July 28, 2023

From Gary Larson

Political Cartoonist Steve Breen was one of the folks who accepted a buy-out from the new owners of the San Diego Union Tribune.  Click HERE to read his farewell article, entitled Drawing to a Close.

I love this photo by Nelvin Cepeda from Thursday's UT.  The caption said the Balboa Park carousel is open daily through August 21st and will be open on weekends after that.  I wonder why August 21st?  Is that when kids go back to school now?

This Johnny Downs button popped up on Facebook this week.  I forgot that I even had a Johnny Downs page.  Click HERE to check it out.

I've redone the Sears Hillcrest page, adding a new aerial shot and some newspaper clippings.  Click HERE to take a look.

The Sears page contains references to Horace Mann wood shop teacher Mr. William Olive.  Click HERE to read his 2002 obituary.

Mr. Olive led me back to the story of Ron Jagodinski and the model sailboat he fondly refers to as his Olive-18.  Click HERE to learn more.

July 21, 2023

Looks like Wiley Coyote is hoping the police can help him nab The Roadrunner

These kids today don't know how we suffered!!

I've added Dick Borden's beer pitcher to the Andy's Saloon page.  Click HERE to take a look.

I may be the only one excited about this photo of the 1400 block Garnet Avenue, in Pacific Beach, from the mid-'70s.  Click HERE for an enlarged view -- and a bonus shot of the 1500 block.

Speaking of Pacific Beach, thanks to the internet you can watch my interview from last week on NBC7.  Click HERE and buckle up.  The photo above is from when Gary Keefer, Betty Alexander, Dick Jackson and I were all at Hale Junior High.

Janice Bauman Nelson ’59, the wife of Retired County Sheriff Sgt. Tom Nelson, passed away June 27, 2023 at 82 years of age.  They met in 1957, married in 1959, and would have celebrated their 64th anniversary this coming November.  She had been a legal secretary and the Manager of the PSA Pilots Union in the 1970s.  Janice and Tom were the parents of two children, and have five grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Nancy Killinger Garegnani ’62 passed peacefully at home in Hurricane, Utah after a fall and traumatic head injury while traveling to visit family in San Diego. Nancy was born the youngest of three children, in Oskaloosa, Kansas to George and Berniece Killinger.  The family moved to San Diego when she was still in school, but she was always proud of her Kansas roots.  After graduation, she went to work at San Diego Gas & Electric Company where she enjoyed a 40-year career as a customer service representative, electric service dispatcher, technical manual writer, and finally, electric line inspector.  In 2019 she and husband Tom relocated from their home in Ramona to Hurricane, Utah.  Nancy was predeceased by her sister Janice Beerbower and her brother Bill Killinger.

A mass and reception celebrating Nancy's life will take place on Saturday, July 29, at 11:00 am at St. Columba Catholic Church located at 3327 Glencolum Dr., San Diego, CA.92123.

July 14, 2023

I'm not sure how we're supposed to celebrate Bastille Day.  I guess you could start with French Toast, gobble some French Fries for lunch, and have a nice bowl of French Onion Soup for dinner.

No caption necessary

Don't cough up your Swanson TV dinner tonight.  The NBC 7 folks came out to the house Wednesday and interviewed me about the history of Pacific Beach.  I guess they'll show a snippet this evening.  No, I don't know what time.

In his most recent Outdoors column, Ernie Cowan writes about the behaviors of the phainopepla, which is apparently not capitalized.  Click HERE for an education.

It's been awhile since I was able to snag a photo off the Vintage San Diego Facebook page.  This week we've got a snazzy shot taken in Lemon Grove around 1961.  Click HERE for an enlargement with some details.

Gary and Linda Bagley Gilmore are putting together a memory book for their grandkids, and were hoping I had photos of Andy's Diner (or was it Andy's Saloon).  No such luck, but I did find a couple of articles in the Union-Tribune archives and have added them to the Andy's Diner page.  Click HERE and have a look.

Rick Middlested ’64 passed away of a sudden cardiac arrest on June 22, 2023.   He was a finish carpenter, then became a locksmith and was self-employed.  He retired and moved to Mariposa, California in 2005, where he built a beautiful home and horse facility.  In 2020, he moved to Chino Valley, Arizona where he lived out his remaining life.  He was an Eagle Scout, enjoyed hunting with his dad, competition shooting, and fishing.  Everywhere he lived, he made long-lasting friends. His proudest achievement was volunteering with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, where he worked for almost thirty years and and retired as Commander of over 200 reserves

Donald Ward ’68 died July 5, 2023.  He was born in San Francisco, and was part of ROTC at Crawford.  After graduation, he joined the Air Force and was sent to Phù Cát Air Base in Vietnam. Don loved his Harleys and taught me how to shoot. Don was a quiet man and friend to many people. He was a friend of my husband Bill Wolf since junior high, and my friend since 1966.  He leaves behind his siblings and his wife, and will be greatly missed -- Kat Lally Wolf ’68

 

July 7, 2023

 

Cartoonist Harry Bliss finally created something I wanted to share.   
I guess even the Grim Reaper has to wait until the dog is done.

I am loathe to condone illegal behavior, but I'm glad a whole bunch of WWII veterans -- against orders -- kept diaries and took photos.  They're a godsend to modern historians.  And I'm glad Janice Valentino Reed Bonwell filched a menu from the Oscar's on El Cajon Blvd. and didn't tell me about it until we were out of the danger zone.    Click HERE to take another look.

I still can't remember who donated the Kiwanis Basketball Tournament programs from 1959 and 1961, but here's the second one.  Click HERE to see who played for Crawford -- and a whole bunch of other schools.

Looks like it's gonna be a gorgeous weekend for the first round of Over-The-Line.  My classmates Larry Dubbs, Jim Rupe, and Tom Whelan pose for a photo at the 1965 tourney.  Click HERE four a couple of other shots -- and a lengthy UT article from 1999 about Tom Whelan.