The Alumni Foundation would like to
send a big THANK YOU to

Brian Danielson

for allowing us to have his Class of '74 Group Photo scanned and copied for the school.  He brought it to us in Tulsa, all the way from Minnesota, while visiting here on vacation.  Remember the great memorabilia display he did for our 30 year reunion?

If you would like to have a copy of the full-size 300 dpi jpeg file emailed to you, just send your request to info@NathanHaleAlumni.org.

~ Live music in the evenings, Wednesday thru Saturday ~
 ~ Salads, soups, burgers, steak, seafood, kids meals ~
 ~ Dinner Monday thru Saturday - Closed on Sundays ~
 ~Coming soon...... Lunch ~

(click on the logo to visit the web site)

8/1/07 UPDATE:  Bruce has posted some of his early hang gliding video clips on YouTube, including one from 1973 - on 15th Street, between Sheridan & Memorial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IuFIBNZlUk

Click on each photo for a larger view
Photo on the left is the landing site of Bruce's record 142 mile glide, others are launching from Buffalo Mountain.

Susan Pack-Heck, Class of '74, is the author of a new book

With the Master in the School of Tested Faith
Ladies Bible Study Series on the Epistle of James
 

Jake Schweikhard was nominated for the 2005-06 school year.  He is a 4th grade homeroom teacher at Cooper Elementary.  Jake received his degrees in Music Education and Elementary Education at Abilene Christian University.  He has also taught music, speech and social studies.  He has been with TPS since 1982 with a total of 28 years of teaching experience.

By Cory YounBy Cory Young  Tulsa World 1/25/2006

Tulsa World, December 18, 2005  By MATT GLEASON World Scene Writer

Class is in session

Steve Pryor

"I just think they deserve a little more recognition than they get because it's a hard life to try to make a life as a musician even if you do it part-time," he said. "Some of these guys try to do this for a living full-time and it's very, very difficult, and there's no retirement plan for them."   In addition, these great artists won't be around forever.

According to promoter Tim Kassen, invited musicians include: Jimmy Markham, Bill Davis, Larry Bell, Jimmy Karstein, STEVE PRYOR, Dustin Pittsley, Tony Romanello, Tommy Crook, Tommy Tripplehorn, David Teegarden, Jim Sweney, Chris Campbell, Billy Estes, Ray D. Rowe, Rocky Frisco, Jim Downing, Jim Byfield, Charlie Redd, Dick Sims, Suzanne Kassen, Chuck Blackwell, Peter Mayo, Scott Ellison, Casey Van Beek, Jim Strader, Larry Arnett, Larry York, Dwight Twilley, Glenn R. Townsend, Rev. Jonny Palmer, Daniel Redmond, Billy Berkenbile, and many others.
 

Tulsa World, September 18, 2005  By JOHN WOOLEY World Scene Writer

photo courtesy of STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World

Guitar master Steve Pryor beat his demons
and fills his music with pure soul

A famous musical legend has bluesman guitarist Robert Johnson making a deal with Satan himself at a Mississippi crossroads.  For Steve Pryor, the crossroads were symbolic instead of literal. But that distinction doesn't mean a lot when the deal is for real.

"I was 30 years old when my daughter, Mariel, was born," recalled the 2005 inductee into the Spot Music Hall of Fame. "I was developing as a player. I was starting to get it. And at that time, there was a bit of a demon that rose up in me. "It said, 'Dedicate yourself to that guitar, no matter what falls away - family, sobriety, whatever.'   "I remember knowing that a musician, a 100 percent all-the-time musician, is a very selfish, self-centered person. I knew that. I was ready to do that. I just didn't know how much it would hurt later on.  "As far as making a deal with the devil goes, I gave up a lot."

Pryor's decision to embrace the guitar at all costs led to a life that's involved sustained acclaim and fame - even, for a brief moment, on a national scale - as well as regular wrestling matches with his own demons.  After his much-publicized wreck of a year and a half ago, however, he seems to have hit on a way for both music and sobriety to co-exist within him, brought together by a spirit that's finally at peace with itself.

"That wreck - it was a gift from God," he said. "It was the only thing that could've happened at the time to keep me from killing myself. I had to get sober from a wheelchair, and you'd better believe that's a tough thing to do." 

A Tulsa native, Pryor was still a Nathan Hale high schooler when he began playing clubs, thanks to one of his first guitar heroes, the recently deceased Mike "Monk" Bruce. "Every time I pick my guitar up, I think of Mike Bruce," he said. "We used to get fake IDs and go see him over at the Colony Club when he had the Jazz Babies, which at the time was him and (drummer) Jamie Oldaker, (bassist) Carl Dean Radle and (saxophonist) Pat Ryan. 

"The first time I ever played guitar in a Tulsa club was there, about 3 a.m. after a Saturday night. Monk (Bruce) was getting tired, and he said, 'Anyone want to come up and play?' I went up there and did two Muddy Waters songs.  "I remember saying to Jimmy Strader, 'That guy playing bass looks like the guy in (Eric Clapton's) Derek and the Dominoes.' He said, 'It is. That's Carl Dean Radle.' Knowing those guys were from Tulsa, and then seeing all those Tulsa guys playing with Freddie King when he came to Drillers Park, let me know that Tulsa was not nowhere."

Pryor kept after it, and a short time after his graduation he was working in California with a pre-movie star Gary Busey in the Old Dog Band. In the late '70s, he was back in town, playing with Jim Sweney's group and, later, with famed Tulsa Sound pioneer Jimmy Markham.

Pryor was in New York with fellow Tulsa musician Randy Vincent, "down to our last can of Campbell's soup," when they both were tapped by bluesman Paul Butterfield to join his nationally known blues band.  "That was a great education," said Pryor with a grin. "Then I came back to Tulsa, and it was cans of soup again for a couple of years."   He put together a searing blues outfit in Tulsa called the Mighty Kingsnakes and hit the road hard for awhile. He also began writing what he called "heavier" material with fellow Tulsan Scott Hutchison, and it was the latter effort that led to his album with the major-label Zoo Entertainment in 1991.

Even though Billboard magazine trumpeted the release of the Steve Pryor Band disc with the line, "Look out, fret fans, here's your new hero," the music was a hybrid -- not quite Mighty Kingsnakes-style blues, but not quite non-blues, either.  "I had Alex Hodges, the old manager for Stevie Ray (Vaughan), and he was wanting me to do what I'd done with the Kingsnakes," remembered Pryor.  "But the Zoo Entertainment deal wasn't for a guitar-band. They wanted me to do what I'd done to get my publishing deal. So you get that schizophrenic thing going, and put a bunch of weed and alcohol and heroin on top of it, and you've got a situation where you can't make decisions."

Pryor lost the Zoo deal after the first album and, he admits, took it very hard. It showed in his behavior after traveling to Ireland to become the guitarist for the Commitments -- a job that didn't work out.  "I got kicked out of Ireland for drinking too much," he said. "Can you imagine how much you have drink to get kicked out of Ireland?"

A few years later, his mother died, which was another, even more severe blow.   "There's a time when your life seems to have a definite shade to it," he mused. "For me, there's my life up until I was 48, when I had my mother, and my life after I lost her. Now, I'm just trying to live my life the way I should've lived it when she was alive." 

First, however, there was the wreck, which happened only a few months after his mother's passing. In the early morning, Pryor was on the road to Eureka Springs, Ark., to pick up some money for a festival job, when he fell asleep at the wheel.  To this day, he says that he felt his mother's presence in the van with him just before he crashed through a stand of evergreens, destroying the van. He was seriously injured and even now, he said, "some parts of my body wake up before others."

It took him half a year to begin playing and singing in earnest again, and he quickly saw and heard that things were different.   "Because I had to relearn how to play, and how to sing, my style had changed," he explained. "When the band I have now got together for its first rehearsal, I said, 'This is a different deal. It hurts too much to do the guitar-hero thing anymore. I'm too old. It's unbecoming.'

"So what we have now is an interplay between two guitars, bass and drums. It's not as loud as it used to be, but there's a lot more of a dynamic range. I like to delve into that more (J.J.) Cale-ish kind of thing, what Cale calls 'Tulsa cocktail-lounge guitar.' " He chuckled.   "There's a term called 'playing the room,' not being too loud, and my favorite guitarists have always been (Tommy) Crook, Monk Bruce, Tom Tripplehorn -- people who always played the room. I think that's something I've finally learned to do.

"Now, in the mornings, I pray and I meditate," he added. "I live a very private life with Tina (his girlfriend). I think I'm playing better than I ever have, but there's a plan and flow to it this time. It's not about being rich and famous as a musician. It's not about fighting my destiny as a musician."   He grinned again. "It's not what I thought it was about."   He paused for a moment, perhaps thinking about those long-ago days when he was a teenager and the smells of a nightclub in the early morning brought with them exotic thrills and wild promise.

"You know," he said finally, "it's rare for musicians -- especially if they start young -- to grow up to be good people real quickly. You're always getting patted on the back, people are always asking if they can get you anything. It's like Robbie Robertson said."

And then, he quoted four lines from Robertson's "Stage Fright," a classic song Robertson wrote for the Band:

"Deep in the heart of a lonely kid
"Who suffered so much for what he did
"They gave this poor boy his fortune and fame
"Since that day he ain't been the same
"See the man with the stage fright"

And once again, Steve Pryor smiled.
For more information on Pryor and the band, visit www.stevepryor.com
 

"Steve Pryor Wins 5th Spot Award" - On November 19, 2004, Steve walked up to the Cain's Ballroom stage to accept his 5th Spot Award in 6 years.  It was a miracle he was even there.  Steve was severely injured when he fell asleep at the wheel of his van near Eureka Springs, AR, on April 18th.  Among other injuries, he suffered a broken back, 5 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and broke every bone in both feet.  Steve is currently doing physical therapy 6 days a week in a program that was founded by Eric Clapton, to assist musicians.

Steve was planning to return to the music scene with a live performance in December at a local club, but decided that he wasn't ready.  Before the accident, he had been working on a new CD at Tulsa's Indie Recording Studio.  He calls it "the best stuff I've ever done."  He's concentrating on completing the new album.  He is also looking forward to the March '05 release of the "Maddogs and Okies" CD, which was recorded last summer with other Oklahoma musicians.  Steve does "Can't Find My Way Home", an Eric Clapton tune.

The rest of the article contains a lot of Steve's musical background and plans for the future.  If you would like a copy of the newsletter, you can pick one up at Carl's Coney Island at 26th & Memorial, or contact the Alumni Foundation for a copy.

Photo courtesy of
Bone Tone Records

You can get up to date information about Steve's recovery at his "unofficial" website: www.stevepryor.com

Craig McDaniel has turned a hobby into something extraordinary.  He was considered for entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for winning the most large sweep-stakes.  He says, "I didn't get the title because they said that even though I had won many times, they could not find anyone else to compare it with".

Look for Craig's web-based business listed on the Alumni-Owned Business page.

UPDATE:  On Jan. 11, 2005 Craig's web-based business "Sweepstakes Today" was featured in USA Today's Web Guide as a "Hot Site".  Here's the text from the article:

SWEEPSTAKES TODAY -Feel lucky? In that case, you're definitely due for a visit to this helpful site, which keeps track of all sweepstakes in progress here, there and everywhere. Site proprietor Craig McDaniel genuinely loves keeping up with what's happening (and has the good luck, too – check out the Mr. Sweepy link for a history of the things he's won over the years), and his enthusiasm and good common sense shine through. — HSS, USA Today

Craig said that his membership has gone through the roof since the article came out.

UPDATE: On June 17, 2005 Craig's sweepstakes site was featured as one of national syndicated columnist Kim Komando's Kool Sites

I have discovered a revolutionary knowledge transfer system. Simply connect the subjects with the brainwave amplifier headgear and logon to the knowledge portal. All traits, values, mannerisms, etc. are conveyed to the opposing subject. Total transfer time varies by individual. For me (Cochise the dog) it took under 2 minutes to acquire all the knowledge of Bob (the silly human). Please send him some jerky treats and flea collars.

Please send your comments DIRECTLY to Bob Bidasio, Class of '74
(yes class - he's all ours!)

Peter David Quackenbush

Even though I did not officially graduate from Nathan Hale High School in 1974 along with my other contemporaries, I did however serve my country by joining the Marine Corps in the fourth quarter of 1972 and was soon after relocated to an Eastern Tour in Viet Nam. This inconvenience (to say the least) was the sole reason that I did not graduate with my fellow students in 1974.

Since January 13, 1980 to our present time, I have been a Biblical Researcher (i.e., 24+ years). And I have just completed a 4-½ year project that yielded what I called “The Companion’s Way” Study Bible. I currently have promoted it throughout 62 countries, through various Ministry connections.

Contact Peter at: peter_quackenbush@yahoo.com

Ed. Note:  Peter's twin brother, Paul Quackenbush graduated with the Class of '74 and later joined the U. S. Navy as an Electronic Warfare Specialist. 

He would love to hear from fellow classmates.  His email address is: b754iels@juno.com

Dwight Farmer

Contact Dwight at dwight@magicice.com

Keith Newton, took an early retirement in 1998 and moved to Belize in Central America. He and his wife operated a small resort for several years, sold out and are now running several of their own companies. His wife operates their real estate/ property management company; he operates a project management company and together they manage a real estate investment company. Keith writes, "So, we didn't really retire, just relocated and started working for ourselves."

Grandpa Kevin Leister

Tim Leister, Class of ‘99, and his wife are the proud parents of a baby boy!  Tim is currently stationed in Japan with the Navy.  Tim’s dad, Kevin Leister.