George 'Hank' Brown

Holy Cow, Nick, you're actually coming to a re-union! Can't wait to see you and meet your bride, Joette.

I was a transfer student to Springfield High my sophamore year from Nashville, Tennessee.  I had played freshman football in Tennessee and went out for football at Springfield.  I quickly became a curiosity on the football field with my southern accent, and I'll always remember coach Tozer's comment to me that the furthest south they ever had a player was from South 6th Street! 

I did not know of Beth's death until I read it just now on the SHS website (thanks Jay Downen).  Beth became one of my best buddies our senior year and my date for prom.  She was a total intellect, being barely edged out by Ellen Hindman for class valdictorian.  Although she was clearly out of my league in nearly every category, we resonated with each other.  We enjoyed hours of deep, philosophical, political, religious, and literary discussions.  It was the world in which she lived and into which she drew me.  One of my fondest high school memories was not the prom dance, but the wee morning hours after.  Instead of hotel rooms, or after-prom parties, we collected another couple (Rick Messinger and his date) and spent the rest of the night sitting on the edge of her grandparents' pond out in the country looking at the stars and contemplating the Universe.  There wasn't even a beer present (how do you spell N-E-R-D?). 

That was my last encounter with Beth for the next several years.  Three days later I boarded a bus for Annapolis, never to return to Springfield, except for short visits.  She baked chocolate chip cookies for me for my bus ride.  In return, I broke her heart six months later when I didn't invite her to the Christmas formal put on by the senior girls.  I was a jerk, but she forgave me and we corresponded periodically throughout college.  The last time we saw each other was on the platform of the Paris train station in the summer of 1964, when we discovered we would each be in France at the same time.  It was a carefully planned and delicately timed rendezvous.

As is obvious from her obituary, she was a true "Renaissance Woman" and married a guy with whom she was able to live a life that delivered on her enormous potential.  I am profoundly sad at having lost contact with her in our later years.  She was certainly one of the most impressive people I've ever know, and I'm thankful for having had the privilege of sharing a tiny sliver of her extraordinary life.  She was a total sweetheart!       

Posted on: May 15, 2020 at 7:16 AM

You're still "the best", Russ, even if you are this old! I'm tardy with this greeting, but I hope you had a great day.

Posted on: Apr 10, 2018 at 6:15 AM

Posted on: Nov 17, 2016 at 8:39 AM

Nikki, we sure missed you at the reunion this year. Wanted to stop by to visit with you but we were on a tight schedule and left right after dinner on Saturday.

Hope you are well and feeling better. Have a great day!

Have a great day, Ellen. Looking forward to seeing you at the reunion.

Posted on: Nov 24, 2015 at 6:51 PM

Happy Birthday, sun shine!

Are you still counting them!? Have a great day!