June 5, 2015

Harry Bliss tickles my funny-bone.  I'll share one with you from last week.  We'll see how many folks THIS week ask to be taken off the email list.

Looks like Crawford's finally going to get a football stadium, with lights and everything.  Click HERE to read the article in the Union-Tribune.

Let's see if I've got this straight.  The ankle-biters who were in First Grade when I graduated from Crawford in '62 will be celebrating a mass 60th birthday party on August 8th.   Email Debbie Leimbach Ciccati '73 at dciccati@gmail.com if you'd like to be added to the invitee list.  I think it says something about a sleepover.  Maybe I'll dig out my Dr. Denton's and try to sneak in.

Marv Abrams '65 answered the call and mailed me a copy of the June 9, 1965 Pacer.  He also has the Homecoming Issue, which I'll share at a later date.

Rose Aftreth ’73 passed away peacefully from peritoneal cancer on May 27th.  Services will be held at El Camino Memorial Park in Sorrento Valley on Friday, June 5th, at 1:00 PM.  A celebration of life will follow at La Valencia Hotel.   Click HERE to sign the Guest Book

Kenneth R Andersen '67, according to a recent email from his son, died of cancer on November 15, 2014

Durwood Bruce '70 passed away January 2, 2001.  His son Michael says I can take him off the Missing List.

May 29, 2015

I'M PRETTY SURE I KNOW WHAT NANCY AND I will be eating at the Waffle Spot this morning. Kitchen Manager Beto braced us last night at the Amigo Spot.  "How come you haven't ordered the Machaca con Huevos?  I put it on the menu just for you."  I'm a little concerned that my eating habits are being monitored by someone. They DID install security cameras last year.

SOMEONE is going to be looking for a babysitting job.  The 14-year old girl who pleaded guilty to starting the Coco's Fire has promised to repay $6 million to the county.

Dottie Johnson Vargas '60 can now go to the post office and buy a sheet of stamps with her husband's picture on it.  Click HERE for the details.

Observant Muslim students can now eat Halal meals once a week in the cafeteria at Crawford.  Sure is different from when WE were in school.  Oh, wait -- I just had a Fish Stick Friday flashback.  Click HERE to watch the KPBS video.

Dennis Bishop '61 shares another video featuring his brother Stephen Bishop '69.  Get yourself a beverage before you sit down.  This one is an hour long and starts with a mention of his high school group.  Click HERE when you're ready.

Ted Crooks and Betty Lewis were Mr and Miss Clean Campus, Jim Nettles and Jane Peters were featured in Senior Sketches and Bob Jordahl’s ’63 Chevy was May’s Car of the Month in the May 27, 1965 Golden Anniversary issue of the Pacer  Does anyone have the 1965 Graduation Issue of the Pacer?  I'd love to be able to share it on this site.

May 22, 2015

I'm still not sure how this can be Memorial Day Weekend -- and May 30th is NEXT weekend.  Oh, well.  Once again I hope you will take time to remember on those who made the ultimate sacrifice.  Click HERE to go to the Colts Who Died In Vietnam page, HERE to watch the video put together by students at Crawford, and HERE to read about my pal Ron Davidson, who coached some of you at Horace Mann.

Remember School Savings Stamps?  I just came across these, and some Green Stamps and Blue Chip Stamps.  Click HERE to take a look AND to read about the history of School Savings Stamps.

It doesn't look good for Anthony's on the Wharf.  The Port District is entertaining proposals from other eateries that can bring in more dough.  I'm trying to recall all of the Anthony's I've dined at:  La Mesa, Chula Vista, downtown La Jolla, Golden Triangle, and the wharf.  And that doesn't count the Fishettes.  Never made it to Star of the Sea or the one that's now Ruth's Chris Steak House.  Oh, I almost forgot -- click HERE if you want to read the article in last Saturday's UT.

Ernie Cowan '62 wrote a nice article in last Saturday's UT on the local Bushtit.  Click HERE to read all about it.

Joseph Coyne was San Diego's first police chief.  Detective Laura McGowan '78 is his great-granddaughter.  She joined the San Diego Police Department in 1986 and will be retiring in December.  Click HERE to read the article in the UT San Diego.

May 15, 2015

HAPPY 51515!

IT'S WET OUTSIDE IN PACIFIC BEACH and supposed to get wetter.  Nancy and I may end up in line at McDonald's just so we don't have to get out of the car for breakfast.

As near as I can figure Nancy Taylor '72 is a STEM mentor, and we have a chance to vote on the project her kids produced.  Click HERE to watch the video and vote.  Voting is fairly complicated. You have to click on the Public Choice button, decide whether you want to use Twitter, Facebook or email to vote, make your choice, and then wait for them to send your ballot.  After I voted they wanted me to add them to my contacts list to make sure my ballot would get through their firewall.   Today is the last day ballots can be submitted.

Why am I showing a photo of our hated rival Herbert Hoover High School?  Turns out a whole bunch of Colts fondly recall summer school classes at the OLD three-story building.  Click HERE to watch a YouTube video taken in 1975 just before the old school was demolished.

"Wooly Bully" and "Gloria" occupied the top two spots on KDEO's Top 40 chart for the week of May 8, 1965.  Obviously, the Golden Age of music.

Wanna know what Bob Boone, Jim Cassie, Rod Collier, Bill Gore, Jack Watson and Lyn Upshaw had in common?  If nothing else they were School Representatives for Bob Coffman’s Tuxedo Shop.  Just one of many things I learned in re-reading the 6-page Pacer from May13, 1965.  Click HERE to read it for yourself.

Some of us still recall what used to occupy the site where the Campus Plaza Shopping Center sits today at 62nd and El Cajon Blvd.  Click HERE to read the article I snagged off Greg May's Vintage San Diego Facebook page -- and tried to put together on my web site.

May 8, 2015

THE NEWLY-REMODELED WAFFLE SPOT had its Grand Opening yesterday.  I suspect that Nancy and I will check it out this morning, icky weather permitting.

I have the Class of '66 on a May-May billing cycle for the quarterly newsletter, so regular subscribers from that class should have gotten their reminder.  Click HERE if you've been thinking about subscribing and want more information.

Dave Sleet '61 is looking for annuals from his three years at Crawford.  Email him at dds6@cdc.gov if you have any suggestions.

I think Johnny Downs went by "Johnny Jet" earlier in his career.   Here’s my certificate for being a "Clean Your Plate Club" member from Johnny Jet back in 1954 --  Norm Black ’68

Norm Black '68 attended Marshall Elementary in 3rd Grade when he lived at 5343 Streamview Drive. The family then moved to the Territory of Hawaii for a year and on to Memphis, Tennessee. The Black family returned to San Diego and Norm was part of the first 8th and 9th grade classes at Pershing Junior High. Then it was on to Crawford and, after that, San Diego State.   Click HERE to see an enlargement.

Mike McKittrick '60 shares a couple of postcards from his days working at Mickie Finn's.  You can actually spot him in the middle, left in white sleeves, black vest and straw hat.  Click HERE to go to the Mickie Finn's Page and see both postcards enlarged.

Frequent contributors Sharon Cramer Sceper '68 and Bob Richardson '61 pose for a photo at the Sceper Ranch and Museum in Hayfork, California.  If I understand this correctly, Bob made the trip from Sacramento because they are both interested in genealogy -- and may have had ancestors who lived in the area.

Having worked with many reunions, I think the Class of 1970's choice of Marina Village for its function on July 25th is outstanding.  Committee Members Denise Daniels, Jane De Bolt Blackwell, Rene Hansell Clay, Kris Pruski Wood and John Pacheco pose for a snapshot.

Rick Cohen '66 sends word of the passing, on April 21st, of his classmate and friend of longstanding, Mark Kessler.  You'll want to read Mark's heartfelt memorial on the Class of '66 Obituary Page.

Linda Parker Smith '70 has passed away, according to her friend and classmate Linda Knott.  Private services will be held today.  

May 1, 2015

Didn't folks used to dance around the May Pole on May 1st?  That's probably not going to be happening, but I think I have a an idea for next year involving Pole Dancing.

I'm not sure who Bill Rossi is, but he shared this on the "You Know You Grew Up in San Diego" Facebook page.

If you have the National Geographic Channel, Ron Morse '64 hopes you'll tune in tomorrow at 8 AM and watch "Smart City: San Diego".  "I learned some things -- and I live here," says Ron.  Check your local listings.

Dennis Bishop '61 wants you to know about a benefit recently put on by little brother Stephen Bishop '69.  It took place Thursday last in Beverly Hills, but you can still listen to Stephen being interviewed on the Mo-Kelly Radio Show.

"Don't be surprised if you see Carlos Amezcua '71 doing the news in San Diego again," says Phyllis Schwartz '72.  Phyllis, formerly General Manager of KNSD Channel 7, has read Carlos may be free-lancing on KSWB Fox 5.

You can run but you can't hide.  Bob Richardson '61 always wondered what became of his Horace Mann chum Laurel Gonsalves.  Turns out she moved to La Jolla for high school and now lives in New York.  Did I mention she was one of the first staffers on Rolling Stone Magazine?  Click HERE to read all about it, and help identify some of the members of Mr. Carey's Journalism Class.

Here's a photo taken by my late buddy Howard Rozelle.  All he wrote was "Imig Park - 1945".  Do you recognize it?  Click HERE for the answer.

April 24, 2015

I HAVEN'T MENTIONED the weather and Fry Day breakfast plans for Nancy and I lately, mostly because the weather's always nice and we nearly always go to the Waffle Spot.  The weather's iffy this morning but we'll still probably end up at the Waffle Spot.

Guy Gonzale '69 will be filling in for Doug Kvandal '66 tomorrow night with Live Jazz at the Amigo Spot.  Kick off is at 7 PM

Remember the Silverado Ballroom on University and Euclid?  Greg May has a couple of pictures of it in the Silverado Ballroom Album of his Vintage San Diego Facebook page.  He also has a photo of a streetcar out in front, which I couldn't resist.  I had not seen this photo before.  You might also enjoy the History of the Tower Bar from my web site.

Stan Keniston '66 shares a Voice of San Diego link to a article about the San Diego schools who have trouble enrolling the kids in their neighborhood.  Very interesting charts.  The article was really about a meeting held Tuesday night to address the problem.  I'm not sure if they came up with any solutions.

Joe Dyke '65 and Ron Dixon '64 pose for a snapshot at the 2015 opening of the Southwest Yacht Club on April 19th.  Joe showed up as a member of the Grand Pacific Band, which provided the ceremonial music.  Ron, as both Chaplain and cannoneer, gave the invocation and provided the booms.

Barry Penn '64 shows off his 1950 Ford Woodie in an interview with KUSI's Dan Plante on April 19th.  The car once belonged to Floyd Smith, of Gordon and Smith Surfboards.

Con Davis' '40 Ford was Heap of the Week, Diana Loss was Girl of the Month, and Senior Sketches featured Jim Calkins and Ann Mitchell in the April 29, 1964 Golden Anniversary Pacer.

John McGuigan '64 sends word of the passing, on April 15th, of his cousin Jerome Drilling '62. Jerry's brother Greg put together a nice remembrance, which I have posted on the Class of '62 Obituary Page  You'll enjoy the "Who's On First" routine of Three Drillings and Ocean Beach.

April 17, 2015

Not much happening in Coltville this week

Stan Keniston '66 forwards a KPBS piece about Crawford's Farm to Table Program.

Willie Skinner (Mission Bay '67) stopped by with a copy of the August 26, 1963 San Diego Union.  Click HERE if you'd like to check out the Drive-In Theater listings.  I hope you wanted to see "Donovan's Reef".

Bob White '68 shares a photo of the White family dressed up in Fiesta del Pacifico finery in the middle of the street at 4th and Broadway around 1957.  Click HERE to bask in the details of this gorgeous color photo.

April 10, 2015

Don Ball '59 and Sharon Bentley '60 were joined in Holy Matrimony on April 9, 1965 at the Wesley Methodist Church at 54th and El Cajon Blvd.  Recalls Don, "During the ceremony it rained and hailed a lot.   Afterwords my best man, the late John Whaley, drove Sharon's 1963 Mercury Comet to the Town and Country in Mission Valley.  However, the San Diego River had flooded most of Mission Valley and some guests could not get into the parking lot.  Next day we flew from the old Lindbergh Airport to San Francisco."  If you'd like to send congratulations, Don's email address is gardenlife65@gmail.com

Anybody have any ideas on what to do with 1,000 Ramona's Marriage Place postcards?  I published the cards 35 years ago, using -- I believe -- a 1928 Walter Averett photo from the San Diego Historical Society.  Unlike some of the other cards in the series, they never sold. I thought maybe I would donate them to the gift shop of the Estudillo House (there never was a Ramona and she didn't get married here) but I don't think there IS a gift shop in the Estudillo House.  It's part of the State Park System I believe.

I'm giving Ron "The Cannon Man" Dixon '64 the final word on how to blow up night crawlers.  "Any old Dynamite Fisherman knows either BP, C4, or Gel Max works wonders," says Ron

That's Diana Loss pictured in the 1965 Spring Fashion Issue of the Pacer, published on April 8, 1965.  Shirley Strum was Girl of Month, while Robert Malcolm Kaplan and Lois Jean Olson were Senior Sketches

Dennis Burns says he's no longer missing.  He's living in El Cajon and is now on the Class of '65 Email Page.


Scott Silverman '72 got a nice write up in Diane Bell's column this week.

The U-T San Diego, on April 3, reported the passing of Danny Griggs.  He was born October 3, 1954 and died February 23, 2015.  We think he was the Danny Griggs in Crawford's Class of '72.  Does anyone know if Danny had sisters or brothers who went to Crawford?