October 16, 2020

My '62 Classmate Bill Rainey passed away last Friday while mowing the lawn in the back yard of his home in Burien, Washington.   Bill was a running back on the football team that won the CIF Championship in 1961 and was a record-setting track star.  Bill celebrated his 76th birthday on October 5th at the home of his son Adam, who told his dad he'd be over to mow his lawn on Saturday.  "In typical Pops fashion", said Adam, "he just had to get it done on Friday. Stubbornness will always be one of his lasting traits."  Click HERE to take a look at the wonderful web site that Adam has created for his father.  You can post a memory there.  Click HERE to check out the web page I'm working on that shows articles about Bill from the San Diego Union Sports Pages.  Click HERE to revisit the photo of Bill and some classmates at the Long Bar in Tijuana.

 

Monday's Harry Bliss cartoon struck my funny bone.  I hope no one thinks I'm sneaking in some subliminal political message.

The photo of Joe Biden campaigning in Arizona in front of the state flag this week took me back 30 years to my days in Mission Beach.  Every summer Bill Evans would host the Arizona flag at the Bahia Hotel to welcome the Zonies.  The Vietnam War was raging and someone took Evans to task for hoisting the North Vietnamese flag.  They aren't really that similar, as you can see below, but it made a cute story in Neil Morgan's column.

Let’s go to Luckenbach, Texas

With Waylon and Willie and the boys

This successful life we’re livin’

Got us feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys

Between Hank Williams’ pain songs

and Newberry’s train songs

and Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain

Out in Luckenbach, Texas

ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain

Cappy Paxton '66, in the red bandanna, sent the lyrics to Willie Nelson's song and a nice photo of his friends in front of what used to be the Luckenbach, Texas Post Office.   

The October 13, 1960 Pacer introduced Colts to their new AFS students Nur Karhan, from Turkey, and Paulo Mamede, from Brazil.  Hey, there's Patty Wilkerson again.  Click HERE to read all four pages.

There was talk of Ricksha Boy in earlier emails.  I just found this ad in the September 29, 1961 Pacer.  Burger Chef, at 5125 El Cajon Blvd., preceded Ricksha Boy.

William Reynolds '59 passed away July 27, 2020

Dave Gray ’63 died March 25, 2020.  He was the founder of Huck Fin Environmental Education, teaching kids to get along through fishing. Dave sang Old Shep at a Horace Mann assembly, making him a star with his fellow classmates. He was Vice President of Sky Hunters Raptor Rehab.  He loved going to Padre games, playing his guitar and was part of the music team for our 50th Crawford reunion. He died of leukemia, which he fought for over a good year.  When the corona virus hit we couldn’t even get in to see him -- Nancy Alba Conney ’63

October 9, 2020

 

Here's a recent Harry Bliss cartoon that gave me pause.

Were you in the 1973 Stage Band?  Crawford has a rich musical tradition and a GoFundMe campaign has just been started to digitize a bunch of recently-discovered recordings made at the school.  I've probably told the story wrong.  Click HERE to get the straight scoop and make a donation.

Looks like they updated the Pacer Masthead from the days I wrote for the paper.  Click HERE to read the October 9, 1970 issue.  That would be 50 years ago.

Here's the cover of the program for the game Crawford played at Clairemont on October 9, 1959.  Click HERE for the lineups and cool Coca Cola ads.

Line Coach Frank Smith discusses the upcoming football season.  I don't have the date, but these folks are from the Class of '61 and '62.  Click HERE to get the names and read the newspaper article.

October 2, 2020

 

Another tidbit from our Humorist in Residence Paula Kincaid

Linda Thomas didn't go to Crawford, but was recently added to the Fry Day email list because she is a neighbor of Gail Schindler Fogelman and, by a circuitous route, now a friend of mine.  Linda's been going through her late husband Gary's stuff and was wondering what to do with the ring he got when he graduated from San Diego State College in 1963.  I guess you know what happened.  It's on its way to David Sleet in Atlanta and will soon cross the pond to Belgium, where it will be prized by Marcel Hebbinlink, who worked with Dave at State in the late '60s.  Dave says I'm a matchmaker. Isn't there a song about that?

Are you getting tired of photos of Torrey Pines Beach?  Too bad.  Here's one from 1941.  Click HERE to see an enlargement and a Wizard of Oz moment.  And I'm not talking about the alleged Poppy Fields. 

Remember the Aztec Drive-In Restaurant on College and El Cajon?  Me neither.  Our family usually headed west on El Cajon to Keith's Drive-In.  Someone recently waxed rhapsodic about Azteca Tacos near 54th and I ended up on my old Aztec Drive-In page.  They are not the same thing.  It would appear that the Aztec Drive-In fed the hungry from early in World War II to around 1962.  Click HERE to check out the updates I made to the page.

Holy Crap!!  How did THAT happen?  We're now looking back at 60-year old student newspapers.  Click HERE to read the September 29, 1960 Pacer and learn about the man who replaced Mary McMullen as Principal.  Also the results of the Football Carnival, whose program we featured last week.

Click HERE to read the Pacer issued on September 30, 1965.  That's only 55 years ago.  The cover story has Sheryl Slayen and Chris Benson making plans for Club Week.  I don't know what that it, but I'm picturing Cave Men with Clubs.  Maybe I better go back and read the article.

Jo Ann Tomlinson Gorsic ’61 passed away August 27, 2020 according to the Alumni Association web page.

Christine Phillips ’68 died September 22, 2020.  Her brother Greg, also a member of the Class of ’68, let me know.  He is an old and dear friend from both Pershing Junior High as well as Crawford -- Kat Lally Wolf ’68 

September 25, 2020

Matt Marquez posted this on Facebook on September 9th.  I almost don't want to tell you what it is, but here goes -- Crawford's auditorium being bulldozed.  I think the photo is looking southwest, towards Colina del Sol Golf Course.  

Don't you love the colorful cars of the '50s?  Click HERE to see an enlargement of this 1955 color shot of the Santa Fe Station.

I've added a current photo of the view of Torrey Pines Beach from Del Mar.  Click HERE to see all three photos on the web page.

The above image caught my eye as I was leafing through last Sunday's U-T.  For a microsecond I thought it was a Lincoln High graduation photo, but I was pretty sure -- even with the pandemic -- that graduations don't happen in September.  Turns out they're Marines from Camp Pendleton learning how to put on emergency suits before they head out to fight fires.   Click HERE if you'd like to read the article.

I got to thinking about Naugahyde during the really hot weather last week, and the sound it makes when you exit a restaurant booth in bare legs.  A friend once excoriated me for the Naugahyde seat covers in my '77 Pontiac 'entura.  (It WAS a Ventura, 'til somebody stole the V.  Or maybe it just fell off).  Do you know how many naugas died to so you could have seat covers?, he chortled.  Turns out it got the name because it was invented in Naugatuck, Connecticutt.  (Thank you Wikipedia).  Back to that sound.  You insisted it was the naugahyde, but when you tried to recreate the sound it never worked.

We never did find a photo of the Carnation that supposedly existed in the 6600 block of El Cajon across from the Imperial 400 motel, nor even documentation that it ever existed.  Someone did mention a Carnation next to Don's Hamburgers on 54th and El Cajon.  Here's a photo I took in 1959.  I was probably waiting for my mom to pick me up from Horace Mann.  Click HERE if you'd like to see it enlarged.

 

We've probably posted this before, but here's the program from the 22nd Annual San Diego City Schools Football Carnival, played at Balboa Stadium on September 24, 1960 -- sixty years ago yesterday.  Click HERE to read the whole thing.  Howard Nott got his photo in the program representing Crawford.

September 18, 2020

 

I love Stranded on a Desert Isle cartoons.  This is Wednesday's Harry Bliss.

The first Jack-in-the-Box, according to the Foodmaker archives, was built in 1951 on the main east-west thoroughfare leading into the city.   I guess that would be Highway 80, or as we know it today, El Cajon Blvd, at 63rd St.  Click HERE to read more and see some pictures.

Oh, my, it's been 55 years since the Class of '66 celebrated its Senior Year!  Click HERE to read the Pacer for September 16, 1965.  Mrs. Charlene Archibeque headed an alphabetical listing of 21 new teachers.

Just wanted folks to know that my sweetheart Bob Bennett passed away September 7th after a brief illness.  Bob was in the class of ‘61 and we reunited in 2010.   Bob was a talented artist, musician and athlete.  He was a kind and generous man who was a true blessing in my life.  We shared so much history and treasured memories during the last ten years.  He will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him and his legacy will live in our hearts.  No services are planned and Bob's ashes will be scattered at sea.  Bob is survived by his twin brother Dick ’61, brother David '67 and three children -- Donna Johnson ’62

September 11, 2020

 

You can never go wrong with bathroom humor.  Here's a Bliss cartoon from earlier in the week.

The letter from AARP promised a FREE GIFT!  As opposed to a gift that's gonna cost me money?  I could never join a group that printed a blatant redundancy on its invitation.  You can take the English teacher out of the classroom, but you can't make them any less cranky.  (See below)

I was reading a novel this week in which the protagonist came in out of the cold and took off his beanie.   You KNOW which of the above I immediately thought of.  I thought the one on the right was a Watch Cap or Stocking Cap.  Language changes, but I'm having a hard time with it.

Who knew there was a Toy Hall of Fame?  Well, Yahtzee made it this year and some other folks did too.  Click HERE to read the article in the New York Times.

My classmate Ernie Cowan takes us to the High Sierra in this week's outdoor column in the Union-Tribune.  His writing successfully took me away from the daily travails for a blessed few minutes.  Click HERE -- and enjoy!!

I now have two vintage photos looking south on Highway 101 from Del Mar.  Click HERE to see them both.

Time for another look at one of my menus from Oscar's Drive-In.  It's oh-so frustrating that photos of the very popular hangout at El Cajon and Menlo have still not surfaced.  Click HERE to remember and dream.

Last, but certainly not least, is the December 16, 1966 Christmas Vacation issue of the Horace Mann Cougar Times student newspaper, courtesy of Dave and Linda Roberts Ponsford.  Click HERE to peruse all eight pages.

September 4, 2020

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend

Another humorous snippet from Honorary Colt Paula Kincaid

Here's the February 28, 1967 Horace Mann Cougar, courtesy of Dave and Linda Roberts Ponsford.  Click HERE to read all four pages.

Did you know Sandra Seiden from the Class of '67?  She passed away in 2007, but had no photo in the yearbook.   Paula Novell Strauss is the keeper of the Helix High Memorial Page and sent me Sandra's picture this week.  I still haven't figured it out.  Perhaps she transferred to Helix for her Senior Year.

News from the Alumni Association of the passing of Rita Hampton Ferreira sent me to the 1975 Centaur to scan her photo.  While going through the yearbook I discovered . . .

an ad for Sheng Haw Low on 58th and University

and this cute color photo of Crawford cheerleaders and mascots

Rita Hampton Ferreira 

November 4, 1957 - August 14, 2020