THIS IS SURRATTS FOUNDATION E-NOTICE 2011-12 as of December 1, 2011 Hello Hornets: Here are some items that might be of interest: 1.  2011 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN HEADS INTO FINAL MONTH ON RECORD PACE!    With a month to go, our 2011 Annual Campaign continues on a record-shattering pace!  Donors may contribute online at www. surrattsville.org (by paypal or credit card), or by mail using the donor form pasted below (which also is available on the web site). Thanks to the many generous 2011 donors listed below, and thanks in advance to our readers considering contributing to this year's campaign! 2.  FOUNDATION FUNDS AWARDS FOR FACULTY WINNERS OF ACCREDITATION CHALLENGE.  Last month, the Foundation was proud to fund awards for the faculty team that won a recent accreditation challenge at the School.  Congratulations to these outstanding Surrattsville educators! 3.  SEARCH THE WEB AND SUPPORT THE FOUNDATION.  Some of our readers use the goodsearch. com web search function to do their web searching, and by doing so generate automatic contributions by goodsearch.com to the Foundation.  To use goodsearch.com as your search engine and to designate the Foundation as the beneficiary of donations by goodsearch.com, simply by going to goodsearch.com and, at the "Choose Your Cause" button enter "Surrattsville Foundation" (and that will take you to a page that says "Surrattsville High School Foundation (Baltimore – MD)" (the mailing address for the Foundation. Thanks for considering this painless, and free, way to support the Foundation every time you search the web! 4.  MEMORIES OF SURRATTS CHOIRS.  We received these emails in response to the item in the last e- Notice about Surrattsville's vocal ensembles: "I recall that Sandra Willets had us sing Frackenpohl’s “Prayer” at the end of each concert, especially at the end of each concert on the European concert tour we did during the summer of 1970 as “The Surratts Singers,” but I have forgotten the lyrics.  I’d love to buy a CD of the concert referred to in the last e-Notice.   I have a whole album of black and white photos from that European concert tour.  I should scan them and email them to you as a pdf file since it was such a big event for the music department back in 1970.  There might be some alums who would like to see them.  All the best,  Sandra Smith Simmons (70)" [Ed. Note:  We'd love to have photos, and audio and video recordings in any media, of Surrattsville's various musical ensembles, for addition to the Foundation's archives.] "Speaking of Charlie Waddell, his dad is still living in Princeton WV.  98 years young!  Greg Laxton (80)" "Sandra Willetts is now living in The Villages in Florida.   Regards, Patti Powell Hannum (72)" 5.  UPDATE ON A MUSICAL EDUCATOR.  We received this update on long-time Surrattsville band teacher (and Class President of the Surrattsville Class of 57, if I recall correctly) Richard "Butch" Mortimer from Debbie Small Smith (82):  "I wanted to reach out to all of the Surratts alumni and let them know about the status of Mr. Mortimer, our famous band teacher for over 20 years.  Mr. Mortimer's daughter lives across the street from me.  Less than two years ago, Mr. Mortimer lost his wife of 48 years to breast cancer.  While his wife was battling cancer and days before her death, Mr. Mortimer had a stroke.  Since then, he has been living in an assisted living home in Waldorf with daily visits from his daughter (who is a nurse) and his grandchildren.  (My daughter is a barber and goes to the assisted living home to cut Mr. Mortimer's hair about every five weeks.)  I visited him recently, and his mind was incredibly sharp but his body just won't allow him to be independent.  The stroke left him completely paralyzed on his left side and he has a constant feeling of dizziness that will not allow him to sit up for more than an hour about two times a day.  While I was there visiting with him, all he wanted to talk about was his family and Surrattsville.  He has so many fun memories and I know he would love to hear from his former students.  I think he knew everyone -- even those who were not in the band, flags, or color guard.  Would you please reach out to everyone and ask them to send a card or even a picture of a fond memory with Mr. Mortimer?  He has touched so many lives and paid it forward, and I believe it would really touch his heart to hear from those he cared so much about.  His address is:  Richard Mortimer, 1106 Stone Avenue, Waldorf, MD   20602.  Thank you so much!  Debbie" [Ed note:  In addition to his extraordinary contributions to the rich musical history at Surrattsville, Mr. Mortimer also was a great fifth grade summer band teacher to folks like me in 1964!] 6.  SEEKING INFO ON COACH WILLIAM SMITH.  Mike Shema (65) is seeking contact info on former wrestling coach and geography teacher Bill Smith.  Please send Mike an email at lvshema@cox.net if you have any information that might be helpful. And Mike sent along these inspirational memories about the impact Coach Smith had on Mike during his time at Surrattsville:  "I was a manager for the wrestling team during Coach Smith's tenure.  I contracted juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when I was 12 and my time playing organized sports was done.  I have to confess to not taking that very well at all, and I was a very bitter and sullen young man for a number of years.  I didn't much care about school anymore.  It was Mr. Smith who took me under his wing and made me his "project."  I didn't know a damn thing about wrestling, but he taught me what to look for.  I kept notes on all the guys -- what a boon video must be to training now! -- and helped them with their diets and hung out with them when everyone else was gone when they were having a tough time making weight.   Coach Smith gave me a purpose.  He helped me care again.  If it wasn't for him, I doubt that I would have graduated.  He was truly a great guy.   (I know there are similar references out there with Coach Jenkins.  I didn't know him because he came along after my class.  However, I have heard some good things about him.)  Some teachers and coaches have that something special; they really care about the kids.  Mike" [Ed. Note:  Legendary Coach Lew Jenkins was awarded the Foundation's Achievement Award in 2010.  His bio and photo are available on the Achievement Award pages of the Foundation's web site at www. surrattsville.org, and his photo hangs in the new Legacy Hall at the School.  It sounds like Coach Smith had a very similar influence on his students and team members.] 7.  THE RE-TRIAL OF MARY SURRATT.  Some of our readers may have noticed that C-Span3 is featuring "The Re-Trial of Mary Surratt."  Here's the summary from the C-span.org web site:  "The April 1865 plot to assassinate President Lincoln was planned in part at a boarding house owned and operated by Mary Surratt. She was tried by a military tribunal, and sentenced to death and executed. A group of Chicago lawyers, judges and historians recently re-tried Mary Surratt as if in a civilian court, and left it to the audience to decide her guilt or innocence."  (The re-trial is available on youtube.com.) And some of our readers may have noticed that a photo of Mary Surratt appears on the cover of the new book "Killing Lincoln."  It appears that Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" stimulated lots of new interest in the fascinating Mary Surratt story! 8.  REQUEST FOR PRINCIPALS' PHOTOS FOR LEGACY WALL.  As noted in the last e-Notice, the Foundation is seeking photos of all of Surrattsville's Principals (since 1907!) to include on the new, Foundation-sponsored "Legacy Hall" at the School.  If you have any paper copies of photos of Principals that you would be willing to snail mail to us for scanning and a prompt return to you, please mail them to Henry Smith, 1 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 950, Towson, MD 21204.  If you have the ability to scan a digital copy of a Principal's photo – perhaps from your yearbook – please send me an email at hsmith@smithdowney.com so I can tell you if we already have that particular photo.  If we don't, and you could kindly scan the photo and email it to us that would be great.  (Especially if the scan is "high resolution," which is better for enlarging to 8 x 10 size for framing.) Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide with this latest Foundation project. 8.  FOLLOW-UP ON ITEM CONCERNING WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE FEATURING ALUM'S BAY- SAVING EFFORTS.  We received this email from Bruce Wood (70) in response to the item in the last e- Notice about him being featured in the Washington Post:  "Thanks for the recognition in the e-Notice.   Should any readers be interested in more detail on our efforts, they can google "Dragon Creek Oysters Bruce Wood."  This leads to a list of urls of programs in which Dragon Creek is involved.  Bruce" 9.  COLLECTED SCHOLARSHIP AND ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PHOTOS NOW ON WEB SITE.  We're delighted to report that the collected photos of all of the Foundation's Scholarship recipients and Achievement Award recipients (since 2000) are now accessible on one page on the web site by clicking the "Photos" button on the home page (at www.surrattsville.org).  Many thanks to our tireless volunteer web master, Mike Gifford (84), for this and for all of his continuing great work on the Foundation's web site. [Larger photos, and full bios, of those outstanding members of the Surrattsville community may be found by clicking the Scholarship and Achievement Award buttons on the web site.] 10.  FOUNDATION FACEBOOK PRESENCE CONTINUES TO GROW.  The Foundation's Facebook Group – called "Surrattsville Alumni" – continues to grow, and is now approaching 1300 members.  This is a great, and free, way for folks to stay in touch.  Similarly, the Class-specific Facebook Groups – that have names like "Surrattsville 1968," "Surrattsville 1969," "Surrattsville 1970,"  "Surrattsville 1973" and the like -- continue to grow.  Please consider joining the Surrattsville Alumni Group, and your own Class-specific Group, to get the latest news on alumni events. 11.  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. 12.  ALL CLASSES/FACULTY/STAFF DIRECTORIES AVAILABLE.  Thanks to the herculean work of Pat Becker Oles (71), the Foundation's 2000 Alumni/Faculty/Staff Directory has been updated for 2010, and now includes fascinating "what I'm up to" paragraphs from those who submitted directory information.  If you would like a copy of the Directory, send a $20 check payable to the Foundation to:  Henry Smith, One W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 950, Towson, MD 21204. 13.  "SURRATTSVILLE ALUMNI" WINDOW STICKERS AVAILABLE.  Pat Becker Oles (71) also kindly handles the Foundation's "Surrattsville Alumni" window stickers project.  Pat notes that the stickers are not the "static cling type," that stick to the inside of a window.  Instead, they are the "stick to the outside type," that can stick on a window or bumper, and use "repositional adhesive" (meaning no sticky residue).   Information about purchasing the stickers can be found on the web site at surrattsville.org. 14.  CLASS OF 97 PLANS REUNION.  The Class of 97 is busy planning its 15 year reunion for mid- summer 2012.    The Class has a web page at http://shs1997reunion.blogspot.com/2011/05/shs-class-of- 1997-2012-15yr-reunion.html.  Please contact Monica Crown at monicacrown@gmail.com if you would like information on the event or if you have any contact info for members of the Class of 97 or their families. Here's hoping your holiday season is off to a great start!  Henry Smith (71) IN MEMORIAM DAVE GEBHARDT (73) died on November 21, 2011.  Dave is survived by his wife, Connie Simpson Gebhardt (75).  A remembrance of Dave appears at http://www.brinsfieldfuneral. com/obituaries/dsp_files/dsp_viewobit.cfm?obit_ID=4134, and memories of Dave may be posted there, as well. Patti Maness Harris (73) shared these fond memories of Dave:  "As I recall, Dave was "Harvey Hubcap" of "Harvey Hubcap and the Doo Ron Rons".  He was an extremely handsome young man, and always had that blonde hair swept back and a big smile on his face. He was indeed the quintessential boy of summer and all the girls were just crazy about him.  I always remember Dave as a very happy, outgoing guy that everyone just adored.  He was always so full of life and the life of every crowd he was in. Dave was always surrounded by many people around the halls of Surrattsville because he had the kind of magnetism that drew people near and he had an infectious enthusiasm for life and good times.  My thoughts and prayers are with his family. I give thanks for having had the pleasure of knowing him once upon a time.  Patti" Neal Dawson (73) shared these fond memories of Dave:  "Dave was a great guy and we all will miss him very deeply. He was a sweet, shining light of coolness, fun, humor, warmth and graciousness in our class of 73, and indeed, to all those Hornets from many classes before and after ours who still remember him fondly.  I know everyone has a lot of great memories of Dave, no doubt, and he leaves us far too young and soon.  Not only do I remember him with many memories from Surrattsville and the reunions, but also with Harvey and the Hubcaps in the early 70s.  Neal"