July 23, 2021

Here's a Bizarro cartoon from earlier this week

 

Paula Kincaid has forwarded a lengthy list, entitled Pearls of Wisdom.  I'll share them a few at a time:

My doctor asked if anyone in my family suffered from mental illness. 

I said, "No, we all seem to enjoy it."

I thought growing old would take longer.

 

My bucket list:  keep breathing.

Rick Cohen '66 sends word that Valerie Ziegenfuss '67 (second from left) was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this past Saturday as one of the Original 9 founders of the Women's Tennis Association.  Click HERE to read all about it.

1964 Mt Miguel grad Jan Hastings shares a 1960 Horace Mann snapshot that includes her husband David.  Jim Cassie and Butch Higgins are also named.  Maybe you know the others and/or what's really going on here.  What's with the 3E?  Are these guys champions of something?  Click HERE for an enlargement.

I've dipped into the grab bag for another look at the Ozzie's Marching Band page.  Click HERE to check it out again.

A Belated Passing:  Ken Henderson ’65 passed away in Fort Meyers, Florida on May 25, 2011 -- 10 years ago.  He played Baseball and enjoyed his friends at Crawford. It was fun having a older brother and meeting his buddies! After Crawford Ken served in the Army. His siblings, John, Bob,  Ronnie, Bonnie and Debby have great memories of our family growing up in San Diego. Kenny worked at SDG&E and lived in Bonita.  He later moved to Jacksonville Florida, and started his own business.  He was living in Fort Meyers, Florida when he died -- Bonnie Henderson Larson

July 16, 2021

Courtesy of my '62 classmate Richard Lidbom

Ernie Cowan, also a classmate, writes about mockingbirds in his most recent Outdoors column.  It reminded me of the Big Bang Theory episode in which Sheldon comes unglued over a mockingbird's incessant verbal assault.  "He's MOCKING me!," screamed Sheldon in frustration.  Click HERE to read Ernie's column

Turns out the Kitaen family owned and operated the 7-Seas Locker Club downtown.  Susan Kitaen Rhea is Class of '66 and Marc is Class of '72.  Marc has a nice web site that displays his artwork.  Click HERE to check it out.

I'm a sucker for cool cars, hot babes and 1950s Kodachrome color.  Greg May posted this shot of La Verne at Borrego in 1952 on his Vintage San Diego web page.  I set it up on my site so you could view an enlargement, then he added more photos taken in Mission Hills.  Click HERE to see them all.

My old teaching assistant John Durant posted this photo, circa 1920, looking south to Torrey Pines Beach.  I've added it to the appropriate page on my web site.  Click HERE to take a look.

I had two requests in one day that sent me to the 1964 Centaur.  While I had the yearbook out I scanned and tried to blend together the two-page color shot of the Homecoming Queen and Princesses.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.

Dan Burton '66, his future wife Kerry, and Patrick Pope '75.  Pat passed away June 25th

July 9, 2021

Saw this on Facebook, courtesy of Sandie Robbins Knox '61.  The first comment was I'm not changing THAT diaper.

Nooooo!!  I'm watching some creaky geezer on TV advertising a foot massager or something and realize it's Jerry Mathers!  The Beav'!!  It's a little like Frank Sinatra's biography when he saw one of his former lovers, June Allyson, pitching adult diapers.  Old age ain't for sissies, but it apparently beats the alternative.  

Janice Ricca Hom drove by Crawford last week and snapped the photo above.  I didn't think it would tell you much and hoped to snag an older photo of the same location.  I got the photo below off of Google Street View.  It doesn't help much.  You're on Colt Way (which may have had a different name when I was there) looking north.  I think I see the outline of Blessed Sacrament Church on El Cajon Blvd. in the distance at the left.  If you squint you can pretend that the main office and auditorium are still there at right center.

Remember Locker Clubs?  Sailors were not allowed to come back aboard ship in their civvies (not to be confused with skivvies.  I learned that one the hard way.  They had to rent a locker and change out of their uniforms and into civilian attire.  I have it in my head that the 7 Seas was owned by the family of a Crawford student.  Anybody know? 

Members of the Class of '62 -- and one imposter -- gathered on the steps leading up to the gym on September 3, 1997 -- the 35th year after graduation.  Click HERE to see THREE photos, all of them enlarged.

I took this picture of Tuna Harbor, next to the Fish Market, on the day after Christmas 1992.  Our family used to dine at Tom Lai's Restaurant at this location in the 1950s.  I expect a lot of new buildings have been added since I made this photo -- and one big deletion.  The Naval Supply building on the left was recently demolished to make way for a hotel.  I forget what the Navy got in return.

Robert Harrison ’62 passed away June 9, 2021.  He served a four-year term in the Air Force after high school, then worked in construction and with mechanical and electrical equipment. He married for a short time in the early 1970s and had two daughters. In July of 1979 he married the love of his life Sharyl, and became the instant father of four children.  Bob loved working on his classic cars, piddling in his shop, fixing up the house, fishing and boating on the Colorado River. His positive outlook and one-of-a-kind humor will surely be missed by all who treasured him.  He is survived by, among others, his sister Sandra Harrison Barlau ’60

Ramon Villon

June 22, 1954 - May 20, 2021

July 2, 2021

 

As a senior at CHS, I often stayed after for activities and missed my bus. At The bus stop at 56th & El Cajon there was a used car lot. There was my first sight of a Willys Jeepster -- the only car I ever really lusted after.  And it was yellow.  I finally got one for my 75th birthday! Hoorah!!   Maggie Down Hart ‘64

Richard Bertain was my 11th Grade English Teacher.  I think he was also in charge of the Pacer.  When I made some snide remark about the school paper he opined that maybe I should sign up if I thought I could do better.  I did, but he left for Harvard University, to do graduate work I assume, and Mr. Rieker became the Pacer advisor.  I credit Mr. Bertain for getting me involved in journalism.  In May of 1992 I was in Washington DC doing research in the National Archives and Mr. Bertain was working in some capacity as part of the George H. W. Bush administration.  I gave him a call and he took me to lunch.

I spruced up the Class of '61 Senior Awards Day page.  Click HERE to check it out.

From Greg May's Vintage San Diego page this week

Another pastoral view of Mission Valley in the 1940s taken from the Presidio.  Click HERE for enlargements of this and two other Mission Valley shots -- plus a bonus view of vintage cars parked at the Serra Museum

Who cares about the San Diego Skyline.  Check out the '58 Chevy wagon and the out-of-uniform sailor.  Click HERE for a big, fat enlargement.

I'm going through some old photos.  Here's one I took at Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center on October 9, 1991.  Yikes, that's pretty close to 30 years ago.

June 25, 2021

The ’61 Lunch Bunch got together last Saturday, after a 2-year COVID hiatus, at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza.   Left side:  Don Young, Larry Willis, Fred Dickson, Nelson Moore and Fritz Ziegenfuss  Right side (right to left):  Denny Bishop, Paul Dean, Ernie Dronenburg, Barry Marassi and Flip Capp

Ken and Linda Shulkind Bluer check in from Oxnard Shores, California.  Click HERE for a Blumer review.

Jack in the Box turned 70 earlier this year and Fred Dickson shares a nice little 6-minute video history.  It contains several images snagged off my Jack in the Box page, some rather recently.  Click HERE and enjoy.  

I've added a photo to the Campus Chuck Wagon page.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.

 

Debi Cox Cowan '72 shares a color snapshot of her and the other cheerleaders from the 1969 Horace Mann Student-Faculty basketball game.  Click HERE for an enlargement.  And names.  The "S" apparently stood for Student -- as opposed to Faculty.

Remember the Turkey Farm at 52nd and Trojan?  I wouldn't think so.  It belonged to the grandfather of Gary Mitrovich '76 and was featured in a Ken Kramer episode on April 30, 2021.  If the cyber gods comply, you can view that episode.  Click HERE and cross your fingers.

Here's a Vintage San Diego shot of San Diego looking west from 23rd and Broadway.  It looks almost the same today -- except for the streetcar and skyline.  Click HERE for an enlarged view.

June 18, 2021

Chuck Hansen is a '57 graduate of Hoover, and knew the late Calina Estrada '59 at Wilson Junior High.  He went on to become a photographer in the Navy, and took a bunch of photos of Calina's Celebration of Life last Saturday on Vacation Isle.  Click HERE to see his work.

It's been a slow week, so we're taking another look at a photo of the Horace Mann band taken around 1961.  Click HERE for an enlargement with comments.

And another look at some color shots of motels and llamas on El Cajon Blvd.  Click HERE for a look back.

Click HERE to check out the Senior Issue of the Pacer from June 11, 1971 -- that's 50 years ago.

John William "Bill" McCreery '67 passed away February 10, 2021 after a long illness.  After high school, Bill attended Mesa College, eventually graduating from San Diego State.  He was a long-time regional manager with FedMart Corporation, then went on to General Dynamics from which he retired as the manager of the Tomahawk missile finalization program.  For the last fifteen years, he lived in Havre de Grace, Maryland with his wife Robin Spencer McCreery.  In addition to Robin, he is survived by four children, four grand children, three great-grand children and his “just out of high school” first wife, Jeri Maracin McCreery O’Keefe ’68

 

June 11, 2021

 

Here's a Bizarro cartoon from earlier this week

The various apps on my iPad need to be updated on a regular basis, and that's a good thing.  I always cackle when -- and it happened again this week -- the calculator needs refreshing.  What?  2 + 2 doesn't equal 4 anymore? 

Every thing old is new again.  The Padres are playing way too late for me to sit in front of the TV, so I listen to Jesse Agler and Tony Gwynn, Jr. announce the later innings in bed with my iPhone 8 under the pillow.  Kind of like 65 years ago when I listened to Al Schuss report on the Pacific Coast League Padres.  My mother was always afraid I was going to strangle on the ear phone cords.  

Click HERE to read the KDEO Top 40 list from the first week of June 1961 -- 60 years ago.

Click HERE to take a look at all 8 pages of the 1966 Senior Edition of the Pacer.  Gosh, that would be 55 years ago!

My brother Gary Hill ’61 passed away in Marble Falls Texas on June 6, 2021.  After graduating from Crawford my brother went to work as a carpet and hard surface installer.  He worked in that trade for ten years, then began doing home remodeling jobs.  Following five years of home remodeling in San Diego, he moved his family to his wive’s birthplace in Marble Falls Texas and set up business there.  He retired in 2018 and is survived by his three -- children, Susan, Tommy, and Lori.   I will miss him -- Terry Hill ’60

A message from the Crawford Foundation said that Donna Bratton Henricks '63 died on May 22, 2021.  That's all I got.

June 4, 2021

A group has formed with the express interest, as I understand it, of helping support athletics at Crawford.   All is explained on their web site.  Click HERE to check it out and lend support.

There's talk of the Class of '62 joining '60 and '61 for their October Reunion -- and Denny Aiken wants in.  As good a time as any to revisit a very early posting of Denny inspecting Joel Zane's new paint job.  Click HERE to take a look.

Oh, boy -- it's the 6-page Graduation Issue for the Class of '61.  Click HERE to check it out.

I attended the funeral on May 26, 2021 for Doug Griggs '75 at Miramar National cemetery.  "Little Dougie Griggs" played little league baseball in the Andrew Jackson Little League and was a member of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.  He was a Cree hoop dancer.  I remember walking to school at Andrew Jackson with him and his two older brothers Danny and David.  He served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in West Germany, going eyeball to eyeball with the Warsaw Pact countries.  While on leave in Italy he met his soulmate and the love of his life Gunilla who was from Sweden.  After the Army, Doug worked as a heavy equipment mechanic for the City of San Diego, performing maintenance and repairs on fire trucks and other heavy equipment.  He was a car enthusiast and had a beautiful yellow 1938 Chevy coupe that he had torn down and rebuilt from the ground up.  Doug is survived by his wife of 37 years, Nilla, his daughter Janice, his son Eric, and two beautiful grand daughters.  He was laid to rest with full military honors. I will miss him -- George V. Glover ’73  (Doug did not have a photo in the '75 Centaur)