December 23, 2016

Winter arrived in Pacific Beach this past Wednesday accompanied by a light rain.  That's a good thing.  The fact that the days will not start to get longer is even better.

Yesterday's article in the Los Angeles Times about immigrants from around the world making their way to the border at Tijuana, featured a map showing the Red Light District.  Where was it when I needed it?  No, I don't know why the Red Light District was included.  Maybe I should go back and read the article.

Nur Karhan Deleman '61, your exchange student from Turkey, wants to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year.  I'll bet iPad'imden gönderildi means "Sent from my iPad" in Turkish.  If you'd like to respond, Nur's email address is ndelemen@gmail.com

I saw the obituary for Clark Hyde. Clark and I were in the Boy Scouts and the Order of the Arrow part of Boy Scouts for years.  Interesting note, at least for me, is that Mr. Hyde, Clark's father, was active as an adult scout leader. He smoked a lot I remember, which as we know was all too common in the day.  Mr. Hyde ran my Boy Scout Eagle Scout board of review, where the scout sits in front of three adults and answers questions for about an hour.  One of the other adults on the panel was Mr. Henzie, the principal at Crawford you wrote about recently.  I remember both Mr. Hyde and Mr. Henzie to be easy to work with and kind at that time. When you're 14 all the adults are larger than life and can be overpowering. It's interesting at least to me to have been reminded of them both in your Fried Egg update -- George Sorensen '69

Turns out Winston Churchill DIDN'T say "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."  I still thought about the quote when I decided to encourage folks out there to sign up for Facebook.  I have to deal daily with Puppy videos and selfies of "friends" eating breakfast burritos, but the incredible bright side is getting to see photos of San Diego that I haven't seen before -- and then share them.  Just as important is the ability to comment on the photos and, sometimes, begin a running commentary.  Having said that, take a look at the photos below.

Greg May's Vintage San Diego Facebook page is a regular source of fabulous new old photos.  This color shot of the old Normal School, just north of the Education Center on Park Boulevard, popped up last week.  I don't have the dates, but I'm pretty sure this was Horace Mann Junior High before its replacement was built on 54th Street.

Photos of the 1953 Toyland Parade sent me looking for the photo I took of Barbara Addkison '62 who was Queen of the 1962 parade.  Click HERE to look at the 1953 parade on Facebook.

I recently posted some photos I took at La Jolla Shores in June 1962 -- or at least that's the date on the edge of the photos.  I thought I'd get comments from my male cohorts, but mostly it was girls waxing rhapsodic about the swimsuits, hairdos and -- who knew? -- purses.  Click HERE to see all of the photos on Facebook.

Also photographed in June 1962 was a beauty pageant, I think at College Grove Shopping Center. Click HERE to see the rest of the images I posted on Facebook.  I sure wish I'd copied down names, but I had my hands full with my Yashica-D camera.

Oscar Amezcua, John Hall and Bill Davis pose for a photo while recording "Pancho Raccoon" for a movie Oscar was making at Crawford.  "They gave credit for this stuff," says Bill.  "We put thumb tacks on the felt hammers of Mrs. Amezcua's piano for the authentic honky-tonk effect."  Bill calls your attention to the "high-end reel-to-reel recording equipment" -- and, yes, wishes he still had the hair.