From Ronnie Lewis

One of the interesting things I have done was going to the top of the World Trade Center 3 times. The skyline of NY has always amazed me, no matter how many times I see it. I was fortunate to spend many vacations with my family in Manhattan. My brother was an art director for Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics. I guess NYC will never be the same since 9-11.

Skiing with the Stars
By Dave Bayhan Sr

.It was 1962, I was a 22-year-old Publix rail dock employee. The work was boring and hard. I heard that the Seattle World's Fair was going to open in April, they had a water ski show. I was ready to go.

A couple of my skiing buddies were already there and I was jealous. I made contact with Bob Nathey, and he said, yes, the show needed skiers but not to come because it was 35 degrees in Seattle.

I quit my job the next day, bought a ticket to Seattle, and with my suitcase, I was flying. I got off the plane in Seattle but my suitcase went to Chicago and all I had was my banlon shirt and $25 to my name. Sea-Tac Airport is a long way from downtown, but for $2.50, a bus was going that way, which I took after waiting four hours for my suitcase to arrive.

I had made downtown and found the monorail was the way to get to the Fairgrounds. So for $1.50 I was there. Getting low on money, I didn't want to pay to go to work - admission was $7 - and the man at the ticket booth wasn't buying my story. So, back to town, I went on the monorail and walked three miles back to the Fairgrounds to the other side.

I explained to the guard that I was from Florida and I was arriving late for the ski show. He believed my story and I was in. Remember, I did not have a job yet. It was around 3 p.m. and I spotted Nathey, and after him telling me how stupid I was, he said he could get me a job. The clown they had had gotten hurt during the show before, so I skied in the 4 p.m. show.

For the next six months, I was on top of the world skiing four shows a day, seven days a week. I met many movie stars including my childhood idol, Roy Rogers and his family.

The show was on the track of the football field where a concrete trough was built to hold more than 1 million gallons of water. It was 500 feet around, 3.5 feet deep and 26 feet wide. I had the privilege of skiing behind a horse from the Seattle Sheriff's Department, but the most thrilling experience of all was skiing behind Roy Rogers and Trigger for the ABC TV Show "Roy Rogers Variety Show." Roy and Dale were the finest people you could ever want to meet. We saw to it that all their children learned how to water ski.

This was the best skiing experience of my lifetime.

It certainly doesn’t seem like 50 years ago since we left LHS, but according to the calendar, it is.

I have not retired and I am now living in Charleston, South Carolina where several years ago, along with others, I started a new law school. It is called the Charleston School of Law and has been quite successful. We have our provisional accreditation from the ABA and have about 650 students. We have a downtown campus in the King Street area of Charleston, and living in Charleston is a real pleasure. I think that probably that is about the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last 50 years.

I am happy to say I am happily married to my second wife and have four grandchildren. We see them regularly here and in Columbia and they are a real treat to have around.

With regard to aging gracefully, I have very little advice. It seems to me that a modicum of spirits together with a good walk every day has worked for me. I think probably both activities relieve stress and prolong life. At any rate, I don’t have much advice on that subject except to try to be happy which is the best stress reliever.