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Bushy Tales Dedicated to all who attended London Central High School in Bushy Park, London England from 1952 to 1962 |
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| Issue #5 | July 2002 |
Volume #2 |
Gary Schroeder (55), Editor gschroeder_uscgaux@email.msn.com |
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Bushy Tales Dedicated to all who attended London Central High School in Bushy Park, London England from 1952 to 1962 |
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| Issue #5 | July 2002 |
Volume #2 |
Gary Schroeder (55), Editor gschroeder_uscgaux@email.msn.com |
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Class Representatives1953 - Jackie (Brown) Kenny
JKYKNY@aol.com
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Isaac,
Karen |
Knight,
Rosemarie |
From
Susan (Miller) Dalberg (62) Wolfpaw81@aol.com
Gary,
Judy Stillson and I would love to find Bob Hurt (61), but we don't find
his name on the website, or in your listing of "found" or
"missing". In
the previous issue didn't you ask for leads on folks? (or did I make
that up?:) Since chemo, I
do that sometimes) If you have that as a regular feature, can you add
Bobby's name to that list? Pat
thinks he had an older brother, but if he did, it's been too many years
ago for me to remember.
George
R. "Bob" Thompson III (62) bobt@uscsumter.edu
I
received your letter today looking for George R. Thompson III, class of
1962. I guess I am the one for whom you are looking.
I attended Central High School in London in 1960 and 1961.
However, I was not graduated from there.
In April of 1961, my family was transferred to Chateauroux,
France, and I was graduated from Chateauroux American High School in
1962.
I noticed
your address is in Topeka, KS. By
coincidence, I was stationed at Forbes AFB in Topeka, KS from 1967 -
1969 with the 1370 Photo Mapping Wing when they moved there from Albany,
GA.
Note from
Pat Terpening Owen (58) on the above paragraph - I kept this paragraph
in when I sent the info to Gary, because my brother-in-law was the First
Sergeant of this Photo Mapping Wing at this time - sure makes it a small
world, doesn't it? We did not live in Topeka at this time, but were in
Washington, D.C.
I
received an e-mail message from Don Crews (59) Dhcrews@juno.com
letting me know that he was going to be in Topeka
for a business meeting, and thought it would be nice if we met, although
as he said, 'we don't know each other, (he'd already left England by the
time I arrived) so I'm not sure what we'll talk about."
I told him not to worry about that, and we planned to have dinner
at our house. Don brought
some of his memorabilia from his years at Bushy and I dragged out my
annuals and some of my 'stuff'. We
had a lovely time and spent about 5 hours reminiscing about our time at
Bushy and friends we had there. We
made plans to meet again next year when he returns for the next meeting.
From
Tony Taylor (58) USNA64@attbi.com
It was
just 44 years ago that I last saw Fred Buhler in London. We had
graduated from Central High, Class of '58. It seems that in those days
none of us really talked about the future, whether it was college,
joining the armed services, or just heading back Stateside without a
clue of what came next. So much has happened in our lives since
then...where has time gone?
Two weeks
ago my bride of 38 years, Gitta, and I left Seattle for a drive through
Oregon and Northern California. What a beautiful country we live in! We
saw snowed capped mountains, beautiful prairies, grand forests of giant
redwoods, snow-melt creeks meandering down alongside twisting and
winding roads, and rugged coastlines where we spotted gray whales with
their young migrating up the coast. But one memorable evening was spent
in the home of Fred and Margie Buhler, retired and living in a lovely
home in the woods in Nevada City, CA.
Nevada City was worth the trip in itself ...once the 3rd
largest and richest town in California during the days of the Gold Rush;
now a lovely small town that treasures its heritage.
After
college and a tour in the Army where he met Margie, Fred joined Bank of
America just like his dad. The
cosmopolitan spirit of London was still in Fred's blood, as he became a
standard in the Bank's overseas contingent. Many years were spent living
in South America in addition to living in Manila and (drum roll....)
London! His last tour before retiring was in Toronto.
Fred and
Margie have lived in Nevada City for about four years and have become a
viable part of the community. It seems that they have been involved in
about every activity from showing goats at a country fair (goats were a
part of the family for as long as they cleared the land of brush), to
supporting the local volunteer fire department.
Fred is currently enjoying the creative capabilities of the
computer as he pursues his interest in digital photography and Photoshop.
Fred and
Margie will be heading east in June driving across country to attend a
reunion in Williamsburg, VA, of Margie's North Carolina family. They
will be returning home via another route spending nights in RV parks and
enjoying the wide-open spaces of America.
It was
great seeing Fred after all of these years.
Most of us remember Fred as the president of the American Teenage
Club in the basement of the Columbia Club. Fred was a great friend then,
and after all of these years I feel honored to still call him a friend.
Gitta and I look forward to seeing more of the Buhler's as long
as we live here on the Left Coast.
Thanks,
Fred, for the opportunity to get to know you again.
John and
Pat Terpening Owen (58) recently enjoyed lunch with Andy and Valerie
Langseth Durkee (61). Pat
noticed that Valerie lived near Santa Rosa, CA, which is where Pat's
father lives, so she contacted Valerie and made arrangements for lunch
while they were there. As
it turned out, Valerie's parents live in the same retirement complex as
Pat's dad.
Rodger Durfee Hinkel (60) rodger.d.hickel@boeing.com
I also
did 57-58 at Bushy (living in the dorm).
My step dad raised me by his surname "Durfee" which I
dropped when I joined the Air Force in Feb. 1961 out of Portland, OR.
He was stationed at Alconbury RAF Station 57-58.
I have lived in the Tacoma, WA area since 1967.
We made a massage therapy office out of the old house in town and
live in a country home 20 minutes from Gig Harbor, Washington.
The two places are 35 minutes apart and separated by the
controversial mile long Narrows Bridge.
I retired from the Air Force Reserves in 1986, (24 years total).
I have been in and out and in and out and back in to The Boeing
Co. (typical behavior) since 1977.
Can retire from here in two and a half years.
I work Flight Test and Preflight flightline work, Seattle, Renton,
and Everett. Been on a
bunch of company trips also. Yup,
I would like to attend a reunion in the near future.
I am using my Boeing E-mail as I do not have an Internet link
active. It's coming soon
though. I will have time
later to research the newsletters
and guestbook. Want to
answer your notes promptly. My
hat is off to you ambitious individuals who have worked so hard to kick
this off and keep it going so nicely.
I have three daughters by a previous marriage and a stepdaughter
by my present marriage of 24 years.
All four live in this area.
From
Jim Baker (57) Jimglo@compuvision.net
At almost
age 63, I and my wife, Gloria, (married 37 years) are expecting our
first grandchild May 28 - a boy. We have 2 girls who are both married. I
retired from two jobs and take it easy most of the time. I substitute
teach in elementary (taught 4th and 5th grades for 6 years)
and high school when I get bored - all of this after a fun-filled 28
years in the Air Force. Things worked out rather well and I made it to
full colonel. Life is good.
From
Dave Mangold (57) Viv@cyou.com
By now any
number of us have told you that the photo in question is that of Mr.
Dickenson albeit his hair seems somewhat longer than I recall in 56 and
57. I can still visualize him "bopping " down the hall in his
tweed sport coat, brown slacks and tan shoes with the thick lug soles.
Does that ring a bell, anybody??
From
Betsy Neff Cote' (54) JPACOTE@aol.com
Well Gary
we are back and must say we had an interesting time.
Spain was nice and warm after the first few days of rain. I did not do well understanding the Spanish language but
somehow managed to spend money every place we went.
They still have weekly markets in each town and they call the
venders gypsies. Driving was
much easier than the crazy way they drive in Italy
and roads were quite good. Portuguese
was just as hard to understand as Spanish but people there seem to be able
to speak more English. On our
way back to Lisbon where we were to leave the car and get the plane to
England, we took a trip to Fatima. Since
we are Catholic this was a place I had only heard about in Catholic school
and never thought I would ever be there.
Also in Lisbon we went
to the Mall which is the largest in Europe with 402 stores - competition
for Mall of America - they even had McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut.
McDonalds is everywhere and in Spain they sell beer, in London they
had a sign saying they took credit cards.
Speaking of London - Prices are really high and I can't imagine
their tourist trade is good as the weather was cold and rainy along with
the cost - it seems most people are there on business.
The people
we talked to in the hotel and on the tube (which is the best bargain - 4
pounds, 10 pence to ride all day) were usually single and there to work. I did talk to three young girls from Australia who said they
were coming to England because it was boring in their country.
We did a lot of walking even though it rained most of the time and
was cold after sunny Spain and Portugal. Products for the Queen's Jubilee
are on sale in stores and street kiosks.
I had told my husband that I thought we should go to see the
Mousetrap as I had my program from the time I went while in Bushy Park, so
we did. The cost last time
was 15 shillings for orchestra seats and this time it cost 15 pounds for
the cheapest seats and the program had to be purchased for another 3
pounds. Anyway my husband
asked the manager if she would be able to get it signed like my previous
one and she had the whole cast sign the new program and all the ushers had
to look at my old program which they thought interesting. After a month of
touring I was glad to get home and be lazy, however we are going on the
23rd to Georgia for my husband's family reunion over Memorial Day.
From Gary Schroeder (55) (Your Editor) gschroeder_uscgaux@msn.com
About Gary
Baldwins article: The SS United States
While I did not sail aboard this mighty vessel, I do have fond
memories of her.
My brother
(Rick Schroeder, 55) and I, along with a couple of English friends from
the English school we were attending (Bushy Park had not opened yet), were
on a camping trip to the Isle of Wight when she made her maiden run and
broke the crossing record. What
a beautiful site she was as she sailed past us on her way to South
Hampton. The pride I felt in
being an American is hard to describe.
All of us were cheering and waving.
(Our English friends were “Yank” want-to-be’s and had put a
small American Flag on our tent) We
all went into the town that night for a little fun and all the talk was
about the SS United States breaking the QE’s record.
When we got
back to your campsite (at the base of a cliff) we found that someone had
thrown large rocks down on our tent and the flag was gone.
Bryan Conyard (one of our English friends) said, “Dammed Limes
are still fighting the Revolutionary War and we lost that one too.”
We all laughed so hard it hurt.
From
Jaye van Wolkenten Turnbull (57) TIGERBEN@msn.com
In early
February of 1957, while I was in my senior year at the American School in
Manila, Philippines, my father was transferred from USN Sangley Point to
Governor Square, London.
By the time
we flew to Yokohama, boarded a troop transport and sailed to California,
drove zigzag across the U. S., visiting relatives that we had not seen in
years and weren’t planning to see for several more, caught the ocean
liner, the United States, in New York City, disembarked in
Southampton, traveled by rail to London to our temporary “digs”, a bed
and breakfast off Bayswater Road, April had rolled around.
I was
instated at Bushy Park and faced with a sea of new classmates. To stay at
grade level, I had six weeks to graduate.
I remember the situation created two challenges.
I had missed so many classes, I wasn’t sure I could catch up in
Chemistry. Secondly, the
PROM. Who would ever ask?
NOT EVEN A DRESS! The shipment from Sangley with all my beautiful Filipino
party dresses was still in transit.
By May, my
parents found an unfurnished “flat”,
56 C Porchester Terrace. Also
off Bayswater, it was near what was then a U. S. Officers Club (the
Colombia Club), and is now a hotel. A
small storage shipment of furniture from the U. S. arrived, but not our
collection of souvenirs from Southeast Asia,
my younger brother’s abacas, lacquer ashtrays (we all smoked
then, even my little brother) and most important to me, the party dresses.
In June, I
managed to pass Chemistry by one small point and graduate on time. Then, a
gracious Bushy Park gal, Class of `58 (I can not recall her name but I can
still see her face) lent me a ball gown and the gallant Bill Grable, Class
of `57, extended the much coveted invitation.
Gary, I
hope that you keep the newsletter going.
Although my time at Bushy Park was short and acquaintances were
few, the memories are some of my most valued.
Betsy
(Neff) Cote (54) JPACOTE@aol.com
I had a letter from Joan Maltman Rindfleisch and she said she was in London for the Coronation and remembers the parade and how everyone in England came to London to see the Queen. It was a great event especially when the Queen passed her family in the beautiful carriage. She said her mother who was of English descent would not have wanted to miss such a celebration. She also wanted Gary Baldwin to know that her family also sailed to England on the United States and what a beautiful ship it was. She has also been in touch with the foundation to save the Ship and lives only about 15 minutes from where it is docked. She would also like everyone to know that if they are passing through Philadelphia to give her a call at 856-848-5403 and she can meet them at the airport in 10 mins.
Has anyone
shown any interest in buying those bricks for the AOSHS Historical
Society?
From
Anne (Jones) Weber (53) WEBERANNE@msn.com
London in
1953 was, in many ways, still close to WWII.
Sweets were rationed until the coronation, and the announcement
that one could purchase all the candy one could afford was greeted with
cheers from Hogwarts to Harrow. Weedy
bombsites in the city were rumored to have flourishing marijuana plants
sprouted from buried canary seed.
It was a
time of optimism, a looking forward to a better future combined with a
revival of interest in the past, the possibility of a return to the
glorious days of ERI. (Mr
Francis taught a fine class in English History at Bushy, equal in depth
and scope to college level courses.)
From this
time of wonders I remember two especially.
First, the lampposts in London were painted a delicate lilac, an
Easter-bunny-basket pale pastel lavender.
In the midst of all the pomp verging on pomposity, these lampposts
were a rare touch of lightness; you couldn't see them without smiling,
without thinking of Spring time and joy.
Who chose the color and what it symbolized...if anything...I have
no idea. (Perhaps a
feminization of the royal purple.) The lavender lampposts were a
delightful surprise.
The second
wonder occurred during the royal procession.
Common-folk didn't get to see the goings- on in the Abbey, but one
could watch the getting there, carriages carrying royalty and dignitaries
from around the world. The
Queen and Prince Philip rode in a Cinderella style golden coach, and most
of the guests opted for similar, if less elaborate, closed carriages.
(This was England, after all, and, Coronation Day or not, it could
always rain.) There were
glimpses of pale oval faces and mechanically waving hands.
And then
there was Queen Salote of Tonga ...about 6 feet tall, perhaps 250 pounds
...beautiful warm-brown Polynesian skin against a pale gown... really head
and shoulders above everyone else. Salote
made those around her seem undersized and washed out.
Queen Salote insisted on an open carriage.
What was a little rain? She'd
come a long way. People
wanted to see her. She wanted
to see them. She waved and
smiled and captured the hearts of all who saw her.
Dignified yet friendly, every inch a queen.
Salote of Tonga. Magnificent!
At Bushy,
we got a discount from the printers when we chose the ever popular EIIR
crest for our graduation announcements.
Miss Hayward gave each of the senior girls at St Mary's a
coronation mug to remember both the grand event and our graduation year.
I was 16. "It was
a very good year."
From
Penny "Cris" (Ohrman) Bernstein (61)
premierevent@charleston.net
Great job
again on the newsletter. I am
printing it now and will read it over.
Maybe will have some thoughts as well.
I went to England on the SS United States… sick all the way but
my folks had a grand time. My
mom went to school with the wine steward so they toured the entire ship.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were on our trip along with someone
else, whose name escapes me at this time.
A great way to enter a new country.
From Craig Sams (61) Cs@csams.demon.co.uk
Well, you asked! I attended the Coronation (well, my Mom stood me on a box in the crowd watching her coach rattle by) of Queen Elizabeth ll as well as the funeral of her father, King George Vl, We arrived in the UK on a wet, foggy December morning in 1951 and I went to various English schools (Gibbs School in Kensington, Buckingham College in Harrow, St. Mary’s Town and Country
School in
Hampstead) from 1951-1956, when I transferred into the eight grade at
Bushy Park and then the family moved to Wiesbaden, Omaha, Chateauroux and
back to Bushy for my senior year.
I remember
in 1954 visiting the base at Bushy my Mom had to do something there
and hanging out at the playground. After
4 years in short pants with English kids I was deeply de-Americanized and
the kids in the playground started calling me (Limey and threatening to
beat me up. I was big enough and tough enough to defend myself, but it
evoked an identity crisis about nationality that stayed with me for life. When I went to school at Bushy in 1956 eighth grade.
Culture shock of learning how to ask a girl for a date, keeping
fingernails clean and combing hair. I made friends, but they loved to just
sit and listen to the funny way I talked.
It didn¹t
take long to develop my American accent again and become a normal
teenager. After spending my junior year at Chateauroux High School which
was totally wild with motor scooters, cheap wine, access to GI bars, and
worse, coming to Bushy seemed a bit tame.
But I remember doing a play called “Our Miss Brooks” and the
incredible Edna Leigh, who I remember every time I quote Shakespeare or
any of the other poets and writers of the English language who she taught
me to love and memorize in huge quantities.
I remember she wept when she heard I’d got a scholarship to the
Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at U of Pa because she saw a lover
of words about to be turned into a grubber of money.
I saw her many years later at a party at her house in Watford.
My brother Gregory (class of 66) kept in touch with her and Howard
Abramowitz, another favorite teacher.
In French
class Maxine Dansker and ??? and I had all been dependents in France and
were good French speakers and would talk to each other in French, which
infuriated our teacher, whose French wasn’t good enough to understand
what we were saying. I spent
some classes in the hall by way of punishment than inside the classroom.
Deservedly.
I remember
the school bus that would pick me up near Ealing Broadway, where we lived
in 1960-61. Tom Wright and
Cam would sit at the back singing Mose Allison tunes while I remembered my
lines for Mrs. Leigh’s class. I
took Martha Burdick to the Prom at the Grosvenor House and then after we
slipped away with Ward Wescott and his girl friend to a basement nightclub
frequented by French people called La Poubelle (the garbage can).
As we came down the stairs, Martha in her
prom dress and me in my tux they all thought we¹d just got married and
the whole club broke out in congratulatory toasts.
My
involvement in the organic food world led me eventually to become Chairman
of the Soil Association, which is the membership charity that encourages
organic food and farming. Our
Patron is HRH The Prince of Wales. I
wrote to him with condolences on the death of his grandmother, the Queen
Mother and mentioned that I had been at his grandfather’s funeral as a
young Yank in London. His private secretary replied with an envelope edged in black
with a standard printed letter and the handwritten note below: Your letter
meant a great deal to the Prince.
It made me realize how old I’m getting too.
I now don’t work as hard as before and have moved from my home of
35 years on the Portobello Road market to an old rambling house in the
seaside town of Hastings, where I swim in the sea, garden, grow vegetables
and have just got broadband in my home office on the top floor.
I wonder how I could ever have stayed in London so long can
still get there in under 2 hours by train, time to read a magazine or
write aimless memoirs for Bushy Tales.
From
Arlene Costello Marcley (60) Wmarcley@mindspring.com
Hi Everyone, If any of you are baseball fans and/or saw "Field of Dreams" and/or know or are interested in baseball legend "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, log onto the following websites to read about a statue of Shoeless Joe that I have been working on for six years. Ya'll come to the event on July 13...we'll roll out the red carpet for you!
http://blackbetsy.com/joenews02.htm
http://blackbetsy.com/statuededicationinvitation.htm
From
Rick Schroeder (55) SSchroe273@aol.com
Something
occurred to me today. See if anybody can remember what the term Jankers meant in Jolly Ole England. I know it is a slang term
but can't remember what it referred to. ttfn
Jerry
Kelly (58) Jkelly1597@aol.com
This
newsletter that I received today had the name and other information of one
of the bus riders from High Wycombe.
If it wasn't for this newsletter, a lot of this would not be
possible and I really appreciate the effort that goes into putting it out.
One of the things that kind of get me is how close some of our
paths have crossed in the years since Bushy Park.
My strangest encounter was while in the Army. It was early 1962 and I had just arrived at Fort Bliss, Texas
after being assigned from Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.
I was out washing the winter mud off my car and struck up a
conversation with another troop. His name was Barry Costner.
I worked for his dad in the commissary at High Wycombe and his
mother Ann worked for my dad in the NCO Club also at High Wycombe.
Barry had been sent home before I arrived in England because he
couldn't stay out of trouble. Meeting him was a real long shot.
Sue Miller Dalberg (62) wolfpaw81@aol.com
Greetings
Bushy-ites: I commend Pat and Gary on trying to get us all together, and
let me tell you, it works!
Like all
military kids, I moved around a lot. Five schools in my freshman year
alone, with the fifth being Bushy Park. When we first arrived, (59) we had
to wait for base housing, so we lived on the economy. Ah yes, those nasty
but fun long, long, long bus trips. We were just under the two hour mark,
so I couldn't "dorm" it, but I met some of the most wonderful
people and it took only days before the other Bushy-ites made me feel like
I'd been in school there for years. While we all griped about how hard the
faculty was on us, I have to say that when we rotated back to the States
just before my senior year, I was years ahead of the other students.
During my
senior year I was able to work full time, only having to show up one hour
a day. What a shock to go
from Bushy Park where we were all a family, to a civilian school where
there were tight cliques, judgment about our dad's being military and us
being the campus trash, yadda yadda.
Even though I graduated in Denver in 62, in my heart I was walking
down that aisle with all my dear friends in Bushy Park.
Thanks to
Pat's and Gary's efforts I recently found my dearest friend from BP, Judy
Stillson. Talking to each
other, and emailing each other, we are 16 years old again and giggling.
Thank you guys for bringing us together and relighting the love of
Bushy Park
Robbin
Ladd (61) docladd@earthlink.net
Thank you
for continuing to send me the "news."
I am just into the first years of my second career, professor,
California State University at Long Beach, so seem to spend all my time
preparing or grading. I am
living in Redondo Beach with my Partner of 20 years, Sharon, and three
standard poodles. When my nose is out of books and papers, we hike and kayak
and I groom dogs (mine). This
is a quick note as I still have a class full of papers to grade and must
report to the classroom in two hours.
From
Lamar Parish Robataille (60) LRobitaille@cbre.com
Thank you so much for the June issue, which I read with great interest. I especially enjoyed the pictures!
#1 There was a picture inquiring if it was Mr. Dickinson or Ken Robie. I got out my 1957 yearbook and it looks like Mr. DICKINSON to me.
#2 There
was a picture of Fred Buhler and Tony Taylor, both of whom I remember very
well - especially Fred because we rode the same bus together - the
"infamous" bus 109!
(Editors Note: Please, if you change your e-mail address (or move) let Gary or Pat know so you can continue to get the newsletter. Also, if you let us know, we don't get as many rejected e-mail addresses when we send out the letter. Really appreciate everyone's help on this one.
Don’t’ forget to check the Guest Book on the Bushy Park web site at:
