Westbury High School Houston, TX Welcome!
Classes 1962 - 1965!
(Now, Site Music, excepting one section, is back up.)
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"If individuals are not bound by a commitment to history and tradition, if the connection between generations is broken and destroyed, there will be no passion and depth of emotion. If all identity is seen as fluid, if nationality is merely political and cultural, if it is seen as imaginary and therefore deluded, the mystic connections in time and space — what Abraham Lincoln called the mystic cords of memory — are lost."
Defending Identity (2008) |
How the Westbury Rebels, Classes of 1962-1965,
Saved Western Civilization from Extinction
Another pretty true Texas story.
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On Interpersonal Dynamics, Sensibility and Aging Inspired by The Westbury High School Post Mid Twentieth Century Period of Post Post Relationship Enlightenment Mike Woods — Westbury High School's esteemed first class of 1962's erudite and distinguished President, who always strived with profound sensitivity to identify and respond empathically to his constituents', that is our fellow students', interests and needs, and even more honorably the first Westbury Rebel to join the US Marine Corps courageously doing so during the onslaught of the Cuban Missle Crisis occurring in his graduation year — and I ran into each other (by phone) not too long ago. I asked him "Mr. President, what do you think about the site, especially the editorial Trilogy?" He said "Well, Skip I think I see what you are trying to do coming from the class of youngsters of 1964. I like some of the music and appreciate your volunteer effort for the classes as a whole. But, your writing is too prolix." "What does 'prolix' mean, Mr. President?" "There are too many words." I responded "Hmmm . . . Mike, in the movie Amadeus, the composer asked the Prussian King what he thought of his (Mozart's) opera that the monarch had just heard. The King responded 'Well. . . There were just too many notes.' Mozart said back indignantly 'Sire. There are just the exact number of notes needed for the composition and not one note more or less!'" Woods was quiet for a moment. And then that ancient, irrascible — probably now turned radical past president and no doubt philosophically either far-leftist or -rightest (fringe) myopically focused curmudgeon-politician — and not to mention intellectually fatigued Jarhead spoke. "Skip, I KNEW Amadeus Mozart. And you're NO Mozart!" |
Highlighting
Mrs. Tana McGraw Shaffer has done a superb job of updating her section, Reminisce, by doubling the number of Houston photos. In fact, she's done such a marvelous and comprehensive job that she's needed to relocate to another Web database management system which can take all of her ever continuing additions. Here is her new location
She has provided Houstonians with the most current research for each picture, in the process concluding the mysteries and debates about what was what! The result is a phenomenal walk down memory lane in the home town that hosted our high school alma mater, Westbury. I applaud and congratulate Tana for the exceptional and many hours of work that bring happy recollections and meaning to our lives. Thank you Mrs. Shaffer for making us Westbury Rebels feel good. Thank you Tana, also, for the constant editing, creative and other support, and vigilance to accuracy, whenever we can find some, to WestburyHSHouston.com.
Westbury vs. Austin 1962
Seldom have I over the past half century engaged in conversations with Westbury alumni where they did not ask what happened at the end of the very dramatic football game between our school and Stephen F. Austin (of Houston, Texas). And most of the time those people were unaware that I was involved at the center of that ending. I also believed the game meant more at the time to us as a new student body than just a sporting event. Hence, I've archived a description of that ending along with what I believed were some of its meanings to our class in a short story. You may find this description in the Archives-Stories / Poetry, Prose . . . section at:
http://www.westburyhshouston.com/class_forums_messages.cfm?tid=21313
Introduction (updated August 04, 2010)
Welcome to an independent community privately established for Westbury High School's first four classes (and beginning with its Hurricane Carla delayed opening in September, 1961): 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965. These 
groups have coalesced through the years holding simultaneous reunions. Hence, their formation into this interactive - community site. There is no charge to join. Nor is advertising accepted. The site is operated as a hobby by Jesse (Skip or Skippy) Collins, class of 1964. No direct or indirect pecuniary interests are met here by anyone. The program is intended as a gift to those constituents of Westbury High School who graduated or participated in their capacities as students, teachers, counselors, employees or volunteers and those persons' guests (which may include family members or friends) between the years of its opening and the graduation of the class of 1965. Following special requests, a graduate from another class year may be included with a guest membership.
To see all the options available to you as a Westbury High School class member from September, 1961, through December, 1965 (some of you had to stay over accidentally to 1966 - sorry), register by following the link in the upper right corner login window (or follow the steps placed just below) and tour the whole program. That registration will lengthen the navigational menu with viewing and editing options to the left. However, you can still get the idea of the program without logging in by selecting the options currently shown.
Before getting into the guidelines for signing up, let me emphasize that if you did not formally graduate, or if you were a teacher or other employee, or if you were just there for a little while and transferred out to another world, your name may not be in the database. If that is the case, all you have to do is write administration and we will with pleasure add you in.
Purposes
This site currently serves three purposes. They are to:
- Facilitate private contact and communications between the site's members.
- Provide a place for publishing literary or web art produced by this membership.*
- Provide information pertaining to the membership's interests as related to the culture of our youth as experienced at Westbury High School between its opening in 1961 and the graduation of the class of 1965.
* Requires editorial approval by the site administrator.
Check here if your initial login attempt is unsuccessful.
Consider this. You will not be able to login until you have registered by creating a profile. If you haven't taken that step yet, then
- Click on the link entitled "Classmate Profile" under the login box in the upper right corner of this home page.
- A new security window will present.
- Type the first 3 letters of your last name into the form provided in that window.
- All names that have been entered into the database with those letters will present below the form automatically.
- If your name is there, select it.*
- That action will open a profile page which you can fill in as your interest determines.
- Once registered by saving the profile, you can login with your email address and password when coming to the site.
*If your name has not yet been placed in the security entry directory, then send administration an email with your name (while at Westbury) and class year. The information will be placed into the database in order to facilitate your entry per the first instructions beginning this subsection.
Check here if any login attempt is unsuccessful.
Send an email to administration notifying us of the problem and I will fix it. Although I cannot see your password, I can change and reissue one for you.
They are not that far away when looking at them from both 1962's and weight -loss perspectives. And as I learned in Westbury math, or was it at Shearn?, the next years just follow along behind.
WestburyHSHouston.com Policies and Procedures regarding Site Operations and Epistemology.
Registration with this site presumes the member has read, understands and will abide by the administrative policies and procedures presented in the Stories and Forums section. If you have not read them, please do before signing up.
1965 Citadel photo of a flag raising ceremony in front and the1966 aerial view of Westbury High School was contributed by Nancy Siragusa.
