Mary Hodge is not one of those “Lakewood Mothers” who are respected (and feared) for their “can do” abilities. She is a parent who took her daughter out of Highland Park High School and enrolled her at Woodrow.
Hodge must pay tuition to DISD in addition to her HPISD taxes. Some people might find this unusual, but it has been a trend since the early 1980s, when materialism bulldozed through the Park Cities.
As early as the ‘70s, families such as Drs. John and Harryette Ehrhardt moved from the “Bubble” to East Dallas to provide their children with a multi-cultural environment lacking in the Park Cities enclave. Mary Hodge also chose Woodrow over some of our local private schools.
I’ll toss the digressive diatribe and get to the subject – sound. Hodge is leading an effort to replace the 20-year-old sound system in Woodrow’s auditorium. The projected cost is $40,000, and Hodge already has secured pledges for more than half that amount.
Donors giving $100 to $5,000 will have their names listed on a plaque at the auditorium’s entrance.
So take your place in posterity and send your tax-deductible donation to: W.W. Auditorium Fund, c/o Mary Hodge, 3804 Amherst, Dallas 75225. Let’s bring the sound up to the quality of the performances. After all, Woodrow’s “Hamlet” defeated all other schools in the City before losing at regionals in play competition this spring. And don’t forget our musicals. A great school deserves a great sound system.
Can’t Get Away
My duties as vice president of the Alumni Association and local scribe, in addition to my regular job at DeGolyer and MacNaughton Oil Consultants, were taking a toll. So I decided to get away from it all at Lake Tahoe.
But Woodrow influences were felt even at this tranquil alpine lake. At the Horizon Hotel, David Harris’ ’56 Bottoms Up revue was playing. On television, another member of the Class of ’56, Richard Berendzen of American University, was on “Nightline” discussing astronomy.
A re-run of “Crisis at Central High”, starring Joanne Woodward and Jerry Haynes ’44, aired one afternoon. The movie’s interiors were shot almost entirely at Woodrow.
And a ditty about another Nevada town, “Viva Las Vegas”, was being sung anew by Dusty Hill ’62 of ZZ Top on virtually every radio station.
West End to Winfrey
Among the Class of ’82 is Stephen Cargile, a designer of Euro Disney’s $4 billion theme park opened near Paris, France. Organizer of 1982’s 10-year reunion, held at the West End and other places, was Amy Moore Fullerton ’82, a second-generation Wildcat (she’s a member of the Weir’s Furniture family). She now lives on Westlake, in a house where Rex ’70 and Pam Buchmeyer Aymond ’78 lived.
A star at the Class of ’52 reunion was Tincy Miller, member of the State Board of Education and wife of Henry S. Miller president Vance Miller.
We won’t say that those Wildcats from the fabulous ‘50s have changed, but overheard was this sentiment from a gentleman surveying the crowd at Winfrey Point: “I’ve probably stood in line with some of these people at the grocery store and didn’t recognize them.”
If you’re from the Class of ’57, a reunion is planned following the Fourth of July Parade. Call the Alumni Association at 601-2164.
