A quarterly Newsletter dedicated to the Alumni of Waterford and Fort LeBoeuf High Schools

Welcome to the summer issue of the Newsletter dedicated to the alumni (students, teachers, and administrators) of Waterford and Fort LeBoeuf High Schools. This newsletter will be issued quarterly. New issues will be posted for viewing on the Web site on, or about, October 5, January 5, April 5, and July 5.

The Web site may be viewed by going to:

http://www.bisonalitiesagain.com

The success of this newsletter will depend on you. I need contributors. Do you have an interesting article, a nostalgia item, a real life story, or a picture you would like to share with other alumni? Do you have a snail-mail or an e-mail address of one of your classmates? Send it to me at the following e-mail address:

candoercat@gmail.com

or at my snail-mail address.

Robert J. Catlin, Sr.
2670 Dakota Street
Bryans Road, MD 20616-3062
Tel: (301) 283-6549

Please, NO handwritten submissions.

The Bisonalities, Again Newsletter is available to any and all alumni, teachers, and administrators of Waterford or FLBHS on the Web site, free. If you know an alumnus, teacher, or administrator who would be interested, please ask them to contact me.

None of the material in this newsletter has a copyright. If you wish to make copies of this newsletter and distribute it to other Alumni or friends, please feel free to do so.

It is with deep sadness I announce the death on April 1, 2001, of Richard J. Fenner Sr, 64, of Conchas Dam, NM.

He was born March 5, 1938 in Erie.

He was a 1957 graduate of Fort Le Boeuf High School.

He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Albuquerque.

He worked as a registered nurse for the University of New Mexico.

Survivors include his wife, Judith; four sons, Richard Jr. and his wife, Monica of Tucumcari, NM; Michael and his wife, Marilyn, of Taos, NM; Kurt and his wife, Megan, of Morarity, NM; and Mark and his wife, Tracy, of Rio Rancho, NM; a brother, Charles and his wife Milly of Erie; four sisters, Betty Page of Erie, Jane Covel of Corry, Mary Lou Pildner and her husband John, of Ashtabula; and five grandchildren.

Thanks to Herb Walden for furnishing this information.

In the April issue I told you about a mini gathering of the Bisons at Lillian and Doug Barnes house in Florida. At that time pictures of the event were not available. Thanks to Clarence and Marlene Kibbe, I now have a picture. You will find it above. I am not going to label who is who, I am going to let you try to guess.

For some time now, I have been collecting the little rhymes from the Burma Shave signs that we all remember dotting the highways as we grew up. I now have all 600 of them. In this issue, between articles, I am going to include several of them.

The following Burma Shave signs are on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.

SHAVING BRUSHES
YOU'LL SOON SEE 'EM
ON THE SHELF
IN SOME MUSEUM
BURMA-SHAVE

When the signs first started appearing in 1925, they were advertisements, only, for Burma Shave. For Example:

SHAVE THE MODERN WAY
FINE FOR THE SKIN
DRUGGISTS HAVE IT
BURMA-SHAVE

The last of the signs appeared in 1963 when the Burma Shave company was sold to Phillip Morris, Inc., American Safety Razor Products Division. The choice for the Odell family, owners of the company, was sell the company or go bankrupt.

SLOW DOWN, PA
SAKES ALIVE
MA MISSED SIGNS
FOUR AND FIVE
BURMA-SHAVE

I have known Bill Canfield since he was Billy and I was Herbie. And while most of you who know him may think first of his athletic ability, I tend to think initially of a crazy kid with a bottomless stomach!

One day, I gave Bill a ride home after school. He asked me to "C'mon up and have a sandwich." Now, I'm not a big eater. A candy bar after school was enough to last me until supper. A sandwich was the furthest thing from my mind.

But I couldn't turn down that invitation. In my eyes, Bill had attained the status of one of those few-and-far-between high school celebrities. And he was asking me to come up for a sandwich! Me! Mr. Nobody! Goodnight! He might as well have been someone like John Wayne! And you don't tell John Wayne you're not hungry when he thinks you are!

So, up I went. I sat down in the kitchen while Bill gathered the "fixin's." It was a struggle, but I did manage to get down a baloney sandwich. I don't remember how many Bill put away. Anyway, I was full. I mean Thanksgiving Day full! After all, I had just eaten lunch a couple of hours ago. So had Bill, but that didn't seem to make any difference to him.

I thought I'd done well until Bill poured us each a glass of milk. You know those iced tea glasses? The big ones? The ones that look like they might hold two gallons? Well, the glasses Bill set out were like those. Only Bigger! I had never seen that much milk in one place at one time! And I practically grew up in a grocery store!

Bill drank his milk as though it were in a shot glass. I worked at mine for a half hour or so. I finally got it down, but I really don't know where it went. I'm sure my entire gastro-intestinal tract was filled to capacity before I saw the bottom of the glass, (a sight more thrilling than anything I've seen since).

I thanked Bill and sloshed down the stairs before he offered dessert. Chances are that would have been a couple of pies and another glass of milk!

I was in a state of blot for a while thereafter. I am afraid that it might be permanent, but I started to return to normal after a couple of days. But it was worth the discomfort, because I got to have lunch with a celebrity!

So if you're reading this, Bill, please stop by if your ever in the Albion area. We'll have a glass of milk for old time's sake. I personally know a cow who lives nearby!

The following was received from Lillian Barnes, class of 1956.

The following is from an actual 1950s Home Economics textbook intended for High School girls, teaching how to prepare for married life.

1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal - on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay-LOL- and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too.

4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile.

6. Some DON'TS: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.

7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

8. Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; instead try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his need to be home and relax.

10. The Goal: try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax.

Now the updated version for the 21st century woman.

1. Have dinner ready: Make reservations ahead of time. If your day becomes too hectic just leave him a voice mail message regarding where you'd like to eat and at what time. This lets him know that your day has been crappy and gives him an opportunity to change your mood.

2. Prepare yourself: A quick stop at the "LANCOME" counter on your way home will do wonders for your outlook and will keep you from becoming irritated every time he opens his mouth. (Don't forget to use his credit card!)

3. Clear away the clutter: Call the housekeeper and tell her that any miscellaneous items left on the floor by the children can be placed in the Goodwill box in the garage.

4. Prepare the children: Send the children to their rooms to watch television or play Nintendo video games. After all, both of them are from his previous marriages.

5. Minimize the noise: If you happen to be home when he arrives, be in the bathroom with the door locked.

6. Some DON'TS: Don't greet him with problems and complaints. Let him speak first, and then your complaints will get more attention and remain fresh in his mind throughout dinner. Don't complain if he's late for dinner; simply remind him that the leftovers are in the refrigerator and you left the dishes for him to do.

7. Make him comfortable: Tell him where he can find a blanket if he's cold. This will really show you care.

8. Listen to him: But don't ever let him get the last word.

9. Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment; go with a friend or go shopping (use his credit card).

10. The Goal: Try to keep things amicable without reminding him that he only thinks the world revolves around him. Obviously he's wrong, it revolves around you.

The following bit of humor was received from Bette Davis.

A teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their vacation. One child wrote the following:

"We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live here in a big, brick house, but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Florida and now they live in a place with a lot of other retarded people. They live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on big tricycles and wear name tags because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wrecked center, but they must have got it fixed, because it is all right now. They play games and do exercises there, but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with their hats on. I guess they don't know how to swim. At their gate, there is a dollhouse with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out. Then they go cruising in their golf carts. My grandma used to bake cookies and stuff, but I guess she forgot how. Nobody there cooks, they just eat out. And they eat the same thing every night: Early Birds. Some of the people can't get past the man in the dollhouse to go out, so the ones who get out bring food back to the wrecked center and call it pot luck. My Grandma says Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded one day, too. When I earn my retardment I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out so they can visit their grandchildren."

It is with sadness I inform you of the death of Terry Page, Class of '66.

Terry A. Page, 53, 12745 Donation Road, Waterford, died Wednesday, July 10, 2002, at Veterans Affairs Medical Center after a brief illness. He was born Sept. 4, 1948, in Corry, son of the late Frank and Donna Wisner Page. He worked for Erie Forge & Steel and formerly worked for Bucyrus Erie. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was discharged in 1974 after six years.

EDITORS NOTE: Sorry for the lateness in publishing this issue. I have been as busy as a one armed wall paper hanger in a wind storm. I hope you enjoy it.

Again, I am making a plea for participation. I have NO articles for the next issue of the newsletter. Please, help me keep this newsletter alive. Furnish stories.
Thanks!

Be Safe!