October 2005 Newsletter Edited by Terry Ratliff
Emails:
Keep up the good work. You can submit your news bits on the Newsletters page.
News:
Submitted by: Dave Salter
Date: 10/09/2005
Your email address:
dave279x@adelphia.net
The years you were in Venezuela: 1957 to 1974
City and State you live in now: Camarillo, CA
Passing Announcements: John C. Hay, 10/05/2005
Submitted by: Richard Bills
Date: 10/10/05
The years you were in Venezuela: 1954 to 1965
Your Other News: Not really a lot of news. I just thought that I would reminisce a little about San Tome and the years we spent there, and maybe it would prompt some others to share their memories.
We moved to San Tome in 1954. My father came down 6 months before the
rest of us, and we had to wait as there was no housing available. He
says that he got there in September, and several others who had arrived
in the summer were able to bring their families earlier since they
borrowed houses of people who had gone on vacation. My mother, sister
and I arrived in early '55 I guess and lived in Parkersburg for quite a
while. We finally were able to move to CL-18, a real house. I don't
remember what street it was on, but it was centrally located, and easy
to get to the club and to school. As I recall, on our block, there was a
big vacant space that all of the houses backed up to which was a great
area for ball games, and other bits of fun. I think that the McCaleb's
lived across the way from us, and it seems like Dr. Paz also lived back
there.
Our house was nice. It was U shaped, and I think that the center of the
U had once been outside, but before we moved in, someone had converted
it to an inside space so we had a lot of room. My sister had the end
room, and we shared a bathroom that connected our rooms. What had once
been windows to the outdoors opened up onto the center of the U and we
would often sneak a peek at some of the parties that my parents held.
After several years, we moved to a new house across the street from the
water tower. It was a great location. We lived next door to the Doyles,
and even though he was older, Curtis and I were pretty good friends. We
had a soapbox car club where we somehow managed to survive barreling
down the roads from the "house on the hill." I still have some scars
from those adventures. I forget who the victim was, but we had one guy
that wanted to join the club, so Curtis told him that he would have to
pass the initiation, which consisted of being tied and blindfolded and
sent down the hill on the soapbox. Fortunately we sent him down the
curving side and he survived, but I think that he decided that he really
did not want to be a member after that.
One of my early memories was of a Halloween party at the club. The older
kids had been organized by someone into creating a haunted house in the
theater. I got in the long line to go through the haunted house and kept
hearing a lot of screaming and carrying on, and descriptions from older
kids coming out about things like putting your hands into vats of
eyeballs and pans of blood. Needless to say, after waiting about an hour
for my turn, I backed out! No Fear!
Knowing my attention span while reading things online, I'll leave it here for now, but maybe add some stuff as the months go by. Silver Island, fishing, Golf, Trick or Treat, etc. What do you remember?
Submitted by: Pam Dettmers
Date: Oct. 11, 05
Your email address:
pedet@kingwoodcable.net
The
years you were in Venezuela: 1957 to 1983
City and State you live in now: Kingwood, TX
Passing Announcements: www.BigJohnHay.com
Clyde & Mary Lou Ratliff
Allen Ratliff
Mike Cummings
Kathleen (Clifton) Royal
John & Judy Carmichael
Mabel (White) Rostant
Johnny Servello
Mr. & Mrs. Joe Hammer
Ben Bonham
Liz Rosso
Travis Gover
Harlan Kent
Jodie Sigala
George Clifton
Chuck LoPresti
Charles McMillan
Mirtha Enet Sauve
Karen Miller Russak
Juan Chacin
Jake Howland (DVD sales)
Mr. & Mrs. Ned Eastlack
Dave & Ellie Salter