Mr. Glenn Asby "Andy" Reece, age 75, of Dutch Treat Road, Banner Elk, died Tuesday night, December 8, 2009 at Carolina's Medical Center. Born January 7, 1934 in Watauga County, he was a son of the late Asa L. and Kate Swift Reese. Mr. Reese was a graduate of Appalachian Teacher College and received his Master's of Education from Duke University. He was a retired educator, having taught at Bethel Elementary School, Cove Creek School, Watauga High School, and Appalachian State University. Andy was a baseball coach at Watauga High School and Principal at Blowing Rock Elementary School. After retirement from the local school system, Andy worked for the North Carolina Association of Educators as the Uniserve Director. He served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict and was a member of Beaver Dam Baptist Church. Andy was also a former member of the Watauga County School Board, having served ten years, including a term as Chairman.
Surviving are: his wife; Brenda Reese, four children; Butch Reese and wife Debbie of Vilas, Debbie Reese and fiancé Ronnie Carter of Vilas, Tina Jameson Brown and husband Charles of Valle Crucis, and Scott Jameson and wife Jennifer of Elk Park, five grandchildren; Joshua Reese of Boone, James Ward and fiancé Liz Ammerman of Boone, Macie Brown of Valle Crucis, and Hunter and Dakota Jameson of Elk Park, three great grandchildren; Jessica, Jordan and Richard of Boone, his brothers and sisters; Norman Reese of Conover, Kathleen Reese of Vilas, Richard Reese and wife Lou of Boiling Springs, Gladys Shoun of Sylvania, Ohio, Betty Shoun of Vilas, Clint Reese and wife Maude of Fuquay-Varina, and Dorcas Hodges of Vilas, two sisters-in-law, Jody Dugger of Burnsville and Barbara Reese of Ringgold, GA. He was preceded in death by his parents; Asa L and Kate Swift Reese and two brothers; Asa L. Reese and Lance Reese.
A celebration of life for Mr. Andy Reese will be conducted Monday evening at 7 o'clock at Austin & Barnes Funeral Home Chapel. Officiating will be Mr. Keith Reese and Mr. Mitchell Yates. The family will receive friends Monday evening prior to the service from 5 o'clock until 7 at Austin & Barnes Funeral Home. Flowers are accepted or memorials may be made to the Watauga Education Foundation for the Kate Swift Reese Scholarship Fund, Post Office Box 2658, Boone, NC 28607. Online condolences may be sent to the Reese family at austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Reese family.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Next Meeting December 17
The Red Pencil
Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XII, No.3 December 2009_ntn1066@hotmail.com
December Meeting
Noon, Thursday, December 17, 2009
Deerfield Methodist Church
Cost per meal is $10, payable to Watauga Unit, NCRSP
Our holiday meeting will be considerably brighter for the sight of YOUR shining face and for the presence of The Steel Magnolias, a very special musical group from Ashe County. You certainly won’t want to miss their performance.
As we do each year in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday in early March and the Read Across America program which honors him, we ask that you bring a new or gently-read children’s book to the December meeting for distribution to Watauga County children through the Santa’s Toy Box Program. Do NOT bring books that have been marked in. On the subject of Read Across America, if you would like to volunteer to read to kids, select an appropriate volume, put the first week of March on your calendar, and call your favorite elementary school.
Please, please, please bring as much non-perishable food as you can to the meeting for the Hunger Coalition. Powdered milk, soup, oatmeal, pasta products, canned fruit and vegetables, ANYthing non-perishable will be acceptable. Don’t forget those medicine bottles, either, and this month, please include all those annoying little plastic bags from the grocery store and Wal-Mart and every other shop in town. We can recycle them!
If your caller has not reached you by Sunday, December 14, call Margaret Sigmon, 264-2036, immediately to make your reservation.
RAFFLE! The raffle for Steve Breitenstein’s incredible apple pie brought nearly $100 to our scholarship fund – a new and very impressive record. In December, we have a handmade wooden bowl filled with seasonal goodies you’ll love. As usual, each ticket is $1 or six for $5. Raffle money always goes into the scholarship fund. By the way, if you have mailed your dues and not made a donation to the scholarship fund, you can always do that – and donations to the scholarship fund are tax-deductible if you itemize.
President’s Message
At this time of the year, Christmas memories come cascading into my thoughts. Most of them are filled with joy, some with sadness, and others are bittersweet. Memories of my beloved mother seem especially poignant as I think of the stories that she would tell to us, to her students, and to worshippers at our church. One of her favorites was The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke. It was written in 1896 and tells of Artaban, the fourth Magi. In preparation of his journey to seek the Messiah, he sells his possessions and buys three precious gems, a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl, to present to the Christ Child. However, as he hastens to join the other three wise men, he is delayed when he stops to minister to a dying man reaches Bethlehem too late to give his gifts to the Christ Child. Hearing that the family has fled to Egypt, he chooses to sell his sapphire to buy camels and provisions to cross the desert. As Artaban continues his quest, he takes time to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to heal the sick. He uses the ruby to save the life of a child and all he has left is the pearl. For thirty-three years searches fruitlessly for the Promised One. Hearing that He might be there, Artaban climbs a hill to Golgotha, but along the way he encounters a young woman being tormented by soldiers. He trades the luminous pearl for her life. Many years later, as Artaban lies dying, he hears a sweet voice saying, “Inasmuch as thou hast done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, thou hast done it to me,” and he understands that he has at last found the Messiah he has sought for so long.
As I am retelling this story, I see each of you like the “Other Wise Man,” giving your time to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to heal the sick. You give so freely of your time, your resources, your energy and your enthusiasm. The smiles, laughter, friendship, and contributions to our organization and community bring light to the darkness and bless each other and all of us.
May the blessings of this season be yours as you have blessed me,
Beth
Among Us Cats – Did you get the answers to our October quiz?
floating off the coast of California, Santa Catalina; sang “Morning Has Broken,” Cat Stevens; lives in a library, catalogue; causes change, catalyst; crawls on the ground, caterpillar
And Exactly How Old Are You?
The State NCRSP Office is doing a survey to determine how many of our members are over 80 years old. Even if you provided this information to Dot at the October meeting, please do it again. Call her at 264-3621 and give her your name and birthdate. You can leave the information on her answering machine or even send her an email at dot24@bellsouth.net.
Wintertime Instant Russian Tea Mix
4 cps sugar + 3 cps Tang + 2 cps instant tea, plain + ½ large pkg Kool-Aid or Country Time lemonade powder mix (approx. 1/3cp) + 2 tsp cinnamon + 2 tsp ground cloves
Mix together and store in airtight jar. To use mix 2 large tablespoons with hot water in cup. Makes a LOT. Perfect for small gifts and to warm your insides on a wintry day.
Computer Talk
ü Our fabulous and informative Watauga County NCRSP blogspot is http://wataugacountyretiredpersonnel.blogspot.com/. Lee Stroupe updates this site often with new photographs and copies of The Red Pencil and other goodies you’ll want to read.
ü For NCRSP, the website address is www.ncrsp.org. If you are trying to reach Pam or Dave Deardorff, their numbers in Raleigh are 800-662-7924, extension 244 for Pam and 242 for Dave.
ü Dot Barker has calculated the savings to our unit when we send The Red Pencil to you via email. Each copy we don’t have to mail saves us approximately $1, and that mounts up. Currently we have seventy-one names on our email list, including our state officers and district president, and that means we don’t spend $71 per issue on printing and mailing. If you would like to receive your newsletter by email, please send a note to Nanci at ntn@skybest.com. Thanks so much!
Remember that our state insurance will pay for an eye exam before January 1, 2010!
Did You Know…
that your volunteer hours are valued by the State of North Carolina at approximately $20 per hour, or approximately ELEVEN MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR? When you report your hours, you aren’t patting yourself on the back or asking to be congratulated and admired (although you certainly are admired and to be congratulated!); you’re telling our legislators just exactly how much we retired school personnel continue to be of value to the quality of life in our state. You are helping our lobbyists to safeguard our retirement benefits every time you report those hours. Bring your completed form to the December meeting or mail it to Eula Mae Fox, 199 Watauga Dr., Boone NC 28607, by December 31. You’ll find ANOTHER copy of the form at the end of this newsletter.
Membership Matters!
Membership is a topic that just won’t go away, and it shouldn’t. We need every single member we can attract and we need new and present members to be aware of the benefits of their membership and participation. At present, we have 114 members in our unit, 80 of whom are on payroll deduction and 36 of whom pay their dues by check, and 8 new members this year.
In a change in policy, NEW members only, not present or past members, may join NCRSP on a pro-rated basis if they are on payroll deduction. If you have colleagues who have been thinking of joining us but did not come to the August or October meetings, please let them know that they can join now or at any time during our year by paying the pro-rated sum. Call Dot Barker, 254-3621, for specific details.
On the subject of membership, we were delighted to welcome three retired teachers from Avery County at our October meeting and hope that Lola Young and Johnny and Carolyn Canupp will return to be with us and will bring their colleagues from our neighboring county!
Spreading the good word of the activities of our unit at the District III convention were Beth Carrin, Eula Mae Fox, Dot Barker, Sue Aldridge, June Mann, and Roland Moy. Our membership was well represented!
A Christmas True or False Quiz
___1. Poinsettias are quite poisonous if eaten and should be kept out of reach of children and pets.
___ 2. According to tradition, the first historical personage to decorate a fir tree with lights (actually candles, in those days) to celebrate Christmas was Martin Luther.
___ 3. The character "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was originally created as a holiday promotional gimmick for the Montgomery Ward department store chain.
___ 4. "Xmas" is an abbreviation for Christmas because in Greek, the language of the New Testament, Christ begins with Chi, written as an X.
_ 5. The shape and color scheme of candy canes were originally intended to symbolize the purity of Jesus Christ and the blood he shed on the cross.
___ 6. Known to us today as "Santa Claus," the third-century monk St. Nicholas originally came to be associated with Christmas because he died in the month of December.
___ 7. The earliest commercially-made Christmas card was sold in 1843.
___ 8. The tradition of "decking the halls" with boughs of holly and other greenery originated from the need in bygone days to preserve plant life from harsh weather by keeping it indoors during freezing temperatures. the supernatural belief that bringing greenery in the house in midwinter would ensure its return in the spring.
___ 9. The tradition of hanging stockings by the chimney for Christmas was inspired by the legend of St. Nicholas, who is said to have provided dowries for three poverty-stricken sisters by dropping gold coins down their chimney and into the stockings they had left out to dry.
___10. Modern depictions of Santa Claus as a jolly, fat elf clothed in red and white with rosy cheeks and a twinkle in his eye owe their inspiration largely to Coca-Cola advertisements of the 1930s.
Christmas Quiz answers: 1. False 2. True 3. True 4. True 5. False 6. False. He was actually famous for his kindness to children and generosity to the poor. 7. True 8. False. Actually it was the supernatural belief that bringing greenery in the house in midwinter would ensure its return in the spring. 9. True 10. True. The other influences on our image of Santa Claus are the 19th-century cartoonist Thomas Nast and the Clement Moore description in his “Night Before Christmas.”
NCRSP Community Participation - Volunteer Hours 2009
Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XII, No.3 December 2009_ntn1066@hotmail.com
December Meeting
Noon, Thursday, December 17, 2009
Deerfield Methodist Church
Cost per meal is $10, payable to Watauga Unit, NCRSP
Our holiday meeting will be considerably brighter for the sight of YOUR shining face and for the presence of The Steel Magnolias, a very special musical group from Ashe County. You certainly won’t want to miss their performance.
As we do each year in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday in early March and the Read Across America program which honors him, we ask that you bring a new or gently-read children’s book to the December meeting for distribution to Watauga County children through the Santa’s Toy Box Program. Do NOT bring books that have been marked in. On the subject of Read Across America, if you would like to volunteer to read to kids, select an appropriate volume, put the first week of March on your calendar, and call your favorite elementary school.
Please, please, please bring as much non-perishable food as you can to the meeting for the Hunger Coalition. Powdered milk, soup, oatmeal, pasta products, canned fruit and vegetables, ANYthing non-perishable will be acceptable. Don’t forget those medicine bottles, either, and this month, please include all those annoying little plastic bags from the grocery store and Wal-Mart and every other shop in town. We can recycle them!
If your caller has not reached you by Sunday, December 14, call Margaret Sigmon, 264-2036, immediately to make your reservation.
RAFFLE! The raffle for Steve Breitenstein’s incredible apple pie brought nearly $100 to our scholarship fund – a new and very impressive record. In December, we have a handmade wooden bowl filled with seasonal goodies you’ll love. As usual, each ticket is $1 or six for $5. Raffle money always goes into the scholarship fund. By the way, if you have mailed your dues and not made a donation to the scholarship fund, you can always do that – and donations to the scholarship fund are tax-deductible if you itemize.
President’s Message
At this time of the year, Christmas memories come cascading into my thoughts. Most of them are filled with joy, some with sadness, and others are bittersweet. Memories of my beloved mother seem especially poignant as I think of the stories that she would tell to us, to her students, and to worshippers at our church. One of her favorites was The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke. It was written in 1896 and tells of Artaban, the fourth Magi. In preparation of his journey to seek the Messiah, he sells his possessions and buys three precious gems, a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl, to present to the Christ Child. However, as he hastens to join the other three wise men, he is delayed when he stops to minister to a dying man reaches Bethlehem too late to give his gifts to the Christ Child. Hearing that the family has fled to Egypt, he chooses to sell his sapphire to buy camels and provisions to cross the desert. As Artaban continues his quest, he takes time to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to heal the sick. He uses the ruby to save the life of a child and all he has left is the pearl. For thirty-three years searches fruitlessly for the Promised One. Hearing that He might be there, Artaban climbs a hill to Golgotha, but along the way he encounters a young woman being tormented by soldiers. He trades the luminous pearl for her life. Many years later, as Artaban lies dying, he hears a sweet voice saying, “Inasmuch as thou hast done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, thou hast done it to me,” and he understands that he has at last found the Messiah he has sought for so long.
As I am retelling this story, I see each of you like the “Other Wise Man,” giving your time to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to heal the sick. You give so freely of your time, your resources, your energy and your enthusiasm. The smiles, laughter, friendship, and contributions to our organization and community bring light to the darkness and bless each other and all of us.
May the blessings of this season be yours as you have blessed me,
Beth
Among Us Cats – Did you get the answers to our October quiz?
floating off the coast of California, Santa Catalina; sang “Morning Has Broken,” Cat Stevens; lives in a library, catalogue; causes change, catalyst; crawls on the ground, caterpillar
And Exactly How Old Are You?
The State NCRSP Office is doing a survey to determine how many of our members are over 80 years old. Even if you provided this information to Dot at the October meeting, please do it again. Call her at 264-3621 and give her your name and birthdate. You can leave the information on her answering machine or even send her an email at dot24@bellsouth.net.
Wintertime Instant Russian Tea Mix
4 cps sugar + 3 cps Tang + 2 cps instant tea, plain + ½ large pkg Kool-Aid or Country Time lemonade powder mix (approx. 1/3cp) + 2 tsp cinnamon + 2 tsp ground cloves
Mix together and store in airtight jar. To use mix 2 large tablespoons with hot water in cup. Makes a LOT. Perfect for small gifts and to warm your insides on a wintry day.
Computer Talk
ü Our fabulous and informative Watauga County NCRSP blogspot is http://wataugacountyretiredpersonnel.blogspot.com/. Lee Stroupe updates this site often with new photographs and copies of The Red Pencil and other goodies you’ll want to read.
ü For NCRSP, the website address is www.ncrsp.org. If you are trying to reach Pam or Dave Deardorff, their numbers in Raleigh are 800-662-7924, extension 244 for Pam and 242 for Dave.
ü Dot Barker has calculated the savings to our unit when we send The Red Pencil to you via email. Each copy we don’t have to mail saves us approximately $1, and that mounts up. Currently we have seventy-one names on our email list, including our state officers and district president, and that means we don’t spend $71 per issue on printing and mailing. If you would like to receive your newsletter by email, please send a note to Nanci at ntn@skybest.com. Thanks so much!
Remember that our state insurance will pay for an eye exam before January 1, 2010!
Did You Know…
that your volunteer hours are valued by the State of North Carolina at approximately $20 per hour, or approximately ELEVEN MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR? When you report your hours, you aren’t patting yourself on the back or asking to be congratulated and admired (although you certainly are admired and to be congratulated!); you’re telling our legislators just exactly how much we retired school personnel continue to be of value to the quality of life in our state. You are helping our lobbyists to safeguard our retirement benefits every time you report those hours. Bring your completed form to the December meeting or mail it to Eula Mae Fox, 199 Watauga Dr., Boone NC 28607, by December 31. You’ll find ANOTHER copy of the form at the end of this newsletter.
Membership Matters!
Membership is a topic that just won’t go away, and it shouldn’t. We need every single member we can attract and we need new and present members to be aware of the benefits of their membership and participation. At present, we have 114 members in our unit, 80 of whom are on payroll deduction and 36 of whom pay their dues by check, and 8 new members this year.
In a change in policy, NEW members only, not present or past members, may join NCRSP on a pro-rated basis if they are on payroll deduction. If you have colleagues who have been thinking of joining us but did not come to the August or October meetings, please let them know that they can join now or at any time during our year by paying the pro-rated sum. Call Dot Barker, 254-3621, for specific details.
On the subject of membership, we were delighted to welcome three retired teachers from Avery County at our October meeting and hope that Lola Young and Johnny and Carolyn Canupp will return to be with us and will bring their colleagues from our neighboring county!
Spreading the good word of the activities of our unit at the District III convention were Beth Carrin, Eula Mae Fox, Dot Barker, Sue Aldridge, June Mann, and Roland Moy. Our membership was well represented!
A Christmas True or False Quiz
___1. Poinsettias are quite poisonous if eaten and should be kept out of reach of children and pets.
___ 2. According to tradition, the first historical personage to decorate a fir tree with lights (actually candles, in those days) to celebrate Christmas was Martin Luther.
___ 3. The character "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was originally created as a holiday promotional gimmick for the Montgomery Ward department store chain.
___ 4. "Xmas" is an abbreviation for Christmas because in Greek, the language of the New Testament, Christ begins with Chi, written as an X.
_ 5. The shape and color scheme of candy canes were originally intended to symbolize the purity of Jesus Christ and the blood he shed on the cross.
___ 6. Known to us today as "Santa Claus," the third-century monk St. Nicholas originally came to be associated with Christmas because he died in the month of December.
___ 7. The earliest commercially-made Christmas card was sold in 1843.
___ 8. The tradition of "decking the halls" with boughs of holly and other greenery originated from the need in bygone days to preserve plant life from harsh weather by keeping it indoors during freezing temperatures. the supernatural belief that bringing greenery in the house in midwinter would ensure its return in the spring.
___ 9. The tradition of hanging stockings by the chimney for Christmas was inspired by the legend of St. Nicholas, who is said to have provided dowries for three poverty-stricken sisters by dropping gold coins down their chimney and into the stockings they had left out to dry.
___10. Modern depictions of Santa Claus as a jolly, fat elf clothed in red and white with rosy cheeks and a twinkle in his eye owe their inspiration largely to Coca-Cola advertisements of the 1930s.
Christmas Quiz answers: 1. False 2. True 3. True 4. True 5. False 6. False. He was actually famous for his kindness to children and generosity to the poor. 7. True 8. False. Actually it was the supernatural belief that bringing greenery in the house in midwinter would ensure its return in the spring. 9. True 10. True. The other influences on our image of Santa Claus are the 19th-century cartoonist Thomas Nast and the Clement Moore description in his “Night Before Christmas.”
NCRSP Community Participation - Volunteer Hours 2009
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