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March 1, 2003

To all our classmates:

Welcome to the Spring issue of our Newsletter. Yea, sure -- I say that while there's still a pile of snow on the ground and
along side our driveway. Many times I thought of Gougeon, Putzig, Joceyln and Boch just sittin' there in the sun while we
in the midwest and elsewhere freeze our buns off. If you did manage to escape the winter blues this year -- stay just a
little longer while winter packs up for the season. I am really looking forward to warmer weather, spring yard clean up,
and grass cutting. But for now I just watch the deer scouting the yard trying to find something to eat.

Despite the doom and gloom mentioned above this has been a rather exciting month. We created a new alumni web site
to carry on where the old one left off because of lack of space. I believe our new web site will serve us better for it's
well co-ordinated and easy to navigate through the many pages. Also all news can be immediately posted for all to view.

I can appreciate that while many of you desired to communicate with us --you simply did not have the time. OK, we shall
let you off this time for surely winter days are much shorter than spring and summer days. Then what will your excuse be?
Got ya'! I know many of you look forward to hearing from us and our communication channel is a two way street. There,
I feel better now,
 
CLASSMATE CORNER
RICHARD BAILEY, BHHS57 -- Bailey Homestead
Dick writes on February 1, 2003. "Hello [BHHS57] --"Someone has asked about the development of our family property.
Toward the end of life, my father grew French hybrid wine grapes and after his death another person interested in grape growing and wine making carried it on. (The payment was mowing the lawn for my mother.) When she left Bloomfield Hills
to come to a retirement community in Ann Arbor she sold the property and it is now completely covered with hugh and
costly houses. One of the wine-makers -- now a high ranking executive at GM -- was interested in her house and its
architecture. { The architect was George Bingham, later dean of architecture school at U-M.) He engaged one of Bingham's
students to plan an addition and enhancement of the original house. It is a wonderful project. The living room looks just the same; the rest of it is transformed but with the same design ideas expressed in new ways." -- Dick
Yearbook entry, Simply.... "Best of luck." -- Dick Bailey.
CAROL BRODIE SPADE, BHHS57 -- Receives 2002 video
Recently Carol received a copy of the 2002 Reunion tape and she writes, "Sure sorry to miss it [the reunion], but will be on board for the next one." -- Carol

JOHN M CHIKA, BHHS57 -- Connects
John writes in my yearbook, "Good luck in the coming years." -- John Chika.
I wish to thank John for connecting  me with a neighbor of ours when Edwards lived on Orange Lake, Chickering Lane.
My neighbor called to inquire about some details on the lake dredging done during 1956. This is interesting,  A large
portion of the lake property along Lahser Road was acquired by the school district for later development of the now
Lasher High School. It seems that the school and property owners on the east side of the lake now want to dredge in front of the school property and now they want the west side property owners to share in the cost of the project. In 1956 only the six Chickering Lane homeowners invested in the dredging costs. Today the cost of dredging has sky rocked and very few want in on the new school project. Only two of the original owners live lakeside on Chickering. Interestingly, the value of our old
homestead has skyrocketed as the present owners built an addition to triple the size of the home. I shall keep you posted on
the Lasher project as the saying goes, "If you are against dredging the lake you are against educating our children."  Crap !

DENNIS A DINAN, BHHS57 --CD Logo graphic
Dennis heard of the CD project and he began working on a possible label graphic. The designs are shown below.
DAD also sent along a picture of our classmate Jocelyn which is now posted on the web site. Dinan writes to say that he
did indeed attend the tenth reunion in 1967. Good to hear from you Dennis and thanks for the graphics.
You may see more of Dennis'es interest on the web site, "On Location", which takes a look around Cape Cod.
And Dennis you failed to identify the lighthouse shown on the site.-- Richard.
  
BARBARA GILRAY BOUDREAU, BHHS57 -- Recovering at home
Barb fully expected to be in Hawaii at this time soaking up the winter sun. Instead she was admitted to a Boston
hospital with a brain tumor. Presently she is resting at home and recovering from her ordeal. In a letter she writes,
"I was at work reading water meters on a very cold snowy day when suddenly I began  to experience headaches
like I never had in my life. I had to go sit in my car and after forty-five minutes [the headaches] ebbed so I returned
to reading the meters. I returned to the car a second time and I decided I had to go to emergency. Somehow I
reached Exeter Emergency Hospital. I was undergoing a ruptured brain tumor of a weakened artery wall officially called
an aneurysm.  I was helio-coptered to a Boston hospital on January 10th; operated on January 11th; transferred from
Massachusetts General Hospital on February 5th to Spaulding Rehab Hospital and discharged on February 11, 2003."
[NOTE: Sorry to hear of your trouble Barb, We wish you a speedy recovery.]

Her yearbook entry- 1957, "To my one and only 'futurama' friend who has made it fun in Ec and Gov't." -- Barb
[And I have no idea what that refers to...cre]
NED GRANT, BHHS57 -- Thumbnail -- February 23, 2003,  Ned sends a new picture for the CAB
I believe that the Grant's also provided us with a posted web site link. Yes, you may send in your favorite link also.
[NOTE: --Anyone wishing to have a current photo as their thumbprint in the 2003 CAB please send it to Richard asap.]
DOUGLAS JOCELYN, BHHS57 - SAG
Our classmate Doug is keeping in touch with some good company lately with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks,
Martin Sheen, Christopher Walken, M. Streep, and others. On December 25, 2002  DreamWorks released the movie,
"Catch Me If You Can" and our classmate Doug has a character part and may be seen in the movie that runs for 2 1/2 hours. A detailed review of the movie and theater goers remarks from an Internet database is now online for anyone wishing to view them. Perhaps many of our classmates have seen the movie. It will be available soon in DVD at your favorite store.
Doug wrote in my yearbook forty-six years ago, " YoYo, Good luck to a real gone cat." -- Doug Jocelyn
ROBERT H TREADWAY, BHHS57 --At Home
Bob writes in my yearbook, "Come and see me in Mississippi."  -- I have no idea now what that refers to except he may have
attended school there. Say, Bob. What is the story behind that note. -- [Richard Edwards]
I sent Bob an article about China, its people and the internet. On February 6, 2003 Bob writes."I don't know where you are getting your information. As I write this, I am in a Beijing net bar. If this is a capital crime, I'm a goner. As I look around, some guys are playing games, some are on the net. (I'm coming back [home] tomorrow.)......
In another email Robert writes, "Dear Richard,
Thank you for sending me the article which was the source of your information about China. I have been working at H & R Block since my return from China on February 7 and have been too busy to respond. I really thought I should give you more than just a short response. I'm sorry for the delay.
As you may know I have spent the better part of the last three years in China teaching English and making lots of friends. I have decided that I should spend the rest of my life (80 - 63 = 17 years)  working for better relations between China and America. Part of this calls for me to teach English so that the Chinese people can better explain themselves to Americans, and the other part is to educate Americans regarding the real China. In other words, to cut through all the propaganda that is distributed in the U. S. that distorts the truth, as I see it. I think there is far more incorrect information about China among Americans, than there is about America among Chinese.
I feel that the author of the article you sent has distorted the truth in order to make a name for himself. I have seen this in other journalists, but this is a particularly extreme example. When a journalist describes China in such a grotesque way, it will, generally, benefit his career. But, I fear, the reader is not served well and the truth suffers.
In May of 2002 there was a fire in an internet cafe in Beijing and all cafes in Beijing only were closed, not to reopen until September. I can attest that this was quite inconveniencing to many of my friends. However, you should know that there was widespread public support for this action. You see, the parents of the internet users saw the cafes as a bad influence on their children, something like how Americans some generations ago view pool halls. Now, cafes have reopened and they are much better regulated, cleaner and with fire protection.
I often communicate with my students and friends by using the internet. I have never heard of any of them being harassed or punished for this. When I was teaching, one student asked me for web sites for hospitals because he felt that a Chinese doctor had not operated properly on his broken leg. He accessed the University of Michigan site and got the information he was looking for.
I think the information in the article is a little contradictory. While the size of China's use of the internet is mentioned, only absolute numbers of bad cases are cited. So it is clear that the vast overwhelming experience of Chinese internet users is positive, just like my students.
Let me make a comparison. You may recall that a black man in New York City came to his front door and was greeted with 42 bullets from New York police officers. Now, this story could be generalized to say that black people who come to their front door are routinely shot full of bullets. While the incident is real and truthful, the generalization gives a totally false picture.
I would suggest that the people who have run afoul of the law in China on the internet and are punished have used the internet for uses that would never be contemplated by you or me or the vast majority of people in the U. S. If we were writing about plotting the overthrow of the U. S. government, I think we may be visited by the F. B. I.
I hope I am not "hitting you over the head" with this information, but it is very upsetting to me to see the reality in China and to see how China is portrayed in the American press. I would enjoy chatting with you more on this if you are interested. Yours, BT  [Thanks Bob, very interesting, and yes, I thought the article was incorrect in many ways.-- cre]

BHHS ALUMNI NEWS (Briefly)
BOB KURAS, BHHS61
Bob Kuras is currently developing the Homestead property in Glen Arbor, Michigan along Sleeping Bear Bay. This property.
was once privately held land and for years used as a resort, camp and a private secondary college prep school. The complex
was sold to a land developer and the resort and school now remain as separate operations in the same land area. As you may
know the National Park Service came into the area of the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes and took a major portion of the land
along Lake Michigan as part of the Park. Bob Kuras has been trying to build on land along the Crystal River for 18 years now
but he found stumbling blocks all along the way. In January a Bill is being introduced in Congress to purchase the land along
the Crystal River to become part of the National Park which would halt any building there. Looks like many things still need to be worked out before the deal is satisfactory to everyone in the area.
During our last reunion weekend I spent many hours revisiting the area I once lived in for a period of ten years off and on.
You can be assured I had mixed feelings on seeing the new developments that had taken place. Yet the people now living in
the area think it is their own little bit of heaven, and rightly so for it truly is that and more... Times change, new situations
arise, and people rush in for their own "pot of gold". Oh boy, you should have seen the area fifty or sixty years ago -- now
that was heaven! Fishing for Coho and finding Petoskey stones in the shallow Crystal River. The area once owned by
Skipper and Cora Beals for educating boys [and later, girls] has all gone though a "squeeze" transformation while still occupying
a portion of the land,  the resort area is all being privately developed with large footprint homes and stacked condos. The National Park Bill would stop the building of several hundred more homes along the Crystal River.

JIM KURAS, BHHS58
Jim is also living in the Glen Arbor area --I recall the Kuras brothers going to school about the same time as our group yet I
forget much of their activities while they were attending BHHS. Interesting, however, I just opened up my '57 Hillcrest and found the following note on the fly-page, "Richard, The biggest, little guy in the class, Best of Luck." -- Jim Kuras
P.S. Don't forget all the goofing in fifth hour lunch "58"  -- So Jim is a member of BHHS58.

URSULA FLECHENSTEIN, BHHS57 [Exchange student, Germany]
How many of our classmates remember Ursula? She attended our school briefly during 1957 as an exchange student from
Germany. Looking through my yearbook I discover she wrote the following, " Richard, I enjoyed being one of  your
classmates even though it was only for a short time. Best of luck always,"  -- Ursula Flechenstein,
[NOTE:  I have a footnote to her comment saying she was a friend of  Loretta Pape.]

Anyone with memories or comments on Ursula please send them to me for its been so very long ago now I forget.-- Richard

Web sites of other classes:
AHS 1971 - http://www/andoverclassof 1971.org
AHS 1972 - http://www.andover1972.aol.com

BLOOMFIELD HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
BOOTH SCHOOL - The old Booth School at 7273 Wing Lake Road has been renamed
The Gary M Doyle Center for Professional Development at Booth School.
Several districts have started developing this concept. Groves School, Birmingham did this many years ago.

NEW SUPERINTENDENT
Steven Gaynor is the new school superintendent for Bloomfield Hills School District.
On Andover's web site there is a student article stating that in 2002 a national magazine ranks Andover 14th in academic excellence nationwide. It does not provide the date or issue of the magazine which would be interesting to read.

BHHS57 FINDS A NEW WEB SITE LOCATION
OAKLAND -- February 1, 2003
Well I did it!  I think I have found additional web space for the time being.
LOCATION:   http://bhhs57.freeservers.com/
Our new web site starts today with a fresh new look while providing everyone ease in navigating the many pages.
It also provides links to our original Tripod web site. Since we are updating it often there is always something new to view.
If there is a new theme you wish to see presented on our web site please send it to Richard.

BHHS57 NEW ONLINE CORKBOARD MESSAGE CENTER.
Along with our new official web site comes a new message center called the BHHS57 Corkboard. It may be used to
place your own comments and communications to your classmates on your activities, news, and events. Enjoy and use it.

CLASSMATES.COM
As of February 24, 2003 the Classmates web site had 3629 listed on the Andover alumni aboard.
I  very seldom ever use it any more. Every once in awhile I am asked to contact someone there or relay a message
 to Classmate friends who are not a "gold" member. Basically, I think it's a rip-off. Yet, we did find Alice Adams
Maciejewski after she posted her name there. Alice, it's so good to have you as a member of our group. Thanks !

THE BHHS HILLSMAN 1957
Looking back into our year book I see a picture of the Hillsman staff. Many of you were also on the Hillcrest staff.
Over the years as Bloomfield Hills gave way to the new Andover name so did our Hillsmans  masthead change to
The Andover Shield. The banner and shield are shown below. It was discovered on the Andover web site. It appears here in black but the logo may be blue.-- not sure. There is a link on our new web site to the Andover online newspaper.

http://www.highschoolpublishing.com/andovershield/

THEN AND NOW - (Class size)
BHHS56 - graduating class = 57  (56 Hillcrest)
BHHS57 - Our graduating class = 86
BHHS58 - graduating class = 95  (58 Hillcrest - Cathy Campbell)
BHHS59 - graduating class = ??  ( Anyone know )
BHHS60 - graduating class = ??  ( Anyone know )
BHHS61 - graduating class = ??  (61 Hillcrest - Kathy Fisher Jechura)
AHS 99  - graduating class = 190 ( Lahser had 244 according to an Eccentric article)

BHHS57 REUNION VIDEO - Reunion 2002
Carol Spade has now received a video of the last reunion.
BTW -- there are still a few video tapes available. Request one for your own. $15.00 for the video which includes First Class
three day shipping and handling charges.
 
PARDON AN EDITOR'S ERROR
Copy errors in the February newsletter have been located and corrected on the online version.  Other small errors were corrected.

BHHS57 SPRING SAFETY TIPS --
Play it SAFE. This past month many people have been caught in fires. Be safe and know of possible escape routes should
you need them fast. Check the smoke alarms in your home and replace the batteries if needed.
 
BHHS57 AND OTHER ALUMNI YEARS, SCHOOLS and CLASSES.
RALPH W BARBIER. JR, C-57
While scouting high and low for our classmates I recently came across one of my early classmates from the sixth grade.
Oh and I have found a few others from other schools. While these people are for the most part unknown to the rest of our
group they are not being mentioned --except for one: Ralph W Barbier, Jr -- C-57. It just so happens that my classmate
friend from the sixth grade has ties with several members of our group since he attended Cranbrook School for a few years
along with several of our ex-classmates and he also attended law school with some. So to make it brief, one day I called
Ralph to see if he remembered me from the sixth grade. Well certainly he did and we spent the next half hour getting caught up on things over the many years. On December 11, 2002  I received a fax from Ralph saying, "Thank you for your efforts in finding me. The 6th grade is one hell of a long time ago. I saw Sally A. [Austerberry Dinan ] -- (Kingswood, 1957)  at the
[Cranbrook] 45th reunion  this year but Kern, Lee, and Swanson [ex-classmates from  BHHS57] did not attend." -- Ralph.
NOTE: It's a small world after all.- Richard Edwards]  -- Perhaps Ralph will keep in touch with all his friends at BHHS57.

BHHS57 REQUEST FOR YOUR JOURNALS.....  a start
Mention the word journal and it immediately presents a problem to many persons. Yet it is not all that bad. Take as an example the messages sent in by Kasameyer, Jocelyn, and Bailey during the past month. In only a few minutes they
provided all our classmates with some very interesting reading from their own experiences. I had intended to place their
remarks in this newsletter but due the time sensitive material it was immediately send to all classmates.  From now on
any comments received for the group will be posted on the web site for all to read immediately,
 
BHHS57 DATELINE: FEBRUARY 28, 2003 - 1666 Days
OAKLAND -- February 28, 2003
The countdown continues for our 2007 reunion at   http://bhhs57.tripod.com/index.html

BHHS57 FORTY SIXTH ANNIVERSARY - June 13, 2003  ( 105 days )
OAKLAND -- February 28, 2003
Forty-six and counting -- before our anniversary.   Boy, how can that be!
http://bhhs57.tripod.com/index.html

UPDATE NEEDED FROM THE FOLLOWING CLASSMATES:

• Angelosanto, Beedell, Booth, Bowland, Davis, Funke, Gallo, Nelson, Pfaff.

BHHS57 NEWSLETTER 44 NOW ONLINE
This newsletter is now online at http://bhhs57.freeservers.com/bulletin-44.html

BHHS57 NEWSLETTER 45.
Newsletter 45 may be issued on April 1, 2003  -- it all depends on a few factors, namely enough newsworthy material
and the several projects now being prepared. Otherwise,  Newsletter 45 could appear next quarter --  June, 2003
 

 FINAL COMMENTS
Every attempt is made to create an error-proof copy yet errors do occasionally appear so please bring these errors to our
attention and correction can be made to the online versions of the newsletter. I am constantly sending mail items to
individual classmates and this outgoing mail is posted online. I have drastically cut down on newsletter mailing. Those who
now receive a mailing-- you will find posted online. So if you wish to send your own "copy" to classmates please feel free
to do so. Postage here has just gotten out of control. All official alumni mail will continue to be sent using a BHHS57 logo
mailer which adds to any cost but I figure our group needs a proper professional look after all these years. We are
always in search of new graphic material and design for our group so if you have an idea or original conceptual design
please send it along to me. I would like to have a sleek, modern magazine but it is utterly impossible considering the
size of our group: 86 and the cost of same and most classmates wishing only to muse over what others send in. I have
a number on the web site showing the 1999 Andover class was 190 students. Interestingly, Lasher had  244.......
Hold on... I just had an idea ! Do you suppose there is someone in the group wacky enough to want to take up the
reigns and continue publishing our alumni bulletin. Oh, no, sorry --I just came to my senses. You see, here again --
everyone wants someone else to do it. That way it makes life so easy and they get all the benefits from it. So here again
is a compiled  journal of this months activities. I work at it occasionally but it is really you who brings it all together.
Well, that's it for this time. Nice to visit with you all. It's a great joy to know where everyone is once again.
Enjoy and until next time.... peace ! [Literally, pray for peace, for nobody wants war, however, sometimes it's necessary.]
 

CREDITS
The credits for this newsletter appear below.
The black and white classmate pictures are from the 1957 class yearbook, The Hillcrest,
Andover Shield Logo, Logo of the Andover High School student newspaper-(online)
Graphic Logo, BHHS57 CD-- Property of its creator, Dennis Dinan. -- ddinan@whrc.org -- printed edition,web site and online.
Masthead, newsletter design, CAB, web site -- Dick Edwards --redwards@eesc.com
BHHS57 Video 1967, 1982, 2000, 2002: Carl Jechura Productions. --pprince@iquest.net
Reunion 2002 -- Ned Grant, Donaldson, Dinan, Ogur, Treadway, Kasameyer, Jechura. --neddyy2@hotmail.com
Reunion 2000 -- Carol Spade, Susan Wolter, Judy Schlaman, Cindy Morcott, Dinan, Jechura. --cspade@msn.com
Reunion 2007 -- Only mention is made of a possible reunion. Remember, it all up to you and our group.
 
Cordially,
C Richard  Edwards
for the BHHS57 Baron's Alumni Newsletter

Bloomfield Hills High School Alumni Group ~ 1957
[ "BHHS57"  is not officially connected with the Bloomfield Hills School District]
http://bhhs57.freeservers.com/index.html -- new site
http://bhhs57.tripod.com/index.html -- original site.
Bloomfield Hills High School -1957 Updates
http://bhhs57.tripod.com/update-3.html -- 2002 updates
 
 (c) 2003 BHHS57 Alumni Group / BHHS57 / Andover High School  / 4200 Andover Road / Bloomfield Hills, MI  48302