November 8, 2019

Hope this Bliss cartoon from Tuesday is big enough for you to make out.

This 1940 photo appeared on Facebook recently. It looks east on El Cajon Blvd. around Rolando.   That's Mount Helix in the distance on the right and Montezuma Road, I believe, sneaking through on the left.  Click HERE to see an enlarged version.  

Some people, it turns out, have fond memories of cafeteria food.  Click HERE to revisit a page posted some years ago.  It includes the official recipe for San Diego City Schools Peanut Butter Chews.

The music 61 years ago really WAS the best music of all.  Click HERE to read the Mighty 690 Top 40 for November 7, 1958.  

Here's the Golden Anniversary Pacer from November 7, 1969.  Must have been a bad time for the football team.  They lost to the "Birds" AND the "Bees".  Click HERE to read all 6 pages.

November 1, 2019

Another cartoon swiped from Lulu Summers.  It cracked me up -- and when I actually got it -- it REALLY cracked me up.  It's one explanation for why the dinosaurs died off.

Yippee!!  I'm in the money!!  Here's the October Royalty Statement from Schiffer Publishing, who published my book on the USS Saratoga.  Hold on a sec!!  I LOST money?  How can I be out 58 cents?

Much better news for Ernie Dronenberg '61 and Bill Gore '65.   They're getting raises.  I guess I know which doors to stand outside with my tin cup.

Did I already publish this photo of the San Diego Public Library bookmobile?  I wonder where it was taken?  Those trees conjure up an image of the East Coast, but I suspect it's somewhere in Balboa Park.  I probably also published Rick Crawford's Bookmobiles for San Diego.  Click HERE to read it again.

I've seen this photo before, but without a caption.  It's the Number 7 streetcar at Euclid and University, ready to head back downtown.  That's the Silverado Ballroom tucked away in the background.

Click HERE to enjoy an enlarged version of this 1958 shot of the El Cortez.  I think all four cars in this photo are General Motors products.  

Crawford's 3rd Annual Homecoming game was played against San Diego at Hoover on November 3, 1961, with a starting time of 8 PM.  I've already dozed off in the Barcalounger these days at 8 PM.  Click HERE to peruse the program AND check out my Crush the Cavers ribbon, along with my Field Pass signed by Charlie Clapper.

October 25, 2019

I posted this the week it ran in 2016.  It's still one of my favorites.  I'm counting it as Halloween Hilarity.

Louie Schwartzberg '68 has produced another stunning nature documentary, Fantastic Fungi.  It appears to be more interactive than his usual, and he'll be making personal appearances around the country along with the film.  Kind of like Bruce Brown used to do with Endless Summer.   He'll be at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas on November 3rd and at the Hotel del Coronado on November 5th.  Click HERE to watch the trailer and get more information.

In the Colt Corral of July 5th I mentioned that Linda Blake Morrow and her husband David had been apprehended in Israel, having been on the lam for a year accused of Health Care Fraud.  Sandy Barber Pikula '71 let me know that I had erred in stating Linda was from the Class of '71.  Linda Blake graduated in 1970.  Her sister Barbara (that's her on the right) graduated in 1971.  My concern, expressed to Sandy, is that some of you now might go away thinking Barbara was somehow involved in the skulduggery.  She was not.

The Colts played the Cavers on October 26, 1962 at Balboa Stadium.  Click HERE to peruse the program shared by Sarina Klein Nordmarken.

The good news is Ed Schoenberg saved his copies of the Pacer his Senior Year.  The bad news is he clipped out any articles with his name in them.  Click HERE to get the explanation -- and read the October 17, 1969 issue of the student newspaper.  

Ellen Rochefort Barnes ’59 passed away on October 10, 2019 in Beebe, Arkansas.  At Crawford she was active in Y-teens, GAA, Bible Club and was on the Vespers Committee.  Ellen met Dexter Barnes on Mission Beach in early 1961 and married in May of that same year.  She was the mother of 6 children, 18 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.  She attended her grandchildren's every school event, concert, track meet, graduation, soccer, play, social media and she will be greatly missed by all!!

Al Porter ’64 passed away October 21, 2019 after a lengthy series of health challenges. He’s survived by his two great kids, Forest Porter and Lorna Coclich.  His wife passed away a month earlier.   You’ll want to read the heartfelt remembrance sent in by his friend and classmate Eric Selten.  It’s posted on the Class of ’64 Obituary Page.

My long time friend and fellow Crawford classmate, Nancy Biner McConnell ’67 went to be with Jesus on October 23^rd.   She had been battling kidney failure and on dialysis everyday for a few years now and recently started having heart issues. She is survived by her sister Karen Biner Huntley ’62, her husband Marshall McConnell, her two sons Nathan and his wife Julie and Matthew, stepson Michael and stepdaughter Michele as well as her granddaughters (Nathan’s daughters) Audrey and Kate -- the lights of her life!  Nancy lived in Indiana at the time of her passing -- Don Christofferson ’68

October 18, 2019

I guess it's not too early for Halloween cartoons.  I snagged this off Lulu Anaya Summers' Facebook page.

STOP THE PRESSES!!  Tomorrow's Class of '74 reunion at Admiral Baker Field has been cancelled due to low response, so don't give the guard any grief. 

Speaking of Admiral Baker Field, here's a photo I took at the pool in 1964.  That might be Willie Drescher '63 in the lifeguard tower.

I've finally gotten around to publishing the photos Char Clark took at the Class of '64 55th Reunion.  Posting them on the web seemed too labor intensive.  The iCloud link Char sent confused me.  I thought about putting them on Facebook, but not everyone has Facebook.  I posted photos from earlier reunions on Picasa, but apparently you can no longer access those without becoming a Google member.  I decided to just post the photos on the web like the good old days.  Click HERE to see the results of my labors.

Turns out the College Restaurant has NOT been replaced with a Starbucks.  The Hudson Gas Station at the rear has been replaced with a Starbucks.  The Daily Grind is now serving coffee and breakfast in the old College Restaurant site.

October 11, 2019

Sandie Robbins Knox '61 wants me to remind you that there's not a lot of time left to enter your Little Deuce Coupe in the big Crawford car show.  She wants you to call her at 619-286-8806.  You can also email her at hhrssowner@aol.com

Crawford played Clairemont at Hoover 60 years ago this week.  Kickoff was at 8 PM!!  Click HERE to check out the rosters.

The Cassie brothers say their dad Les wasn't in this 1935 Hoover High baseball photo because a technical rules violation made him ineligible.  And Ted Williams didn't have his Senior Photo in the yearbook because he was a Junior.  Click HERE for all the details.

Turns out my neighbor doesn't want the 1935 Hoover yearbook, so I'm offering it to one of you.  Preferably one of the Colts who said their parents graduated from Hoover that year.  

This 1980 photo of the College Restaurant, where Montezuma and El Cajon merge, appeared on Facebook this week.   I think it's a Starbucks now.

Herb (you may have known him as Lonnie) Terry '66 checks in from Indiana University, where he is Professor Emeritus of The Media School.  He's tearing his hair out trying to remember the name of the lumber yard his dad used to take him to on El Cajon Blvd near the Campus Drive-In.  I think I found the answer.

Look what I just found tucked away on the Horace Mann Page of this very web site.  

October 4, 2019

I can see why stores advertise Christmas six weeks early.  They want you to get in and buy and buy and buy.  I can't figure out why they're promoting Halloween a month out.  Maybe they're hoping you'll get your Trick or Treat candy early.  We all know what happens then.  (Hint: you end up going back and buying more)

I must have fallen asleep in the Barcalounger watching Ken Kramer, 'cause I woke up and was looking at my own self.  I looked pretty good, probably because it was a rerun of an interview Ken did many years ago.  CLICK here if you'd like to check it out.  It's not exactly a spoiler alert, but I think the episode is about 20 minutes into a 25 minute show.

Sharon Culver Considine '60 will be honored by the Rancho Santa Fe Women's Golf Club at its annual Breast Cancer Golf Tournament on October 8th.  “Honoring Sharon for all that she has done for the Women’s Golf Club and this event, in particular, is long over due. Our women’s golf group has been so fortunate to have such an experienced and dedicated leader like Sharon,” said this year’s chair Kris Charton.  Click HERE for more details and "the rest of the story". 

My neighbor Sandy wandered over this week with a copy of the 1935 Hoover High annual.  Aha -- said I!!  Ted Williams and Les Cassie!!  Well, sort of.  Les Cassie, father of Tom '62 and Jim '65, is in the annual as a Senior, but not in the baseball team photo.  Ted Williams is in the team photo but not pictured as a Senior.  Maybe he wasn't a Senior.  I'm sure the Cassies will clear things up.  Click HERE to check out the snippets I posted on my web site.

Our old friend Paula Kincaid forwards an excellent Remember the '50s video.  They've done a great job with the background music.  CLICK here for a delightful seven-minute journey. You'll look long and hard for any African-Americans in this clip.  Kind of like my three years at Crawford.  I can't imagine what it must have been like to turn on the TV and never see anyone that looked like you.  

September 27, 2019

Every so often something appears on my TV screen that causes me to sit up in the Barcalounger and wonder if my eyes and ears were deceiving me.  Mission Federal Credit Union is helping to sponsor the Food 4 Kids Backpack Program.  Who better to "help feed San Diego School Children" than Mission Fed spokesperson -- wait for it -- Angie Lasagna!!

I don't promote ALL of the missives of my '62 classmate Ernie Cowan, but most all of them.  Last week's Outdoor column was the delightful "Nature's morning wake-up call on Mt. Whoville".  Click HERE and enjoy.

Last week George Sorenson sent me a photo of some folks from the Class of '69 who had all started out at San Diego State's Campus Lab School.  He also sent a lovely shot of their 1st Grade class in 1958.  I was able to blow up the 1958 class and place it on the School Days Page.  George was never able to locate the person who took the above photo and get a denser version.  If we do get one we'll blow it up and post it also.  Pictured above are:  Robby Wilcox, George Sorensen, Thomas Cook, Terry Potter, Doug Smith, Karen Dilworth, Phil Frye, with Keith Christensen seated in front. Terry Potter went on to be the Crawford Homecoming Queen and George Sorensen the Drum Major of the Marching Band.   George says you can pick them out in the photo below but he didn't say how.

Well, it's been 60 years since the 21st Annual San Diego City Schools Football Carnival was played at Balboa Stadium on September 26, 1959.  Crawford was the host school for the event, and Vern Bowman got his portrait published, although most of his face was blocked out by the face guard on his helmet.  Click HERE to reminisce.  

Without the California Tower as a reference it's hard to tell which way we're looking in this photo of the Cabrillo Bridge taken on July 18, 1915.  Click HERE to look at an enlargement and see what my guess is.

Charles Byrne ’62, passed away September 18, 2019 at his home in Carson City, NV.  Charlie, later known as Chuck, was born in San Diego and attended San Diego State’s Campus Lab School, Jackson Elementary, Horace Mann and Crawford.  He attended the University of Arizona for a year, married, then finished at San Diego State with a degree in Finance.  He worked for several corporations in the San Diego area in finance and accounting before moving to the Silicon Valley area for a number of years.  He then transferred to Carson City, NV in the 1990s where he was CFO, then President and CEO of Hytek Microsystems, Inc. before his retirement.  In his later years, he loved golf, fishing and chilling out at the family cottage on the rocky coast in the Redwoods north of Trinidad, CA.  Chuck is survived by his son Quentin and daughter Christine, both in Nevada, and his brother Mike ’64, of Hudson, MA.