Leland High School
Class of 1964
40th Year Reunion
July 16 – 18, 2004

Who was it that said “Life begins at 40”?  Well, whoever it was, boy, were they right!!!  The graduating class of 1964 held its 40th Year Reunion down on the beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast.  What a fantastic event!  Attendees were headquartered at the Imperial Palace Casino and Hotel.  It is a beautiful hotel and was central to all of the activities that unfolded over the weekend.  Rumor has it that some attendees had to pawn valuables (watches, rings, gold teeth, etc.) to get gas-money to make it back home.  However, one lucky scoundrel (James “Knutsey” Carolla) won enough money playing poker to buy a new truck!  I understand that Robert and Michelle Mosley did quite well also.  The rest of us just had bad luck at the casinos, but that’s better than no luck at all, right?!

A script writing party composed of Kathy Abraham, James Carolla, Lee Anna (Lampkin) and Larry Chandler, James and Brenda Santucci, and Benny and Paule Peel met Thursday night at the Blow Fly Inn in Gulfport to finalize plans for the weekend’s activities.  Special thanks to these people for putting together such a fun-filled weekend.

Official festivities kicked-off Friday afternoon with a “get together” at Mr. E’s lounge on the 32nd floor of the Imperial Palace.  Classmates of 1964 renewed old friendships and the “war stories” began in earnest.  As evening approached, the party moved to the Gumbo Shop in Biloxi for a Mardi Gras dinner party.  The party theme was “Krewe of Guess Who”.  The shop was decorated in a Mardi Gras paraphernalia and everyone was dressed up with Mardi Gras beads.  The atmosphere was festive and the Krewe was abuzz with excitement.

Of course, every Mardi Gras Krewe must have a King and Queen to rule the Court.  Now, this is where things really got interesting.  A long lost, wayward child of LHS came back from parts unknown to claim the King’s throne.  His Royal Highness Mike (Hayes) Smith was welcomed back to Mississippi, duly crowned King, and homage was paid by all members of the Court.  The Queen, ah the Queen!  Well, that’s another story in itself.  I don’t know what to say.  I don’t know how to say.  In fact, no one who was there knows what to say.  Was it the beauty, the majesty, the charm, or the grace?  No, it was none of the aforementioned attributes.  Pure and simple; it was raw Sex Appeal.  It was Rodney Denton Reed!  Yes, he is a Queen.  He is She and She is He!  Long live the Queen (but that’s not what the King said)!  I agree with the King; let’s have a recall on the Queen.  Don’t get me wrong; she’s not bad.  But, those hairy legs and that 5 o’clock shadow have got to go!  As part of the coronation, the King and Queen paraded through the Court tossing Mardi Gras beads to their bewildered subjects (lewd insults were hurled at the Queen).  What a riot!

After the howls of laughter subsided and order was restored in the kingdom, the Mistress of Ceremonies, Kathy Abraham, commanded the Court to play a game of Guess Who (similar to the old TV program “What’s My Line”).  The Mistress read anonymously submitted deeds of daring do, and members of the Court had to guess who had performed such deeds.  Deeds you say?  What deeds?  Well, see if you can guess who:

Still has lead in his butt from sitting on a pencil (but claims that’s not why he’s lazy!)
Landed a C5A in St. Petersburg, Russia (has to be a commie!)
Paid $130,000 for sex (what a pervert!)
Recorded music that has been aired on the radio (a real Cajun crooner!)
Was shipwrecked and marooned on a deserted island (and the sap claims to be a sailor?)
Hung 10,000 chickens in one day (must be a serial killer!)
Spent 3 weeks with astronauts at Kennedy Space Center (must be a sex maniac!)
Performed with Vince Vance and the Valiants (doing what; can the boy really sing?)
Teaches corporate etiquette (responsible for Martha Stewart, ENRON, and WorldCom!)
Traveled the world to attend women’s soccer matches (soccer mom gone stark raving mad!)
Washed a bull’s butt (picture that view!)
Became engaged to marry sight unseen (no, he’s not blind!)
Visited the Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef, the Alps, and saw a real live penguin in New Zealand (a dynamic duo too bored to stay at home; money to burn!)
Played music with Sonny & Cher and the Barnum & Bailey Circus (what a sideshow that must have been!)
Has 3 ¾ grandsons (figure that one out!)
Was robbed at gunpoint (a woman who doesn’t give it up easily!)
Drives a big truck to chase women (but needs a really fast car to catch one!).

Yes sports fans, these are truly deeds of daring do.  Did you guess who (ask someone who was there)?

The Mardi Gras dinner party concluded with drawings for “collectible” Pat O’Brien’s prizes furnished by Benny Peel.  Benny has connections with Pat O’Brien’s (yeah, the famous Hurricane).  After the dinner party, the King and Queen led their Court to a fireworks display at the President Casino.  The Court later moved inside for socializing, dancing, and some really cheap cigars.  Music was provided by Frankie and the Cruisers.  They were absolutely great.  They played all the great tunes from the days of real music (Elvis, Roy Orbison, The Ventures, etc.).  The only problem was, the lead singer “had a thing” for the Queen!  And, I think the Queen liked it!  Long live Queen Rodney (but, that’s not what the King said)!  What a night!

Saturday began with breakfast and beignets at historic Mary Mahoney’s in Biloxi.  I’ve never heard so many “Do you remember”, “I remember that”, “That wasn’t me”, “You’re making that up”, and “Oh yes you did” in my life.  Of course, all those stories are true (double-daters finding a dead man in a ditch, dances at the armory in Greenville, shampoos in the toilet, pep rallies, beautiful majorettes, pajama parties, Miss Smith’s English class, library period, the CountDowns, getting egged, color coordinated clothes (especially shirts and socks), letter jackets, class rings, drag racing, motor scooters, classic cars, a dog named Pepe, parking/smooching, drive-in movies, nighttime rides on back roads listening to Dick Biondi on the Chicago radio station, broken hearts, and lost loves).  Like fine wine, memories get better with age.  No vinegar here!

Late morning the breakfast party moved across the street to Beau Rivage Casino for more “war stories” and lots of picture taking.  I never knew that Sandra and Wayne could talk so much (they talk as fast as their plane can fly).  Beautiful women, handsome men, ear-to-ear smiles, and wild, wind-swept hair were the order of the day for the photo shoot.    Judy Dronet and her two sisters, Virgie and Melissa, became our reunion photographers.  They took tons of unbelievable photographs on digital cameras and put together a slide show that was later displayed on their laptop computer.  We’re talking professional quality here!  A very special “Thank You” goes to Judy, Virgie, and Melissa.

Saturday afternoon we were treated to a delightful cruise aboard the Glen Swetman, a classic sailing schooner.  Chip Chandler (Lee Anna’s son) and Judy, Melissa, and Virgie (the Dronet girls) took some great pictures of the ship and its cruise members.  We cruised out and along the barrier islands to classic tunes of yesteryear; refreshments were served by the ship’s bartender, Commodore Benny Peel.  Five miles into the Gulf, a special ceremony was held in remembrance of deceased classmates (Jim Burkholder, Ann Tucker, Bill Watson, and Doug Womack).  A special prayer written by Virginia Grissom was read by Brenda Santucci (James’ wife), and flowers distributed by Lee Anna Lampkin and Michelle Mosley (Robert’s wife) were tossed into the sea to honor the memory of those now gone.  It was a most pleasant and memorable sailing experience.  A great afternoon spent with very special people.

Saturday night’s activities raised the bar another level.  Oh yeah, an old fashioned southern style luau at the Gulfport Yacht Club on the Gulf of Mexico.  The place was beautifully decorated in classic deep-south luau decor (tiki lights, tropical flowers, palm fronds, pineapples, and Budweiser signs).  We even got lays or leis (you know what I mean; that string of flowers that goes around your neck).  Luauans feasted on jumbo shrimp (Miss Smith called jumbo shrimp an oxymoron; she also referred to Dwight Tolleson as an oxymoron), Samoan sausage, Polynesian potatoes, Caledonian corn on the cob, Malaccan mushrooms, and a variety of liquid spirits.  Island music was provided by Starr.

Of course (you guessed it), every luau has to have a King and Queen.  The “Big Kahunas”.  One was big and one was definitely a kahuna.  King and Queen were resplendent in there palm frond headdresses, leis, hula skirts, and oh my, oh no, coconut shells covering body parts that civilized people are not supposed to see (the biggest of the Big Kahunas was too big for her shells; they were clacking around like a pair of maracas)!  James Santucci was elected King (henceforth and forevermore referred to as King James).  And, oh no, not another one!  Benny Peel was elected Queen.  I know what you’re thinking.  I’m asking the same question.  Why wasn’t one of those beautiful women from the photo shoot at Beau Rivage chosen?  Personally, I think the ballots were rigged.  I’ll tell you something else; the “Big Kahunas” couldn’t hula worth a hoot.  It was obscene; grass skirts flying in the breeze and coconut shells that didn’t cover what really needed to be covered.  As King and Queen hula’d around the gathering, the building shook from the strain and the crowd shook with laughter.  Elaine Lindsey’s beautiful blue eyes became teary from eye strain (it was difficult to watch).  Russell Dillard wanted a lap dance from the Queen , but didn’t have his insurance paid up.

Since the Big Kahunas couldn’t dance a step, Kathy Abraham, Fru Payne, Claudia Jackson, Brenda Santucci (King James’ real wife) and Elaine Dillard (Russell’s wife) performed a series of line dances for our entertainment.  Boy Howdie!  Those ladies still have it!  But it didn’t last long, Queen Rodney jumped in and the precision moves of “Saturday Night Fever” quickly turned into something akin to “Jungle Fever”.  You should have been there to see those two left feet going at it!

The evening started to wind down with drawings for Leland’s collectible Highway 61 Blues Festival posters and t-shirts.  But, it started up again with Claudia Jackson (ruler in hand) tapping out Mrs. Barr’s ditty on “linking verbs” with the whole class chiming in just like we did back in high school.  It was so much fun that we did it several times.  Claudia was really into it (just like Mrs. Barr).  That was really fun!

Proving that he really is the “King”, James Santucci closed the evening’s festivities with his own rendition of “Are You Lonely Tonight” by Elvis Presley.  The words were rather unflattering to a class with such vim and vigor, but they sure were funny.  Words to the song will be posted by Chuck Meyer on the LHS website (http://horizon.nserl.purdue.edu/~meyerc/LHS/); check them out.  I was wrong about the “King”; the boy really can sing.  Then Elvis “left the building”.  I’m told that the some of the bravest souls continued the evening at a karaoke bar in Ocean Springs.

Sunday morning concluded the Class of 1964 40th Year Reunion.  Remaining classmates met at Beau Rivage Casino and Hotel for breakfast.  This was one last chance to reminisce and spend a little more time with great friends and classmates.  Judy, Virgie, and Melissa set up their computer slide show and we all enjoyed looking at pictures of some very special people (even those with wild, wind-swept hair).

I heard classmates over and over say how much fun this reunion was.  To a person, there is a sense of something special about the Class of 1964.  We are a close-knit group that truly has special feelings for each other.  The bonds that were developed in this class can never be eroded by the hands of time.  Each and every one of us contributes significantly to the legacy of the LHS Class of 1964.  Special memories last a lifetime.

This reunion was a great success for two reasons:

1.  Attendees, Thanks for coming:

Kathy Abraham, James Carolla, Lee Anna (Lampkin) and Larry Chandler, Judy Dronet (Melissa and Virgie too), Elaine (Lindsey) and Jerry Cox, Russell and Elaine Dillard, Fru (Payne) and Joe Garrison, Sandra (Hewitt) and Wayne Goodman, Virginia Grissom, Robert and Michele Mosley, Claudia (Jackson) and Bill Nisbett, Benny and Paule Peel, Frank and Chris Ramsey, Rodney and Pat Reed, James and Brenda Santucci, Mike and Debbie Smith, Dwight and Sybil Tolleson

2.  Organizers, An unbelievable job; thanks so much for all the hard work and long hours:

Kathy Abraham, Lee Anna and Larry Chandler, Benny and Paule Peel, James and Brenda Santucci

Thanks to Chip Chandler, Leigh Manifold, Damien, and Marilyn for decorations at the luau.

Events of the Class of 1964’s 40th Year Reunion were recorded by an innocent bystander and proud graduate of that class:

A. Frank Ramsey