November 22, 2019

On this saddest of anniversaries you can click HERE to look at photos and recollections of a happier time -- JFK's visit to San Diego on June 6, 1963.

Las Vegas?  Guess again.  This gorgeous night shot of the Desert Inn Motel was taken on El Cajon Boulevard in 1980.  I've added it to the Aztec Motel shots we saw last week.  Click HERE to see it enlarged.

Remember this photo of the #7 streetcar in front of the Silverado Ballroom?  Turns out there was another photo taken at the same time and posted on Facebook by Gary Mitrovich '76.  Click HERE to see enlargements of both images.  Click HERE for information on riding one of these streetcars in San Diego on weekends.

Click HERE to read all 6 pages of the Golden Anniversary Pacer from November 26, 1969.

Charles Rafferty ’73 passed away, last Friday, November 18, 2019 according to the alumni web page.  I couldn't find any other details.

Kenn Towne ’73 died in Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 18, 2018 at the age of 62.  I couldn’t find a photo of him in the yearbook.

November 15, 2019

Are you humming the same song I'm humming?

Click HERE to read the football program from Crawford's 5th Annual Homecoming Game, played at Aztec Bowl on November 16, 1962 against Lincoln.  When did Crawford play it's first Homecoming Game at Crawford?  I don't know the answer, but I suspect it was rather recent.

Not a lot of current events in the Colt world, so I'm revisiting a page of photos originally shared by Diana Morawitz Schlader Kruse '72.  That's her astride a llama in the A and P parking lot on 54th and El Cajon.  Click HERE to see this photo enlarged -- and three more really neat color shots taken along El Cajon Blvd.

Every so often a photo pops up on Facebook that knocks my socks off -- this 1919 shot of Torrey Pines beach, for instance.  Click HERE to see an enlarged version.  

I don't know who Gary Schacker is, but he's starting to share photos on Facebook that he took many years ago.  This shot of Dow Sound City, on the northwest corner of 37th and El Cajon, was taken in November 1979 -- 40 years ago.   It's now a muffler shop.

Shirley Franklin '73 has notified me of the passing of two of her classmates, one last year and another in 1996.

Joan Mims died May 25, 2018.  Dr. Mims was a professor of education at California State University, Los Angeles.   She earned her Ph. D. in the Joint Doctoral Program between Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University where she collaborated with large urban school districts including Montebello; her Masters from San Diego State University in Bilingual/Multicultural Education and her Bachelor’s from the University of California, San Diego in Linguistics. She was fluent in both English and Spanish, and authored several interdisciplinary textbooks in both Spanish and English for Houghton Mifflin Company and Sage Publications, along with numerous articles in professional journals and books. 

Yvette Jones Payne passed away on September 15, 1996.  She left behind husband John Payne Sr., son John Payne Jr., step-son Juan Payne, sister Gerrie Jones, aunt Ethel M. Washington, uncle Brailey Woods, very special friend Dr. Joan Mims and several cousins and friends.

November 8, 2019

Hope this Bliss cartoon from Tuesday is big enough for you to make out.

This 1940 photo appeared on Facebook recently. It looks east on El Cajon Blvd. around Rolando.   That's Mount Helix in the distance on the right and Montezuma Road, I believe, sneaking through on the left.  Click HERE to see an enlarged version.  

Some people, it turns out, have fond memories of cafeteria food.  Click HERE to revisit a page posted some years ago.  It includes the official recipe for San Diego City Schools Peanut Butter Chews.

The music 61 years ago really WAS the best music of all.  Click HERE to read the Mighty 690 Top 40 for November 7, 1958.  

Here's the Golden Anniversary Pacer from November 7, 1969.  Must have been a bad time for the football team.  They lost to the "Birds" AND the "Bees".  Click HERE to read all 6 pages.

November 1, 2019

Another cartoon swiped from Lulu Summers.  It cracked me up -- and when I actually got it -- it REALLY cracked me up.  It's one explanation for why the dinosaurs died off.

Yippee!!  I'm in the money!!  Here's the October Royalty Statement from Schiffer Publishing, who published my book on the USS Saratoga.  Hold on a sec!!  I LOST money?  How can I be out 58 cents?

Much better news for Ernie Dronenberg '61 and Bill Gore '65.   They're getting raises.  I guess I know which doors to stand outside with my tin cup.

Did I already publish this photo of the San Diego Public Library bookmobile?  I wonder where it was taken?  Those trees conjure up an image of the East Coast, but I suspect it's somewhere in Balboa Park.  I probably also published Rick Crawford's Bookmobiles for San Diego.  Click HERE to read it again.

I've seen this photo before, but without a caption.  It's the Number 7 streetcar at Euclid and University, ready to head back downtown.  That's the Silverado Ballroom tucked away in the background.

Click HERE to enjoy an enlarged version of this 1958 shot of the El Cortez.  I think all four cars in this photo are General Motors products.  

Crawford's 3rd Annual Homecoming game was played against San Diego at Hoover on November 3, 1961, with a starting time of 8 PM.  I've already dozed off in the Barcalounger these days at 8 PM.  Click HERE to peruse the program AND check out my Crush the Cavers ribbon, along with my Field Pass signed by Charlie Clapper.

October 25, 2019

I posted this the week it ran in 2016.  It's still one of my favorites.  I'm counting it as Halloween Hilarity.

Louie Schwartzberg '68 has produced another stunning nature documentary, Fantastic Fungi.  It appears to be more interactive than his usual, and he'll be making personal appearances around the country along with the film.  Kind of like Bruce Brown used to do with Endless Summer.   He'll be at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas on November 3rd and at the Hotel del Coronado on November 5th.  Click HERE to watch the trailer and get more information.

In the Colt Corral of July 5th I mentioned that Linda Blake Morrow and her husband David had been apprehended in Israel, having been on the lam for a year accused of Health Care Fraud.  Sandy Barber Pikula '71 let me know that I had erred in stating Linda was from the Class of '71.  Linda Blake graduated in 1970.  Her sister Barbara (that's her on the right) graduated in 1971.  My concern, expressed to Sandy, is that some of you now might go away thinking Barbara was somehow involved in the skulduggery.  She was not.

The Colts played the Cavers on October 26, 1962 at Balboa Stadium.  Click HERE to peruse the program shared by Sarina Klein Nordmarken.

The good news is Ed Schoenberg saved his copies of the Pacer his Senior Year.  The bad news is he clipped out any articles with his name in them.  Click HERE to get the explanation -- and read the October 17, 1969 issue of the student newspaper.  

Ellen Rochefort Barnes ’59 passed away on October 10, 2019 in Beebe, Arkansas.  At Crawford she was active in Y-teens, GAA, Bible Club and was on the Vespers Committee.  Ellen met Dexter Barnes on Mission Beach in early 1961 and married in May of that same year.  She was the mother of 6 children, 18 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.  She attended her grandchildren's every school event, concert, track meet, graduation, soccer, play, social media and she will be greatly missed by all!!

Al Porter ’64 passed away October 21, 2019 after a lengthy series of health challenges. He’s survived by his two great kids, Forest Porter and Lorna Coclich.  His wife passed away a month earlier.   You’ll want to read the heartfelt remembrance sent in by his friend and classmate Eric Selten.  It’s posted on the Class of ’64 Obituary Page.

My long time friend and fellow Crawford classmate, Nancy Biner McConnell ’67 went to be with Jesus on October 23^rd.   She had been battling kidney failure and on dialysis everyday for a few years now and recently started having heart issues. She is survived by her sister Karen Biner Huntley ’62, her husband Marshall McConnell, her two sons Nathan and his wife Julie and Matthew, stepson Michael and stepdaughter Michele as well as her granddaughters (Nathan’s daughters) Audrey and Kate -- the lights of her life!  Nancy lived in Indiana at the time of her passing -- Don Christofferson ’68

October 18, 2019

I guess it's not too early for Halloween cartoons.  I snagged this off Lulu Anaya Summers' Facebook page.

STOP THE PRESSES!!  Tomorrow's Class of '74 reunion at Admiral Baker Field has been cancelled due to low response, so don't give the guard any grief. 

Speaking of Admiral Baker Field, here's a photo I took at the pool in 1964.  That might be Willie Drescher '63 in the lifeguard tower.

I've finally gotten around to publishing the photos Char Clark took at the Class of '64 55th Reunion.  Posting them on the web seemed too labor intensive.  The iCloud link Char sent confused me.  I thought about putting them on Facebook, but not everyone has Facebook.  I posted photos from earlier reunions on Picasa, but apparently you can no longer access those without becoming a Google member.  I decided to just post the photos on the web like the good old days.  Click HERE to see the results of my labors.

Turns out the College Restaurant has NOT been replaced with a Starbucks.  The Hudson Gas Station at the rear has been replaced with a Starbucks.  The Daily Grind is now serving coffee and breakfast in the old College Restaurant site.

October 11, 2019

Sandie Robbins Knox '61 wants me to remind you that there's not a lot of time left to enter your Little Deuce Coupe in the big Crawford car show.  She wants you to call her at 619-286-8806.  You can also email her at hhrssowner@aol.com

Crawford played Clairemont at Hoover 60 years ago this week.  Kickoff was at 8 PM!!  Click HERE to check out the rosters.

The Cassie brothers say their dad Les wasn't in this 1935 Hoover High baseball photo because a technical rules violation made him ineligible.  And Ted Williams didn't have his Senior Photo in the yearbook because he was a Junior.  Click HERE for all the details.

Turns out my neighbor doesn't want the 1935 Hoover yearbook, so I'm offering it to one of you.  Preferably one of the Colts who said their parents graduated from Hoover that year.  

This 1980 photo of the College Restaurant, where Montezuma and El Cajon merge, appeared on Facebook this week.   I think it's a Starbucks now.

Herb (you may have known him as Lonnie) Terry '66 checks in from Indiana University, where he is Professor Emeritus of The Media School.  He's tearing his hair out trying to remember the name of the lumber yard his dad used to take him to on El Cajon Blvd near the Campus Drive-In.  I think I found the answer.

Look what I just found tucked away on the Horace Mann Page of this very web site.  

October 4, 2019

I can see why stores advertise Christmas six weeks early.  They want you to get in and buy and buy and buy.  I can't figure out why they're promoting Halloween a month out.  Maybe they're hoping you'll get your Trick or Treat candy early.  We all know what happens then.  (Hint: you end up going back and buying more)

I must have fallen asleep in the Barcalounger watching Ken Kramer, 'cause I woke up and was looking at my own self.  I looked pretty good, probably because it was a rerun of an interview Ken did many years ago.  CLICK here if you'd like to check it out.  It's not exactly a spoiler alert, but I think the episode is about 20 minutes into a 25 minute show.

Sharon Culver Considine '60 will be honored by the Rancho Santa Fe Women's Golf Club at its annual Breast Cancer Golf Tournament on October 8th.  “Honoring Sharon for all that she has done for the Women’s Golf Club and this event, in particular, is long over due. Our women’s golf group has been so fortunate to have such an experienced and dedicated leader like Sharon,” said this year’s chair Kris Charton.  Click HERE for more details and "the rest of the story". 

My neighbor Sandy wandered over this week with a copy of the 1935 Hoover High annual.  Aha -- said I!!  Ted Williams and Les Cassie!!  Well, sort of.  Les Cassie, father of Tom '62 and Jim '65, is in the annual as a Senior, but not in the baseball team photo.  Ted Williams is in the team photo but not pictured as a Senior.  Maybe he wasn't a Senior.  I'm sure the Cassies will clear things up.  Click HERE to check out the snippets I posted on my web site.

Our old friend Paula Kincaid forwards an excellent Remember the '50s video.  They've done a great job with the background music.  CLICK here for a delightful seven-minute journey. You'll look long and hard for any African-Americans in this clip.  Kind of like my three years at Crawford.  I can't imagine what it must have been like to turn on the TV and never see anyone that looked like you.