Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Phil, I vaguely remember the little handbook we received, but I have to admit my Effie and half of my E-Flat years are a blur. I was in shock and didn't fully immerse myself into the Walnut Hills experience until I received my Freshman beanie. My favorite classes were music, so I suppose I should remember. 

One of the reasons I most likely have forgotten Semper Fideles is that at sometime in my early choral performances, I learned and sang the alma maters from ALL of the CPS high schools ( there were six at the time - Withrow, Walnut Hills, Western Hills, Hughes, Woodward, Central) as well as the service hymns from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard. 

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Finally got to the Virtual Tour. My jaw dropped and stayed there for the entire tour. I am so proud, even though my contribution darned close to zero. I am proud to have known the people we have become, even though high school may have been just a part of the whole. 

Mary Vore (Iwamoto)

I was also very impressed by the virtual tour!  As another bleeding heart, I have to agree with Janet Wood Mitchell on how fortunate we are to have had an education at WHHS vs what too many others have.  I love to read - and vary from the regular crime mystery (just began reading Jo Nesbo, set in Oslo) to the historical River of Doubt (Candice Millard) about Teddy Roosevelt's near fatal exploration of this tributary to the Amazon River, to the fantasy story, The Snow Child (Eowyn Ivey).  Would love to learn of other really good books!

Philip Spiess

Judy:  About your daughter and her family losing their luggage en route to Cleveland.  Remember the story of the man who goes up to the ticket desk at the airport and says, "I'd like to book a ticket to Hawai'i for myself, and I'd like to send my luggage to Seattle."  "I'm sorry, sir," says the clerk, "we cannot do that."  "Why not?"  says the man; "You did it two weeks ago!"

Philip Spiess

Larry:  Reading faces, particularly at cards, is a very ancient but very fine art not to be belittled.  I even found it effective in teaching (well, particularly at "Back to School" Nights, reading parents -- and at Parent/Teacher conferences:  "What seems to be the problem, Mr. Spiess?" they'd ask, and I'd respond, "Well, I think the problem is apparent!").  Also, I'm curious as to what comics are in the Cincinnati paper these days (particularly the classics).  As to getting old, as a colleague of mine used to say:  "Old age ain't for sissies!"

Philip Spiess

Ann:  I, too, had to learn all of the Cincinnati high school alma maters (though I'm not sure why or when -- possibly for a city-wide choral concert as we occasionally had at Cincinnati Gardens).  Somewhere my sister or I may actually have the sheet music for all of them; at any rate, we both remember most of the words and music (except for Central High School, which I don't remember at all).

The Woodward High School alma mater, the most recent of the ones we learned, because the new Woodward was the most recent high school built in our time (although it was the oldest high school by founding in Cincinnati, which is why the statue of William Woodward was moved to the corner by the new school; the second [old] Woodward High School building downtown became Abigail [?] Cutter Junior High, with our classmate Jim Stillwell's father as principal), was written by Merrill B. Van Pelt, at that time supervisor of band music for the Cincinnati Public Schools.  He had been long-time band director at Walnut Hills, and still came back each year when we were there to help direct "The Walnuts."  Mr. Van Pelt was a man of both infinite girth and geniality; we were always glad to see him, but because of his great size (which he wore gracefully), we called him "Mr. Van Belt" behind his back.

Dexter Roger Dixon

Ann:  In keeping with more of your choral memories, yesterday I heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's version of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" -- it reminded me of the all-city high school choruses singing that at the Gardens.  What a thrilling performance to have participated in.

Phil -- as to what I'm reading.  I just finished Jessye Norman's wonderful memoir "Stand Up Straight and Sing".  I'm in the middle of several books including Justice Paul Stevens' book on his proposed changes to the Constitution entitled, "Six Amendments"; as well as a book on the history of puns called, "The Pun Also Rises" and  bios on the Elizabethan poet, playwright and spy, called "Christopher Marlowe," and the French troubadour, Jacques Brel, entitled, "La Vie Bohème."  There are a few other books as well, but these give you the breadth of my reading these days.

Philip Spiess

Dexter:  Yes!  As I was writing Ann about the choral presentations at Cincinnati Gardens, I was thinking of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (and I know the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rendition, with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, well); it must have been done our Junior or Senior year, the whole thing conducted by Mr. Leroy [?] Wilson, supervisor of choral music in the Cincinnati Public Schools.  I was in band by that time, so we must have added an orchestral support to the singing (at the same concert, six high school bands simultaneously performed Dvorak's "New World" Symphony).

Don't know Jessye Norman's book, but love her singing. A little nervous about changes to the Constitution (though we could maybe use some changes to the Supreme Court, which apparently doesn't know it's not supposed to be political).  I may actually have the book, The Pun Also Rises (not by Hemingway, who's never struck me as particularly humorous), though, if I do, I haven't read much of it.

As to Christopher Marlowe, a fascinating guy -- he was so out there with his homosexuality, even for the period, and then there's the whole spy bit!  (You know, I assume, that there's a whole school of thought that he really didn't die, but went under cover -- and wrote most of Shakespeare's plays!  Not that I believe that; my mentor at Stratford in the 1960s, Stanley Wells, supreme Shakespeare scholar, fully believes that Shakespeare wrote all of the plays.)

My most recent reading has been on the life, career, and murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury during Henry II's reign, namely Thomas a Beckett -- as well as on the subsequent relics and pilgrimage routes connected with him (cf., Chaucer's Canterbury Tales).  As a historian currently studying the more arcane aspects of Christianity, I'm into the history of relics and pilgrimages.

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Phillip, I recall a Cincinnati Gardens performance of The Battle Hymn of the Republic as an all city school extravaganza while in sixth grade. My brother was a sophomore at Withrow at the time. He studied clarinet at CCM  and was in the famed Smitty's Band, the Withrow orchestra and played in a small jazz combo with a few of his friends. My brother was selected for the all city orchestra and I was in the grade school choir. That was the first and only time we performed together. There were more people performing than audience. 

The all city band played an original piece. I don't remember the name, but it was a direct rip off of Richard Rogers' Victory At Sea. The melody was slightly different but the orchestration was exactly the same. 

Sharon Baum (Covitz)

I was blown away by the virtual tour.  WHHS is truly rising to the highest. Thank you for sharing.

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

I just talked to my brother who said he thinks he still has the record of the All City performance at the Cincinnati Gardens.  He couldn't remember the name of that piece played by the orchestra, but concurs that it was similar to Victory At Sea but different. He will see if he can find the record.

Doug Gordon

Phil, I mostly read science and history with a smattering of fiction. My most recent good science book was "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe."

My best fiction read this year has been Philipp Meyer's "The Son" (his "American Rust" was also very good). His prose reminds me a bit of Cormac McCarthy, whose books I only read when I'm in a dark mood :-). Ever read McCarthy's "The Road?" Whew!

As for historical fiction, the best I've ever read is Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, and in fact I'm slowly working my way through the 19-book canon that starts with "Master and Commander" for the third time, enjoying it more with each rereading (something I rarely do).

By the way, anyone here on Goodreads.com? It's a nice way to track what you've read and plan to read. And my to-read list is still growing faster than I can knock them off, as I notice that I've slowed down as a reader just as with most everything else I do these days.

Doug Gordon

By the way, if I recall correctly, I was in Mrs. Murphy's choir in the 9th and 10th grades, and one of those years we went to one of those big choral performances at the Gardens. I seem to remember the big finale as being the Hallelujah Chorus and that we got an LP record of the whole thing back in those pre-tape, pre-CD, pre-MP3, pre-streaming days. But I was mainly in the choir due to maternal pressure and don't remember that much about it.

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

Dexter and Ann - Some of my happiest memories are of the time spent singing and in Choir.  Do you remember May Festival when we sang that original composition by someone that had no tune?  I think it was about rain?

Dexter Roger Dixon

Barbara:  Ann and I mentioned this song, "Rainy Day" earlier in our correspondence on this website.  It was written for our choir by Michael Kyte-Powell who had some sort of grant to compose for us.  He substituted a few times in choir and got some royal ribbing from the guys esp. the 1st basses.  I only remember the song talked about "sitting in the kitchen drinking fresh made tea' and had an endless chorus of "drip, drip, drip".  We sang it with the symphony under the direction of Haig Yahgian who was the asst. conductor under Max Rudolf.  It was a DREADFUL piece!!!!!!!!!!!

Philip Spiess

Ann:  6th Grade, eh?  Seems way early to me, but it's always possible that they repeated it later, or that I'm going senile.  Or that I'm going senile.  Or that I'm going senile.  But I forget what I was going to say.

I remember Smitty well.  In addition to being band director at Withrow, he, of course, conducted Smitty's Band (as had his father and grandfather before him -- the family plot in Spring Grove Cemetery is marked by a large and impressive stone musical lyre as monument); we used to hear the band play during the summer band concerts every Thursday night during the summer in Burnet Woods Park in Clifton.  The other two bands that alternated with Smitty were Tiemeyer's Band (Herbert Tiemeyer was a trumpeter with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) and Esberger's Band (Walter Esberger as a band conductor went back to the 1920s, and maybe earlier, in Cincinnati).  Occasionally Deke Moffett's band would play; he was a local musician and composer who wrote the well-known children's song, "Little Red Caboose Behind the Train" (often performed on that late 1940s-early 1950s children's radio show originating out of Cincinnati, "Big John and Sparky" -- Okay, guys:  how many of you remember Saturday morning children's radio shows before the new television technology became current in most households, circa 1952-1953?).

Doug:  Your reading sounds very interesting, particularly the Rare Earth book.  I'm familiar with none of what you're reading, but much of it sounds worth looking into. 

Dexter:  "Rainy Day" does indeed sound dreadful.  I prefer "Good Day, Sunshine."

Judy:  Heard any more strange whistles outside of your house lately?

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

My memories of Girls' Chorus are the antithesis of those that everyone, with the exception of Doug Gordon, has posted about Choir. I believe that my foray into Mrs. Murphy's class was in the 9th grade. I remember when the time came for our first all-school performance in the auditorium, she pulled me aside and requested that I mouth the words to the songs, and she would give me a "B" for doing that. I told her that I would want an "A". So, I did not mouth the words, and I got an "A"! An early lesson in my life to Question Authority.

JoAnn Dyson (Dawson)

I've just begun to read these postings in fits and starts.  What memories are beomg jogged along with reminders of some that were lost (the big time "senioritis").  And the Virtual Tour is so amazing.  The orchestra has gone so far from when I was in it.  I think I'd have to practice for hours for the rest of my life to even turn a page for any member of the orchestra.  And a jazz group!

Someone said in an earlier post that so many schools today don't come close to the level of Walnut Hills.  Yes, I am really grateful to have had this experience.

Looking forward to more treasures in these comments.  All the best to everyone.

JoAnn Dyson (Dawson)

PS  Hi to all but especially to Ann Shephard, Dexter Dixon and Joy Page.  Good to know you are out there.
 

Philip Spiess

Gail:  Wow.  Mrs. Murphy asked you to mouth the words?  That's like Mr. Knab asking me not to take the Modern European History AP exam!  (I thought these teachers were all supposed to be our supporters, but a lot is coming out after 50 years!)  In our fraternity at Hanover College, when we would serenade the sororities (Laura Pease, take note), those guys who couldn't sing worth a damn were told to mouth the words; they were known as "Lippers."  Fortunately, those guys who could really sing (probably had been in Choir in high school) could actually fill out the singing with harmony, so we squeaked (well, not our singing) through! 

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

Phil: Did you take the Modern European History AP exam?

Philip Spiess

Damn right!  I remember an essay question about the Versailles Treaty, ending World War I.  My response was something to the effect that:  "Woodrow Wilson of the United States thought that the problem was '14 Points, openly arrived at.'  Lloyd George of Great Britain thought that the problem was how to return to the status quo, with Britain in charge.  Orlando of Italy thought that the problem was how to get a good deal for Italy.  And Clemenceau of France thought that the problem was Woodrow Wilson."  (This is probably why Mr. Knab was unhappy about my taking the test.)  [See Page 6, Comment #133, for more detail on my run-in with him.]

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

JoAnn, it's good to see your comments on the. Message Forum. It's always good to have input from yet another classmate to broaden our collective memory. 

Phil, there may have been more than one Cincinnati Gardens all-city concerts but I remember the first one I was in, just by the fact my brother was in it too.  By our junior or senior year (62-63), he was stationed at Bitburg Air Force Base.

I do need to correct an earlier statement about his participation. Upon further conversation with my brother to check whether he could find the 331/3 record of the event, he told me the piece the orchestra played that evening was not a Victory At Sea rip off after all.  My brother told me that the "SEA" reference initially threw him too but the piece they played that night was a rip off of Jean Sibelius' Finlandia.  The title was SEA-something. He's still searching for the record. 

Nancy Messer, your mention of the person calling the pharmacy who didn't have a clue about Socrates reminded me of the old joke about the jazz musician who discovered he enjoyed classical music. He went into a record store to purchase a recording of Finlandia.  When asked who the composer was, he replied, " It's by that hip dude GENE SY- BEEL-YUS".

Doug Gordon

My memories of choir are not all negative. I actually enjoyed singing as a group, but what petrified me was when Mrs. Murphy would go down the row and judge each of us individually, singing our part solo. I was self-conscious enough as it was, but my voice (at least to my ears) was one long quavering ordeal.

But to this day, whenever I hear Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus," I can sing the tenor part right along with them (assuming I'm alone at the time!).

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Phil - yes, I still hear that flutey sound. Right now, as a matter of fact, and it sounds louder than usual.... But it's the air-raid sirens that bother me more now. Our "cousins" in Gaza started shelling Beer Sheva, a city of about 250,000, a couple of days ago. We have 60 seconds to get to a "safe" place. Happily, my safe place is the room where my computer is! That was chance, not my superb WHHS education, by the way.