Carl Yorke

Hi everyone, 

We lived in Petit Beauregard from 1959-1962. 

I am writing a story about The Mansion. If you have any pictures, memories or experiences about that scary place, I would appreciate if you would send them to me. You can post here or send in email to carlyorke@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Barry McCloskey (1960)

PAHS --- definitely some of the best times of my life.

Sucked at sports (still do, but I do watch football and Formula 1 racing).

Have been back to Paris several times and still harbor hopes of going at least one more time.

I was a member of our soccer team. Ronnie Lapin was our goalie. And a great goalie, at that. I also seem to remember not winning too many games. Maybe even losing most, if not all. The camaraderie was good, though.

Lived on the economy, which made me a member of both a closed community and an open one. Had friends in both.

Have been retired since 1999. Never looked back.

Four kids, eleven grand kids, two great grand kids, and one great grand donkey. A miniature that’s being hosted by one of the kid’s kids. Tilly (Matilda); she’s doing well.

My crowning achievement? Putting three 9mm rounds in a circle the size of a quarter at fifty feet using a handgun I had never seen before --- garnering lifelong respect from my DIL who was, at that time, a Deputy Sheriff. The look on her face --- well --- you know --- priceless.

Wishing y’all the best. Y’all take care now, y’hear.

Barry, Class of '60

Thomas Brown (1963)

Hi Carol, I lived there from '57 to '60.  Not too far from one of the entrances (same street).  Was a professor at Yale for ~3 decades, retired last year.  I remember the mansion, where we played, and the small pond up the hill from it.   There were stories about unexploded land mines, designed to keep us away. We must have known some of the same folks. Terry and Donna Green lived near me.  Couldn't find them in yearbook.  Played tennis with Marilyn Susina.  John Davidson, who recently died, was a buddy.  Robby Simpson lived around the corner.  My parents and his were friends.  I wonder if the basketball court is still there.  I spent many hours playing there.  Did you ever go to the teen club--a quonset hut near the b-ball court, if I recall.  Like everyone else, I had a motor bike.  Crashed it on bastille day, after a party.  Thankfuly, my parents fixed it.  Life w/out a bike was dreary.  Gotta run.  -Tom  (aka Tim) Brown  email:  tbrown@snet.net

Nicki Fairlamb (de Naray) (1967)

I'm a bit younger than those who previously posted - class of '67, the last (and dare I say BEST) class to graduate from PAHS. Left Paris in April '67 for Stuttgart because my dad was with EUCOM, and that's where we went when M. de Gaulle evicted us from France. I was fortunate enough to spend (most of) my senior year at PAHS, and I also have fond and lasting memories and stay in touch with many classmates through Facebook and in person via email and phone. We lived in Petit Beauregard, but I do not recall "The Mansion." Perhaps it was gone by the time I arrived in September of '66. I have been to a number of class reunions throughout the years and grieve each time I see another classmate has passed on. My husband, Andy, was class of '61, but not at PAHS. He also served in Viet Nam and was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1996. DoD later acknowledged it was the result of AO exposure. He fought a valiant battle (we both did) and passed in January 2020. We had been married 45 years. I returned to Paris a number of times over the years and recently spent the month of September 2021 in Paris and northern France. It was my first visit to the DDay beaches, Mont St. Michel, Auvers sur Oise (where Van Gogh died), Rouen, Chartres, and a few other places along the way. In Paris I spent a week at the same hotel where we lived for 2 months during the summer of '66 before moving to P.B. It was the Hotel Rochester on Rue La Boetie, located 2 blocks off the Champs Elysees between the Etoile and the Place de la Concorde, just 2 blocks from the Elysee Palace and one of the hotels contracted for military families awaiting permanent housing. I spent the next week in an apartment just a block and a half from La Tour Eiffel when my son and his family joined me for their first trip to Paris. I put a lot of steps on my fitbit during those two weeks and the previous two which were mostly spent cruising the Seine. I don't plan to go to this year's reunion as I have other obligations where I live now in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I fully expected the reunion to be last year and had planned all my other activities around it. Alas, COVID trumped that. Yes, we are all aging, but when I see those people in Ukraine enduring what they are, I am taken back to the summer of '68 when Russian tanks rolled into what was then Czechoslovakia. I wish there was more we could do without risking WWIII. For now, I will put my trust in NATO as many of those countries are much closer to the conflict and may have more to lose. Be well, stay strong and au revoir.

Anne Clark (Smith) (1968)

My memory is not expansive on the topic any longer, but I clearly remember “the Mansion”, which I “believe” maybe Le château de La Celle-St-Cloud or Chateau de Beauregard de La Celle-St-Cloud. I lived in Building 13 in Petit Beauregard from 1961-1965.  Not too far past Generals Oberbeck and Brown’s quarters , and down the hill toward the back gate of Petit, a fair number of us would gather together and sneak through the woods, go through a rather dilapidated old fence, and enter into the acreage of “the Mansion”.  We were always certain we would be “discovered” by a farmer with a shot gun, but that never happened.  When you are 13, 14, 15 years of age, you have a very fertile imagination.

Two vivid memories were following some of my other 1968 classmates (specifically in this case, Paul Hughes and Billie Birch) up a precarious winding staircase from the first floor and finding myself falling through one of the steps. (Thank you Paul for pulling me out). Did I say the memory was vivid? Trust me. It is.  That alone should have been enough to deter me ever going back, but it didn’t.  Another trek took several more of us to the basements below the main floor to discover what looked like old wine cellar type cells that we convinced one another were actually dungeons.

I would challenge my fellow Petit residents during that period of time, as well as my 1967-1968 classmates to recall some of those “we dare you” moments.  I wish we were all back there. They were truly our “Wonder Years”.

Bill Blake (1956)

I went to PAHS for my senior year (1955-56).  I am definitetly the senior citizen of this group.  I went to 5 high schools, but PAHS was by far my favorite.  I don't remember the Mansion, but do remember many "educational" trips to Paris on the bus from P.B.  I have kept in contact with friends from the classes of 56, 57, 58. Regrettably, some have passed away.  I have been to a few of the reunions in the early years when they were hosted by a particular class, which included classed of 56, 57, & 58 held in DC, since most of us had connections to the DC area.  I have never attended the big reunions, mainly because I could not find any of my friends planning to attend.  I have only been back to Paris once.  Visited the old school.  Lots of changes.....dorms, gymn, removal of the American type football field, etc.  We have considered taking one of the alumni tours to Paris, but the time never worked and now with Covid, we have been reluctant to travel internationally.  We just hang out in Sarasota, FL.  We have a small plane that I still feel competent to fly, which keeps me going.      

Barbara Walker (Bartlett) (1969)

Classmates:

Please notice, this Message Forum is for the enjoyment of sharing our memories of Paris and students at Paris American High School. Our commonality transcends politics.

Please keep this Forum and the PAHS website politics free.

Administrator

Mike Kanze (1965)

Thank you Barbara. 

We've always tried to keep the web site and our Reunions politics-free for everyone's enjoyment. 

Paul Reinecke III (1961)

Phil, I am glad you updated us. I would have been the class of 61. I lived in PB from 57-60 (9th-11th grade). Your brother John was one of my best friends. What great memories. We had as many girls as guys in our " gang ".

The comment from " Tim" Brown describes a lot of what I did and who I knew. Tim spend a lot of time on the PB basketball "court" demeaning us short guys.  Randy Condos being about the shortest.

Anyone know how to contact Terri Greene or Kyle or the Mitchell girls ?  I also recall a guy in my class that loved museums and took me to every one in Paris. I am almost sure his name was Grover Cleveland but can find no mention of him.

The mansion I knew matches the comments from Anne Clark and Tim. I recall ice skating on the small pond.

I had to ask how to get onto this forum.. If you wondering, go the the website on click on Pirate Chat in the banner.

I am listed on the class of 1961 pulldown.

Paul Reinecke

Carl Yorke

Thanks for your responses about the Mansion. They are really fun. I have another question. Does anyone remember Peter Parker, and if you do, do you have any stories about him?

Thanks again, Carl

James Atkins (1962)

I would have been in the class of '62, however, my family left France in the summer of '60 right after I finished my Freshman year at PAHS.. I attended the 6th, 7th & 8th grades on the Army base in Fontainebleau, so the majority of my memories were created during that timeline. I remember the first house we lived in was in the city of Barbizon next to the Fontainebleau forest, then moving into a house on the outskirts of Fontainebleau and finally ending-up living in the Allied apartment complex there. I can remember buying a loaf of french bread and walking to the Chateau Fontainebleau to feed the huge catfish in the ponds. It was the largest chateau in France (1500- rooms) where 34-kings and 2-emperors lived for almost 8-centuries. Our junior high school  basketball team was named the Falcons and we traveled to other military bases to compete. I remember riding the bus each week to PAHS to live in the dorm room all week. I was a starter as a freshman on the Pirate football team after Ray Larson broke his leg - I thought I was "hot stuff" wearing my letter jacket with the big Red P on it as well as my black watch sport coat and tie! Yes, those were truly the "Wonder Years" of my life. 

Thomas Brown (1963)

What happened to Terry and Donna Greene?  (Not sure of last name spelling--never saw it). They lived near me at PB and took the bus to PAHS, but they are not in the yearbook.  Why? They were a year or two ahead of me.  Does anyone remember Al Kyle?  He and John Davidson and I were close buddies.  Remarkable that some of you explored 2nd floor of the mansion.  At the time, it didn't look safe to me.  Nobody has mentioned the network of underground tunnels near the mansion.  

Brant Weatherford (1966)

Agree with Thomas Brown.

Bart Bartlett (1957)

Kevin Carey (1967)

Bob Brooks '67 isn't in the list of the'67 class.  Bob and his family went back to the States in the summer of '66.  He worked every year on the yearbook and he took a lot of the photos that were in the yearbook.  He was a very good photographer and I would go with him to walk around Paris and take photos, often of bums, "clochards" in French.  We'd use the dark room at the Camp de Loges hobby/crafts center to develop the shots.  Bob was a good guy, a good friend and I hope he's well.  We had great times and enjoyed soaping the fountain in Le Pecq a number of times, once being chased by gendarmes who were lying in wait for our Friday night soaping of the fountain.  We got away running and jumping over walls, luckily walls without broken glass embedded in the top as was typical in France.   We also enjoyed zooming ariund on motor bikes and playing Babe Ruth baseball, and drinking a few beers and playing pin ball in many bars.    His older sister Nancie Brooks graduated from PAHS in '63 and is listed in classmates on this site.  Their Dad was an Army Attache at the Embassy.  I don't know how Bob fell through the cracks and isn't listed in the class of '67.

Carol Dunsmore (Baker) (1960)

I was at PAHS from 57 to 60.  We left summer of 60 after graduation.  I remember the mansion well.  It was rumored that the Nazis had stored munitions in the tunnels that ran through the grounds.  I remember almost falling into a hole near the pond which I assume was part of the tunnels.  It had been covered by wooden planks and when I foolishly stepped on one it broke.  Fortunately, I didn't fall through.

Another fun memory: one night a group of us girls were walking back to Petit Beauregard after seeing the movie "Dracula" at Voluseau.  The night was very foggy and we had to pass in front of the mansion with its broken statuary in front.  As we were walking, we could hear footseps following behind us but could see no one in the fog.  Needless to say, we were scared out of our wits.  Turned out it was some boys from PB.  They had a good laugh.

Pat Brady (Thurman) (1960)

Hi to all! 

I have really enjoyed hearing about The Mansion and would love to read Carl's story when it is available.  I did not know about The Mansion when I lived in Croissy-sur-Seine and attended PAHS from Oct. 1957-1959.  I would have graduated there in 1960, but we were transferred to England, where I went to Bushy Park for my senior year.  It was great, but my heart stayed in Paris!  Wish I had something to contribute to your story, Carl.  

Anne Clark Smith's comment about the "old wine cellar type cells" really resonated with me, as we had that going on in our underground "garage".  My sister, Carol, and I pretty much believed that what was down there was a group of dungeons.  

I remember you, Barry McCloskey!  Your reference to living on the economy with friends in both open and closed groups was exactly what I experienced.  I rode the school bus with Micki Evans, Geri and Kathie McLean, etc. but had good friends in the neighborhood who were German.  This scandelized our femme de menage, who was Italian and didn't think I should associate with a GERMAN!  

I also knew the Israeli soccer goalie, Ronny Lapin, that you mentioned.  I didn't know what soccer was when I arrived in France from California and many other places the USAF saw fit to send us!  Now ALL the kids play soccer!  

We were all so lucky to be where we were at an age when we could learn a bit about the world in a fairly easy (if sometimes comical and sometimes painful) way.  I wouldn't trade it for anything!  I am doing some writing myself, so thanks everybody for stirring up some memories.

Pat (Brady) Thurman

Paul Hughes (1968)

Hello All from Europe!!!....What a great string of Fantastic memories!!!!.....Anne's comments about The Mansion and in particular her comments  about that faithful day when she went through the stairs brought back many fond memories....NOT to mention the VERY pleasant 2 kisses I received from her and Billie for saving her life !!!!!!!...Very fond memories indeed!!!!   Anne and I also spent quite a bit of time "in the dark room" at Camp des Loges as well as photograpy was my hobby....say no more!!!!!...a Very Happy Saint Patricks Day to all from Geraldine & I from the west coast of Ireland!!!!!!!

Miles Davis (1963)

I was absolutely blessed to spend three years, grades 10-12, at PAHS, graduating in '63. Living in France was one of the major highlights of my life.  We lived in Croissey-sur-Seine and Chatou, rode the train from Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Paris and points in between a million times, hung with Jim Beauchamp, Bill Whittaker, Rick Sert, and Brian Keebaugh, drank too much beer, learned French almost fluently (which came in handy two years ago when I went back), became best buds with my neighbor, Richard de Dedominicis and spent a summer month in Cassis with his family, played the trumpet very badly under Mr. Roy's tutelage, desperately wanted a motorbike but Dad wouldn't hear of it (but later rode mootorcycles for years), mastered the Metro system, walked through the Catacombes more than once, a scene that still haunts me, spent Saturdays in Paris giving American tourists tours for the price of admission to wherever we took them, asked the Principal, Mrs. Lynch, if we could wear shorts in the Spring and was told we could if we wore a coat and tie, which we did, much to her consternation, skied in Germany, bicycled in The Netherlands, drank tea in England, traveled all over western Europe and learned the history of places I had never heard of, went on a Mediterranean cruise but never got to Greece, and generally had the time of my life. Graduated UNC Chapel Hill and later U of Florida law, became a federal judge in 1986, and, sorry to be commercial, recently published a book, My War in the Jungle--the Long-Deleyed Memoir of a Marine Lieutenent in Vietnam 1968-69, available on Amazon.

Carl Yorke

It's so great to read your memories about Petit Beauregard and The Mansion. I hope you keep them coming. I especially like hearing the rumors you heard about what was in the woods, what was in The Mansion, and what was in the tunnels. 

I was 7 when we moved to PB, and the first rumor I heard was of a headless motorcyle Nazi who patrolled the tunnels. I was exactly the right age to visualize and believe it. 

In my research, I found out what the Nazi's actually used it for, at least for a time. It was a program called Abwehr II, and they trained saboteurs to attack allied forces from behind once the allies liberated Paris and moved on towards Germany. 

Anne Clark (Smith) mentioned that the name of the building might be  Le château de La Celle-St-Cloud or Chateau de Beauregard de La Celle-St-Cloud. I, too, went down this road and found it to be a dead end. When I went back in January of 2020, just as the pandemic was making it's way across the world, I realized that The Mansion was in Rocquencourt, and searching on variations of that word brought be the results I wanted. 

There's a lovely video of The Mansion and it's surroundings c. 1900-1930 on YouTube at https://youtu.be/BNE6Yu5PgGM. Or you can search YouTube Rocquencourt 78150.

More later. Carl

Gerie Bledsoe (1960)

Attended PAHS 1956-1958. Class of ‘60. My father, Air Force Senior M/Sgt.,was assigned to USUCOM, Camp de Loges, St. Germain-en-Laye.  We lived "on the economy" for a while and then Petite Beaureguard. While living in PB, my buddies and I found a way into the mansion through a tunnel that supplied water from a pond up the hill.  The tunnel was also a good place to collect little bats hanging from the ceiling. Eeek! Took them to schoo. LOL  That mansion, it seems, has been replaced by a Mercedes building. We also had fun dancing at the PB Teen Club,didn’t we? Washing car and carrying at groceries at the commissary provided some income.

I played basketball and football for PAHS, and Babe Ruth Baseball in the summer. In '58, we won the Babe Ruth European Championship! I pitched two games that day. Ouch!  I also remember trips to U.S. bases in Germany with our basketball team.  Heidelberg’s my fav. One baseball teammate became an astronaut (John Blaha), another a Army general. I’ve not stayed in touch with my PAHS pals because after returning to Florida in '58. I attended two more high schools in Florida before graduating. I do stay in touch with Skip Sablitz (Wolters) class of '60, we dated for a while, and she now lives in Chicago. I also remember dating: Pat Anderson, Pat Youngdale, and Pat Brooks.  (See a pattern there?) OK, Judy Hill and other beauties come to mind. Sadly, one of  my best friends, Lt. Robin Cassel, died in Vietnam.

 While in Paris, my family and I visited Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy.  Garmisch was a fav at Christmas. The World’s Fair in Brussels in 1858 was special, too. Visiting the Louvre (and loving Pigalle!! at night) changed my life. I became a Europhile, earning a doctorate in 20th Century European history, and teaching European and Russian history at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. After that, for 10 years I worked in D.C. for the American Association of University Professors and 6 years for the National Education Association. Later on -- Vice-Provost at Michigan State, and the across country as executive director of the California (University) Faculty Association. Elected to Board of Trustees of Solano C.C.  

My second wife. Diane, and I retired in 2009 and moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where I was a volunteer teacher of Mexican history at the Allende Institute, a gig that has continued via Zoom during COVID. I have two daughters and a grandson from my first marriage, and my second wife, since 1998, has three grandchildren in IL and MI. That’s why we now have homes in Barrington, IL and Santa Rosa Beach, Fl. Yes, we are snowbirds. Other than teaching history, my passion is auto racing--20+ years racing SCCA and in Mexico for La Carrera Panamericana, the Chihuahua Express, and other stage rallies. It’s been a good life!  BTW, I've total empathy for Ukraine.  As I noted above, I taught Russian and Soviet history. Got to draw the line somewhere.

I stsrted writing a play called "Kool Paris Knights" about our visits at night to downtown Paris and Pigalle, where I got to know the young hookers at the Club Canada. (No, no touchy the mercandize but they were friendly to a tall 15 year old.) We had to catch the last bus to PB at 1 AM but sometimes missed. Ooops.

Another fav menory is signing in the PAHS choir at the Sacre Coeur bascillica.

Gerie Bledsoe

geriebledsoe@gmail.com

Dick Williams (1960)

David Dunn (1967)

Were those our best years, as one of our senior year teachers once told us ( Mr. Lee, I think)? I can't answer that, but I did enjoy a variation on the theme I saw on a bright red T-shirt in Las Vegas last week: "Ole Miss. The best 5 to 6 years of your life."

James Woods (Jr. ) (1962)

Being in PAHS for my junior and senior year (grad 1962) your comments all brought back a ton of memories. The basket ball court at Petit Beauregard was indeed a meeting place. My memories include Steve Stevens, John Davidson, Sam (?last name but great at BB), Al (? last name) , and the cheering section of Janet Geary, Shery Winingham. A great group of friends. Janet developed early Alzheimers disease (unclear if she is still with us) and Shery died of lung cancer. Both too young. So sad. Paris was different than it is now. Smaller, more intimate. And we all had our scooters or motor cycles.  And favorite resturants. The newbies who hear our tales cannot imagine how wonderful it was then for all of us. 

Frank "Dixon" McElwee Jr (1964)

I lived in PB from June '61 to June '63, my sophomore and junior years at PAHS, then transferred to Heidelberg, GY for my senior year. We lived in one of the three story apartment complexes that surrounded the park in which the basketball court resided.  That bball court was where we each tried to establish our athletic chops, and I remember playing pickup games (usually 3 on 3 due to limited space) with Paul VanHoozer '63,Bob Sherwin '63, possibly Rod Bishop '64 & Steve Stevens '63....it was all good fun and I look back on those years fondly.  I enjoyed my year in Heidelberg but wish I could have stayed a Pirate for my senior year. Cela vis,

Dixon