Groveton High School Alumni Association

How about the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church?  I still love boxwoods and long to have them in my yard because of that place - the smell of them just transports me there.  I enjoyed so much the summer outdoor theatre that was put on there, although I was never an actor.  It seemed so magical, outside, in the summer evenings.  I remember "Romeo & Juliet," "Turandot," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Alice in  Wonderland."  Students I remember acting: my sister, Justine, Robert Dunham, Karen Wells, Jimmy Cerruti, Peter Byrne....

Hi (even though I responded to you elsewhere, I choose to open up this dialogue publicly).

Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church.....Man, alot happened there from 1969 to 1972, while I was at GHS......but unfortunately, many of our memories are held by me in confidentiality, because they are stories of romantic encounters, if you know what I mean..

Some of my favorites....the bamboo forest...........

Also, I thought it was SO COOL when several years later....I'm not sure.... maybe 1976???? John Cummings, alias John Marsh was renting the loft apartment in (the carriage house???) one of the church buildings....I visited him there with his girlfriend at the time, Peaches.   It was really cool.(NOTE: John, if you're out there, I hope you don't mind this mention.....)

I started to write a story about 2 years ago, when I was also doing alot of art, about a ficticious version of John Stevens, the longtime Mt. Vernon Unit. church gardener, where he was secretly a painter, and was being directed what to paint by a Divine Alien named Zothar or something like that.......

In the story, which is being recollected in the legal estate documents of said gardener by his attorney years later, the gardener reveals the paintings and their Divine message to an emotionally troubled son of a family that lived on Martha's Circle......

anyway, as if you all aren't freaked out by me now, to make a long story short.....I exhibited one of the paintings here in Baltimore at the Sowebo Art Festival 1999 under the pen name of said legal estate executor, with a ficticious burned document from the shed where said ficticious gardener hid his paintings,  and to my incredibly perverse(at the time....I'm  less wild now) satisfaction, one artist looking at the documentation believed it was real and that I was the estate executor.

Peace, hope to hear from you....

Ed Kaitz '72

There was a tree, with a rope swing...

Yes, Many fond memories of the church. I lived within walking distance of it right after HS graduation. I spent many a summer evening watching sunsets...

You could always count on a good frisbee game in the field after school. Of course there was always the covert parties at night in the forest, bamboo forest, and the boxwood gardens. It's funny, the party would move from one to the other after getting "busted" by Bumbaugh.

I livied at the church from 1969 to 1982. my mom and dad were the ministers

Hi, Jenny,

This is Kathryn Forrester, Class of '72, and I was also a Drama Dept. Thespian when our wonderful Dorthie Kogelman was there. I don't know if you'll remember me, but I was there too with Pete Byrne, Peter Edelman. I think you and I might have also worked backstage on some shows together. I was VP of Thespian Troupe 1899 there in '72.

I did visit the Unitarian Church a few times and remember a day of drama "exercses", some roving Shakespeare on the grass, (Henry V) etc. I wish I had been more of a part of that group as well.

Shows I was in at Groveton include The Crucible, Rape of the Belt, lots of "lunchtime" drama, etc. Other friends were Bob Harper, Dana Gorman, Sherrie Quander.
Thank you for your memories online. Have a wonderful summer. If you hear of any of our mutual old friends, please refer them to the Groveton Forum. Thanks!
Kathryn Forrester

FYI- Its still there with lots of additions, but the boxwood garden still looks great, as I showed my own kids my old party spot, of course I didn't tell them that. I saw Geoff Bumbaugh at our 20 yr. a couple of weeks ago. His dad isn't there anymore but still a minister. Geoff is still near by and still quick witted.