Fall 2015 - Heidelberg High School

Heidelberg High School Newsletter
The Early Years, Classes of 1947 to 1965
Fall 2015
The Castle on a wall hanging, with echt-German furniture below
Linda Bullock Montreuil ’60 says, “Jan, enjoyed seeing you in Reno. Here is a photo of another view of the
castle. My parents were in Heidelberg 1954-57 & ’59-’61.”
HEIDELBERG HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
All-Years Reunion in Heidelberg, July 7-11, 2016
by Luke Williams ’58
The five-year reunion in Heidelberg is alive and well. Notification was sent by email last April to the 358
Alumni we have email addresses for. A hard copy of the announcement was sent out for the remaining 782.
There are currently 187 Alumni signed up, including 21 Early Years (led by the class of 1958 with five, I might
add). Currently planning to attend are Graham Stokes ’53, Janet Foxx Kadan ’54, Donna Gonnella Anderson
’54, Ellie Smith Fox and Anne Smith Atherton, both ’55, Dwight Easterly ’56, and Bill Gibson ’57; Joan
Moynahan Hammond, Joel Allen, Kay Kidwell Hoech, Luke Williams, and Judy Wright Hays, all class of
’58; Sally Irwin Williams ’59, Donna Fox LeMon ’61, Grace Greene Grossman ’62; Michelle Stewart
Archer and Jane Chance, both from the class of ’63; Kathie McIver Palin; and from the class of ’65, Don
Zedler, Janie Stephenson McKown, and John Hogan.
Events scheduled are Early Arrival and registration at the Marriott on Thursday; optional tour of Rothenburg on
Friday; also Friday, dinner at the Molkenkur; Saturday, boat ride to Neckarsteinach, return and watch the Castle
illumination from the boat, with dinner on the boat, Dutch unless we get 300 signed up. Sunday is a dinner
dance at the Portland Forum.
The event is hosted by the Marriott, and a special rate has been requested, BUT NOT CONFIRMED until the
annual Heidelbergfest date is confirmed. I personally prefer the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza just off the
Bismarckplatz. It has parking and air conditioning and is close to town. The Marriott is a 20-minute walk. The
breakfast is ridiculous, some $15 for the buffet, however in two minutes one can walk to Bismarckplatz to the
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Fall 2015
corner restaurant or the Konditorei and have a good Frühstück more reasonably. The room may be higher than
the Marriott but worth it.
We are also going to set up an “Early Years” get-together dinner at the Pig Farm (Spanferkelhof) near where the
military airfield was. This is a tradition started by Kevin O’Neal which needs to continue, besides which, it is a
really good time and an excellent dinner. The event will be Thursday evening, July 7, and will feature a pit
barbecue pig, other menu options for beef and chicken lovers, German potato salad, green salad, and dessert. If
you want to join in, please contact Luke to get added to the head count.
Mike Cannon ’78 has set up a “Stay Over” get-together for those still in Heidelberg on Monday evening. The
party will be at the Dubliner on the Hauptstrasse about 6 PM.
To register for the reunion, go to the HHSAA web site, htttp://reunion2016.heidelberghighschool.com or
contact Luke, [email protected], for a hard copy registration form. The Rothenburg tour is
limited to 49 slots so late registration may miss out. For questions about the reunion, contact John Covert at
877-401-7141 from 8 AM to 10 PM Easter time.
The Head Count for the Class of 1947 Is Corrected
Margaret Raymond Peck ’48 wrote us on February 26, 2015: Hi Jan, I really enjoyed the last Heidelberg
newsletter, even tho I don’t recognize too many of the names. One name I did know was that of Larry Russell,
a classmate of mine. The last time I saw Larry was in Heidelberg in 1996 at the “Reunion of the Century”,
which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start of Heidelberg High School. (And at next year’s reunion,
which Earl and I hope to attend, it will be the 70th anniversary!) I agree with Larry about everything he said in
his article, except that I did take trig that year - one semester of solid geometry and one semester of trig. I recall
that I did not distinguish myself in those classes. Maybe he had a scheduling conflict. I never took chemistry
because it came at the same time as English IV.
According to my First Commencement program, there were 9 seniors in the class of 1947: Philip
Aschinger, Jeanine Bidwell, Elbert Hartom, Ella Mae Keller, Margaret Raymond, Lawrence Russell,
Jane Sigler, and John Sigler.
According to my memory and a Stars & Stripes article, six seniors were at the graduation ceremony Larry Russell and I think the Siglers had already returned to the States.
Thanks for all the work you do!
Two HHS Schoonovers Send Us News
Frank Schoonover ’51 sent us the picture on the left.
Congratulations to the happy couple!
Small World Department, from Bill Schoonover ’53
on April 30, 2015:
On a commuter flight from Denver to
Albuquerque, the lady across the aisle started chatting.
Her father was a major general, commander of the 24th
Infantry Division. She is Sr. Kay Taylor, an HHS grad,
someplace in the 60’s, I believe. It was a short flight.
She would like to get the newsletter. She is way up in
her Order which takes care of kids who are totally
disabled.
Right in front of me on the same flight was a
Munich grad.
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Fall 2015
3 Generations of Bruckers in Germany (and Counting)
by Wallace (Brad) Brucker ’58
The class of ’58 seems to be thinning out, so this is as good a time as any to put my thoughts down.
It was interesting to see the picture of Heidelberg in the Fall 2014 issue. My parents also purchased a painting of
Heidelberg in late ’56 [see photo]. I wonder, over the years, how many of these paintings were purchased by our parents
and ourselves.
Heidelberg and Germany
always have had a hold on my family.
Will, my brother (’59), was stationed in
Germany in the mid ‘60s. I was
stationed in Mannheim, Berlin, and
Stuttgart, and was able to ride my
beloved motorcycle/sidecar all over
Europe. My son, Bradley Jr. (West
Point ’84), was stationed in Heidelberg
in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. My
grandson, Bradley (West Point ’17),
will, in all likelihood, serve in
Germany. After the death of my father,
my mother married a former German
naval officer she met prior to WWII
and moved to Germany. In 2002 we
visited my Mom and my son and his
family in Germany. We went to PHV to
see our “old quarters”, #12 Brandywine
Str. We were the first family to move
in. The mud and saplings were long gone, replaced by lush grass and fully grown trees.
I was saddened to see how PHV and other housing areas had changed. It would no longer be possible, as I had
often done, just to walk across the fields to Eppelheim unimpeded. Now PHV and others were fenced, gated, and guarded.
They are all gone now, PHV, Pattonville, Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin Village and the other housing areas.
My old housing area in Ludwigsburg has been turned over to people from “The East”. We found empty vodka bottles and
empty shell casings in what used to be the children’s play area. My old kaserne had been torn down; nothing remained.
I recall in 1956 going with my parents and my brother Will to Berlin. This was “pre wall” and we traveled freely
to East Berlin. We went by a Russian housing area and I was struck by its elevated sentry towers and high fences. I felt
that was a visible difference between “us” and “them”. We and the Germans mingled freely; “they”, the Russians, did not.
Many years later I was stationed in Berlin. The Military Police Commander of the Helmstedt Detachment hosted
a party to celebrate the opening of a “new” MP Detachment day room. The mayor, a naturalized American from the
Ukraine, had excellent relations with his Russian counterparts. He invited his opposite numbers from the Russian
detachment and they accepted. My wife and I represented the Berlin Provost Marshals Office. The Russian officers
seemed pretty much like anyone else. Their driver, a young soldier, was quickly taken under the protective wing of the
young MPs. They gave him their record albums (this was pre-CDs), stuffing dollars and marks into the jackets. They gave
him sweat shirts, T-shirts, jeans and virtually anything they felt he could use or like and which was portable. I recall that
he made several trips to his car with armloads of gifts.
To me, it demonstrated the innate goodness of the American soldier. They acted this way because of who and
what they were: Representatives of an exceptional country.
I include two questions asked to and answered by the Russian driver. The soldier was asked: “What do you do
when you are not on duty?” His response: “We are confined to our barracks when we are off duty.” He was asked: “Do
you go out with local German girls?” His answer illustrated the gulf between us and the Russians: “There has never been
dating nor marriage between us and the Germans.”
Berlin is no longer a 4-power city deep in East Germany. East Germany is itself gone and Germany is reunited.
The world had changed since our parents, we, our children, and in some cases our grandchildren have done our duty to
contain the westward expansion of the Soviet Empire. We were successful. The Soviet Union is no more, and a peaceful,
prosperous Europe is our legacy. We made a difference in the course of world history. For nearly seventy years we have
been a Force for Good. Americans and Germans have freely mingled and married. I recall a statement made by the Mayor
of Bitburg upon the closing of the Bitburg Air Base, “Everyone in town is related to an American.”
I have always felt military families were special and had a unique bond. I wonder how many of us, our children
and grandchildren have entered the military. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say the numbers would be substantial.
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Déjà Vu – Rhein Main Air Base Hotel
by Joan Reading Asboth, HHS ’63
In July, I celebrated my daughter’s 40th birthday in Paris where she and her family have lived for the past three
years. My return was booked through Zurich on Swiss Airlines connecting on United to Washington Dulles.
Swiss Air was over an hour late leaving Paris CDG and then circled Zurich for 15 minutes. Needless to say, I
missed the 55-minute connection. Since there were no flights leaving for the US, Swiss Air booked me on
Lufthansa to Frankfurt International (a larger hub). Lufthansa was two hours late departing Zurich and I missed
my connection in Frankfurt to Dulles. The reservations clerk provided vouchers for an overnight at the InterCity
Hotel and dinner. The shuttle took us around the airport and I thought, “this is starting to look very familiar,”
especially when we arrived at the hotel—it was the former Rhein Main Air Base and the hotel turned out to be
the old Building 692—the hotel that many of us stayed coming to or departing from Europe. The base was
turned over to the Germans in December 2005 after its existence from April 1945 onward as the principal
European air transportation terminal, used for the Berlin Airlift and many other subsequent military operations.
Of course, the Rhein Main Air Base front gate “Gateway to Europe” was gone but the hotel was eerily familiar.
It was bought by the Steigenberger Hotel group and I was told it was run by Lufthansa (for various flight crews
and even stranded passengers like me and many others that day). The 360 rooms are still being renovated and
there is a restaurant in the former cafeteria.
Across the street one could see the former base runway, now devoted to cargo planes and the area is CargoCity
Süd. Most base structures have been demolished, but not our old TML/TLQ!
http://en.intercityhotel.com/Frankfurt/InterCityHotel-Frankfurt-Airport
P.S. Despite two missed connections and an overnight at Frankfurt airport, Lufthansa made sure my bag came
off the turnstile at Washington Dulles when I arrived!
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The Heidelberg Bookshelf
Amerikaner in Heidelberg 1945-2013, a history (in German) of the American military presence in Heidelberg
after World War II, is now out and is available on US Amazon.com for about $22 plus shipping. The authors
are Walter F. Elkins, Christian Führer (author of Memories of Mannhein: Die Amerikaner in der Quadratestadt
seit 1945, also in German, about the American community there; it is currently unavailable at Amazon) and
Michael J. Montgomery. HHS is mentioned in the book at some length, along with some prominent HHS
attendees and graduates. Several families lived in Heidelberg for generations and were active in its American
schools throughout, including the Zedlers (Don Zedler ’65 and his brother John Zedler-Lindenau ’59 have
written in our newsletter), John Provan (the book says he attended HHS but he is not on our Early Years
master list), who is trying to establish a museum of Americans-in-Germany memorabilia, and Rich Bennett
’66, later a longtime teacher and coach at HHS. Go to amazon.com/Amerikaner-in-Heidelberg-1945-2013 to
order, if you like.
Dave Murphy ’53 (the photo of Dave with the book is courtesy of Shirley Scott) has written the only customer
review at amazon.com so far, which follows:
This German-language book is a history of the presence of
the American armed forces in Heidelberg, Germany, beginning
with the arrival of the infantry in 1945 and ending with the
departure of all forces in 2013. Heidelberg was undamaged in the
last war; never bombed and never shelled. As the infantry
advanced, the old town (“Altstadt”) was declared an open city.
The famous old bridge (“Alte Brücke”) was blown up by
fanatical, retreating Nazis, much to the dismay of the city fathers.
This was a useless, futile act, since Americans were already on
both sides of the Neckar River which runs through the town. The
Americans desired and they got a lovely university town as their
post-war headquarters. The book talks about the fact that the
Americans came as conquerors, but soon became friends. The
activities of the Americans and the cross cultural exchanges that
ensued are described in detail mostly from the German point of
view. Of particular interest to me was the section on the American
high school, my alma mater, whose classes were first held at the
university, then at the Bunsen Schule, named after the inventor of
the Bunsen burner, and finally at a purpose-built school which
was used until 2013 when all Americans forces departed. More
than a passing knowledge of German is needed to understand the
prose, but the many pictures alone tell a fascinating story. Anyone who ever spent any time in Heidelberg will
want to add this book to her library.
Dave adds for us of the HHS Early Years: “You will also want to watch this four-minute video on
YouTube: ‘2014 Buchvorstellung Amerikaner in Heidelberg’, at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArPpQ_oWFSE. It includes interviews with the authors.”
The Reading Nook
Given that we don’t read ONLY books about Heidelberg, or ONLY by our fellow HHSers, Joan Reading
Asboth ’63 suggested “if you have space in the newsletter, having a little corner with books might be nice
(especially since many are getting older and may be interested in reading, etc.).” Joan recommends Amerikaner
in Heidelberg, 1945-2013 (see above), and THIRD CULTURE KIDS: Growing Up Among Worlds by David
Pollack and Ruth Van Reken, revised edition. Third culture kids (TCKs)—children of expatriates, missionaries,
military personnel, and others who live outside their passport country—have unique issues with personal
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Fall 2015
development and identity. The authors bring to light the emotional and psychological realities that come with
the TCK journey. Available through Amazon for $13.93.
Your editor suggests any or all of the books mentioned on page 10.
Thoughts on the Evolution of Yearbooks and DODDS Schools in Europe
by Paul McLin ’61
The combined yearbooks started in 1949; before that each school had its own. From 1949 through 1957, there
was a single Erinnerungen for all the schools; from 1958 to 1960, there were two (book A for the smaller
schools, and B for the larger).The first year that each school (in Germany and France, at least) again had their
own yearbook was my senior year, 1960-61. The combined yearbook went away at that time. Some schools had
their own from the start (Bitburg comes to mind), and were never in the combined yearbook. Little old Poitiers,
which had 175 kids (including 7th and 8th grades) had its own book from 1960-61 until it closed in May, 1966.
I was the business manager for the annual staff and we used a printing company in Dallas that is still operating.
I’ve never understood the constant reorganizations the military was always undertaking. These were the
main reason for all the school closings and school openings. Frankfurt covered a huge number of bases,
including the largest in Hanau, with dependents all going to Frankfurt High, and they were all gone (including
the high school) by 1995. Kaiserslautern then became the largest American school in Europe. Until 1958, KTown also had a dormitory for girls and boys from posts that, beginning in 1958, went to the new Poitiers
American High School. I was told by a PAHS faculty member (Nancy Reed, still going strong, was at
Kaiserslautern and then went to Poitiers in 1959 along with her teacher husband, Carroll Reed) that the dorm at
K-Town was closed because of an excessive number of pregnancies. A reorganization in 1960 caused about 1/3
of the students at Orleans to be transferred to Poitiers. Patch High School was built just 15 miles from Stuttgart
High School, and they co-existed for some time until another reorg closed Stuttgart High. Sometime after we
left Pirmasens, the nearby town of Zweibrücken got its own high school, with Kaiserslautern just 15 miles
away. When I was there, I think Zweibrücken had just 20 or so kids that were of high school age, and they were
bused to K-Town. Eventually, DODDS had the thirty or so schools in Germany organized by district, with two
districts: Kaiserslautern and Bavaria. I know it makes sense to someone.
the Places We Go, the People We See: Stories from Life after HHS
From Chick Williams ’55 (a longtime pilot for PanAm), August 9, 2015: I saw a film clip on TCM channel
about Robert Mitchum and was reminded of the time I had a drink with him. (That I bought.) He was staying at
the in-transit officers’ quarters at Tempelhof Flughafen where the Pan Am pilots were regular members of the
officers’ club. He was in Berlin for a movie – I don’t remember what the film was. He and Rod Steiger were at
the bar for happy hour and I had a drink and a chat with Mitchum. He was a regular guy and very nice.
On August 18, 2015 Chick wrote again, remembering great Olympic medalists of the past: Mark Spitz
won SEVEN gold medals in swimming. (I had him in the cockpit from Berlin to Frankfurt when we snuck him
out of Germany after the Munich Olympic tragedy.)
From Cindy Beck Fox ’61 (February 9, 2015): I am sure you agree that all of us military brats are just one big
family. My best friend since Heidelberg HS is Nancy Peck Beimel, a 1961 grad from London (I have forgotten
the school’s name). Nancy was an Air Force Brat who lived in Tripoli when Clare Downey Graham [’61] and I
lived in Tokyo. We met because we each had graduated from our respective high schools overseas and left on
our own to attend college in the states, leaving our families behind. We were at the University of Connecticut
doing late registration. We were equally perplexed by all the personal questions on the forms. Address of our
parents, if different from the address used to claim in-state tuition. Address to be billed for tuition, to call in
case of Emergency, etc., etc., etc. We glanced over at each other’s forms ... and saw, Lewis Peck, APO NY and
Louis Beck, APO NY!! The dads were even the same ranks. At the registrar’s office, they had filed her OWC
$500 Valedictorian scholarship in my folder by mistake. We instantly became friends to this very day!!
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Fall 2015
An HHS Alumnus Is Quoted on the Tragedy in Charleston
On June 18, 2015, the Washington Post mentioned our own Bill DeVeaux ’58, in “How Black Church Leaders
Are Responding to the Shooting in Charleston” by Hamil R. Harris.
Before Bill’s present position with the African Methodist Episcopal Church took him back to
Washington, D.C., he was an AME bishop in Georgia and in that capacity often visited the Mother Emanuel
Church in Charleston where the killings took place. The article says, “Bishop William P. DeVeaux, prelate of
the Second Episcopal District, said that he knew the [Rev. Mr.] Pinckney and members of the Mother Emanuel.
‘This young man was active in trying to get cameras in police cars,’ DeVeaux said. … ‘This kind of caught us
all off guard.’” Bill had the profoundly sad honor of being one of the clergy at the Rev. Mr. Pinckney’s funeral,
at which President Obama gave the eulogy.
As it happens, a “Forever” stamp has recently been approved featuring Richard Allen, who with others
founded the AME Church in Philadelphia in 1794. It will be issued in 2016; look for it on future mailings.
ADDRESS CHANGES, LOST, AND FOUND
1949: Bonnie Hurley Speckels, 1205 E. Sandy Lake Road, Apt. 332, Coppell, TX 75019, 972-393-5267,
[email protected]
1952: William H. Duryea, 49 Maple St., Apt. 200, Manchester Ctr., VT 05255
1952: Barbara White Lemire, 2187 SE Dolphin Rd., Warrenton, OR 97146; cell phone (503)717-2108,
[email protected].
1954: Dacia Custer Salopek, 4940 Ravin Ct., Las Cruces, NM 88007-4512, 575-202-8812
1956: Ralph B. Strader III, 7822 Hilo Pl., Diamondhead, MS 39525-3721, 288-255-9892, [email protected]
1957: Mary Mansfield Reid, 64 Kenilworth Gardens, PO Box 2670, Bowral NSW 2576, Australia,
61-2-4862-5522, [email protected]
1959: F. Barry McLean, 3330 N. Leasure World Blvd., Apt. 904, Silver Spring, MD 20906, 301-871-8767,
[email protected]
1960: Randy Loftin, cell and work 707-815-1027, home 928-636-6375.
1962: Richard Kautz, 5901 Montrose Road S403, North Bethesda, MD 20852, 302-436-4247, [email protected],
302-841-1781
1965: Louise Cooch Miley, 202 Endicott Ct., Summerville, SC 29483, 405-720-7496, [email protected]
1966: Jeanne Rolig Surprenant, 201 Smythe St., Apt. 235, Greenville, SC 29611, 864-918-5230
LOST (last known location): John L. Leidenheimer, Jr., ’56 (Sierra Vista, AZ); Steve Geng ’61 (New York, NY), and
Diane Allgeier Stewart Giddens ’54 (Littleton, CO).
FOUND:
Aura Thurston Gutman ’55, 310 Watts St., Durham, NC 27701, 919-667-1306, [email protected]
919-452-6065
Ed Moreau ’63, PO Box 2000, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459, 850-598-9623, [email protected]
Sr. Kay Taylor ’67, fdCC, 5625 Isleta Blvd., SW, Albuquerque, NM 87107, [email protected].
Heidelberg Front License Plates
809348888
809348889
811101190
811101191
Order from Build a Sign, 1-800-330-9622, phone order only, not available from the internet. All designs $15.60, free
shipping. Wappen designs in original color, HHS plates gold Lion and text, blue background. Other designs are available
from www.cafepress.com/+heidelberg+license-plates. [Luke Williams ’58 arranged for these, for those in states that
don’t require a front license plate.]
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Fall 2015
Dining with Schoolmates near DC
by David R. Murphy ’53
Jim Baker ’52 on his way to the post office with our Spring 2015 newsletter
It was a cold, cloudy, day last winter at the home of Jim Baker ’52 and his wife, Kathleen, when some HHS alumni met
to mail the newsletter. We addressed the envelopes and stuffed them with the newsletters. While we worked, the Bakers
had provided us with food and drink. We had, however, promised ourselves that, after the stuffing was done, we would all
go out for supper. Unfortunately no one advised the weatherman of our plans. As if to punish us for ignoring him, snow
began to fall . . . lightly at first, then more heavily. Prudence demanded we all immediately drive home and dine on a later
date, and we did, each sliding his/her way back home. Picking this new date turned out to not be easy. Everyone leads
such active lives that almost never were all of us simultaneously free.
Eventually, we did pick a date and were able to share a meal together enjoying ourselves very much – so much
in fact that we decided to meet in the future each month at noon on the second Friday. In this manner we could meet more
often than the two or three times a year the newsletter came out. An additional advantage was that everyone could skip
some meetings during the year, consistent with the personal plans of each. We call ourselves the “Heidelberg Stuffers”
since we all enjoy stuffing our tummies with German food, whether or not we stuff envelopes.
We have met at various German restaurants in Washington DC or nearby Virginia. Each has offered us
authentic German beer on draft, not that tasteless stuff with German sounding names sold in bottles by US supermarkets.
The service has always been excellent. The quality of the food has varied from good to excellent. We freely share
opinions about the food when we decide what to order and where next to meet.
While the food and drink are always enjoyable, the best thing is the conviviality (German = Gemütlichkeit).
The conversation never lags. We talk about interesting new places to visit, upcoming cultural events, and many other
things. To be sure we also talk about our time in Heidelberg, but usually not limited to nostalgia, but rather with a view
toward the future. One amongst us has a grandchild who is beginning to study German. Some bring books to the dining
table to be taken home with only the promise that they will be returned at the next meeting. It’s a hell of a lot of fun.
Few of us who now meet monthly knew one another in Heidelberg, but we have since come to know and
respect each other. We invite anyone of good will to join us at one of our luncheons. To ensure a seat at the table just
contact me at drm12345 @earthlink.net.
Information about our luncheons is also posted on the Heidelberg Early Years Facebook page.
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Fall 2015
An Augsburg + HHS lunch
Morris Pelham ’61 attended both HHS and Augsburg and has been lunching people from both schools. On
April 19, 2015, he wrote:
Today Jo and I had lunch with Jan Clayberg and Barbara Hardy (AAHS) and Marsha Patrick & Royce
Kneese at Tyber Bierhaus, with ice cream after at Haagen Dazs in Bethesda, MD. Great!
L, front to back, Royce Kneese, Barbara Hardy (Augsburg), Marsha Patrick ’60;
R, back to front, Jan McLin Clayberg ’59, Morris Pelham ’61 and Jo Pelham
Donations
Recent donations for Early Years newsletters and reunions have come from Barbara White Lemire ’52, Ralph Strader
’56, Roger Burr ’59, Randy Loftin ’60, and Mathias Medina [class year not known at press time]. Thanks, all.
Deaths in the Family
Bernie Case, ’48 of Arlington,TX, died in March 2015, and his classmate John B. Fitch ’48 of Hollister, CA, died in
May 2013. Dolores Reid Dyess ’49 of Forestville, MD, passed away February 25, 2014; Chuck Dyess sent the news.
Joseph Tisdell ’52 of Northborough, MA, died June 14, 2015; Claude Fernandez ’53 of Cartersville, GA, died March
24, 2015; Robert (Bob) J. Van Horn, ’54, Long Beach, CA, died August 25, 2013 (word came from Darrelyn Van Horn
on March 6, 2015); and Patricia Louise Foran Pauley ’59 of Eagle River, AK, died November 18, 2006 (Joel Allen ’58
told us). We have no further information about each of these.
Carol Lynn Cheney Proshek ’56, of Pensacola, FL, passed away Saturday, March 14, 2015. Thanks to Sylvia
Cottingham Smyth Brooks-Howell ’56 for sending us her obituary, which says, “She was a full time mother and
homemaker as her sole occupation. She was a Bible-believing, blood-bought Christian saved by God’s grace in 1972.”
Carol is survived by her brother, Oakley Cheney ’55, her children Mark Smith, Daniel Smith, Deborah Marino, Jonathan
Proshek, David Proshek, Timothy Porter Proshek, and Ruth Proshek, and by eleven grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. Mark Smith, her eldest son, tells us, “While going through her papers, I discovered Heidelberg Newsletters
from 2012 and 2013. She kept these with her most valuable papers, so I wanted to let you know of this as soon as possible
so you can update your alumni records.”
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Fall 2015
Ellen Pardue Kohls ’63, left, died in Portsmouth, VA, on July 23, 2015. David Myers ’63 let us
know, saying “Ellen was at HHS in 61 and 62 but then her Dad was transferred to Frankfurt
where she graduated in their class of 63. She was active in school government and various
committees. She was a kind and sweet girl, liked by all, loved by several. I plan to leave a tribute
to her on the memorial web page once I gather my thoughts. A sad time.” Her obituary in the
Virginian Pilot says that she is survived by her brother W. Davidson Pardue, her sister Deborah C.
Usry, her daughter Dianne M. Blanning and son J. Michael Frangiskakis; grandchildren Hannah,
Carter, Allie and Zach; nieces and nephews; and, adds her daughter, Dianne, “a host of devoted
friends and her treasured Westies, Buddy and Candy. Ellen was an avid reader, an exceptional
gardener, and a lover of art and music.” Memorial gifts may be donated to the Portsmouth Humane Society.
Elva Bell McLin, Ph.D., who taught junior high English and science at HHS in 1953-54 (the oil painting of her was
made in Heidelberg ca. 1955 by her friend Hanni Burmester) and later taught at dependent schools in Kaiserslautern,
Pirmasens, and Saumur, died at 97 in Cedar Park, Texas on February 21, 2015, of pneumonia. She was my mother, and as
I did when she was my 7th grade teacher in Heidelberg, I’ll just call her “Mother” here.
She began teaching in a one-room school in Kansas in the 1930s and retired in
1987 as a professor at Athens State College (now University) in Alabama, where she
continued as college archivist in an emeritus capacity for another 15 years. The ASU
Archives Room is named for her. Like all the best teachers, she was a luminous presence
in the classroom and a positive force in many students’ lives.
After returning from Europe in 1961, she taught at a private girls’ school in
Birmingham. Her pupil Mary Badham was then spending weekends in California, filming
the unforgettable To Kill a Mockingbird. (The filmmakers didn’t want Mary, who played
Scout, to miss school!) A generation later, after earning a Master’s in Education and a
Ph.D. in English, in 1984, Mother invited the playwright and filmmaker Horton Foote,
who wrote the screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird (and won an Oscar for it) to Athens
for a national conference of the international English honor society Sigma Tau Delta.
That conference also featured James Dickey (a poet, but best known for his novel Deliverance) and William Bradford
Huie (author of The Execution of Private Slovik, The Revolt of Mamie Stover, The Americanization of Emily, and more).
All three writers became her friends until their deaths.
Her Athens State student Nanci Kincaid is now a novelist and short-story writer (Pretending My Bed Is a Raft,
Crossing Blood, As Hot as It Was You Ought to Thank Me, Balls, and others). She dedicated one of her books to Mother.
Long before Turner Classic Movies existed, Mother also taught film history at Athens, renting 8-mm films and
projecting them in the classroom. Powerful movies have been made from books by each of these writers, proof of the
strong ties between movies and literature.
Mother is survived by her four children, Jan McLin Clayberg ’59, Paul McLin ’61, Carl McLin (too young for
HHS then) and Sheila McLin Endres (born in Heidelberg), ten grandchildren and a step-granddaughter, nine greatgrandchildren, and four step-great-grandchildren. All of them were able to get to know her well, and they all loved her, as
she did them. – Jan McLin Clayberg
Would You Prefer Newsletters by E-mail, or Not?
Either way, PLEASE SEND US YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESSES and KEEP THEM CURRENT. E-mail is free, but is
not forwarded like first class US mail. Lin Banks, our webmaster, has set up an opt-in form at www.hhsearlyyears.com. It
is in a test phase now, but she says, “Those interested can sign up and be added to an online database. As you can see it is
customized to our needs, and I included a Please email me the newsletter! field. When you click Join Now there is a
redirect to a Thank you page that is on site, and an email is sent back to you with a link to confirm.” Lin is at
[email protected]. Other Early Years contacts are Mike Banks ’58 at [email protected]; Luke Williams ’58
at [email protected]; and Bobbi Jacquot Jackson ‘63 at [email protected]. The Heidelberg Early
Years page on Facebook has taken off and is a great source of entertaining memories of Heidelberg back in the day.
This newsletter was founded in 1983 by Joan Dickson ’58, who edited it devotedly until she died in in 2006. Glenda
Casey Petrini ’54 succeeded her as editor until her own death in 2007; Jan McLin Clayberg ’59 has edited it since then.
HHS Years Newsletters since 2003 are posted in color on our website, www.hhsearlyyears.com.
Please send items for the next issue of the newsletter by February 10, 2016 to [email protected]
or by mail to Jan McLin Clayberg, 5316 Little Falls Road, Arlington, VA 22207, 703-533-0333.
HHS Early Years Newsletter
10
Fall 2015