May 2004

I would first like to say thank you to all of you who have made donations in order to make sure the web site continues in existence. I also want to thank those of you who have sent in pictures for the web site.

It has been a while since a newsletter was put out so I know all of you have a lot of news built up. You can submit your news bits on the Newsletters page on the web site.

Submitted by: Terry Ratliff
The years you were in Venezuela: Terry & Allen:1952 to 1964 - Clyde & Mary Lou: 1952-1982
Year graduated from Staff School: Terry & Allen:1964
City and State you live in now: Terry: Clearwater, Florida - Allen: Bumpass, Virginia - Clyde & Mary Lou: Bumpass, Virginia
Birth Announcements: In the last 2 years it has been raining Great Grandchildren for Clyde & Mary Lou (my mom & dad). Allen's son, Doug, and his wife Shannon had a baby girl in 2002. My daughter, Cheri', and her husband Frank had a baby girl in 2002 and another baby girl in 2003. And then my son Dean and his wife Lisa had a baby boy in Jan 2004.
Moving Announcements: Clyde & Mary Lou moved to Bumpass, Virginia (just west of Richmond) from Santee, South Carolina and have just last month moved into a new house they had built.

The Torrys:

Submitted by: Jonathan Torry
The years you were in Venezuela: 1956 to 1966
City and State you live in now: Trinidad
Birth Announcements: 2 boys 14 & 9 yrs old
Passing Announcements: Malcolm Torry July 25th 2003
Your Other News: Living in Trinidad enjoying my years with my wife and children, and a good day of surfing.

Submitted by: John & Judy Carmichael
The years you were in Venezuela: 1955 to 1970
City and State you live in now: California
New email address announcement: Alternate e-mail j.jdcjbc@verizon.net
Your Other News: We are planning on attending the San Tome/Anaco reunion on the 30th & 31st of July in Austin, TX. We are going to arrive on Friday the 30th and leave for home on August 1st. We think these dates are correct. Please someone advise us if they are not!! If Chuck Hall would only get into the 21st century and get e-mail we could all bother him a lot easier.

Submitted by: Maggie (Mullens) Kopp
The years you were in Venezuela: 1945 to 1965
Year graduated from Staff School: 1958
City and State you live in now: Stuart, FL
Birth Announcements: I'll be a grandmother in July!
Moving Announcements: I'm moving to NH in June to be closer to my daughter.
Your Other News: I retired from the Fla. Public School System in May 2003 after 35 years of service. However, I went back to work as a permanent sub in St. Lucie County the first of this month when the Spanish teacher was removed from the classroom. I enjoy what I do, but it is stressful since I was accustomed to the joy of retirement. I'm looking forward to moving to NH in June, and to my role as the alpha "Gamma"!

Submitted by: Sonia O'Docharty-Tersigne
The years you were in Venezuela: 1960-1978
City and State you live in now: Houston, TX
Your Other News: My son Chris was married last October to Lisa Listowski of Galveston, TX

My parents are well, still living in Kingwood, TX. My twin sister Susana lives in Houston as well as brothers John & Dennis. Carlos is in Austin, TX

Hi Santomesinos:

Thank you Terry for compiling this and continuing the San Tome Newsletter.

For starters, I am Lisa Ahloy - Thornhill. I was in class of '75 at San Tome, 9th grade. I was thrilled to read down the email list and recognize some familiar names but can't always place the face to the name.

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I've been here for 22 years. This is Canada's oil patch so that's how I got here. My husband works in oil and gas as a geologist. I came here after graduating from college with a degree in Interior Design. I worked till I had my two boys ages 13 and 11. Now I dedicate my time to them and do some interior design consulting on the side.

My sister Celina and brother Stephen Ahloy also live in Calgary. I will forward you there email addresses. They are both married and have 2 children each. My brother Stephen moved back to Calgary from Texas three years ago after working for Halliburton in Tyler, Texas. He now works with Baker-Hughes. My sister Celina worked in the oil patch for many years as a geologist until she had her two girls and since then has been at home with them.

My parents Joan & Godfrey Ahloy moved to Trinidad from Venezuela about 4 years ago. It was a tough decision for them to move after 45 years. We are all relieved they left when they did since politically and economically Venezuela seems to be spiraling out of control. They seem to have re-adapted to life in Trinidad and like being with their extended families and old friends.

My sister Arlene is the only Ahloy who remains in Venezuela, she is married to a Venezuelan and lives in Puerto la Cruz area called Lecherias. I will also forward her address. Her two sons live in Calgary and are attending University of Calgary getting their master degrees. My oldest sister Ellen lives in Boca Raton, Florida and works in marketing/sales for Cadbury beverages. She has one son 26 years old.

Well that sums up my family in a "nutshell". The last time we were all in Venezuela for a family reunion was in 1999 and I haven't returned since (unfortunately).

Calgary, Alberta

The Clarkes:

Submitted by: Penny Clarke-Mahin
The years you were in Venezuela: 1952 to 1962
City and State you live in now: Falls Church, VA.

Your Other News:
This is an important and exciting year for me; both my children are getting married! My daughter Naz, who teaches high school in Madrid, is getting married in July to wonderful young man, Jose-Ramon, who was my nephew's room-mate in college. They will continue to live in Madrid after the wedding.

The whole family will be together for the occasion. My brother Roger, who lives in Perth, W. Australia and his family will be flying in, my sisters Diana and Wendy and their families will be there of course, they too live in Madrid. They have been a great help to Naz with preparations for the occasion; I'm a little too far away to do more than offer suggestions and help foot the bills! My son Houman and his fiancée Suzanne will be there from London and we will no doubt begin making plans for their December ceremony. Naz is now 28 and Houman 33.

Since my own marriage in 1999 to Gregory Mahin whom I met at school in Paris the year after leaving San Tome, I have lived in Falls Church VA. It is a truly beautiful little city only a few miles from Washington D.C. where my husband is an attorney-advisor with the Federal Govt.

Having spent years living in Paris, Teheran, then London, Falls Church moves at just the right pace for me now! I spend my days in my beautiful garden which at the moment is ablaze with azaleas and dogwood, and most afternoons tutor children in French and Spanish. For many years in London I was a realtor and before that I worked for a time for the BBC World Service as a radio production assistant in the Persian section.

I am really looking forward to reading news of old friends... we were blessed growing up in San Tome.

Email from: Johnny Howland

Hi Terry - Great site! We're still in Okinawa, Japan, but we'll definitely be in Austin for the Venezuela Reunion at the end of July. The Theriot girls (Debby Limberg and Caryl Mathes) usually bring their families every other year. They were at the reunion in July of 2002 and I hope to see them again in July 04. Richard Wiehmeyer was there in July of 02 as well. Try to make it if you can!

Email from: Valentina Blonsky

I accidentally found this website when I plugged in my name: Valentina Blonsky (Now Hardin). Can't I hide anywhere in the world??? I was surprised to see you manage the site. My brother Arcadio and I live in Houston, Texas. I've been here for 37 years. He lived in Clearwater, Fla. for a while about 10 years ago. Hope you family is well. How about your brother?

Email from: Terry Cummings

Hi again,

I am living in Tucson, AZ now, married, and teaching 9th and 11th grade English. What a hoot that is! :-) Pam (Dove) is still in Oklahoma (Duncan). Her dad JB died last month. My folks are still in Duncan as well and both are doing good. My brother Mike is the one who let me know about the web site and I sure enjoyed spending my early morning coffee time with the walk down memory lane. We were sure a bunch of lucky kids growing up in an environment like Venezuela.

Do you know where any of the people are that were in the pictures? I'd love to get in touch with some of them as they are often a part of my teaching lessons at school. I have even mentioned you a time or two. I love my time with today's teenagers; they are really quiet remarkable with all they have to deal with. Sorry, I tend to gush at times. haha.

Please do add my email to the pictures. Maybe I'll hear from some of them. Keep in touch; it's great being back in communication!

Terry

Email from: Ann Jones-Vescial

I was very sad to hear of Craig's death. He had called many times before last year and had said that he would arrange for Pam Cordwell and some other old students to meet. I live in Laguna Hills in Orange County in Southern California. Nancy Britt Juliano and Diana Lowe Ely are coming for a visit around May 15th. We all continue to keep in touch and I am happy to see some other names of old students. Thanks for everyone's effort to keep in touch.

Ann Jones Vescial

949 859 1074

Email from: Marian Pernia-Gardner

I was a student in San Tome in 1965 as a Kindergartener in Mrs./Miss Offerdahl's class.

My family moved to Los Teques in early 1966. My brothers Jose E. and Luis R. Pernia also attended school in San Tome, and so did my two other sisters Ana and Mida.

Do you have any old photos of that period or of old year books that are not necessarily of graduating classes. I was shocked to see this website. My father is Jose Luis Pernia and my mother was Mary Jo Allen de Pernia.

I remember the club and the outdoor movies. Our house was right on the beach. I also recall a fire at the boat docks. One of our neighbors was Mrs. Ethel Vermillion and a Mrs. Johnson lived across the street from us. She made some great cookies. I have not been back. I have been in the states since '72.

Thanks,

Marian Pernia Gardner

Email from: Mirén U. Sexauer

Hello Terry,
My good friend Christian Goddard sent me your website and story about Isla de Plata.

My name is Mirén Sexauer, (maiden name Urquidi from the Sinclair camp in El Chaure, Pto. La Cruz). I enjoyed your website very much and it brought tears to my eyes. We were fortunate to live there during the golden years of Venezuela.

So sad to see everything going to the communistic dogs and nothing we can do about it but sign for the referendum.

Have a wonderful 2004.
Kindest regards,
Mirén U. Sexauer

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Web Site Stats:

Where our visitors came from

From April 1, 2004 to April 30, 2004

Rank Top Level Domains Unique Visits %

1 com - commercial, for-profit organizations 616 57.84%

2 net - network infrastructure machines and organizations 315 29.58%

3 org - miscellaneous, usually non-profit, organizations 22 2.07%

4 mx - Mexico 21 1.97%

5 nl - Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 15 1.41%

6 gov - United States federal government agencies 12 1.13%

7 do - Dominican Republic 6 0.56%

8 jp - Japan 6 0.56%

9 ve - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 6 0.56%

10 edu - 4-year, degree granting colleges/universities 5 0.47%

11 it - Italy 5 0.47%

12 ar - Argentine Republic 4 0.38%

13 ca - Canada 3 0.28%

14 cl - Chile 3 0.28%

15 es - Spain 3 0.28%

16 il - Israel (State of) 3 0.28%

17 uk - United Kingdom 3 0.28%

18 us - United States of America 3 0.28%

19 br - Brazil (Federative Republic of) 2 0.19%

20 cz - Czech Republic 2 0.19%

21 de - Germany 2 0.19%

22 tt - Trinidad and Tobago 2 0.19%

23 at - Austria 1 0.09%

24 ch - Switzerland (Confederation of) 1 0.09%

25 fi - Finland 1 0.09%

26 hu - Hungary (Republic of) 1 0.09%

27 mt - Malta 1 0.09%

28 pt - Portugal 1 0.09%

Basis: 1065 results from 1877 unique visits of which 812 unknown/could not be evaluated.

Unique Visits:

From April 1, 2004 to April 30, 2004

Date Day Unique Visits

4/1/2004 Thursday 74

4/2/2004 Friday 94

4/3/2004 Saturday 63

4/4/2004 Sunday 48

4/5/2004 Monday 72

4/6/2004 Tuesday 82

4/7/2004 Wednesday 65

4/8/2004 Thursday 80

4/9/2004 Friday 51

4/10/2004 Saturday 64

4/11/2004 Sunday 43

4/12/2004 Monday 44

4/13/2004 Tuesday 43

4/14/2004 Wednesday 46

4/15/2004 Thursday 56

4/16/2004 Friday 58

4/17/2004 Saturday 41

4/18/2004 Sunday 63

4/19/2004 Monday 69

4/20/2004 Tuesday 55

1877 Unique Visits

Explanations

What do these statistics show me?
This analysis summarizes multiple page impressions of an individual visitor into unique visits. A visitor is counted only when bringing up more than one page and taking no longer than 30 minutes between individual pages.

Well that's it for this month. Be sure and submit any news or tidbits for inclusion in next month's newsletter.
Best Regards to all....Terry Ratliff
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