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Carson Tribute 2009

About 15 years ago Greencastle Community Schools Superintendent set an appointment for Jinsie Bingham to come to his office in the old Miller School, now Miller Education Center. It houses the administrative offices of the corporation. Dr. Renz would not reveal the purpose of the meeting.

Bingham, a ’53 grad of GHS, stewed and fretted for a couple of weeks wondering what school officials could have discovered about her school days that would merit a trip to the superintendent’s office.

Dr. Renz thought it was time for the graduates of Greencastle High School to form an alumni association. Jinsie says she was so relieved no rules had been broken she accepted the challenge immediately and started making calls to those she thought would be interested.

John and Carolyn Carson were at the top of that list. Both members of the class of ’57, they are part of a special group of alumni who have stayed in the Greencastle / Putnam County community and become community leaders.

For anything concerning Greencastle High School for the last 50 plus years, everyone has referred to Mr. GHS, John Carson.

He’s the guy who chaired the undedication of our beloved old uptown gym, the night the Tiger Cubs scored 108 points in the Undedication Game with the Riverton Parke Panthers.

Carolyn Carson has been the editor of Tiger Tales, our official newsletter. It’s a painstaking project to gather news from every decade to help us remember some of the best days of our lives.

John and Carolyn have been the mainstays of our fundraising spaghetti dinners and the All Class gatherings. They make sure every detail is covered.

If it’s GHS, its John and Carolyn.

The Carson’s have moved to Utah to spend time with daughters Susan, Sarah, and Nancy and their families. That is were the grandkids are.

At the last All Class Reunion Bingham shared this with the crowd: “There is no way we can find the words to thank the Carson’s for their faithful dedication to this organization…and for all they have done for the Greencastle / Putnam County Community”.

As John and Carolyn Carson were invited to the podium Bingham continued: “First of all the Greencastle High School Alumni Association bestows upon you Honorary Lifetime Memberships in our organization. And on behalf of the generations of Greencastle High School graduates, this clock, to remind you its always good time to cheer for the Tiger Cubs”.

Submitted by Jinsie Bingham

GREENCASTLE HIGH SCHOOL AMBASSADORS 2010

1^st Row L-R: Cheyanne Maddox, Kenda Christy, Olivia Humpheys, Ashley Holmes, Emily Dean.

2^nd Row L-R: Megan Miller, Brittany Girton, Laura English, Lauren Kenney, Melissa Ball, Megan Walkosak.

3^rd Row L-R: Tess Handy, Katie Farris, Mackenzie Meyer, Brooke Buckner.

4^th Row L-R: Sponsor: Terri Collins, Nate Secrest, Steven Miller, Cody Watson.

Members of the GHS Alumni Association Board of directors, as well as other GHS alumni contributed funds to cover part of the cost of the blazers and shirts for the newly formed GHS Ambassadors. The Ambassadors represent the school at various school functions, assisting visitors as official hosts/hostesses of the school

Son remembers Albright as ‘big as life’

Banner Graphic Sept. 18, 2009

Bobby Albright’s son Mark remembers his late father as “gregarious.”

“He was as big as life a character as I’d ever met,” Mark said with a smile in his voice.

Bobby Albright, a former Putnam County sheriff and councilman and Greencastle mayor died Wednesday (September 16, 2009) He was 83.

Bobby, who was also a longtime Putnam County business owner and was active with the Republican Party, had suffered from heart problems and had been in failing health for the past couple of years.

“The last two years you could really see him declining,” Mark said. “He just kind of wore out. It was a blessing that he went as quickly and as peacefully as he did.”

Mark said he credits his father with instilling a good work ethic in his children.

“Whatever we had we earned, and whatever we earned we respected,” he said.

In addition to Mark, Bobby and his wife Vera, with whom he would have celebrated a 60^th wedding anniversary on November 24, had a daughter, Jackie. Bobby raised his children with love tempered with definite rules.

“He was kind in his ways but stern in his beliefs,” Mark said.

Bobby’s younger brother David agreed.

“He was conservative in his political beliefs and in his lifestyle,” David said.” That was because he grew up during the Depression.”

David, who was 25 years younger than Bobby, said his brother never shied away from telling the truth if he was asked for it.

“If you asked him something, he always had am opinion,” David said with a chuckle. “But he also respected yours. We had our disagreements, but one thing we always agreed on is that we loved each other.”

Bobby grew up in Limedale. He graduated from Greencastle High School in 1944, then joined the U.S. Navy later that year.

He became the sheriff of Putnam County in 1965 and served two terms. He served on the Greencastle City Council from 1984-87, and acted as the mayor of Greencastle in 1987 completing the term of Mayor Gerald Warren, who passed away while in office.

Bobby was also a member of the Putnam County Council.

He owned the Robo Car Wash in Putnam County from 1974-98.

Noted Rock Historian

Banner Graphic

Nov.7, 2009

Professor Glenn Gass is the author of the first for-credit course at any music school or conservatory on the history of rock and roll. His courses at IU include one on Music of the Beatles, which is described as an “in-depth, song by song look at the music, lives and times of this extraordinary group and songwriting partnership.” Offered since 1982, the course “is aimed at heightening student listening skills as well as fostering a deeper appreciation for the Beatles’ remarkable recordings.”

Professor Gass also takes a group of students “on site” to London for another course on the Beatles.

Glenn Gass is also a classical composer whose work has been performed internationally. He is the recipient of grants in composition from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and the Indiana Arts Commission. Gass is also a member of the education advisory board of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.

The professor authored the textbook, “History of Rock Music: The Rock & Roll Era,” and is the recipient of a number of honors, including the Herman B. Wells Lifetime Achievement Award, the Indiana University Sylvia Bowman Distinguished Teaching Award, the IU Student Alumni Association Student Choice Award, and the Society of Professional Journalists Brown Derby Award. He was inducted into the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching.

Glenn Gass attended DePauw (he’s the son of Clinton Gass, Professor emeritus of mathematics) and earned a B.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music, and both M.M. and D. Mus. in composition from Indiana.

Glenn Gass graduated from Greencastle High School in 1974

from The Banner-Graphic, By MATT FOSHEIM, Staff Writer

A local sailor recently received a promotion to the prestigious Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels.

Greencastle native Petty Officer Michael B. Grimes (GHS 1999) reported for duty earlier this week for training and an introduction to the squadron at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California. According to the official Blue Angels website, “The Blue Angels' mission is to enhance Navy and Marine Corps recruiting efforts and to represent the naval service to the United States, its elected leadership and foreign nations. The Blue Angels serve as positive role models and goodwill ambassadors for the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps,” the website continued.

In California, Grimes will be the lead mechanic for the number one jet. The number one jet is the lead jet and one of two twin passenger F/A-18 Hornets that the Blue Angels flies. This plane often arrives a few days before an air show in order to give celebrities and other media personnel a chance to ride in the plane for promotional purposes.

Michael's father, Jim, said his son will have chances to be in the jet on flights as well. “He should have several opportunities to ride in the jet,” Jim told the Banner Graphic. Petty Officer Grimes will be with the squadron for the next three years as a mechanic.

Petty Officer Grimes has been in the Navy since the spring of 1999 . His other accolades have included 2005 Sailor of the Year at Naval Air Station Pensacola and a Commendation Medal for his sustained superior performance as the Leading Petty Officer for the Funeral Honor Guard Division.

Gosport, the home-based newspaper for the Pensacola, Florida Naval Air Station, said, “During his tour with the Honor Guard, Grimes organized, scheduled and led (more than) 1,800 Military funeral services for the families of the Gulf Coast Region.” The newspaper reported that Petty Officer Grimes future plans after the Blue Angels “include applying to the Limited Duty Officer Program upon eligibility.”

Dwight Matthews '73 Chairs National Institutes of Health Research Effort

adapted from DePauw University News

Dwight E. Matthews, GHS '69, professor and chair of chemistry and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont and 1973 graduate of DePauw University, has been selected to serve as chair of the Integrative Nutrition and Metabolic Processes Study Section of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health. In this prestigious role, Dr. Matthews will have a unique opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort. He was selected on the basis of his achievement in his discipline, scientific research, publications in scientific journals and other accomplishments.

After earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry from DePauw, Matthews received a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Indiana University in 1977. He conducted research and taught medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 1977-86, and he served as an associate professor of biochemistry in medicine and then surgery at Cornell University Medical College in New York City until he joined the University of Vermont in 1996. He was appointed chair of the University of Vermont's chemistry department in 2002, and he was named a University Scholar for 2004-05.

Dr. Matthews' areas of special expertise include analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry, and the application of stable isotope tracers to study human amino acid and protein metabolism. He is director of the Mass Spectrometry Facility in the General Clinical Research Center in the College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. He previously was director of the Mass Spectrometry Facility in and director of the General Clinical Research Center Core Laboratory at Cornell University Medical College.

Dwight Matthews is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Federation for Medical Research, American Physiological Society, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Society for Clinical Nutrition, American Society for Mass Spectrometry, American Society for Nutrition, and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

Michael B. Grimes '99 joins Blue Angels

from The Banner-Graphic, By MATT FOSHEIM, Staff Writer

Dwight Matthews '73 Chairs National Institutes of Health Research Effort