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Juanita Catrina Web-Ms. Class Of 1966

Peggy Southworth (Townley)

Horses, horses, and more horses.......

Have any of you found yourself bitten by the equine bug after graduation?  I was - actually way before that to tell the truth.  I've been completely taken with horses since I was a toddler.

I became caretaker of two horses when I was about 36 I think.  One was a 7/8 Arabian - "Obadiah" and the other a Quarter Horse - "Sox".  They taught me quite a bit and re-instilled my love for horses.

I got my first horse at age 40!  A friend had a mare she wanted to breed and we found the sire.  The mare was a registered Quarter Horse, the sire a registered Trakehner.  Both have outstanding, foundation blood lines.  We were breeding for a sport horse.  The result was a beautiful filly.  Absolutely head-turning gorgeous and a very dangerous horse.  She was smart, sneaky, and would easily hurt or kill a rider.  We tried all we knew to do and even our 30+year experienced trainer could not convince her to "be nice".  We decided to sell her but that was a trying time too.  I couldn't sell her to the usual buyers who wanted her - hunter/jumper people and dressage.  She would kill these young riders wanting to buy her!!  The would-be buyers wouldn't take my advice seriously either.  Finally, a woman called and she was very persistent.  After talking with her a couple times I agreed to let her see our mare.  When I met the woman I realized she was not "starry-eyed" and not about to get herself killed.  She was a very experienced, very knowledgable horsewoman.  She wanted our mare as a brood mare for her warmblood stallion who had the personality of a little puppy.  We decided this lady was the perfect "buyer" - actually we about gave away the mare just to know she was in a good home and the new owner was not foolish.  That mare has had no less than 5 -7 babies with that stallion and I'm happy to say the babies have the daddy's personality!!

We have owned horses for 20 years now.  I did show some - not a lot - but enough to be fun.  I showed Roi ("Ruler's Alibi) in huntseat.  Eventually, I tired of that and just wanted to have fun with them.

We still have Roi (appendix Quarter Horse), Max (Quarter Horse), Katrina (Thoroughbred), and Firecracker (mini-horse).  Can't image life without a horse. 

Peggy Southworth Townley

Linda Weiner (Bennett)

I am enjoying this great site.  Through the years I have thought about the several sets of twins we had in our class.

Can anyone name all of them?

James Hamilton, M. D.

Here's wishing a  very Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Blessed New Year to the BWHS Class of 1966 and all your families!

Jim and Janet Hamilton

Lorraine Heitchue

What a beautiful photo.  Did you take it?

James Hamilton, M. D.

Lorraine,

Thank you! Yes, I took it. Landscape photography is my hobby! Check out some more of them at http://mountainmemories.zenfolio.com

Jim

Janie Albright (Blank)

Joseph Gentilini

Jim, you have great pictures!!!  Thanks for sharing them.  Joe Gentilini

Mark Schweickart

 Juanita,

Thank you for going to the trouble of adding one of my songs to the "Class Showcase" page. That was very nice of you. And thanks for the kind words as well.

Mark Schweickart

Joseph Gentilini

 I love this website and appreciate all the hard work it took (and takes) to do.  I am planning to come to the next reunion (if I'm still alive!).   Thanks again.  Joe Gentilini

Timothy Lavelle

Remembering Dick Walker ...

In brief, I took Dick Walker's History class and I can't remember what year that was. It seems like Junior or Senior. As with Pat Manion and a few of the "take no prisoners" sisters, you knew that fooling around in Walker's class could potentially leave you with something broken. Ego, bone, something. 

Black people, or "coloreds" as the term would have been at the time, were marching. I recall it may have been near a time when Martin Luther King was said to be coming to Columbus to march.

I was brought up in a loving household but one that held bigoted views - one where racial jokes were told at the dinner table and enjoyed by all. I was a righteous little redneck.

For a few minutes one day in one of Coach Walker's history classes we all were talking about the marches and he made a comment. We paid attention when he spoke and he said "....I may not like these marches but you know, if I was a black man I would be a mean SOB of a black man for the way that whites have treated blacks throughout the history of our country".

In one short remark he casually went against the common thread of popular white thought and both gave validation to fighting for ones rights and humanized  a race that until then were the subject of jokes to a little redneck. He opened my eyes a bit and began a change in my own thinking that has lasted throughout my life. Probably one of the very best lessons I took away from WHS.

Thanks Coach Walker. TL

Joseph Gentilini

Thanks for your thoughts, Tim!  I don't know if you were in my history class or not, but I remember where I sat in his class which I took as a Junior.  Unfortunately, I don't have a profound memory of Coach Walker's comment that you remember - wish I did -- but I agree that if someone fooled around in his class, they were in for some "attention" by Walker.  He was a great coach and a find teacher.  Joe Gentilini

Janie Albright (Blank)

Thanks, Tim!  It's interesting how something like that can resonate for a lifetime. I guess that's what the family meant when they said he died a rich man if you count his legacy of helping young men. 

Rita Del Corso (Cenname)

Hi Everyone,

Just got an email from my daughter in Smithfield, VA who saw this article about Bonnie Jonas!!  She sent it to everyone saying,"it would have been just like MOM to have done this and if it were we'd be rolling".  They died when I told them Bonnie was a 1966 WHS classmate of mine!  

Check it out....way to go Bonnie!  I needed  this today.

Go Bucks!  & Go Eagles!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1531928-police-pull-over-ohio-state-fan-after-mistaking-buckeye-for-marijuana-symbol

Joseph Gentilini

I noticed that Tom Dodsworth is not listed in the "missing" classmates.  Is this an oversight?  Does anyone know anything about him?  Joe Gentilini

Janie Albright (Blank)

Joe, he isn't missing he just never joined our site. His email is tadodsworth@aol.com if you care to encourage him. :). Hope you are well. 

Janie 

Fred Clem

Percy Sledge died earler this week.  His song "When a Man Loves a Woman" was #1 for two weeks commencing May 28,1966.   It was probably being played at many of our graduation celebrations.

Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Percy Sledge version)

May 28, 1966
(two weeks)

James Hamilton, M. D.

To the Class of '66,

As our 50th Reunion draws near it occurred to me that, although we all graduated from Bishop Watterson High School, many of us probably know very little about Bishop Watterson himself. I know I didn't.

In May, 2015 I, my wife and some of her siblings were visiting the graves of family members in several cemeteries in Columbus and Lancaster, Ohio. One cemetery was Mount Calvary (near Cooper Stadium) which was established in 1865, the year the Civil War ended. Near the front of that cemetery is the Priests' Circle where one can find a very large monument in which Bishop John Ambrose Watterson rests. He was the second bishop of the Columbus Diocese (Bishop Rosecrans was the first) serving from 1880-1899. He died just prior to his 55th birthday in 1899. On the Diocesan website you can read more about him and the other bishops who presided over the Diocese of Columbus - here is the link:                              http://www.colsdioc.org/AboutUs/TheBishopsofColumbus.aspx

I used my cell phone camera to take the two pictures seen below of his monument:

If you are ever in that cemetery, stop by and pay your respects to our high school's namesake!

Jim Hamilton

Nancy DeCola

Thanks Jim - that was very interesting.

Janie Albright (Blank)

Jim, that is so interesting! You would think they would have taught us this at Watterson- although maybe they did 50 years ago and we forgot! Lol. Thanks!!

Looking forward to seeing you at the reunion! 

Janie

Jeanine Eilers (Decker)

Kind of you to do this for us, Jim.  Many thanks.

Kathleen Wintering (Nagy)

I am with Jane on this. I wonder why we never heard this before. I mean some of us might have been absent but not all of us! We had at least ten pages of incredible rules passed out not to mention Eagle Views needing stories. Kathy

James Hamilton, M. D.

Mark Schweickart

Cool piece of history, Jim. Good digging. Like others, it does seem odd to me that we never had this presented to us, although I don't imagine many of us would have cared much at the time. And not to be too flippant, but man oh man, how many collection baskets did it take to pay for that mini-Parthenon someone erected?