Mini-Reunion
The 2nd mini-reunion will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the Spring
Creek Bar B Q located at 270 North Central Expressway (US 75), Richardson, Texas from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. It will be
a buffet style lunch. After you go through the food line and pay for your meal, we will go to a private room
in the back to eat. The cost of the meal will range from $7.00-$9.00 plus tips depending on your selection. Visitation
will follow the meal.
Make your reservation today by email at mail@rel59.org or travis-langford@abcglobal.net. If you prefer you can make reservations by calling Travis @ 972 567-8748. For planning purposes reservations
need to be made by April 1, 2010.
DIRECTIONS: If you are coming from the North
on US 75, exit at the Belt Line exit in Richardson and make a U-turn under the overpass and proceed north on the frontage
road. Spring Creek Bar B Q will be on your right. If you are coming from the South on US 75, exit at Spring Valley
and stay on the frontage road through the Belt Line intersection. Spring Creek Bar B Q will be on your right.
If you need more detailed directions we suggest Google Maps or MapQuest.
Before the 55th reunion your reunion committee will be looking at suggestions
to
see what changes in reunion format may be needed. The mini-reunions would be
a good opportunity
for you to express your opinion as to what is needed and
discuss various options.
We have done our last mail out until information
on the 55th is sent. Watch for dates
of future mini-reunions to be posted on the web site.
The next mini-reunion is
tentatively planned for September/October
2010 in Bossier City, Louisana. It will probably be on a Tuesday or Wednesday to enable us to get special
pricing on rooms. If you wish to
communicate with any of the committee members, go to the web site
(contact us: mail@rel59.com) and send an email. All emails will be forwarded
to all of the committee.
Also we’ve added a guest book - check
out your classmates comments and send
us yours!
The Fort Bend Herald (Rosenberg) 4/19/09
By Bill Hartman
At first blush, I thought the mailman
made a mistake. Except the name was right, and so was the address. It was the number on the letter that couldn’t be
right. Except it was. “The class of Robert E. Lee High School, Baytown, Texas, year of our Lord 1959, will celebrate
its 50th anniversary on the weekend of April 18-19 at Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston,” read the invitation.
Actually, that’s my wording.Is that really possible -- 50 years.
It certainly doesn¹t feel like yesterday,
but 50 years. Wow!I’ve been fairly diligent about attending reunions, either every 10 years or later every five.
It’s surprising how many classmates I recognize, because at least in my eye, they haven’t changed that much.
There’s some added weight and some gray hair, and possibly even less hair. But you expect a certain maturity
after a half century. Say that slowly and it sounds like an eternity, so I say it quickly.The committee planning the event
says this will be our largest yet. And speaking of the committee, these classmates spend hours and hours pulling things together
and making all the plans. Like all reunion committees, they get little thanks for a huge undertaking.At the conclusion of
the events in Galveston, a large delegation will continue reminiscing on a cruise from the port city to Jamaica, the Cayman
Islands and a couple of other stops.I’m not going to break my string of non-cruises. I have never been on one, and as
much as I enjoy my mates, I’m not going to start now. Postcards would be nice.
You may wonder why a high
school in Baytown is celebrating its reunion in Galveston. There are a couple of reasons: 1) Baytown doesn’t have a
resort-style facility, 2) we figure this is our part in helping the economy of the Ike-devastated island and 3) that’s
the departure and return spot for the cruise ship.Actually, in our time, Baytown REL and Galveston Ball High were intense
rivals. There were a lot of knock-down-and-drag-outs on the fields and in the stands.
We were the Robert E. Lee
Ganders. That may sound like a passive mascot, but let me ask a question. Have you ever backed a male goose into a corner?
Don’t try it unless you’re ready for a good whuppin’. Anything goes -- feet, wings and beak, all pounding
you at the same time.
Trying to compare 1959 with 2009 blows your mind. No lnternet, no Ipods, no space travel, no rap
music (thank God) and few if any tattoos and body piercings.
We had duck tails and leather jackets, but we had
no clue about NikeAir. Crack and coke had different meanings. Bad didn’t mean good and American Idol was Your Hit Parade.Music
we’ll hear this weekend includes the Kingston Trio, Smoke Gets In Your Eye, Stagger Lee, 16 Candles, Donna, Venus, Dream
Lover, Battle of New Orleans, Mack the Knife and Lavender Blue. Elvis and Buddy Holly will be there, too.It’ll be great
seeing the old mates again. The biggest heartbreak, though, will be learning how many more are on our missing in action list.
That’s the tough part.
(Bill Hartman can be reached at bhartman@hartmannews.com)
Reunion Committee:
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Make your mini-reunion
reservation here!
Spring Creek Bar B Q
270 N. Central Expressway (US 75)
Richardson,
Texas
Saturday, April 10, 2010
11:30 am-2:00 pm
Cost-$7.00-$9.00 per person + tips
Click here to make your reservation or call Travis Langford @ 972 567-8748
Attending:
Travis Langford
Joyce Langford
Mike Burch
Wanda Burch
"Nubby" Ruth Wilson Woodall
Nina Hubbard Burton
Fred
Birch
Kathryn Birch
Pat Keller Baumann
Happy Baumann
Mike Whitcomb
Olean Whitcomb
Ernest Bailey
Darlene Bailey
Susan Ward Carpenter
Steve Coburn
The Class Reunion
Author Unknown
Every ten years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail,
A reunion
is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail.
I'll
never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And
wore our most elegant dress. It was quite an affair; the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell. The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile,
their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became. The
homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost
their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks. No one had heard
about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon. The boy we'd decreed 'most apt to succeed'
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted 'least' now was a priest;
Just shows you can be
wrong now and then. They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to
have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast. They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall,
short, or skinny, the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs. At
our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole
lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot. It was held out-of-doors,
at the lake shores;
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.
Then most of us lay around in the shade,
In our
comfortable T-shirts and jeans. By the fortieth year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for
their pill. And now I can't wait; they've set the date;
Our fiftieth
is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old. Repairs have been made on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My
wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye. I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early
light.
It'll be lots of fun; But I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.
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