January 26, 2024

 

My childhood pal Ken Ptack visited this week.  He graduated from Hoover in 1960, joined the Marine Corps the next day, went on to the Naval Academy, flew A-6 Intruders in Vietnam and eventually retired with his lovely wife Jo Ann to a farm in Southern Maryland.  This is what it looked like last week.

I snagged this photo of the last dairy in Mission Valley off of Facebook, added some historical newspaper snippets, and posted it on my web site  Click HERE to take a look.

 

Ernie Cowan has set up some high-resolution motion-detection cameras around his place in North County.  His current Outdoors column has photos and stories about foxes.  Click HERE to join the hunt.

I've also added some comments and advertisements to last week's Sombrero Taco Shop page.  Click HERE to check them out.

We've got a Trifecta of Pacers from 65, 60 and 55 years ago.

January 20, 1959

January 16, 1964

January 23, 1969

January 19, 2024

I didn't realize how much Bali Hai had changed until I compared this 1963 shot with a current one.  Click HERE to check out both images.

Anyone recall the Sombrero Taco Stand on El Cajon Blvd where it merges with Montezuma.  Click HERE to look at an enlargement of this 1976 photo and a view of what's there now.

I'm getting down to the bottom of the box of goodies Dietra Anderson Davis sent me.  Click HERE to check out the Fillies Follies program from 1961.

Click HERE to peruse the January 19, 1973 Pacer from Tracy Gantz.  

IN MEMORIAM

William Dalbey ’62 died from Alzheimer’s Disease on December 28, 2023.  He left school early to join the Navy.  In later years he lived in Escondido and had his own barber shop in Vista.

January 12, 2024

 

Don't get it?  Scroll to the very bottom for a clue.

Last week's story about the closing of the Santee Drive-In brought back memories of the Campus Drive-In.  Click HERE to take another look at the Campus Drive-In page.

I've added a couple of pages from a 1955 program to my Balboa Stadium Auto Races page.  Click HERE to take a look.

When I wasn't building model airplanes -- when the cool kids were going to dances -- I might have been working on my stamp collection.  The Holy Grail of philatelists was the Inverted Jenny stamp, which you can now purchase from the post office.  Of course, it's not the original.

I thought you might enjoy this map of San Diego County dated 1940.  Then I discovered I'd already posted an almost identical map dated 1935.   Click HERE to peruse enlargements of both images and join me in scratching your head.

Diane Jean Baxter Alvarez ’64 -- known to all as Heidi -- passed away at her home in Medford, Oregon on September 28, 2023.  She  was retired from Hitachi Computer Products, located in San Jose, California.  Heidi married her first husband Don MacFarlane ’62 in San Diego in 1966.  With her second husband, and kindred spirit, David Alvarez she shared 39 years of happiness and life adventures.  She is survived by her sister Ann Baxter ’63.  I miss her dearly -- Susan Robertson Strom ’65 (Heidi’s first cousin)

I found my THRILL on Blueberry Hill

January 5, 2024

Remember pay phones?  Remember checking to see if someone forgot their change?

The Santee Drive-In closed last week end.  Click HERE to read the article in the Union-Tribune

I think we're down to the last couple of Joe Courtney 1954 photos.  This one looks north on 395 at the Washington Street turnoff.  Click HERE to see a larger view.

Once again I'm pondering the fact that Dietra Anderson was going to a gala function every weekend while I was home trying to get the decals right on a Revell model airplane.  I guess there really were parallel universes.  Click HERE to check out the invitation to the Class of '62 Junior Ball.

Bill Wolf ’68 passed away December 19, 2023 at his residence in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Bill was married to classmate Kathy "Kat" Lally.  Bill served in Viet Nam and had a long career as a San Diego Police Officer, retiring as a Sergeant -- Don Christofferson