May 29, 2020

This one took me awhile.  I can't help you with the Blueberry Pie, Eyeball, or lit stick of dynamite in the hallway.

It's been a bad week for privately-sponsored space travel.  Weather has delayed Elon Musk's SpaceX launch to the space station and, on Monday, Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit launch attempt was unsuccessful.  Mostly this is an excuse to show a really cool photo of Virgin Orbit's 747 Cosmic Girl flying in formation with the British Red Arrow demonstration team.  Click HERE if you'd like to read the Virgin Orbit story in the NY Times.

I opened up my San Diego Union Tuesday and spotted this ad for Bank of America.  I spent way too much time trying to figure out where in San Diego the photo might have been taken.  Then I unfolded the LA Times and spotted the photo below.  That one probably wasn't taken in LA.  Not much of a commitment to my way of thinking.

Tim Abbey shares a Homecoming Button from 1969

Earlier this week I shared a story from the May 1, 1970 San Diego Union touting the Crawford Jazz Band.  It included photos of Steve Christy, the late Hartwell Ragsdale II, and Gunnar Biggs.  Peter Thompson '65 reminds me that Gunnar is still making music, and has a web site.  Click HERE to check it out.

In 1994 Larry Okmin '64 received the above photo in the mail.  It shows Mr. Sanford's class -- including Larry and best pal Dale Saare -- on the steps at Horace Mann.  Click HERE to read the interesting back story, and to see the photo enlarged.  It was taken in 1958 -- or maybe 1959.

I found this item in Frank Rhoades' column in the May 4, 1963 San Diego Union.  I wonder how the three Class of '65 members made out.

Michael Will ’59 passed away May 22, 2020.  He was in the Prowlers car club, a Colt car club and worked as a master electrician most of his life.  He is survived by his wife Barbara Mardon Will ‘61, sons Steven and Robert and daughter Monica

May 22, 2020

Just found out that Monday, May 25th, is Memorial Day.  Pay homage as best you can.

Lulu Anaya Summers '63 shared the above photo on Facebook.  It does conjure up an image.  I suspect a non-native speaker gets up at 2 in the morning to start baking and doesn't know how to spell tongs. 

I guess if you were watching the national news from CBS last weekend you would have seen '73 graduate Jeff Gianola.  Click HERE for more information on the Portland legend.   Patty Bremner Brubaker '72 shared this, noting that Jeff was their paper boy.

The Air Force Flight Demonstration team -- the Thunderbirds -- flew over cities in Southern California to honor health care workers last Friday.  Have you ever tried to take pictures at an air show?  Almost impossible.  Nelvin Cepeda got a pretty good shot for the Union-Tribune, I imagine with a telephoto lens from Point Loma.  I think Brian van der Brug, shooting for the LA Times just got lucky with the stunning shot below.

Speaking of stunning shots, I was scanning some slides for a friend of a friend.  They were the usual fare -- vacations, birthdays, weddings -- and one incredible scenic photo.  It was taken in December 1974 by a person diving outside San Diego Harbor.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.

Remember Channel 8's Mel Knoepp?  He's featured, along with Harold Keen, Ray Wilson and some other staff in some recently discovered film footage from the early '60s.  Click HERE to check it out.

I believe we've seen this before, also a Channel 8 Throwback.  It's a 90-second cavalcade of El Cajon Boulevard neon in 1978.  Click HERE and go for a spin. 

I got some pretty strong opinions about the new Horace Mann building.  Perhaps revisiting a previously-shared 1959 aerial of Horace Mann and Andrew Jackson will ease those ruffled feathers -- but I doubt it.  Click HERE to see a way bigger enlargement.

Victor Pei ’73 died May 7, 2020.  Born in Hong Kong, Victor immigrated to the United States at the age of six.  He  grew up in San Diego, California and studied civil engineering at San Diego State  University prior to transferring to, and graduating from, the School of Architecture at  California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.  In 1979, he traveled to New York to seek out the advice of his first cousin, the world famous architect, I M Pei, and to start his own professional architectural career.  He married Maria Judith Tam in 1981 in San Diego County. 

May 15, 2020

For those of you who've decided to refresh your cooking skills during the pandemic here's one of my favorite Bliss cartoons, from 2017

Do you do the New York Times Crossword in the San Diego Union-Tribune?  If you do, you know it starts easy, then gets pretty tough come Friday and Saturday.  I start midweek, then try to make it to the weekend.  This past Wednesday had three clues that stopped me dead in my tracks:  Historic town in Veszprém county, Hungary, noted for its baroque architecture; Left tributary of the Vitim River, in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia; and Village between Kruszyna and Jacków in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland (pop. 306).  All 15 letters across, by the way.  I've put the answers at the bottom of this page.

Can you stop a car safely using Rice Krispie squares?  Using research from San Diego State professor Julio Valdez, the New York Times wonders how the chewy treat compares with other types of highway barriers.  Click HERE if you'd like to read the article.

Guess who took THIS picture of the Hotel del Coronado?  No, not me!!  It was Lee Passmore, who took the stunning Mission Valley view we shared a couple of weeks ago.  Click HERE to see a larger view.

Last Friday's U-T had a wonderful interview with Bob Newhart on the 60th Anniversary of his start in show business.  Click HERE if you'd like to read it.

How's your Karen?  Mine's a little rusty.  That's one of the 35 languages spoken at Horace Mann.  Can you even imagine what they're going through right now trying to educate students on-line?  Click HERE to read Sunday's article in the Union-Tribune.  By the way, that's Vice Principal Augustus Phiny Phiasivongsa, Principal Ryan Brock and Vice Principal Mary Mwereru pictured above.

Here's an ad from the Golden Anniversary Pacer, from May 14, 1970.  

Click HERE to check it out.  

Click HERE to read the May 13, 1965 Pacer.  

Click HERE to read the May 12, 1960 Pacer.

OBITUARIES

Linda Hunter Buckley ’61 passed away April 29, 2020.  She was born in San Francisco, into a Navy family, during WWII. The family moved several times: to Charleston, Germany, Guam, and New Orleans, before settling down in San Diego. Linda attended Paradise Valley School of Nursing where she earned her certification as a Registered nurse. Not long after starting her first job at UCSD, she continued her association with the Navy when she met and married a career Naval Officer at the North Chapel, Naval Training Center.  Linda applied her nursing skills at a number of hospitals including in Fairfax, Va., Newport, RI, and UCSD, Kaiser and Children's hospitals in San Diego.  Linda is survived by her husband, Russell, four children, nine grandchildren, and her brother, Jim Hunter.

Bevin Montgomery ’63 died April 17, 2020.  He was preceded in death by his wife Sandra Taylor Montgomery ’64 in January 2019.  They lived in Kettle Falls, Washington and had lived in that area for many years.

Fredrick Giese ’65 passed away May 9, 2020. He attended Andrew Jackson, Horace Mann, and Crawford.  He went directly into the Navy and served three tours of duty in Vietnam. He was a hospital corpsman who served with both Navy and Marines.  Fred served as the medical advisor for the Oliver Stone movie Born on the 4th of July, starring Tom Cruise.  He is survived by, among others, his sister Bette Giese Uwarow ’67

Phyllis Nunes Spann ’65  passed away April 27, 2020 after a long illness. In her final days, she succumbed to Covid-19. Phyllis was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Her family moved to San Diego when she was in junior high school. Many years ago, Phyllis was a runner-up in the annual Miss Cabrillo Pageant in Point Loma.  Phyllis was beautiful, loving, and caring, as well as generous.

Stephen Stegman ’74, died on April 8, 2020, after a valiant battle with cancer.  His strong will to live, unwavering faith in Christ and the love and prayers of family and friends carried him through the tough times and gave him peace.  Steve was born and raised in San Diego and later settled in Casa Grande, Arizona. He was a proud Air Force veteran who served as a Czech linguist and technical writer.

Crossword Answers

May 8, 2020

Gary Trudeau has been running old strips from the '90s, but they still crack me up.  This one reminds me of my pal Tom LaShell, who says, "I got a good education at San Diego State.  It could have been gooder."

A series of stunning color photos of JFK's visit to San Diego State in 1963 popped up on Facebook this week.  I've transferred the images to my website.  Click HERE to check them out.   Feel free to fill in names and locations.  Some Colts may see their SDSC Faculty parents in the photos.  I'm in the photo of the west side of Aztec Bowl with 8000 of my closest friends.

I'm normally indifferent to travel photos, but this week's New York Times piece about Madagascar knocked my socks off.  Click HERE if you'd like to check it out.

Dorian MacDougall is a 1970 Helix High grad, who had many Colts as childhood friends: Craig and Neil Johnston, Don and John MacArthur, and Harvi, Scott and Cheri Malone to name a few.  He's written a fascinating and fun tale of Southern California history in his book California Pop.  He's got Paul Harvey The Rest of the Story takes on everything from Architecture to Surfing.  You can order the book on Amazon.  I got a kick out of his drag race at 54th and Trojan.  He lost the race AND got a speeding ticket.  The winner disappeared into the mist.

Here's another pictographic map from Cap'n Dick Cloward.  It's a 1935 Recreational Map of San Diego.  Click HERE for a big map.

No Pacer this week.  Instead I'm sharing the ASB Sample Ballot from 60 years ago -- May 3, 1960.  Click HERE to see an enlarged version.

Eve Gumpel '73

October 1, 1955 - May 5, 2020

Tom Arsulich '77

October 18, 1959 - April 5, 2020

May 1, 2020

Happy May Day!!  Did we ever frolic around the May Pole like the college students below at the the old Normal School on Park Blvd where Alice Birney is today?  Actually, I guess it was on Normal Street, which -- unlike the Normal School -- is still there.  Yes, I DID know that the Normal School moved east and became San Diego State College.

This reminds me of Betty Alexander, my typing teacher at either Horace Mann or Crawford or possibly Summer School at Hoover.  She was also the Girls' Vice Principal at Hale Junior High my first year as a teacher.  I restarted the student newspaper there and, after a lot of work with the kids, got out the first issue and put one in every faculty member's mailbox.  The next day Betty had returned HER copy, with each and every error marked in red.  Sadly, I've been doing the same thing to others these many years.  You can take the teacher out of the classroom . . .

Ken Kramer is back with new episodes of About San Diego.  Last night's show had a nice visit with Gary Mitrovich '76 in the neighborhood where his grandfather Hamlet ran a turkey farm.  It was located at 53rd and Meade, long before Horace Mann or Crawford would have been downwind.  Ginny Sanderson Dahlen '60 shared a nice photo of the tie her father picked up at the 1935 Exposition in Balboa Park.  Jeannie Berger Passenheim '60 was one of the folks whose sunset photo was shared.

The show repeats on Sunday at 4 PM and Monday -- on KPBS2 -- at 8 PM

An interesting article in the New York Times about the challenges facing those who interpret for the deaf during the daily television updates on the COVID-19 pandemic.  Click HERE to check it out.

It's been awhile, but a stunning old photo recently popped up on Facebook.  It's a gorgeous shot of Mission Valley taken by the great Lee Passmore, and submitted by his great-grandson,  I believe it was taken from where the Presidio now stands, probably during the great flood of 1916.  Click HERE to see an enlargement.

What were YOU doing on February 6, 1983?  Channel 8 was at the Campus Drive-In on the theater's last night.  Click HERE to watch the video.

Remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned the packet of Colt Memorabilia I received in the mail from Jo Burchill Skibby '59?  It included the first three copies of the Pacer, two of which I already had.  Click HERE to read Volume I, No. 3, from November 26, 1957.

Roy Boughton ’59 was born in San Diego on June 7, 1941.  He married his high school sweetheart Holly Wensinger on June 25, 1960, the day after she graduated from Crawford.  He died of heart failure on March 31, 2020 in Mesa, Arizona where they moved in 1993.  His love of Arizona grew out of a visit to Jerome in the early ‘60s and blossomed when he moved to Mesa.  Roy retired as the Executive Director of the Page Chamber of Commerce and the John Wesley Powell Museum to travel across America, exploring every back street and dirt road along to way. Roy never met a stranger and was loved by everyone who knew him for his quick wit and generous heart.

Jerome Zottolo ’62 was born and lived in San Diego, the second child of Vito and Virginia Zottolo. He passed away April 15, 2020.  He learned the value of hard work as a teen during the summer months by accompanying his father on his tuna boat at a time when San Diego was named the fishing capital of the world.  Pleasant memories are of him taking his younger siblings to weekly family beach picnics and other city events.  After graduating from Crawford and serving in the National Guard, he settled into the occupation of a truck driver with GI Trucking for about 45 years.   He is survived by, among others, his siblings Marco, Maryann, and Frank.