February 6, 2014

I DON'T KNOW HOW they're doing at the Farmer's Insurance Golf Tournament in Torrey Pines, but the fog has lifted in Pacific Beach and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day.  I'm hoping to talk Nancy into breakfast at the Landing Grille, formerly the Kruse Galley, on the bay near Islandia.

Here are the items I posted on Facebook this past week.

Steve Haiman '62, insisting he's not just another pretty face, wants folks to know he'll be appearing in "Into The Woods" as a member of the Pickwick Players.  He plays a character known as the  "Mysterious Man", which -- he notes -- shouldn't surprise his friends.   The venue is the Off Broadway Theater located on Cuyamaca Street in Santee (sharing the Food-4-Less parking lot).  The play runs from February 20 through March 1st.  Steve is certain the play will sell out quickly and hopes you will get your tickets early.  EMAIL Steve with questions or just go to the Pickwick Players web site.

Click HERE to check out the goodies sent to me by Dietra Anderson Davis '62

I've just updated some of the first photos I ever uploaded to my Crawford High web site, loaned to me by Mary Jo Schmith Grubb '62 from her time at John Muir Elementary.  Click HERE to see three photos of musical groups.  Click HERE to see class photos from Kindergarten through 5th grade.

Paul Wright died January 20, 2014.  He was born in Coshocton Ohio. In 1950 he left for South Carolina to attend Central Wesleyan College where he fell in love with Betty Lou Henderson, his wife of 63 years. With the start of the Korean War, Paul enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving 4 years on the Rendova and Bon Homme Richard aircraft carriers. From 1960 to 1996 Paul taught Physics and Chemistry at Crawford, starting the Advanced Science Program for San Diego County. When not in a classroom, you could usually see him digging in his garden, repairing one of his rental houses, or involved in a construction project at his church.

Services will be held at 2pm Sunday February 8th at El Cajon Wesleyan Church, 1500 E. Lexington Ave, El Cajon, CA 92019

Sign the Guest Book

John Lane ’59  died, with family at his side in Nampa, Idaho of natural causes on December 29, 2014.  He retired as a construction superintendent, relocated to Lone Pine, California then moved to Caldwell, Idaho in 2008.

Christopher Crumrine ’63 passed away on December 14, 2014 at home in Redding, California.  Chris was born and raised in San Diego.  He was an officer in the ROTC program at Crawford. After high school he joined the Army, where his specialties included Intelligence Analyst, Correctional Specialist and Tactical Air Operations Specialist. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, one tour of duty in IndoChina, two tours of duty in Germany.  He received an honorable discharge in March of 1984 as a Chief Warrant Officer 3. He was a lifetime member of Disabled American Veterans and a member of the American Legion.

Stephen Anderson '73 died January 6, 2014 in Corpus Christi, Texas.  He was born in San Diego on December 28, 1954

January 30, 2015

Soccer Coach Kyle Hagenburger has emailed UPDATE #5 to the folks who contributed to his GoFundMe fund. There is a home game vs Madison on February 3rd and the Alumni Game on Saturday, February 7, at 11:30.  If you have additional questions you can EMAIL Kyle or call his cell phone at 619-885-0113.

Terry Hall '64 shared a photo of some members of the Crawford Surfing Club, and Coach Malcolm, at a barbecue in 2013.  Click HERE for the big picture and the names.

After a long battle with Parkinson’s disease Adrian Fernandes '60 passed away on January 7, 2015. He taught Graphic Arts and Photography from 1971-1984 at Clairemont High School. His family is honoring him with a "Celebration of LIfe" event at their home on 2128 Pine St. San Diego, 92103 on February 1st from 1:00-4:00 P.M

Have you joined the Crawford Colt Corral Facebook page?  You won't have to wait until Fry Day for these alumni updates -- and you can comment on what others have to day.

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The First First Thursday of 2015 will be held on the First Thursday of February which, I believe, will be February 5th, but you better check.  I may be using an old calendar.  Nancy Miljas as changed the time on her artwork to reflect when folks actually arrive, so I expect they will now start arriving at 4.  Either way it should be light when you arrive, so you can find your way across the parking lot.  You're on your own finding your way back after the sun goes down and you quit drinking.

January 23, 2015

THE SUN IS UP IN PACIFIC BEACH and a gorgeous day is in store.  Nancy and I will be having our usual late breakfast at the Amigo Spot, and will be joined this morning by Ken and Joanne Ptack.  Ken and I were best buddies growing up in Normal Heights, and I was best man at their wedding at Annapolis in 1967.  

I've made good progress on letting folks know about transitioning the Fry Day email to Facebook, getting through the Class of '72 yesterday.  Some folks are digging their feet in, but several hundred have made the move.  

Ernie Cowan '62 wrote a nice article about migrating birds for the U-T this week.  Click HERE to check it out.

Michael Klatt '70, who now surfs Morro Bay, didn't know Crawford HAD a Surfing Club until he picked up a copy of Surfing in San Diego, by John Elwell.  He loaned me his copy and I snagged a handful of great shots of Coach Marshall "Scooter" Malcolm dating back to the '40s.  I've posted an "album" of the shots on Facebook.  You may be able to see them if you click HERE.   The shot above is from the '64 Centaur.  I talked to coach Coach Malcolm yesterday.  He's 81 now and still hits Tourmaline most weekday mornings.  You'll have to get there around 6:30 if you want to join him. 

The Ladies of Dorian Gray (they never get older, but somewhere on a wall their portraits aren't doing so well) met on January 15th for the annual Class of '72 Re-Gifting Party.  Click HERE for a larger portrait, caption, and a few additional photos.

Here's the Golden Anniversary Pacer for January 21, 1965.  I just noticed the headline:  "Pasty Walden ROTC Queen"  Click HERE to read all four pages.

Janice Casteel Mills '64 died November 11, 2014 in Marysville, Ohio. Click HERE to read an obituary.

The death of Jim Testa '67 hit his brother Ed harder than the passing of his twin brother Ray in 2002.  Read what he had to say on the Class of '67 Obituary Page.

January 16, 2015

Dear Colts,

The Fry Day email software is sitting on the shoulder of the Information Highway with the hood up.  My web hostess recently upgraded the security certificate on her server and, when the dust settled, I could no longer send or receive on my Microsoft Entourage email program.  She had tailored this software as a workaround when Time Warner Cable decided I was a spammer and would no longer let me send multiple emails.  I may or may not attempt to transfer my contacts to another program.  I have tried this a number of times over the years unsuccessfully.  In the meantime I’m going to try to direct traffic to my Crawford Colt Corral Facebook page, which you are looking at now.  It currently has 228 members.  I’m pretty sure I was sending the Fry Day emails to around 3000 Colts.  Perhaps you can spread the word to your Facebook friends.  Another idea is that you could go to the Email Page on my web site, click on the link and go to your Class Year.  At that point you could scroll down and send emails to people that you know, sharing the Facebook link.  If you’d like to take the time to contact all the folks on the page, that would be wonderful.  You might check back with me first, so there is no duplication of effort.  

The link to my Email Page is 

http://www.johnfry.com/pages/email.html  

The link to the Colt Corral Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/groups/1420153521541969/

Your Pal in the Corral,

John Fry

Click HERE to find out why this photo from Florence sent Bob Richardson looking for his 1960 Centaur.

January 9, 2015

IT’S STILL DARK IN PB and the heater in my house just went off.  When Nancy arrives we’ll head to the Amigo Spot for a late breakfast.  The Waffle Spot is closed for renovation.

I see the Birch Aquarium is offering whale watching tours.  Beware.  They say it’s a “Three Hour Cruise”

Greg May has posted a series of stunning aerial photos of Pacific Beach circa 1975 on his Vintage San Diego page.  Click HERE to check them out.  I’ll try to add some captions over the weekend.

Larry Okmin ‘64 has scored a Two-Fer

A)  He shares a photo of classmate Miguel Reynero that he took at the 1964 Graduation Party.  I’ve added it to the photos Bob Lutz took last October.  Click HERE to take a look.

B) Remember Mickie Finns?  Larry Okmin PLAYED AT MICKIE FINN’S!!  That’s him on the left playing clarinet with the South Market Street Jazz Band.  ‘64 classmate Bob Saare is smack in the middle of the photo on trombone.  Click HERE to view an enlarged version. The page also contains some of the memories shared by other Colts.

A Celebration of Tom Rowe’s life will be held at 2 PM on January 25th at Faith Presbyterian Church, 5075 Campanile Drive

Cheryl Craig Brown ‘72 died suddenly and unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm on December 9th.  You can sign the on-line guest book but you better hurry. They’re taking it down on January 11th.