Dreux American High School
Alumni Association Newsletter
June 2021
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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT |
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OFF WITH THE MASKS, ON WITH THE REUNION!
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Greetings Dreuxites!
The past 14 plus months have been dampened by Covid-19 but the USA is turning the corner and the masks are coming off. I am sure that all of you will be glad to put this behind us and move on to see family and friends. What better way to celebrate than a trip to New Orleans to visit old classmates from the incredible experiences we shared at Dreux American High School!
Carol and I went back to Dreux before it was leveled and converted into a water conservation and solar project. It was odd looking at the destroyed classrooms with writing on the blackboards as if a class was just dismissed. The difference was that it looked like that as students left they threw their desks and belongings around and then let the rain and weather take their toll. The buildings were empty shells or crumbled and every part of them that could be used elsewhere such as doors, windows, most railings, and stairs were gone. At the time the area was used for grazing sheep and the ground between the buildings was covered with sheep droppings and blank shotgun shells used to scare off predators and herd the sheep.
It was a very different view compared to the vibrant activity that occurred while the area was Our Place for a few short years (1960-1966). The location of Dreux American High School from our youth has changed—what places haven’t? But one thing that has not changed are the memories that we have of Dreux. We are all different and came from locations as close as Dreux, France to as far as distant lands in North Africa and Afghanistan. With different backgrounds, from different places, and with different friends and times spent at Dreux, it is only natural that we will have different memories of our high school years at Dreux.
Over the years I have learned that my memories are not the same as even those closest to me (including my wife, Carol, who spent 4 years with me at Dreux). The common bond we do share, however, is our time at Dreux. Not even 2 decades after World War II, we were in Europe at a dynamic time and could see the world (and ourselves) evolve as Americans as we lived through the cold war; assassination of President Kennedy; the beginning of the Vietnam war, which took too many of our classmates; and other world shattering events.
Keep your memories alive and hear about those of other Dreuxites as we interact at the reunion in 2022. More information about the location, times, costs, and activities are included in this newsletter. I look forward to seeing all of you there, hearing your memories, sharing mine, and learning more about your lives.
Go Vikings!!
Paul R. Krausman
President, Dreux American High School Association
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Dreux American High School
All Class/All School Reunion
March 28-30, 2022
Astor Crown Plaza New Orleans French Quarter
739 Canal Street
New Orleans, LA
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2022 DAHS REUNION!
Registration Fees:
Registration Fee (if register and pay on or before 12/1/2021) $250.00 per person
Registration Fee (if register and pay on or after 12/1/2021 ) $275.00 per person
Partial Registration Fees (if you can only attend a portion of the reunion)
Monday Only - Dinner and Teen Club (Hospitality Suite) $100.00 per person
Tuesday Only - Dinner/Dance and Teen Club (Hospitality Suite) $125.00 per person
Registration may be paid by either credit card or check. Click button below to register.
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Hotel Information:
Astor Crown Plaza New Orleans French Quarter
Discounted Room Rate: $139.00 plus 16.20% tax + $2.00 per night for single/double
Note: Taxes are subject to change)
The discounted hotel room rate will be available until March 4, 2022 or until the room block is sold out, whichever comes first
The discounted hotel room rate covers early arrival of March 26, 2022 to late departure on March 31, 2022 in case you would like to come in early or stay an extra day.
To make your hotel reservations by phone: 877-408-9661 (toll-free) or call Hotel directly at 504-962-0500
NOTE: If calling to make your hotel reservations, you must mention Group Code DRZ or tell them you are attending the Dreux American HS Reunion to get the discounted group rate
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Book NOW to insure you get the discounted rate! Rooms in our limited block will go quickly.
Other reunion information, including a general schedule of activities, is available on our Dreux website.
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James Albert Hooper, IV - Dreux American High School, Class of 1965
Following graduation, I received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy and flew back to the USA after 4 years living in England and France and was sworn in the day after I landed. While there I was joined by Terry Foust, DAHS Class of 1967, and Ed Langston, who graduated as my classmate.
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After commissioning, my career as a Surface Warfare Officer began and stretched out over 26 years including 18 years of sea duty and highlighted by three command at sea tours. I retired as a Captain in 1995.
After living in various states on both the East and West coasts, as well as two tours in Hawaii, our family chose Pensacola, Florida (Gulf Breeze) to retire and begin our transition to the civilian world.
My wife, Anne, and our kids settled in to a new job (teacher) and schools and I went back to college pursuing a masters degree, MPA 1996, and later a second masters degree, MA 2004, at the University of West Florida.
I worked for Escambia County Commission as a division chief in the Engineering and Growth Management Departments for 4 years and one year for the City of Ocala, Florida, as Head, Office of Program Management.
Deciding to not move to Ocala from Gulf Breeze, I decided to get certified as a teacher, eventually becoming certified in four subject areas, and taught and did substitute teaching over the next 17 years.
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I stayed active in several volunteer projects including Habitat for Humanity, volunteer interpreter for the National Park Services (using my History Masters Degree), U. S. Naval Academy Information Officer (Blue and Gold Officer working with candidates seeking appointments to USNA), and Guardian Ad Litem, Florida First Judicial Circuit.
With Anne now retired and our children with their own families and living close enough to visit them often, we are ready to enjoy retirement.
As I think of our shared experiences as Overseas Brats, I really enjoy and appreciate the memories and the bonds of friendship and community we forged as boarding students. I feel very lucky to have benefited and learned from some extraordinary teachers and really fun and interesting fellow students, each with fascinating backgrounds and experiences.
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A Very Special Event Happened January 21, 2021! |
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A very special event took place on January 21, 2021!
A Zoom call was arranged by Doug Blankinship '64 with Coach Gregory Apkarian who turned 90 that week. As a surprise to Coach, several members of the USAREUR COM-Z Championship football team from the 1963/64 school year as well as two of the cheerleaders from that year participated in the Zoom call.
Team members in attendance were: Doug Blankinship '64, Raymond Posey '65, Steve Felice '65, Ed Langston '64, Sam Goodrich, Stephen Roath '65, and Randy Clarke '65.
The team members wore a shirt, tie and sports jacket in honor of Coach's fixation on the Dreux brand. Cheerleaders attending the Zoom call were: Kathy Riley (Dyer) '64 and Stacey Thompson '64.
Each person spoke and was able to let Coach Apkarian know how their lives have gone since leaving Dreux as well as tell some fun stories from that year. Much more importantly, they each were able to express to him how special he was to them as a coach, teacher and mentor and how he helped shape their lives in a very positive way and thank him.
Even though Coach Apkarian, who had a previous bout with lung cancer, is facing cancer again (this time inoperable), he remembered everyone and had some fun stories himself.
Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Coach at the end of the call (or at least tried to...it was pretty funny..Zoom doesn't lend itself to group singing very well ) I think Coach had a great time.
Thanks to Doug Blankinship for the wonderful idea and making this happen as well as everyone that could attend on fairly short notice.
To say the least, it was very emotional for all involved.
Apologies to those they tried to get in touch with but couldn't connect with in time.
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Sadly, we discovered the loss of some of our fellow classmates and one of our former teachers since the last newsletter in December. I was able to locate obituaries on several of those listed below and they can be accessed in the "In Memoriam" section of our Dreux website.
Faculty/Staff:
Mary T. Roberty (September 2019)
Alumni:
Class of '61
Maurice "Mo" Smith (May 2021)
Class of '64
Phil Gabler (April 2021)
Pat MacTaggart (2020)
Class of '65
Michael Grabowski (May 2021)
Class of '68
Wayne Richard Godfrey (March 2021)
Our sincere condolences to all their families and friends!
A full list of those that have passed along with links to many obituaries are available on the Dreux website.
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WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT! |
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Dues are $40/yr and are based on a calendar year. You can pay for one year or for multiple years if you would like to do so.
The Dreux website reflects those that have paid dues for 2021. For those that have paid for multiple years, that is reflected on the list as well so you will know how far out your dues are paid.
Please remember that you can pay dues by using a credit card. Just visit our Dreux AHS website at www.dreuxalumni.org
If you prefer to pay by check, you can send your Dues payment to our Treasurer:
Marilyn Hutto Turner '62
2015 Mount Forest Dr.
Kingwood, TX 77345
Dues paying members will receive a copy of our current Dreux AHS Alumni Directory via email.
As always, we GREATLY appreciate any and all support! Your support is what keeps our association going and helps fund the costs to find former classmates, maintain the database, website, newsletters, pre-reunion costs, etc. We can't do it without you!
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UPDATING YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION |
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As always, if your contact information has changed (i.e. email address, postal address, area code or telephone number) and you haven't notified me, please email that information to Vicki Key. I want to be sure that your contact information is correct in the Dreux AHS Alumni Directory and that we don't lose touch with you! |
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COME JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! |
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The Dreux American High School Group page on Facebook has been a lot of fun! We have 567 members in the group right now. Former friends have reconnected, people have uploaded photos from Dreux, and are having general discussions about the time spent at Dreux. We also do New Find Alerts when we locate former classmates that have not yet been found as well as Sad News Alerts when we discover that former classmates or faculty/staff members have passed.
I have the group as a closed group so that only those people associated with Dreux are involved. If you are interested in joining us, just use the "request to join" feature on the FB Group Page or send me a friend request and I would be happy to add you!
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Missed a prior Dreux AHS Newsletter?
You can view them on the Dreux website
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In case you missed receiving any of the past Dreux AHS Newsletters for whatever reason, they are archived and available to view on our Dreux AHS website. There is a link on the front page of the website to access them.
PLEASE remember that you can always opt out of receiving the newsletter if you would like, but PLEASE do not tag or report it as SPAM. That really hurts our ability to continue to do these newsletters using Constant Contact and there are many people who enjoy getting them. We certainly hope you don't opt out, but it is certainly your choice. I try not to overwhelm everybody with them, but keep in mind that just prior to Reunions, we may do them more than we normally do.
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Dreux AHS Alumni Association Board of Directors
President Paul Krausman ‘64
Vice President Nonna Mann Carlson '64
Treasurer Marilyn Hutto Turner '62
Secretary Shari Murphy Koziol’64
Alumni Affairs Vicki Key ’67
Advisory Board Member Carol Hutto Krausman '64
Advisory Board Member Sally Downing Thomas '64
Immediate Past President Charles Brantley ’68
2022 Reunion Coordinator Helen Council Miles ’61
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Dreux American High School was open from 1960-1967. The first graduating class was 1961. The school closed in January of 1967. We have a very active Alumni Association. There have been 10 major reunions reunions since that first get-together organized by Reunions Unlimited in Dallas in 1993. The last reunion was held in April of 2019 in San Antonio, TX. We are looking forward to Reunion 2022 in New Orleans!
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2120 31st Street
Lubbock, TX 79411
(806) 747 8791
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