orange and caught a direct bus. Getting back home after track was usually via hitch-hiking.... But those were the good old safe days for hitch-hiking.

I got my first car the year I got out of the Army. It was used, but it was a blue Mustang. I was 21 year-old by then. Seems to me I could fill it up with gas for around four bucks!!!

*I hope everyone held back their tears at this point.

Gary R Continues:

My Cadillac was a real "boat." Jimmy Thornton, Charlie McCracken, James, Lombard (NCHS), and some other OV'ers used to ride to school with me. JT painted the name "Bull of the Pampas" on the rear trunk lid. It had an early (and troublesome) automatic transmission that shifted about a hundred times and a huge flathead V8 engine that ran super quiet and smooth. It was in excellent condition, shiny chrome and rust/dent free body. We played in the city league football and rode in the "Bull" together to games. It could transport the entire defensive line and a couple of linebackers as well. It held exactly $7 worth of gas (high test) and consumed it at a rate of about 12 mph. Top speed: over 70 mph. 1/4 mile speed: (unknown, the '46 caddy Fleetwood was not measured with a stopwatch at the 1/4 mile. A colander was normally used.) I left it parked on a vacant lot next to CC Whites house at 4th View and W.O.V. Avenue across from Little's Dugout (currently known as the Thirsty Camel) when I went off to Navy boot camp in 1964. When I returned home there was Champs Burger there and my caddy was nowhere to be found. I got over it within a few days, but now I wish I had pursued it. I would really like to have that car today.

Ajia S Says:

Car in high school!! Wasn't even an option for me. Boy, was I sheltered. I was lucky enough to drive my parent's old Plymouth station wagon when I was working at Norfolk General Hospital. That didn't last too long as some attorney rear-ended me, wasn't looking when I stopped at a light on Hampton Blvd. and totaled the car. If I had not jumped out of the car and said I was fine, I probably could have been driving anything I wanted after that but noooooooo, I had to say I was just fine. I have always liked sporty cars. After my kids were grown, and I got rid of the red chevy station wagon (looked like a fire engine), I went right for the Corvette first, then the 300ZX, to the Jaguar XJS, to the Mercedes SL convertible. Gave it all up for comfort. I would say I was getting smart (or sensible) if it wasn't for buying the Harley-Davidson. I now drive an Envoy and enjoy having the room to pick up anything I want (obviously that doesn't include men!). I suppose that is what happens when you go without as a kid. You go crazy when you grown up.

Linda B Says:

Dan, I'm with you..... I walked or rode the bus....The Mason Creek line. I lived on Mason Creek (before that on Government Avenue across from the school). I can remember many times running to get the Mason Creek bus at the old sub station at the end of Granby. If you were not fast enough, you were left! My first car was a black Ford --- I married the man who owned it!! A few years ago we helped our son buy his first car, a Mustang. Before we signed the papers the salesman said he had to tell us that they had done some repairs on it ...... Bullet holes in the doors!!!

Brad W remembers

My first car was a 1953 Ford customline convertible. It was white with a black top. Had a flathead V-8 and 3-speed on the column. An AM radio was all it had in those days...... Dick Lamb on WGH ..... Sock hops at the old ice rink behind the Coke Plant on Monticello, cruising Big Burroughs at the Granby Street Bridge and the "little" Burroughs at Wards Corner, looking for races...... Oh yeah, those were the days!

Rita inserts

See, Ajia, we should have stuck with Brad. I'll bet he would have taken us to the Burroughs at Wards Corner!

The Best Seating Available

As I recall, some of the best seats at the school were the bicycle prongs under the corrugated roof of the bike racks...especially when it was raining. It was a great gathering place for recounting past activities and sharing jokes, keeping the sun at bay, and just parking our butts, inasmuch as none of us owned bicycles in those day. We were all "walkers."

The squared benches that surrounded each of the pin oaks were good for sunny days, however, mostly girls sat under the trees. At recess they covered the benches like caddydids. You would have thought they were apple trees and not pin oaks and you would have thought that they were all waiting for Adam to show up with an apple treat the way they gathered underneath the boughs and gossiped. I for one preferred to stand during recess...well actually run. We always ran at recess. "Red Rover. Red Rover. Let's hold hands and run someone over." We were always too active to sit. In fact sitting was not the academic program of choice.

The exception to freedom of picking your time and place to sit *the sound of a lightening strike is appropriate here* was the Principal's Bench. The gray lift-top benches were placed across the hall from the principal's office. Not much freedom associated with those seats. They did provide a good view of the main hall and the entrance. They also provided tons of amusement to onlookers and offered us another opportunity to clown and chat.

I've already revisited the Principal's Benches, just last month, but they did not look the same. The lids were nailed shut, the gray paint had been removed, and the benches varnished. They were now set around the corner and facing the new Front Office, but they sure felt the same...well actually they felt better this time...no apprehension.

The benches that were squared around the trees are gone now. The trees appear the same size, however, and the concrete driveway seems unchanged, just a tad more narrow.

The bike racks were still there, but I neglected to park my rear end last month. This is something I have to put on my "to do" list. I wonder if I'll fit this time around?

The Return of the Ocean View Six, April 30, 2004. 

Sometimes You Can Go Back Home

At 11:02 AM, Rita B said:

Get some coffee and get comfy 'cause, boys and girls, this is going to be a series of long posts........

I recently visited an old neighborhood and school, Ocean View Elementary School in Norfolk, Virginia, along with some dear friends. We all had started first grade together back in 1951. During last year, we luckily made contact through an Internet site called Classmates.com. After many e-mails and a few mini-reunions, and dubbing ourselves the Ocean View Gang, we decided to meet at our still-alive and active 65 year-old elementary school. Since I was planning to be in Virginia the end of April, the date of April 30, 2004, was selected for us to invade the unsuspecting school. My job was set --- I was to prepare the school for our arrival.

Ocean View Elementary has a website but no way to e-mail from it. Finding the address and the principal's name, I sent a letter trying my best to explain whom we were and what we wanted to do. I'm sure our request to eat lunch in the cafeteria was met with chuckles echoing in the halls! All we wanted was to tour the school, especially a couple of classrooms. My initial contact started a series of e-mails with the school's office manager, Rosemary O'Malley.

Right off, let me tell you that amid the spitballs, hair pulling, paste eating, even a famous poison ivy fight, boys chasing the girls at recess, and first crushes; this group has remained solid friends throughout the years of non-contact. Amazingly those early friendships were strongly forged for a lifetime, even silently surviving through high school. In one particular beloved teacher's class, Mrs. Langhorn, we were all together --- a roster of names and faces burned into my memory forever. We learned a lot that year. Our fourth grade class photograph of blurry images was our starting point for locating past members of a "good gang of kids." Managing to track down twelve classmates, two now deceased, and some not able to come to the reunion --- six of us old safety patrols would meet on the steps to the school auditorium that last day in April: Dan Coleman, Ajia Sakakini Coolbaugh, Linda Harrison Copeland, Linda Boyd Gaskins, Rita Brown Rhodes, and Gary Rudolph.

When I signed up on the Classmates.com site I had no idea if it would lead to anything as exciting as it's been this last year. The first person to e-mail me was Gary but it took a couple of his humorous letters before I got brave enough to answer. Gary had been in contact with some other students from those early days --- Dan, Linda Boyd, and Linda Harrison. I was able to locate Ajia, a best friend of mine. We were in Brownies together, meeting at her home. All of lives were intertwined in that small beach community of Ocean View --- days at the amusement park, summers at the beach, fishing from Harrison's Pier, dances at the community center, and Saturday westerns at the Rosele. The six of us meeting again would make our biggest reunion since graduating from Granby High School in 1963. We spent months catching up on each other's lives as grown-ups, sharing pictures and stories about our families via e-mail and "snail" mail. All in all, everyone has had a full, rich life. That was such a wonderful thing to find out! It has been a goose bump year for me, combining the past and the present.

Everyone felt that our education at Ocean View School was the foundation for our success. In all our correspondence, we talked about wanting to do something special for the children now attending the elementary school. Just weeks before our scheduled visit, I heard from another Willoughby Spit "kid" living in Germany, Donald "Bunky" Thompson. He had found an author, Jonathan Scott Fuqua, now living in Maryland, who had a book coming out in April titled "Willoughby Spit Wonder": It would be the perfect gift!

The heart-tugging novel about a ten-year-old boy growing up in Willoughby Spit during 1953, weaves his family with the history of world events and what is happening around the naval oriented community. Willoughby Spit is adjacent to Ocean View. Gary grew up there, with a view of Harrison's Pier and Chesapeake Bay from his bedroom window. Most of us have added our names to the building at Harrison's Pier requesting the landmark be rebuilt after recently being destroyed in a hurricane. The book mentions many unique experiences familiar to all coastal children. At Gary's suggestion, we all agreed that we would donate six copies to the school library on the day of our visit.

Like everyone else in the OV Gang, I walked to school every day. I lived in the oldest house on the corner of Rippard Avenue, facing the chain-link fence of the U. S. Navy Base with a great view of the bay and the ancient Willoughby Oak. Unlike the tree, my house is now gone with I-64 cutting the street in half many years ago. All the children I played with are scattered across the world, many being military brats.

A couple of days before the reunion, my husband and I drove from our home in Statesville, North Carolina, to Pungo (south Virginia Beach), home of my sister. The morning of our big reunion, I had an hour to travel across Virginia Beach and Norfolk, all the way to the very edge of the Chesapeake Bay. Gary drove from Petersburg, fighting the incredible traffic of a heavily
populated area. Dan and Ajia had driven down together the day before from Baltimore, and were staying with their mothers. The two Lindas live close-by, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, respectively. So from all directions, we would merge at the worn-down school steps, site of many class photographs from our past. Some of us hadn't seen each other in forty years! My stomach told me that was about to change.

(End of Part One)


At 11:46 AM, Rita B said:

(Part 2)

I arrived slightly early to meet with Principal Lauren Campsen (Okay, okay, with a quick stop to the bathroom!) and to register us as visitors with the school security. There I met our young guide and photographer, Chris Hocutt, a fifth grader at the school. Chris is a top man on campus with the school's pre-K through 5th grades. He proved to be delightful, a charming representative of our Alma Mater. His pictures were pretty good considering he was working with aging film stars!

After much chatter and lots of hugging, we took sun-squinting photos in front of the auditorium. The Principal gave us a warm reception upon entering the building. Introductions all around and then we each were given a huge tote bag with goodies boasting "Ocean View Maritime School" and their dolphin mascot. Above the main entrance is a beautiful underwater mural featuring a whale, painted by famed artist Wyland in October, 1998. One of the many bright changes to the aging school we would notice.

We took turns sitting on the bench outside the principal's office, a few re-lived scary moments from their youth. While stifling giggles, we took a very civilized posed photo of the group. Off to the right side of the bench, a portrait of Lucy Mason Holt, our first pricipal, kept a close eye on us. I remembered the painting but not Mrs. Holt who left that position in 1952.

After many cheerful exchanges with the staff, we decided our first stop would be the library, down at the end of what used to be a long hall for short legs. The newly tiled floor was gleaming as we made an ambling approach to the special room where we discovered how much we loved reading books even in the summer. The school library was also a public library in those days, with an outside entrance, now covered over. It still smelled like books. As then, I love reading, but back then it was usually biographies and poetry books.

We met the librarian, Steve Pesapane, who accepted the books from Gary, spokesman for the presentation. We gave our guide Chris a copy of the book too, which I personalized to him. While there, a file of old school photographs was brought out giving us a chance to peruse them. We found family and friends among the photographs of classes and school activities in the collection. So many young and hopeful faces, it made us wonder where they are now. Some photos dated back to 1939, the year the school building opened.

Principal Campsen suggested the OV Gang change its name to the Ocean View Elementary School Alumni Association (OVESAA) after the books were accepted into the library collection. We agreed immediately. And so, we would become something new on this first reunion of our class --- changed forever by being together again this last day in April.

(End of Part 2)


At 12:40 PM, Rita B said:

(Part 3)

Leaving the library, we walked towards the cafeteria on the other end of the hallway. The shadows and coolness of the passageway felt so familiar to me. Along the way we peeked into classrooms, most of which were full of busy students. We had been warned that today was state testing study day, but we were welcome to enter any classroom we wished. Since our lunch was scheduled at 11 AM, and it was close to that time, we quietly and hesitantly entered the high-ceilinged square room with the wall of windows behind the lunch servers.

In our past communications, we all told of favorite events and lunchtime food from days at the OV. Fudgecicles (so cold they would stick to a tongue), juicy tuna sandwiches with potato chips on Friday, and the homemade chocolate pudding with the tough skin on top --- made the list. But all of us remembered the hot yeast rolls. To our surprise, the rolls were still being served in the lunchroom! The yummy smell tempted our appetites. Like fish out of water, we bumbled our way through the line selecting what looked good or what matched our memories of an elementary school lunch from long ago. Some were adventurous enough to try the "shrimp poppers!" Dan observed how he could see the playground outside the windows now --- something impossible when we were young --- and much shorter!

The school had reserved and decorated a table just for us, with a blue tablecloth, flowers, and ice-filled pitchers of water. We felt special. After sitting down, we checked the ceiling when someone remembered a fork being stuck up there for a whole year! All the students were eyeing us, especially two tales of fresh-faced pre-kindergarners. (Were we ever that young?) Right next to us was a couple of tables of fifth graders and we struck up conversations with a few, asking them about what school was like these days. All the students we encountered were on their best behavior --- and so were we! Somehow they seemed much quieter than our memories of thirty minutes in the lunchroom.

Lunch over, our next stop was the auditorium. It had a golden glow with the same awe-inspiring feeling from the graceful dome, fold-down wide seats slanted toward the high stage with closed maroon curtains! We always knew something special was going to happen when we entered the auditorium, only laughing recently at how corny some of the past programs were. Chris took pictures of us sitting in the audience --- girls on one row with the boys behind us. Big mistake! We girls ended up with "horns" coming out of our heads just like in the old days! (Will we never learn?) At least they didn't pull our hair.

Upstairs, we visited some favorite classrooms overlooking the huge playground, site of ball games, field days, and some pretty wild recesses. New desks were the only major change we noticed. Ajia remembered we had to sand our wooden desks at the end of each year. That annual task insured we didn't do much damage to school property. We talked about the 1950's being the years we had to hide under our desks for the "duck and cover" drills, a very limited response to disaster or war. We were surprised to find the room where we had art was now a storage closet. Chris was grateful to be released from his normal duties for the day but wanted us to visit his classroom. His teacher told is that Chris already was reading at a ninth grade level.

Out last stop was one of my favorites, the art department, now housed in a separate building. Each student has 45 minutes a week to pursue creative endeavors. It was obvious the teacher used every minute! In the art building were works in progress and throughout the entire school we noticed the fantastic results of this restricted amount of time. Art was everywhere! We saw posters, paintings, and mixed media works hanging in the halls and even one class had a giant paper mache tree which we would have loved to help make. When we were students, good-behaving members of our class would walk to stores in Ocean View and paint the windows with fanciful scenes. That was quite a treat! Art was a special activity for members of our group, a couple still draw or paint. From the creativity that surrounded us that day, we could tell that art continues to be a favorite subject of the students.

All too soon, it was time to leave our school but not without a promise to return next year. We all agreed and planned to add more friends to our newly formed OVESAA. After telling the principal and others goodbye, out we went into the hot afternoon sun heading to our next destination, a place to talk about how much fun we had had at school today.

Once again I have learned at Ocean View Elementary school. I've learned that when going back into the past, the visit combines with personal memories and the day's experiences, changing it into something totally new and amazing! So one can go back to the way it was --- just remember to embrace the emotions that come with the changes.

(End of this Post --- But only the beginning of the story..........Hugs!)

Links about Ocean View School

Here are some useful links to websites and pages relating to Ocean View Elementary School:

Ocean View School Page on Norfolk Public Schools Website

Flora of the Ocean View School Campus

Profile and Quick Facts about Ocean View Elementary School

Miss Lucy Mason Holt, principal of Ocean View Elementary School (shown here in 1952), was an unforgettable personality with a keen sense of fun. During the Depression, some of her students didn't have shoes to wear. To help them save face, their beloved principal encouraged them to attend school barefoot, offering silver dollars to those who were able to remain barefoot for the longest time into the early winter. Miss Holt died in 1961 and her funeral was held at the school.

Ocean View Elementary Shool is one of three Norfolk Schools offering Maritime Pathways

The Ocean View Nickel Tour

Here is another great website about Ocean View, its institutions and community. It goes on and on...and on...and is extremely entertaining. It currently has 22 Tours and is full of comment and pictures.

The Ocean View Nickel Tour

The Ocean View Station Museum

Here's the website to the place next door to Granby North, the restaurant where we (some of us) had coffee and sweets after the meal at Greenie's. The museum was closed at the time, but the website gives a good look of ole OV. There are two exceptional pictures of OV School in the pictures, education section.

The Ocean View Station Museum

Names from the Past

Names from the past:

Rita Brown
Gary Rudolph
Brad “Bad” Williams
Randy McSpadden
David Jackson
John Nottingham
Rebecca (?)
Barbara Dole
Linda Harrison
Brenda Harrison
Pam Harrison
Linda Fay Boyd
Donna Caldwell
Luther Jennings
Kenneth Cherest
Glen Hume
Blake Weston
Hazel (Cook?)
Danny Coleman
Ajai Sakakini
Kathleen Parker
Judy Cunningham
Gearaldine Coston
James Green
Claudia Thomas
Horace Jordan
Redhead ?

My nickel

The most fun that I ever had in school was playing Danny Ball on the basket ball court and playing with the poison ivy out in the back of the school yard, near Monkey Bottom.

I hope that this is the first of many posts....by many people

I grew up in a house in Ocean View that got knocked down by Interstate-64, like a lot of other kids' homes in the area. It was on a corner and made for a pretty clean shot to walk to Ocean View School...maybe four long blocks. One more long block past the sand dunes, a dash across the street, and I'd be up to my knees in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. I attended Ocean View School from 1951 to 1957. I was one of the February entrants.

To date six "kids" from that era have gotten back together and, just a few weeks ago (April 30, 2004), they all went back to school and enjoyed the memories and lunch together in the lunch room.

They plan on doing it again sometime soon and are looking for more "kids" in the same age group to join them in their journey to...and through their childhood.