October 9, 2026

 

Tickets go on sale today for Stephen Bishop's Farewell Tour.  It seems like only yesterday that he wrote about his musical aspirations in the 1969 Centaur

Stephen's final performance will take place in San Diego on August 21, 2027 at the Balboa Theatre, not to be confused with Balboa Stadium where The Beatles played their first, last and only San Diego concert.

Stephen (no, I can't call him Steve) is a regular Fry Day reader and is offering Crawford Colts a 10% discount on tickets purchased during the next two weeks.    Click HERE and use the code BISH10.  Tickets in Rows 1 and 2 include a limited-edition collectible tote bag and merchandise package.

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Let's leave last week's llamas in the A & P parking lot and see what's happening on the east side of 54th.  

Let's revisit the Don's Hamburger Page and see who this girl is.  I took the picture in 1959.  "A pretty girl is like a melody" or -- from some others -- "You always WERE a pervert."  Such talk. 

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Can you even SEE Andrew Jackson Elementary from the street?  I snagged this photo off of Joe Dyke's page.  Click HERE to look at his class photos.  You can almost read the names of a lot of the kids.

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I've spiffed up the color photo, taken on the Horace Mann steps, of Larry Okmin's 1958 tribute to Mr. Bob Sanford.  Click HERE to check it out.

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I've used ChatGTP to improve the photo of the cheerleaders for the 1969 Horace Mann Student-Faculty basketball game.  Click HERE to learn more. One of these girls played volleyball in the 1988 Olympics.

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65 YEARS AGO

San Diego Union • October 14, 1961

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60 YEARS AGO

Evening Tribune • October 10, 1966

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50 YEARS AGO

San Diego Union • October 11, 1976

October 2, 2026

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NOT AGAIN!!  I'm back in the principal's office. The #1 Fan Letterman's Jacket presented to me by Tom Cassie at the 30th reunion is now on display at our Alma Mater.  65 years ago I was called in for shooting the wrapper off a straw in the cafeteria.  OK, maybe I was just kicked out of the cafeteria.

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This 1946 photo (perhaps colorized) of our hated rival Hoover appeared on the internet recently.  That's pretty much the way I remember it when I attended Summer School right after 9th grade at Horace Mann.  Below is a 2011 photo of the rebuild.  Pretty cool.

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A brisk walk from Hoover, and across the street, was Don Jose's, where I had my first taste of Mexican Food.  I was too young to appreciate it. Click HERE to revisit the Don Jose Page.

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I've added Ken Burns' '50 Chevy to the Heap of the Week Page.

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Rick Layton '71 shares some swell stuff from the 1957 Oak Park Little League Championship Game in which his brother Ron Layton '66 played.  Rick was the Team Mascot.  Click HERE and enjoy.

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DyAnn Richardson Candee ’62 passed away September 27th.  She worked at Pacific Bell after graduation, where she met her husband Ralph.  They moved to Cottonwood, Arizona after retiring.  Dyann suffered from dementia and is survived by, among others, her sister Laralee ’67  (Remember Busco-Nestor?  They did our Senior Photos.  DyAnn's is nicely tinted.  I wonder what year they switched to real color)

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65 YEARS AGO

San Diego Union • October 7, 1961

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60 YEARS AGO

Evening Tribune • October 8, 1966

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55 YEARS AGO

Evening Tribune • October 7, 1971

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50 YEARS AGO

San Diego Union • October 3, 1976

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September 25, 2026

MOM!!!! Get the tweezers!!

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Evening Tribune • September 25, 1961 -- 65 years ago!  My rear end still hurts from the concrete seats at Balboa Stadium.  Click HERE to peruse all 20 pages of the program

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Crawford Pacer • March 18, 1958 -- Click HERE to see this enlarged on the new "Heap of the Week" page.

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Let's take another look at the almost-mythical Carnation at 6663 El Cajon.  I used ChatGTP to spiff up Jean Peacock Graham's screen grab of the City of San Diego's 1973 street videos.  Click HERE and be amazed.

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Click HERE to revisit Joe Schlader's night shots of the Aztec and Westward Ho motels in the same neighborhood as Carnation.

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and HERE to see Diana Morawitz Schlader Kruse astride a llama in the parking lot of the A & P Market on 54th and El Cajon.  I previously had all of the Schlader shots on one page.

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Lee Harris ’59 passed away in Dunwoody, Georgia on September 4th, following complications from pneumonia and dementia.  He graduated from San Diego City College and attended San Diego State. In 1972, Lee's job transferred him to Atlanta, where he and his wife, Donna, came to appreciate the warmth and hospitality of the people they met. They later made their home in Dunwoody, where they lived for more than 30 years.  Lee had a successful career in medical sales spanning more than 50 years. He and Donna were fortunate to travel to many countries, including many wonderful family trips to Mission Beach.  He stayed in touch with several of his Crawford High classmates and served on the reunion committee for their 60th reunion in 2019.  

September 18, 2026

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This Class of '68 coed says hello from The Love Boat. No, I ain't telling you her name, but this was from last week. 

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Jack Tempchin's image in the '65 Centaur, on the web, and on a mural in Leucadia showing some of that town's music notables.  Jack wrote "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" for the Eagles.  I'm thinking his royalty check last year was a lot more than the $12.38 I got for writing "USS Saratoga: CV-3".  Thanks to Wayne Zucker for sending the mural photo.  Click HERE to check out Jack's web site.

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Here's the cover of the program for the November 13, 1959 football game between Crawford and Saint Augustine AT Hoover.  I think the Colts were no longer a football powerhouse when they finally got a stadium.  Click HERE to see the rest of the program and the lineups for each team.

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The November 25, 1959 Pacer shared the sad fact that the Colts lost the Friday the 13th Game against Saint August 26-12.  It also had the above snippet about Jim Gilmer's Model A, which -- through the magic of ChatGTP -- I was able to buff out pretty nicely.

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I spiffed up a tinted postcard from the old Oscar's at Euclid and El Cajon.  Click HERE to see what's there now, and read some comments.

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Click HERE to revisit the Sears Hillcrest page and see more photos, plus ads and comments.  I smell popcorn.

September 11, 2026

My late gal-pal Nancy Watson always complained about being picked last for "everything".  I don't think she'd have gotten much sympathy from Joe Zyriek '69.

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69 years ago YESTERDAY was Opening Day at Crawford.  Click HERE to see the newspaper article, buffed out and enlarged with ChatGTP.

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Here's an aerial shot of the newly-opened school, taken on September 30, 1957.  Click HERE to see it, and two others, enlarged.

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The rich kids from Alvarado Estates purchased cool book covers at the Financial Office.  Some of us used paper bags from Piggly Wiggly.  Click HERE to check out a selection donated by Dietra Anderson Davis '62.

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Boy, one of these would look cool in the back window of a hot rod.  Click HERE to see decals saved by Sally Brett '63

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Click HERE to peruse all 40 pages of an early Colt Handbook.  I wonder if it specifies girl's skirt lengths.

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I've just learned of the passing of Bruce Jaffe in Dayton, Ohio on November 23, 2025, after a short battle with cancer.   After graduation from USC, Bruce began his career at Price Waterhouse, earning his CPA before joining Bell Industries in 1967. He spent nearly 30 years there, serving as CFO and later President.  At 41, Bruce started running, and once he started, he didn't stop. He completed 24 marathons and carried the Olympic torch in 1984. When his knees finally quit, he bought a bicycle and kept going. Later in life he found a 2nd home at Yankee Trace Golf Course spending nearly every day hitting balls, playing a round, or volunteering. The best gig of his life.