December 29, 2017

I'm jumping the gun to wish you a Happy New Year.  Not much else happening in Crawford Land this week.

Charles Wax '68 forwards a photo of himself on the Sydney Harbor Bridge on December 21st.  I believe that's the Sydney Opera House behind him.

This is me -- Scrooge McFry -- spreading joy and sunshine on Christmas Day at the Catamaran Hotel.

December 22, 2017

How are you enjoying the first day of Winter?  Can you tell the days are getting longer?  It may be too soon.

Shirley Froelich Gleason submitted -- and perhaps took -- this photo of Christmas lights on Casita Way.  In case you can't make out the sign on the right, it says "DITTO", with an arrow pointing to the neighbor's decorations.

Good news ladies!! A generic Viagra is now on the market for $35 a pill.  I'm wondering how much the "good stuff" costs.

Judy Aminoff wants to know her Class of '63 "ranking".  Turns out she was reading the Barbara Lamb obituary Jack Williams wrote in the U-T in 2005 in which he says "Barbara graduated 19th in her class of 800".  I was never aware of an actual GPA ranking, even when I was teaching.  Let me know if you can help Judy.

I'm not sure what's going on with the Colt Corral Facebook, but there's some sort of competition to remember the good old days -- and good old places.  It gave me a chance to snag and share my Aunt Emma's Pancakes web page.  Click HERE to check it out and drool.

Speaking of Facebook, Paula Hildebrand Clare '64 shared this photo of a Fiesta de Pacifico gathering circa 1959.  Paula's in the first row, second from the right.  Her brother Rod '63 is standing in the middle with the cool vest.   Bill Bagnell '63 is standing at the right. Standing at the left is Paula's husband-to-be Ron (Rulon) Claire '62. They'll celebrate 51 years of marriage next month.

I'm sharing a link to the obituary for Martin Ransohoff because it gives me an excuse to show this photo of the Beverly Hillbillies, one of the shows he produced.  Click HERE to read the obit.

Barbara Kiloh Rubin '63 passed away peacefully on December 19th.  She worked as an Administrative Aide for the San Diego City Schools and, after retirement, enjoyed her children and grandchildren.  She is survived by sister Laura Kiloh Petretta '66 and brother Kirk '69.  Her children Dan and Lisa Rubin are also Crawford graduates.  There will be no services.

December 15, 2017

Christmas comes early!!  After a half century of searching, we have finally located Linda Dawes, one of the most popular girls in the Class of '62.   The most recent attempt began a couple of days ago when Christine Loss forwarded a contact in Santee and wondered if it might be her.  It wasn't, but crack researcher Mary Gale Rogers decided to take another look.  We've had at least three unsuccessful attempts to locate Linda.  This time Mary Gale found Linda's name in a real estate testimonial.  The realtor forwarded my particulars to Linda, who emailed me late on Wednesday.  Turns out she lived five blocks away from me in Pacific Beach -- but recently returned to Gig Harbor, Washington to be closer to her children.  Thank you Santa -- and Mary Gale.

Yale Strom '75 will celebrate the Winter Solstice December 21st at the San Diego Rep with a concert entitled "Winter Schminter".  Yale, Mark Dress, Fred Benidetti and Elizabeth Schwartz will be performing Jewish, Christian and Pagan music.  I'm not sure what Pagan music sounds like.  Maybe Led Zeppelin.  Click HERE for more information.

The Golden Anniversary December 14, 1967 Pacer is an 8-page Holiday Spectacular.  Click HERE to enjoy.

Bruce Brown, whose "Endless Summer" we talked about a couple of weeks ago, passed away December 10th at the age of 80.  Don't blame me, blame Norm Black.  Click HERE to read the obituary in the New York Times.

December 8, 2017

I wonder how many folks have "You can just drop me off here" stories about getting driven to school.

Aaron Boone, son of Sue Roel '66 and Bob Boone '65, is the new manager of the New York Yankees.  Click HERE to read a nice article in the New York Times about the Boone Baseball Family, pictured above.

This Class of '64 group usually meets at True Foods in Fashion Valley, but decided not to fight the Holiday Crowds at the mall.  They were hosted instead by Janice Irvine Ricards who, in addition to cooking lunch, took this photo (I assume).  Left to right are Meri Pierce Knight, Janie Newberry Smith. Laurie Koosed Rather, Kris Gjerde Flynn, and Bev Bachman Fritschner 

Linda McNeely Willis 71, of Phoenix died November 14, 2017 from cancer.  “She was my next door neighbor growing up,” writes John Hermes.  “Her brother Craig was Crawford class of 1960, sister Kathleen class of 1963, and sister Loretta class of 1966.”  Click HERE to read an obituary.

December 1, 2017

Crawford's hopes for a CIF football title came to an end last Friday or Saturday (I never did figure it out)) when they lost to Vincent Memorial 45-3.  John Maffei's article in the U-T had nice things to say about the Colts and Coach Mike Wright.  Click HERE to read the piece.

Norm Black '68 has shared some surf memorabilia.  I'm not sure how to share it with all of you.  Probably on Facebook.  

Last week's photo of Mike Miller at Camp Palomar got Susan Wilkerson McCasland to wondering:  Do Camp Palomar and Camp Cuyamaca still exist?  Yes they do.  Click on the links to get more information.

Larry Okmin '64 got most of Page A-2 in last Saturday's installment of the U-T's Profiles of Notable People.  It was partly because Larry was performing in what we used to call the Dixieland Jazz Festival at the Town and Country Hotel.  Click HERE to read the article.

George Fogelman ’63 passed away Thanksgiving Eve and was interred at El Camino Memorial Park on the afternoon of November 27th.  A Celebration of Life was held afterwards at the Amigo Spot, where George held court so many Saturdays with his Live Jazz Band.  A large crowd of neighbors, musical friends and former classmates gathered to share memories and enjoy Mexican food courtesy of Stephanie Rose Petersen '74.  

Candace Reemelin Rand-Riley ’68 passed away peacefully at home in Ocean Beach on September 29th.  She had been diagnosed with cancer in early 2015 and battled it successfully for nearly three years, two years beyond what her doctors expected.  She was born January 31, 1950 at Paradise Valley Hospital in National City, California.  A Celebration of Life was held at the family home on October 14th

Richard Wainscott ’71, a resident of Dayton, Nevada, died on November 13, 2017. Richard was born in San Diego on December 21, 1952.  He was an active member of the drama department at Crawford, starring in plays such as "Oklahoma!", and was on the football team.   A Celebration of Life service will be held on Monday, December 11, 2017 at 11 am at the Calvary Baptist Church, 4 Flowery Ave, Dayton, NV with services to follow at 1:30 pm at Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 14 Veterans Way, Fernley, Nevada.

November 23, 2017

It's Turkey Day!!

Crawford beat Tri-City Christian last Friday 38-20 and will meet Vincent Memorial at Southwestern College at 7 PM Friday to decide the 2017 CIF San Diego Division V Championship.

Click HERE to read the November 22, 1967 Golden Anniversary Pacer.

James Knight Cooper '63 wondered if I had an email address for his classmate Mike Miller.  He'd promised to send this photo of Mike at Camp Palomar if he ever found it.  He didn't specifically tell me I COULDN'T share it with you all.

Gary Mitrovich posted this photo of an Auto Camp on his East San Diego Facebook page, noting that Auto Camps were the precursors to motels and were usually found on major highways.  This one was on University Avenue just east of 54th.  Gary says some of the Eucalyptus trees remain.  I've included a screen shot from Google Street view.  An aerial shot would reveal Crawford High just over the horizon.

Donna (it says Dohna in the yearbook) Gregston '68 passed away a year ago, although I can't find an on-line obituary.  Her friends are holding a Memorial Service for her this Saturday, 3 PM, at Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas.

November 17, 2018

Crawford beat Army-Navy 34-16 in the Division V Quarter Finals and will meet Vista's Tri-City Christian in the Semi-Finals tonight at Crawford at 7 PM

Yesterday's Los Angeles Times had a nice story in the Sports Section about what happened to the Pen Pal Larry Nance Jr (above, left) wrote to when he was age 8.  Click HERE and be prepared to do battle with pop-up ads.

Click HERE to read the "Outdoors" column from Thursday's UT written by my '62 classmate Ernie Cowan.

Photos I hadn't seen before, from John F. Kennedy's trip to San Diego on June 6, 1963, appeared on Facebook this week.  Click HERE to take a look.  Click HERE to revisit photos on my web site.

Can you guess how many Beatles songs appeared on KGB's Top 30 Survey for November 15, 1964?  Click HERE to find out.

Frances Eddy Lynch ’68 passed away November 3rd, reports brother Lee ’72.  A Memorial will be held on Saturday, November 25th at St Andrew’s Lutheran Church. 8350 Lake Murray Blvd. 10:00 am. 

November 10, 2017

Crawford lost to Kearny last week 40-7, but apparently still qualified for the Division V Playoffs.   The first playoff game brings Army-Navy to Crawford tonight at 7 PM.

Click HERE to read all 8 pages of the November 9, 1967 Golden Anniversary Pacer.

I'm still a sucker for streetcar pictures.  Greg May just posted this shot on his Vintage San Diego Facebook Page.  It's looking south across the Georgia Street streetcar bridge north of the Zoo in the late 1940s.  That's Morley Field Drive down below.  Didn't we used to call it Upas?  Also from Greg's page is the photo below of North Park, looking East on University from 30th Street.  Smack dab in the center is the J C Penneys where I got my first job (not counting the one-day stint as a dishwasher at Aunt Emma's).  I got to print cards that said stuff like "Ladies' Pumps: $4.95".

Word comes from Sharon Bentley Ball '60 that her husband Don Ball '59 passed away October 30th, surrounded by his family, hospice care and chaplain; and had a private family service.  He will rest in peace at Riverside National Cemetery, wearing his Crawford Letterman's jacket over a Reunion shirt that has the names of his 1959 classmates on the back.  Click HERE to read more and share a memory.

Jim Martin '60 learned over the weekend that his ex-wife and classmate Jo Ann Jensen died on October 2nd in El Cajon.  "I don't have any further details of her passing," says Jim.

November 3, 2017

Crawford's first Homecoming Game under the lights at the new stadium resulted in a 28-0 loss to San Diego High.  They play Kearny tonight at 6:30 under the lights at Crawford.

The 1961 Homecoming Game also pitted Crawford against San Diego, this time at Hoover.   Click HERE to check out the entire program -- and some other stuff.

Nooooooo!!  I thought I heard sleigh bells on TV Halloween night, and am sure I saw ToysRUs commercials LAST night.  Didn't they used to wait until after Thanksgiving before airing Christmas commercials.

What to do, what to do?  I just replaced a burned-out bulb in the lamp over my easy chair and was all set to purchase a new one to have in reserve.  I looked on the back of the carton and learned that the projected life of this bulb is 20 years.  At my age I'm not even buying green bananas.

The city recently established a homeless camp on property at 20th and B.  When I realized that was adjacent to B Street Hill I got to thinking about the old question:  "Which is steeper -- Laurel Street or B Street Hill."  The answer is "neither" -- according to an old article in the San Diego Reader.

Robert Dobkins '60 reports the passing of his twin brother Richard on October 28th from pneumonia.

October 27, 2017

It's been awhile, but I finally came across a cartoon that made me chuckle.

Have you been watching the World Series?  The name Brent Strom sounded really familiar to me.  Turns out the Astros' Pitching Coach was the 1966 Section Player of the Year at San Diego High School and later played for the Padres. So there you are.

Recognize this McDonald's?  Greg May didn't, and asked for help when he posted the shot on his Vintage San Diego Facebook page.   He got help in a hurry.   The shot looks west to 70th and University in April 1972, when the Golden Arches had Golden Arches.

The 2017 Colts are preparing for tonight's Homecoming, just like they were in 1967.  Click HERE to read the Golden Anniversary Pacer from October 26, 1967.

Class of '62 football players Bruce Parker and Ron Newport emerge from the tunnel at the Grand Opening of Crawford's Football Field.  Click HERE to see some great Facebook photos by Jenny Thai.  If you don't "do" Facebook, click HERE to look at the photos on Jenny's web site.

Colin Cole and Duane Farrar were in charge of check-ins at the Class of '62 55th Reunion held October 5th.  Click HERE to look at Lynn Routt Swanson's photos on Facebook.

Emma B. Leisure, my Senior Year counselor, passed away September 2nd at the age of 96.  Click HERE to sign the on-line guest book.  

Shelly Forester sends word that her aunt, Jeanne Boscow Iturri '64, died of cancer April 17th.  Jeanne's sister, Carole Boscow Swenson '61, is working on an obituary.