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Linda Weiner (Bennett)

Regarding Fr Grimes: He was in top three picks as favorite teacher. I loved being in his class. That's all, you sick minded rascal. 😱  (I thought I posted this already.)

Linda Weiner (Bennett)

Joe, 

Sent you a pm about Spanish II class. 

And I'm pretty sure you did not know I even existed. You may have me confused with the other "Weiner."

Timothy Lavelle

All you gals, all you guys...remember, if you will...c'mon now, squint those brows and close those eyes for a second and recall...warm fireplace somewhere, and moldy leaf smells of late fall...those early blasts of icy air...walking through the always surprising and sometimes delightful 6 inches of White Christmas...wondering if you would get that hoped for toy nuclear bomb advertised so well on WBNS..."Be the first on your block to rule the block". Whether it was the 6th grade when Santa was in the rear-view and we each secretly wished we could still believe...felt a little jealousy for younger nieces and nephews. Or some years later on, wondered if that special present would be the right thing we hoped it would be, for that new special interest.

Sure, life was not always easy and not, for everyone, aways bright with cheer...but mentally stepping back and blurring the retrospective vision just a spec allows for a glowing glimpse of what I will always believe was the best childhood and early adulthood that any of us could have asked for.

Stay warm, enjoy those memories. Invite Jose Cuervo to the party.

Merry Christmas to all. How very lucky we all are....because...we all...'are'.

Sick Rascal, indeed! Yeah...OK...fair enough.

Mary Clare Hummer (Bauer)

Thanks, Tim. I needed reflection time on this, as usual, busy day before Christmas. You were the baby of your family as I recall so I imagine the fantasy & magic of Santa Claus played out as long as your older sibs could stretch it. I think I found out somewhere along 2nd grade but since I still had lots of younger sibs, my Mom used to let me be "Santa" and help her get the presents out around the tree after the house was quiet. I was a freshman in college the year my baby brother, Mark, found out. By that time, older sibs, Ted & Rosi had started their own families and their little ones kept the magic alive for us!!  The memory lane of Christmas past conjures up the display window at Lazarus downtown, visits to Santa at that same store, a winter wonderland ice storm, kinder caroling with the Watterson choir on a snowy December night, riding the bus to Graceland for Christmas Eve shopping (No Black Friday madness in those days and I think I could buy something for everybody in the family plus a few aunts & uncles for under $5!!!), Midnight Mass, first Christmas I had a boyfriend & he got me a gift--Shalimar perfume, still my favorite!!)  I agree with you. It WAS a great time of our lives. So Merry Christmas to all our classmates. May everyone enjoy the comfort & company of loved ones. Peace & hope to all in 2017. 

Clare

Mary Clare Hummer (Bauer)

Lawrence Foster

At Christmas time I see people express thanks and hope:  thanks for things they remember from years past and hope that there will be peace and happiness in the future.  This year I am very thankful for many things but espeically the wonderful memories that occurred all around our 50 year reunion in September.  The renewal and continuation of friendships has brought many smiles to my face and comfort to my heart.  Thank you all for your friendship and the wonderful, funny memories and smiles that you bring to me with your postings on these pages.  Enjoy the celebrations with your loved ones.  Merry Christmas my friends!        

James Hamilton, M. D.

To all a very Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season!

Christmas' past. Wow, I recall things like Lazarus' big window display, Santa's arrival during a parade on Thanksgiving in Clintonville on High Street, a picture of myself with a new football sitting under the Christmas tree beside my sister who was holding a Fabian Album in 1959 and other little snippits of moments decades ago.

It has been a great year and our reunion made it even better. I hope everyone has a memoroable Christmas with new snippits to remember years from now.

Joseph Donahue

I too remember the Lazarus window as it was an annual pilgrimage for our family. I also remember anxiously awaiting word as to whether I would be a server at a Christmas Mass, especially midnight Mass.  My father insisted on having an ornament that had to be perfectly balanced or it would not rotate so several times a day, I had to drag the ladder out and straighten the damn thing.  It mysteriously disappeared one year.  

Speaking of midnight Mass, I think I am the only member of the choir who ever set fire to the paper cup holding a candle as we marched to the choir in the back of the church at Immaculate Conception.  Needless to say, the scowl I received from the nun who managed the choir was not very Christmas like.  To this day whenever I hear O Little Town of Bethlehem I want to set fire to something.  There goes 3 more years of therapy.

As others have said, I am relishing most of the memories that began during the reunion and have continued until this day. Let's have a reunion every year.

Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Monica Haban (Brown)

Visit Vintage Columbus.com, online, or sign up on Facebook, for sentimental pictures of Columbus in our good old days.  Lazarus Christmas windows, and the Santa parade are among the treasures. 

Have a blessed new year!

Linda Weiner (Bennett)

Merry Christmas from the (Weiner) Bennett home.

May many blessings be yours in 2017 ! 

Dave, "Weiner" & Roxie

(Sorry bout the pic...could not find a way to rotate it. She's cute as hell anyway!)

David Mitchell

On this "night of all nights" I always think of the troops who are serving overseas. The afternoon of my Dec. 24th 1968 I was being dropped off from a jeep that had brought 4 of us from a Huey drop off out on the Vinh Long airfied runway to the barracks area. I was knocking at the the screen door of our compamy's offce "hooch" with my duffle bag and travel papers (and still in dress khakis - what a sight we must have been -lol). As I stood waiting, a "bird dog" (piper cub spotter plane) was circling about above the airfiled at about 2,000 feet with his "propaganda" loudspeaker out the side door playing Christmas carols. As I turned to pay attention to the music I realized it was Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". Ah, no place like home for the Holidays.

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Just did 2 churches tonight on a short visit to Columbus - St. Agatha, and St. Christopher. Lots of Christmas music to enjoy. Lots of Memories. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas - and a New Year full of hope in the  "Light of the World".

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Got a bright red 16-inch Schwinn bike for my 9th Christmas. She was gorgeous!

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

Janie Albright (Blank)

David Mitchell

Joy to the World!    And fun and good times to all.

Once again Janie, thanks for this website and this forum. Especially since the reunion it has become a "gift that keeps on giving".

And Feliz Navidad to you and Dennis down there in the sunshine.

(I'm up in chilli overcast "Big C" - just had to get away from those awful 70 degreee days in SC.)

Deborah Alexander (Rogers)

Happy New Year to all my Watterson friends and classmates!  It has been great reading all your Christmas wishes, which I am just getting to after a busy Christmas with my 2 great kids, Mom, who is 92,  my adorable grandchildren and extended family.  It is hard to believe we are of the age to be celebrating the holiday with grandkids!  All the wonderful memories on this forum make me feel like I am back in high school.  I agree with Tim in that we were blessed with a very lucky childhood.  The world didn't seem to be a threatening place in those days, without terrorism and all the other crises we seem to face daily.  I guess our first reality check was when our classmates went to Vietnam.  I have  so much respect and gratitude for those of you who served our country while many of us were still living a safe and protected life.  Thank you for your service!! 

Who remembers the Christmas dance every year at Watterson?  So much fun getting dressed up in our fancy clothes and trying to act like adults when we went out to dinner before the dance!  That night, and Prom were always high points of the year.  So much stress on us girls, hoping to be asked to the dance!!  Oh, to have such minor issues these days!

The reunion has really ignited a spark among us, and it is wonderful reading everyone's thoughts.  Let's keep it up!  I wish all of you a blessed and joyful New Year!

Mary Clare Hummer (Bauer)

Here's another great WHS Christmas memory for me, Debbie. Sue Lally would get her Dad's big white Caddy (I was never a car person but I think it was a Caddy) and pick a bunch of us up on Christmas night. Christine, Mary Margaret, me, Beth, Tess (?). I forget who all rode along but we'd go drive through neighborhoods and look at the houses all decorated for the holidays.  One highlight (aside from a Chinese firedrill or two) was stopping at your house. You had the tallest and prettiest tree I had ever seen. Plus you had those two adorable twin baby sisters who shared all the excitement of Santa's visit. Definitely another special time!!  

Clare

David Mitchell

David Mitchell

I couldn't enter any text with the You Tube video above, but I wanted to say I hope it brings back some fond Christmas memories. I used to watch these in my living room growing up and loved them.

* * I would like to point out an interesting coincidence on the video. If you go to about 6:11 in the video (right after a bit with Phyllis Diller) there is a scene with him as an old bag lady and Miss World from Australia. The caption even says "Dong Tam 1968". I was in that audience.

They were in a band shell and could not see behind the stage, but we were sitting back far enough (and looking that direction) that we could see a Huey gunship taking fire from a small island out in the middle of the river (Mekong) and pouring some rockets back into the target. I told this story for years and wondered if anyone believes me. Then one night about 4 years ago I stumbled onto this - what a shock!

This was December 26th, and I had only been at my new home base in Vinh Long for two days. I was not yet on flight status, and had hardly even met anybody when somebody poked their head into my cubicle and said, "Hey, we got a ship (Huey) going down the river to Dong Tam to see the Bob Hope show, wan'na come along?"

I felt a litle undeserving compared to guys who had been there a long time but I jumped at the chance. The show started hours late (normal for security reasons) and was not as great as those old TV shows with highlights of the best of the whole tours, but we loved it. His touring group at the time was Ann Margaret, Jonny Bench (Cincy Reds catcher) and Miss World from Australia -  the girl in this skit. Needless to say, Ann Margaret knocked us out! And Bob Hope is still an American hero in my book. 

"Thanks for the Memories"

Michael McLeod

I gotta say, Dave, I have really enjoyed your reminiscences about Vietnam -- this one in particular. All wars have their horrors, their bizarre moments, their bonds -- both the kind that develop between soldiers, and the kind that stay with you over the years. It really touches me - I know it touches all of us -- to know you played a role in that terrible conflict. And you've got your memories, and you've got your scars. If I can just pretend here for a moment that we're back in Columbus, in one of our old haunts - let's say the thirsty I - I'm gonna hold up a 3.2 beer, clink it across the table against yours, and say: love ya, brother. We all do.

Deborah Alexander (Rogers)

Clare, that's a fun memory that I had forgotten about,  but  I remember you coming to our house to see our tree. Hard to believe those little twin sisters of mine are now 55 years old!  Where has the time gone?!  I have another memory of a bunch of the girls having a Sweet 16 birthday party for me at my house.  We played records and danced and had the best time.  We were so innocent.  There was no thought of alcohol or (God forbid) drugs in those days.  The only drinking I was aware of during our high school years was that the boys would go and park somewhere and drink 3.2 beer which someone's older brother would buy them!  Such risk takers! 

David Mitchell

Thanks Mike. And "Cheers" to y'all. 

I was just going to submit another message to you in particular (and all the rest of you "Olympic" swimmers and I.C. "Clintonvillers". I was just in the Big "C" for a few days and driving down Indianola I saw a shocker. (lots of what I see in Colmbus shocks me these past few visits - Lane Avenue - Granview - the Arena District - High Street north of Worthington - wow - even parts of High Street near Watterson and OLP church).

Right out on the street, on the property immediately in front of Olympic swim club is a giant new condo project going up - like 4 or 5 stories, and a whole block long. Amazing!  

Next thing you know they're gonna "pave paradise, and put up a parking lot"

Michael McLeod

Yep. They took down Olympic a while back. I think I probably bemoaned it on this forum at some point. It was a communal haven that cannot be replaced. The broad lawn around the pool, the fresh air, the way the chatter of kids in the pool blended together into a single happy, ongoing chorus -- at least until the announcement "It is now time for the 3 o'clock break" cut it off. We lived close enough that I could hear that hourly announcement all summer long from my bedroom window. I can hear it now.

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

Ah, another reference to your window on the Olympic Beach world, Mike!  Last month I received a surprise call from Sue Endebrock and I told her about the Forum bantering that she should check out.  She especially laughed when I mentioned the memories shared about Clintonville and our cabana at Olympic pool. Isn't it fun how memories trigger other memories?  Sue immediately jumped in with her own recollections.  We decided that our cabana with the brightly painted daisies on the walls was probably my first unofficial decorating project. 

By the way, a couple of weeks after our call I received an email from Sue's husband Tom telling me that it was his first day home after undergoing an unexpected  triple bypass operation.  He is recovering well but they have had a lot in the last couple of years.  Sue often mentions how much your cards and letters meant to her after her surgery and I am sure she would love to hear from you now.

Stay well, friends.  

Linda Weiner (Bennett)

New memory: We heard those Olympic pool announcements from our house on Beulah Rd before I71. 

There were train tracks between the pool and our house. When the trains went by, they would make our house quiver and the crucifix & palms over our front door would jiggle.

Another memory (not so sure why this sticks in my head): When I was about seven or eight years old, my sister, who was six years older, took my brother and I to an A&P somewhere around the pool. 

I remember crossing the tracks via Oakland Park Av, (back before freeway) on foot—my first experience touching RR tracks...oh so dangerous it seemed!

Michael McLeod

Yep - I remember exactly where that A&P was, Linda. Straight behind our house on the north side of east north broadway. We could cut through a vacant field right behind us to get to both the A&P and Olympic.

There was a family story about the time my mother sent me there to guy a melon for breakfast, meaning a muskmellon, and a head of lettuce. And I came back with a watermelon and a head of cabbage.

I'm reading Bruce Springsteen's autobiography, and there is a section where he discusses the rhythms of his childhood, and how they leave an indelible imprint on you unlike any other. He speaks of a tree that he remembered from childhood that is no longer in his old neighborhood that has been cut down - but its roots are still there, in him. That memory - of the announcements of the breaks at Olympic - is with us so strongly for that reason. It was the bell that tolled for us, beckoned us, throughout our childhood summers.