Lionel Blum and Submariners

Lionel had a picture of him and his submarine friends in the Mississippi Press on Jan. 3 2011.  I have added it to our blog for a number of reasons. 

First, it is always great to see one of us making the news. 

Second, it would be great if you would send either Lionel or I links to articles about our classmates or emails letting us know when one of them makes the news.

And third, Lionel has had a serious illness the first of the year but is over the hump. 

And, last but certainly not least, we all need to thank Lionel for all the work he does for the GHS Class or '56.

(Sorry about the quality of the image, it is from the newspaper and I could not get rid of the 'bleed' from the back side.)

The Ring

The Blog has been slow lately.  But there is a small drama unfolding—Someone has found a lost class ring and we are looking for the person who might have lost it.  So here  is a very rough compilation of the email that has been shuttling back and forth for the last day or two.  (pardon if I missed a name or two)

From Mike Stewart:

Hi, Classmates!

Thanks to our Golden Commodore blog, I have been contacted by someone about a GHS 56 class ring found near Knoxville. She sent me the following:

Hello, A friend of mine found a class ring from Gulfport HS class of 1956 with the initials BRC. Looks like a ladies ring. He would like to return it to original owner or family.

Rather than send this person’s address to everyone, I thought it might be easier if one of us acted as a clearing house. If anyone has any thoughts on this, please let me know and I will follow up, or provide you with the finder’s contact information.

Please give this the widest distribution you can and maybe we can locate our
classmate who lost this ring.

Blessings and Happy New Year to all,

Mike

From Anna Gayle:

Hi Mike and other classmates,

The best I can do from the year book is Betty Cox.  Anyone know Betty's middle name?  Oh shoot -- just found she was Betty Ann Cox.  What a great human interest story this would make for the paper.

I am now looking on an ole email sheet for BRC and see Ralph Cuevas.  Was Ralph his middle name?

I see that Edward Craig lived in Knoxville.  C fits -- but don't know about the BR.  Any ideas?

Hope someone claims it.  I am adding five people to the mailing list who helped me with names -- and brains.

From Gwen:

I am perusing our graduation program and the list of all the graduates.  Ralph Joseph Cuevas is listed as well as Edward Raymond Craig.  Could the B actually be an E.  How clear is the engraving on the ring?    Gwen

From Anna Gayle:

Thanks. I spoke with Ned and he can’t find his ring! His initials are ERC and I’m waiting on a reply from the gal in Knoxville about the possibility of the B being an E. Personally, it sounds like we have a fit. Just waiting.

From Mike:

Dear Friends –

FYI, I have written the finder in Knoxville again and asked her to let me know where we stand on this. There’s a fine line between being persistent and being a pest and I don’t want to cross  that line, so I’ll just wait to hear back from her. She has a small business that probably keeps  her running on weekends, if I understand her website.

I will let you know when something happens.

Best to all,

Mike 

Commodores Having Fun

We have Linda Scott and Richard Waters to thank for these recent photographs.

Cynthia Dabney and Marilyn Sisson Hammet discuss the world situation.
 

In Biloxi Cemetery, Dexter Patterson, Linda Scott, and Richard Waters await a tow truck for Dexter's disabled van.

Marilyn and Buddy Hammett celebrate Father's Day 2010.

Charles and Dottie Long.  Charles was class of 54 but we consider him an honorary member of our class.

GHS'er on Front Page Sports!

Linda Scott was on the first page of the SunHerald Sports section today (May 16, 2010).  Way to go Scotty!

You can read the full story here


Remember if you see any news on any of our classmates drop Lionel a line and a link.  Thanks.

Marco St. John

Marco has made the news in our local paper, The SunHerald.  Here is a copy of the article.

I would have just linked to it but I could not find it on the paper's web site.

Also, if you Google "Marco St. John" you will find out even more about our very busy classmate!

Congratulations, Marco!

Beating the Heat!!

Are these people holding Beers?

I can't believe any of our classmates would let alcohol touch their lips!

This picture was taken the summer of 1960 at Bobby Buck's parents pool on Briarfield Ave,  just north of the old Dr. Gay Clinic. 

Photo taken at a pool party at Bobby Buck’s house (from left to right) is Larry Lenoir, Marco Figueroa, (unknown), Brent Richardson,  Robbie Besse,  Dexter Patterson, and Harold Hill – “we need your help to identify the person who is 3rd one from the left”

Photo from Ron Broussard -- Thanks Boz!!!

The Old Yacht Club

Another grand photo from Marilyn!!

This one of the Yacht Club in about 1956. There were lots of dances and parties held there during our school years.

Hey, I have even heard rumors there were places to "park" around there. Only rumors, you know.





Now a trivia question -- what was in the portion of the building to the right of main building.

If you would like more on the history of the GYC they have a wonderful GYC history page at
http://gulfportyachtclub.webs.com/history.htm

Gatherings -- Old & New

These are some wonderful shots that Marilyn (Sisson) Hammet sent in for the blog. Thanks Marilyn!
Allison Pringle is in the foreground and Marilyn Sisson next to her riding as Freshman Maids in the Homecoming Parade. Mairlyn says "I can remember where I was standing when BeBe Jost called to tell me that I had been elected for maid! It was really exciting."


A gathering of the girls in the summer of '55 or '56.

Marilyn says: "I don't know what we were celebrating but I am sure it was legal."

Front - Marilyn Sission and going to the right, Martha Hatten, Frances Head and Joanne Haluska. Standing -- Peggy Holcomb.


Summer of 2009 gathering at Martha's Tea Room.
Left to Right: Joan Haluska Edwards, Nancy Fant Timko, Marilyn Sisson Hammett, Linda Scott, Allison Pringle O'Neal, Francis Mobley Ladd, Gwen Amis Harrell and Peggy Holcomb Brown.

Summer of 2009 at the Yacht Club
"Harry Hewes trying to teach Nancy Fant Timko and Buddy Hammett how to sail!! Good luck, Harry."
Taken Mother's Day, 2009 at the Yacht Club

Left to right: Francis Mobley Ladd, Douglas Ladd, Marilyn Sisson Hammett and Linda Scott.

We Will Meet Just About Anywhere!!

Four "Old" Friends meet for lunch in Williamsburg, VA.! It looks like a great time was had by all.

Pictured are Gary and Gwen (Amis) Harrell, "Bebe" (Jost) and Martin Ficken.

How about it -- do any of you have photos of "Mini-reunions" in other places. If so shoot the pics and details to either Billy or Lionel. Everyone will enjoy them.

Classes of the '50s Dock Gathering

Front row seated left to right: Margaret "Peggy" (Holcomb) Brown; Nancy (Fant) Timko; Cynthia (Dabney) Stevens; Ruth Ann (Gauthe) Black; Barbara (Swarthout) Smith; Lynda Caldwell) Gilmore; Frances (Mobley) Ladd; second row standing, Johnny Davis, Harry Hewes, Billy Mount; Abraham Kassis; Murph Burdine. Third row Douglas Ladd; Mike Stewart and Roland Bond; last row standing on bench Jimmy Rester, Paul Franke, Ronald Broussard, Dexter Patterson and Lionel Blum.

Add: If anyone knows the lady standing right behind Frances (Mobley) Ladd, please let us know.

Photograph permissions by Kyle Garner (228)596-7808. If you wish to purchase a copy please contact him www.KyleGarnerPhoto.com.

Never the ones to miss a chance to get together!

The folks in our class are NEVER the ones to miss a chance to get together. Here are some of them gathering at Salute' before the main party for our 53rd reunion. It looks like they were doing a good job of catching up on old times.



Pictured above are Linda Scott, Red Phillips, Ruth Ann (Gauthe) Black, Marilyn (Sisson) Hammet and Buddy Hammet.

Pictured above are (L-R) Barbara and Mike Stewart, Joanne, Dudley Davis. Dexter Patterson and Nancy Fant are in the foreground with back the camera.



Above are Nancy Fant, Dexter Patterson and Jack Stevens, husband of Cynthia Dabney.

Pictured here are Dexter Patterson, Jack Stevens, Cynthia (Dabney) Stevens and Betsy (Rouse) Matthews. Standing is Linda Scott.

Many thanks to John Davis for the photographs!

1956 Homecoming Parade

Again we have our parents to thank. This photo was taken by Anna Gayle's mother as the parade passed by the Greyhound bus station at the corner of 24th and 14th. That's the Markham Hotel in the background. If you click on the photo you will get a larger image and you can make out some of your classmates. I recognized two.


Anna Gayle is shown in the car and Ronald Broussard is the drum major. If you recognize any more leave a comment. Just click on the word "Comments" below and sign in and post your comment with the names of anyone you might have identified.

Ah, The times we had!

A night to remember at the "Pink Pony." It took me a moment or two to remember where it was. Do You? Hint -- It was not on the beach.



Pictured above are Dickie Waters, Anna Gayle Davidson and Emery Davis (L-R).

Now here is another mystery -- who was the person taking the picture?

Thanks to Anna Gayle for finding the shoe box this one was hidden in.

At the Ball

Victor Wimpee and Anna Gayle Davidson at the 1956 Homecoming Dance. You can see a bit of Dexter Patterson behind Victor. He escorted Frances Head.

And here are a few comments from Anna Gayle --
Other pictures of 1956 Homecoming Court are already on the blog but here is a new one. It is of Victor Wimpee and myself being introduced at the dance that night. The thing that is so cute about it -- his nose was smashed in the football game and you can see his war injury. Because he was my date and he was a football player -- he could not escort me on the field at the half time. Therefore, dear, dear Roger Bailey was my escort for the game and Victor was for the dance. A few other gals had to do this, too.

On the Beach

Here are a few postcards from the past. Most of you will recognize these places. If you have a few pictures or postcards let us know so we can put them up as well.

If you haven't visited: http://ltc4940.blogspot.com/2008/11/gulfport-ms.html
you might want to for additional old photos of Gulfport.


The Friendship House which was located at the corner of Debuys Road and the service drive of Hwy 90, is where many families ate their favorite meals for many years. It was severely damaged during Camille and later demolished and replaced with The Olive Garden. The Olive Garden was completely wiped out by Katrina and there is nothing at the location now but a slab.

The Embassy Club, also known as the Merry Mansion. If I recall correctly it was a victim of Hurricane Camille.

Colonial Cottage and Seawall Café. What is interesting about this photo postcard is it shows the seawall prior to the sand being pumped up in 1956. Most people think there are two or three steps in the seawall when in reality there are 10 to 12 but most are buried by the pumped in sand.

This is a view of the cottages at Colonial Inn. Note the white painted trunks of the trees.
The Gulfport U.S.O. Building.

Falk's Waffle Shop was the first building north of the railroad tracks. Think that one of his sons was a classmate of our's -- either a year or two ahead or behind us.

Great Southern Country Club just to the east of GCMA. Isn't this where we had our graduation ball?

1956 Homecoming Parade

Again we have one of our parents to thank. This photo was taken by Anna Gayle's mother as the parade passed by the Greyhound bus station at the corner of 24th and 14th. That's the Markham Hotel in the background. If you click on the photo you will get a larger image and you can make out some of your classmates. I recognized two.

Anna Gayle, a member of the homecomming court, is shown in the car and Ronald Broussard is the drum major. If you recognize any more leave a comment. Just click on the word "Comments" below and sign in and post your comment with the names of anyone you might have identified. (And, again, many thanks Anna Gayle)

Marilyn's Reminder

Marilyn Sisson wanted to remind us how much BeBe made a difference to her. She sent the following:

"I would like to add something to Be Be's award statement. After the storm, it wasn't long before cool and cold weather set in. I can't remember exactly how I started this, but I went to stores trying to find what warm clothing I could find for children in schools. Long story short, Be Be sent me TON's of clothing, and even beautiful accessories for them. I received help from others also, but since we're honoring Be Be, I thought this should be included."

Fifty Third Reunion News

On September 4, 2009, the Class of 1956 held another successful reunion at Salute Restaurant in Gulfport. We had 37 classmates in attendance and a total of 65 people attending the celebration of our 53rd anniversary since graduation.

During the gathering a short presentation ceremony was held to give the following people a "Spirit of '56" award.

Anna Gayle (Davidson) McClure who could not be present, for her work on the Golden Commodores Blog.

Nancy “BeBe” (Jost) Ficken who was not in attendance. Nancy assisted many of her Classmates and other shortly after Hurricane Katrina by donating blankets and money to a Jane Stanley’s Church in the name of our class – GHS Class of 1956. She also provided an array of chocolate favors during our 50th Class reunion.

Joanne (Haluska) Edwards who has always opened her house for our get togethers. Once when we were low on funding and had a reunion planned for a Saturday night Joanne, not one to let a gathering go to waste, opened her house the Friday night before.

She lost her house during Katrina but has since rebuilt. Since rebuilding she has had several more great gatherings there.

Dexter Patterson, known and loved as the "Chef of the Class of '56" was also a reciepent of a "Spirit of '56" award. Dexter has often gone above and beyond in his dedication to getting some good foods on the table for our gatherings.

Mike Stewart was honored for his forethought in starting the blog you are now reading. He spent many hours getting the ball rolling and his efforts have proven to be time well spent.

Billy McGown received a "Spirit of '56" award for his recent contributions to maintaining the blog.

Shown below (left to right – Lionel Blum, Linda Scott, Joanne (Haluska) Edwards and Lynda (Caldwell) Gilmore. Standing in the rear are in the rear are Mike Stewart and Billy McGown. On the right taking photos is June McGown.







Shown from left to right Linda Scott presenter, Mike Stewart, recipient, Lynda (Caldwell) Gilmore presenter and Billy McGown recipient.



Our Friday night reunion was followed by a Combined Class Reunion Party of all the Classes of the 1950s on Saturday night at The DOCK restaurant on Gulfport Lake.

Flickr Testing

Now this is a little differrent. Lots of folks don't really want to see elevendy kigillion photos of folks at a party. So here is a way to post the photos easily so that those who want to see the whole batch may do so.

When you click on the photo in this post you will be taken to a Flickr web site. At some point you will see the option to "register" or "log in". If you alread have a Flickr account then login otherwise register. If you do not do this then you will not be allowed to post comments but you will still be able to see the pictures. Once on the Flickr site over the small photo on the right you will see "bayoubill1's photostream." If you click on that you will get a page that has ALL of the photos that I have for the 53rd reunion blast. Now that should keep the picture junkies among you 'fixed' for a while.

Remember if you have photos you would like to have posted just send them to Lionel.

Aug09 115 (Small)

We have Abe Kassis to thank for this one. Well, actually his mother. She saved everything dealing with Abe and amassed quite a scrapbook of clippings with mention of Abe and his brother. The scrapbook was much too valuable for Abe to lend it out for scanning but he said he will try to get some of the things in it scanned for us. But, as a teaser, Abe had a spare copy of the 1956 graduation booklet that he was willing to lend to me. And here it is.

(And remember to click on a image to make it larger)