JJ Pearce Class of 1976 Podcast

Well, what can I say. The end is near! Repent!

The reunion is just days away and it time to wrap up the podcast. For the last year we have explored our past, listened to each others stories, laughed a lot, cried a little, but most of all I hope we have come to understand better where we came from, how it prepared us for the future, and what that future will look like in the years to come.

So listen to the very last podcast for the JJ Pearce High School Class of 1976. Our next stop the class reunion weekend in a few days and I am looking forward to seeing each and every one of you there.

Until then, enjoy the podcast where the tables are turned on our host and he is interviewed by those who know him best. Enjoy!

Here we are just a few weeks away from the high school class Reunion that started all this off. 

For those of you who are new to the podcast, we started last year as a way to catch up with some old friends and see where life had taken them over the past 50 years. 

Along the way, we’ve reached into almost every corner of the class of ’76, or as they said in the Breakfast Club movie, we’ve talked to the rebel, the princess, the outcast, the brainiac,and the jock. 

And we’ve gone beyond that, we’ve talked to the doctor, the teacher, the artisan, the philosopher, the creative, the movie stunt woman, the football coach, the businessman, the English teacher, and more. 

 And guess what?  We’re going to get every one of those people together in the same room at the same time.

Oh my, is that a good idea?

For some, that will be a trip.  For others, that seems like deathby a thousand lashes.  I get it.  There are going to be some people there you aren’t excited about seeing. 

 Guess what, me too. 

 High school was a formative time, and fortunately (and also unfortunately) we formed a lot of things during those years, some of which we may have spent thousands of dollars on in therapy to get rid of. 

But on the other hand, look how much we have grown.  And it’s not only you and me who have grown, most everyone else around us in the class has grown to one extent or another.  At the very least, after 50 years, none of us are the same people we were when we were 18 years old. 

Change is hard, and for the past 50 years we have gone through many changes, some good and some not so good. 

 But we’ve come to that point in life where we have to decide if we are going to be bound by the past or if we are going to use the past as a foundation for the future. 

Out guest on this episode of the podcast is a great example.  I’ve known him since were in elementary school at Mohawk back in the 1960s.  We moved up to North junior high together and were in the Viking Band, him playing tenor sax and me playing alto, so we were always in the same sectional rehearsals and logged lots of after school hours learning how to play together as a band.  And of course, we moved on up to high school and I would be lying if I said it was all rosy.  There were times we disagreed.  There were times that weavoided each other in the halls over something that was said.  There were other times when we sat and pondered what life would be like after graduation.  We knew our differences were there, but we shared so much more. 

So fast forward 50 years and guess what, we’re still different.  And we still have our differences. 

He’s a woke California liberal living in Tahoe and I’m a stogy old conservative living in Texas.  He was surprised to learn I had never smoked pot, I was surprised he was a successful businessman. 

So here we are.  Two extremely different guys.  Bound together by a common experience that shows we have more in common than we do apart. 

So, grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and sit back for a far ranging discussion of life, human sexuality, and never knowing what life is going to bring when you make a phonecall . . .

As we start to wrap up things here on the podcast, we take a deep dive into some of the simpler things in life, things like "what is the meaning of life?" and "what does this all mean?" with Reed Hall. You know, easy stuff!

You might not remember Reed, but I am sure you saw his work. He was the cartoonist on the school newspaper teh Pony Express. He drew a strip titled "Super Sophomore" about life in the highly vaunted halls of JJ Pearce High School from the perspective of a sophomore.

Reed graduated from cartoons, 8mm films, and good old fasioned sleight of hand magic back in high school to teaching at the college level, specifically courses on comparative religions. But this ain't no bible thumping podcast - this is an honest look at how we were raised in the RISD and how those values played out later in life.

Reed also wrote a novel called Magic: An Occult Thriller., an "old-school 'metaphysical thriller' or 'spiritual shocker,' updated and set in contemporary suburbia." I don't think Stephen King has anything to worry about, but Reed does admit in the podcast that some of his writing is self-exploration of his past selfs. So since those past selfs roamed the halls of JJ Pearce, I'm expecting some common themes and characters in his contemporary suburban setting.

So come on along as we explore a cartoonist's and creative philosopher's view on life, sometimes from the dark side, sometimes from the light side, but always from the fun side.

Plus, don't forget to buy your tickets to the reunion. It's coming up in less than 4 weeks!

Big announcement on this episode of the podcast. So far we have been talking about getting back together and having a fun time. We've expanded that to spending time this whole year creating opportunities for to get back together and renew our friendships and relationships.

This episode we talk about expanding the idea of reunion even beyond that. What is we introduce the idea of an ongoing concept of reunion, one that can reach not only our class but other classes at Pearrce looking forward to celebrating their fifty-year reunion.

Michael Tanner, Kelli Wilson Henderson, and Mike Steffen join me this episode as we talk about thing this thing some legs and seeing how much we can accomplish working together to make reunion happen. Join us!

What was your first job?  For a lot of us, our first job was in the fast food industry.  And I’m gonna bet that many of us had our first jobs at McDonald’s.  And if you did, then I’m gonna bet that you knew and worked with our guest on the podcast today Chuck O’Reilly. 

Chuck’s father was one of the early McDonald’s franchise holders in the Dallas Fort Worth area.  And they opened the store at Campbell and Central Expressway that became the first employer for many Pearce students. 

 So we’ll talk to Chuck a little about what that was like and what it was like working for this father in the business.  But even more interestingly, we’ll talk to Chuck about what it’s like to work with you daughter. 

You see, the O’Reilly’s are a three-generation family with McDonald’s, and that's quite an accomplishment sinceMcDonald’s doesn’t just hand out legacy franchises – you have to earn it. 

So on this podcast we’ll talk a little about that and what it’s like to be a leader in the community with such a foundational business such as McDonald’s. 

Sometimes in life we run intopeople that we knew but we really didn’t know.  That’s kinda the way it is for me with our guest on the podcast today. 

 I always knew Mark Ralston, I always knew he was a good athlete and extremely confident in his skills.  We even had some classes together, but I couldn’t tell you what they were. 

In reality, we were just two of the folks walking down the halls, never speaking, maybe nodding, but never really talking. 

So I was surprised to find out that we both shared an interest in architect, that we both took drafting as a class and even learned calligraphy as an artform.  In fact, we were on track to go to the same university to study architecture, and we would have, if I hadn’t called an audible in July after graduation and decide to attend the University of Texas in Austin. 

So there you have it – two ships passing the in the night linked only together by some shared experiences in juniorhigh and senior high school.

So what a pleasant surprise to spend an hour finding out what we didn’t know about each other and how much we really did have in common, not only in class and in football teams, but inour shared experience growing up in the suburbs of Dallas in the little city of Richardson, Texas. 

Things were different back in 1976 for the Bicentennial celebration of our country's 200 birthday. There were mass celebrations, people turned out in droves to sing patriotic songs, stand for hours to watch a parade, and lay out under an open a night time sky to watch fireworks. Oh, and to join with other Americans in the celebration. There were block parties, civic organizations, and church gatherings.

What has happened? Fourth of July events for America 250 just don't seem the same. Is it the name? Bicentennial certainly has a better ring to it than Semiquincentennial.

Or is it that we as a people have changed?

One thing that hasn't changed are the words in the Declaration of Independence. Written over 250 years ago and signed around July 4, 1776, these words have shaped our collective culture, our political identity, and our unique drive for independence and security.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

And so we have.

I invite you to listen to these words again (or for the first time if you have never heard them before) and listen to our national identity and American destiny take shape.

Separation anxiety is a real thing, and not seeing some people for 50 years can certainly create a little anxiety.  So this week we have an hour long session scheduled with one of our classmates who is a professional therapist so we can explore what’s going on in our heads as we think about the reunion. 

Classmate Dr. Jane Ellen Phillips takes a fun look back at where we came from and what we can do with it as we come back together for the reunion. 

Come on along for discussion for a little free couch time from the doctor. 

MENTIONS: Lisa Gross Zadow, Katie Fackler Whyte, DebbieBlankenship, Paula Gately, Kelli Wilson Henderson.

There are many pathways to power. Some are born into it. Some find it along the way. Others are elected into it. Join us for this episode of the podcast as we visit with Mike Steffen, president of the class of 1976 at JJ Pearce High School and find out how he found his way into the corridors of power that started way back in the halls of high school in 1976.

MENTIONS: Dave Rader, Roy Curtis, Matt Hammer, Larry Robertson (coach), Marty Mitcham, Mark Malcolm, MikeTannery, Bob Hohman, Kathy Metcalf, Mary Good, Dale Kirkendoll, Terry Miller, Harold McKamie, Barbara Wood, Vickie Lee, Jeff Hagens, Kelli Wilson Henderson, Greg Garner, Brooks Wallace, Richard Quick (swim coach), Ida Christenson (Chemistry teacher), Becky Taylor, Mark Woods, Andy Carper, Dana McComas, Robin Quick, Alan Stone, Tommy Hughes, Fred Lanford. 

We’ve talked before about how transient the Richardson area was back in the day.  Collins, Texas Instruments, and all the high tech firms were on the fast track of growth and expansion and the need for a highly skilled and educated workforce drove many of the relocations into and how of the area during the 60s and the 70s.

And while the general rap against Pearce in those years was the school wasn’t very diverse, I’m beginning to see in these podcasts that we really were much more diverse than we have been portrayed.  It just seems that we didn’t leadoff with the differences but lived into what we shared in our common humanity.  And what we found out was we had a whole lot more in common than we had in our differences. 

Join us for this interview with Dan Ziegler, actor, director, story teller, and Emmy award winer as we take a look at Dan’s journey that led him from the suburbs of New York City to the suburbs of Dallas and on to the hallways of JJ Pearce High School where on his third day of class found himself in the vice principal’s office for a discussion with Dale Lowder. You remember Mr. Lowder; high sides, flat top, and a real straight shooter (with a good aim with the paddle).

MENTIONS: Zona Ray (Drama), Judy Marcum (English), DanPeterson, Tommy Huse, Larry Hagman, Elinore South (Chemistry), Dale Lowder (Assistant Principal), Ellen Stewart, Joseph Papp, Chris Hauty, LL Cool J, Father Damien, Billy Sage, Kathy Metcalf, Sandra Klihr, and Kathy Johnson Lanford.