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Houston Alumni AssociationP. O. Box 304, Houston, Mo. 65483

hhsalumni.us

July 2008

Association Dues,Address Changes

Houston Alumni Association dues are $5 per year. This amount is for the print-ing and mailing of the newsletter and some costs of the annual alumni home-coming weekend.

Thanks to those who mail their annual dues when you are not able to attend the weekend festivities.

Thanks also to those who send change of address information – that saves hav-ing to pay for returned newsletters.

Alumni Homecoming Is Oct. 3 and 41985, died May 14, 2008, at his home in Houston. He graduated as an LPN Janu-ary 2004 from South Central Career Cen-ter at West Plains. He traveled within the United States and recently visited the Philippines and Dubai.

Velma Olive Fourt, class of 1931, died May 23, 2008, at Houston House. She received a bachelor’s degree in edu-cation from Missouri State University in Springfield. She taught elementary stu-dents in Texas County, Springfield and St. Louis for a total of 44 years, retiring in 1976.

Former Houston teacher Iva Rust, at left, prepares to address the audi-ence at the October 2007 alumni association banquet following her in-duction into the Educator Hall of Fame. At right is Bonnie McElroy, alumni president.

These Houston High School seniors were recipients of scholarships awarded by the Houston Alumni Association. At center is Jackie Kidwell, who was awarded the $2,200 Oscar Collins Scholarship. At left is Ashton Kell, and right, Lorin McKnight, winners of $1,700 alumni scholarships. The scholarships cover two semesters. At right is Bonnie McElroy, alumni association president.

Chester Herndon, at left, makes a $1,500 donation from the Odd Fel-lows Lodge to the alumni associa-tion endowment fund at the Octo-ber 2007 banquet.

Alumni WeekendSchedule of Events

Friday, Oct. 38:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Banquet tickets may be picked up at Mitchell Insurance on

Grand Avenue.2 p.m. — Homecoming parade7 p.m. — Tiger football vs. Pleasant Hope, home, high school homecoming.7:30 p.m. — Friday Night Gala in the auditorium of the Fine Arts building. Tickets

are $5. Saturday, Oct. 4

7 to 10 a.m. — Alumni breakfast at the Houston Senior Center on Grand Avenue. Cafeteria style (cost per item). Sponsored by Houston Senior Center.

1:30 to 3:30 p.m. — Alumni mixer at the elementary cafeteria on Bryan Street. Refreshments will be served by the alumni association. Banquet tickets will be avail-able.

6:30 p.m. — Alumni banquet at Hiett Gymnasium (See reservation form for prices). Special recognition of classes ending in “3” and “8,” former track team members and announcement of the Educator’s Hall of Fame recipient.

Alumni News Solicited

Are you a graduate of Houston High School or have family members who are alumni? Send the association news of what they are doing and their accomplish-ments to be included in the newsletter.

Send items to Houston Alumni As-sociation, P.O Box 304, Houston Mo. 65483 or through the alumni Web site

— Contact Us section.See news about the Campbell family

on another page.

The Houston High School Alumni Association’s annual homecoming is Oct. 3 and 4, which coincides with the high school homecoming.

This year’s honored group is high school track teams.

It is nearly impossible to obtain names of this group from past year-books, since this was a spring sport and was often not included. Therefore, the association will need your help in locat-ing these alumni.

There will be an invitation included with this newsletter for former track team members. If you do not receive that invitation, please plan to attend the festivities anyway and let the associa-tion know when you get here that you were a track team member. Please pass this information along to anyone you know who did not get this newsletter.

Class years ending in “8” and “3” will also be honored and are asked to report at the alumni banquet on their class ac-tivities. The association would also like each of those classes to place a display in downtown windows.

An Educator’s Hall of Fame recipient will be honored at the alumni banquet on Saturday night.

A banquet reservation form is on an inside page.

Friday Night Gala“A Time for Us” will be this year’s

theme for the annual Friday night gala featuring alumni and friends. Performers are needed for the program.

Anyone who would like to participate may contact Bonnie McElroy at 417-967-3188 or Paul Ice at 967-2745 or through the Web site, hhsalumni.us.

Only a small number of those perform-ing are professionals, and being a Hous-ton alumni is not necessary.

.

Alumni gather for breakfast on Saturday morning at the Houston Senior Center.

Alumni look over scrapbooks compiled by the association at the Satur-day afternoon mixer. At center is Sandra Bartimus and Joyce Goldsberry Halbrook, at right.

2008 Scholarship Winners

Do you remember these girls from the early ’70s who were in the Miss Merrie Christmas pageant. Answers will appear in the next newsletter and on the Web site.

•DeathsFrom DEATHS, Page 2 James David Lemons, class of 1961,

died June 2, 2008, at Stormont Vail Hos-pital in Topeka, Kan., after a long battle with emphysema and heart problems. He worked at Goodyear Tire and Rubber for more than 33 years and attended a busi-ness college.

Larry Wayne Davenport, class of 1971, died June 4, 2008, at Boone Hos-pital Center in Columbia after having a heart attack. He worked for Waterloo In-dustries for 29 years in Sedalia.

Perry A. Mansfield, class of 1979, died June 11, 2008, at Texas County Me-morial Hospital.

Campbell Family News

Joyce Pearcy Campbell, class of 52, worked at International Shoe Co. until it closed. She then worked for the City of Houston from 1965 - 1967. In May 1971, she opened the Chatterbox Café in Hous-ton and operated it until October 1973. In 1974, she returned to the city office and worked until she retired in July 2004 as city clerk.

Since retiring, she volunteers at the Opportunity Sheltered Workshop and has done some traveling. In April 2005, she became the first woman to be elected to the city council of Houston. She is also on the Texas County Food Pantry board and the Houston Area Chamber of Com-merce board.

She has three children who gradu-ated from Houston High School: Dean Campbell, class of 1972, is employed at Dairy Farmers of America in Cabool and does dry-wall installation as a second job. Sheila Campbell Walker, class of 1976, is employed with Wal-Mart. Sharon Campbell Tyger, class of 1979, is man-ager of Opportunity Sheltered Industries.

She has six grandchildren who gradu-ated from HHS: Josh Campbell, Abby Campbell Gaither, Seth Walker, Shara Walker Gamble, Allen Tyger and Shee-na Tyger Postlewait

Your HelpIs Needed!!

The Houston Alumni Association is in desperate need of help from lo-cal alumni to step in with new ideas, attend the monthly meetings, assist in selection of scholarship awards, Educator Hall of Fame recipient and other decisions throughout the year.

We are proud of our organization and want it to continue, but that deci-sion is up to you.

Deaths

Class of 1988The Houston High School class of 1988 met June 21 at Emmett Kelly

Park for its 20th class reunion. Seated, from left: Mary Kelley Roderick, Rollie Skaggs, Angie Miller

Quinlan, Eric Swanson, Keith Roderick, Leroy Motzkus Jr., Ray Stark and Bryan Kelley.

Second row: Lynn Buckner Cheek, Angie Moore, Cindy Fronterhouse Stevens, Jennifer Wilson Heriford, Lisa Schultz Potter, Pam L’Heureux Brown, Leannette Malam Beeson and Dee Pittman Morris.

Third row: Robert Lucas, Anna Downing Scantlan, Melissa Brown Wil-liams, Stacy Amick Kramer, Lona Farrell, Jarnli Cheney, Melissa Pounds, Chris Bock Nielsen, Johnny Paul Cummins, Cheri McNew Foster and Shawn Reynolds.

Back row: Ken Lance, Candace McBroom Pritchett, Holly Miller Robert-son, Jan James, Jay Sullins, Kim Bresler Sparks, Tom Hale, Dennis Hol-land, Dallas Chipps and Russell Adkison.

Class of 1993The Houston High School class of 1993 met July 12 afternoon and eve-

ning at the Lions Den for its 15-year class reunion. Plans are to meet again alumni weekend.

Front row, from left: Christy Pursifull Farris, Alisa Kautzman Stevenson, Rachael Peachee Morrow, Annette Brown Bradley, Kathi Hamilton Hale, Stacie Rupe Ely, Mandy Romines Adey and Dixie Bray Bailey.

Back row: Dara Campbell Jackson, Ryan Gaston, Chris Ely, Sonny Crawford, Tricia Rasmussen Nentrup and Robbie Smith.

Not pictured: Jared Scheets, Trisha Root Coulter, Frank Harris and Chris Roper.

Ruth Ann Cochran Hibbler, class of 1958, died Oct. 28, 2006, at her home at Choctaw, Okla., after a long battle with cancer. After graduation, she worked for Dick Ichord. She then married and lived most of her life in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Choctaw, Okla.

Dawna Epperson Scheuermann, class of 1979, died Jan. 25, 2008, at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. She trav-eled with her father during his time in the Air Force. She worked at Houston House after high school.

Glenn Robert Anderson, class of 1978, died Feb. 20, 2008, at Fort Lauder-dale, Fla.

Wayne Murlin Baty, class of 1943, died Feb. 23, 2008, after a battle with cancer. He served in World War II and was awarded two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. After completing a Ph.D., he taught at colleges in Arizona and Kan-sas.

Ellen Irene McKee Kern, class of 1979, died March 2, 2008, at her home at Bucyrus. She was a clerk at Town and Country Supermarket and Corner Ex-press for many years.

Shirley Daniels Cole, class of 1951, died March 5, 2008, at her home in Neo-sho. She attended the University of Mis-souri, Columbia. She was an elementary teacher in Neosho until her retirement. She remained active in her church in both the music and education departments.

Randall Leon “Marty” Martin, class of 1950, died March 15, 2008, in Cor-pus Christi, Texas. He served in the Air Force for 20 years and retired as a G13 in Civil Service.

Roger Lee Blankenship, class of

1951, died March 21, 2008, at Cox Medi-cal Center in Springfield. He served in the Army for two years and was a con-struction engineer in Massachusetts and California.

Carolyn Sue Douglas Bequette, class of 1961, died March 22, 2008, at St. John’s Hospital in St. Louis. She was a devoted housewife and member of First Christian Church at Florissant.

Gerald E. Elmore, class of 1945, died March 21, 2008, at Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains. He attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, and served in the U.S. Army and the National Guard for 30 years retiring with the rank of sergeant major. He served as city ad-ministrator in Houston from 1984 - ‘88 and West Plains from 1988 - 1996.

Emma Jean Zeck Smallwood, class of 1938, died April 1, 2008, at the home of her daughter in Rolla. She was an aide at Phelps County Regional Medical Cen-ter in Rolla in the ’50s and ’60s and a pri-vate duty nurse for many years.

Charles Geren, class of 1957, died April 6, 2008, at Texas County Memorial Hospital. He worked in construction in the area and enjoying hunting and fish-ing.

Dewain C. Adkison, class of 1957, died May 5, 2008, at Texas County Me-morial Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer. He received a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He worked for Farmers Production Credit Association and was an investment and insurance professional.

Nathan Thomas Sawyer, class of

Houston Alumni Banquet Reservations6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, Hiett Gymnasium

Reserved tickets may be picked up from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday at Mitchell Insurance

or from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the mixer.

Banquet reservations made before Sept. 20 are $12 each. After Sept. 20, the cost is $15 each.

_________________________________________________ Class of ____

_________________________________________________ Class of ____

_______________________________________________ Guest/Spouse

_______________________________________________ Guest/Spouse

Houston Alumni Association Annual Dues Are $5 Per Person

________________________________________________Class of ____________________________________________________ Class of _____

Mail to: Houston High School Alumni AssociationP.O. Box 304, Houston, Mo. 65483

Total amount enclosed: $___________________________________

Short Tales‘50s

Erma Burch Bacon, class of 1957, is featured in the May issue of “Good Old Days.” The story highlights the con-struction of a Solo outhouse at the 160-acre farm. Another of her stories is set to be published in the magazine in October.

‘60sPat Haney Gentry, class of 1961, re-

tired after 20 1/2 years with The Texas County Family Support and Children’s Division. Roxie Nelson Sponsler, class of 1979, is director of the Texas County office.

Bill Nichols, class of 1961, retired as emergency preparedness director for the City of Houston. His association with the city — first as a fireman and later as overseeing civil defense matters–spans 47 years.

Roger Holder, class of 1962, retired after 42 years in education — 35 years at Houston and seven in Arizona.

Eddie Watson, class of 1963, was rec-ognized by the American Hereford As-sociation for producing one cow named to the “Dams of Distinction” list. These are the most efficient cows in the Her-eford breed.

Larry Dablemont, class of 1965, was the keynote speaker at the Young Author’s Festival sponsored by the Tri-County chapter of the International Reading Association. The festival was in Mountain Grove.

Charles Ferguson, class of 1965, was honored with a reception in Macomb, Ill., for 19 years of service to the Campus Ministry at Western Illinois University. He begins a new pastorate in August at Monroe, Ill.

Roger Maxwell, class of 1968, retired after a 22-year career with the South Central District of Missouri Department of Transportation. During that time, he served as a computer draftsman, con-struction technician and instrument op-erator with the survey crew and land sur-vey supervisor.

‘70sCarla Hart Frey, class of 1970, area

specialist with the USDA Rural Devel-opment office in Houston, was recently recognized for completion of 20 years of service as a federal employee.

Dean Campbell, class of 1972, was one of more than 250 former Univer-sity of Arkansas football players who honored outgoing athletic director Frank Broyles at the Arkansas-South Carolina game. Campbell played four years at Ar-kansas for Coach Jimmy Johnson.

Bill Bates, class of 1972, and his wife, Brenda, were selected as parade marshals for the Christmas parade. Bill was the former Houston city administra-tor, and Brenda is director of the Texas County Library system.

Scott Barton, class of 1975, holds an associate degree in design drafting tech-nology from Linn Technical College. He is a member of the Houston R-1 Citizens for Education and the technology com-mittee. He is also youth and children’s minister for Ozark Baptist Church.

Tonya Lay Foster, class of 1976, was hired as city clerk for Houston. She has

been a management employee with Wal-Mart since 1995 and was the Sears cata-log merchant in Houston before going to Wal-Mart.

Dana Gale McGuire, class of 1977, received the mentoring award at the Fam-ily Nutrition Program and 4-H Youth De-velopment Conference in Columbia for her work as a University Extension nutri-tion program associate.

Sgt. Marty Elmore, class of 1977, rep-resents the Missouri State Highway patrol in giving assemblies for area high school groups on the dangers of drinking and driving.

Tom Dunn, class of 1977, worked nine years as director of veterinary ser-vices with the St. Louis Veterinary Emer-gency Group. He has been the owner of Houston Veterinary Hospital for 10 years, served on the Houston School board for three years and is currently president.

Kathy Lee French, class of 1977, won $800,000 on her Missouri Powerball tick-et for the April 9 drawing.

Steve Pounds, class of 1979, and Doug Castleman, class of 1980, represented the Houston School District as school board members and LeAnn McKinney Edington, class of 1975, as elementary principal, when the district received the

“Distinction in Performance Award” from the state of Missouri.

Martin Fisher, class of 1979, was named volunteer of the year by the Texas County Medical Reserve Corps.

‘80sNick Boren, PhD., class of 1981, is

chief operations officer of Columbia Pub-lic Schools. Before moving to Columbia, he spent 21 years in the South Callaway County School, as teacher, assistant su-perintendent and superintendent. He and his wife, Cindy Brown Boren, class of 1981, and their three children live in Ful-ton.

Darrell Scheets, class of 1984, has been employed with MFA Inc., for the last 23 years. He currently holds the po-sition of manager for the Houston store. He also serves on the Houston board of education.

Chris Smith, class of 1985, a Drury graduate, officer and board member of The Bank of Houston, is also owner of T & T Farm Products Inc. and manager of Smith Family Farms.

Steve Harrah, class of 1988, is the newest cast member of Trick My Truck, the hit Country Music Television pro-gram that takes the rigs of lucky truck drivers and customizes them into dream machines. He has built more than 250 variously styled drag cars in 21 years.

‘90sNathan Holder, class of 1993, and

Patty Huff Street, class of 1967, repre-sented the Raymondville School district in receiving a “Distinction in Perfor-mance” award. Raymondville was one of 35 south-central Missouri schools to receive the honor.

Codi Fowler Freeman, class of 1993, resides in Holden and is an elementary in-structional coach in the Excelsior Springs School District. She recently provided a professional development workshop

for the teachers at Wellspring Christian School.

Jim Moore, class of 1993, girls’ bas-ketball coach at Fair Grove, and Jim Flora, class of 1996, coach at Pleasant Hope, met each other at a recent district tournament. Among those refereeing the tournament was former Houston coach and guidance counselor Gary Breedlove.

Kevin Reed, class of 1994, graduated from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy with an associates degree from Mineral Area College in 1999. In 2005, he transferred to the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

Capt. Richard Bratton III, class of 1994, passed on command of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment in a ceremony in Iraq. He will be assum-ing a position as the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team’s engineer planner.

Renae Odle Hinkle, class of 1994, a Houston elementary teacher, recently had her fifth grade student, Samantha Jo Garrett, win her third state handwriting contest sponsored by Zaner-Bloser. Sa-mantha also won in first, third and fourth grades.

Cory Stricklin, class of 1996, received his MBA degree at Kansas University. He resides in Olathe, Kan., where he is employed by Garmin Industries.

Tiffany Rouse Kauffman, class of 1998, was named an honorary state FFA degree recipient at the Missouri FFA convention. She is an agricultural education teacher at Clever High School, where the FFA chapter has had several state officers and awards.

2000sStacy Wise, class of 2001, works as

a veterinary assistant at Northwest Wild-life Center in Bellingham, Wash. She graduated from Western Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in

biology and plans to go to vet school and become a wildlife/emergency veterinar-ian.

Doug Driesel Jr., class of 2001, was featured in a segment on the History Channel’s “History of the Joke.” He performs in the program as a stand-up comedian at the Westside Eclectic’s “Ed Galvez Punk House.”

Lucas Ragland, class of 2003, re-ceived a bachelor’s degree in computer science from College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout.

Nick Meizler, class of 2003, is an of-ficer with the Licking Police Department. He spent more than two years with the Nixa Police Department. He is the son of Mike Meizler, class of 1982, and Sherry Lewis Ellsworth, class of 1982.

Lacey Stallcup, class of 2004, re-ceived a bachelor’s degree in nursing from College of the Ozarks, Point Look-out. She is the daughter of Steve Stall-

AnniversariesJohn Stallcup, class of 1934, and Thel-

ma Campbell Stallcup, celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary Feb. 8, 2008, at their home.

Mace and Arlene Brown Reardon, class of 1946, celebrated their 60th anni-versary May 16, 2008, in Peoria, Ill.

Don Shelton, class of 1954, and Fran-ces Skouby Shelton, class of 1957, cel-ebrated their 50th anniversary June 21, 2008, with a trip to Vail, Colo.

Keith McBride, class of 1967, and Carol Bressie McBride, class of 1968, celebrated their 40th anniversary with a reception June 29, 2008, at the Armstrong Baptist Church at Armstrong.

Lisa Ashby Pursifull and Jerold Pur-sifull, class of 1970, celebrated their 25th anniversary with an open house Feb. 16, 2008, at their home in Houston.

Class Reunions PlannedClass of 1948 — Oct. 4, 2008, from 10 a.m. to whenever with plans for lunch at

11 a.m. in the old Raymondville Bank community room. Lunch will be catered and the cost is $10. If you have questions call: Margaret Owen, 417-967-2842; Gail Lee, 417-457-6464; or Norma Bridges, 417-967-2629.

Class of 1953 — Sept. 10 -12 at Branson. Oct. 4 for breakfast in the fellowship hall at Ozark Baptist Church. Call Irene Willson at 417-932-4471 for further infor-mation.

Class of 1958 — 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Oct. 4. Lunch will be served at Loretto House. Call John Beeler at 417-967-3988 for further information.

Class of 1963 — 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Oct. 4. Lunch will be served at Horse Creek Inn. Call Sharon Holder at 636-724-1102 for further information.

Class of 1968 — Plans are for a reunion on Friday, Oct. 3. Time and place will be decided in an Aug. 26 meeting at Houston City Hall. Call Steve Hutcheson at 417-967-4139 or 967-2822, David Silveus, 417-967-2763 or e-mail Janice Dean Wood at jwood@houstonherald.com for details even if you don’t plan to attend the reunion.

Class of 1973 — 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at the Lions Den north of Houston and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the same place. Persons in the classes of 1971 to 1975 and former teachers are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Bob Bryson at 417-457-6212.

Class of 1978 — 2 p.m. Aug. 9 at Golden Hills Resort at Raymondville. Dinner at 6 p.m. Call Brenda Smith Barton at 417-967-2267 for further information.

HoustonPond Trail Farm Guest House, 417-967-

8012.Horse Creek Inn, 417-967-4117.Southern Inn, 417-967-4591.Windstone Bed and Breakfast, 417-967-

2008.Haney RV and Trailer Park, 417-967-

2615.

Accommodations AvailableRaymondville

Golden Hills Trail Rides and Resort, 417-457-6222.

LickingScenic Rivers Inn, 573-674-4809.Country Inn Motel, 573-674-3466.

CaboolHighland Inn and Suites, 417-962-

5888.

More than 200 alumni, spouses and friends gathered in 2007 at Hiett Gym for the annual banquet. Former track runners along with the classes end-ing in “3” and “8” will be honored at the 2008 banquet.

See DEATHS, Page 4