Thanks for the mail! I was happy to see that the drought of information I was whining about last month was so brief. For the past couple of weeks, the FAX machine has been whirring, the voice mail has been buzzing, and I even received some E-mail from a couple of you.
But I really enjoy it when I get a letter. There’s nothing more thoughtful and elegant in this era when electronics make things slick and simple. We’ve got satellite links, interactive cable, cell phones and other gizmos that make face-to-face communication hardly necessary in business, and real letters have become rare treasures.
Jim Reynolds, ’65 graduate, was only identified by his nickname in last month’s column. Randy Sprowl had attempted to place Jim with a few others as instigator of the first senior men’s campout. Jim began his letter to me: “Poor Randy Sprowl, ’66. Age has gotten to him…”
Jim proceeded to pass on a megaload of nostalgia in his two-page letter – first-year (1964) campers dressed as Indians, slept in homemade teepees and sang folk songs during a one-night-only experience. Al Landon, John “Bink” Reeves, Jeff Sloter, Garry Freeman, Steve Martin, Joe Holmes, Bill Bryan and Elliot Archilla were part of the first-year fun.
The ’65 affair lasted the entire week, and participants vowed not to bathe or shave until the campout was over. Along with many others, Randy Catterton (state judge in Fort Worth), Richard “Slick” Wilson, his brother Bob, Larry Rice, David Schoppe, Jim “Moose” Frank, Joe Russell, Tommy Senn, Steve Scobee, Steve Hawkins and Butch Davis were part of the celebration.
The ’66 event was planned by the late Chris Comer, who was a dear friend of Jim’s. Late one night during the campout, Jim and a few buddies went to visit their younger classmates, only to be mistaken for invaders from another school. There was a brief altercation, he reported, but nothing serious.
Thanks for sharing your memories, Jim.
“Moose,” “Slick,” “Bink,” “Peefar.” There were some good nicknames back then, weren’t there? Lumpy, Beaver, Whitey. I wish I had one! Sigh…
Jim “Peefar” Reynolds tagged a good trivia question onto the end of his letters: During the ’60s, a ninth-grader who was good enough could play varsity football. During that period, eight former football players earned four letters in football. He was one of them. Can you name the others?
I also got several responses to the question about disc jockey graduates. Most people could identify Wally Lynn from KLIF. He graduated in 1979.
Thanks for the unsigned FAX from Southwest Sportswear, which gave me some great ideas for next month’s column. I didn’t know that KVIL personality Ken Barnett was a 1970 Lake Highlands graduate. He’s been with the station since 1976.
Grant and Debra Dickson Sanders knew about Wally Lynn. (No, you don’t win anything.)
Lynda Young Mueller, ’79, reports that Michael Martin, a ’77 graduate, has been a top-ranked professional road rider for a major Japanese motorcycle manufacturer. (Lynda lived next door to Wally Lynn for many years, by the way.)
Congratulations to new grandparents Miles and Gaynelle Schultz. Their son, Mike ’82, and wife Brandi are new parents of twin daughters, Maris and Mikenzie. Mike and Brandi are both state troopers and reside in Arlington.
Thanks again for all the information. If you don’t see your news this month, look for it here next month.
