April 21, 2023

I guess maybe that Crawford Alumni Baseball Game scheduled for April 1st really WAS an April Fool's Joke.  It's been rescheduled for April 29th at High Noon on the baseball field, where the football practice field used to be on Trojan.

Ernie Cowan has served as a US Forest volunteer fire lookout on Palomar Mountain.  You can volunteer as well, if you think you can climb the 96 steps to the the top.  Click HERE to read Ernie's article in last Sunday's Union-Tribune.

Richard Lidbom wonders if anyone else remembers, in the late '50s, a father building a spaceship replica for his son.  Richard visited it and there was an article in the newspaper, but he was unable to find anything on the internet.  Neither was I.

Sometimes you can't see the trees for the forest.   I didn't realize, with all of that talk about growing up on Mohawk Street, that Stephen Bishop has written an autobiography.  Click HERE for more details.

I guess big brother Denny Bishop was wandering through my web site when he came across Bob Richardson's Frontier Housing 1948 page.  Denny has added some of his own Aztec Villa memories.  Click HERE to to take a look.  It's worth it just to see the color photos of Peggy and Bob Richardson with their new J. G. Higgins bicycles.

Here's another shot of lower Broadway from Facebook, this one looking east from Harbor Drive in 1959.  I've added a Google Streetview from October 2022.  You're probably not gonna like what it looks like now.  Click HERE to see what I mean.

It's kinda beat up, but I still think you can read all four pages of the 65-year old Pacer published on April 22, 1958.  Click HERE and find out.

Virginia Irvine ’60 passed away April 4, 2023.  We shared a childhood in Minneapolis and Alabama, and a summer in Montana before our younger siblings arrived in San Diego in 1955 and 1961.  After graduating from San Diego State in1964, where she was President of Kappa Alpha Theta, a homecoming Queen nominee and Best Dressed Coed contest chairman, she embarked on an over-40 year career with Los Angeles County. She began as a Social Worker in Long Beach, moved to a supervisor in Los Angeles, then a Legislative Analyst. She became Chief Legislative Analyst for the county and was then selected to start their first protocol department. It was there that her fabulous wardrobe, engaging personality and organizational skills made her fit right in with diplomats, royalty and world leaders. She was a key player in the International Protocol group.  In 2019 she was chosen Junior League of Los Angeles’ Volunteer of the Year. She was President of the Ebell Club, the oldest women’s club in California, for two years. We celebrated with the whole family at Thanksgiving and Christmas and the interaction invigorated her, in spite of her declining health. She is loved and will be missed by many -- Janis Irvine Ricards ’64

Danny Mejia '76 passed away April 11th.  That's all I know.

It wasn’t a coincidence that the West Point Glee Club performed before an audience of homeless people in downtown San Diego last month.  It involved two members of Crawford’s Class of ’73.  Retired BGEN Gary Krahn, a 1977 West Point graduate, and principal of La Jolla Country Day School, suggested the choir play at the Alpha Project shelter run by his classmate Bob McElroy.  Click HERE to read the article in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Vintage San Diego's Facebook page posted this great shot of lower Broadway circa 1958.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.

Turns out Stephen Bishop '69 wasn't the only Colt to live in this house on Mohawk Street.  His brother Dennis Bishop '61 remembers it as well.  Click HERE to read about Denny's influence on his brother's musical career.

I'm not sure who Phil Galloway is, but he posted this KGB Boss 30 list from April 12, 1971 on Facebook and I snagged it.  Click HERE to see what was hot 52 years ago.

 

April 7, 2023

If it's Easter Time I have to run this cartoon, although it
seems like I just posted it yesterday.  The time does fly.

If it's Easter Time, Passover must be happening as well

Owen Western '63 shares a couple of his own East San Diego photos.  A shot of the Campus Drive-in before it closed in 1982 and another looking east on El Cajon near the intersection with Montezuma.  Click HERE to see them both enlarged.

Stephen Bishop '69 posted on Facebook last week a photo of the family home on Mohawk Street.   Click HERE to refresh your memory on Stephen Bishop's life.

Jeannine Berger Passenheim '60 also grew up on Mohawk Street.  Click HERE to take another look at the photos she once shared.

 

Stop the presses!!  Fake news!!  Turns out the photo I shared last week was my 9th Grade photo.  My 8th Grade photo is here on the left.  Click HERE for more details.

Terry Hill ’60 died March 3, 2023.  The son of a career US Navy man, Terry was born in Corpus Christi, Texas.  He attended elementary school in East San Diego, middle school near Denver, Colorado before entering Crawford.  He graduated with honors from San Bernardino Valley College, and returned there later to get certificates in Industrial Supervision.  After his Honorable Discharge from the Air Force, he went to work for General Telephone (now Verizon) working his way up from lineman to Head Engineer before retiring in 1991.  Before moving to Arizona, he worked as a Telecommunications Engineer for San Bernardino County for two years.  After taking computer classes at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona, he worked in their IT department for a couple of years.  Terry enjoyed riding his Harley, going fishing and camping, and building and fixing computers.  He was able to survive a double lung transplant received at age 75 for just over five years.

Jerry Lovelady ’63 died March 31, 2023 from bile duct cancer.  He attended the University of Redlands where he got a BA in History and a Teaching  Credential.  He taught K-6 for 35 years in the Chula Vista City School District. In addition to teaching, Jerry and another teacher read a book on home construction and built two houses in Idlewild -- bottom to top without additional help.  Jerry loved surfing and camping. In retirement Jerry puttered in the garden and with various house projects.  He is survived by his wife Nancy, two children, and four grandchildren.  He met Nancy on a blind date at the home of Phil ’63 and Sharon Angus Piscopo ’64.  They became such good friends that they called themselves the Lovecopos.  Jerry’s first wife, Stefanie Bedillion ’63, passed away from ovarian cancer in 1976. 

March 31, 2023

 

Baseball season begins at Crawford tomorrow at 2 PM with the Alumni Game.   The team needs help with equipment.  Click HERE for donation information.

The cardboard box of Horace Mann and Crawford treasures was in my dresser drawer for over 60 years, but it's on its way to Crawford, courtesy of Butch Higgins '65, who drove down from Rancho Bernardo to pick it up.  Luckily I snagged some previously unposted photos and stuff at the last minute.  Here's a shot of yours truly from 8th Grade at Horace Mann.  Click HERE for a real treat.

Last week's posting of the Don Jose's page got some folks fondly recalling Julios on 45th and University.  Click HERE to see the above photo enlarged, along with some other East San Diego shots taken by John Suitts in 1975.

It seems like it was just last week when I posted the great 1960 April Fool's Issue of the Pacer.  It never gets old.  Click HERE to take another look.

March 24, 2023

'63 classmates Kathy Houser Nolan, Jerry Lovelady, Linda Johnson Wise, and Jerry's wife Nancy gathered for lunch earlier this month.  Click HERE for the details and a bigger picture.

Remember Don Jose's, on El Cajon, near Hoover High.  Our family visited there once in my youth.  I was probably 12, going on 9, and wasn't impressed.  In later years I'll bet I would have LOVED it.  Click HERE to revisit the Don Jose's page. 

Yoli Leon Banda '65 asks her classmates to Save The Date -- Friday, October, 6, 2023 --  For a class reunion buffet luncheon, 11-3, at Admiral Baker Field.  It gives me an excuse to share, once again, the photo I took at the Admiral Baker swimming pool in 1964.  Click HERE if you'd like a larger view.

Click HERE to peruse the 6-page March 23, 1963 Pacer

March 17, 2023

 

Green Beer and Corned Beef Tacos?  No Thanks!  But YOU go ahead!

Abrazos de Uruguay!  Laura Montaldo now has a copy of her father's annual, thanks to Pam Woodbury '62.  Darwin was Crawford's first Exchange Student.  Click HERE to get all the details.

Nathan East '73 is in the news again.  Union-Tribune columnist Diane Bell reports that he created the score for the movie A Snowy Day In Oakland.  Click HERE to read the column.

Natalie Olmedo is looking for alumni baseball players for the game to be held on Saturday, April 1st at 2 PM.  The baseball field is apparently where the football filed used to be.  Natalie, a 17-year old Senior, is the manager of this year's baseball team.  You can email her at onatalie321@gmail.com or download an entry form from the Reunions and Get Togethers Page.

Click HERE to read the Pacer from March 18, 1958 -- 65 Years Ago

And HERE to peruse the issue from March 14, 1968 -- 55 years ago.

March 10, 2023

Sharon Mitchell Danner '62 stopped at the Denny's in Manassas, Virginia on Wednesday and thought of me when they brought out the coffee cups.

 

It may be time to again remind folks that, if they don't get a Fry Day email, they should go to the Colt Corral blog where the emails are archived.  If they don't see anything current, THEN they can worry if I'm still alive.  Go to http://coltcorral.blogspot.com/  -- and SAVE it!!

Eleven Colts stepped up the first day with pledges to pay for Championship rings for the Cross Country team.  I'll let you know, in a couple of months, how it all works out.

Ernie Cowan's Outdoors column this week is about Rare and Familiar Birds that can be spotted in San Diego County.  Click HERE to read all about them.

A couple of folks questioned the 1960 date I put on the above photo.  One recognized the brand of the motorcycle on the left as not being produced until later.  The other person noticed the Chevy El Camino behind the motorcycle as a '64.  I stand corrected.

Jeff LeSage is looking for a secure place in the San Diego area to store his new Dodge Ram Promaster while he's out of town May 25 to August 3rd.   It's too tall to fit in a garage.  He'll pay $250.  Contact him at frenchyquebec@yahoo.com

Yikes!!  It looks like it was 60 Years Ago that Larry Blum led the '63 Basketball Team to the CIF Championship.  Click HERE to read the March 7, 1963 Pacer and refresh your memory.

Ken Sheldon ’65 passed away March 1, 2022.  After Crawford he joined the Navy and was a flight deck technician on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk.  Following this he opened an auto body shop in Huntington Beach.  After selling the shop he opened a printing shop.  He met his wife Pam Osborne, from Clairemont High School, and they married after he finished with the Navy.  They are survived by one son, Adam.  Always a car guy, he bought his first car, a new Pontiac GTO, in his Junior Year.  He had several classic cars which he showed at local car events in Orange County -- Richard Westfall ’65

 

Greg Roper ’71 died February 17, 2023 from complications of heart failure after a long battle with von Hippel-Lindau disease and related kidney cancer.   Greg was born in San Diego and lived there his entire life. He was an Eagle Scout with Boy Scout Troop 18 of North Park.  In 1974 he earned his BA in history at UCSD with high honors. He went on to attend law school at UCLA, graduating second in his class in 1978.  After graduation, Greg joined the law firm of Luce, Forward, Hamilton and Scripps, and went on to become a partner of the firm. He specialized in the protection of free speech rights as an expert in First Amendment and Media Law.  Despite the many health challenges Greg faced in his life, he lived life to the fullest, treasuring every moment with family and friends. After retirement, Greg enjoyed his favorite pastimes of golf and tennis, as well as international travel and many happy road trips with his wife Sherry.

March 3, 2023

Are all the ??????  intentional?  Some of you are getting blocks of question marks in your Fry Day emails.  I'm not putting them there.  Here's what I learned from Google:  The question marks indicate font substitution occurred because your computer does not have the same font that was used when the content was created. The substituted font does not have the glyphs that exist in the specified font that is not present.  Does that help?  I didn't think so.

Rose Mercurio Royster ’66, Butch Higgins ’65, Sally Marshall Hyde ’66 and Colt Mascots attended the ribbon cutting for Crawford’s new building on February 8th. 

The Boys' Volleyball team poses for a team photo with the new equipment purchased with alumni donations.  Click HERE for the BIG pictures.

Here's a photo that appeared on Facebook this week.  It looks eastbound on University at Central.  Click HERE to see an enlargement, plus a current shot in which nothing looks familiar.

Click HERE to take a look at the Crawford Pacer from March 4, 1958.  Yikes -- that's a long time ago!

 

February 24, 2022

 

A Bliss cartoon from this week

Three Crawford coeds -- Michelle Hazlewood ‘67, Candy Groves ‘66, and Judy Sage ‘66 -- behind the Candy Counter at the Cinerama Theater, 5889 University Avenue in 1966.  Click HERE for an enlargement, a color photo of the theater, and news clippings from the opening and closing of the theater.

Steve Gunderson and Kathy Najimy weren't the only ones to work with the late Burt Bacharach.  Dennis Bishop reminds me that his brother Stephen Bishop wrote the lyrics to It's Only Love -- Bacharach wrote the music -- for the soundtrack of the movie Arthur.  Click HERE to take a listen.

Ernie Cowan's Outdoors column tells you how to attract migrating birds and where to find Spring's wildflowers.  Click HERE to check it out.

Separated at birth?  Ray Barner (right) thinks he bears a resemblance to World Wrestling Federation star Ric Flair.

Marcia MacDonald '62 passed away October 16, 2022.  Her childhood neighbor Dan Donovan shares a lovely tribute to Marcia, which I've posted on the Class of '62 Obituary Page.  Click HERE to take a look.

John Floodberg ’62 passed away peacefully, on March 30, 2022.  Born in Oneida, New York, John moved with his mother to Chula Vista at the age of four.  He was a San Diego resident the remainder of his life.  John began undergraduate classes at Mesa College soon after graduation. He joined the National Guard and married his first wife, Judy Thomas, in 1965.  Between 1965 and 1972, John worked as a draftsman for several architectural firms.  The first blueprints John put his architectural stamp on were for the Grove Gallery at the UCSD Crafts Center, built in 1982.  It was a collaboration between John and his childhood friend, Ron Carlson ’62, the Center's Director.  John and his current wife, Nancy Dickinson Floodberg, met in 1971 when he volunteered to bring the San Diego Mental Health Association's halfway house up to code; Nancy was the Director of the halfway house. They wed two years later and moved to a home in Pt. Loma – the home he lovingly remodeled over the years and where Nancy, their eldest daughter and her family still reside. In 2005 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. As with any challenge he faced, he met this diagnosis with grace and determination.  He was preceded in death by his brother Ron Robson ’71

Click HERE to read the complete obituary in the Union-Tribune