August 26, 2016

Looks like football season begins tonight for Crawford, which is picked to finish third in the Central League.  You better hitch up the buckboard early if you want to travel to the 6:30 kickoff of tonight's game.  It's at Mountain Empire High School in Pine Valley.  Those of you who check your maps on-line may, like me, be surprised to learn that you get there by traveling east on the Kumeyaay Highway.  Some of us still think of it as I-8. 

I got a kick out of Wednesday's Bliss Cartoon

My classmate Gary Schulte sent me a San Diego Sun newspaper dated September 26, 1938.  I scanned some articles and posted them on Facebook last week.  Those of you who don't do Facebook can now read them on my web site.  Click HERE.

I guess Sandy Shapery's replica Electriquettes are up and running in Balboa Park.  The Union-Tribune's Karla Peterson took one for a test drive.   Click HERE to read her story.  Sandy Shapery is a 1961 Crawford graduate.

I awoke Monday morning with Ernie Dronenburg speaking out of my clock radio.  Turns out he was making an endorsement in the County Supervisors' race.  You can read all about it on the KPBS web site.  Ernie Dronenburg is also a 1961 Crawford graduate.

Speaking of politics, 10 people have taken out papers in the City of El Cajon council election.  One of them is George Glover '73.  Read more about George and his competition in East County Magazine.

(Please do not send me a nasty email.  I'm not endorsing political candidates.  I'm just letting you know about Colts in the news)

James Norman Smith '61 passed away August 8th -- a week after being diagnosed with liver cancer.  I've posted a small obituary on the Class of '61 Obituary Page. 

August 19, 2016

The only Colt I saw in the news this week was myself, buried in Wednesday's Logan Jenkins' Union-Tribune column about San Diego County place names.  Click HERE to read his column.  There's a link within the column to a 20-year old Ken Kramer interview on the same topics.  The image above is the sign on Cass Street with Garnet Avenue misspelled.

I dug deep into the Top 40 archives to come up with this KCBQ "Top 29" list from August 17, 1973.  The #1 hit was "Live and Let Die" with Paul McCartney and Wings, which reminds me of my buddy Jeff Dalrymple's son's plaint "Dad!!  Did you know Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?"

August 12, 2016

LAST FRIDAY NANCY AND I had nothing to do and all day to do it, so we decided to head east for breakfast at Major's Cafe in Pine Valley.  We made it about as far as Texas Street when the traffic on east-bound 8 came to a stop.  Ahead, on an overpass, I could see police cars streaking with blue lights flashing.  I quit counting at 20 and assumed we were all going to die from a nuclear attack.  All four lanes eventually were forced onto the Southbound I-15.  Once we got up to speed again, Nancy suggested we take 94 to the I-8,  Worked swell until 94 turned into a parking lot nearing the 8.  We got off and worked our way through La Mesa to Spring Street.  Several ambulances were on the freeway overpass, which was packed with pedestrians looking down at the freeway.  "Must be a jumper," I thought.  Nope.  The freeways were shut down so hundreds of police cars could make their way to El Cajon for the memorial services for Jonathan de Guzman, killed in the line of duty last month.  Oh -- we ended up having breakfast at Patty's on Lake Murray Blvd.

"Relatives of yours?" said the text  from Alaska from my pal John Wilding.  The boxes say "Chinook Fry", "Chum Fry", "Coha Fry," and "Sockeye Fry".  Must be distant cousins.  Sockeye sounds like a character from "Dangerous Dan McGrew".

Does anyone out there collect postcards?  I've posted and copied and shared the pertinent cards sent to me by Mike McKim '68.  Now I'm looking to pass them on.  There are a handful of San Diego cards, more than a handful of California cards, and some from overseas.

Ron Morse '64 stands next to his 1962 Fiat 600D on Prom Night.  He says it could do 80 downhill, pegged, and 70 on the flats.  It was small enough to slip between the barriers at SDSU and drive onto the tennis courts.  I've added the photo to the Cars We Drove To School Page.

August 5, 2016

NANCY AND I waved at the Waffle Spot as we drove east on I-8 to Brothers Restaurant on Waring Road last Friday.  Nancy Miljas '66 was also dining there, and stopped to chat on her way out.  When it came time to take care of the bill our waitress said it had been paid, and added -- "Go Colts!"  On Monday we were running late and decided to give the Waffle Spot a shot.  We got in without a wait, just as Ron Dixon and his wife Arlene Lueke Dixon '67 were leaving.  Nancy was dining closer to home in San Marcos Tuesday and again learned someone had bought her lunch.  She paid it forward and took care of the bill of a WWII vet and his wife.  (It said WWII on his hat)

I'm not sure who Pea Hicks is, but Greg May continues to thank him for photos he posts on his Facebook page.  I thank him too.  This week he shared some 1967 aerials of Mission Valley and Mission Bay.

Added to the Cars We Drove To School page this week was Joan Thatcher Green '69, shown here with her '67 Chevy Malibu and dog Tippy

Ted Hazlewood '63 shows off the car he would like to have driven to school.  That's his son Cory riding shotgun.  He didn't say what kind of car it is, other than it's his "Latest Production".

Doug Wilson '71 passed away last month, on July 14th.