Howe Alumni Website

My first memory of`Bruce Beck is when on the first or second day at Howe in 1964 when he invited me to his and Ruth’s home for a cookout. Tom and Joanne Totten, along with Phil and Joellen Brown were there. It was very thoughtful of Bruce to acquaint me with others of my age group, although I was the eldest of the group and have remained so. I didn’t seem to get any younger. They all did. Ruth could always put on a good meal and still does. I hate to count the number of grilled hamburgers I have scarfed down on their screened-in porch; however, at that time they were living on Washington Street across from the Howe bridge with Gretchen Scotten who had taught English at the old Manual High School; she always said she taught 35 years behind the huge smoke stack. She was a blessing to Bruce and Ruth and they were a blessing to her as they took care of her for the rest of her life.

Pam Chavis (shown with sons Jesse and Kyle) spent many months trying to locate the owner of a high school ring which her mother, who had recently passed away, had kept for 52 years. In the end her amazing search was successful and she happily returned the ring to its flabbergasted owner, Howe high school graduate Paul Grissom ('48).

This is a picture of the original Tuskegee airmen. It was submitted to me by Howe alumnus, James Neel from the class of 1958. James posted a message on the board asking whether a teacher who taught in the 50s at Howe named Charles DeBow might be the same Charles DeBow who was one of the original Tuskegee airmen. He and I both started researching and found that the Charles DeBow from the airmen was listed as being from Indianapolis, IN!