Produced by Gretchen Kraft and Diana Waldron
Please reply by June 15. The next issue will feature our new title and the name of the classmate who made the winning entry.
Suggestions, photos, and assistance are all gratefully accepted, as well as links to your home page. Yvonne would also like to hear from anyone who would be interested in teaming up on or taking over maintenance of the site.
The site is just starting out, so it can be whatever we make it. For now, it has some background information on the project and a copy of our debut newsletter. If you do not wish your e-mail address to appear on the website, or if you have other suggestions or items to submit, please write to [email protected].
And...thanks to Jennifer Austin, our glamourous yearbook photos are now on the web. Check 'em out at: www.math.columbia.edu/~jaustin/pineridge.html. These will be up on the official web site in the near future.
Do y'all remember going back to Pine Ridge as summer vacation was winding down? The class lists would be posted on the locked front door. I went with my old man the summer after fifth grade. He just stood there grinning at the lists. "Yup, you got another year with Shaffner," he beamed.
I remember thinking it was going to be a long year. Was Mrs. Shaffner full of anecdotes... or is it just me? I think she was from Georgia, but don't quote me. I do know what happened to "Sherman's General Store" in her hometown however.
As the story goes, word got out someone was fixing to open a cannery/homemade preserve shop in that Georgia town and everybody got real excited. For months and months the townfolk were carrying on about preserving their summer harvests so they could eat canned yams, berries and whatnot when the winter months set in.
So when opening day drew near, everyone who was anyone had mounds of produce lying about ready to be preserved. Then the shop opened. It was called "Sherman's" and nobody went. It closed within the season. General Sherman was, after all, the one who burnt Georgia.
I'm not sure why I remember that story, but I do. Oddly enough, I think I mentioned Mrs. Shaffner in the past few months.
Before starting at Pearson in 1998 I taught the children of the new-rich and pretentious in these parts. Every now and again some punk would get around to wondering how much an "A" would put him out. I always like to tell about my elementary school teach and her bribe policy. Mrs. Shaffner said at least once she would indeed take a bribe...but it had better be enough to put her through her retirement. That always left me thinking about that milk jug I used to throw dimes and quarters in. In my case, hell, I'd have taken a bribe as well. I always asked for a 1968 Karmann Ghia, rebuilt, new paint and the works. I guess we both came away empty handed. Serves us right for asking too much.
I reckon it says a lot for Ann Shaffner I can ramble on about her for two pages. Either that or I still don't know when to shut up.
Welcome aboard, guys!
We have some leads on the following folks, but haven't heard back from them and so could use more information:
We don't have leads on these folks yet:
Kinds of information to think about: did you know middle names or names of parents or siblings? Where did they go to junior high or high school? Did they move out of the area? Where and when? Have you had any contact since Pine Ridge? Where and when? Send in what you know, and we will compile and share it and follow any leads. Our goal: 100% location.
We were going to the movies... ...including "E.T.," still one of the top-grossing movies of all time. Also attracting theater patrons were "Tootsie," "Rocky III," and "An Officer and a Gentleman." "Gandhi," though not as popular with the masses, cleaned up at the Oscars.
We were watching TV.... The most popular shows for the 1981-1982 season included "Dallas," "Three's Company," and "The Jeffersons" as well as "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Joanie Loves Chachi." "Hill Street Blues" captured many Emmys that year.
We were listening to popular music.... Top singles for 1982 included "Physical," "Eye of the Tiger," and "Ebony and Ivory." Top albums included offerings from the Go-Go's, John Cougar, the J. Geils Band, Asia, and Loverboy. Record of the year was "Rosanna" by Toto, who also captured album of the year. Song of the year was "Always on My Mind" (sung by Willie Nelson).
We were reading books.... (Well, OK, maybe *we* weren't reading these, but our parents were). Fiction bestsellers included "Space" by James Michener and "The Parsifal Mosaic" by Robert Ludlum. Non-fiction bestsellers included "Jane Fonda's Workout Book" and "The Richard Simmons' Never-Say-Diet" Cookbook.
We were keeping up on celebrities and current events.... John Belushi and Princess Grace both died in 1982. On a happier note, in 1982 Charles and Diana welcomed their firstborn son, William. The first artificial heart was implanted, into Barney Clark, who survived for more than 100 days. The Reverend Sun Myung Moon was convicted of tax evasion, but still married off more than 4,000 or his followers in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden.
And we Pine Ridgers were preparing for the big leap to junior high, where school dances and changing classes would excite and challenge us. We were saying goodbye to Pine Ridge, not just as our alma mater, but as members of the final graduating class when our school closed down for good. We were sitting in class with Mrs. Hansen or Mrs. Shaffner, switching for science and social studies. We were Cub Scouts and Brownies, players of capture the flag, monkeneye, crab soccer, and the immensely popular bean bag pin skim game (remember Mrs. Wilson?). We shone as performers in "Let George Do It" and "The 1890 Music Hall Revue." Many of us started noticing the opposite sex and going through all those awkward physical and emotional changes, many of which we learned about in the much-snickered-about "Human Growth and Development" course, a.k.a. Sex Ed. As we prepared to leave our Pine Ridge days behind, we enjoyed a final field day tug-of-war and that one last delicious roll down the grassy hill behind the school. What a year for us!
We look forward to hearing from everyone and sharing our stories.
Does anyone have class wills or similar documents? I believe Ms. Hansen's class did one. Wouldn't it be a riot to see how right or wrong our predictions were?
Thanks to Geoff Suiter for his assistance in coming up with some fun questions. Please send us your memories for publication in future issues. Anonymity granted upon request!
Gretchen Kraft was brave enough to get us started:
"I'm happy to volunteer that, as a disgustingly well behaved child (most of the time), I was horrified and embarrassed beyond belief when Mrs. Hansen sent me and Blake Mason to the principal's office for a "ruler fight" that briefly got out of hand. I was actually scared. I had no idea what would happen in the dreaded principal's office (stern lecture, no punishment, Gretchen scared straight forever). I'm also happy to volunteer that if anyone were to get a hold of any of my Pine Ridge notebooks, they would find entire pages filled with "Mrs. Steve Eisele" or "Mrs. Gretchen Eisele" etc. written over and over again. Although maybe that would embarass him now. I just find it amusing."
The old Pine Ridge neighborhood looks like the best location, since many of us still have some ties to the area. We're really scattered all over the place, but the DC area seems to have more of us than anywhere else.
It would be a lot of fun if each of us could bring (maybe displayed on posterboard?) some of our Pine Ridge artifacts: report cards, photos, artwork, class wills, etc. These are priceless!
Some folks will have to travel a long way-- those of us still in the area who can could help defray costs by letting some folks stay with us.
What do you think? Send us your ideas, questions, and concerns, and let us know if you would like to be on a planning committee. Stay tuned to the newsletter for further details!
or call: