Dear Rob and Members of the 1962 Graduating Class,

I want to thank you for inviting me to attend the 1962 Class Reunion and dinner on Saturday, April 21, 2007.  How I wish I could attend the dinner and have the opportunity to become reacquainted with the class members after 45 years!  Unfortunately, I am Rotary #5910 District Governor, and on Saturday April 21, 2007, I will be presiding at our District Conference and specifically the District Governor’s Banquet, at that exact same time.

Last year I had business in Houston and while there I made a trip out to Jesse Jones High School.  The Principal gave me a guided tour of the building and I was absolutely amazed when we went to the second floor and I got to see my old Biology classroom and lab!  It looked as if I might have just left it the weekend before I was there.  The interior of the building looked much the same as it did when we were there, and it was kept very clean and neat.  The swimming pool where I coached the swim team was no longer in operation, but the building that housed the swimming pool remained on the site, to be torn down at some later date.

The entrance of the building was much the same except the trees that Mr. Coy Mills planted had grown and produced a great deal of shading.  I had not been to Jones High School since I left Houston in 1963, so it was indeed a nostalgic trip for me.  I have remarked many times throughout the years about the high quality of students that I taught at Jones High School and about the successes most students had found in their careers.  I have taught some Jones former students in my Biology/Environmental Science classes at Texas A&M University and Stephen F. Austin State University, and that was exciting.  I even had a graduate student whose mother was on the faculty at Jones High School at the same time I was there. (You may remember Mrs. Mary Ann Van Eaton who taught English)

Another interesting acquaintance is with Dr. Larry Phillips, President of Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas, and his brother Lynn Phillips—both were graduates of Jesse Jones High School, great basketball players, and they were both in my Biology classes.  I understand that Lynn is deceased.

Please keep me on your mailing list as I would love to meet with the class at your next reunion.  If you wish, you may post this message to the website.

Jack D. McCullough, PhD

2116 Creekview Bend

Nacogdoches, TX 75965