THIS IS SURRATTS FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2010-02 as of February 1, 2010
Hello Hornets:
Here are some items that might be of interest:
1. TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR ALL OF THE 2010 ALL CLASSES/FACULTY/STAFF EVENTS! Tickets
are now on sale for all three of the June 2010 All Classes/Faculty/Staff events: the Golf Outing to be held
Friday June 25, 2010 starting at 9 a.m. at the Eisenhower Golf Course in Crownsville, Surrattstock III to be
held Friday evening June 25, 2010 from 6 to 11 p.m., and the All Classes/Faculty/Staff School Open
House and Picnic to be held Saturday June 26, 2010 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Golf Outing tickets, which include the outing itself, a subsequent free round of golf at Eisenhower and food
and drinks, are a very reasonable $67. Tickets for Surrattstock III are a mere $5, and tickets to the Open
House and Picnic are $10, with guests under 18 free to each event. (The charges for the School-based
events cover our required insurance, School staff overtime, and related charges for the events, and
hopefully will raise additional general funds for the Foundation.) Unlike the Open Houses/Picnics held in
2000 and 2005, we won't be including food and drink in the $10 Open House and Picnic ticket price, so the
2010 Picnic will be BYOP (and we're hoping to have food and drink vendors on site selling their stuff --
more on that later).
There are two ways to buy your tickets. First, you may send a check by mail using the form pasted below.
Second, you may purchase tickets on the Foundation's web site, at the "Events" button, at www.
surrattsville.org. Here's how you do that:
a. Go to surrattsville.org
b. Click on "Events"
c. Find the event you wish to attend (i.e., "Golf Outing," "2010 All Class Reunion" or "Surrattstock III"), and
click on that event.
d. Click on "Pay Now"
e. Fill-in the information on the Pay Now page and click on "Review Order and Continue." IMPORTANT
NOTE TO THE LADIES: WHEN YOU COMPLETE THE FIRST NAME BLOCK, PLEASE TYPE IN YOUR
FIRST AND LAST NAMES WHILE AT SURRATTSVILLE. THAT WAY, FOR NAME BADGE PURPOSES,
WHEN YOUR NAME COMES THROUGH THE SYSTEM, WE'LL HAVE YOUR CURRENT LAST NAME AND
THE LAST NAME YOUR CLASSMATES WILL RECOGNIZE.
f. IMPORTANT: On the "Review Your Payment" section, again for name badge purposes, in the box
called "Add Special Instructions to Seller," please type in your graduation year, or you years on the
faculty/staff.
g. Click on the "Complete Purchase" button.
h. Check your email, where you will find a receipt for your purchase. Please print this off and bring it to
the event. This receipt is your entry ticket.
(Note that you'll need to repeat the above for each event you wish to attend, and for each person from
your group attending each event.)
We're hoping that the 2010 events will be the same great successes that were the 2000 and 2005 events!
[Ed. Note: Please don't forget to check in with your Class ORC to learn about any Class-specific event for
your Class being held during the June 25 - June 27, 2010 weekend.]
2. GOLF OUTING DETAILS. Here are some details from our Golf Outing co-chairs about the June 25
Foundation Golf Outing: Eisenhower Golf Course, Crownsville, MD. There will be a 9:00 a.m. Shotgun
Start, Captain’s Choice (scramble). $67 per person includes golf and cart, range balls, prizes and food
and drinks at the awards reception immediately following the golf. In addition, every golfer will receive free
greens fees for a future round of golf at Eisenhower. This event is open to Surrattsville alumni, family and
friends. Register your own foursome or sign up as an individual. Payment can be made online on the
Foundation's web site at www.surrattsville.org or by mail using the ticket order form below. Any questions
can be emailed directly to Alan Johnson (72) (ajohnson@DCHweb.org) or Lauren Foley (74)
(Lmfriley@comcast.net).
Many thanks to Alan and Lauren for all their hard work in putting together this great event!
3. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SURRATTSTOCK III. If you're planning to attend Surrattstock III on
Friday June 25, and you'd be willing to donate a half-hour of your time to assist with the ticket table or the
refreshment table, please send an email to the Surrattstock III coordinator, Stacey Fowler (87), at
sfowler2@susangage.com.
4. FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBER SEEKS ELECTIVE OFFICE. We just learned that Surratts parent
and Foundation Board member and volunteer Catherine Taggert-Ross has filed to run for Prince George's
County Council for the 9th council district. As would be expected, Catherine (a former police officer) is
making the strengthening the Prince George's County high schools a focus of her campaign.
5. LAST CALL FOR SURRATTS COOK BOOK. As previously reported, Leslie St. Clair (70) and Diane
"Cookie" Boyd (71) are putting together a Cookbook of Hornets' Favorite Recipes. They're hoping to them
bound and offer them for sale at the 2010 All Classes/Faculty/Staff events. All proceeds will go to the
Foundation. If you have a recipe you'd like to share, please send it to Leslie and Cookie - by the February
15 submission deadline -- at surrattscookbook@yahoo.com. (Twenty delicious recipes have already been
submitted.)
6. HORNET SEEKS RING AND LOST CLASSMATE. Linda Lally Thomson is looking for her lost Class of
76 ring, with "Linda Ann Lally" inscribed inside it. She also is looking for classmate Debbie Hook (76).
Please send Linda an email at vbnana1958@aol.com if you have any information.
7. CORRECTION TO HYDE FIELD ITEM. In the last e-Notice, we reported that we had received a link to
an interesting web site about Hyde Field and Prince George's County's remarkable aviation history from
Paul Monaghan (59). Unfortunately, we forgot to include the link! Here it is:
http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/MD/Airfields_MD_PG_S.htm.
8. MORE MEMORIES OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND. Here's another interesting article from the series in
the St. Mary's County Times written by Foundation Historian and Archivist, Shelby Lee Oppermann (79):
"Snow Watch. Of course I have to write about the snow! I’m writing this during the beautiful snowfall. The
other article can wait. March’s lion was really the king this year: he came in ready to impress. You have no-
coat weather a few days before, then wham! In a day or two it’s Spring-like again. And there’s always the
excitement that never goes away that there is no school!!! I tried calling my sons to say “no school
tomorrow!” for old times sake, but their voicemails picked up. I guess once they turn 21 and 26 the fun just
goes right out of it. But not for me.
I love Maryland weather. I have heard people remark how different it is then when they grew up. It seemed
like we used to have these huge snowfalls of two or three feet. I remember one in the early 60’s where
there was enough that my two brothers made an igloo in the front yard. There is also a picture of me as a
sled dog with my oldest brother laughing and raising his arm in the “mush” stance behind the sled. No
wonder I’ve always felt closest to dogs.
The blizzard of ’79 was a good one too. I was home in Clinton from St. Mary’s College thinking, Ahhhh,
leisure from all that hard work studying. Oh, that’s right, you all read the first article about Monk’s Inn and
the Oar House didn’t you? Anyway, the snow was two feet as I remember. The snow plows had not hit our
road, so all the neighbors were out helping each other shovel. It was so much fun, some of the neighbors
hadn’t seen each other since the last snowfall 13 or so years earlier. Frisbee in the snow is great! My
Mother was saying that she didn’t know that one of the neighbors was even still alive. The lady was 100
but came out in the snow that day. Then after the snow was shoveled and news caught up everyone went
back in their burrows until the next great snowfall.
I have wondered occasionally what it would be like to live in California, Taos, or in Truth or Consequences,
New Mexico. (my wandering Grandfather, whom I never met, lived for a time in the latter – I like the name).
Warm, mostly dry climates. I don’t think I could do it forever, there is no change of season. Here they
change almost daily. Who wouldn’t love that. The doctor’s must enjoy it. The men, probably some women
now, waiting eagerly to hook up those snow plows on their pick up trucks and help their neighbors, or earn
a little extra cash enjoy it too.
We left after church today to visit an ailing relative in the hospital, and on our way back through Waldorf
stopped to grab a bite to eat. It was so strange to walk in and have green grass outside and when we
came out everything was all blanketed with snow and in a near white-out condition. Robert’s daughter
called as we were leaving, and said that snowballs were coming down in St. Mary’s County. He said “Yeah,
right, snowmen too?” The drive home was, as expected, slow going. My husband and I were amazed at
how close some of the drivers were to each other, some within one to two car lengths.
When we got home, I called a friend and she said ”the snow was coming down in great clumps.” I was
picturing scoopable kitty litter, had to shake my head to get rid of that thought. It sure was pretty though.
My husband went outside to take pictures and to let Tidbit out. Then the winds came and started buffeting
the house. The wine glasses in their rack hanging from the ceiling and all my Bavarian china in the cabinet
were rattling. The power started flashing on and off. It was scary. We have huge trees next to the house
and I could feel my head pounding in worry. Motrin. I went and grabbed my purse, coat, and cell phone
from their spot near the dining room and brought them back to the bedroom. I got my beautiful fused glass
out of the bay window and slid it under a dresser. Robert said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m getting
ready for when one of these trees falls on that side of the house.” Tidbit followed me back and forth then
curled up next to the bed in a little ball.
It’s funny Tidbit will not go outside when it’s raining, she hovers under the overhang of the house with her
ears back, batting her eyes, trying to tell me she’s melting. But come snow, she’s out there like a little
puppy again prancing around, and throwing snow around with her nose. Tidbit’s favorite thing to do in the
snow is pretend she is a snow shovel. She puts her mouth to the ground, leaves it open and travels for a
few feet at a time gobbling up the snow. She’s a funny girl to watch. In the morning I will venture out to
watch her play and prance and enjoy the beauty of this magic that like the lion has a majesty and power all
its own.
To each new day’s adventure, Shelby. (Please send your comments or ideas to: shelbys.
wanderings@yahoo.com)
9. COMPUTERS NEEDED FOR SCHOOL. As many of our readers will recall, when the Foundation was
first established, our first big project was to arrange for the donation to the School of over $250,000 worth
of computer equipment. Ten years have passed, and that equipment is now obsolete or at the end of its
useful life. Therefore, we have started a second drive to acquire computers (and related peripherals) for
the School. If you have contacts at any employer or other organization that donates "gently used"
computers to non-profits, please contact me at hsmith@smithdowney.com.
Note to federal government employees: many federal government agencies have little-known programs
for the donation of "gently used" computers to 501(c)(3) entities like the Foundation. If you are a federal
government employee, please consider asking around at work to see if your agency could make a
contribution toward this very important Foundation initiative.
10. BOOMERANGS AVAILABLE. The Foundation has a limited supply of yearbooks from 1991, 1999,
2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006. If you'd like one of these yearbooks (which are available for $15 including
shipping and handling), please send me an email to hsmith@smithdowney.com.
11. FOUNDATION'S OFFICIAL 2009 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN A GREAT SUCCESS. Thanks to the
generosity of the donors listed below, the Foundation's official 2009 Annual Campaign was a great
success, despite 2009 having been one of the most challenging years in recent history for charitable fund
raising. We are very grateful for our wonderful donors! (Note that the Foundation has a "button" on the
home page of the Foundation's web site (www.surrattsville.org) that makes it easy for donors to make
donations all year long. A special request to our on-line donors: please include your graduation
year/faculty years/etc. in your on-line donation form.)
12. POSSIBLE 80/81 REUNION. The Classes of 80 and 81 are planning a possible reunion for June
2010. They need a contact person for the Class of 80. Please contact Teresa Blandford Pepper at
teresa@dlpinc.net to provide contact info.
13. SIGN-UP TIME FOR CLASSES OF 69-74 REUNION. The Classes of 69-74 are holding a multi-Class
dinner dance event, at the Ft. Belvoir Officer's Club, on the Saturday evening of the All
Classes/Faculty/Staff events (June 26, 2010). Tickets are limited. Please contact Leslie St. Clair (70),
ASAP, at lesliestclair@yahoo.com if you would like to purchase tickets.
(Class of 69-74 members also should check-in with their Class ORCs -- listed on the Foundation's web site
at www.surrattsville.org at the "Classes" button -- for information on any other Class-specific events
happening during that weekend.)
14. COMBINED 60-65 EVENT. We received this update from Class of 62 ORCs Len Owens and Jerry
Spence: "The Classes of 60-65 are working on a Combined Classes 60-65 Reunion with events on
Saturday evening (dinner) June 26, 2010 and Sunday afternoon (picnic) June 27, 2010. Locations still to
be determined. Please contact your Official Reunion Contact (contact info is on the "Classes" page of the
web site at www.surrattsville.org) for more information. Best Wishes, Len and Jerry"
15. SURRATTS FACEBOOK PRESENCE UPDATE. The "Surrattsville Alumni" Group on Facebook has
approximately 950 members, and the various Class-specific Groups are growing, as well. Please consider
joining these free on-line communities as a way to keep in touch and to stay informed.
16. ANOTHER SURRATTS SMALL WORLD STORY. We recently received this email, recounting perhaps
the ultimate Surrattsville small world story, from Steve Finney (71): "Hey Henry: I'm traveling in India, and I
was in Bikaner (a not-major tourist town in Rajasthan) and met a 21 year old local who spoke pretty good
English, and taught English. He was also into American history, and the John Wilkes Booth saga in
particular, and he knew about Mary Surratt! I don't think he quite got the significance when I said I
attended Surrattsville High School, but it was pretty interesting anyway. Steve"
17. SURRATTS HOOPS SQUAD ON A ROLL. Some of our local readers may have noticed the nice front
page story in the January 7 Gazette about the Hornets boys' basketball team. After making it to the State
final game in 2008, the Hornets had a disappointing season in 2009. However, this year the Hornets are 7-
1, and recently defeated Douglass (which lost in the State final game last year) 68-50. There must be
something about the hardwood at Surratts that has continually produced over the last half-century a
plethora of outstanding basketball squads. Go Hornets!
18. ... AND SPEAKING OF HORNET HOOPSTERS. Some of our local readers might have seen the great
story by Josh Barr that appeared in the Washington Post on January 27 entitled "Surrattsville High's
Richard Harris Quietly Carrying on the Basketball Legacy of His Uncle." We've pasted the story below. (A
nice video accompanying the story can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/video/2010/01/22/VI2010012204892.html.)
"As Richard Harris attempted a jump shot during a game earlier this month, stroking the ball toward the
basket with his right hand, two of his biggest fans turned to each other with a similar thought.
Man, does that look familiar," Michelle Bias-Harris said to her father, James Bias, remembering a shooting
motion displayed on local high school courts nearly 30 years ago. "He looked just like his uncle out there."
Like his late uncle, Len Bias, Richard Harris has a bright smile and loves his time on the basketball court.
Now in his third season as a starting forward for Surrattsville High, the 6-foot-3 Harris is averaging a team-
leading 14.2 points per game and hoping for a college scholarship. After winning just one game last
season, the Hornets are 11-4 and aiming for a long playoff run.
But unlike his uncle, whose legacy remains a part of the area's basketball identity, Richard Harris has
enjoyed his success in relative anonymity. Outside his inner circle of friends and family, few talk to the 17-
year-old about the fact that his mother's brother was the former Northwestern High and University of
Maryland star widely regarded as the best player this basketball-rich area has ever produced. His cocaine-
induced death occurred two days after he was the second overall draft pick in the 1986 NBA draft, a
tragedy recently chronicled in the ESPN documentary "Without Bias."
"We've been flying under the radar on purpose -- let him be, let him grow," Bias-Harris said. "I don't run
around telling people I'm Len Bias's sister, I don't broadcast it. They didn't know until the documentary
came out [this past fall]. We're just trying to live without a lot of hoopla. We don't want to have to explain it
and relive it over again."
It's In His DNA. It is an unusual dynamic. When Richard Harris struggles or wonders about his basketball
ability, his parents or grandparents have a simple response, reminding him of his lineage.
"That's what is in you," Harris said they tell him, cracking a smile because he has heard the phrase so
often.
"Absolutely, it's in his DNA," Bias-Harris said. "He has it, it's up to him."
The suggestion doesn't seem to faze Harris. Although he has two pictures of his uncle on a wall in his
bedroom -- one dunking, one in his white suit on draft day -- and occasionally checks out old videos on
YouTube, Harris never knew his uncle. Harris was born six years after Len Bias died. Nor did he meet
another uncle who also excelled at basketball; Jay Bias was shot and killed in 1990 following an argument
at a shopping mall.
"There's no pressure at all," said Harris, whose main concern is earning a college basketball scholarship,
noting that American and Elon have shown interest.
Still, some see a resemblance between Harris and his famous uncle. Teammate Louis Simpson
remembered a stranger approaching Harris while he was working out and asking if he was related to Bias.
"He could tell by the way [Richard] played," Simpson said. "Len Bias used to take that little jumper at the
foul line. So does Richard, that's his favorite shot."
"Watch the kid play and he's very athletic," said Fairmont Heights Coach George Wake, who coached Len
and Jay Bias on Amateur Athletic Union teams but was unaware of their relationship to Harris.
"Richard is more like Jay than Lenny when it comes to athletic ability -- kind of undersized but comes at
you hard. Lenny had the desire, but he also had the pure athletic ability to beat you. That's not bad,
because Jay was a pretty darned good player, too."
I Didn't Even Know Him. Harris spent his first 1-1/2 years of high school at St. Mary's Ryken before
transferring to Surrattsville during his sophomore year. He was a prolific scorer last season, three times
scoring more than 30 points but not enjoying it very much. He considered transferring as the Hornets went
1-19.
"When the losses started piling up, it's like, what's the point of selling out and trying to play ball when
nobody else is doing that?" Harris said. "But I wasn't going to leave in the middle of the season."
Nor did he leave after the season. This year, as a tribute to Len, Harris wears No. 34 for Surrattsville home
games and No. 30 for its road games, the jersey numbers that his uncle wore at Maryland and
Northwestern, respectively.
Harris is the oldest of four children. Younger brother Jaylen, named for his late uncles, is a 6-4, 270-pound
freshman at Surrattsville whom his parents believe has plenty of athletic potential. The boys have a 10-
year-old sister, Kathryn, and a 9-year-old brother, Myles, who already wears a size-11 shoe.
But while Jay Bias spoke of the pressure in following his brother's path, Richard Harris said his situation as
the oldest member of the Bias family's next generation is quite different.
"There's not pressure at all, living up to it," he said. "I didn't even know him."
Bias was known for his ability to do nearly anything on the basketball court -- his nephew has watched
countless video clips of the highlight of Bias scoring, stealing and then nailing a reverse dunk to avoid a
defender. Harris, on the other hand, has succeeded mainly because of his hustle and defensive play.
Basketball did not come naturally for Harris, who has always been among the tallest boys in his class. Only
with a determination and competitive nature that reminds his mother of her brother Jay has Harris gotten to
this point.
"Last year, he had to do a lot of scoring for us because he was the beginning and the end, but this year
with a balanced attack, he understands his position as a senior," Surrattsville Coach Roderick Moore said,
noting that Harris averaged 19 points per game last season. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was
to be playing at Comcast Center on the 13th [of March] in that final [Maryland 1A] game at 1 o'clock. He
understands that. He leads by example."
[Ed Note: Go Hornets!]
19. ... AND MORE WASHINGTON POST COVERAGE OF SURRATTS. Some of you also may have seen
this nice article about Surratts by Charity Brown in the January 29 Post (and the rest of you are bound to
get hungry reading it):
"Health Heroes Dish Up Nutritious Food at Clinton High School. As a substitute teacher in Prince George's
County, Kim Carrington, 44, has stepped up to the head of a lot of different classes, from kindergarten to
high school French. But it was the food and nutrition class she taught at Surrattsville High in Clinton that
came to mind when she got an e-mail one day about grants available from a nonprofit organization called
Youth Service America.
This is a subject dear to Carrington's heart. "I taught my kids to cook, and most of them love cooking," she
said. "I've always wanted to show other kids and families how to cook their own foods and eat good,
healthy foods." And YSA was offering 300 grants nationwide for youth-oriented projects including ones
aimed at combating childhood obesity.
Carrington applied and won $1,000 for a "Health Heroes" program at Surrattsville. "This is the first time I've
applied for a grant to 'make it happen' and we got it!" she said.
Health Heroes kicked off last Tuesday morning with a cooking class. The students learned alternative
recipes for two familiar foods: sweet potatoes and collard greens. Instead of cooking the collards with pork,
the students used chicken bouillon, olive oil, onions and garlic. Instead of candying the sweet potatoes, the
students julienned them, then baked them with a little olive oil and cinnamon.
Student Jakija Hargrove loved the greens -- "I can't even tell the difference between those cooked with
pork and these" -- but she wasn't a fan of the baked sweet potatoes.
That evening, the cooks served their creations at a service program connected to the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr. holiday. Then came part two of a healthy lifestyle: exercise. But instead of a gym-class workout,
they got gospel line dancing.
Gospel singer Christopher Page taught them the "Sanctified Slide": First you "walk in the spirit," then
"shake the devil off," "stomp Satan lower" and "dance like David." The whole group worked off what little
food they had eaten.
Carrington said the program will continue once a month until April."
[Ed. Note: There's a great photo gallery that accompanied the story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/gallery/2010/01/26/GA2010012601192.html.]
20. ACHIEVEMENT AWARD NOMINEES SOUGHT. This is the time of year when the Foundation Board
seeks nominees for the Foundation's annual Achievement Awards. Photos and bios of past years'
absolutely outstanding Achievement Award recipients can be found on the Foundation's web site at http:
//www.surrattsville.org/achievement/index.shtml. If you know of a member of the Surrattsville community
who you would like to nominate for a 2010 Award, please send me an email at hsmith@smithdowney.com.
21. CLINTON DISTRICT V "COFFEE CLUB" TO MEET WITH LT. GOVERNOR. On Wednesday,
February 3, at 9 a.m., the Clinton's very active District V Coffee Club with meet with Lieutenant Governor
Anthony Brown, who will outline the proposed FY 2011 State budget, and discuss how it protects funding
for key priority areas, including public education, jobs creation, public safety and environmental
protection. For additional information, contact alive@districtvcoffeeclub.com.
I hope this e-Notice finds you enjoying a lovely winter of 2010!
All the best, Henry Smith (71)
In Memoriam
CHARLOTTE SHULTZ. To our old friends in the Surrattsville community, we must sadly share with you the
news of the passing of our mother Charlotte Shultz on December 7, 2009. Mom and Dad moved to Surratts
Gardens in 1967 and sent three sons – Paul ‘68, Tom ‘71 and John ’80 – to Surrattsville High School. Dad
died in 2004 and Mom continued to live in their home until last spring when it was necessary for her to
move to Connecticut into a lovely assisted home where she succumbed peacefully after a short illness at
age 82. She was laid to rest with our father, M/Sgt. Earl Shultz, USAF, on December 21 in a beautiful
ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Mom was a generous and enthusiastic supporter of all things
Hornet, including fundraising, and attended countless musical, dramatic, sporting and special events, PTA
meetings and/or anything her sons were involved in at school. She also proudly voted at the polling place
at the high school for over 40 years. We will greatly miss our Mom as we continue to mourn the passing
of Dad. The Shultz Sons