We all knew him as "Ray". Andrea Wolfson and me and Ray Goodwin and Natalie Garfinkle used to double date in 12th grade and after as well. Natalie if you're out there I'd love to hear from you! dougcurry4935@yahoo.com I haven't seen or spoken to Ray since 1970 but I remember him well. So long Ray. Douglas S. Curry.
John Kuhns here. My twin brother Dwight (who everyone now calls DC) and I grew up with Ray Goodwin, as we knew him then. Ray lived on Ritchie Avenue and my brother and I lived close by, just a few blocks down Takoma Avenue. We were classmates at Takoma Park Junior High together. DC and I were primarily interested in sports back then, and so was Ray. My best memory of Ray was one day when, as my brother and I got together with him, he announced that he was joining this new baseball team sponsored by the Elks Club. Baseball was the paramount sport back then, bigger than football or basketball, and that's what everyone did in the summer. Daily, there was a game going on at the sandlot at SSI, the neighborhood elementary school right up the block from where we lived. DC and I played a lot of baseball, there and up at Washington Park, and were reasonably friendly with the kids in the neighborhood who were good players. That summer, a bunch of them had told us they were joining the Takoma Tigers and urged us to do so as well. But here was Ray, not only telling us that he was joining the Elks Club team--but pitching us to join up with him as well.
This was somewhat of a dilemma for a couple of wide-eyed thirteen-year-old kids. However, we liked Ray and didn't want to hurt his feelings. Plus, he was persuasive, saying that he realized all the good kids were joining the Tigers, but doing us a favor, alerting us to an opportunity that would mean more playing time. We signed up, and that weekend headed to our first practice.
DC can correct me--he's got a better memory for stuff like this than I do--but I don't think we won a game.
As the summer wore on, it got tougher and tougher to put on that blue and white, Elks Club uniform and head to the ball field. One day, salvation seemed to arrive: the coach of the Takoma Tigers called up, telling DC and me that they needed some extra players and there was room for us. The Tigers were tearing up the league. We could jump into the winner's circle. We were really looking forward to putting on that Tiger uniform.
Somehow, word leaked out. One day, we heard a knock at our door. It was Ray. He never said anything about us letting him down, but instead focused on the disappointment all of our teammates and the coaches would feel. He was right, and we knew it. We stuck it out with the Elks until the end of the season.
I didn't see Ray much more after that season but have always been thankful for the job he did helping to shape our character during that summer a long, long time ago.
I didn't realize that Howard Goodwin II was the Ray Goodwin that I knew a bit during our Blair Days. I think he married Janice Taylor (Blair '69) sometime in the Seventies. I received news that Janice had passed away a couple of years ago. I never knew what became of Ray. Rest easy my friend.
Douglas Curry
We all knew him as "Ray". Andrea Wolfson and me and Ray Goodwin and Natalie Garfinkle used to double date in 12th grade and after as well. Natalie if you're out there I'd love to hear from you! dougcurry4935@yahoo.com I haven't seen or spoken to Ray since 1970 but I remember him well. So long Ray. Douglas S. Curry.
John Kuhns
John Kuhns here. My twin brother Dwight (who everyone now calls DC) and I grew up with Ray Goodwin, as we knew him then. Ray lived on Ritchie Avenue and my brother and I lived close by, just a few blocks down Takoma Avenue. We were classmates at Takoma Park Junior High together. DC and I were primarily interested in sports back then, and so was Ray. My best memory of Ray was one day when, as my brother and I got together with him, he announced that he was joining this new baseball team sponsored by the Elks Club. Baseball was the paramount sport back then, bigger than football or basketball, and that's what everyone did in the summer. Daily, there was a game going on at the sandlot at SSI, the neighborhood elementary school right up the block from where we lived. DC and I played a lot of baseball, there and up at Washington Park, and were reasonably friendly with the kids in the neighborhood who were good players. That summer, a bunch of them had told us they were joining the Takoma Tigers and urged us to do so as well. But here was Ray, not only telling us that he was joining the Elks Club team--but pitching us to join up with him as well.
This was somewhat of a dilemma for a couple of wide-eyed thirteen-year-old kids. However, we liked Ray and didn't want to hurt his feelings. Plus, he was persuasive, saying that he realized all the good kids were joining the Tigers, but doing us a favor, alerting us to an opportunity that would mean more playing time. We signed up, and that weekend headed to our first practice.
DC can correct me--he's got a better memory for stuff like this than I do--but I don't think we won a game.
As the summer wore on, it got tougher and tougher to put on that blue and white, Elks Club uniform and head to the ball field. One day, salvation seemed to arrive: the coach of the Takoma Tigers called up, telling DC and me that they needed some extra players and there was room for us. The Tigers were tearing up the league. We could jump into the winner's circle. We were really looking forward to putting on that Tiger uniform.
Somehow, word leaked out. One day, we heard a knock at our door. It was Ray. He never said anything about us letting him down, but instead focused on the disappointment all of our teammates and the coaches would feel. He was right, and we knew it. We stuck it out with the Elks until the end of the season.
I didn't see Ray much more after that season but have always been thankful for the job he did helping to shape our character during that summer a long, long time ago.
Respectfully,
John D. Kuhns
James Nalley
I didn't realize that Howard Goodwin II was the Ray Goodwin that I knew a bit during our Blair Days. I think he married Janice Taylor (Blair '69) sometime in the Seventies. I received news that Janice had passed away a couple of years ago. I never knew what became of Ray. Rest easy my friend.