February 9, 2024

 

Dietra Anderson was definitely on the A-list.  Click HERE to see her invitation to a graduation party on June 19, 1959.  She would have been in 9th Grade.  Wait a minute!  Maybe it was a Horace Mann graduation party.

Click HERE to peruse the Pacer from February 6, 1969 -- 55 years ago.

And click HERE to take a look at the never-before-posted Pacer from February 9, 1973

Howard Nott ’61 passed away December 14. 2023.  I waited in vain for additional details.

It's Groundhog Day!  I'm not sure it's a Federal Holiday, however.

 

Here's the last Joe Courtney color shot from 1954 that I have in my files.  Click HERE to see it enlarged, paired with a current view.  Spoiler Alert!  It hasn't changed a lot.

 I'm not sure why this menu from Pine Valley's Hobart House was in the box of goodies Dietra Anderson sent me, but I've scanned it for your perusal.  Click HERE for a fond look back.

Click HERE to read the 4-page February 3, 1959 Pacer.  Gee, that was 65 years ago and I was in 9th Grade.

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

December 29, 2023

 

(Note to self:  Don't start drinking until Monday evening)

I assume I'm not the only one wondering what the tattoos
on today's youngsters will look like in 50 years.

Chris Mannerino (not a Colt) took this stunning photo a couple of weeks back for a magazine article he's doing on the Coast Guard.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.

Christine and Ernie Griffin traveled to Montevideo a couple weeks back to visit with Lauren Montaldo, daughter of Crawford's first exchange student.  Click HERE to revisit the Darwin Montaldo page.

Some '68 Colts gathered at the Filippi's Mother Ship in Little Italy for lunch on December 14th.  Click HERE for a slightly larger photo and names.

I think that's Johnny Downs hawking Hage's milk.  I thought he was a Golden Arrow guy  Click HERE if you'd like to see the photo a little larger.

December 22, 2023

 

A whole lot of Gary Larsen cartoons have to do with animals.  I love this one.

Turns out the ironically named Paul Goodbody, in the December 15, 1973 Pacer was spoofing disc jockey Perry Allen, who had apparently appeared in print ads imitating the iconic Burt Reynolds photo in Cosmopolitan magazine.  So now you know the REST of the story.

I've added this Joe Courtney photo of Horton Plaza to another photo, which may have been taken by him at the same time.  Click HERE to see them both.

Paul Dean '61 passed away last week.  I have no details.  He was still a practicing dermatologist at Grossmont Hospital as late as last month.  I've put some things together on a Paul Dean page.  Click HERE to take a look.

December 15, 2023

 

Every mother's worst fear

Here's the cover of a "hip" invitation to a "beat' party at the Raborn residence on College Avenue -- "Off limits for squares."  Click HERE to take a look.

I've added this rendering to the La Cresta Motel page.  I've also added a couple of clippings that show its evolution from a Highway 80 motor court to an El Cajon Blvd rent-by-the-day motel of questionable repute.  Click HERE to check it out.

An interesting little photo from the Chollas Towers radio base.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.  I've also added a link to the photos I took of the demolition of the towers on November 10, 1995

An intriguing snippet from the December 15, 1972 Pacer.  Click HERE to read all six pages -- and get back to me if you know the back story on this photo.