We're always looking for interesting items to add to this page.
Please submit Alumni News items to
info@nathanhalealumni.org

1963 BASKETBALL 1st OK 7 Conference All-City Champ - 1964 2A GOLF Individual State Champ: DAVID HINES - 1965 2A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1965 2A GOLF Individual State Champ: DAVID HINES - 1965 2A GOLF State Champ Team - 1966 2A BASEBALL State Champ - 1966 2A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1972 4A FOOTBALL State Champ - 1972 4A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1973 WRESTLING Individual State Champ: DEE PITEZEL - 1974 4A CROSS COUNTRY Boys Team State Champ - 1975 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1975 4A TRACK Boys State Champ - 1976 4A TRACK Boys State Champ - 1976 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1979 4A FOOTBALL State Champ - 1982 4A CROSS COUNTRY Individual State Champ: MIKE BILYEU - 1983 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1985 WRESTLING Team State Champ - 1993 3A SOFTBALL Girls Fast Pitch State Champ - 1994 4A BASKETBALL Girls State Champ - 1994 4A BASEBALL State Champ - 1997 5A BASEBALL State Champ

Nathan Hale High School
50th Anniversary - September, 2009

Nathan Hale High School was officially opened on September 1, 1959.  We would like to make this special occasion a reason for the entire Hale community to celebrate the history of our school.

Our first official planning meeting was very productive.  The mother-daughter team of Suzy Hamilton-Dennis '72 and January Lambert-Mathews '91, will chair the central planning committee.  I'm sure that January will get her son, the 3rd generation Ranger in the family, involved as well.  He's currently a student at Hale.

We would like to have representatives from each graduating class on the planning committees.  If you have an interest in helping with this special event, please contact us, or come to a planning meeting on the 3rd Thursday of each month.  We meet at 5:45 pm in the main office conference room at Hale.

Alumni, students, parents, teachers and staff are welcome to attend.
 

Let's help our future Rangers at MacArthur Elementary.  They are collecting labels from any Nestle Pure Life water bottles.  The labels will be redeemed for fitness & sports gear for the students through Nestle's Go Play program.

Drop your collected labels by the main office at MacArthur, BEFORE 10/1/08.

 

May 12, 2008
RANGERS GET A NEW GYM FLOOR

Our sincere thanks to Jim Bunnell and his crew from Tri-State Floors.  They have helped us save some important pieces of our history.

We asked them to try and save the lettering from the old floor for us, as they removed it. 

We plan to auction off the pieces or find some other way to raise money with it, to benefit Hale athletics during the school's 50th Anniversary.

and many other current & former Ranger event photos now on

check back often...  video clips coming soon

We just received a box full of the old Ranger basketball game scorebooks from Coach Wally Knapp.  We're in the process of scanning them to add to the new Ranger Sports Archive section of the web site.

The 1962-63 Hale Invitational Basketball Tournament is the first one that is available.

NEW - Upcoming Events page

We have plans to eventually add a forum or bulletin board to the alumni web site, but until that happens, you can visit with other Hale Rangers on the Nathan Hale HS Yahoo Group.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NathanHaleHighTulsa/

The group was started back in November by Ralph Seegren, Class of '93 and is open to all Hale alumni.  It is currently experiencing rapid membership growth.  Join us, and see what everyone's chatting about.

 


VINTAGE HALE GAME & BAND FILMS
on Sale Now!

ALL PROCEEDS from the sale of these DVDs directly benefits Hale's Athletic Dept.

 
September 2007: This Fall we were able to contribute another $350 to Hale's athletic dept.  This money came from the sale of football game DVDs over the past year.

The check was presented to Hale's Athletic Director, Tony Peters.  He was grateful to receive this support from Hale alumni. 

Their budget was cut again this year because they are no longer getting pop money that they counted on for a variety of team needs.


Tony Peters
Hale Athletic Director
former Sooner & NFL Safety


Kevin Busch
Head Football Coach

Fall 2006: The day after Hale beat the Edison Eagles and advanced to the semi-finals in the All-City Tournament, the Alumni Foundation was very pleased to present a check for almost $540 to Hale's head football coach, Kevin Busch.  This money came from the sale of vintage Hale football film DVDs, over the summer.

He was very grateful to receive this unexpected support.  They have a constant need for additional financial support for uniforms and other essentials for the team.


Coach Busch says the the Rangers have a serious chance of having a winning season this year, and would love to see more Hale alumni come out to the games.

The Alumni Foundation would like to encourage additional direct financial support of the Hale Athletic Department from any alumnus who has the means help out the sports programs at the school.

You can make a tax-deductible donation, in any amount, through the Alumni Foundation, and specify ANY school program that you would like to direct those funds to.  For more information, contact us at info@nathanhalealumni.org.

Posted 8/27/06

 

NATHAN HALE YEARBOOKS FOR SALE

There are a limited number of old yearbooks available to purchase from the 1970's through the 2006-07 school year.  If you are interested in purchasing one, please contact the Nathan Hale Alumni Foundation at info@nathanhalealumni.org

ALL PROCEEDS from the sale of yearbooks goes
directly back to Hale's current yearbook program.

Each class year also has it's own "News & Announcements" page.
Use the Directory to visit them.

The Awww... of the day:

8/19/08 We received a note & photos this morning from Lanette Giese '74.  Her brother, Jesse Brown, Class of '69, had an unusual patient at his animal clinic in North Carolina yesterday.

A Bengal tiger at Tiger World Conservation had given birth to two cubs.  She killed one of them and dropped the other in the water.

The conservation facility's regular veterinarian was not available so they rushed the two day old cub to Cabarrus Emergency Clinic where Jesse practices.

Our latest report is that, thanks to Dr. Jesse, the cub was stable and should survive the ordeal. She was picked up by Tiger World's vet staff today.

Note Jesse's hand-made "Caution" sign.

 

 

Be sure to pick up the Aug '08 issue of Oklahoma Magazine.  There's a 2-page feature article about Steve Pryor, Class of '74 and his great new blues CD, Cardboard Luck.

 

photos from '71 Patriot yearbook
 

Familiar Figure Back As Area IV Superintendent

7/28/2008 TPS Press Release:  Veteran educator H.J. Green has been named the Area IV Superintendent at Tulsa Public Schools, returning to the district he began his career in over a half-century ago.

“It feels good to be back,” Green said. “I’ve spent a lot of years with the district —’57 to ’87 — and I have a lot of fond memories.”  Green recalls that when he started at TPS “the district was very segregated. Central was somewhat integrated and certainly so was Webster, but the rest of the schools were segregated. It was also a time of very rapid growth. The schools were much larger than they are now.”

Green is a Tulsa mainstay, beginning his career at TPS as a teacher and coach before moving on to the role of principal at Hale High School. In 1973 he began what would be eight years at the helm of a newly-desegregated Booker T. Washington High School, a stint that won him kudos for his handling of a potentially volatile situation.

"TPS is fortunate to have enticed one of Booker T. Washington's magnet program founders back to the district. Mr. Green's experience and integrity will be valuable tools on TPS' journey to performance excellence,” said TPS Superintendent Dr. Michael Zolkoski.

 

Lt Col Doug Stall, Class of '81, "retired" from his law firm last year and is back with the Marines.

LTC Stall is currently serving in Iraq, but began sending updates to his classmates while he was still training for his current mission.

Doug writes: "As part of the largest mobilized force from Oklahoma since the Korean War, I count myself fortunate to take part in this deployment and historical event".


7/28/08 Straight from the Ranger's Mouth... There's an article, written by Doug, in today's Tulsa World titled "A leader's open letter from Iraq"

 

Billy Ree
WELCOME HOME, BILLY!

6/19/08  www.NewsOn6.com
 
A Tulsa soldier returned home Thursday after a tour in Iraq.

It was a picture perfect homecoming for Staff Sergeant William Ree, Class of '94.  His mother, his wife and three little girls greeted him at the airport.

Sergeant Ree spent a year in Iraq with the 325th Medical Unit.  He says that experience changed his outlook on life. "Everyday things you take for granted. From seeing real grass and real trees to driving your own car. Having a family to come home to everyday.  Things like that," said Staff Sergeant William Ree.

Now that Sergeant Ree is home for good, he and his family are planning a well deserved vacation.

VIDEO CLIP:

 

Commissioner Steve Shelton is appointed by the
Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

August, 2007: Steve Shelton, Class of '73, is a new member of the state Commission for Rehabilitation Services.  He's only the second disabled commission member since it was established in 1993.

The commission is the governing board for the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, which annually serves more than 190,000 Oklahomans with vocational rehabilitation, employment and educational programs. It also helps determine medical eligibility for Social Security disability benefits.
 

A senior application programmer and consultant with Fidelity National Information Services, Steve has never allowed blindness to become a barrier to achieving his goals.

Commissioner Shelton began his career in 1977 after graduating from East Central University with a bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics.

He was a client of the Department of Rehabilitation Services’ Visual Services/Vocational Rehabilitation program, which assisted him with his education and job placement. This assistance was a key factor in building the foundation for a successful information technology career.

Commissioner Shelton has devoted countless hours and resources to help people with disabilities achieve their full potential and improve their quality of life. He was elected to four terms as president of the Oklahoma affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind and currently serves as treasurer.

Additionally, he served 11 years on that national organization’s scholarship committee, during which time over $1 million was awarded to deserving students with visual disabilities. The commissioner completed two appointments to the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council, was a long term volunteer with Boy Scout Troop 479 and currently serves as a deacon at First Presbyterian Church of Edmond. Shelton and his wife Barbara have three adult sons and now reside in Edmond.

Photo of Commissioner Steve Shelton.

 

ANOTHER AMAZING RANGER

In January, 2008 we posted the obituary of Mike Chittom to the Class of '69 Memorials page, noting that he was an active volunteer at Celia Clinton Middle School, through Tulsa's Rotary Club and their Adopt-a-School program. 

The following press release was issued by Tulsa Public Schools on April 8, 2008.

School Library Renamed in Honor of Volunteer

A man that dedicated his life to an area elementary school is now forever immortalized in that school’s library. A committee appointed by Board of Education president Gary Percefull approved creating the Mike Chittom Library at Celia Clinton Elementary. Chittom was chairman of the Rotary Club of Tulsa’s Adopt-A-School committee for Celia Clinton. The club adopted the school in 1993 and spent the next decade-and-a-half donating office furniture, clothes, landscaping and mentoring readers.

Chittom passed away Jan. 17 at the age of 56, the day after attending a pizza party at the school. Administrators brought in grief counselors to help students cope with his death.

“Mike was an incredible volunteer,” said Celia Clinton Principal Cindy Taylor. “He worked here for ten years, every day.”

In 2003 Chittom spoke about his relationship with the school:  “This summer, with school out, a little girl started calling me every week to go to church with her. That church, which is a poor one, ministers to all the poor people in the neighborhood where our adopted school is located. I finally went and, much to my surprise, there were at least 10 children from our adopted school there. They all ran to me and hugged me,” he said. “…I have six sacks of love notes and letters of appreciation from children who I was lucky enough to help. There is no greater reward on this Earth that I know of.”
 

 

4/5/08 For those of you who caught KU's win over North Carolina tonight... did you happen to notice Win Case's (c/o '81) son, Jeremy (#10), playing at the end of a very important game?  Keep your eyes open for him Monday night.

Jeremy's Bio on the KU web site

 

TPS District Administrator of the Year

Eugene Field Elementary Principal, Cindi Arnett-Hemm, Class of 1973, has been named the TPS District Administrator of the Year by the Oklahoma Association of Elementary School Principals.

The annual award lauds administrators that maintain high expectations for their students and staff and show evidence of outstanding contributions to their school and community.

Hemm will be honored during a luncheon this summer. She’s also in the running for Oklahoma Administrator of the Year, with the winner attending a recognition ceremony in Washington, DC.

 

Nathan Hale Alumni Foundation has donated funds to start an indoor herb garden at Hale. 

The school received a $10,000 grant to make improvements to the outdoor Nature Center (aka Pride Ctr) next year.  They have plans for some new raised beds that will be used for vegetables and herbs.  HARDSCAPE MATERIALS in Bixby has offered to donate pond supplies to renew the water feature in the Center.

The indoor herb garden will give students the opportunity to have a trial run before going on to large-scale gardening next year. 

The harvest from the herb garden, and outdoor Nature Center, will be used in the new Culinary Arts magnet program.  Botany, Biology and Special Education students will contribute to the gardening efforts.

 

Stephen Kearney, Class of '67 has been teaching/coaching at the Oklahoma School for the Blind in Muskogee, OK for 33 years.

UPDATE:  KOTV-Channel 6 News did a great story about Stephen's wrestling team on Jan 24, 2008.

 

 

Announcing the marriage of

Paul Cooper, Class of '65
and
Donna Blackwell-Runge, Class of '68

on December 20, 2007
at Poipu Beach,
Kauai, Hawaii

The couple first met when Donna's family moved next door to Paul, from St. Louis, MO in 1965.  Paul was about to start college at the University of Tulsa and Donna was a Sophomore at Hale when they began dating. 

After a two year relationship, the couple went separate ways but rediscovered each other when Paul inquired about Donna's fate after Katrina, to find that her New Orleans home had been devastated in the storm. 

Both had previous marriages ending in divorce and after a 40 year separation, they discovered love has no time limits. 

 


Brad Ellis
Class of '76

Brad Ellis: Cool Artist of the year
Brilliant Magazine

Stroke of Genius:  Abstract painter Brad Ellis has come a long way from exhibiting his artwork in old warehouses. Sometimes the best artists go most of their careers without success until late in their lives, but Ellis proves an exception. After moving to Texas in 1987, he settled in with a collaborative group of artists in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood.

Their makeshift warehouse shows paid off as galleries and private dealers lined up to represent Ellis, yet he manages to stay humble—which makes him that much cooler.

"I’m primarily motivated by the work of other artists,” remarks Ellis. “There is so much great work being created right now by artists all over the world in many different kinds of mediums so it’s really an exciting time to be alive and to be making art.”

Creative people find inspiration in a variety of muses. “I used to follow the Grateful Dead and saw about 80 shows from coast to coast,” he recalls. It’s no wonder then that his work incorporates an element of musicality. A harmonious balance of vibrant colors, lines, shapes, forms and textures makes his paintings foyer and museum ready.

“My art philosophy is pretty simple,” he insists. “Paint for paint’s sake!”

Brad's chosen medium is primarily encaustic, oil, acrylic and collage on canvas.  Visit his web site to see his current work:  www.bradellisart.com

March, 2007 VIDEO:
Neiman Marcus commissions paintings and produces DVD featuring his work

 


1978-79 Vo-Tech pm drafting class

Did you attend Tulsa Vo-Tech (Lemley Campus) 1977 - 1980?

There is a Yahoo! Group for folks who attended Tulsa Vo-Tech Memorial (Lemley) Campus from the fall of 1977 thru the spring of 1980.

Join us to discuss the upcoming reunion or just to get caught up with old friends.... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tvtreunion/

 

Eddy Stewart

Eddy Stewart, Class of '85, is the founder and national president of the Southern Lawmen Motorcycle Club.
Eddy writes:  After several years in law enforcement, I had an idea to get a small group of friends together to go on motorcycle road trips.  The idea continued to attract interest and the Southern Lawmen Motorcycle Club (SLMC) was formed with its headquarters in Springfield, TN.  Our next chapter is currently being organized in Manchester, TN.  The club is 70% law enforcement and 30% firefighters, EMS, Prosecutors, Military, etc., (these categories also include retired and honorably discharged).

When a need arises, we organize and hold benefit rides to raise funds for those wounded in the line of duty or for the families of the fallen.  We are developing a "Scholarship program" to begin in the 2008 year.  100% of the benefit funds go to the recipients.  None of the club members receive a paycheck.  100% of their time is donated.  We are showing our appreciation for those men and women who serve and protect our country and our communities.

 


Wally Trepp '72

Paul Clarke '74

Wally Trepp '72, Paul Clarke '74 and Rob Trepp '71 (no sr photo) have just opened a new venture - the Sunset Bar & Grill in the London Square shopping center at 5800 S. Lewis in Tulsa.

~ Live music in the evenings, Wednesday thru Saturday ~
 ~ Salads, soups, burgers, steak, seafood, kids meals ~
 ~ Dinner Monday thru Saturday - Closed on Sundays ~
 ~Coming soon...... Lunch ~

(click on the logo to visit the web site)

 

John Dougherty '64 John Dougherty, Class of '64, and Steve Lee, Class of '68, are members of the very popular Tulsa group - The Fabulous Mid Life Crisis Band.

John Dougherty '07

Steve Lee '68

Link to Band's web site:
The Fabulous Mid Life Crisis Band
 

NEW:  Music samples on MySpace

Steve Lee '07

 

Larry Wofford Named TU Bovaird Professor
By Tulsa Business Journal - 7/24/2007

After carefully considering candidates from across the nation, The University of Tulsa named Larry Wofford (Hale Class of '66), TU alumnus and Tulsa business owner, the next Davis D. Bovaird Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies and Business Enterprise.


The endowed chair is one of the highest honors in TU’s College of Business Administration. Established on Jan. 1, 1983, by Bill and Marian Bovaird, its primary goal is to develop a better understanding of business enterprise and the entrepreneurial process among students, faculty, the business community and the public.

As Bovaird chair, Wofford will take the position of associate director at TU’s new International Business and Entrepreneurship Institute, which opens this fall. Wofford will develop an entrepreneurship program for TU students focusing on entrepreneurial innovation and opportunity campus wide. He will also teach an entrepreneurship course for graduate students, as well as an independent study course.
 

Wofford is not new to the TU family. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master’s degree in business administration from TU, and he was professor of finance and real estate at the University from 1974 to 1987. Wofford also has a Masters of liberal studies degree from the University of Oklahoma, a Ph.D. in finance and real estate from the University of Texas at Austin and is a certified urban planner.

Today, Wofford is owner and president of C&L Holding Corporation, which owns and operates Route 66 Harley-Davidson and the 5 & Diner restaurant in Tulsa, Okla. His store has been honored four years in a row as one of the Top 100 Dealerships in North America by Dealernews magazine.

 


THANKS, STEVE!

The NHAF is on the hunt for Ranger items to put on display during Hale's 50th Anniversary, in 2009.

You can thank [or blame] Steve Stephens for his donation of 3 issues of the 1967/68 M.A.T. MuDD - Hale's Mu Alpha Theta math club newsletter.

We didn't know that this school publication even existed until these copies arrived in the mail this week, along with an original 1968 Commencement Program. 

According to the '68 Patriot yearbook, the MuDD staff members were David Taylor, Frank Creamer, Doug Brecht, Will Roy, Wayne Barnes and Diana Henderson.

It was more like reading a copy of the National Inquirer than a math club publication!  These issues should bring memories of day-to-day life at Hale flooding back to those of you who roamed the halls during the 1967-68 school year.

We'd love to have copies of the rest of them for the Class of '68 archives, if anyone still has some stashed in their attic.  We'd also like to hear the stories behind some of the ribbing and innuendo.

While looking for more info about the M.A.T. newsletter, we also discovered that the 1968 Key Club had it's own publication - The Mondo Key Hole.  These would also be a great addition to our Anniversary displays and archives (hint, hint).

October, 1967 M.A.T. MuDD

November, 1967 M.A.T MuDD

April, 1968 M.A.T MuDD

in PDF - Adobe Acrobat Reader required
Get Acrobat Reader Web logo

Contact the NHAF if you have items to loan or donate
for our "in school" Anniversary displays.

 

Greg Schober, Class of '72, is a member of a very popular band in Oregon called "The Touchables"

From the band's bio: For those of us old enough to remember the late 1960s, The Touchables show is a foot tappin’, feel good, fast-paced trip down memory lane.  For the younger generation, The Touchables deliver an up-close and personal history lesson on the roots of classic Rock and Roll.   

According to their web site, the band's history includes gigs with these nationally-known artists:

CHARLIE DANIELS BAND
CHUBBY CHECKER
BEACH BOY’S ‘DAVID LEE MARKS’
EDDIE MONEY
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
HERMAN’S HERMITS
JOHNNY RIVERS
LOVERBOY
MARK LINDSAY
MERILEE RUSH
PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS
SAWYER BROWN
THE GRASS ROOTS
THE KINGSMEN
THE MONKEES 'Micky Dolenz’
THE SUPREMES
ERIC BURDON AND THE ANIMALS
TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS

If you live in Oregon, make sure to check them out... www.thetouchables.com


Greg Schober, right-front

 

Be sure to pick up the July, 2007 issue of TULSA PEOPLE magazine.  The cover article is about Tulsa's young (under 40) "Movers and Shapers".  These are the up and coming professionals who "capture the spirit of a city on the move, and are dedicated to making Tulsa a better place".

Channing Barker, a 2007 graduate of Bishop Kelly, is one of the four young leaders featured on the cover.  She is the daughter of Patti Olzawski-Barker, Class of '77.

Channing says this about her mom Patti, "My mom moves me and