September 30, 2022

 

Happy 5783 to my Jewish friends.  What do you do if you're a Jewish sports writer and the Yankees game threatens to go long on Rosh Hashana? Gerald Eskanazi writes about the 1971 game that threatened to keep him from getting to the synagogue before sunset.  Ron Blomberg (above) came to the rescue.  Click HERE to read the article.

Who knew Parade Magazine was still around.  Just luck that I spotted last Sunday's issue on-line in the LA Times.  That's Kathy Najimy '75 on the left.  Click HERE to read the article.

Larry Okmin '64 took this photo of the restoration of the Balboa Park Arboretum on September 15, 2022.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.

Nancy Moore Falconer '68 shares a photo from the Long Bar in Tijuana circa 1968.   The assembled Colts include her future husband and future brother-in-law.  Click HERE for an enlargement, with names.

Doug Houser '60 received his commission as a Marine Second Lieutenant in 1966 and was deployed to Vietnam in January 1967. He served as an infantry officer for thirteen months in places like the Rock Pile, Ca Lu, Khe Sanh, the Hai Lang Forest and The Artillery Plateau. He was discharged in 1969 with the rank of Captain. Using his combat experiences as background, he wrote a book, Jungle Warriors, Crime Fighters, that is available at BookBaby Bookshop.

September 23, 2022

 

USAF Staff Sergeant John Sullivan ’65 and brother Sergeant Steve Sullivan ’69 home on leave in 1970.  Mom wanted to see her boys in uniform.  Holding up their blouses was as far as they would go.

The Arboretum in Balboa Park is currently undergoing a long overdue restoration.   Click HERE to see an enlargement of this 1915 photo.

Karon Cogdill ’70 died on August 31, 2022, in Dallas, Texas.   She was a teacher and an artist of acting, mime, directing and photography. As a teacher she especially loved mentoring young artists and followed their careers with pride, no matter what field they ended up in.  She earned her BA at SUNY Fredonia in 1974 and her MFA at Trinity University at the Dallas Theatre Centre in 1979 under its legendary artistic director Paul Baker.  The first principal and artistic director of the Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Dr. Baker hired her as a consultant for the first year the school was open, in 1976-77. She served as Coordinator of the Theatre Conservatory at BTWSPVA from 2008 until she retired in 2021. 

September 16, 2022

 I'm not sure if No News Is Good News, but nothing crossed my desktop this week.  Let's take another look at this aerial view of Crawford, taken on October 20, 1961.  Click HERE to see an enlargement (plus two bonus aerials) that goes from Colina del Sol to the Red Coat Inn.

September 9, 2022

This was a Rhymes With Orange cartoon this week

Mike Levas asked me to send a second -- and final -- reminder about the Team Crawford Athletic Foundation golf fundraiser on September 26th.  Contact Tony at mglevas@gmail.com or call him at 760-310-7094.

I'm not sure when the Class of '67 reunion is, but the planners are having fun getting there.  Click HERE for an enlarged photo with names.

A change of pace in Ernie Cowan's Outdoors column this week.  He interviews former Charger Ed White, who now spends his days creating nature art at his studio in Valley Center.  Click HERE to read the article.

Remember when the Union-Tribune was published downtown?  Click HERE to see a larger version of this photo.

It's Back To School!!  Click HERE to read the 4-page Pacer from September 13, 1962.

September 2, 2022

Enjoy your Three Day Weekend, although I hope -- like me -- everyday is a weekend day.  It's supposed to get really hot in San Diego County this weekend.  I hope folks aren't going to park on my front lawn on their way to the beach.

Finally a Bliss cartoon worth sharing

Jerry (call sign "Snoopy") Ellis '61 shares a snippet of his life as a RIO with VF-96.  Click HERE to go to the Colts Who Served in Vietnam Page and get the details.

Slim pickings in the Colt Corral this week.  When all else fails I go to the Golden Oldies, in this case Oscar's Drive-In memorabilia.  Click HERE to go to the Oscar's Page.

Nancy Shapard ’68 passed away July 22, 2022 due to chronic illness.  She was born in San Diego on February 24, 1950.  Nancy attended business college and worked as a bookkeeper throughout her life.

August 26, 2022

The 2nd Annual Fund Raising Golf Tournament for the Team Crawford Athletic Foundation will take place on Monday, September 26th.  Contact Mike Levas if you have questions.  His email is mglevas@gmail.com

Ever wonder where ladybugs go in the winter?  This week's Outdoors column from Ernie Cowan '62 talks about the changing of the seasons.  Click HERE and enjoy.

Sally Rice Fox '74 visited the old neighborhood and took a couple of shots of Crawford.  Click HERE to see both photos enlarged.

Dietra Anderson Davis '62 forwards the Girls' Dress Code for 9th Grade Horace Mann Graduation issued March 13, 1959.  Click HERE to take a look.

Robbin Nolan reports the recent passing of her mother Sandra Seigler Savary '62.  Sandra's husband Ken Savary '61 passed in 2012.  Services for Sandra are below:

Viewing: Monday 8/29 4pm to 8pm

Funeral: Wednesday 8/31 2pm to 4pm

El Camino Memorial Park 5600 Carroll Canyon Rd. San Diego, CA 92121

August 19, 2022

 

It's been a while since anything on the comics page tickled my funny bone.  I'm pretty sure this recent Bliss cartoon is actually a Golden Oldie.  

Somebody didn't get their Fry Day email last week and called somebody else to see if I was OK.  REMEMBER, the Fry Day emails are available -- and archived -- on the Colt Corral Blog.  Check there before you assume the worst.

Phyllis Schwartz '72 got some nice ink in last Saturday's Union-Tribune.  Her new book comes out in 6 weeks. Click HERE to read the article.

The ex-wife and widow of Ron Mollick '62 -- Bernadine Berlin Temple and Beth Shepherd Mollick -- report in to tell me that Ron now has a nice plaque at the Virginia Living Museum.

Ken Benson ’64 died August 13, 2022.  After graduation from high school he went to Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas and became a minister.  After a few years, he served in the U. S. Air Force at Fort Ord for four years while attending medical school and became a urologist.  He had private practices in both Brenham, Texas and then Brownwood, Texas.  He then moved to Lubbock, Texas where he retired in 2014 when he was no longer able to operate and practice due to ALS.  Survivors include his sisters Kathryn Benson Billing ’67, Kristina Benson Cosgrove ’71, and Kerri Benson Tweed ‘72 

August 12, 2022

Nearly all of the tributes to Dodger announcer Vin Scully, who died last week at 94, feature the 1988 Kirk Gibson game-winning home run against the Oakland Athletics.   I had forgotten that Dave Duncan '63 was Oakland's pitching coach for that series (and several others).  That's him, looking a little dejected, on the right.

The Cross Country Championship Rings came in a while back.  Click HERE to take a look at photos of happy champions.  (Note: the first photo is actually a video of the players opening the ring boxes.  It, for some reason, turns sideways almost immediately, so be prepared to get a crick in your neck)

I thought San Diego State graduates might enjoy this campus aerial taken by Union-Tribune photographer Nelvin Cepeda.  It appeared in the Los Angeles Times this week.  Click HERE for an enlarged view.

 

My husband Bill Wolf ’68 was a door gunner, then crew chief, with the 129th Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam.  He’s pictured in his Huey in this shot -- Kathleen Lally Wolf ’68 

Some Colts have mentioned Crawford graduates who didn't come back from Vietnam.  They may not know about the page I've devoted to them.  Click HERE to take a look.  The photo above is of my buddy Ron Davidson, whom some of you had as a coach at Horace Mann.

August 5, 2022

The Class of '67 Lunch Bunch and some hangers-on got a guided tour of the new construction at Crawford on July 21st.  Gail Schindler Fogelman took pictures.  Click HERE to take a look.

Jack Tempchin '65, who wrote Peaceful Easy Feeling for the Eagles, says he goes to the beach each day and writes a song on the spot.  You can listen to them at BEACHJAMS.COM.   Click HERE if you wanna hear Peaceful Easy Feeling.

 

Gary Juleen '64 shares a photo of himself and Tony Dow taken last January.   Big brother Wally on Leave It To Beaver, Dow passed away July 27th.

Dan Burton '66 shares a black and white snapshot taken during his tour of Vietnam.  Looks like a giant toaster in the foreground.  Click HERE to view the Colts Who Served page.

Doug "Stud Muffin" Kvandal '66 recognized a younger, slimmer version of himself in last week's mystery photo.  He thinks it might be the 1966 Crawford Handball Champions.

Steve Fontana '69 dug out his class photos from 2nd to 6th Grade at Rolando Park Elementary.  Click HERE to take a look.

Vicki Holeman Sawders ’62 died suddenly at her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico on July 25th, with her husband William and son Jon at her side.   Although she had very few early symptoms, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer shortly before her death.   After graduation Vicki obtained her A.S. degree in dental assisting.   She and her family moved to Bend, Oregon in 1975.  Her husband William, known as “Bill Jay” at KOGO radio, took the job as Operations Manager at KBND in Bend. Vicki worked in the medical field for nearly thirty years.   She and her husband retired in 2006 and moved to La Pine, Oregon. When her husband’s back went out from shoveling snow, the couple moved to sunny and warmer Los Lunas, New Mexico in 2017.

Our older sister Carolyn Reznikoff died on May 20, 2022 in Portland, Oregon.  Our family moved to San Diego from St Louis, Missouri in 1954.  Carolyn attended Andrew Jackson, Montezuma and Hardy elementary schools and graduated a semester early from Crawford, Class of '65.  She studied sociology and psychology at Pitzer College and went on to get an MSW from San Diego State. She worked as a medical and hospice social worker in Portland, and upon retiring, became a skilled basket weaver using and gathering many native materials -- June Reznikoff ’66 and Laura Reznikoff Olson ’70

July 29, 2022

 

Last weekend's Outdoors column by Ernie Cowan is about Butterfly Farms in Encinitas.  Click HERE to read all about it -- and see some more photos.

David Clark '69 shares a photo of himself in Vietnam in the Fall of 1971.  Click HERE to revisit the Colts Who Served In The Military Page and get more details.

This colorful photo of a CocaCola truck was taken in 1966.  (Hint:  The San Diego Zoo was established in 1916).  Click HERE to see photos of the NEW (in 1964) Coca Cola bottling plant at Highway 94 and 47th Street.

Remember the June 17th post with the color photos of the 1953 San Diego State Homecoming Parade on El Cajon Boulevard?  Bob Richardson '61 sent me the photo above at the time, and it slipped through the cracks.  Click HERE to see the photo enlarged, plus a super enlargement of the girl sitting on the wall at the far left.  Bob thinks it's Valerie Ziegenfuss.  He ought to know.  They were childhood neighbors.

Jay Easton '66 submitted this photo.  He's second from the left in the back.  James Guffey was good enough to print his name on his shirt.  Neither of them can remember the names of the other people, the location, or the occasion.  Can you help?

My brother Glen “Skee” Strzelecki ’65 passed away Tuesday after a short illness.  He was surrounded by his wife Piedad, son Glen, grandson Christopher, sister Ann and brother in law Dave Harding.   Skee loved surfing, baseball and his family.  Prayers are accepted in lieu of donations -- Ann Strzelecki Harding ’63