MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

I hope all of you and all your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous and healthy 2008.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - KENNETH OAGES

Has anyone seen Kenneth? He had a way about him (and hopefully still does) that always made me laugh. And he wasn't even trying. I remember one time he did something that struck me as very funny and for the rest of the day, everytime I thought about it, I would start laughing again. You may be wondering what he did but if I told you, you probably would not see the humor in it. I guess you had to be there. Anyway, if any of you have any information on Kenneth, please let us know.

SAM HOUSTON RANGER FROM THE 50'S

Friends,

I received this e-mail last night and thought you would like to read it. I was really amazed at how many 70's teachers had been around in the late 50's. Leave your comments or questions if you have any. Ben, I'm sure would be happy to respond. Jake

I stumbled upon your site for people who attended or worked at Sam Houston Junior High from 1970-79. The mere discovery of the site almost sent me into convulsions because I realized that in three short months (March 2008), it will be 50 years since I enrolled in Sam Houston.
We arrived in Amarillo from Arkansas on March 1, 1958. I was in the second semester of the seventh grade. We got to Amarillo on a Saturday. I remember a snowstorm either Saturday night or Sunday morning, and by Monday I was ill with a flu-like virus. It was not until the end of that week, or the next Monday that I enrolled.
I must say that I feel really old when I consider that most, if not all, of the students who attended Sam Houston from 1970-79 were not even born when I enrolled there in 1958. UGH!!!!
Some of the teachers I remember are: J.E. Ferguson, the principal, and J.P. Dial, the assistant principal. A year or two later, Mr. Ferguson went to one of the high schools, and Mr. Dial was named principal. The new assistant principal was a Mr. Douglas, who, I believe, also taught math.
The art teacher was Mr. Clements. There were two shop teachers -- Mr. Thompson and Mr. Latham. For "gym class" we had Coach Busteed and Coach Joy. I think Coach Teal was the Ranger football coach. It seems that Coach Busteed and Coach Joy also taught history and/or health, and that Coach Teal taught health and, I want to say either math or science. After his retirement, Coach Teal and his wife had the franchise for the Orange Julius stand in Western Plaza.
I remember Mrs. McNew, but I can't remember what she taught. I want to say it was seventh-grade English. There was Mrs. Hamm who taught English, and my favorite English teacher in ninth grade, Mrs. Beryl Eads. There was Mr. Craddock who taught Latin, Mr. Johnson who taught speech, and Mr. Harris who taught ninth-grade science. Oh, and Ed Wilmeth, who taught math.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that I was neither a model student, nor an upstanding citizen during my time at Sam Houston. Coach Joy, Mr. Latham, Mr. Dial, Mr. Clements and probably one or two more laid the "board of education" to my bottom more times than I can remember.
Did I learn anything from those swats? Consider this incident from Coach Joy's eighth-grade physical education class in the Spring of 1959.
Each class was to start with us running two laps around the football field. If Coach was a bit late getting outside, we were to start the laps. On this particular day, he was late and we were goofing off. He made us run two extra laps. Now, I was a little skinny kid and not in real good physical shape in terms of conditioning. At the conclusion of the fourth lap, I dropped to the ground, panting, and muttered a single word: "Damn!"
Coach Joy heard that. He walked over to me, reached down, pulled me up by an ear (I think it was my left ear), and said, "Get to the gym and into my office now." I walked toward the gym, and he walked about 10 paces behind me. I turned once to look at him, he pointed toward the gym and said, "Now!"
When we got to his office, he took a paddle off a shelf, told me to turn around, put my hands on the desk and lean forward.
"What's this for?" I asked. "What did I do?"
"You cursed," Coach Joy said.
I protested. I named at least half a dozen guys and told Coach they were always saying worse things than what I had said.
"There's a difference," Coach said.
"What's the difference?" I asked.
"You," said Coach Meade K. Joy, "know better."
And he gave me three very hard swats.
Well, anyway, it was nice to stumble accross your site. Brought back some memories.
Oh, yes, and some off-campus memories, too. In those days we could, from seventh grade on, leave campus for lunch. At Sam Houston, we had three very good choices for lunch if we didn't want to eat in the cafeteria. Half-block to the east, facing Line Avenue, was The Tumbleweed. We could get hotdogs and Cokes and candy and ice cream.
I don't recall the name of the street that runs north-to-south along the east side of the Sam Houston campus, but on that street, up at Sixth, were two drive-in hamburger places. Stanley's (the original one, I think) was on the west side, and Smitty's was on the east side. At both places, we could get one of those Soft-Serve ice cream cones for 10 cents. Smitty's had bigger cones, but both were about three times the size of those dinky things you get for a dollar in McDonald's today.
Thanks for letting me ramble. Now I'm getting all choked up -- not sure if it's because of the nostalgia, or if it's because IT'S BEEN FIFTY -- F-I-F-T-Y -- YEARS!
Ben Keck
Van Buren, Arkansas
e-mail: benjaminrodney@cox.net

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - MRS. CLAYTON

Friends,

I got a note a while back from Tina (Loewenstern) Quattlebaum wanting to know about Mrs. Clayton. If anyone has any info on her please share it with us.

Tina, sorry for waiting so long to post this. I hope we get some responses.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - SAM HILL

Friends,

I have a request from Ms Tracy as to the whereabouts of SAM HILL. Someone is sure to have some info on him. Maybe even Mr. Hill himself sees this blog and wants to bring us up to date.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW-BILLY HISBON

Perhaps Coach Schroder will read this and know the answer. One of the best people at Sam Houston was Billy Hisbon. What a great person. And the kids loved him.

Anybody know anything about him ???

Jake

WHERE ARE THY NOW ??

A new feature of the Sam Houston blog is the "where are they now" feature (suggested by Tracy). Here is how I would like to see it work. Give me your suggestions, please, if you have a better way. Send me the name of someone you have been wondering about but have no idea where they are. Then we can have others tell you what they know. Hopefully we can get you some answers. Here is where to send me the names:

trevinojval@yahoo.com

It can be fellow students, teachers, crushes, you name it. Deal? So let's hear from you.

In addition, if you will email me at the address above and you want to be notified everytime a new post is added, I will do my best to get the word to you. Deal??

Jake

RECENT PICTURE !!

OKAY, YOU ASKED FOR IT - YOU GOT IT !! Mel, Val, and I had a nice lunch while taking a much needed packing break (remind me not to ever do this again - ever !!!). We were still in Mulvane Kansas when we took this picture. Alot of you didn't believe we lived close to each other. Here is the proof that we did. We are in negotiations to move Mel and Bill to our area when Bill retires. I even promised to take vacations with all four of us, and I hate taking vacations. So we'll have to wait and see if they move to our area. More to follow on this subject.

We are now moved in to our house in Burleson, Texas, home to the first Americal Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson. In case you are wondering, no I haven't seen her around town. And I don't know where she lives either. I understand she spends alot of time here. Keeps her grounded. That's a good thing. For privacy purposes, I'll send you my address and phone # via e-mail. You never know who might wander on to this blog and use that info for the wrong reasons. I'm sure you understand.

You are all invited to come visit. Surely you take trips to Dallas or Fort Worth on occasion? Well, we are here and you might as well come visit. Stay a night or two. After the second night I do charge rent but I'll give you a good rate !! Smile !!

Let us all know what's happening in your lives or bring up old memories and wait for people to comment on them. We are here to answer your questions (all of us are) if we can. Let us know your ideas to keep this site interesting. I don't have much imagination when it comes to stuff like that. So I'm counting on you guys to help me. Deal ??

Until next time,

JT

MOVING MESSAGE

Friends,

I have not posted in a while because we are very busy with our move. We will vacate our current home on Sept 21st and will move in to our new home on Sept 28th or maybe earlier. We are moving to Burleson, Texas. We bought a new home and are very excited about it. I will post some pictures later on and bring you up to date on all the details. I will continue to post on this website as soon as I get settled in Burleson, which might be 2 or 3 weeks from now - moving is all consuming work !!!

I hope everyone continues to come to the site. It would be a shame not to stay in touch.

Signing off for awhile. We'll talk more later.

MR. ROD SCHRODER

Fellow bloggers,

I received this note from Mr. Schroder and he gave me permission to post it.

Jake
-------Original Message-------

From: Schroder, Rod R.
Date: 8/17/2007 7:51:44 AM
To: trevinojval@yahoo.com
Subject: Rangerland

Some of my most memorable years of teaching were at Sam Houston (1973-78). I coached and taught some great students. Thanks to all for the memories.

Rod Schroder
Superintendent
Amarillo Independent School District
7200 I-40 West
Amarillo, TX 79106
rod.schroder@amaisd.org

TASCOSA'S 30TH REUNION

Fellow Bloggers,

I got a note from Beth Risely today. She says she likes our blog and plans to visit when she has a little more free time. She is busy right now organizing the Tascosa 30th reunion. I copied the link below for your convenience. The site has loads of information. So much so that it might be a little overwhelming at first but take your time and browse. You'll be amptly rewarded.

This week was a busy week. We had lots of activity on the blog and fortunately have picked up a few more bloggers. So things are looking promising for the future of our blog. Keep your fingers crossed.

Let me know if you have any trouble linking to the website below. Later,

Jake



http://www.classreport.org/usa/tx/amarillo/ths/1977/

TAMME (WILLIAMS) AURELI

Remember to start at the bottom and work your way up.

You may post my message. Also, I would add that some of the people in the picture are Carolyn (Kay Kay) Cooper, Dauphie Ward, Nadine Leibsch (who I saw about 2 years ago at Tascosa’s graduation – her son was graduating at that time and I had friends graduating) and I really think one of the other girls is Lori Woltemath, and me. I wish I could remember who my fellow dog was. I notice that she is in another picture as well with someone whom I think may also be me.

One of my co-workers knows a teacher at Sam Houston at the present. The teacher was in possession of several newspapers and an annual from the 70’s, that she was told to get rid of. He just put them all on my desk. I would be happy to forward them to you if you would like.

I am glad to know I made such an impression. I have not changed. I am still quiet and shy. I wish that Sam Houston was still the school we knew back then. How times change. My daughter will graduate from Amarillo High this year. I had to convert to a Crockett Pioneer and then an Amarillo High Sandie (I am outnumbered since my husband also graduated from Amarillo High).

Please let me know if you would like to have these items and I will stick them in the mail to you. Take care. I will be checking your blog to watch for updates.

Tamme


From: Jacob Trevino [mailto:tio_jacob@att.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 12:45 PMTo: Tamme AureliSubject: Re: Sam Houston Blog

Tamme,

What a great surprise to hear from you. This has been a busy past couple of days talking to students and teachers from those great days at Sam Houston.

Yes, I remember you often. You made an impression on me. I can't say that I remember all my ex students but I remember you. Must be because you are so quiet and shy, right????

May I have your permission to post your letter to the website? If not, please leave messages there because other people would like to hear from you. At the bottom of each "post", like the one with your picture, there is a link called "comments". Click on it and leave a message. You can comment anonimously, or use your Google ID. If you use the "anon" route, tell us who you are. It's much much fun that way.

Stay in touch, even if you don't use the blog (which I really hope you keep coming back to), then we'll communicate via e-mail. We have a lot of catching up to do.

Jake

PS. Do you plan to sue (being a paralegal and all) for my creating an unsafe environment for my students??? I hope not cause I'm just a poor old school teacher. Ha!

-------Original Message-------

From: Tamme Aureli
Date: 8/7/2007 11:43:48 AM
To: trevinojval@yahoo.com
Subject: Sam Houston Blog



Mr. Trevino,

I just saw your blog site recognized in the Amarillo paper, and linked to it to see if I knew anyone who had written in. Imagine my surprise to see the “Old Photos” posted on April 29, 2007, showing me posing as a dog in front on the left. I am sure my mother would be very proud to know I spent my days being so serious and studious.

I have very great memories of your class. You were one of my favorite teachers along with Mr. Lammes. I had you for science in the 7th grade and health as a freshman (that’s the year that health became a mandatory class for us as either a freshman or sophomore).

I don’t know if you remember or not, but I broke my arm in your class as a 7th grader when I gracefully tripped over the cord attached to the overhead projector and killed it along with my right arm.

Thanks for a good laugh today and a trip down memory lane. You might remember me as Tamme Williams.




Tamme Aureli, Paralegal
Templeton, Smithee, Hayes,
Heinrich & Russell, LLP
320 S. Polk, Suite 1000 (79101)
P. O. Box 15010
Amarillo, TX 79105-5010
806.324.0324 – Telephone
806.379.8568 – Facsimile

BOBBY SHUFFIELD

Mark Romero a correctional officer. I have to think about that for awhile, whew!!!!!

Mr Trevino,

This is Bobby Shuffield from Amarillo TX. Saw blog listing on Globe news website and just had to ask a question. Did you own the black VW or was that Coach Billy and his “you silly boys”? Just wanted to clear the picture on the prank pulled involving this vehicle. After dreaded football drills some players decided to turn this VW sideways in parking space between two parked cars. You guys came out with now Superintendent Schroder and of course they denied knowing anything. Hope all is well and why did they ever close the Tumbleweed. They had the best off campus burritos and candy to take back to class. I have been married to wonderful “Caprock Longhorn” for 23 years and have two daughters. Kenny Medling is teacher and coach at Tascosa. Mark Romero is correctional officer at prison. Just few names to stir memory cells from long ago. Enjoyed the time. Good luck on sale of home and migrating south back to Texas.

Bobby Shuffield
Tascosa Class of 1980

My thanks to Bobby for allowing me to post his note to me.

RUGGED GOOD LOOKS

Some of you have been asking what i look like these days so I decided to find a picture of me that was the most flattering and here it is. I must warn you, life has been hard for me and unfortunately I have not aged very well. So if you are ready, here is a current picture of me:

Okay, are you ready...................

........................................................

Are you sure???????

.........................................................

Here we go........

...............................................................

GOTCHA !!!!

LISA (MELISA HEAD) NESTEBY

Dear friends, I had this e-mail exchange today. Very interesting stuff and some questions. Please provide any info you have for the questions asked. Do so using the comments link below. Start reading the emails from the bottom because that is the order in which they happened.

Lisa's final note:
From: Lisa Nesteby
Date: 8/6/2007 3:21:53 PM
To: 'Jacob Trevino'
Subject: RE: Sam Houston Jr High School

Oh my gosh; I was just talking to my younger sister, Marchel (Stephanie), I mentioned to her that this article had ran in the Globe News; she said that you may remember her guy friend Robert (Bob) Rushing, he went a couple of years before Shawn. I will definitely mention this to my sisters; they would be more than happy to look into this. Yes my father is still kicking in Amarillo, his 70th birthday is this Friday; my parents divorced in 1982, my mother lives in Maine with Shawn and her husband Gene Glover, Sherri lives in Comanche Texas with her husband Clint White, Marchel lives in Amarillo with my father and his wife of 25 years off of Grand, Marchel is not married now.

Marchel was wondering what happened with the female PE teacher, for the life of me I can not remember her name.

Do you keep in tough with any of the students and have you heard of any that has passed on?

I would love to keep in tough, write back when you get a chance. Oh and by the way I would never say that my father would not allow you to paddle me, I would much rather had received a paddle from you than from him; plus detention hour took time out of hanging out with the boys.

Thank You,
Lisa Nesteby

My note:
I sure do remember you. In fact, Melody (Dubois) Waggoner was asking about you (or maybe about Sherri) the other day. We live close by and see each other at least once a month. And we e-mail each other almost daily. Were you the one that said that I could not give you swats, that your Dad would not allow it??? It was so funny to me, especially since I always gave offenders a choice of swats or detention. You were such a fiesty little thing. Great memories of you. I remember Shawn and Sherri too (maybe Sherri was the one that said that about the swats). Where are your sisters now? I hope you tell them to visit the blog and leave comments. We'd love to hear from them. I saw Shawn in Lubbock for awhile (maybe the early 80's) when she was married (forgot to who). Seemed like a nice guy. Are they still together? Give the girls my e-mail. Maybe they'll write to me. Love to hear from them. And you too, of course.

My wife and I live in Mulvane Ks but we are trying to sell our home and move back to Texas (Fort Worth area). More to follow on that subject.

How is your dad? I hope he is still around. He was not that much older than me.

How did you hear about the blog? We've been trying to get the word out. Any help you can give us is great. We need a lot of participants to keep the site interesting.

Tell your daughters thanks for their service to our country. We can't thank our soldiers enough for what they do.

Stay in touch. I love hearing from you.

Jake

Lisa's reply:
From: Lisa Nesteby
Date: 8/6/2007 1:41:08 PM
To: 'Jacob Trevino'
Subject: RE: Sam Houston Jr High School

You were probably one of my favorite teachers; my father was a recruiter in the US Army who use to give you Army pens all the time (Ernest Head), you taught my sisters Shawn Head & Sherri Head and of coarse myself. I remember that you use to live on Bell near Plains. I was reading the blogs this afternoon during my lunch hour, notice that Dan Johnson had passed, he too was one of my favorite teachers as was Mr. Hainey (Wood Shop).

I have been married to my husband for 25 years, he is from Minnesota; we have 2 beautiful daughters, our oldest is married to a soldier in the US Army (Military Police), our youngest daughter is stationed in Baghdad in the US Army (Military Police). We now live in Brooklyn Park Minnesota (just north of Minneapolis).


Lisa Nesteby

My reply:
From: Jacob Trevino [mailto:tio_jacob@att.net] Sent: Monday, August 06, 2007 1:30 PMTo: Lisa NestebySubject: Re: Sam Houston Jr High School

Yes, I taught @ Sam Houston from 1973 to 1978. I taught Science, Health, and one PE class. I remember several Lisa's, all of which were very special to me. Which one are you, if any of the one's I knew?

Anxiously awaiting your reply.

Jake

First note:
From: Lisa Nesteby
Date: 08/06/07 13:03:19
To: trevinojval@yahoo.com
Subject: Sam Houston Jr High School

By chance would you happen to be the teacher that taught there during that time, please respond?

Thank You,
Lisa Nesteby
Purchasing Agent

EMPIREHOUSE, INC
4401 Quebec Ave. North
New Hope, MN 55428
Direct Dial: 763-412-4500
Direct Fax: 763-412-4550
Main Phone: 763-535-1150
Main Fax: 763-535-9151
E-mail: lisa@empirehouse.com

Please visit us at: www.empirehouse.com

ANOTHER NOTE FROM MARY LOU

Jake, your blog is a great idea and I hope lots of people respond. I enjoyed reading what Jane wrote. Sounds like she has had a very interesting life since I last heard from her. Ny the way, Mide Beller was the first boy to enroll in my homemaking class. It's hard to see him as a grandpa!
I live alone with my little Yorkshire Terrior, Princess, since my husband of 49 years died in December 2001, but I have a busy life. I have kept up with May Yokum, Pat Groom, and Sue Coffman. Billy Garrison died last year.
I worked for 11 years for Comal ISD for 11 years teaching homemaking, English, Reading and English as a Second Language. After I retired in 1995, I was hired part time to teach ESL until they were forced to go bi-lingual and did away with my job.
I hope people begin posting messages, because it will be great to hear about what's been going on!
Mary Lou Knox

MARY LOU KNOX

TO ALL,

I got this nice e-mail from Mrs. Mary Lou Knox that I thought I'd share with you all. Please leave any comments you might have. Our membership is starting to build. I hope we can keep it going. This could really get interesting the more people we get involved. Homemaking was way over on the other side of the building so I rarely saw Mrs. Knox but I remember she was a very nice lady, always had a smile on her face and was very kind to everyone. Welcome, Mary Lou !!

A BIG hello, this is Mrs.Mary Lou Knox, 7&8 grade homemaking teacher 1970-1977. I'm eager to read all of the responses. I live in San Antonio and have been retired since 1995. I count teaching at Sam Houston among the best years in my career. There are so many good things to remember about those times. It saddens me to think of the many faculty members who have passed away. I would like to hear from the ones who are left. We had great times together. I would like to hear from students, too

Looking forward to hearing from all you loyal readers out there.

Jake

NORMA CAZZELL & MIKE BELLAR

Friends, more Sam Houston news, courtesy of Jane. Leave your comments if you have any. I left a post in the Amarillo paper inviting people to our blog. Hopefully we will get one or two people to respond.

Hi, Jacob,
I have a couple of new items for your blog. You may use them if you wish.

Norma Cazzell was an office worker at Sam Houston when I was there. She was always a very nice, friendly individual, and worked attendance I believe. She died July 12, 2007 in Oklahoma City. Her funeral was at the Washington Ave. Christian Church in Amarillo with burial in Llano Cemetery. More information is available in the Amarillo Globe -News dated Thursday, July 19, 2007 page 2-C. She was 82.

Recently I contacted the First Alarm Co. to put in an alarm system in our home, and I was surprised to have Mike Bellar come to my house. He was a student when I was a teacher at Sam Houston. We got the system in place, and it was very nice dealing with an "old" student. He said he is now a grandpa with five (I believe) precious grandkids that he is helping raise.

Jane Begy (Dr. Jane Hemelstrand Begy)

That's it for now. Take care,

FIND WALDO !!!

Recognize anyone in this picture??? Here is a hint: the year is 1959. So that elimitates any Sam Houston Student in the 70's. This was an 8th grade team. Let me know what you think.

Send me some stuff or become a blogger and post your own stuff. It is so easy a caveman can do it (sorry to all you cavemen and cavewomen out there). Come on. Step up to the plate !! You don't want this blog to go away, do you???? Don't say yes. That will hurt my feelings. Ha!

Take care,

CHANGE OF PACE

So far, I only know of females frequenting this site, so it is at great risk to my personal well being that I post this picture. I think it's funny but what do I know ??? Anyway, a famous comedians from the good ole days of my youth, Red Skelton, used to play a little kid who used to say "If I do it, I get in trouble. I do it anyway". So I'm doing it anyway. Hope you like it.

Lets get to talking. This blog is much too quiet. Leave some comments..... Pleassseeeee !!

LETTER FROM JANE

Fellow Bloggers,
I got this note from Jane Hemelstrand who taught art and english @ Sam Houston from 1968 to 1978. She now lives in Amarillo after being in various other schools during the last, almost 30 years. Anything you can add to the discussion is appreciated, so please use the "comment" link below to talk to the group.

Hi, Jake,
I have to tell you something funny. I found out about your site from an article in the Amarillo Globe-News. It said you were a student at SHJH, so I thought when I wrote last time that I was probably talking to your son, couldn't be grandson, could it? so I didn't really know who you were until I finally got into your blog. I see that you are in Kansas.
Well, I can tell you about some of the old staff, but not all the details. I know that the following are now dead: Mr. Clements, Art; Beryl Eades, English; Juanita Pierce, Sp. Ed.; Marian Tarver, English; Dan Johnson, English; Bill Lammes, Math; and H.V. McSain, Counselor. I believe the following are gone also, but am not 100% sure: Ronel Simmons, counselor; Meade Joy, ?; Jerry Radtke, Choir. I kind of think Mr. Barker is gone too, but am not sure. The last I heard of Mr. Williams he was living at the Lake marina. Haven't heard in a long time.
I have kept in contact with Martha Allred, Janie Boyd who lost her husband about two years ago, Pat Groom and Laura Johnson, (Dan's Wife). We get together about once a year for lunch.
As far as pictures go, I have several SHJH yearbooks that I think I can scan and send you some pictures that way. By the way, it was not easy getting into your blog. I finally got my husband to help me, but I wasn't a Google member, and evidently one must belong to that in order to get into the blog. I had some trouble with that but think I have it all straightened out now. If I can just remember what I did. My husband is more electronically inclined than me.
From Sam Houston, I took a leave of absence to do my Doctoral residence at UNC, and when I came back to Amarillo, the powers that be assigned me to Travis , and then I went to Crockett, (I think in that order). I went to work at the Region XVI Education Service Center for five years, then went to help consolidate Plemons, Stinnett, Phillips, where I worked as an administrator for two years then went to Coahoma for a year or two, then retired from Texas, and went to Tucumcari, worked there for a year then went down to the boot-heel of N.M. to Animas where I was principal, then went to the NW corner of NM to Bloomsfield where I taught English, was Dept. head and was on the NM Ed. Standards Commission until I retired in 2003. So I double retired and got my Social Security paid in so I would have both A & B Medicare. My husband that I married in 1977, Jack Begy was not in good health for several years and finally died in NM in 2003. I remarried in 2004 to a widower from Trinity, Tx., so we still have both of our homes. So this is probably much more than you wanted to know, but maybe you can use some of it researching SHJH.
I know you want people to put stuff on the blog, but I'm not into that yet. Maybe soon.
Best to you on your SHJH blog endeavor.
Jane Begy (Jamison)

My thanks to Jane for giving me permission to post her letter.

Jacob

SHARING STORIES !!

That's Mr. Barker on his knees repairing something on the floor. If you didn't take boys PE then you may not remember Mr. Barker unless you had him for home room or detention (not that any of you ever served detention !! ). Anyway, I saw him every morning since I taught first period PE and we shared his office in the old gym. Good guy. I wish I knew his whereabouts or even if he is still with us. The most memorable quote from him was one he would say every year as the school year draw to a close. "This is the time of year teaching jobs look good", of course referring to the fact that summer break was coming soon. If any of you know anything about him, let me know.

I noticed no one took me up on my offer to share some memories of Sam Houston. Maybe you are still working on the wording and are planning to give us a great story really soon. Here is a suggestion if you haven't already thought of something. Tell us what you remember about the ritual kids had with Mr. Craddock and the "Ides of March" and how kids would come in early just to mess with his room. It seemed to be a big thing every year.

Until next time Sam Houston !!

YET ANOTHER PE CLASS PICTURE

Hello to all.

I guess I have neglected the site for awhile. I have not figured out what to post that will be of interest to everyone. Anyone have any subject suggestions? Anyone want to share an anecdote or two? That was my original intent of the blog. Anyone have a different opinion? If you would like to see the direction of the blog change, speak up now or forever hold your peace.

Some of the stories I remember are funny and maybe even embarrassing to some. I can start telling some stories if I hear some from you readers. And don't forget, if any of you want to Post, I can tell you how to do it. It's easy. You could upload pictures and other things right from your computer which would make it easy on you and me too.

One story that's safe to tell is one time Mr. Dial left me in charge of a football game because he and Mr. Plumlee were not going to be around. I was the administrative assistant at the time. Well, sometime during the game someone decided they needed something that was in the office and I had the key. I went in and shortly thereafter, there were police all over the place. It seems that the office was alarmed and Mr. Dial never told me. It was one of those silent alarms that you would not know you set off. How embarrassing !!

Okay. It's your turn now. Tell me one story about you. I'll be waiting.............

Jake

PE CLASS

Somebody got their attention... probably a pretty girl walking by. Okay, how's this picture for you guys? Anyone look familiar? Here's a hint: one of them was a school photographer. Kris, is this gym still around? I understand they built a new one. What can you tell us about that? What about the guy on the left and front (with the sweater)? Hint: he has an older sister named Tyra. She was my student aide for awhile.

The blog has been silent for awhile. Since we don't have a counter to tell me when you visit, why don't you leave a note. Just a thought. That would tell me you guys are still looking or if new visitors have come to out site.

Keep those pictures coming!!! Until next time America.........

Room 201 signing out.

PS: the girl in the previous post is Karen Herring. This was her 7th grade picture. Don't know what year.

Class picture

Look familiar? This girl was in the 7th grade when this picture was taken. Don't know what year that was. You've got till next Sunday to tell us who she is. Good luck !!

Have a great day !!

SLOW NEWS DAY !!

Okay, so how is this picture related to attending Sam Houston Junior high, you may ask. It's not but I've been telling you my picture supply is limited and this is what might happen once there is no more pictures. He, he !! This is Max by the way. Cute huh? He's my best Bud. He helps grandpa accomplish Grandma's "to do" list everyday.

One thing this blog should not become is all about me. I don't want that. It should be about all of you. Hopefully we will get a dialog going so everyone will get re-aquainted. The survival of the blogspot depends on it.

Have a great day !!

GYM CLASS

Okay, Ranger fans ! Here is another picture to take you back to when you were a mere 12 to 13 year old teenager, wondering the halls of ole Sam Houston Junior High trying to get into trouble. I hope there are some familiar faces in the crowd. If you know someone and you know where they are now, invite them to come visit the website. We need more people (I know, you are probably getting tired of me saying that).
My picture supply is running low (getting tired of that too, huh?). So keep the cards and letters coming (I should say start them coming) so we can keep the site interesting.
Go out and make this a GREAT WEEK !!

MR. SKELETON

The old skeleton used to take a lot of abuse when I wasn't looking. Anyone remember any stories about it?? Did we give it a name ?? I used to find it in all kinds of poses and with certain articles of clothing, ie, hats, etc.

Anyone recognize these two lovely ladies?? Let everyone know.

I'm sure everyone still remembers all the bones by name. Am I wrong? We worked so hard at memorizing them, or don't you remember that !!

Hope to hear from you all.

BIRTHDAY PARTY

This was taken during a birthday party given for me by the Medlings. This girl did not want to have her picture taken (she was trying to hide as I remember). So who is she ?? I know, but won't tell.

HANDING OUT PAPERS

Okay, so it is two weeks since we started this blog. So how do you think we're doing? We have 4 confirmed visitors to the site - Tracy, Melody, Kris, and me. There might be some unidentified classmates since annonimous comments are allowed but there is no way to quantify them. I still want to allow annonimous comments to encourage a free exchange of ideas, without fear of retribution. I have the ability to moderate or delete comments that are unacceptable so the group will not be subjected to them.

Let us know the classmates you recognize in the picture. I must say I couldn't name any of them but the faces are familiar.

Don't forget. If you have ideas for posts, let me know.

MORE PICTURES

Three young men from my PE class. See if you recognize any of these guys. Where are they now and what are they doing - a CEO maybe - a well known athlete? Maybe someone out there knows. We'd love to hear about it.

Thought for the day: "Think positive thoughts. You will be a better man (or lady) for it".

PS Anyone out there interested in Posting? I can fix it where you can do that. Just let me know. Also suggestions to make the blog better are graciously accepted.

MASCOT

Does the picture on the left look like a "Mustang" and was that our mascot? I don't remember but I'm allowed "senior moments". Ha! If that picture needs to be improved, let me know.

Also, what were the school colors? I can change site colors to an extent and if I need to, I will make the blog spot in school colors.

That's it for now.

Note: Anyone wanting to post a "comment" using the "Annon." button because it is easy but still wants us to know who they are, just sign at the end of the statement. Okay?

More pictures will follow later.

OLD PHOTOS

Dear friends,

Do any of the people in this picture look familiar to you? See how many you can name. The person that names the most, gets a free steak dinner. The only catch is that you have to come to Mulvane Kansas to get it. Ha! Maybe someone can guess what year this was because I'm not too sure when it was. I just remember I was taking alot of pictures around this time at Sam Houston.

If you are in touch or think you can get in touch with any of these people, please let them know to come to this website to look at their picture. Many students probably have never seen this picture of themselves. To me that's the best pictures to look at - one's that you didn't even know existed. So with that in mind, I would like to challenge anyone reading this post to look for pictures they took during their time in Sam Houston (high school and later pics are good also) and share them with the rest of the world. We need pictures you took, not ones out of the annual. Those pictures you buy every year wind up in the annual so those are not the ones we are looking for (unless you have a compelling reason to post one). There are three ways to share these photos that we hope you'll find. One is to post it yourself on the website. I will give you the password and some directions on how to do it. If you are not comfortable doing that, then you can send me an electronic copy through e'mail and I will post it. This will require that you have a scanner so you can upload the picture to your computer so you can attach it to an e-mail. Lastly, you can send me the picture and I will get it on the post. I will send the picture back to you if you want it returned. I hope we get some pictures.

I am thinking of running an ad in the local paper to see if we can get more people to come to our site. If anyone reading this has any ideas on getting the word out, please share them with us. Perhaps some of the local radio stations would be willing to mention our website for free. That might reach a few people. We need members to make this site work. The more that visit and comment, the more interesting the site will be. The future of the site depends on having a large membership. So we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Everyone have a nice day.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW???

I said I would have some discussion topics and here is the first one. Let us know who you are (optional) and a little information about yourself. We also want to know anything you know about Sam Houston Junior High teachers, students, & administrative staff. For Example what ever happened to Mr. Dial, Mr. Schroeder, Mr. Lammes, Mr. Williams, etc. I think you get the idea. Other bloggers are free to add or correct anything said.

Any questions? Use the "comment" tag below to direct questions at me.

Reminder: you can stay anonymous or let us know who you are. It's your call.

Question: have you told anyone else about this site? We need to get the word out.

Jake

WELCOME

Sam Houston friends,

Finally a place to meet and exchange stories that have gone untold (at least not to all of us) for such a long time. I will manage this blog and will gladly hear your ideas as to where to take it. Please e-mail me (also use the "comments" feature of all posts) and tell me what subject you want brought to the site. If you want, I will arrange for you to "post" to the site. The sky is the limit. We can do anything we want - short of anything illegal, immoral, or otherwise offensive, of course. I will assure you that anything fitting the aforementioned (I'm sounding alot like a lawyer. I need to stop that. Ha!) will quickly be deleted by me. I don't want anyone to be offended or hurt by anything that is said on this blog.

I will "post" once a week (if not more frequently). The way this works is that you will react to what I post by using the "comments" button. I have materials to "post" for several weeks but I may miss the mark if you don't give me your ideas. Send me an e-mail with what you want posted (trevinojval@yahoo.com). I will honor your request, if at all possible. As an example, you can comment on this first post. Tell me what you think about this whole concept and anything else you want to tell me. I have enabled comments to be posted as "annonomous" so that you can talk about things without revealing your identity if you feel that is necessary. You can also sign up with a blog name and password so that you can be identified when you comment. But don't be brief. Be wordy. The more you talk, the better.

Any questions? Comments? This is your chance to try this out. Leave a comment and get out there and recruit, recruit, recruit. Copy and paste the website above and e-mail it to anyone that qualifies to visit here. (if you need help with this, let me know). I for one want to hear what people remember about there time at Sam Houston. It might prove to be theraputic, too.

Enjoy