July 31, 2020

It's been another slow week in Coltville, and a sad couple of weeks for friends and families of two ladies who spent their lives serving up Mexican food.  Mitla Cafe has been a San Bernardino institution since 1937, and Lucy Reyes went to work there in 1952.  She counted among her customers Cesar Chavez and that nice Glenn Bell, who went on to found Taco Bell.  Lucy passed away on July 13th.  Click HERE if you'd like to read the obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

Closer to home, Dolores Robledo died July 14th at the age of 90.  I mention this because she and her late husband Roberto emigrated from Mexico in 1957 and opened a tortilleria next to the border in 1964.  They delivered fresh tortillas to restaurants all around the county, as well as the Border Patrol office nearby.  The agents asked if they could add beans and rice to their next delivery -- and Roberto's Taco shops was born.  Rigoberto's, Royberto's, Aliberto's -- apparently as family members joined the business they customized the names.  There are now more than 77 'berto restaurants in seven western states.  Click HERE if you'd like to read the entire obituary.

So I"m watching the Feherty Show because I enjoy seeing golfers interviewed, but saxophonist Kenny G was the guest.  I guess Kenny G is a very good golfer and it was an interesting show.  Turns out Kenny G is also a pilot and took David Feherty up for a spin over Santa Monica.  "How did you get interested in flying?" asked David.  Kenny G responded, "There's a very good bass player in Los Angeles who is also a pilot.  He talked me into it.  His name is Nathan East."  In case you don't know, Nathan is a Colt from the Class of '73.

It's been a while, I think, since we got a look at the color photo that graced the frontispiece of the 1964 Centaur.  Click HERE if you'd like to see an enlargement on my web site.  You might be able to spot Newberrys.

Sharon Whitley Larsen '69 shares her Baccalaureate and Commencement Instructions, which includes a nice map of San Diego State -- and Aztec Bowl.  Click HERE to peruse all three pages.

July 24, 2020

Nice Try?  I thought it said Nice Fry!!  Oh, well -- never mind.  Turns out it's some sort of a podcast if you want to look it up on Google.

Wanna watch 2 1/2 minutes of streetcar video taken in 1942?  Click HERE.  This is a pitch for donations to a museum in Northern California which is apparently restoring one of the streetcars featured in the video.  I believe the above shot looks north on 30th Street at Adams, which I think was the beginning of the #2 streetcar line.  You may also recognize the #2 crossing the old 30th Street bridge over Switzer Canyon in the video, as well as the #7 crossing the Georgia Street bridge by the zoo.

It's been a slow week in Crawfordville.  I'm posting the color photos from the 1970 Centaur as a consolation prize for the folks who'd planned to attend their 50-year Reunion next month.  It's been postponed until August 2021.  That's Homecoming Queen Linda Austin smiling at you above.  Click HERE to see the other photos.

As I said, it's been a slow week.  Here's my job sheet from Metal Shop with Mr. Nelson at Horace Mann in 1958.  I can picture each of these projects.  I think the hammer was a tiny trinket.  My Mom pretended that the sugar scoop was the best thing ever.  Remember ash trays?  Click HERE for the web site posting.

Stephanie Steel Johnson ’74 died July 15, 2020.  She didn’t want things from people.  She wanted things FOR people. She lived by the mantra “think of others."  Few who knew her were untouched by her generosity, her selflessness, and her grace in supporting those around her.  She would not hesitate to take the more difficult of two paths if it meant doing the right thing.  Her robust character and boundless spirit make saying this all the more difficult.  Please understand: if you were in her life, she loved you.  There was no other way with her.  Nothing short of love.  It was her wish that those who loved her in kind would think long and hard about one aspect of her experience that they valued and then seek to emulate that in their own lives.  In this way, we keep her close and honor her still.  It is important to note that Stephanie long cherished the idea of “day clean.”  A concept borrowed from the Gullah culture of South Carolina, “day clean” evokes the sense that each dawn brings a fresh start complete with renewed energy and the bright assurance that there is good work being done.  Stephanie believed in the greater “day clean” that awaited her.  So too would she expect us to remember that each day is a fresh opportunity to think of others.

July 17, 2020

Tuesday's cartoon from Harry Bliss is a perfect segue to the latest episode of the Blumer's Bakery saga.

What are the chances?  Blumer's Bakery catered Leatha McGowan's wedding 40 years ago last weekend -- and she has the receipts to prove it.  Click HERE for the details.

From Paula Kincaid -- Me: Sobbing my heart out, “I can’t see you anymore.  I’m not going to let you hurt me again."   Trainer: “It was one sit-up. You did one sit-up.”

Gail Schindler Fogelman '67 shares a football program from her late husband George.  It's the game played between Crawford and Mission Bay at Hoover on September 28, 1962.   Click HERE for a closer look.

Remember Par Tee Miniature Golf?  We'll drive by it on our eastbound tour of University Avenue that begins on the exit from Washington Street and ends at 70th Street.   First we need to buckle up and get familiar with the dashboard.  

Clicking on the arrow at the left allows you to stop and go. Clicking on the gear image on the right allows you to select a speed.  I like 0.5

OK?  Click HERE and enjoy.  When you get to the end, the video may automatically send you on a return trip back to Mission Hills.

Douglas Brant ’70 died on July 4, 2020.  Doug lived across from me on West Falls View Drive and attended Blessed Sacrament, Horace Mann and Crawford.  I recall many visits to the Helix theater for movies with Doug around 1965-66.  We liked slot cars back then too.  He was the fastest guy on the block running as well.  One guy down the street said he could run so fast because he had his own gasoline (Douglas gas stations) -- John Hermes ’70

July 10, 2020

If you have autocorrect on your phone you'll probably get a kick out of this.

Gary Trudeau is "on vacation".  I thought he was retired.  Anyway, they're running Doonesbury cartoons from a long time ago.  They're still hilarious to me.  This is part of a series on the dumbing down of college admissions.

The passing -- or possible passing -- of Dave Flesner '60 (see below) got me thinking about phone books.  Remember them?  They got bigger and bigger until the white pages and yellow pages became separate books.  Then they disappeared.  The internet made them obsolete.  Phone numbers were at the tip of your fingers -- until they weren't.  I had hoped to contact the Flesner household and delicately ask some questions.  Did not happen.  All of the free on-line directories have now been monetized.  I wish I had a phone book.

Larry Slayen '62 is looking for a copy of Mr. Staff's Jackson Elementary 6th grade class from 1956.  I've got Mr. Kroll's class above and Mrs. Warren's class below, but no Mr. Staff.  I reached out to the Class of '62 specifically, but was unsuccessful.  Perhaps someone out there has access to a sibling's photo.

We got a lot of feedback from last week's photo of Blumer's Bakery.  Here's a San Diego Union ad from March 18, 1961.  They were still using the old Juniper telephone exchange.  I love the line at the bottom: Open Every Day including Sun., 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Closed Tuesday.

Did I say the #7 bus was headed east in last week's photo?  I meant the OTHER east, also known as west.  No sooner did I mention Palisade Gardens than a photo we've seen before popped up as well as a 1985 Reader article on the skating rink's last days.  Click HERE to check it out.

Gordon Dawson '60 died on April 17, 2020.  He was born on March 27, 1941.

Dave Flesner has apparently passed, as reported by the Crawford Alumni web site.  No other information was available.

Penny Wuest Severson ’66 passed quietly at home, in her sleep, with her family by her side on June 11, 2020. She was a native San Diegan, educated at Oak Park Elementary, Horace Mann Junior High, Crawford,  and Grossmont Junior College. Then she was off to Delta Airlines for the next 34 years. She retired in 2003.  Penny was a volunteer advocate. She was a Candy Striper in her teens, worked at a hospital while based in Texas, and a faithful worker for the San Carlos Library for almost 25 years. She constantly encouraged her family and friends to volunteer.  She was also a Brownie leader at Hearst Elementary School in Del Cerro, and she drove braille students and their dogs to and from lessons.  Penny was a breast cancer survivor for seven-plus years.

James Parish ’75, an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Southern Illinois University, passed away from natural causes on April 20, 2020.   Jim was born in Augsburg, Germany, the youngest of five children.  He received his Master’s from University of California Santa Barbara and from there went on to graduate from the University of Chicago with his Ph.D. in Mathematics. Jim taught at the University of Arizona before moving to Edwardsville where he taught at SIUE for more than 30 years.  He was well-liked and admired by his colleagues, students, and friends.  Mathematics was his passion, but he had many interests that included reading, music, cooking, and the love of his two furry companions.

July 3, 2020

I spotted this on the web and I thought I'd share it.

Remember when the Old Globe Theater burned to the ground?  Not OUR Old Globe Theater!!  I'm talking about the original in London.  The date was June 29, 1613, as mentioned in this past Tuesday's Today's highlight in history column.  Turns out they were putting on a performance of Henry VIII that required a cannon shot.  What could go wrong?  

This is the second week in a row that the Union-Tribune has had an article featuring a photo that includes the Tower Bar on University and Euclid.  This piece lets you take a ride on the #7 bus, shown here heading west at Winona Avenue.  I think this is the route you chose as a teenager to get to the Palisade Gardens skating rink.  Bus ridership is down in San Diego due to the pandemic, but not on the #7 Route.  Click HERE to read the article.

I was looking for something else and came across this May 1975 photo of Blumer's Bakery taken by my late friend John Suitts.  Click HERE to see some of the other photos he took of East San Diego.

A couple of hours later Cathy Fay posted on Facebook this October 1983 shot of the Century Twin Cinema around the corner from Blumer's.  I don't know Cathy but I wanted to make sure she got credit for the photo.

Linda Pinkerton Reutz '67 passed away June 23rd.  That's all the information shared on the Crawford Foundation web page.

Barbara Thomas Davis ’68 passed away June 23, 2020, after battling cancer for eight years.  Barbara worked full-time at an insurance brokerage company after graduating from Mesa College with an Associates degree. After moving to Utah, she worked full-time at Brigham Young University as a secretary in the Employment office.  She loved being a stay-at-home mom. After the children were grown, she especially enjoyed working for Jackman Music.  Her late brother Richard described her best when he said: “Barb was always nice and very kind.  I don't ever recall her being really angry.  She was always too kind to be mean, even when she thought she was being mean.”  Her kindness was evident throughout her life.

June 26, 2020

Yesterday's Bizarro cartoon

My heart goes out to Matthew Hubbard, a professor at Laney College in Oakland, who apparently suggested it might be a good idea for one of his Vietnamese-American students to anglicize her first name.  Every Asian I've known had an American first name.  I'm thinking of Ed Fong and Dennis Ming at Crawford, and Doreen Fujisaki at San Diego State.  My favorite waitresses at Chinese establishments have American names they use at work.  At any rate, Professor Hubbard is weathering a Tweet storm for being culturally insensitive and xenophobic.  He's apologized profusely, but may lose his job.  There is no way in hell this girl got through junior high using her given name, and you won't hear it on radio or TV.  It's Phuc.  I assume that's pronounced Fuck.  Cheers.

"These are the times that try men souls," to quote Thomas Paine.  I guess I can understand why Aunt Jemima Syrup is getting the boot.  Apparently Mrs. Butterworth is also on the way out, because of her figure (I'm serious).  But Eskimo Pie!!  Well, I'm not a Native American from Alaska, so I'll take their word for it that it's culturally insensitive.  Click HERE to read the article in the New York Times.

This deal on avocados, from the A & P ad I shared on Monday reminds me of the thrifty shopper who came upon an identical offer.  "How much for ONE avocado," she asked the manager.  "13 cents," he replied.  "I'll take the other one," she said.

Tuesday's Union-Tribune had a thoughtful article about NASCAR's heritage by Bill Center '63.   Click HERE to check it out.  By the way, if you type Bill Center into Google Images you get the nice photo above, and a whole bunch of shots of the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody, Wyoming.

Three of the people in this group photo are B. B. King, Eric Clapton and our own Nathan East.  Sunday's Union-Tribune had a feature article on the 20th Anniversary of the album Riding With The King, and a whole lot about Nathan.  Click HERE to give it a read.  Unfortunately, it doesn't have the snapshot of B. B. and Nathan, a 1973 Crawford graduate, that was featured in the print edition.

Remember the Horace Mann handbook submitted by Ron Smith last week?  He also sent along a copy of Crawford's Student Handbook for the Class of '68 -- or at least I thought he did.  Turns out he emailed the cover, two pages, and a school map.  It all worked out fine, because it turns out Ed Schoenberg had previously submitted the same handbook, but Ron's cover was much nicer.  I did take the time to enlarge the map for your pleasure.  Click HERE to check out the map.  Click HERE to read the original handbook.

An email from the Crawford Foundation said that Stephen Dickson '66 passed away earlier this month.  That's all I know, except that his name was Stephen but the annual printed it as Steven.

June 19, 2020

Monday's Union-Tribune featured an article entitled Diary of a Recovery.    It's probably more than you want to know about the businesses around Euclid and University trying to recover from the pandemic.  Who knew there is now a Chinese restaurant on the first floor of the Silverado Ballroom?  Click HERE to read the article.

Click HERE to view a larger image of autos waiting to cross into Mexico around 1963, a photo posted on Facebook by David Nieraeth.

Ernie Cowan's latest column revolves around his discovery of a century-old Auto Club directional sign in the desert.   Click HERE for a fascinating history lesson.

Did you graduate from Oak Park Elementary in 1961?  You might be in this photo submitted by Jim Miller '67.  Click HERE for a closer view.

Ron Smith '72 shares his 1969 Horace Mann Junior High School Cougar Handbook.  Click HERE to enjoy all 14 pages, two of which are a magnificent map of what appears to be an overcrowded school.

I burst out laughing when I saw the front page of the 1970 Pacer Graduation issue, and I've had This Is The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius rattling around in my brain all week.  Maybe it's PTSD, because that would have been my second year of teaching at Hale Junior High.  Click HERE to check out the entire ten-page issue.  Or is it eight?  I think I'm having flashbacks.

Doug Wied ’63 passed away on May 29, 2020, in Ventura, CA, surrounded by his children.   He was editor of the school paper at Crawford, and earned a BA in history from the University of California, Berkeley.  After college, Doug entered the United States Navy Reserve and attended Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI.  He served aboard the USS Duluth (LPD-6) during the Vietnam War and was discharged at the rank of Lieutenant.  While stationed in San Diego, Doug met Christine Goscinski, and they married in February 1971. They moved to Lodi in 1977, where they raised their family, before moving to Ventura in 2006.   Doug's career in banking and as a trust officer spanned 42 years.    Doug had a tremendous love of music and musical performance. In his youth, he played saxophone in the Bonham Brothers Boys Band in San Diego. He was a great supporter of the Stockton Symphony Association, serving on its board and as its president. He also sat on the board of the New West Symphony and was a past president of the Ventura Music Festival.   In late 2019, Doug was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, which contributed to his passing