Image carousel of photos from the gathering. Click on the > and < to scroll through the photos.

LEE LUNCH BUNCH

CLASSES OF ’64, ’65, AND ‘66 Get Together on April 25, 2024

Patsy Hughes Oldroyd 

LHS‘65

Lee Lunch Bunch (LLB) was a very lively crowd yesterday when we met at Logan’s Roadhouse in Huntsville. This is the beginning of the fourteenth year for LLB which started in 2010. What actually started out as a gathering of a few close lady friends at my home from our original classes at Lee, very quickly developed into a much larger group of both guys and gals in Huntsville restaurants. Now, entering our fourteenth year, this group is still going strong! Yesterday we started out with 53 that had signed up with me, but as it always seems to go, some had to cancel, and we wound up with 43. Some had illness, a couple had grandparents needing to see about their grandchildren, one had a death in their family, and so on. As with all who could not make it this time, we missed them.

This LLB gathering was special since it was 60 years ago that the first graduating class of 1964 from Lee was getting ready to walk across the stage, receive their diplomas, and take off to college or wherever their plans would take them. Several members of that first class shared some sentimental thoughts with all of us about being the first class to graduate from Lee. Tommy Towery could not make it to this lunch, but he did send some of his personal thoughts about that final year for me to share with the others. Perhaps he will include those thoughts here in this write up.

As always, we had some of our most faithful members who traveled a long way to be with us, and they have vowed to continue doing so for as long as they possibly can. Linda Weldon always drives down from Hendersonville, NC, and Susan Simms comes from Springfield, VA. Joe Schultz comes from Houston, TX, Carolyn Burgess Featheringill comes up from Birmingham, and Kathy Harris Jones drove down from Frankewing, TN. All of the rest of us are from in and around Huntsville.

I truly appreciate the faithfulness and effort that all put forth to join this group the two times a year that we meet. We are getting older now, so it is getting more difficult for us to get together. We have all agreed that we will gather for as long as we can. We never run out of things to talk about and enjoy seeing each other every time. As always we remember those who did not get to grow old with us.

Hope to see as many as possible from our group in October, probably the fourth Thursday of that month on the 24th. As always, I will get that information to Tommy at least a month before so he can post it on The Traveller.

PLEASE respond to me about whether or not you will plan to come. I always include numbers and email for you to do so.

Thanks and see you this fall!

The Wayback Machine

Since we are talking about graduation, I want to share a video about the history of a song that once and still does give me goosebumps when I hear it.  Many of us will hear it this spring when we attend the graduation ceremonies for our grandchildren.  I learned more about it when I was living in England back in the Eighties. For example, I never knew the version we played at graduation was really only a part of a much longer piece named "Land of Hope and Glory".  Below is a short video about the song, and a much longer version of the original song as loved in England.

I think we should all thank Patsy Hughes Oldroyd, for her continued support of our Lee High Classes of '64, '65, '66. It takes a lot of love and hard work to take the time and effort of planning and coordinating a major class get-together multiple times each year. And as our reunions are spaced out over years, her efforts get us together at least twice each year.

Answering Patsy's request, here are my thoughts I sent to share with the LLB group.

"My brother was one of the most popular people at Huntsville High School and I could never escape his image. Then I started at Lee Junior High. I became my own person and gathered friends with our athletic classmates, our cheerleaders, our A-students and F-students, and some who had no other friends but me. We walked the halls together, socialized together, studied together and eventually some of us walked across a stage and graduated together, while our younger classmates cheered us on. My position on the school newspaper made a lifetime impression on me. I have friends I will hold dear to me until I am laid to rest in Maple Hill Cemetery. Good bless all of you."

I should have added, "At Lee, I finally came out of my shell and became brave enough to ask girls for dates. I had crushes on some and loved some. It was a social growing period in my life."

The following emails were not delivered :

bevstill@comcast

echols80@mchsi.com

tnladylm@yahoo.com

puma1965@tampabay.rr.com

Last Week's Questions, Answers, 

And Comments

Beverly K Hillis,  LHS ‘66, "As soon as I got out of school and went to work I bought a second hand piece that blew up on me half way from Huntsville to Pulaski. I went the next week and bought a brand new 1967 canary yellow Mustang. It cost $3200 and my payments were $82.28 a month. I thought that was so much money but I loved my car. Threw the years I have had 1965, 1966, 1968. Love them all. It’s funny how life changes. I always loved small sports cars. Now after 2 back surgeries and both knees replaced I love my Cadillac SUV."

Mary Ann Bond Wallace, LHS '64, "As I read the Lee Traveler Newsletter and saw Rainer’s post and went back and read Craig’s post It made me think about how everyone looks at things and how we have a different memories of what happened in the past.  I have discovered that things that happened were totally different than what really happened as I have gotten older, I guess that would me my truth.  I do know that places that I thought were so big when I was younger are not as big now.  Not just as a child or a high school student but even after you have a family places that seemed so big at the time - you return after so many more experiences and adventures and those places are not near as big as I thought.  I love that so many of you have memories that are remarkable. It makes me wonder if my impressions are the same today as they were when I was young?  I did have a very small connection to the Von Braun family.  Each summer from about the 11th grade until I graduated from college I worked as a counselor at Camp Sum-a-tonga (Huntsvile’s YMCA Summer Camp in Scottsboro area).  The last year to work at Sum-a-tonga I was a senior in college and getting married in August.  I went back for one last two weeks to be the counselor over the counselors in training (CITs) and my assistant was Iris Von Braun.  I have to say I was a little impressed because all of us who moved to Huntsville during the boom of NASA development knew the Von Braun name.  Iris and I hit it off very well and stayed in communication for several years.  She was getting ready to leave for Oberlin College and I was finishing college at Florence State.  She sent Dickie and I a wedding gift which was very 60-70 era but I still have today.  I also had the honor of seeing inside the Von Braun house.  Iris showed me the very large model train with feet and feet of track in their basement that her father and brother had built.  A wonder memory to have.

My other connection to the stories I have read is owning a Mustang.  When I graduated from college in 1968 my parents gave me a 1965 Baby Blue Mustang.  There are very few cars that I really wanted - my preference of cars is a radio, air-conditioning and good working order.  I know not very impressive but that is the way I felt.  Yes, I loved the Mustang but I think I was so thrilled was  because my parents went into greater debt to buy me one (thy took out loans for me to attend college).  I also wrote my first check when I completed registration for my first semester.  The check was for $395 which included college classes, dorm room and meal plan. After my husband finished college we traded the Mustang for a GTO, navy bottom with white top.  But my dream was an MGB!  Never got one and when I could afford a MGB I chose a mini van for comfort over looks.

 I think I wonder what people thought of me.  I was not a good student, not really smart.  Unless I really liked the teacher.  I was a feather-head.  It took me years to control all my energy.  

Thanks to each of you who take the time to share your information and experiences.  It brings back memories that I had not thought about in many, many years. And a great big thank you to Tommy who keeps us connected and has such great memories.  I always had to have something to do (very ADHD) so never took the time to put anything in writing.

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