The 35th reunion, 2001 Falcon Odyssey, was held Friday & Saturday, August 17 & 18, 2001, at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston. Upon arrival, signs were located throughout the Hotel telling of our special event, and about 1/3 of us attending stayed at the Hotel.
Friday’s Registration was set up in the Starfish Room on the top floor of the Hotel. As each person registered, the reunion committee members passed out nametags and a JHJ Directory consisting of classmates, teachers and faculty. “Old” pictures, Gauntlets & Talons from our high school days were on display. Through the assistance of Mr. Allan, who is the present principal at Jones High School, our own small mascot “Freddy” was there, as well as some of the trophies won from school years 1964-1967. Included in these trophies was the prized State Basketball Trophy that we won in 1965.
The Friday event was held down the hall on the top floor in the Viewfinder Terrace Room, a room surrounded by glass walls that had a beautiful view of the Pyramids of the Moody Gardens complex as well as Galveston Bay. The Hotel also gave us access to the Hotel Bar area adjacent to the Viewfinder Terrace Room for overflow seating. The food served included cold cuts, cheeses, breads, assorted fruits as well as party mix & pretzels. Soft drinks and beer were offered, and there was also a cash bar. There were several teachers who attended Friday night –Bettyanne Hall (Home Economics), Joe Sturdivant (P.E. and coach), and Barbara Muse (Mrs. Traywick) (History) and her husband Jesse. The Traywicks even joined us in the Hospitality Room after the Friday night event and visited. In all 147 people attended Friday night.
Our large Hospitality Room at the Moody Gardens Hotel was located on the top floor down the hall from the Starfish and Viewfinder Terrace Rooms. This room also had a wonderful view of the Pyramids of the Moody Gardens complex and Galveston Bay. The room was used the entire weekend, day and night, for people to gather and visit. There was also food and drinks available, provided by the reunion committee. Even lunch was served here on Saturday for all of the classmates staying at the hotel and any of our group who wanted to join us.
Saturday, during the day, people took advantage of different things to do in the area. Some played golf at Galveston Municipal Golf Course; some swam in the beautiful pool at the Hotel or got a massage in the Hotel spa; some enjoyed the activities at the Pyramids of the Moody Gardens complex; some shopped on the Strand; others toured the Museums – Railroad Museum, Texas Seaport Museum with the tall ship the “Elissa”, and Star Flight Museum; some toured the houses and palaces in Galveston; some played on the beach; and some even went to another reunion held that afternoon of members from South Park Baptist Church which was located near Jones High School; and, some enjoyed just hanging out and visiting in the Hospitality Room. It was a great day.
Saturday night, the 2001 Falcon Odyssey was held in the main Ballroom of the Hotel. A registration table was located in the lobby where our JHJ ‘66 Banner was displayed and where nametags and JHJ Directories were distributed. Several tables inside the Ballroom contained “old” pictures, Gauntlets, and Talons of our high school years, as well as some of our treasured trophies. Snacks of party mix and pretzels were located throughout the ballroom as well as beer and soft drinks offered. There was also a cash bar. The table centerpieces, supplied by the Hotel, were “Pyramids” and fresh flowers inside that were beautifully displayed on mirrors. The dinner buffet “The Captain’s Table” consisted of, for starters, Caesar salad, pasta salad, cold boiled shrimp and crab fingers, tomato and fresh mozzarella with basil vinaigrette, and mushrooms stuffed with crawfish tails. The choices to choose for the main course were grilled salmon steak, chicken Anglaise, fried shrimp, or roast sirloin, and the vegetables were carrot Vichy style, green beans almandine, sautéed new potatoes. The desserts were just as good which included bread pudding, fresh seasonal berries and cream, and chocolate mouse. Everyone agreed the food and service were exceptional!
After dinner, there was a DJ (Airwaves) who played music for dancing. Several teachers attended Saturday night also – Callie Brumlow (Ms. Law) (English), Marguerite Raley (English) and her husband Mickey, Ed Landry (Vocational Agriculture) and his wife, Hallie, Ralph Teter (Sciences/Chemistry) and his wife Alice, Larry Roberts (P.E. and coach) and his wife Shirley, and Jack Grochoske (Industrial Arts/Wood Shop). Everyone enjoyed visiting with each of these teachers and was so glad they attended. Bobby Wuensch gave a short welcome speech to everyone and then we had a drawing for door prizes. There were 3 door prizes given to us by the Hotel. The winners were: Dino Mazac (Mrs. Roger Lewis) won tickets for 2 at all the events offered at the Moody Gardens complex, Dixie Reid (Mrs. Gordon Dudley) won a $50 gift certificate for food at any of the Moody Gardens Hotel restaurants, and Richard Carpenter won a one night stay at the Moody Gardens Hotel. When the dancing and visiting finished in the Ballroom, the party continued in the Hospitality Room upstairs in to the wee hours. Many laughs, stories, and special memories were shared. In all 207 people attended Saturday night.
Since the reunion, several people have sent pictures taken that weekend which are now on our website. We hope you will look at these as a remembrance of a fun-filled weekend we all enjoyed. We’re looking forward to our 40th in 2006, and seeing you all there.
~Judy Ross McNeely