February

     On Saturday January 12, 2008 Colonel White High School, now known as Thurgood Marshall School for the Arts, held the final walk through for alums and interested persons. I was privileged to traverse the halls of CW with Jim Rowlands and Doug Holdeman for the last time as the school is being demolished. It was fun to go back and remember those days. The next time you see Jim Rowlands you need to ask him about Mrs. Chasins Room. He has some funny stories.

     There were a few from our class including, Alice Barger and her husband Jay Craig, Dick Scott, Casey Hasenjeager, Doug Holderman, Jim Rowlands, Mike and Lyn Coleman, Ginny Lake Burroughs and myself. I am sure that I have missed a few. Our class provided cookies for the refreshment table. There was an auction of art work both from the high school and from the students. Yours truly is now in possession of the large print that hung in the main stairwell during our time; the picture of the two Greek Students.

     The program was exhilarating to say the least. In the auditorium we all came together…all the classes and generations and eras gathered together to celebrate the evolution of our school and the closing of the memorial to our youth. Dick Scott, who is now the official MC for our class, did his usual and pumped up the group with a resounding rendition of the fight song. His energy and spirit are as vibrant today as they were when we were kids.

     The Lady Knights performed their exacting routines in their legacy of the Little Colonels and the Military was represented by a color guard and rifle performances by two of the most skilled young men I have seen in a long time. To semi quote Alice Barger Craig”…what they did was very difficult and beautiful.”

     It was a wonderful afternoon and we have Eba Porter, JaMilla Camp and their committee to thank for this opportunity to bid a fond farewell to the hallowed halls of CW.

     Be sure to read Virginia Lake Burroughs' article from the Dayton Newspapers. Virginia Burroughs: A fond farewell to Col. White *

Respectfully submitted,

Magda Wilson Houtz

January

     Let's go back a ways to those days of bobby socks, baseballs and Cokes at the corner soda fountain…yes back to the time of simple Thanksgivings and snowy Rikes Christmas windows and the blue Hanukkah Candles at Beth Jacob….to the walks up Harvard and down Salem to our school…to the ice covered walks and the too warm school rooms. How we all managed to have one class on the second floor and the next one in the basement. How we managed somehow to get past the hall monitor and meet in the tunnel; how we sang and shouted at the football and basketball games, bought soft pretzels on Friday and attended bonfires at Triangle Park . We lived the wonderful happy life of our final youthful years. What time it was and how we all miss those days.

     Now as adults we face new days of skateboards, swim teams, grandchildren and aging parents. We still have the simple Thanksgiving holiday and with restraint we keep our Christmas and Hanukkah a simple family holiday. In these days of war, famine, and drought we are the lucky ones because we have all been blessed in one way or another. Along the way we have lost some parents, spouses, friends and unfortunately a child or two. But we still survive. We made it through all the asbestos in our schools and have become the famous Baby Boomers. What is in our future? Anything you want it to be. We made it through the 50's bomb scares and Viet Nam we can make it a bit longer. Our Medical Science is striving to keep us all alive so we can collect the famous Social Security and be able to pay it out for the many medications we need to keep us focused on life. But most of all we survive with the wonderful lasting friendships that have evolved over the years. In the name of our 1964 Colonel White Reunion Committee let me wish you all a wonderful holiday and the most prosperous of new years ahead. Make a resolution this year. Contact an old friend. You will not be sorry, waiting may be too late.

In Cougar Spirit

Magda Wilson Houtz

July 16th, 2007. Buck Arnold - Soaring From Colonel White in the news section.

July 16th, 2007. Jim Rowlands Historical Chronicle and Insights / 1960 -1964 in the news section.

October 15, 2006. We are finally getting our “work in progress” on the road and operating. First of all our 41st Reunion page has been updated with photos and info about the weekend we were lucky enough to have in August of 2005. What a great night! Mr. & Mrs. Whitaker, Coach and Mrs. Eby, and Mrs. Bright and her husband were guests at our dinner on Saturday evening. The tour of the High School was a lot of fun and our Marion 's night was very well attended. We had a turnout of 128 people. With the continued search for classmates, we hope that our 50th Reunion will be bigger and better!

     We have a new column starting with Jim Rowlands doing a history corner for our website . Keep tuned. I am sure he will have some interesting things to relate. Be sure to read his intro. We also have a new area… School Daze – Can you name these classmates? As of now we only have Jefferson pictures and one CWHS picture. If you have some old pictures lying around and are from any one of the other grade schools PLEASE send them in .jpeg format and we will post. I would love to have them from all of the schools. This will be a fun area for us all to laugh and remember. So bring on those pictures and bring them on soon. The more we have the more fun it will be.

     We are in need of submissions for the web site. If you have something you would like to see and are interested in writing or posting to the site, pictures, articles or etc, please send them to colonelwhite64@sbcglobal.net we will be happy to post them.

     We are also going to try to post a missing classmates page and would appreciate all of your assistance in trying to find those for whom we have no contact information. Some, I am sure are right here in the Miami Valley ! When we started this whole reunion program we had very little time and very little help. We found as many classmates as possible but I KNOW we missed a lot of people. So if you know where someone is, please let us know. Without your help we may pass over a classmate who might want to be included. I know that we have searched for many and keep coming up with dead ends so please understand that your assistance is very important. We do not wish to exclude anyone or hurt anyone's feelings so please help us all you can.

     Looking forward to having some interesting articles to post and getting our 45 th on the road! We will keep it casual and keep it simple and hope you will all be able to make our 45 th .

     Keep an eye on us…we are working. Hope to see you at Marion 's at Town & Country on the 13th of October!

Be well.

Maggie

Magda Houtz and the 1964 CW Reunion Committee.

     We have a few changes to our Committee with the addition of Sally Montgomery Saunders and her husband Pete Saunders. We continue to search for classmates, some of which we are sure are right here in the Dayton area. Please, if you have not given us your information for our contact list, please do so by writing to colonelwhite64@sbcglobal.net or to Colonel White Reunion Committee Contact, c/o Houtz, 7663 Brams Hill Drive , Dayton , Ohio 45459 . We are not ignoring anyone; we just haven't found all of you as yet . So write and let us know where you are!

     We are saddened by the loss of several more classmates; Carol Brasher Gisel, Michael Browne and Penny Wertz. Please see our memorial page. In addition we will be posting a missing list so when it is up if you know where someone is…let us know. Thanks!

     We want to make this the best site for you so comments and suggestions are always welcome. If you want to contact the web designer, just e-mail to colonelwhite64@sbcglobal.net .

     As we pass into this busy holiday season, may you all have Happy Holidays, a beautiful, healthy and happy New Year.

The Reunion Committee 1964

     We hope this website will always be "under construction," and what you find here will be interesting and informative. What you see now is only the shell and will be expanded to include additional sections and content.

     We Need Your Help! Photos, stories, anecdotes, personal information, links of interest, resources and whatever are needed. Please contribute to your site with information, documents or photos that you'd like to share with your Colonel White Classmates - we'll make sure it gets displayed here. ( All photos and other materials will be returned promptly ) THANKS!

Snail Mail Submissions:
Colonel White Class of 1964
Reunion Committee
c/o Houtz
7663 Brams Hill Drive
Dayton, OH 45459

Electronic Submissions:
CLICK HERE!
Please send photos in JPEG or GIF format.